Manchester United’s 3-2 victory over Southampton today was thrilling, but also troubling for United fans. New acquisition Robin van Persie showed his brilliance with a hat trick–including two goals in the last five minutes of the match–to give the Red Devils the three points. But on the whole United looked flat, creating few scoring chancesContinue reading “Manchester United: Exciting But Inconsistent”
Tag Archives: soccer
The U.S. Wins a Thriller Against Canada
If you weren’t watching the Olympic Women’s Soccer semifinal between the U.S. and Canada this afternoon, you suck. It was one of the most thrilling, well-played soccer matches I have seen in my twenty-plus years as a fan. Both teams played their guts out, with the U.S. scoring the winning goal in the 123rd minuteContinue reading “The U.S. Wins a Thriller Against Canada”
Euro 2012: Spain Champions Again
Spain made history today with their 4-0 victory over Italy in the Euro 2012 final, becoming the first team to ever win three major championships in a row. Spain also became the first team to win two Euros in a row, and these two victories, along with their 2010 World Cup championship, make them theContinue reading “Euro 2012: Spain Champions Again”
Euro 2012 Final: Middling Spain vs. Surprising Italy
Italy convincingly beat Germany 2-1 today to set up a match against Spain in the Euro 2012 final. Italy played their best match of the tournament despite a shaky game from goalkeeper Gigi Buffon, with Mario Balotelli scoring two fantastic goals in the first half. The Italians have played inconsistently in the tournament (their onlyContinue reading “Euro 2012 Final: Middling Spain vs. Surprising Italy”
Euro 2012: England Lose on Penalties Again
The Euro 2012 quarterfinals concluded today with England and Italy drawing 0-0 after extra time and the Italians progressing to the semifinals 4-2 on penalties. It was the first 0-0 match of the tournament even though both sides had some very good scoring chances in the first half and the game was an exciting oneContinue reading “Euro 2012: England Lose on Penalties Again”
Euro 2012 Quarterfinals Preview
The first round of Euro 2012 ended today with England beating Ukraine 1-0 and France losing to Sweden 2-0. England thus advance to the quarterfinals as the winners of Group D with France in second. The English victory was a stereotypically English display–defend, defend, defend, and score on a set piece. Wayne Rooney had a goodContinue reading “Euro 2012 Quarterfinals Preview”
Euro 2012: The Somewhat Surprising “Group of Death”
Euro 2012’s Group B, the “Group of Death,” concluded today with Portugal and Germany notching 2-1 victories against Holland and Denmark, respectively. Germany very impressively took the full nine points to win the group and Portugal finished second with six, with their only loss 1-0 to the Germans. Portugal have looked better every match theyContinue reading “Euro 2012: The Somewhat Surprising “Group of Death””
Euro 2012: Group A Craziness
Euro 2012’s Group A ended today in surprising, fairly exciting fashion. The Czech Republic beat Poland 1-0 and Greece did the same to Russia, so the Czechs won the group with six points and Greece finished second with four points because their victory today gave them the tiebreaker over Russia, who also ended with four points.Continue reading “Euro 2012: Group A Craziness”
Euro 2012: The Situation After The Penultimate Group Matches
With only one set of first-round matches left, Euro 2012 is shaping up as a very exciting tournament. Only two teams, Ireland (who I picked to get to the second round, oops!) and Sweden, have been eliminated, and no team has guaranteed a berth in the quarterfinals, which means that all eight final group gamesContinue reading “Euro 2012: The Situation After The Penultimate Group Matches”
Euro 2012: The First Round of Matches
All 16 teams have now played one match at Euro 2012, and it has been a rather entertaining tournament thus far. Here are some thoughts on each of the groups: Group A Poland were lucky to escape with a draw against Greece in a crazy match that saw both sides reduced to ten men andContinue reading “Euro 2012: The First Round of Matches”
Daniel Shank Cruz 