Euro 1

Ok so no one has taken the lead so I will

Euro has been very entertaining so far. Only one 0-0 draw so far. And the subplots have been great. Germany v Poland is always interesting and right now as I write Turkey are playing the Swiss in a downpour and one can only hope a mass brawl doesn’t start on the slick n slide that is the field.

Group A has had by far one of the most impressive teams in Portugal. They scored two easy goals against Turkey in the opener and then came back and put their only real competition in their group, the Czechs, to shame with a 3-1 win. While the Czech probably deserved a point from the game, Baros seemed out of form in front of the net. C. Ronaldo opened up his account with both a nicely slotted goal, a great assist in stoppage time that actually showed his maturity by passing up the shot, and multiple chances on long range shots. You better savor my plaudits for his play cause it wont happen again anytime soon. Teams that Progress: Portugal and Czechs

Group B has the power Germany. Podolski had two great goals. And you have to admire his non-celebrations due to his polish heritage. I don’t know how to spell and never will Scweinsteiger needs to not have bleached hair you could see him when he subbed on, all over the pitch from the tv. But he still had a hell of a crack on net from distance. Croatia got the deserved penalty, it was stupid by the Austrian player to commit that foul. Although you have to admire the Austrians for pressing the entire match. Teams that Progress: Germany and Poland

Group C-arnage has had the controversy that isn’t a controversy. I have been told by more than a few national referees that it was not offside for Mr horse-y face RVN. It has sparked a lot of discussion and I can email you the discussions I have had with other referees if you need clarification. And I played devil’s advocate at that too. The dutch played great counter attacking football and their left back played probably the best individual game of the tournament so far. France has left a lot to be desired and it should be interesting to see how they attack the Dutch. One thing about Italy and maybe this is haunting them is that they have an old team. I know it might be mean but they had only one player under 30 on their roster. New Blood might be needed for the world champs. Teams that Progress: Netherlands and France

Group D has had some great goals. The first hat trick of the tourney with David Villa was very impressive and the partnership of him and Torres has paid off, for him at least. I wonder if Guus has another 4-1 drubbing to either Sweden or Greece he would still be up for the Chelsea job. Sweden’s first goal by Ibrahimović. Yes I went to the website to get that name right. Greece needs to attack a little bit more because they just didn’t get enough set pieces. Teams that Progress: Spain and Sweden.

Overall the teams that should be the contenders all won their first games: Portugal, Germany, Dutch, Spain. After the 2nd set of group games Ill give my final prediction. Its cheating but we will see.

Now referees! Overall no one should be complaining. Cards have been warranted and not overused. Offside has been called properly and it’s not FIFA’s fault that not everyone is educated. The only offside issue could be David Villa’s 3rd goal against Russia, I believe when the shot was taken and originally saved he was in an offside position. But no one for Russia was complaining because they we leaving a lot to be desired. If you want to argue RVN’s goal against Italy go ahead, you will lose.

Good stuff let me know your thoughts and hope Europe keeps entertaining everyone