EURO 2012
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UEFA Euro 2012 ranking 
Eliminated in the quarter-finals
5 England
6 Czech Republic
7 Greece
8 France
Eliminated in the group stage
9 Russia
10 Croatia
11 Sweden
12 Denmark
13 Ukraine
14 Poland
15 Netherlands
16 Republic of Ireland
Eliminated in the quarter-finals
5 England
6 Czech Republic
7 Greece
8 France
Eliminated in the group stage
9 Russia
10 Croatia
11 Sweden
12 Denmark
13 Ukraine
14 Poland
15 Netherlands
16 Republic of Ireland
Semi-finals
Match 1: Portugal vs Spain
Match 1:
Portugal vs Spain 
PORTUGAL
• Portugal were four games without a win in 2012, scoring just once in that time, before beating Denmark on 13/06. They have now claimed three successive victories.
• Paulo Bento has named the same starting XI in each of Portugal's last six competitive games.
• Cristiano Ronaldo needs just one more to equal the record for UEFA European Championship goals of 22, qualifying included, currently shared by Hakan Şükür (Turkey) and Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark).
• Ronaldo has scored six UEFA European Championship finals goals, matching Nuno Gomes' national record.
• Portugal have hit the woodwork six times at UEFA EURO 2012, already one more than any other team in UEFA European Championship history. Ronaldo alone has struck it four times.
• Ronaldo's three goals at UEFA EURO 2012 have taken his international goals tally to 35, above Luís Figo (32) and third on Portugal's top scorer list. Only Pauleta (47) and Eusébio (41) lie ahead.
• Hélder Postiga and Ronaldo are now among seven players to score at three UEFA European Championships, after Jürgen Klinsmann, Vladimír Šmicer, Nuno Gomes, Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimović.
Injury news
• Postiga will miss the semi-final after sustaining a thigh muscle injury against the Czech Republic.
• Carlos Martins withdrew from the initial 23-men squad due to a calf injury, with Hugo Viana, who had not represented Portugal for five years, taking his place.
Miscellaneous
• Pepe (v Denmark) and Ronaldo (v Netherlands, v Czech Republic) have won Carlsberg Man of the Match awards at UEFA EURO 2012.
• Pepe scored Portugal's opening goal at UEFA EURO 2012, as he did in Austria/Switzerland four years ago.
• At 24 years and 115 days, Rui Patrício became Portugal's youngest ever final tournament keeper against Germany.
• Eleven of the squad have been in past EURO squads: Ronaldo (2004, 2008), Postiga (2004, 2008), Pepe (2008), Bruno Alves (2008), Miguel Veloso (2008), João Moutinho (2008), Raul Meireles (2008), Ricardo Quaresma (2008), Nani (2008), Hugo Almeida (2008) and Patrício (2008). This is Ronaldo's fifth successive major tournament.
• Miguel Lopes had to postpone his wedding on 26/05 after receiving his first call-up.
• Portugal gathered on 16/05 for their pre-tournament team camp in Obidos, 100km north of Lisbon. Ronaldo, Coentrão, Pepe, Meireles, Patrício and João Pereira joined five days later due to club commitments and Viana followed on the 24th. Portugal arrived at their EURO base of Opalenica, Poland, on 04/06.
Pre-tournament friendlies
02/06 Portugal 1-3 Turkey (Nani 57; Umut 35 51, Pepe og 88)
26/05 Portugal 0-0 Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
• Ronaldo had a penalty saved at 2-1 against Turkey, when Miguel Lopes and Custódio won their first caps.
UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying
• Nani and Meireles started all ten of Portugal's qualifiers, each passing 50 caps during the campaign. Six of the final squad did not play in qualifying: Beto, Lopes, Ricardo Costa, Custódio, Viana and Nélson Oliveira.
• Bento replaced Carlos Queiroz two games – and one point – into UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying.
SPAIN
• Spain are 18 competitive games without defeat, since their 1-0 loss to Switzerland on 16/06/2010 at the FIFA World Cup. They have lost four of their 14 friendlies in that time, however.
• Spain are nine games unbeaten, winning seven since their 1-0 defeat by England on 12/11/2011.
• Iker Casillas has gone 299 minutes without conceding, since Antonio Di Natale's effort for Italy on 10/06. Spain have kept eight successive clean sheets in major tournament knockout games.
• Xavi Hernández has made more completed passes at UEFA EURO 2012 (734) than any other player at a UEFA European Championship. He broke the record for passes in a single game against the Republic of Ireland (133).
• Cesc Fàbregas has made six substitute appearances in the UEFA European Championship, only one fewer than the Netherlands' Aron Winter's record of seven.
• Vicente del Bosque's team made 672 completed passes to Italy's 341, 810 to Ireland's 198, 639 to Croatia's 231 and 638 to France's 429.
• Spain have had over 50% possession in 20 of their last 21 games at major final tournaments, the exception being the UEFA EURO 2008 final against Germany (46%).
Injury news
• Carles Puyol (knee) and Spain's record scorer, David Villa (broken leg), were ruled out of the finals.
Miscellaneous
• Andrés Iniesta (v Croatia, Italy), Fernando Torres (v Ireland) and Xabi Alonso (v France) have won Carlsberg Man of the Match awards at UEFA EURO 2012.
• Spain's 4-0 victory against the Republic of Ireland was their biggest ever win at a UEFA European Championship.
• Alonso marked his 100th appearance for Spain with his 14th and 15th international goals against France.
• Spain, minus players from Chelsea FC and Copa del Rey finalists FC Barcelona and Athletic Club, travelled to a training camp in Schruns, Austria, on 22/05. Juan Mata and Torres joined them on 26/05, with the final 23-man squad unveiled the following day. Spain arrived at their EURO base of Gniewino on 05/06.
• Spain's squad includes 12 of the party that won UEFA EURO 2008: Casillas, Raúl Albiol, Iniesta, Xavi, Torres, Fàbregas, Santi Cazorla, Alonso, Sergio Ramos, Álvaro Arbeloa, David Silva and Pepe Reina. Casillas, Xavi, Alonso and Torres were also in the UEFA EURO 2004 squad, and for Casillas this represents a national record fourth UEFA European Championship appearance as he was also at UEFA EURO 2000.
Pre-tournament friendlies
03/06 Spain 1-0 China (Silva 84)
30/05 Spain 4-1 South Korea (Torres 11, Alonso 52pen, Cazorla 55, Negredo 79; Kim Do Heon 43)
26/05 Spain 2-0 Serbia (Adrián 67, Cazorla 74pen)
• Casillas kept his 73rd clean sheet for Spain against Serbia on 26/05, beating Edwin van der Sar's international record. Five days later he celebrated a record 95th international win against South Korea 4-1.
UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying
• Spain won eight out of eight in Group I, becoming one of only five sides to go through a qualifying campaign with a 100% record in the history of the UEFA European Championship.
• Ramos and Villa were the only players to feature in all eight group games for Del Bosque's side. Two of the final tournament squad did not feature in qualifying: Reina and Juanfran.
vs - the last 10 matches:20 Jun 1981 Portugal v Spain 2-0 Friendly
17 Jun 1984 Portugal v Spain 1-1 European Championship
16 Jan 1991 Spain v Portugal 1-1 Friendly
15 Jan 1992 Portugal v Spain 0-0 Friendly
19 Jan 1994 Spain v Portugal 2-2 Friendly
13 Feb 2002 Spain v Portugal 1-1 Friendly
06 Sep 2003 Portugal v Spain 0-1 Friendly
20 Jun 2004 Portugal v Spain 1-0 European Championship
29 Jun 2010 Spain v Portugal 1-0 FIFA World Cup
17 Nov 2010 Portugal v Spain 4-0 Friendly
Isabella
Active member
Go Germany and Spain 
Semi-finals
Match 2: Germany vs Italy
Match 2:
Germany vs Italy 
GERMANY
• Joachim Löw's side have won a record 15 successive competitive games, breaking the 14-match international record previously held by Spain (2010-11), France (2002-04) and the Netherlands (2008-2010).
• All three of the goals Miroslav Klose has scored at the UEFA European Championship – and ten of the 17 he has managed at major final tournaments – have been headers.
• Germany have only kept just four clean sheets in their last 19 matches at the UEFA European Championship.
• Germany have scored at least one goal in each of their last 20 games.
• The semi-final will be Löw's 84th as Bundestrainer – he is behind only Berti Vogts (102), Helmut Schön (139) and Sepp Herberger (167) in longevity as West Germany/Germany coach and has won 57, lost 12.
• Germany have won all 14 UEFA European Championship games in which they have been two goals up.
Injury news
• Bastian Schweinsteiger said last week that he still has ankle problems after tearing ligaments in February.
• İlkay Gündoğan twisted his left ankle in training on Saturday, straining his ligaments.
Miscellaneous
• Mesut Özil (v Portugal and v Greece), Mario Gomez (v Netherlands) and Lukas Podolski (v Denmark) have all won Carlsberg Man of the Match awards at UEFA EURO 2012.
• Philipp Lahm had gone 87 games without a goal, since a penalty against FC St Pauli on 11/12/2010, before his effort against Greece.
• This was the first time Germany have completed a UEFA European Championship group stage with a 100% record.
• Lukas Podolski won his 100th cap against Denmark, becoming West Germany/Germany's seventh centurion.
• The squad gathered at a camp in Sardinia on 11/05, with the Borussia Dortmund contingent linking up on 18/05 after the German Cup as the party moved to Tourrettes, France. The FC Bayern München players arrived on 26/05 following the UEFA Champions League final. The squad had three days off before heading to Gdansk on 04/06.
• Six Germany players have UEFA European Championship experience: Lahm (2004, 2008), Per Mertesacker (2008), Schweinsteiger (2004, 2008), Klose (2004, 2008), Podolski (2004, 2008) and Gomez (2008).
Pre-tournament friendlies
31/05 Germany 2-0 Israel (Gomez 40, Schürrle 82)
26/05 Switzerland 5-3 Germany (Derdiyok 21 23 50, Lichtsteiner 67, Mehmedi 76; Hummels 45, Schürrle 64, Reus 72)
UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying
• Germany won ten out of ten in Group A, becoming one of only five sides to go through a qualifying campaign with a 100% record in the history of the UEFA European Championship.
• Germany were the second highest scorers in qualifying, their 34 goals in ten games only three shy of the Netherlands.
• Manuel Neuer played every minute of qualifying, while Lahm played all but the last six as he was substituted against Belgium. Thomas Müller was Germany's only other ever-present.
• Three of the final tournament squad did not feature in qualifying: Wiese, Zieler and Bender.
ITALY
• Italy have won just one of their last seven games in regulation time. That victory, over the Republic of Ireland on 18/06, ended a national-record run of six games without a victory in major final tournaments for the Azzurri.
• Coach Cesare Prandelli is unbeaten in competitive internationals, recording nine wins and five draws to date if the shoot-out triumph over England is classed as a draw.
• Italy have never scored an extra-time goal at the UEFA European Championship in seven attempts.
• Andrea Pirlo made 146 passes against England, completing 117 – the most at UEFA EURO 2012, extra time included.
• Christian Maggio is suspended for the semi-final after picking up bookings against Spain and England.
Injury news
• Giorgio Chiellini limped off with a hamstring injury against Croatia and missed the quarter-final against England.
• Ignazio Abate (muscle fatigue) and Daniele De Rossi (sciatica) suffered problems against England.
• Antonio Cassano was expected to miss the rest of the season after undergoing heart surgery on 04/11 but returned to action at the start of April.
Miscellaneous
• Cassano (v Ireland) and Pirlo (v Croatia, v England) have picked up Carlsberg Man of the Match awards at UEFA EURO 2012.
• Pirlo's effort against Croatia was the first goal direct from a free-kick at the UEFA European Championship since Marek Heinz versus Germany at UEFA EURO 2004.
• Emanuele Giaccherini made his competitive Italy debut against Spain and Alessandro Diamanti did likewise against Ireland; Fabio Borini is yet to make his competitive bow at international level.
• Italy gathered at Coverciano, Florence, on 21/05, with players of Juventus, SSC Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain FC joining four days later due to domestic duties. The Azzurri arrived in Krakow on 05/06.
• Eight of the squad had EURO experience: Gianluigi Buffon (2004, 2008), Cassano (2004, 2008), Pirlo (2004, 2008), Chiellini (2008), Andrea Barzagli (2008), De Rossi (2008), Antonio Di Natale (2008) and Morgan De Sanctis (2008).
Pre-tournament friendly
01/06 Italy 0-3 Russia (Kerzhakov 59, Shirokov 75 89)
• Italy's friendly with Luxembourg in Parma, scheduled for 29/05, was cancelled after an earthquake.
UEFA EURO 2012 qualifying
• Italy's tally of 26 points from ten games was a national record in a qualifying section for a major tournament.
• The Azzurri also finished with the best defensive record across the nine groups, conceding only two goals.
• Discounting the six minutes of the home game against Serbia before it was abandoned, Italy did not concede for 625 minutes between Estonia finding the net in their opening fixture and Serbia's goal 13 months later.
• Chiellini played every minute of Italy's campaign; Cassano was the only other ever-present member of the squad and also the Azzurri's six-goal leading scorer.
• Six of the squad did not play in qualifying: Angelo Ogbonna, Abate, Giaccherini, Di Natale, Borini, Diamanti.
vs - the last 10 matches:18 Apr 1987 West Germany v Italy 0-0 Friendly
10 Jun 1988 West Germany v Italy 1-1 European Championship
25 Mar 1992 Italy v Germany 1-0 Friendly
23 Mar 1994 Germany v Italy 2-1 Friendly
21 Jun 1995 Germany v Italy 2-0 Centenary
19 Jun 1996 Italy v Germany 0-0 European Championship
20 Aug 2003 Germany v Italy 0-1 Friendly
01 Mar 2006 Italy v Germany 4-1 Friendly
04 Jul 2006 Germany v Italy 0-2 FIFA World Cup
09 Feb 2011 Germany v Italy 1-1 Friendly
Both Spain and Germany are currently favourites, BUT (yeah there is a big but) it seems they're not that good against their opponents according to the last years' statistics. This should be interesting. Imagine the meltdowns when the two finalists are Portugal and Italy. 
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FrachellyJelly
Active member
poor UK? You mean England yes?
Absolutely gutted about last night though, can't believe it was penalties again
definitely not calling any of my children Ashley!
I don't think Portugal will win. They tied Macedonia in Leiria a month ago, I don't think they could win over Spain.
It doesn't make any sense to judge a team on its pre-tournament friendlies, really. They played horribly because they were avoiding injuries and stuff like that. They were about to compete in the european championship, unlike Macedonia and Turkey, so they were not playing in full force. I explained it in the chat box some weeks ago. On the other hand, they defeated two teams in the group of death. Spain's group was a little easier as you know.
And if that theory was right, they would not even qualify to the quarter-finals. It's a 50:50 game in my eyes. In the last 4 games, Spain got 2 wins and Portugal got 2 wins. The biggest win goes to Portugal (4-0) in the year Spain was named the world champion, which alone says a lot about the portuguese attack.
In this year's tournament Spain did slightly better because they didn't lose a game yet. I doubt they would not lose against Germany like Portugal did in the first game, though.
UEFA.com said:Ronaldo retains number one Index ranking
Cristiano Ronaldo consolidated his place at the top of the Castrol EDGE Index with his quarter-final display, though Spain now account for half of the top ten after beating France.
While Cristiano Ronaldo is still the man to catch at the summit of the Castrol EDGE Index following the UEFA EURO 2012 quarter-finals, his place at the head of the leaderboard is under increasing threat from the growing contingent of Spain players in the top ten.
The Portugal captain started his side's last-eight victory against the Czech Republic with David Silva for close company. Though team-mate Pepe has since usurped the playmaker in second spot courtesy of his Index-topping rating in the Selecção's 1-0 victory, Spain's dominant display in eliminating France means the number of Vicente del Bosque's men in the upper echelons has increased from three to five.
Ronaldo's joint-leading third goal of the tournament at the National Stadium Warsaw was sufficient to keep him in situ atop the charts with a cumulative rating of 9.68, ahead of Real Madrid CF club-mate Pepe, who rises 12 places into second.
The centre-back, one of five 'captains' in Paulo Bento's squad, trailed only João Moutinho in the pass completion stakes against the Czechs with an 81% success rate. A factor in shaping his overall mark of 9.61 has been his anticipation and reading of the game – he has prevented an opposition pass from reaching its intended target 50 times in four outings.
One of the biggest climbers, however, is Xabi Alonso, another Madrid player. The midfielder, up from 26th, marked his 100th international appearance in style with both goals in Spain's 2-0 defeat of France, his second, from the spot, being the 30-year-old's third shot on target from four attempts. A key component in how the holders execute their famed tika-taka approach, he swelled his number of completed passes to 318 with a match-high 99 against Les Bleus.
Claudio Marchisio, one only two players to have taken the game-by-game honours in the Castrol EDGE Index more than once at UEFA EURO 2012, completes the top three, having been fifth at kick-off. The Italy man, though not the top-ranked performer in the Azzurri's penalty shoot-out triumph over England, registered a match score of 9.24 such was the standard of Cesare Prandelli's side's performance in Kyiv.
Marchisio is followed by three of Alonso's team-mates, Andrés Iniesta, Gerard Piqué and Silva, who falls from second to sixth. Piqué is part of a Spain rearguard which has not conceded a goal since the 61st minute of La Roja's opening draw with Italy. Like Pepe, the centre-back has excelled in his reading of the game, intercepting/stopping a pass on 51 occasions.
Portugal's Fábio Coentrão, whose ten crosses attempted is the most of any full-back in Poland and Ukraine, Sergio Ramos and Michal Kadlec make up the top ten.
Key facts so far
0 – Attempts on target by the Czech Republic in their 1-0 quarter-final loss to Portugal.
1 – The England-Italy match was the first game of the finals to be goalless after 90 minutes.
4 – Portugal have been unchanged for all of their UEFA EURO 2012 fixtures.
5 – Against Greece, Germany's Mesut Özil became the fifth player to provide two assists in the same game at this tournament, emulating Andrey Arshavin (Russia v Czech Republic), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Netherlands v Germany), Karim Benzema (Ukraine v France) and David Silva (Spain v Republic of Ireland).
29 – Shots on goal at these finals by Cristiano Ronaldo, the most by a player at any EURO. The Portugal captain overtook Roman Pavlyuchenko's total of 28, set four years ago, during his side's victory against the Czech Republic.
371 – Xavi Hernandez leads the way in terms of passes completed. His total of 89 in the last-eight encounter with France was bettered only by Xabi Alonso.
Thank God we have Ronaldo! I hope the man of the tournament saves the day. Ronaldo and Pepe leading the top.
So, what you are saying is that Macedonia is better than Spain, since Portugal won over Spain with 4-0.
So, what you are saying is that Macedonia is better than Spain, since Portugal won over Spain with 4-0.
Totally different cases, because one is just a friendly match and the other one is a pre-tournament match. Players don't play the same way in every single match. There are other variables to keep in mind.
ParadiseES
Well-known member
wow that ranking! 5/10 players are in Real Madrid and 2/10 in Barcelona.
I know exactly what you are saying!! Macedonia is better than Spain, so it should be very easy for Portugal to beat Spain.
I'm just bugging you!
MyHeartIsYours
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 22, 2010
- Posts
- 24,545
Im still feeling sad about 2 nights ago, cant get as enthusiastic about this any more . But I shall be supporting Spain tomorrow, so good luck!
. But I shall be supporting Spain tomorrow, so good luck!