Euro 2008 Enters Knockout Stage
The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Croatia impress in group stage
Among the notable squads that failed to advance are France, finalists in the 2006 World Cup, and Greece, the tournament’s defending champions. With the quarterfinals set to begin today, however, this is no time to dwell on the past, for the remainder of the tournament is certain to provide highly entertaining and compelling action.
Portugal v. Germany
In the most anticipated of the quarterfinal matches, two of the tournament’s favorites square off in a heavyweight fight.
Portugal is led by the world’s greatest player, 23-year-old midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo, who led Manchester United to the Premiership and Champions League titles this spring, will attempt to cap off one of the greatest seasons in the history of the sport by adding a European Championship to his resume. Coupled with the brilliance of Deco, Ronaldo looks poised to lead Portugal, the Euro 2004 runners-up, back to the final.
Standing in Portugal’s way are the mighty Germans. The star-studded squad struggled in the group stage, losing to Croatia and squeaking by Austria thanks to a spectacular Michael Ballack strike. In order to advance to the semis, the Germans must nullify Ronaldo while simultaneously rediscovering their form.
Croatia v. Turkey
Call this the battle of the Cinderellas. Croatia shocked Europe by outplaying Germany en route to an impressive 2-1 victory and a perfect 9 points in the stage. As a result, the Group B champions, a balanced and creative squad, play Turkey in the quarterfinals.
The plane destined for Istanbul was all but cleared for takeoff from Geneva as Turkey trailed the Czech Republic 2-0 with only a quarter of an hour remaining in a winner-takes-all affair. Fifteen minutes and three goals later, the Turks were advancing in one of the most remarkable comebacks in Euro history. Nihat, the formidable Turkish striker, found the back of the net in the 87th and 89th minutes, the former coming thanks to a Petr Cech dropped cross, to propel his side to the victory.
The winner of this contest will be the uninvited guest in the tournament’s semis and will look to reenact Greece’s shocking run to the 2004 championship.
Netherlands v. Russia
Undoubtedly, the Dutch have been the most entertaining and impressive squad in the tournament thus far. With nine points and an incredible goal differential of 8 in the group of death, the men in orange are the favorites to claim the title. Led by striker Ruud van Nistelrooy and a plethora of world-class talents, the Netherlands is clearly the team to beat.
Russia, following a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Spain to open the tournament, won their final two group games, including a decisive 2-0 victory over Sweden to advance. The Dutch, however, resemble Spain much more closely than Sweden or Greece; expect Russia to bow out in the quarterfinals.
Spain v. Italy
With the exception of the Dutch, Spain was the group stage’s most impressive team. David Villa scored four goals, including a hat trick against Russia, and the frighteningly talented Fernando Torres added a goal of his own. With the world’s best striker tandem, Spain should be tough, but this is a nation with a history of underachieving in pressure situations.
Italy is the antithesis of Spain; a squad that has a history of living up to and exceeding expectations, just as it did by winning the 2006 World Cup. However, the Italians looked out of form in the group of death and had to rely on a Romanian loss just to advance. With Pirlo and Gattuso both serving suspensions in the quarterfinals, the World Champions could be in trouble.
