IFX Soccer Blog 2: Euro Cup 2012 Group Play Recap (July 2012)

Group B – (Germany 9, Portugal 6, Denmark 3, Netherlands 0).

The group of death also had some surprises. No surprise here though – Germany won every game. Although each game was close. Portugal stormed back to beat the other teams and move on despite losing 1-0 to Germany in the first game. Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo played great and scored two goals against the Netherlands. Denmark started out good with a shocking win against the Netherlands but could not get another point. The Netherlands, loaded with offensive players, was favored to get out of the group but its porous defense resulted in three losses and lots of head scratching.

Group C – (Spain 7, Italy 5, Croatia 4, Ireland 0).

This group provided a lot of competition with the exception of lowly Ireland. The Irish fans represented well and had a fun time on TV but the team’s defense was constantly under assault, resulting in the lowest goal differential of the tournament (-8). Spain and Italy tied in the first game 1-1 in a tight game. Croatia played well but could not stop the Spanish side in the last game when they needed a win. Spain struggled to muster much offense but its stifling defense put them atop the group.

Group D – (England 7, France 4, Ukraine 3, Sweden 3)

This group was up for grabs and England managed to win it unconvincingly. The English tied France and squeaked out wins against Sweden and host country Ukraine. Welbeck had a great back tap goal for England to edge the Swedes in a seesaw 3-2 battle. France started out good by beating Ukraine 2-0 but then stumbled against Sweden. Ukraine looked promising with a 2-1 win against Sweden but could not get another point. The Swedes played close games but could only win against France 2-0 in the final game. Ibrahimović smashed one of the goals of the tourney in a matrix like body contortion to give Sweden something to cheer about.