Spain and France, arguably the most dominant teams in the tournament, met on Friday to determine the winner of the U19 European Championship.  Going into the final, the hosts (France) had been consistently impressive- beating the Netherlands (4-1) and Austria (5-0) in their first two matches and then Croatia 2-1 in the semifinals.  Only a draw with England in the group stage blemished their winning record.  Spain, who had failed to reach the knock-out stages of this tournament since winning it in 2007, were the only team left to have a 100% winning record.

And at the start of the match, Spain looked likely to hold on to that record for the entire tournament after Rodrigo (forward, Real Madrid) scored in the 18th minute.  Spain continued to dominate the first half – accumulating the best chances and the most possession.  But despite a plethora of opportunities, Spain weren’t able to increase their lead and allowed France to go into the 2nd half with only a single goal deficit.

And in the 2nd half, France made them pay…but only after surviving several close calls as Spain continued to dominate the opening minutes of the 2nd half.

Then, after almost conceding, France was able to equalize through goalkeeper Diallo’s (GK, Rennes) long kick forward to subsitute Tafer (forward, Lyon) who lifted the ball over the Spanish keeper.  The equalizer was arguably the turning point in the match- energizing the crowd and providing France with the momentum to in the final minutes of the match.  France’s Lacazette (forward, Lyon) scored the winning goal at the 85th minute. Despite a series of impressive performances in the tournament, Lacazette had been largely invisible in the finals game and the goal seemed to come from nowhere.  But, despite Lacazette’s impressive finishing- the hard work came from Gael Kakuta (midfield, Chelsea) whose run through the center of Spain’s defense was impossible for Alex (GK, Zaragoza) to defend.

With only a few minutes left, Spain were unable to find a second goal which had eluded them since early in the first half- leaving France to lift the trophy in the end!

The only question left is if these two countries can make it three in a row when they compete next year at the FIFA U20 World Cup.  In addition to this U19 final, these two teams also played each other in the U17 European Championship two years ago (which Spain won).  The two teams have consistently been comprised of the same players- 11 of the 22 starters in the finals match played in the U17 final two years ago.  Any bets on those players making another final appearances in the U20 tournament?

Tags: beats, Championship, Chelsea, Close Calls, Diallo, Dominant Teams, Equalizer, European, Finals, France, Gael Kakuta, Gk, Group Stage, Impressive Performances, Knock Out, Lyon, Match France, Midfield, Momentum, Plethora, Possession, Real Madrid, Rodrigo, Spain, Turning Point, U19 European Championship

Spain celebrating their win over Portugal…

Spain became the first team to qualify for the semifinals on Day 2 of the U19 European Championships Group Stage.  Spain’s second consecutive win means they will feature in the semifinals for the first time since they won the tournament in 2007.  Meanwhile, Italy failed to score in their second consecutive game, Croatia failed to take advantage of an extra man against Italy, France continues their scoring streak with five more goals against Austria and Netherlands rebounded from their game 1 loss by beating England (making Group A very interesting going into Day 3).

SPAIN 2 – 1 PORTUGAL

In a rematch of the World Cup round of 16 between the two neighbors on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain once again emerged victorious.  The Portugese team was confident going into the match having beaten Spain 1-0 in the qualifying round, but couldn’t best the two goals scored by Daniel Pacheco (Liverpool).  Pacheco’s second goal, which was scored in the final minutes of overtime, was the reward of a game largely dominated by Spain not only by possession but by quality of chances as well.  Portugal can thank their goalkeeper, Tiago Maia, for keeping them in the game as he denied several promising shots by Spain in the opening minutes of the match.

CROATIA 0 – 0 ITALY

The losers of both Group B matches from Day 1 faced each other, with both sides appearing desperate for a win.  In the opening moments, Croatia looked to be leaving Italy in the dust as they got themselves into several dangerous positions- particuarly a freekick from Ozobić and a shot Vukušić that just barely sailed over the goal.  But, in typical Italian fashion, Italy managed to absorb the Croatian attack and slowly inched their way back into the match, despite being a man down for the last 30 minutes of normal time once left back Michelangelo Albertazzi received two yellow cards in less than 2 minutes.  The top goal scorer from qualifying, Destro, managed to force a few saves from the Croatian keeper but ultimately neither team were rewarded for their diligence and entertaining performances.

ENGLAND 0 – 1 NETHERLANDS

After losing 4-1 to France on Day 1 (including conceding an own goal), the Netherlands team definitely had something to prove in this game.  The England team being from England almost always have something to prove- especially after some harsh criticism in the press on their first game against Austria.  Given the pressure on both teams, the stage was set for an entertaining game- and though the Netherlands dominated most periods of the game, the score line is an accurate reflection of how the game felt to watch.  Throughout the game, England managed to carve out a few good opportunities, but didn’t manage to become dangerous.  While the Netherlands only had 4 attempts on goal, England didn’t manage a single shot on goal except a goal that was a ruled to be a result of a handball, voiding the equalizer.  Both England and Netherlands have the opportunity to advance – though the Netherlands will be facing almost certainly eliminated Austria while England face the group’s top side (and tournament host), France.

FRANCE 5 – 0 AUSTRIA

Two doubles by Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad) and Alexandre Lacazette (Lyon) and a single effort by Enzo Reale (Lyon) helped to continue the winning streak France established in their Day 1 game against the Netherlands.  In the first two qualifying games, France have score 9 goals- which is 2 goals more than the sum of goals scored by their Group A competitors combined (NED=2,ENG=3,AUT=2).  So while France seem to be thriving in front of a home crowd, it remains to be seen if they can sustain both the motivation and these types of performances for the rest of the competition.  Fortunately, the U19 tournament is much shorter than senior tournaments and thus the fear of “peaking too soon” is much less dangerous.  Fans of France will be happy to know that the goal scorers in this game weren’t the only bright spots-both Mavinga (formerly PSG,now Liverpool) and Gael Kakuta (Chelsea) were also a pleasure to watch…

I also recommend checking out The Offside-Ligue 1 Prospect blog for reactions and reviews of games!

Tags: 30 Minutes, Being A Man, Championship, Consecutive Game, European, Extra Man, Fashion Italy, Freekick, Game 1, Group Stage, Iberian Peninsula, Italian Fashion, Italy France, Liverpool, Losers, Maia, Michelangelo, Neighbors, Overtime, Pacheco, World Cup, Wrapup, Yellow Cards

U19 Tournament hosts France celebrate after demolishing the Netherlands 4-1

CROATIA 1 – 2 SPAIN

Debutants Croatia were unable to overcome 4-time Champions, Spain, in the their first game of the of the competition despite taking the lead before half-time (42′).  The Croatian goal came as a bit of a surprise since the Spanish side had been dominating possession (shocking!)- but the Croatian were abel to break through with a long range effort from Andrijašević.  However, thats all Spain needed to rally and come from behind to score twice in the second half.  Thiago Alcántara brought Spain level in the 53′ and Rodri, the second best goal-scorer in qualification that is playing in this tournament scored the second goal in the 64′ to collect all three points.  Spanish fans will be relieved to see that Spain were able to battle back after being down a goal since the team has failed to qualify out of the group stage since they won the tournament in 2007.  It will be interesting to see how Croatia fare in their second group game against Italy, especially how the defeat affects the team morale.  Croatia have yet to prove in qualification that they can bounce back from a loss due to their 100% qualification record.  

ITALY 0 – 2 PORTUGAL

The match, which was a a repeat of the 2003 finals of this tournament, resulted in a win for the opposite team as Portugal took a 2-0 league within 12 minutes in the second half.  Portugal’s goal scorers, Nélson Oliveira and Sérgio Oliveira, were both the result of clinical finishing from open play and a free-kick.  The top goal scorer in the tournament, Italy’s Destro, came close several times – including several times in the opening minutes of the match.  But despite Italy’s bright start, they were unable to capitalize on their opportunities and now sit at the bottom of the group with Croatia who were beaten by Spain.  Despite the loss, Italy’s perserverance in the last moments of the match were admirable as they were reduced to NINE men after right back Alessandro Crescenzi was carried off and Marco D’Alessandro was shown a red card.

AUSTRIA 2 – 3 ENGLAND

After going two goals ahead, England appeared to be on their way to an easy victory.  In the end, England kept their poise and managed to keep their lead against a determined Austrian side.  England first pulled ahead by a double from Frank Nouble who was able to take advantage of successive defensive errors by Austria inside the first 30 minutes.  Austria tried to rally back in the second half, and came close in the second half after twice reducing the deficit to the single goal.  But ultimately, England were able to hold on to their lead and will hope to make it 2-0 when they meet the Netherlands later this week.  Austria will have to beat hosts, France, to have a chance of progressing to the semi-finals.

FRANCE 4 -1 NETHERLANDS

While the France national team definitely kept the world entertained with their off-field antics this summer, the youth squad managed to restrict their entertaining performances to the field with an emphatic 4-1 victory over the Netherlands in front of a home crowd.  The squad of Bleuets have a history of success- with the bulk of this team having made it to the finals of the U17 championship two years ago.  Gael Kakuta, the player whose transfer was responsible for Chelsea being heavily fined and suspended for transfers, struck first with Cédric Bakambu scoring two in front of the new manager of the senior Bleus team, Laurent Blanc.  The Netherlands managed to score one when they were only down two goals to make it 2-1…but they were unable to capitalize on the momentum and succumbed to an own-goal to help solidify France’s win.

Tags: Abel, Best Goal, Championships, Debutants, Destro, European, First Game, Free Kick, Goal Scorers, Group Game, Group Stage, Perse, Rodri, Second Group, Second Half, Several Times, Spanish Fans, Spanish Side, Taking The Lead, Team Morale, Time Champions, Top Goal Scorer, Wrapup

A lot of big name players who failed to impress in South Africa. Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Franck Ribery, and so on. With Leo Messi I’m not so sure. On one hand, little Lionel looked like Barça Lionel when he terrorized the Nigerian, South Korean, Greek and also Mexican defences. He created multiple chances for teammates and drew endless saves from opposition goalkeepers. On the other hand, Messi failed to score at all in World Cup 2010, and looked incapable of penetrating Germany’s defence in the 4-0 quarterfinal defeat. See above picture for a possible reason why.

Personally, I’m inclined to give Messi a pass. He was desperately unlucky not to score at least once in the group stage, and who says scoring is the only measure of success anyway? It’s worth remembering that Messi’s not actually a striker. He’s not a Michael Owen type player, who you can more or less judge on number of goals scored. He’s a dribbler and creator, and at World Cup 2010 Messi did plenty of dribbling and creating, and was plenty exciting to watch while doing so.

If we are to argue that Messi did disappoint at World Cup 2010, we’d have to make the case based on the fact that he could only dribble and create his way as far as the quarterfinal stage, and not all the way to trophy lifting glory as Diego Maradona did in 1986. As the currently anointed best player in the world, and surrounded by plenty of complimentary talent, one could maybe say that dribbling through second those Nigerian, South Korean and Greek defences in the group stage was too easy, and that Messi actually failed to perform and inspire when faced with serious opposition in quarterfinal vs Germany.

That’s the case against, though personally I enjoyed many of Messi’s moments at World Cup 2010, and so can’t claim to be too disappointed. What do you say? Were you disappointed with Leo Messi at World Cup 2010?

Tags: 2010, Best Player, Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Maradona, Disappoint, Dribble, Dribbler, Franck Ribery, Goalkeepers, Group Stage, Leo Messi, Lionel, Measure Of Success, Messi, Michael Owen, Quarterfinal Stage, Ronaldo, Soundoff, South Korean, Striker, T Claim, Teammates, Wayne Rooney, World, World Cup 2010

Many people say that this is a football-mad world, especially with the FIFA World Cup, that’s about to go in South Africa. The World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world. Britain Joins Group C with Slovenia, Algeria and the United States.

The winners of the FIFA World Cup are awarded the golden World Cup trophy. Since this event began in 1930, the two trophies symbolizing triumph. From 1930-1970, the Jules Rimet trophy, and from 1974 until today, the FIFA World Cup Trophy. In 1974 was the first place trophy was first used.

It was during the meetings of the fifth conference, a celebration of early events was assigned to countries. It was between June 11, 2010 and July 11, 2010, 2010, in the extravaganza planned for South Africa. As the toughest domestic rivals battled on the worlds biggest stage, there was much emotion and passion, with 199 national teams for qualifying, stadiums each eligible region and all 10 official stadiums in South Africa are to be used.

The only place that once hosted two FIFA World Cup in Mexico City’s Aztec Stadium.
Italy, France, Germany and Mexico have twice hosted the cup and Brazil became the fifth country to do so. Carry the dreams and aspirations of a nation in competition pitted against supporters of the rival countries, from the group stage and the knockout rounds for the chance to be crowned FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa.

In the final, South Korea is a staple, and they will go straight to a seventh and eighth overall appearance. Former South Korean midfielder Huh Jung-moo, is their boss. The last time England won a title was on 20.03.1966 and they will try to end that drought. Four months before the 1966 World Cup in England, there was an exhibition at Westminster Central Hall, and funny enough, the trophy was stolen.

United States is in Group C with Slovenia, Algeria and England.

For those not lucky enough to travel to South Africa to look at the events, there is another set of choices for all to see action, every penalty, every mistake, every step every objective. There will be a few channels that the World Cup coverage will be seen on TV. There will be a first for the FIFA World Cup, the experience some of the games will be recorded and displayed in 3D to improve.

In South Africa this time, the star that shines the most? are

Tags: 2010, Eligible Region, Extravaganza, Fifa World Cup, Fifa World Cup Trophy, Group Stage, Italy France, Jules Rimet Trophy, Mad World, Mexico City, Midfielder, Place Trophy, Rival Countries, Soccer, South Korea, South Korean, Stadiums, Time England, Westminster Central Hall, World, World Cup 2010, world cup soccer, World Cup Trophy

Just a few short days before history is made, tickets are still available for some games and queues are forming for 38,000 hospitality package tickets that were returned unsold on Monday and went on sale to the general public.

The tickets range in price from R1400 (£125) to R2100 (£190) and include free drinks. Tickets are available for the group stage, round of 16 and quarter-finals, but tickets for the the opening game, semi-finals and final are all sold.

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Tags: £12, drinks, free, Free Drinks, Free Tickets, Game, Games, Group Stage, Hospitality Package, More, Quarter Finals, Queues, sale, Semi Finals, Some, Tickets