Team Of The Group Stages

With the group stages done & dusted on Tuesday and the knockout stages to begin from today, with the Czech Republic v Portugal match at the National Stadium in Warsaw, we have decided to create the team of the group stages. A team consisting of the best performers in every position from the three group game. Here is the team below using the 4-2-3-1 formation.. 

IKER CASILLAS (GK) – SPAIN

Casillas has been by far the most consistently performing goalkeeper in the this year’s European Championship. The Real Madrid shot stopper has been an inspirational skipper and has led his country from the front making several very important saves in the three games he has featured in. The most important of all his saves has to be the terrific save from a Ivan Rakitic close range header in the second half against Croatia which kept Spain in that game and most importantly in the tournament.

THEODOR GEBRE SELASSIE (RB) – CZECH REPUBLIC

Selassie has been one of the gems of the the tournament. The right back from African origin was completely unknown outside Czech Republic before the European Championships, but with his energetic performances for his country in the three group games so far he will surely attract many and bigger European clubs in the summer. The Slovan Liberec full back has impressed everyone with his pace and work rate on the right side of the Czech defence and also created his side’s second goal in the important win over Greece.

PEPE (CB) – PORTUGAL

Pepe has been the rock in the center of the defence for both Portugal and Real Madrid this season. The former FC Porto man has been a determined customer at the back and at times has been seen shouting out instructions to his fellow defenders and kept them well organised. He is not only a very good defender but also an attacking threat from the set-pieces. He scored his side’s opener from a corner against Denmark in the second group game and was very close of doing the same against Germany in the first game.

MATS HUMMELS (CB) – GERMANY

If Pepe was the reason for Portugal’s success from the so called Group of Death, then the Dortmund defender has been Germany’s reason for success in the same group. Hummels has been an imperious presence in the heart of the German defence that have conceded just two goals in the three group games they have played. His aerial ability and no-nonsense defending has been the keys aspects to his defending. At the same time he is a threat from the set-pieces and is also good going forward with ball, as he showed against the Dutch.

JORDI ALBA (LB) – SPAIN

The Valencia full back, who is expected to sign for Barcelona in the summer, has been one of the players to watch during the European Championship and he has not let anyone down by his performances. The fast improving left back has been very impressive for La Furia Roja in Poland/Ukraine, as he has been a threat to deal with when going forward, and at the same time solid at the back. He has been the important part of the Spanish defence that has kept two cleans during the group stages and will be hoping to do the same against France in Donetsk.

STEVEN GERRARD (CM) – ENGLAND

In the absence of Wayne Rooney, all eyes were on Gerrard on how he would lead his team in the European Championship and he has done a brilliant job. Played in a bit defensive role by Roy Hodgson, the Liverpool skipper has shown his class in all the three group games he has played in, and has led his team from the front with some clam performances. He has been the inspiration figure on and off field, and at the same time has been his side’s and tournament’s top goal creator with three assists. His good form in the knockout stages will be the key for England success in the competition.

CLAUDIO MARSCHISIO (CM) – ITALY

Coming from winning the Serie A with Juventus, Marschiso has carried his club form for his country in the European Championship. The center midfielder has been Italy’s top performer in Poland/Ukraine. The Juventus man has put in energetic displays in all the three group games but the game against Spain stands out. He showed some great stamina to run the Spainish defence to the end and force a late save from Casillas. At the same time, he was solid in the midfield and often stole possession for his side.

CRISTIANO RONALDO (AML) – PORTUGAL

Ronaldo was not at his best against Germany in the opening group game and missed a couple of golden chances against Denmark in the second game but when it mattered the most, he scored twice against the Dutch in the final game and guided his country to the last eight. The Real Madrid star has been a constant threat to defences in this tournament with his pace, trickery and his ability to shoot from distance.  The Czech defence will have to be at their best to deal with threat possessed by Ronaldo, and if they succeed in keeping him quite then Petr Cech’s side are in with a huge chance.

ZLATAN IBRAHIMOVIC (AMC) – SWEDEN

Even though Sweden are not through to quarter finals, Ibrahimovic makes the team as he has been the most valuable player of the tournament. Playing just behind the main striker, the AC Milan hitman has been very impressive for Sweden by scoring goals and creating chances for his teammates. He scored a goal against Ukraine but it was all overshadowed by Andriy Shevchenko’s brace and Ukraine’s victory, he was his team’s best player against England and scored most probably the goal of the tournament against France which won him the Man of the Match in the final group game. Sweden ended at the bottom of Group D, but Ibrahimovic has been one of star performers this summer.

ANDRES INIESTA (AMR) – SPAIN

Cesc Fabregas grabbed the headlines for scoring the equaliser against Italy, Fernando Torres did the same after scoring a brace against Ireland and Jesus Navas got took the back pages with the winner against Croatia, but the real hero in all three three matches was Andres Iniesta. The Barcelona playmaker has been Spain’s unsung hero in the tournament so far. The Spainiard has been superb throughout the tournament creating numerous chances for his teammates and has hardly misplaced a pass. He has adapted very well to the advanced role when Vicente Del Bosque has opted to play without a striker.

MARIO GOMEZ (ST) – GERMANY

Gomez has scored 41 goals this season for Bayern Munich and he has continued his club form for his country in the European Championships. The German striker has been deadly in front of goal and leads the race for the Golden Boot award with three goals in three matches so far. The former Stuttgart striker scored a powerful header that turned out to be the winner against Portugal in the first game and then scored a brilliant brace against the Netherlands in the second game that guaranteed his side a place in the quarter finals.

SUBSTITUTES

Manuel Neuer (Germany), Stipe Pletikosa (Croatia), Alvaro Arbeloa (Spain), Olof Mellberg (Sweden), Joleon Lescott (England), Fabio Coentrao (Portugal), Vaclav Pilar (Czech Republic), David Silva (Spain), Mario Mandzukic (Croatia), Alan Dzagoev (Russia), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Karim Benzema (France).

Sweden 2-3 England – Player Ratings

England produced a comeback from 2-1 down to emerge 3-2 winners against Sweden in their second Group D game at Euro 2012. Here, we take a look at how the players fared at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev on Friday.

SWEDEN

Andreas Isaksson – 5
Made a good stop at a stretch to keep out Parker’s early effort, then showed some brilliant reflexes to deny Terry from close range but from the resulting corner, he couldn’t deal with the swerving shot from Walcott and also could have done better with Welbeck’s backheel winner.

Andreas Granqvist – 4 (Sub Off 66′) (Flop of the Match)
Did not look at all comfortable against Young and Welbeck – when he drifted in the wide areas at time – and was never a threat going forward either. Was one of the men to lose Carroll as England took the lead. Was later substituted off for Mikael Lustig.

Olof Mellberg – 7.5
Was trouble a lot by the England strikers at the start but then produced one brilliant tackle in the first half to deny Welbeck a chance to shoot on goal. In the the second half, he forced a goal off Johnson and then headed in from a Larsson freekick to give Swedes the lead. Overall he was their best player on the pitch.

Jonas Olsson – 6
Was booked for a silly handball, the West Brom defender found hard to contain the English strikers. Got tired towards the end of the game and lost his concentration for England’s third goal. His partnership with Mellberg at the back rarely convinced.

Martin Olsson – 6.5
Was exposed a lot throughout the game, first by Milner and then by Walcott. He was not at all supported in defence by Rasmus Elm. His attacking contribution was much better though and he made a fine run in the second half that deserved a far better finish from Kallstrom.

Sebastian Larsson – 6
Troubled the England defence at times when he was given the space to put in a cross but otherwise failed to create much impact on the game except for that brilliantly delivered freekick which lead to Sweden’s second goal.

Anders Svensson – 5.5
An average performance from an average player to say the best. He took his time to get involve in the game but hardly got involved in it. Was very slow in reacting when bringing down Young many times. Didn’t leave any sort of a mark on the game at all.

Kim Kallstrom – 6
Came close to troubling the England goal at many time with some fierce strikes. Was not much a threat in the first half, but showed flashes of his real ability in the second half. Also side footed high from a brilliant low Martin Olsson cross.

Rasmus Elm – 5 (Sub Off 81′)
Was expected a lot from him in this tournament but has failed yet again. Wasn’t at all a threat in the first half but his influence grew in the second half. Didn’t track back to help Olsson defend and too often took the wrong option in the final third. Was substituted off when Sweden went 3-2 down.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 7.5
Enjoyed coming deep to get the possession and create chances for his teammates. Had a couple of very powerful shots on target from distance which Hart had to save. His use of the ball was superb, his strength impressive which troubled the England defence throughout the game.

Johan Elmander – 6 (Sub Off 79′)
Was very anonymous in the first half but got in to the game as the game wore on. Got close with a shot from a delightful Ibrahimovic pass but other wise was of not threat to Hart. His work rate was very good but was mostly overshadowed by Ibrahimovic.

Subs

Mikael Lustig (Sub On 66′) – 6
Looked a bit better than Granqvist but suffered with his the rest of the Sweden team when they gave away the lead and went on to lose the game.

Markus Rosenberg (Sub On 79′) – N/A

Christian Wilhelmsson (Sub On 81′) – N/A

ENGLAND

Joe Hart – 7
Another solid display by the English stopper. Made a couple of brilliant diving saves from Ibrahimovic and was well composed through out the game. Could have done better with Sweden’s equaliser but had no chance to keep out Mellberg’s header. England will need him to perform in the same way for the rest of the tournament.

Glen Johnson – 5
Made an important block in the first half to deny Ibrahimovic from shooting and was good going forward, but was the guilty party in Sweden’s equaliser as he played Mellberg onside before scoring the own goal and overall had a difficult night defensively.

John Terry – 6
Was alert as he cut out a number of Sweden passes in the final third but was troubled a lot by Ibrahimovic for pace and strength. Kept the defence well organised and showed great commitment but will have to improve in next matches.

Joleon Lescott – 6
His partnership with Terry in the heart of the England defence was good and is improving but he was poor individually. The Manchester City defender was poor during both the Sweden set-pieces which led to the goals.

Ashley Cole – 6
Not one of the best nights for England’s best left back. A rare misjudgement from a long ball hinted at a below-par performance and he duly delivered. Still, neither goal was his fault and he did cope well with Larsson on the right of the Sweden midfield.

James Milner – 5 (Sub Off 61′)
As always his work rate and determination was 100% but was never a threat to the Swedish defence. Except for a couple of crosses towards Carroll from the right side of the midfield, the Manchester City midfielder struggled to get in the game and was rightly substituted off for Theo Walcott, who completely changed the game on it’s head.

Scott Parker – 6.5
Was denied by a fine save from Isaksson in the early stages, Parker soon reverted to type as a spoiler in midfield and performed the role well. Got a bit lost as the game grew frantic in the second half but was a steady presence overall.

Steven Gerrard – 7
Another brilliant assist for the English captain, as he picked out his Liverpool teammate Andy Carroll with a glorious diagonal ball from the right side to head it past Isaksson to give England the lead. Otherwise had a quiet game before passing away a glorious chance to make it 4-2 in injury time.

Ashley Young – 6
Was a bit more influential on the wide than in the center – role he was asked to play against France –  Young nevertheless wasted one good opportunity in the first half when failing to square for Carroll and had another unconvincing night.

Andy Carroll – 8
Completely justified his selection ahead of Oxlade-Chamberlain. The Liverpool hitman was always a physical presence for England in the final third and a threat to the Swedish defence. Scored an exceptional header in the first half. His linkup play was also impressive though he gave a way a silly freekick which lead to Sweden’s equaliser.

Danny Welbeck – 7.5 (Sub Off 90′)
Took his goal incredibly well with a backheeled volleyed flick from Walcott’s cross into the centre. Had initially struggled to make his presence felt but his strike was just reward for another encouraging performance at the sharp end of the England attack.

Subs

Theo Walcott (Sub on 61′) – 9 (Man of the Match)
Had an immediate impact on the game with a swerving shot that beat Isaksson for England’s equaliser and then used his pace to get the better of the tired Swedish defence and setup Welbeck to score the backheel winner. This was his finest England performance since the hat-trick in Croatia in 2008. Completely changed the game on its head.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlaind (Sub On 90′) – N/A

Sweden v England Preview

After earning a draw against France in their first game of the tournament, England face Sweden in a crucial encounter in Kiev today, as both the teams chase their first win in Group D. 

Roy Hodgson’s Three Lions earned a creditable 1-1 draw in their opener against France, but the Swedes slipped to a 2-1 defeat by co-hosts Ukraine. Hodgson is expecting a tough examination of his side in the Olympic Stadium but will not be looking to radically revamp his side. “There won’t be wholesale changes, that’s for certain because we don’t have any injury problems and the players who did well against France are all hoping to get picked to play again,” he said.

Sweden coach Erik Hamren is expecting more from his side following their opening defeat at the Olympic Stadium. He said: “We’re not reaching the level we want to and that’s my responsibility as a coach. We didn’t show the courage we were supposed to. Only five or six players did. We all need all the players doing that. We were cowards in the first half and should have done more. I’m not happy with the team, I was expecting more.”

TEAM NEWS

Sweden

For Sweden, striker Johan Elmander recovered from a fractured metatarsal to feature as a second-half substitute in the defeat to Ukraine and coach Hamren could be tempted to start the former Bolton star as he searches for a win. West Brom defender Jonas Olsson is expected to be recalled at centre-back, with Andreas Granqvist switched to right-back.

England

Skipper Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker are set to continue in England’s midfield after recovering from the clash with France, while Glen Johnson remains on antibiotics for a toe infection. But the Three Lions will be without star striker Wayne Rooney, who serves the final game of his two-match suspension following his dismissal in Montenegro last October. Liverpool’s Martin Kelly is likely to be their only other absentee as he struggles to recover from a virus.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Played – 21
Sweden Wins – 6
Draws – 9
England Wins – 6

FORM GUIDE

Sweden – LWWWL
11-Jun-12 – Euro 2012 – Ukraine 2-1 Sweden
05-Jun-12 – Friendly – Sweden 2-1 Serbia
30-May-12 – Friendly – Sweden 3-2 Iceland
01-Mar-12 – Friendly – Croatia 1-3 Sweden
16-Nov-12 – Friendly – England 1-0 Sweden

England – DWWLW
11-Jun-12 – Euro 2012 – France 1-1 England
02-Jun-12 – Friendly – England 1-0 Belgium
27-May-12 – Friendly – Norway 0-1 England
01-Mar-12 – Friendly – England 2-3 Netherlands
16-Nov-12 – Friendly – England 1-0 Sweden

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)
The whole country will be looking up to Ibrahimovic to have a good game after recovering from a slight ankle injury. The AC Milan striker did score against Ukraine on Monday but it wasn’t enough as Andriy Shevchenko scored twice for the co-hosts. Presence of Ibrahimovic will cause headaches to the England back four especially John Terry and Joleon Lescott. His ability to shoot accurately and to come out of strong in physical battles with the defenders will be the major threat for England.

Olof Mellberg (Sweden)
Everyone knows about Sweden’s reliance on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and he was the team’s best man against Ukraine. It’s the AC Milan striker’s team-mates that must improve and the vastly experienced Mellberg is the leader of the pack in defence. The former Aston Villa defender will not have to cope with Wayne Rooney but Andy Carroll, Danny Welbeck and Ashley Young will be raring to go after receiving very less opportunities against France.

Steven Gerrard (England)
Steven Gerrard was England’s best man on the pitch against France the other day and he delivered the important freekick which was headed in past Hugo Lloris by Joleon Lescott to give England the lead. Hodgson will want his side to take more control of this game against the Swedes after a defensive display against France and Gerrard will be expecting play a more advance role than he did against Les Bleus. He will be England main creator from the center of the mindfield and will hoping to dictate the game himself.

Joe Hart (England)
The Manchester City shot-stopper showed some nerves early on in the game against France but once he settled in he made some superb saves to deny Les Bleus the win. His save of Alou Diarra’s powerful headed from a Samir Nasri freekick in the first half was so far the best save of the tournament. His good form this year for both City and England means that it will need a special effort from the Sweden players and especially Zlatan Ibrahimovic – who is Sweden’s main man in front of goal – to get on the score sheet.

PROBABLE LINEUPS

Sweden (4-4-2): Andreas Isaksson; Andreas Granqvist, Jonas Olsson, Olof Mellberg, Martin Olsson; Seb Larsson, Rasmus Elm, Kim Kallstrom, Olo Toivonen; Zlatan Ibrahimovic (C), Johan Elmander.

A couple of changes are expected in the Sweden side that lost to Ukraine four days ago in Kiev. Striker Johan Elmander is back to full fitness and will start alongside Ibrahimovic in attack instead of the ineffective Markus Rosenberg. The midfield will be be the same with Seb Larsson and Olo Toivonen on the wings, while Kim Kallstrom and Rasmus Elm in the center. West Brom’s Jonas Olsson might be called in the starting XI alongside Olof Mellberg in place Mikael Lustig, with Andreas Granqvist moving to the right. Martin Olsson will play on the left of the back four, while Andreas Isaksson will remain in goal as Sweden look to register a much needed win.

England (4-4-2): Joe Hart; Glen Johnson, John Terry, Joleon Lescott, Ashely Cole; James Milner, Scott Parker, Steven Gerrard (C), Ashley Young; Andy Carroll, Danny Welbeck.

During the pre-match press conference, Roy Hodgson said he won’t be making wholesale of changes to his side that drew against France. The papers in UK are reporting that Andy Carroll will start today in place of the 18-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The Liverpool hitman will play alongside Danny Welbeck, while Ashley Young – who was not so effective against France – will be moved on to the left side. James Milner will play on the right with Scott Parker and Steven Gerrard in the center of the midfield. The back four will be the same, as all are fit and raring to go. The inform Joe Hart will be in between the sticks for the Three Lions, as they look to move a step closer to qualifying for the quarter-finals.

MATCH ODDS

Sweden 11/4 Draw 23/10 England 21/20

PREDICTION

This is a crucial game for both the teams, as they have to win to move a step closer towards qualification. England played defensively against France to earn a point, while Sweden were stunned by Ukraine. The England players will like to forget the previous game and play some attacking football to win the game. It won’t be easy though, against the Swedes who have a very good record against the Three Lions in competitive matches. Steven Gerrard will be the key for England, as he will look to create opportunities for his teammates. On the other hand, Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be the man for Sweden, and a constant threat for England to deal with. He may even get a goal today but won’t be enough in the end.

Predicted Score – Sweden 1-2 England