Tag: 2012

Euro 2012 – The qualifying matches begin this month

Report by Andrew Hill

Poland and Ukraine will have the pleasure to host the 14th edition of the European Championship in which only sixteen national teams will be existing.

June 8th of 2012 is nonetheless a minor bit far away, but because of to the tight schedule that every country has among their nearby league and international competitions – which entail FIFA and UEFA as properly – the only solution to offer with it is by arranging ahead. This is the purpose why the 14th edition of this European Championship will kick-off their qualifying matches this month, with 51 nations competing for a single of the 14 seats available. So far the only two nations competent are Poland and Ukraine, as they immediately enter the competitors due to their position as hosts. With them, the Euro 2012 completes its sixteen contestants.

This will be the third time that an European Championship is co-hosted – in 2000 Belgium and the Netherlands were the initial ones, and eight years later Austria and Switzerland had their chance – and it will also be the final edition exactly where only sixteen teams participate, because for the next levels of competition in 2016 the quantity of nations will be increased to 24. Until finally then, only the first area from every single of the nine groups, along with the finest of individuals finishing in 2nd will straight qualify. The final 4 participants will come out from the playoff games disputed in between the remaining teams that ended in 2nd spot.

The past edition in 2008 was won by Spain, a title that set an stop to 44 many years of aggravation following their previous and only championship, and it also served as a confirmation that this wonderful era of Spanish players was a stage previously mentioned the relaxation. In the ultimate held in Viena, they were ready to defeat the Germans 1 to thanks to Fernando Torres’ target, following an assists from Xavi, who was named the finest player of the tournament. The existing champions will not only have to defend their title, but also their prestige, following becoming world champions this yr in South Africa, during FIFA’s Globe Cup.

Spain will be in Group I along with Czech Republic, Scotland, Lithuania, and Liechtenstein. Their 1st rival is Liechtenstein, whom they will visit on Friday the 3rd, and the players are conscious that right after their success, great factors will be anticipated from them. Sergio Busquets is one of the players that have wished to relaxed issues a minor bit, stating that: “we are not the very best ones now, nor imagine that we are invincible”. He thinks that in the world of football people often have a tendency to consider factors for a simple fact following an important title is achieved.

The Euro 2012 is a great likelihood for those teams that didn’t have a excellent effectiveness in the past Earth Cup and want to get that displeasure off their backs. Countries like Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Portugal have 1 much more chance to do issues better and regain the help and sympathy from their fans.

Right here is the conformation of the rest of the groups: Group A – Germany, Turkey, Austria, Belgium, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. Group B – Russia, Slovakia, Ireland, Macedonia, Armenia, and Andorra. Group C – Estonia, Italy, Serbia, Northern Ireland, Slovenia, and Faroe Islands. Group D – France, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Belarus, Albania, and Luxembourg. Group E – Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Moldova, and San Marino. Group F – Croatia, Greece, Israel, Latvia, Georgia, and Malta. Group G – England, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Wales, and Montenegro. Group F – Portugal, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, and Iceland.

About the Writer

Andrew Hill has been a prominent author on standard Global Football games, sports activities news and the sportsbetting business for a lot of excellent sports internet sites. You may well reprint this report in its full subject material, make sure you note no modifications to it are accepted.

EURO 2012 – Spain sweeps Liechtenstein 4-0 in qualifying match

Article by Stephen Lars

The Spanish National team, the current World Cup Champions, and the EURO 2008 defending champions, began its qualifying run for EURO 2012 with a 4-0 win against Liechtenstein.

This is Spain’s first official game since the team won they World Cup in South Africa. David Villa, the talented striker has now made it into the Spanish soccer history books as he has scored his 44th goal while wearing the national team’s shirt. This has him match the same mark that Raul Gonzalez had achieved with the Red Fury.

Because of its good performance and the strength they gather as a team, the Spanish national team has deserved the respect of soccer fans from around the globe and has for its first time made it into the top of international soccer. The Spanish superiority in regards to the Liechtenstein national team, forced the home team to play under the Spanish terms and conditions.

Despite the very talented squad, head coach Vicente Del Bosque kept a good grip of his team. He came up with a very solid and well-balanced team that included striker Fernando Torres and defender Carlos Marchena who started in exchange of Carles Puyol who is currently recovering from an injury.

Spain was very dominant from the start. The team moved its lines forward and gave much work to the home team’s defense. After only 19 minutes of game time the Spaniards were able to score their first goal.

Fernando Torres would be the man in charge of the opening goal. Despite playing a very under par World Cup, Fernando Torres is proving that he only had a bad month, and it has nothing to do with his overall performance.

After the first opening goal, the game was mostly played over in the Liechtenstein own half of the court. The Spanish strikers were giving the local goalkeeper Peter Jehle much work, with many offensive shots on goal. Very little were the local players able to shot at the Spaniard keeper Iker Casillas. He only had to face a one on one situation during the whole 90 minutes of play.

Spain took advantage of the very inefficient game plan of the home team to bring in the second goal. 27 minutes into the game David Villa, took one heck of a shot from 25 meters away that was a bit too much for keeper Jehle to contain. It was a great goal.

Towards the end of the first half, the Spaniards keep moving their offensive lines forward, trying to create plays that would give them more chances to score. Torres, as well as Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez took the spotlight as they kept taking shots at goal. Had it not been for the effort and agility of the local keeper Jehle, the Spaniards would have scored a couple more goals.

At the beginning of the second half, it was Martin Frick, perhaps the better-known player from Liechtenstein who could have scored for his team. Despite taking a good shot, Iker Casillas had a good position and he was able to keep the ball under control.

The local team was unable to fully react to the Spaniards first goals, and giving how the game was been played, there were little chances for them. To make things even worse for the locals, again Torres came in after some 10 minutes of play in the second half to score the third goal for the Spaniards.

After 57 minutes, Del Bosque changed Torres for David Silva, who without missing a beat came in to score the fourth goal for Spain 5 minutes after he came in the game.

Spain will now face Lithuania for the EURO 2012 qualifying stage on October 8th.

About the Author

Stephen Lars has been a prominent writer on regular International Football games, sports news and the sportsbetting industry for many exceptional sports web sites. You may reprint this article in its full content, please note no modifications to it are accepted.