Germany vs Italy : Match starts at 2:45AM GMT(+8:00)

WARSAW: Italy coach Cesare Prandelli will be looking for his side to extend their proud record of never losing to Germany in a major finals when they meet in Thursday’s Euro 2012 semi-final in Warsaw. Germany – who are seeking their first trophy since lifting the Euro ‘96 title – will be by contrast hoping to end that run in what is their eighth meeting at either a World Cup or a European championship finals. “There is no such thing as an invincible side,” said Prandelli. “Germany has that sense of knowing what they need to do. “They are also physically strong and have players who have tasted international success at club level, so they are a side with the ingredients to go all the way. “But we will study them closely and work on the few weak points they have.”

Italy needed a penalty shoot-out to beat England 4-2 in Sunday’s quarter-final in Kiev with the Azzurri failing to hit the net in normal play despite 68 percent ball possession and 35 shots compared to England’s nine. Prandelli has said the Italians will have to be daring in order to beat Germany, who are on a 15-match winning run in competitive matches since losing to Spain at the last World Cup. Germany’s forwards shone in Friday’s 4-2 quarter-final win over Greece and Prandelli is mindful of the risk of pushing too far forward against a German side with the pace to punish on the counter-attack. Manchester City’s Mario Balotelli is one player the Germans have admitted they will pay close attention to after he spearheaded an Italian attack which had periods of impressive form against the Three Lions.

With only a three-day turn-around between the quarter and semi, Prandelli has injury concerns over midfielder Daniele De Rossi and right-back Ignazio Abate, while Italy’s other right-back Christian Maggio is suspended. Aside from a 1-1 draw in a friendly in February 2011, the last time the teams met in competition was the 2006 World Cup semi-final when the Italians won 2-0 after extra time as they went on to win the title. But Germany coach Joachim Loew was defiant when asked about the lack of German success against the Azzurri over the years. “We can’t turn back time, forget about about it, the past doesn’t play a role in our planning,” said the 52-year-old. “Another stat is that Germany has never won against Italy in a major tournament, but so what? “The situation is entirely different now and this is not an issue for us.”

But Italian playmaker Andrea Pirlo believes the Germans are running scared and the 33-year-old believes that history will give Italy the edge. “Germany are definitely scared of us, they know we can create difficulties for them given what’s happened in the past and they will have to be careful to avoid a repeat of what happened in 2006,” said the Juventus midfielder. Loew has developed a habit for pulling surprises at this tournament highlighted by changing three of Germany’s six-man attack against Greece in axing striker Mario Gomez, plus forwards Lukas Podolski and Thomas Mueller. It means competition is fierce for places in the starting line-up and Borussia Dortmund-bound Marco Reus looked sharp against the Greeks on his tournament debut before scoring Germany’s fourth goal. Loew has only concerns over pivotal midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger who is still feeling the effects of tearing ankle ligaments in February, but the 27-year-old took full part in training this week. Having won the so-called “Group of Death” by beating Holland, Portugal and Denmark en route to the knock-out phase, the Germans have made no secret of their desire to lift the Henri Delaunay Cup. “We knew before the tournament that we have a strong team,” said Real Madrid star Mesut Ozil. “If we play as we know we can, I am convinced we will beat Italy.” afp

Can Anyone Beats Spain?

 Can anyone stop Spain? After winning the UEFA Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, Spain looks poised to win their third straight major international tournament and cement the place in history as the greatest national team of all-time.
Spain has been playing in their typical Spanish style; steady as a rock. Aside from a 4-0 thrashing they dished out to a weak Irish squad, Spain has muddied along with a 1-1 tie against Italy and a 1-0 win against Croatia before defeating France 2-0 in the quarterfinals.
Meeting Spain in the semifinals is Portugal. After slipping 0-1 to Germany in their opening match; Portugal has been a runaway freight train. The Portuguese squad has won three straight, including wins over Denmark (3-2) and Netherlands (2-1) in the group stage and Czech Republic (1-0) in the quarterfinals.
Spain will be the clear cut favorite in the semifinals. As defending Euro and World Cup champs, they have earned the right to be called "world's best" until they can be defeated. But one can't help but think that perhaps now is Portugal's time. After many disappointing performances in recent major tournaments, this might be their time to breakthrough and make their mark on the world stage.
Here is the information you need to know for the first semifinal match between Spain and Portugal:

Event: UEFA Euro 2012 Semifinals
Stadium: Donbass Arena - Donetsk, Ukraine
Date: Wednesday, June 28
Time: 2:45 AM GMT(+8:00)
Teams: Spanish National Team vs. Portuguese National Team
Winner: Advances to the finals to face the winner of the Germany-Italy semifinal match




Semifinal 2 - Germany vs. Italy
Germany is on a roll. After dominating the group stage with impressive wins over Portugal (1-0), Netherlands (2-1) and Denmark (2-1), the Germans took their play to a whole other level by crushing a feisty Greece squad 4-2 in the quarterfinal round.
Waiting Germany in the semifinal round is Italy. The Italians have had a tougher time making it this far in the tournament. Italy tied both Spain and Croatia with 1-1 scores and beat a hapless Irish team 2-0 to advance to the knockout stage. In their quarterfinal against England, Italy played well but needed to come from behind in PKs to advance onward.
Germany will be the clear favorite in this match, but Italy will be tricky. Expect the Italians to sit back and play a ball-controlling style to counter the impressive team speed of Germany. Even if Italy plays well, it is hard to imagine anything but a Germany - Spain final.
Here is the information you need to know for the second semifinal match between Germany and Italy:
Event: UEFA Euro 2012 Semifinals
Stadium: National Stadium - Warsaw, Poland
Date: Thursday, June 29
Time: 2:45 AM GMT(+8:00)
Teams: German National Team vs. Italian National Team
Winner: Advances to the finals to face the winner of the Spain-Portugal semifinal match

Germany vs. Greece

GDANSK, Poland -- Germany's most prominent fan will be in the stands for the quarterfinal against Greece at the European Championship.

Chancellor Angela Merkel, however, wins no popularity contests among the Greek contingent. So the political dimension of Friday's game only heightens what is already an intriguing match in strictly soccer terms.Germany is a three-time champion. Greece is the surprise winner of the 2004, and the Greeks are still standing again, with an unexpected place in the knockout stages.

It was always our main aim to reach the quarterfinals. So now we have nothing to lose," said defender Kyriakos Papadopoulos, one of the many Greece players with Bundesliga experience. "We are playing against one of the best teams here. All I can say is that we'll fight. If we get the win, that would be a huge result."

Greece has plenty of reason to be thankful to Germany - the 2004 championship team was coached by a German, Otto Rehhagel.

German and Greek officials are trying to play down the politics. Germany, Europe's biggest economy, has been a major contributor to international bailouts for Greece and was instrumental in demanding structural reforms and hugely unpopular spending cuts in return. Greek fans are unlikely to take kindly to Merkel's presence at Gdansk Arena.

"We are playing for our shirt, our flag and for the people back home," midfielder Costas Katsouranis said.

Added Greek forward Dimitris Salpigidis: "I don't think anyone on the team believes this will be our last game at this tournament. People have so many problems in their everyday lives. We're really hoping that we can put a smile on their face."

Gdansk also was also the scene of the first battle of World War II, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland. A German soccer federation delegation laid a wreath Wednesday at a memorial for Poles at the Westerplatte peninsula on the outskirts of the Baltic city.

Germany has two Poland-born players in its squad, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, and Polish fans could throw their support behind the Germans. By winning its group, Germany got to stay in Gdansk and was spared having to travel.

Merkel attended Germany's 4-0 rout of Argentina at the 2010 World Cup and saw Germany beat Turkey in Berlin in the most important Euro 2012 qualifier for her team. She has visited the German locker room and briefly spent time with the team in Gdansk before the tournament.

"She seems to bring us luck," midfielder Sami Khedira said.

Germany is the only team to have won all three group games and goes into the quarterfinal as the overwhelming favorite. But the Germans understand the ability of the Greeks."They are a very good team, underestimated by many.

They create few chances but score from them. Technically, they are strong and play well one-on-one," Khedira said.

"It will be tough to crack their defense, but we have the means. We have to be patient, but we also have to be constantly on the move. They will try to disrupt our game and beat us, but they will not succeed."

Added midfielder Thomas Mueller: "We know what we have to do, but it's not going to be a piece of cake."

Greece will be missing playmaker and captain Giorgos Karagounis because of suspension.

There is speculation Germany coach Joachim Loew will return Klose to the starting lineup, although Mario Gomez scored three goals that won matches against Portugal and the Netherlands. Klose, a 34-year-old striker, scored the last time these teams played each other, a World Cup qualifier in 2001.

Six Greece players have either played or still play in the Bundesliga.

Greece has five defeats and three draws in the eight games it has played Germany or the former West Germany."We are not too bothered about statistics. ...

That doesn't really matter," Salpigidis said.

source: newsobserver.com/2012/06/21/2151638/politics-meets-soccer-in-germany.html

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UEFA EURO2012 Quarter Final Match Schedule

The UEFA European Football Championship together with Euro 2012 consists of three stages --  the qualifying group stage, the play-off and the 16-team final tournament (Poland and Ukraine from 8^th of June to 1^st of July 2012.

Fist Match will be Czech Republic vs. Portugal.

Date: June 22, 2012 

Time: 2:45 AM GMT + 8:00

Place: National Stadium Warsaw, Warsaw (POL)

Referee: Howard Webb

Below is the Fixture for Euro 2012 Quarter – finals Schedule (GMT + 8:00), provided with match date and also the stadium and city name.

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Shevchenko wants to play 1 last Ukraine match

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — France was outplayed, outfought and outscored, and that was against a team with nothing to play for.

With world champion Spain now waiting in the quarterfinals of the European Championship, things better improve quickly for the French to stand a chance of going any further. France limped into the knockout round of Euro 2012 despite a 2-0 loss to Sweden in their final group game, showing just how much the team still needs to improve to be true contenders in the tournament. The French finished second in Group D after England beat Ukraine 1-0, and will face Spain on Saturday in the quarterfinals.

"You have to be optimistic to think that we can beat Spain, but it's hard right now to imagine that we can. We have to do better on Saturday," France coach Laurent Blanc said. "We wanted to finish top of the group but couldn't manage it, so we have to deal with that."

France's 23-game unbeaten streak came to a crashing end as the already-eliminated Swedes exposed frailties in the back four and neutralized the dual attacking threat of Karim Benzema and Franck Ribery.

The Swedes dominated proceedings for much of the game and Zlatan Ibrahimovic broke the deadlock with a piece of artistry in the 54th minute, sending a spectacular volley past helpless goalkeeper Hugo Lloris. Sweden had plenty of chances to add a second before Sebastian Larsson finally did in injury time to secure the team's first points of the tournament.

"We really wanted to win this game for the fans, their support has been fantastic," Ibrahimovic said. "We wanted to finish this strongly for them." Perhaps France can still do the same, but the team has big problems to solve in both defense and attack.

"We were too average in too many areas to hope to win this match," Blanc said. "The Swedish team played with all their hearts, they were better prepared than us. They had a player in their ranks (Ibrahimovic) who made the difference. If you analyze the game, we were in trouble for most of it.

"We're very disappointed with how we played. The main thing is that we've qualified." England finished with seven points, while France had four and Ukraine and Sweden bowed out with three each. France looked lackluster throughout much of the game and lacked clinical finishing when it did threaten the Swedish goal.

Substitute Jeremy Menez had France's best chance to equalize when he broke into the area in the 81st minute but his low shot was stopped by goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson's leg. From the resulting corner, Olivier Giroud headed just wide.

Benzema was largely ineffective again and remained scoreless at the tournament. Ribery had France's best chance in the first half when the ball fell to him on the left edge of the area but his shot was parried by Isaksson.

Instead, it was Ibrahimovic who stole the show with another spectacular goal to add to his resume. The tall AC Milan striker met Larsson's cross from the left and put himself nearly sideways in the air before striking the ball perfectly past Lloris.

"It was a perfect cross from Seb," Ibrahimovic said. "The whole team played a fantastic game today." Lloris then single-handedly kept France in the game over the next few minutes as Sweden kept pressing, making point-blank saves to deny Christian Wilhelmsson and Olof Mellberg.

Larsson finally added the second by emphatically volleying a rebound into an empty net, giving the large contingent of Swedish fans a reason to celebrate. "It's mixed emotions right now," Sweden coach Erik Hamren said. "We should be happy with the victory and the performance. ... But at the same time, there's a sense of sadness in us all because we would have wanted to stick around a bit longer."

Lineups:

Sweden: Andreas Isaksson, Andreas Granqvist, Olof Mellberg, Jonas Olsson, Martin Olsson, Anders Svensson (Samuel Holmen, 79), Kim Kallstrom, Sebastian Larsson, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Emir Bajrami (Christian Wilhelmsson, 46), Ola Toivonen (Pontus Wernbloom, 78).

France: Hugo Lloris, Mathieu Debuchy, Gael Clichy, Philippe Mexes, Adil Rami, Yann M'Vila (Olivier Giroud, 83), Alou Diarra, Hatem Ben Arfa (Florent Malouda, 59), Franck Ribery, Samir Nasri (Jeremy Menez, 77), Karim Benzema.

SOURCE: mail.com/int/sports/soccer/1373496-france-reaches-euro-2012-quarters-despite-2-0-loss.html#.1258-stage-set1-1

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Italy advances to last 8 with 2-0 win over Ireland

POZNAN, Poland (AP) — Blowing kisses to the crowd with a joyous grin on his face, it was a different Antonio Cassano who walked off the pitch this time.

Cassano, who wept uncontrollably after Italy was eliminated from the 2004 European Championship, scored the decisive goal Monday when Italy beat Ireland 2-0 Monday to reach the Euro 2012 quarterfinals.

"We Italians are used to suffering, but we always give our best," said Cassano, who nearly lost his life with stroke-like symptoms seven months ago and then required minor heart surgery. "The victory was something we struggled for but the most important thing was to get through the group."

With Italy needing a win to stand a chance of advancing, Cassano scored the first goal. He headed in with his back to the goal by the near post following a corner kick in the 35th minute on a warm and muggy night at the Municipal Stadium.

Substitute Mario Balotelli doubled the lead in the 90th, a minute after Ireland was reduced to 10 men when Keith Andrews picked up his second yellow card. Still, Italy had to wait a few moments after the final whistle to celebrate, before receiving word that Spain beat Croatia 1-0 in the other Group C match.

The victory ended a five-match winless streak for Italy, which began the tournament with 1-1 draws against Spain and Croatia following three friendly losses. "I couldn't wait for them to blow the whistle in the other game and for it to finish," Cassano said.

Italy had been worried about a 2-2 draw between Spain and Croatia, which would have eliminated the Azzurri no matter if they beat Ireland. That's exactly what happened at Euro 2004, when Italy beat Bulgaria in its final group match thanks to Cassano's winning goal. But Italy was sent home when Denmark and Sweden finished 2-2.

He cried that night, but eight years later he helped send Italy to the next round despite concerns that he might not even make the squad. In October, Cassano fell ill with stroke-like symptoms on AC Milan's team plane. He was out for five months and has said repeatedly that he thought he might never recover.

Cassano was also left out of the Azzurri's last two World Cup squads by former coach Marcello Lippi, who worried about Cassano's temper. There's never been any question over Cassano's talent, though. Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given got his hand to Cassano's header, but couldn't prevent it from going in.

Balotelli's goal was a work of art, with the 21-year-old striker acrobatically wrapping his shot around defender John O'Shea in mid-air, as he met a corner kick from Alessandro Diamanti. Having started Italy's opening two matches, Balotelli replaced Antonio Di Natale in the 74th.

Italy will meet the Group D winner Sunday in Kiev, Ukraine — with France, England and co-host Ukraine among the possible opponents. "No difference to us (who we play). We have already played Spain, who are reigning world and European champions," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "If we play well, we can take on anyone."

Spain won the group with seven points, Italy finished second with five, Croatia was next with four and Ireland — which was already eliminated — exited its first major tournament in 10 years with none.

"We played well tonight, but without creating too many chances either," Ireland forward Robbie Keane said. "We're disappointed not to get anything out of the group, but we've been beaten by better teams."

Italy controlled the match for long stretches, but Ireland — managed by former Azzurri coach Giovanni Trapattoni — threatened often with counterattacks. Andrews had been Ireland's most dangerous player.

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon did well to control a bouncing effort from Andrews on the hour mark and the midfielder came even closer with a free kick that Buffon stopped with a diving save in the 79th.

"We had to suffer a lot in this game — perhaps more than in the first two," Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi said. "We weren't afraid of them equalizing but they hit the long ball and all you need is one piece of good fortune."

With the temperature hovering at 30 C (86 F), half the stadium was filled with green-clad Irish fans — even with their team already assured of going home — while there was only a small pocket of Italian supporters.

Ireland wore black armbands to commemorate the 18th anniversary of shootings in Northern Ireland that killed six people.

Lineups:

Italy: Gianluigi Buffon, Ignazio Abate, Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini (Leonardo Bonucci, 57), Federico Balzaretti, Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio, Thiago Motta, Daniele De Rossi, Antonio Di Natale (Mario Balotelli, 74), Antonio Cassano (Alessandro Diamanti, 62).

Ireland: Shay Given, Sean St. Ledger, Stephen Ward, John O'Shea, Richard Dunne, Glenn Whelan, Aiden McGeady (Shane Long, 65), Keith Andrews, Damien Duff, Kevin Doyle (Jon Walters, 76), Robbie Keane (Simon Cox, 86).

article source: mail.com/int/sports/soccer/1371110-italy-advances-to-8-with-2-0-win-ireland.html#.1258-stage-set1-3

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UEFA EURO 2012 | ITALY VS. IRELAND WHO WILL ADVANCE?

UEFA EURO 2012 | ITALY VS. IRELAND WHO WILL ADVANCE? Match starts at 2:45 AM GMT +8:00

Ireland’s 7 losses against Italy are enough to fuel the Irish fire and reclaim their lost honour and glory. Drawing inspiration from Jack Charlton, Ireland is set to grab victory. As a matter of fact, Ireland got the upper-hand during their last three (3) matches. These wins foretell that Ireland shall not be kind to Italy during its EURO matchup this June 19.

Meanwhile, Italy’s Azurri is serious in taking the crown back. The Italian squad is hungry for yet another title. It has been years since they won the EURO Championship title in 1968 and after making two (2) semi-final appearances, Italy would never let Ireland get into their way.

Will Italy make it to the finals or will Ireland put a stop into Italy’s quest for victory?

THE NUMBERS

• Total previous matches: 6
• Italy – 7 Wins
• Republic of Ireland – 2 Wins
• 2 Draw
• Previous EURO Head to Head Matches
• None

Italy must tackle three points in their final Group C match cons of Ireland. Series or lose, Gli Azzurri have to return home. In fact, any win, Italy may not be able to qualify for the quarter-finals. Italy has always followed the Euro or World Cup event since 1992, they have never been absent until now. While Ireland's Euro 2012 is the first event they qualify for the EURO group stage since making his debut in 1988. In 1988, Ireland had beaten England, but they did not qualify from group stage after a series against the Soviet Union and the defeat of the Netherlands.

Italy's record of 11 so far is 7x Irish victory, 2x serial, and 2x less.

Of the six official matches of both teams, Italy won 3 games, 2x serial, 1x and losing.

This is the first time for Ireland's success to the group stage since making his debut at EURO 1988. In 1988, Ireland had beaten England, but they did not qualify from group stage after a series against the Soviet Union and the defeat of the Netherlands.

Italy is currently ranked the 12th FIFA World Ranking, while Ireland was ranked the 18th FIFA World Ranking.

PREVIOUS MATCHES

ITALY	IRELAND
June 14, 2012: Italy 1-1 Croatia (EURO 2012)	June 15, 2012: Spain 4-0 Ireland (EURO 2012)
June 10, 2012: Spain 1-1 Italy (EURO 2012)	June 11, 2012: Ireland 1-3 Croatia (EURO 2012)
June 2, 2012: Italy 0-3 Russia (Friendly Match)	June 5, 2012: Hungary 0-0 Ireland (Friendly Match)
March 1, 2012: Italy 0-1 USA (Friendly Match)	May 26, 2012: Ireland 1-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina (Friendly Match)
November 16, 2011: Italy 0-1 Uruguay (Friendly Match)	March 1, 2012: Ireland 1-1 Czech Rep. (Friendly Match)

POSSIBLE LINEUPS

Buffon

Bonucci - Barzagli - Chiellini

Maggio - Marchisio - Pirlo - De Rossi - Balzaretti

Cassano - Di Natale

Coach: Cesare Prandelli (Italy)

Ireland:

Given

O'Shea - Ledger - Dunne - Ward

Duff - Andrews - Whelan - McGeady

Cox - Keane

Coach: Giovanni Trapattoni (Italy)

Ukraine Aims to Impress Home Crowd versus France

UKRAINE	Tournament Statistics (as of June 15, 2012)		FRANCE
2	Goals Scored		1
5	Attempts On Target		15
8	Attempts Off Target		4
3	Corners		11
12	Fouls Committed		9
0	Yellow Cards		0
0	Red Cards		0
PREDICTED STARTING LINEUPS
Ukraine (3-5-2)		Pyatov; Selin, Khacheridi, Mykhalyk; Tymoschuk, Gusev, Yarmolenko, Nazarenko, Konoplyanka; Shevchenko, Voronin
France (4-2-3-1)		Lloris; Evra, Méxes, Rami, Debuchy; Diarra, M’Vila; Ribéry, Nasri, Valbuena; Benzema

Date: June 16, 2012

Time: 12:00 AM (GMT +8:00)

DONETSK: Group D is expected to undergo a tremendous turn of events as France returns to Donbass to face host Ukraine on home advantage. France is stuck in a 1-1 draw versus England, a record that calls for better winning resolve from Les Bleus. Ukraine, on the other hand, currently tops Group D after they trounced Sweden before an energetic home crowd at 2-1.

Ukraine must repeat their feat against Sweden in order to get past through France – an international favorite to win Group D. If not, their chances of winning the group stage can be ruined, especially when they face England in their final group match.

Previous Matches

France and Ukraine met for 6 times. Ukraine never won against Les Bleus, with a lackluster record of 3 losses and 3 draws.

The teams recently met at a friendly in Donetsk last 2011. France shattered Ukraine at 4-1, with 2 goals coming from midfielder Marvin Martin.

Throughout those 6 meetings, France evidently grew stronger, particularly in terms of offense. In contrast, Ukraine has yet to be consistent in their winning form, particularly in improving their shaky defense.

Pre-Match Developments

Significant changes are not likely for both teams. No players from both sides are injured. France’s starting lineup might change a little if Laurent Blanc decides to put midfielder Yann M’Vila in place of Yohan Cabaye.

Oleh Blokhin will likely retain Ukraine’s current starting squad, given their impressive performance last Tuesday.

Ukraine-France Predictions

• v  Disclaimer: All information above is provided free for members as a 12BET service. The prediction statistics are purely a view point and there is no guarantee on the returns. Hence all members or visitors are requested to apply their prudence before acting on any of the recommendations. Neither 12BET nor any of its promoters, members, or employees holds any responsibility of any losses incurred (if any) by acting on the recommendations.

A crucial factor in this match is the frail defense of both teams. The absence of injured defender Dmytro Chygrynskiy in Ukraine’s lineup can further cripple their efforts to defend the goal. France’s defense must learn not to rely too much on their team’s attacking power. Otherwise, they might be damaged by Ukraine’s desire to score before their home crowd. Ukraine’s legendary striker Andriy Shevchenko is one player Les Bleus have to watch out.

A repeat of France’s 2011 friendly victory against Ukraine is highly possible in this game. Their offensive stride powered by Karim Benzema, Franck Ribéry, Mathieu Valbuena and Samir Nasri (who scored France’s goal during its match versus England) can make Ukraine’s weak defense useless. The international pedigree of French players reflects more experience. That gives Les Bleus an obvious victory in their second Group D fixture, despite playing against Ukraine in their home field.

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Spain Looks Forward to Advance versus Republic of Ireland

SPAIN	Tournament Statistics (as of June 14, 2012)		REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
1	Goals Scored		1
9	Attempts On Target		5
9	Attempts Off Target		8
7	Corners		1
12	Fouls Committed		12
3	Yellow Cards		1
0	Red Cards		0
PREDICTED STARTING LINEUPS
Spain (4-2-3-1)		Casillas; Arbeloa, Ramos, Pique, Alba; Alonso, Busquets; Xavi, Iniesta, Silva; Torres
Ireland (4-4-2)		Given; Ward, Dunne, St Ledger, O’Shea; McGeady, Whelan, Andrews, Duff; Walters, Keane

Spain (N) vs. Ireland Match Preview 

Date: June 15, 2012

Time: 2:45 AM (GMT +8:00)

GDANSK: The prospects of Group C teams have become more unpredictable after Republic of Ireland suffered a disappointing loss versus Croatia at 3-1. Spain and Italy stalled one another in a draw at 1-1, citing signals of stronger winning determination from both teams.

Spain’s duty as defending champion is to strengthen their defense in order to thwart any scoring attempt of Republic of Ireland – a feat which can determine La Roja’s defense of their championship title. Republic of Ireland, on the other hand, has to recoup from their fatal mistakes against Croatia which caused the Croat’s currently wide gap from the rest of Group C.

Previous Matches

The most recent match between Spain and Republic of Ireland was during the 2002 World Cup. The match was a closely-fought one at 1-1, only to be won by Spain via a penalty shootout.

Spain won all of their last 15 competitive games, including their 2010 World Cup championship title. They are also the champions of EURO 2008.

Republic of Ireland was unbeaten in 14 matches (both competitive and friendly). Their 3-1 loss to Croatia was their heaviest major tournament loss.

Pre-Match Developments

It is unsure whether Vicente Del Bosque will pit in Fernando Torres in Spain’s starting lineup after the striker failed to show competence during their match against Italy. Their six-man midfield against the Azzurri might be altered, although changes have yet to be announced.

Giovanni Trapattoni, on the other hand, is persistent with his current starting lineup. Despite his team’s poor performance versus Croatia, no changes have been announced on Republic of Ireland’s starters.

Spain-Republic of Ireland Predictions

Sports Statistics Information Centre

(as of June 14, 2012)

v  Disclaimer: All information above is provided free for members as a 12BET service. The prediction statistics are purely a view point and there is no guarantee on the returns. Hence all members or visitors are requested to apply their prudence before acting on any of the recommendations. Neither 12BET nor any of its promoters, members, or employees holds any responsibility of any losses incurred (if any) by acting on the recommendations.

Republic of Ireland is placed at a difficult time after their focus on strengthening their defensive and counterattacking techniques have been shattered by a solid Croatia. The Irish squad lacked strikers in their roster, thus they are faced with the challenge of how to shoot the ball inside the net.

Spain, on the other hand, has to return to playing formidable possession football, which helped them gain their 2008 EURO and 2010 World Cup championship titles. Their recent match against Italy was far from resembling their usual possessiveness of the ball, which became apparent when the Azzurri treaded comfortably on La Roja’s midfield.

Overall, Spain can expect a convenient win against the Republic of Ireland, especially if they choose to become more firm in their possessive playing approach. Spain can be countered with frustrations if Republic of Ireland strengthens their defensive play for this match. 

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