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Euro 2012 participants Germany, Russia, Portugal, Spain & co. in friendly action
Denmark vs Brazil, Portugal vs Macedonia and Switzerland vs Germany highlight this week’s international friendly action involving UEFA Euro 2012 contenders.
Russia vs Uruguay
Euro 2012 participants Russia will lock horns with South American champions Uruguay in an international friendly on May 25.
Russia are actively preparing for the 2012 European Championship which will be their first major tournament since Euro 2008. They dramatically failed to reach the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.
The Russians are now willing to test their strength to the maximum ahead of this summer’s Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine. Before their game against Lithuania later this month, Russia will face Uruguay on May 25.
Germany Euro 2012 profile: Review of Germany National Team.
Germany are clear pre-tournament favourites. Why would they not be? Joachim Lowe has a strong squad at his disposal ahead of Euro 2012.
How Germany qualified for Euro 2012
It seemed all too smooth for the Germans who won all their 10 games with an average of 3.4 goals scored per game. In their first home qualifier, they trounced Azerbaijan 6-1 at the delight of the crowd. Klose, whose lone goal against Belgium made the difference on Matchday 1, clinched his second and third goals of the campaign.
Later, Germany hosted bitter Turkey in Berlin. In-form striker Miroslav Klose hit a brace and Mesut Ozil added a goal in between to round up Turkey’s 3-0 loss and silence the traveling fans. The German side made no error against Kazakhstan in the next two rounds of qualifiers as they beat them emphatically home and away.
Will Leverkusen be able to grab a Champions League berth in Germany?
Injuries to key players, suspensions and lack of form have seen three of the four title contenders in the Bundesliga drop points easily. Leverkusen has thus made up some ground on those sides.
Schalke lost to Bayern and Freiburg in succession while Leverkusen won two games in the same match-days, closing the gap between the two sides to a mere four points. Monchengladbach drew against Hamburg last week and lost 1-0 to Dieter Hecking’s Nuremberg this week.This week, one of the surprising score-lines in the Bundesliga was: Leverkusen 2-0 Bayern. Leverkusen had not managed to get the better of Bayern since August 28th in 2004 when they managed to win 4-1. Recent record suggested Leverkusen was in for another horrendous afternoon as Bayern had beaten Bayer 04 by a combined score-line of 8-1 over the last two meetings.
Germany vs France Preview
It’s been more than a decade since Germany and France last met at senior level. What will Wednesday’s international friendly match in Bremen produce?
Team news
The situation is somewhat disastrous for German coach Joachim Löw as he’ll be without 4 key players. Striker Lukas Podolski, midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger and defenders Philipp Lahm and Per Mertesacker won’t face France due to injury. In addition to these big blows, Löw has lost Sven Bender. The player suffered a terrible bruise to his face last weekend.
Meanwhile, Lars Bender and Mario Gomez may play the entire match as Sami Khedira and Miroslav Klose are doubtful. Monchengladbach’s Marco Reus, who will be under the spotlight, could be used as a right winger.
FIFA International Match Day Content on ESPN Platforms on Wednesday, Feb. 29
On Wednesday, Feb. 29, a FIFA international match day, ESPN platforms (ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPN Deportes) will combine to carry eight matches featuring 16 national teams and extensive studio news, information, highlights and analysis programming throughout the day.
Highlights include:
Italy vs.USA live on ESPN2 and ESPN3 beginning at 2:30 p.m. and matches with FIFA No. 1 team Spain and No. 2 Germany, both on ESPN3.
ESPN Deportes, the 24-hour Spanish-language sports network, will provide comprehensive coverage of the FIFA match day with a seven-hour block of live programming that includes two matches – Montenegro vs. Iceland at 11:55 a.m., and Spain vs. Venezuela at 3:30 p.m. – and one-hour editions of ESPN Futbol Center (11 a.m.) and Los Capitanes (2 p.m.).
UEFA Euro 2012 Group of Death: Germany with Portugal & Holland. Who’ll be doomed?
Portugal, Denmark and the Netherlands have their UEFA Euro 2012 hopes in danger as they’ve been drawn against hot favorites Germany in the Group of Death.
Before the UEFA Euro 2012 final draw, analysts tipped Spain or Germany to lead the eventual “group of death”. The caliber of Italy, Croatia and the Republic of Ireland cannot match the power of Portugal, Denmark and the Netherlands. It’s thus fair to brand Group B as the most difficult table ahead of Group C. Group A and Group D, however, look more even. Poland could try their luck and succeed in reaching the knockout stages as Greece, Russia and the Czech Republic fill the other positions.
Ukraine might have a tougher task since France and England are favorites to clinch Group D’s top two spots. Like in 2008, Sweden may suffer yet another disappointing campaign.
Electrifying UEFA Euro 2012 finals draw to take place on Friday, December 2
The UEFA Euro 2012 draw is on this Friday! The groups at the 2012 European Championship will finally be revealed to world football’s anxious public.
The event will kick-off at 6:00pm CET (12:00pm EST, 5:00pm GMT and 7:00pm Ukraine local time) at the Palace of Arts in Kyiv. The 16 participants will be separated in four groups (from A to D) of four teams. Initially, the finalists will be drawn in four seeding pots. Poland and Ukraine, along with Spain and the Netherlands have been tagged as top seeds.
What is already confirmed is that co-hosts Poland will compete in the tournament as A1 contenders in Group A while Ukraine will vie as D1 contenders in Group D. Here’s a look at the pots again according to the UEFA National Team Coefficient:
Euro 2012 seeding done as Spain, England, Portugal & France could be in one group
The anxiety ahead of the UEFA Euro 2012 finals draw in Kyiv on December 2 has fiercely hit new levels. The prospect of having Spain, England, Portugal and France placed in one group explains this.
Ukraine and Poland have been seeded due to their status as co-hosts. Spain and the Netherlands complete Pot 1. La Roja and the Oranje are currently superior to any other team in the competition in terms of coefficients.Pot 2 sees Germany, Italy, England and Russia lined up. The Germans boast of showcasing the best football in the world since the past 12 months, the Italians claim to have found their new talisman in the form of Italy’s “problem child” Mario Balotelli, the Three Lions are looking forward to life at Euro 2012 without Wayne Rooney and the Russians want to keep progressing in the world of football.
Germany vs Netherlands Report
Germany beat the Netherlands convincingly in Hamburg in an entertaining match.
Germany and the Netherlands both employed a 4-2-3-1 formation. Both teams had some big names missing. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Philipp Lahm did not feature for Germany while Robin Van Persie, Rafael Van der Vaart and Robin Van Persie were absent from the Dutch side. Miroslav Klose returned to the team and captained his side. Per Mertesacker started the match alongside Holger Badstuber and had a few problems early on but then settled into the match. Overall, the friendly was one which the Germans will remember. The football was very entertaining, especially from the trio of Klose, Thomas Müller and Mesut Özil.
Germany vs Netherlands Preview
Germany faces the Netherlands on Tuesday in Hamburg. Both sides will be looking to try out certain tactics and give some squad players a chance ahead of Euro 2012.
When Germany takes on the Netherlands, any thoughts of fair play usually go out the window. The Dutch are the biggest enemies of the Germans in international football. During the 2010 World Cup, when both Germany and the Netherlands qualified for the semi-final, there was much talk of a World Cup final between the two. Unfortunately, due to Spain, a final which would be a ‘grudge match’ didn’t take place.Thus, after a long time, this rivalry will be renewed in Germany. The fans have been awaiting this one. Changes have been made to both squads. Marco Reus, Miroslav Klose and Manuel Neuer returns for the Germans. Marcel Schmelzer has withdrawn from the squad due to injury.
Ukraine vs Germany Report
In an experimental match, Joachim Loew made many changes to his Germany side, introducing Mario Götze, Christian Träsch, Dennis Aogo and Ron-Robert Zieler.
Thus the Germany line-up looked unusual. The captain of the night was Mario Gomez for Germany. Ukraine came in with a plan to counter-attack and mostly executed good ones. Germany’s game as usual was based on possession. Unfortunately, due to the tendency of the back four to come forward, they were often caught out in the match.A bit of experience was injected into the team in the second half and Germany came out with a 3-3 draw in a game which was highly entertaining and which either side could have won. Germany had more chances to do so but Ukraine had the better chances to come out on top.
Ukraine vs Germany Preview
Germany takes on Ukraine in the first of two friendlies in the space of four days.
Joachim Loew had wished to try out a two striker system in one of the two friendlies. However, he might be unable to do so against Ukraine as one of his forwards, Miroslav Klose is out injured. He will seemingly recover in time to play the Dutch though. Another player who has been unable to feature for the national side regularly due to his knack of getting injured or falling ill right after a call-up is Marco Reus. Unsurprisingly, Reus has the flu. He confirmed that he will not take part in the friendly against Ukraine. He might return for the friendly against the Dutch.
Bayern and Germany captain Philipp Lahm has been given a break for Germany and will not feature in either of the friendlies. Manuel Neuer has been given a break for the match against Ukraine. Bastian Schweinsteiger is out of both friendlies due to the injury he picked in the Champions League against Napoli.
A Title Race Finally Seems to be on in Germany following weeks of Dominance by Bayern
The title race in the Bundesliga seems to have taken off as Hanover 96 pulled off a shocking victory over favourites FC Bayern München.
Play-acting isn’t a common incident in the Bundesliga. Also, a player from FC Bayern rarely sees red. Both these incidents saw Bayern lose for the first time since August. The match in itself was highly entertaining but will be remembered more for play-acting and two red cards.Dortmund to add spice to Bayern’s loss absolutely hammered Köln 5-0. Michael Rensing had a good day at the office- this should properly describe BVB’s dominance. BVB sits in second, three points behind Bayern.
I have a question for everyone- who is faster: Usain Bolt or Jefferson Farfan? The easy answer would be Usain Bolt but there is some doubt over that after Farfan’s sprint from his penalty area to the Leverkusen penalty arena at the Bay Arena. He scored an absolutely wonderful winner for his side to take Schalke to third place, four points behind leaders Bayern.
This Sunday in Germany Promises Plenty of Mouth Watering Action
Five teams are representing Germany in European Competition. This Sunday, four out of those five teams will be playing in what could be two brilliant games.
The Bundesliga is a close league if you avoid looking at the top spot at the moment. Bayern obviously leads the way with 22 points. Bayern is also well worth the lead considering just how well they have played. Barring one match against Hoffenheim, they have largely dominated every side in the Bundesliga. Even on match-day one, when they lost to ‘Gladbach, they dominated.In the Champions League, both Bayern and Leverkusen are flying Germany’s flag. Bayern tops their group on six points and came away with a point from Italy against Napoli- in truth, they should have come away with three and their wastefulness cost them two more points.
Leverkusen, after being dominated completely for forty minutes, decided to offer their opponents Valencia less respect and turned the game on its head with two great goals through Andre Schürrle and Sidney Sam. They won 2-1 and sit second in their group, a point behind leaders Chelsea. Schalke thrashed Larnaca in the Europa League, 0-5 while Hanover drew 2-2 against FC Copenhagen.
Germany vs Belgium Report
With a partly make-shift line-up, Germany beat Belgium 3-1 in what was mostly a one-sided contest.
Germany did not exactly produce a vintage performance. They gradually took control of the first half. Even when in control, they didn’t exactly look like breaking the deadlock. Mario Gomez missed two gorgeous chances. Fortunately, the Germans didn’t have to pay the price thanks to two great goals.As far as the line-up is concerned, Toni Kroos as predicted replaced the weary Bastian Schweinsteiger. Mats Hummels replaced Holger Badstuber while Benedikt Höwedes replaced another Bayern star, Jerome Boateng. Mesut Özil took over from the agile Mario Götze. Andre Schürrle came in for Lukas Podolski.
UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying: 10 things to know ahead of the last games
The UEFA Euro 2012 qualification stage has brought a lot of thrills, from Group A to Group I. In this article, we bring you interesting facts that have emerged, thus far.
1) As at now, Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar leads the goal scorers’ chart. The Schalke 04 forward has netted 11 goals for his country in 594 minutes - imposing himself over Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who is 2 goals behind, having played 89 minutes less.2) Sweden’s Kim Källström is presently the top assist maker. The left-footed midfielder has assisted 7 goals in 718 minutes, but he could lose his spot in no time - being followed by 4 players, including his country mate Sebastian Larsson, who all have 6 assists to their names.
3) AC Milan’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Schalke’s Huntelaar are hitherto the most accurate frontmen in the UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying, with 18 attempts on target each. Barcelona’s David Villa has also showed great energy, but his strikes have somewhat had less effects on goalies, with 17 attempts off target.
Germany vs Belgium Preview
Belgium plays Germany in Düsseldorf in a bid to take the play-off berth to qualify for Euro 2012.
Joachim Loew’s team will be seeking their tenth win in ten matches in Group A. Belgium must better Turkey’s result to qualify. At the moment, Belgium sits a point ahead of Turkey currently. However, the final day assignment for Turkey is a relatively easier one than that of Belgium. Turkey takes on Azerbaijan.Belgium has players in their squad who regularly play with or oppose the players in the German squad. Daniel Van Buyten of Bayern, Timmy Simmons of Nuremberg and Igor De Camargo of Mönchengladbach are the players I am referring to.
David Hubert and Jelle Vossen both had to withdraw due to illness and injury respectively when the squad was named initially. Gaby Mudingayi of Bologna had to be called up as a result.
Germany vs Belgium: Confident Germans eying perfection ahead of UEFA Euro 2012
Podolski and Neuer are eying another victory against second-placed Belgium on Tuesday as clinching the UEFA Euro 2012 trophy remains a must for the DFB Eleven.
Germany came second behind Spain at the 2008 European Championship and Podolski is now thinking about burying the past by achieving glory at the continental level in 2012. Speaking to Sport1, the striker was quoted as saying: “Our aim is to win the European Championship title next year, and we have the quality to do that. We really want to do it after coming so close in recent tournaments.”
On Tuesday, Germany will close their UEFA Euro 2012 qualification campaign with a match against Belgium at the LTU Arena in Dusseldorf. Even a cricket score line in favor of the Belgians won’t hurt the Germans’ position in Group A.
Germany - Even a Seemingly Perfect Side Has Problems
A flawless qualifying campaign and an almost flawless tournament performance in the World Cup in 2010 did little to underline the few flaws of Germany.
Looking across the midfield, Germany is the envy of almost every nation that has every played football competitively. Götze, Mueller, Schürrle, Podolski, Reus, Marin- the names of the Bundesliga stars simply roll of the tongue. They have the best keeper in the world in goal- Manuel Neuer. Added to that is Özil’s magic and the stability of Bastian Schweinsteiger. Even in defensive midfield, Germany has several options such as Toni Kroos, Sami Khedira, the Bender twins and the experienced Simon Rolfes. The striking department shows experience more than anything else with Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez trading spots.
Turkey vs Germany Report
Germany earned their ninth win in nine matches in Group A in the qualifiers for Euro 2012. The team is the favourite for many fans and journalists alike to claim the Henri Delaunay trophy.
Even the strongest of teams have their weaknesses. Even the teams which play with unbelievable flair must learn how to win ugly. However, bringing out the weaknesses and forcing the opposition to play ugly is one of the toughest things for an underdog. Turkey found this out last night. Germany had nothing to play for but went on to claim three points.Mesut Özil and Miroslav Klose played no part in the match. They both were out injured. So, instead Mario Götze and the free-scoring Mario Gomez stepped up and took the pitch by storm. Guus Hiddink can now only hope that the Germans have ambitions to beat Belgium to allow his side to sneak through into the play-offs.