Jun
8
Croatia and Germany dominate in their opening games over Austria and Poland
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So far, the favorite teams to win this year’s Euro Cup have been dominating their opponents. In the second day of playing, Croatia cruised passed co-hosts Austria and Germany shut down first timers Poland to take the lead in Group B; both victories I predicted yesterday.
As far as the games are concerned, Croatia scored the tournament’s fastest goal so far with a penalty kick in the 4th minute of their game against Austria. Austria’s coach preferred a defensive formation to start the competition using 5 defenders in obvious recognition of his opponent’s firepower. Unfortunately, it back-fired for him with Croatia’s quick goal which also decided the game. Midfielder Luka Modri?’s converted penalty kick not only gave Croatia the much sought after 3 points but also made it into history’s books as the fastest penalty converted in the history of the European Championship. In the second half, Austria pushed forward looking for the equalizer but Croatia wouldn’t have any of it. They cruised to victory dropping their rhythm and saving their energy for the next and more crucial match against Germany.
Germany and Poland played the second game of the day in what turned out to be, in my opinion, the most entertaining match of the tournament thus far. The fast paced game ended with Germany taking their first 3 points with a 2-0 score and many more chances to widen the score. Poland who play in the European Championship finals for the first time in their history failed to also score their first goal in the tournament but it was hardly because of a lack of effort. The Polish players played an excellent game and if it was not for their own poor finishing and Germany’s solid defense, they could have done much better on the day. Now Poland’s chances to advance to the quarter finals entirely depend on the outcome of their game with Croatia; they should have no problem defeating Austria.
The Poland versus Croatia game should be an exciting one, especially considering that it will be the last game for both team in the groups stage of the competition. Honestly and after watching both Croatia and Poland play today, I would put my money on Poland winning this game and continuing in the competition. In other words, I was not very impressed with Croatia’s play overall and if it was not for Poland playing against the fine-tuned German machine, the Group B standings would be different now.