matchday 1 round up
this blog is a football blog until 10.9.2009
first round of matches over in finland.
quick summary of results
group a
ukraine 0-2 holland
2 quick goals within 10 minutes left ukraine with too much to do, despite an improvement in the second half. but holland were not interested in pushing for more by then. 3 points more than anything else was the philosophy. holland were stronger than expected. the 4 attackers upfront are fast and direct.
finland 1-0 denmark
a freekick cross which evaded everyone landed in the goal. disappointing for denmark, who failed to make their chances count.
group b
germany 4-0 norway
the score is unfair to norway. yes, germany largely dominated proceedings, but it was 1-0 until the 90th minute. 3 goals in injury time. norway actually defended well, held the line well, very organised in defence up till that point. the first goal was a penalty.
france 3-1 iceland
the french impressed with their technique and passing. the midfield will also be responsible for getting the goals, i feel, because the system they employ is such that the forward's job is to hold the ball up.
group c
england 1-2 italy
the shock of the round. but england played an hour with 10 players, so it was always going to be difficult. england has strong midfield runners in fara williams and jill scott. essentially, england is an arsenal reunion, with 6 players with arsenal connections.
sweden 3-0 russia
sweden never looked in trouble after taking the lead. the team kept possession well and won the ball back easily. caroline seger ran the midfield and even popped up to score the third goal, a long range drive. i think things will get more interesting when their strikeforce takes off.
setpieces
interesting variations on corners were seen. norway put 4 players around the german keeper and simply cross the ball there. let's hope premiership teams don't learn from that against arsenal. italy looks to play the ball just outside the box for long shots all the time.
quarter-finals
because the top 2 from each group and the two best third-placed teams all go through to the quarter-finals, one may think it is more difficult not to go through. but i think it may be very tight in the end, not within the group, but between the three third-placed teams. it could be that all 3 have 3 points. a clearer picture will emerge after the second round of matches.
misfiring strikers
only 4 goals of the 17 goals scored came from the forwards. quite a low return when you consider the names on show: inka grings, birgit prinz, victoria svensson, lotta schelin, patrizia panico, kelly smith.
team of the round
gk: korpela(finland)
lb: gama (italy)
cb: annike krahn(ger)
rb: bito(ned)
ml: sjoengran (swe)
mc: kulig(ger)
mc: seger (swe)
mr: abily(fra)
fl: bajramaj(ger)
fc: panico(ita)
fr: necib(fra)
i love panico's play, all about exquisite flicks. playing against a solid english defence as a lone striker, she held her own, scored a goal and in my opinion, should have been the player of the match.
germany plays france on thursday, one of the three teams that can really hurt them, next to sweden and england, should england go through. i say england can hurt germany, even if you may think otherwise, based on their loss to italy, because they actually have a solid defence and midfield that can match germany's physically, and at the same time, they have kelly smith, capable of delivering that moment of magic.
it will be a stern test for germany, though not one that will decide the champions, because it is a group phase game after all. even if you lose and meet them again in the final, it doesn't mean you will lose again. not too much should be read into the result of the game.
the french's ability to retain the ball means the german defence will be tested more than in the norway game. and louisa necib and camilla abily are the players to watch.
first round of matches over in finland.
quick summary of results
group a
ukraine 0-2 holland
2 quick goals within 10 minutes left ukraine with too much to do, despite an improvement in the second half. but holland were not interested in pushing for more by then. 3 points more than anything else was the philosophy. holland were stronger than expected. the 4 attackers upfront are fast and direct.
finland 1-0 denmark
a freekick cross which evaded everyone landed in the goal. disappointing for denmark, who failed to make their chances count.
group b
germany 4-0 norway
the score is unfair to norway. yes, germany largely dominated proceedings, but it was 1-0 until the 90th minute. 3 goals in injury time. norway actually defended well, held the line well, very organised in defence up till that point. the first goal was a penalty.
france 3-1 iceland
the french impressed with their technique and passing. the midfield will also be responsible for getting the goals, i feel, because the system they employ is such that the forward's job is to hold the ball up.
group c
england 1-2 italy
the shock of the round. but england played an hour with 10 players, so it was always going to be difficult. england has strong midfield runners in fara williams and jill scott. essentially, england is an arsenal reunion, with 6 players with arsenal connections.
sweden 3-0 russia
sweden never looked in trouble after taking the lead. the team kept possession well and won the ball back easily. caroline seger ran the midfield and even popped up to score the third goal, a long range drive. i think things will get more interesting when their strikeforce takes off.
setpieces
interesting variations on corners were seen. norway put 4 players around the german keeper and simply cross the ball there. let's hope premiership teams don't learn from that against arsenal. italy looks to play the ball just outside the box for long shots all the time.
quarter-finals
because the top 2 from each group and the two best third-placed teams all go through to the quarter-finals, one may think it is more difficult not to go through. but i think it may be very tight in the end, not within the group, but between the three third-placed teams. it could be that all 3 have 3 points. a clearer picture will emerge after the second round of matches.
misfiring strikers
only 4 goals of the 17 goals scored came from the forwards. quite a low return when you consider the names on show: inka grings, birgit prinz, victoria svensson, lotta schelin, patrizia panico, kelly smith.
team of the round
gk: korpela(finland)
lb: gama (italy)
cb: annike krahn(ger)
rb: bito(ned)
ml: sjoengran (swe)
mc: kulig(ger)
mc: seger (swe)
mr: abily(fra)
fl: bajramaj(ger)
fc: panico(ita)
fr: necib(fra)
i love panico's play, all about exquisite flicks. playing against a solid english defence as a lone striker, she held her own, scored a goal and in my opinion, should have been the player of the match.
germany plays france on thursday, one of the three teams that can really hurt them, next to sweden and england, should england go through. i say england can hurt germany, even if you may think otherwise, based on their loss to italy, because they actually have a solid defence and midfield that can match germany's physically, and at the same time, they have kelly smith, capable of delivering that moment of magic.
it will be a stern test for germany, though not one that will decide the champions, because it is a group phase game after all. even if you lose and meet them again in the final, it doesn't mean you will lose again. not too much should be read into the result of the game.
the french's ability to retain the ball means the german defence will be tested more than in the norway game. and louisa necib and camilla abily are the players to watch.
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