Euro 2012- Knockout Rounds, Quarters, Semis & Final

The thread to discuss the knockout phase of Euro 2012, when the competition really begins! Currently we know 6 of the 8 quarterfinalists and two of the four matchups. The quarterfinals are:

Thursday
Czech Republic-Portugal

Friday
Germany-Greece

Saturday
Spain-Group D runnerup

Sunday
Group D winner-Italy

Two of three from among France, England or Ukraine will be the Group D participants in the quarterfinals.

i have a shot at it Portugal to beat the Czechs

Spain to beat france after extra-time

England to beat italy after a penalty shoot out.

and wait for it Greece to shock germany with a 1 nil win

Ok we all know the pairings now but to put them down here are the quarterfinal matchups:

Thursday
Czech Republic-Portugal

Friday
Germany-Greece

Saturday
Spain-France

Sunday
England-Italy

It starts tomorrow with the Czechs playing Portugal. Both teams started off group play with defeats but by game 3 each were playing well. Fine midfields from them both and this could well be where the game is won or lost. Jiricek, Plasil and Pilar (will Rosicky's achilles be healed?) vs Moutinho, Veloso and Meireles. But you also can not talk about Portugal without mentioning Ronaldo and Nani, the best set of wingers in this competition. if Ronaldo plays as he did versus Holland, it will be hard to contain Portugal.

Italy-England obviously has my attention, I am worried about Chiellini, he won't play due to a thigh injury sustained versus Ireland and he is Italy's most physical defender. Bonucci will come in for him but if, as expected England play Rooney and Welbeck in attack then perhaps a physical centerback is not a necessity?

At first glance you would think Portugal and Germany are the favourites in the first two quarterfinals. Each have looked consistently better so far than either the Czech Republic or Greece but the surprises in this tournament should inform us that nothing should be taken for granted in this Euros, the level of play between these 8 quarterfinalists is not that different. The other two quarterfinals look pretty evenly matched, not much to choose between Spain-France and England-Italy.

As a Spain fan I am a little concerned about facing France, a nation which traditionally has done well versus Spain. The French control the ball well and have a lot of speed on the counter, this will be a difficult game for Spain but I trust in the team's ability to emerge victorious in close games, that is a trait which Spain previously did not possess but has been a constant since 2008, the reason why Spain have enjoyed so much recent success. I know at some point Spain's successful cycle will end but I do not think that time has yet arrived.

Are there any other absences among teams in the quarterfinals besides the injured Chiellini with Italy and the suspended Mexes for France?

Good question, I know Rosicky is in doubt for the Czech Republic because of an achilles tendon problem but I do not know of any other injuries or suspensions other than those mentioned and one additional one-Greece will be without their key midfielder Giorgios Karagounis who unjustly picked up a 2nd yellow in the groupphase for a supposed dive even though he looked to have been fouled on the play.

I have my own question for the group, do yellow cards get cleaned up for the quarterfinals? If they don't then many players could be risking suspension for the semis and final if they pick up a yellow in the quarters after having already acquired one in the group stage. That to me would be unjust.

I have my own question for the group, do yellow cards get cleaned up for the quarterfinals? If they don't then many players could be risking suspension for the semis and final if they pick up a yellow in the quarters after having already acquired one in the group stage. That to me would be unjust.

Yellow cards will be cleared out after the quarterfinals,

Something to watch for in these quarterfinals, as multiple players do run the risk of picking up a 2nd yellow and potentially miss the semifinals.

Greece are also missing the suspended Jose Holebas for their game against Germany. Wouldn't it be ironic if Portugal, Greece, Spain and Italy, four of the most suffering economies in the Euro Zone, were the four nations advancing to the semifinals?

Another curious fact, of the eight quarterfinalists, only Portugal (losing finalists in 2004) have never won a major championship before. And of the eight teams remaining, only Portugal and England have never before won the European championship.

I am concerned about Spain's match versus France. Spain have never before defeated France in an international tournament, look at the three most recent results too, France defeated Spain in the final of Euro 84 after Luis Arconada's error; in Euro 2000 France beat Spain in the quarterfinals after Raul missed a penalty, and like in 1984, France won the title. Finally there was World Cup 2006 where Spain after brilliant group play went out to an inspired Zinedine Zidane led France as again France went on to the final, only this time they lost.

So France have given Spain a tough time in the past and defeating Spain has been a way for France to advance to the final of the competition. Time for that to end, this is, as others wrote, a tough minded Spanish team, one which knows how to win close games. I think Spain has the talent and experience to defeat France but it is not going to be easy and Spain will need to play a little quicker than they did against both Italy and Croacia in group play.

Roy Hodgson has brought order to England and while they still have not played well over 90 minutes in any of their first three matches, the team have looked much better here than they did two years ago in South Africa. And credit for that must go to Hodgson. I am looking forward to what should be a very cagey match with Italy but there is soemthing about this current England side which gives me hope they can pull off a win in a close match.

As for tonight's match, it could be an intriguing one, Portugal have played pretty well but they are going against a Czech side that practically are at home and who have developed a pretty good defence since their opening match blunders against Russia. Their right back Gebre Selassie was an unknown coming into this tournament but he is making a name for himself and tonight has his toughest test yet versus one Cristiano Ronaldo.

before the tournament we discussed how in modern day football with such wide spread TV coverage of matches that there now are so few players who are complete unknowns to us before a tournament starts, Theodor Gebre Selassie of the Czech Republic has been one of those rare unknowns who has played caught the eye at this tournament. He is becoming known now and don't be surprised if he moves to a bigger club later this summer.

In the meantime his match up with Ronaldo tonight should be a fascinating one. Portugal have looked good in group play but after their slow start so have the Czechs and now they are carrying the banner for Eastern Europe in this Eastern European Euros, I think they pull off the surprise here.

What makes these quarterfinals fascinating to me is in group play not a single team really stood out, each of the eight had their moments of course which is why they got this far but they also showed some weaknesses too which is why even tourney favorites Spain and Germany look potentially vulnerable. But this is when the tournament really begins so now is where we separate the wheat from the chaff. Enjoy the tournament.

I would say both Gebre Selassie and his teammate Pilar are two relatively unknown players who are standing out in this Euro tournament. Eastern Europe is where players can still play in relative obscurity to the rest of the world.

It is a very wide open tournament, as discussed even the favourites look less than invincible. Makes for an exciting time for fans of the teams involved and neutrals alike as any of the eight have a chance.

Rosicky did not make the czech starting lineup, that could be trouble for them. Kickoff in a few...

Quarterfinal result
Portugal 1-0 Czech Republic

A just win for Portugal with the game winning goal in the 79th minute by Cristiano Ronaldo, he finished off a nice buildup with a powerful downward header which Cech could not save. Cech, however, kept the Czechs in the game with several big time saves, not much more you can ask for from your goalie but Portugal, especially in the 2nd half imposed themselves on the game with Moutinho, Meireles and naturally Ronaldo all being very involved. Ronaldo hit the post twice in this game, giving him 4 shots off post/bar in the tournament, more than any single team!

Portugal have a solid defense and although they do not have a classic 10 like Rui Costa or Deco, they move the ball pretty well in midfield and with Ronaldo and Nani they attack quickly down the wings. But they still lack an effective 9, today Helder Postiga did not do much then injured his hamstring (hard to imagine him coming back in this Euro) while his replacement, the veteran Hugo Almeida, also did not do much. I'm thinking Paulo Bento went with the veteran Almeida instead of the younger Oliveira because of Almeida's experience but the youngster looks more mobile to me.

Portugal advance to the semifinals where they await the Spain/France winner. With their solid defense and an in form Ronaldo, they will not be easy semifinal opponents.

The thing that struck me the most about this match was how little push back the Czechs had after they went behind especially, but in the second half in general. I was expecting them to try to turn the tide after the goal, but they could barely win the ball back. They looked absolutely spent.

It was a pretty entertaining match and despite the score both teams looked to attack, the Czechs seemed especially willing to try to take the game to Portugal from the start. I liked the approach, even if they couldn't match it in the second half once Portugal upped their level of play.

cheers,
hobbes