Denmark 2-3 Portugal

Pepe headed the Seleccao into the lead from a corner, before Helder Postiga put them further in control with a confident finish from close range.
But, Bendtner, on his 50th appearance for Denmark nodded one back for his side four minutes before half-time before completing the recovery with another header nine minutes from the end.
The action was not over, however, as Silvestre Varela had the last laugh, grabbing the winner with a sublime effort in the 87th minute to put Portugal level on three points with the Danes, and take the race for a quarter-final spot into the final matchday.
Denmark started the brighter of the two sides, and forced a flurry of corners early in the game to keep the Portuguese under pressure.
Despite their lack of initial enterprise, Bento’s men threatened first, Miguel Veloso whipping in a devilish ball from a short corner that was capably punched away by Stephan Andersen.
And there was bad news for the Danes just past the quarter-hour mark when Niki Zimling was forced off through injury, with Jakob Poulsen coming on as his replacement.Portugal improved shortly after, and slowly began to play their way back into the game. Cristiano Ronaldo, as ever, was at the heart of everything, dragging a one-two with Veloso wide before hammering a free-kick into orbit.
The Iberian nation would strike first after 24 minutes. Joao Moutinho took charge of a corner, and Pepe stole a march at the near post to plant a header past Andersen into the roof of the net.
And they made the most of their momentum, and doubled their advantage in the 37th minute. Nani found himself with time and space on the right flank, and squared low to Postiga, who ghosted ahead of Simon Kjaer to lash into the top corner.
Denmark were quick to react though, and halved the deficit within four minutes. Kvist Jorgensen clipped towards Michael Krohn-Dehli at the far post, who nodded back across the six yard box for Bendtner to head into an empty net.
Portugal almost replicated their second goal on the stroke of the interval, but this time Kjaer was able to slide ahead of Postiga to hack away another dangerous cross from Nani.
Cristiano Ronaldo then had a glorious chance to put Portugal 3-1 up four minutes into the second half when clean through on goal, but his attempted slot into the bottom corner was read well by Andersen.
The chances keep on coming for the Seleccao with Postiga gifted the opportunity to pounce after terrible giveaway from Simon Poulsen, but the striker was then flattened by Agger to snuff out the chance.
Denmark were then forced into another change on the hour mark, as Dennis Rommedahl hobbled off in obvious discomfort, with Tobias Mikkelsen coming on in his stead.
Despite the setback, the Danes were inching their way back into the match. Kvist caused a few hearts to flutter with a thunderous drive from the edge of the area that whistled inches away from the top corner.
Bendtner was next to try his luck after plucking a pass out of the air at the corner of the box, but his finish did not match his control, and was scuffed wide of the mark.
The Danes should have been dead and buried on 78 minutes, but were spared thanks to another awful miss from Cristiano Ronaldo. The 27-year-old found himself one-on-one again with Andersen, but his side-footed finish was comfortably wide of the mark.
Within three minutes, Denmark would make him pay. Lars Jakobsen lifted a cross towards the far post over the head of Pepe, where Bendtner was waiting to head home via the woodwork.
However, just when it looked like they had thrown the game away, Varela rescued all three points with a well-taken half-volley from a Fabio Coentrao cross to settle the game in Portugal’s favour.

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Poland 1-1 Russia

The co-hosts had some excellent chances in the first-half but found themselves 1-0 down at the break. Alan Dzagoev netted his third goal of the tournament when he diverted Andrey Arshavin's precise free-kick beyond Przemyslaw Tyton.
                   The goal gave the Russian's confidence but they were dragged back by Blaszczykowski's magic after a lethal counterattack from the Poles sent the home fans into ecstasy. Russia showed greater composure early on with Arshavin continuing his fine form. Urged on by their supporters, however, Poland got a foothold in the game and fashioned the first opportunity.
                                     Ludovic Obraniak swung an inviting free-kick into the area which Sebastian Boenisch was on the end of, but the Bremen man was denied by Vyacheslav Malafeev whose sprawling legs kept the score level. Poland continued to pour it on and Robert Lewandowski looked to add to his Euro 2012 tally with the opening strike. The Dortmund striker, full of confidence, took the ball down before unleashing a volley towards goal that was narrowly off target.
                       In response Dick Advocaat's side looked to thread the ball through a static Polish defence and Aleksandr Kerzhakov thought he had won a penalty when Damien Perquis slid in from behind but the defender had expertly clipped the ball away from the Zenit striker. The noise levels increased ten-fold when Eugen Polanski finished a beautiful flowing move from the co-hosts only for his celebrations to be cut short when he noticed that he had correctly been judged offside. Franciszek Smuda's side continued to create chances as Marcin Wasilewski drove in a low cross only for the ball to squirm away from both Lewandowski and Blaszczykowski with the goal beckoning. Replicating the driven cross from Wasilweski, Kerzhakov delivered the same for Russia only to see the ball flash across the face of the goal with no decisive touch.
                                              With the visitors enjoying their best spell of the game they took the lead when Dzagoev flicked home his third goal of the tournament. Arshavin's perfectly flighted free-kick found the youngster unmarked and he provided the touch that sent the Russia fans into raptures. Poland looked to find an equaliser in the remaining eight minutes of the half and Malafeev had to be alert to palm away Blaszczykowski's drive. And the home side started the second half in attacking mode as Polanski looked to the slide the ball through to Lewandowski but the pass was too heavy and the striker had to settle for a corner kick. Poland continued to probe and launched a superb counterattack which ended when Obraniak's delicious cross was punched clear by Malafeev with Lewandowski's boot close by. Russia suddenly found their attacking desire as Arshavin rode a challenge to burst forward before wasting a glorious opportunity misplacing his pass with Russia a man up on the attack. And seconds later Poland launched their own counter as Lukasz Piszczek looked to link-up with his club team-mate. The full-back found Blaszczykowski with a wonderful pass, and the Dortmund man's first-touch was simply sublime before unleashing a vicious left-footed shot which caused Warsaw to erupt as it flashed past Malafeev to bring Poland level. The atmosphere in the stadium intensified and Malafeev was called upon yet again for the Russians as Poland searched for a second. The keeper stood tall at his near post to deny Polanski's low shot that had been hit with some conviction albeit from a tight angle. As the value of a winner increased as each minute passed neither side was able to find a telling moment in the final exchanges. The result leaves Russia at the summit of Group A with four points, while the co-hosts are third with two after Czech Republic defeated Greece. Poland will need to win their final game to progress, while Russia need a point against Greece to secure a quarter-final birth.

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Greece 1-2 Czech Republic

Michal Bilek's men hit the Galanolefki with a first-half double through Petr Jiracek and Vaclav Pilar, and it looked as though the Narodak had done enough to emerge winners.
                                  After the break, however, a howler from Petr Cech allowed Theofanis Gekas to claw one back and set up a tense finish. But the Czechs hung on and claimed an important victory in their quest for a place in the quarter-finals. The game got off to the worst possible start for Greece after conceding two goals in less than six minutes. The makeshift defensive pairing of Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Kostas Katsouranis was struggling right from the off, and the Czech Republic pounced with venom.
                            First, Tomas Hubschman exploited the space between the two central defenders to pick out Jiracek just outside the box, and the Wolfsburg midfielder slotted home easily under little pressure from the Greek rear guard. Then, three minutes later, Theodor Gebre Selassie showed Jose Holebas a clean set of heels on the right wing before whipping in a cross, which was rather fortunately met by the feet of Pilar, who netted his second goal in as many matches. Greece managed to shake off the early shock, but were soon dealt yet another blow as first-choice goalkeeper Kostas Chalkias picked up an injury and had to be replaced by Michalis Sifakis. Still, with the Czechs taking their foot off the gas, Fernando Santos' men began to gather momentum. In the 40th minute, Greece had the ball in the net as Giorgos Fotakis finished past Cech with a skilful header, following a cross from the right flank by Vasilis Torosidis, but the assistant referee deemed it as offside.
                                 The pressure continued after the break as Bilek's men were dominating the proceedings, allowing Greece chances only on the break. Out of nowhere, however, the Ethniki managed to score following a horrible error by Cech. A stray cross by Georgios Samaras was inexplicably dropped by the goalkeeper straight into the path of Gekas, who had no trouble converting with the open goal at his mercy, halving Greece's deficit and giving them a way back in the game. The goal gave Fernando Santos' men some much-needed momentum and the Czechs soon found themselves pinned back in their own half. Greece bombarded the penalty area with crosses, but Bilek's players were doing their best to hold onto their lead.
                            The Ethniki threw everything forward in the final minutes of the game, but were ultimately denied an equaliser by their resilient opponents, who claimed a crucial victory in their battle for a place in the quarter-finals of Euro 2012.

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Ukraine 2 - 1 Sweden

Oleg Blokhin’s men dominated possession early on but Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave Sweden the lead shortly after the break, scoring from close range while Ukraine had a player down injured. But two goals in seven minutes from Shevchenko turned his side's fortunes around and gave them a win in their first ever European Championship finals to top the group. It was a cagey start synonymous with many of the opening fixtures, and no real chances were fashioned in the opening 15 minutes.
                        The Olimpiyskyi was a sea of yellow and the crowd was making its own entertainment with a tremendous atmosphere as both sides cautiously felt their way into the match. Ibrahimovic was an early aerial target from set-pieces but the Scandinavians were having no joy, before the AC Milan forward found space on the right-hand side of the box, curling a dangerous ball towards the far post which Andreas Isaksson parried away. But it was the co-hosts who were enjoying the lion’s share of possession. Shevchenko nearly sentthe crowd into delirium when he was found in the area, but Ukraine’s talismanic striker skewed his shot well wide of the far post after being forced out to an acute angle. The game finally started to open up past the half-hour, when first Yevhen Konoplyanka struck a beautiful curling effort just wide from distance before a golden chance fell to Andriy Yarmolenko inside the area, but some heroic last-ditch defending from the Swedes kept the scoresheet blank.
                                  Ibrahimovic was then inches away from opening the scoring, connecting freely with a floated ball over from the right, but his header flicked agonisingly wide off the far post. Ukraine started the second half as brightly as they ended the first, but it was Sweden who went ahead. Left-back Yevhen Selin was down injured but Sweden played on, and Sebastian Larsson’s cross fell to Kim Kallstrom, who passed low for Ibrahimovic to stab home from close range. The lead was brief, however, and the co-hosts were quickly back on level terms. Yarmolenko played in a superb cross from the right, and Shevchenko rose in front of the defender to power a header inside Isaksson’s near post and send the fans into raptures. Six minutes later national hero Shevchenko struck again, racing to the near post to meet Konoplankya’s corner and head low into the net to give Ukraine the lead, leaving Hamren’s side completely stunned and the 65,000 home supporters ecstatic. Johan Elmander came on for Sweden with 20 minutes left as they looked to find an equaliser, and Ibrahimovic nearly produced the goods, unleashing a fearsome shot towards goal from 20 yards which Andriy Pyatov knew very little about as it ricocheted off him and was cleared.
                                    Hero of the hour Shevchenko came off with 10 minutes left to a well-deserved ovation as Sweden continued to push forward and test the Ukraine defence, with substitute Christian Wilhelmsson providing much of the threat down the left-hand side. Elmander had a glorious chance to equalise at the death, latching on to a lofted ball, but he blasted over when through on goal before makeshift striker Olof Mellberg lofted a volley over the bar. The co-hosts held on for the win and will face France in Donetsk on Friday as Group D leaders.

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France 1-1 England

France and England opened their Euro 2012 campaigns with a cagey 1-1 draw at the Donbass Arena in Donetsk.
                                Laurent Blanc's team controlled much of the first Group D fixture of the tournament but Joleon Lescott headed England into the lead after 30 minutes.Les Bleus were level before half-time thanks to Samir Nasri's 39th minute strike but could not unlock the Three Lions defence after the break.

Lescott Scores from a powerful header

                                     Defensive solidity, it was predicted, would be the order of the day for England in what looks to be their most difficult match of the group stage, but Roy Hodgson sprung a selection surprise by handing 18-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain his competitive international debut ahead of the more experienced Stewart Downing on the left flank. Danny Welbeck, earning his sixth cap, was preferred to Andy Carroll in attack. France coach Blanc, meanwhile, tasked Alou Diarra, as expected, with filling Yann M'Vila's shoes in the absence of the Rennes midfielder, who was not risked after an ankle injury. France looked to generate their first attacks down the left flank, with Franck Ribery finding space behind Glen Johnson early on and Nasri, drifting across the edge of the penalty area, shooting just wide of Joe Hart's right post. It was England, though, who created the best chance of the opening quarter of an hour.
                                             Ashley Young found enough space after dropping off Philippe Mexes to turn and pick out the slanted run of James Milner, who rounded Hugo Lloris with his first touch but could only hit the side netting with his second. In the next 15 minutes Hodgson's team were to carve out very little more but just as France seemed to be tightening their grip on proceedings, England jumped into the lead. When things have not gone to plan for the Three Lions at major tournaments, set pieces have often got them out of jail. On this occasion, they were not faring too badly as underdogs but once more, their proficiency with the dead ball paid off. Gerrard brought back memories of David Beckham with a sublime delivery from the right-hand side that Lescott powered past Lloris from close range.
                                           Diarra was beaten in the air in that instance but the Marseille midfielder very nearly made amends when he forced Hart into an excellent save from a free-kick of France's own before nodding a second attempt inches wide after Ribery had returned the ball to the danger zone. Ribery was at the centre of all things positive for Les Bleus and as Blanc's team cranked up the pressure towards the end of the half, he played a part in their deserved equaliser. The Bayern Munich star teed the ball up for Nasri, who rattled a 20-yard shot inside Hart's near post. England had more of a say early in the second half, with both teams trading blows without creating too much in the way of clear cut chances.
                                         Gerrard was denied a clear free-kick in a good position on the edge of the France penalty area before the Liverpool captain cut out Evra's threatening cross at the other end. With Parker seemingly struggling with either an injury or fatigue, France began to exploit more space in front of the England defence and Karim Benzema, hitherto a subdued presence, found enough room to unleash a powerful shot that Hart matched. Parker's situation was not helped when he felt the full force of Florent Malouda's attempted shot with a brave block.

                                                   Cabaye might have hit the back of the net with a neat volley if Welbeck had not stuck out a leg to register an important block before Gerrard diverted Benzema's curling shot to safety as France continued to search for a decisive goal. England added Jermain Defoe and Theo Walcott to their attack while France looked to Hatem Ben Arfa and Marvin Martin for inspiration but while Les Bleus remained well on top, Hodgson's team defended bravely to secure a valuable point.

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Ireland 1-3 Croatia

Croatia took charge of Group C with a comfortable 3-1 victory as Ireland's usually reliable defence crumbled in their first game of Euro 2012 in Poznan. Mario Mandzukic got the Balkan side off to a great start with an early goal but Sean St Ledger restored parity midway through the first half. Ireland then began to take a back seat in the match and they were punished with two more goals courtesy of Nikica Jelavic and Mandzukic either side of the break.
                                   Giovanni Trapattoni, the oldest coach to ever grace a European Championship, sprung no surprises with his starting XI. Slaven Bilic however made one surprising omission as he opted to leave the experienced Josip Simunic on the bench and use Darijo Srna in a more defensive role. The national anthems were greeted with deafening noise but half of the stadium fell quiet within three minutes of kick off. Srna drove to the byeline and clipped the ball back into the area where Mandzukicrecovered from a slip to meet it with his head. He somehow generated enough power to get his effort on target, catching Shay Given by surprise, the keeper unable to keep the ball out of the net.
                                            Kevin Doyle was making a nuisance of himself in attack and showed great energy as he refused to give the opposing defence a moments rest. After drawing a free kick from Vedran Corluka, Aiden McGeady whipped in the subsequent free-kick from out on the left. Corluka compounded a nightmare couple of minutes as he lost St Ledger at the back post and he nodded in to level in the 19th minute. However, Ireland began to drop deeper and allowed Bilic's side more of the ball in their talented midfield.
                                   Croatia thus seized control of possession but with the final third congested Ivan Perisic and Luka Modric were forced to shoot from range and despite both hitting the target, Given was equal to them. Trapattoni's side were being stretched thinly and were unable to hold on until half time as Stephen Ward sliced a clearance from Modric's shot straight into the path of an unmarked Jelavic. The striker was quick to react and stabbed the ball over Given to score his first international goal since August 2010.

                                           The second half began just as the first and Croatia doubled their lead just moments after the restart. Perisic's delivery from the left was glanced towards the far corner by the head of Mandzukic. His attempt bounced out off the post but was cruelly diverted into the net via the head of Given as he dived to make the save. Ireland were lacking numbers going forward and their fans were incensed at the referee's decision not to award them a penalty when Gordon Schildenfeld went through the back of Robbie Keane at the top of the box.
                                                     The Balkan side soon stepped off the gas and slowed down the tempo of the game to stop their opponents from gaining any momentum. Goalmouth action was limited until a flowing move from Croatia ended with Srna cutting the ball back to Ivan Rakitic on the 18-yard line but his right-footed effort was always curling away from the target. Keith Andrews headed wide in stoppage time but they could not deny Bilic's men a valuable win that puts them top of Group C and making qualification for the quarter-finals a real possibility. Ireland meanwhile face an uphill struggle if they are to progress, needing positive results against both Spain and Italy.

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Spain 1-1 Italy

                                                                                              Italy produced a brilliant effort to hold the world champions for a 1-1 draw. Spain started of without a striker , promoting Fabregas to the role of centre forward with Iniesta playing on the left.While Italy had Balotelli and Cassano playing up front. Italy had a handful of chances in the first half , but thanks to a brilliant save by Casilas , the socre stayed 0-0 at the break.

                                     In the second half , Mario Balotelli had hell of a chance when he stealed the ball from Sergio Ramos , but he took too much time infront of the goal and eventually leading to clearance by Ramos. As expected , Balotelli was soon replaced and the substitution paid off as Antonio di natalle , cruised on to a Pirlo through ball and find the back of the net quite comfortably. But Spain hit back immediately through Fabregas who finished with class and precision as he was played on by David Silva.

                                       Spain had couple of late chances after Fabregas was replaced with Torres. But the Chelsea front man cudnt find the killer touch.

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Germany 1-0 Portugal

                                             Mario Gomez's late header ensured Germany made a winning start to Euro 2012 after Portugal had threatened to frustrate Joachim Loew's side in Lviv.
                                            Germany dominated possession but struggled to carve out clear cut chances before Gomez broke the deadlock after Sami Khedira's cross. Portugal were disappointing and only came to life after Germany scored. Pepe hit the bar with a rare first-half chance while Nani was also denied by the woodwork late on.

                                                     Gomez was given a go by the coach ahead of the free scoring Close who celebrates his 34th B'day today. And he did rise to the managers expectation at the right time. He was about to be replaced at 72th minute , then he connected a perfect world class header of Khaira's cross.
     
                                          Portugal too had their chances , at the end of first half , Pepe hit the woodwork from a corner kick , but the ball hasn't crossed the line. Then after Gomez's goal , Portugal went on a late surge. With Ronaldo , Contrao and Nani combining together. They did produce few golden chances which dint find the back of the net , thanks to brilliant goal keeping by manuel Neur . Nani hit the crossbar with his cross and Ronaldo was denied by a brilliant tackle by Jerome Boeteng.

                               Now in the Group of death ,Group B both Denmark and Germany have won one game each. The following matches are gonna be breath taking for sure.

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Netherlands 0-1 Denmark

                                     "This wasnt the day for Orange"
                            Netherlands suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Denmark at Metalist Stadium on Saturday to start their Euro 2012 campaign in dreadful fashion. Despite fashioning a slew of chances almost straight from the opening whistle, the tournament favourites were extremely poor in front of goal, and were punished for their profligacy by a fine finish from Michael Krohn-Dehli after 24 minutes.
                                                              The Dutch were similarly wasteful during the second half, their performance epitomised by the labouring Robin van Persie, who showed none of the killer instinct from his stellar 37-goal season with Arsenal. The race for qualification from Group B is now wide open, after a stunning smash and grab result from Denmark, who defied the odds and now have a priceless three points to give their hopes of making the quarter-finals an undeniable boost.
                                                                With first choice left-back Erik Pieters unavailable, Bert van Marwijk began with Jetro Willems at the back who, at 18 years and 71 days old, became the youngest player ever to feature in the tournament.It was the PSV Eindhoven youngster who had the first chance of the match, sending a crashing drive from long range over the bar with only three minutes gone. Moments later, Robin van Persie spurned a more obvious opportunity when he belted a deflected cross off target from close range. The Dutch appeared to be in control of proceedings, Ibrahim Afellay sending another effort off target, before Arjen Robben’s dangerous centre was toe-poked into the grateful arms of Stephan Andersen. 
                                                                          However, for all their dominance, Netherlands lacked a cutting edge in front of goal and with 24 minutes gone, Denmark showed them how it should be done. Krohn-Dehli still had work to do after picking up possession just outside the area, but the Brondby winger did not hesitate, nipping past his marker and drilling between the legs of Maarten Stekelenburg. The goal sparked Denmark into life, who began to cause more problems by using their wide players to apply pressure down the flanks and pinging crosses into the heart of the Dutch penalty area. They were almost pegged back after 36 minutes though, after a poor clearance from Andersen was pounced upon by Robben, who strode forward and bent an effort onto the base of the post. Afellay skied another attempt following a marauding run into the box, but it was Van Persie’s miss a few minutes before half-time that left Van Marwijk shaking his head. The Arsenal striker’s heavy first-touch betrayed a glorious set up by Wesley Sneijder, but he still should have hit the target, instead of firing wide via a deflection by Andersen.

                                                            The interval did little to turn Van Persie’s fortunes, who wasted two further setups from Sneijder, with a trip over his own feet a particular cause of frustration, not least to the watching Klass Jan-Huntelaar on the bench. Mark Van Bommel called Andersen into action with a long range piledriver, before Afellay squeezed an attempt from the edge of the box inches wide of the post, as Netherlands seemed capable of everything but putting the ball into the back of the net. Robben planted a header the wrong side of the post, but Netherlands could have been further behind on 70 minutes had Stekelenburg not gotten a touch onto a stinging drive by Krohn-Dehli. The chances continues to come for the Dutch, with substitute Huntelaar wasting the pick of them when he failed to round Andersen after yet another incisive through ball from Sneijder.

                                          But Denmark were holding firm at the back, and survived a late flicked header from Van Persie that inched over the bar. When a late penalty appeal for handball against Jacobsen went unanswered, the Dutch knew that their time was up. Netherlands will have a difficult task getting their campaign back on track when they face fellow favourites Germany in their next group match, while Denmark square off with Portugal. Both fixtures take place next Wednesday.

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Preview : Germany vs Portugal

                                                  CLASH OF THE TITANS
                                                              
                                                                                         
Its gonna b hell of a match today... and the scene is all set

Bastin Shwansteiger arrives 

German Fans r all ready 2 roar!!!

Ozeil.. 

You will see a lot of that kind during the match !!

Portugal for lyff

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Russia 4-1 Czech Republic

 Alan Dzagoev scored twice as Russia swept to a convincing victory over the Czech Republic in Wroclaw and leave his nation atop Group A after the opening games in the section.
                                              Dick Advocaat had reiterated his belief that Russia are contenders to win the tournament in his pre-match press conference. With the way his team performed in their opening game in brushing aside the Czech Republic 4-1, the Dutchman will not have changed his mind. Alan Dzagoev struck twice as Russia made the ideal start to their UEFA EURO 2012 campaign, defeating the Czech Republic to take an early lead in Group A.After Dzagoev had opened the scoring on the quarter-hour, Roman Shirokov struck nine minutes later to give Russia a healthy lead at the break.
                                              Václav Pilař's goal early in the second half gave the Czechs hope, but Dzagoev and Roman Pavlyuchenko scored within three minutes of each other as their opponents crumbled in the closing stages. The gloss those goals gave the scoreline was not merely a flattering one. Advocaat had promised his side would not abandon the attractive style that had brought them this far, though initially they were not allowed to show it.

                                             The Czechs' menace stemmed only from a pair of set pieces, however, and goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev, preferred to Igor Akinfeev, was untroubled, unlike his counterpart at the opposite end. Petr Čech had already seen Aleksandr Kerzhakov scuff a good chance wide before the FC Zenit St Petersburg forward struck a post with a header from Konstantin Zyryanov's cross. The Czech defence, pulled out of shape by the Russians' sharp movement and still sharper passing, reacted sluggishly as the ball broke for Dzagoev to cap a move he had started by drilling in. An almost carbon-copy attack might have immediately brought a second had Dzagoev, faced only with the advancing Čech, shown the poise Shirokov then displayed in doubling his team's lead.
                                                          Though Arshavin's angled pass was intended for Kerzhakov, it ran neatly to Shirokov, whose recent burst of goals was evident in his confident chip over Čech. The fluidity in Russia's forays merely served to put the Czechs' lack of that precious quality into greater relief when they moved forward. Only Petr Jiráček provided anything like the required impetus, and a scuffed Michal Kadlec shot, which brought a leisurely save from Malafeev, summed up a disappointing opening half. Michal Bílek's men appeared set for an equally frustrating second period with Arshavin quickly slipping back into his devilishly creative mood.
                                                     He was upstaged, however, by an old club-mate, Tomáš Rosický, who picked out Pilař's run behind the Russian back four with a sublime pass. The VfL Wolfsburg man confidently rounded Malafeev before clipping home from an ever-tightening angle. Arshavin responded to Rosický in kind, flicking nonchalantly through for Kerzhakov, but he was left looking to the heavens after dragging his shot wide of the far post. It was not a night to remember for the 29-year-old, who was substituted soon after firing another opportunity wastefully wide. Fortunately for Russia, his profligacy did not cost them, though Malafeev had to produce an excellent save to stop a Rosický drive before Dzagoev and Pavlyuchenko, who had replaced Kerzhakov, put the issue beyond doubt.

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Poland 1-1 Greece

Euro Cup begins in style and Greece almost ruined the Host's night :) 
                                               Poland and Greece played out a thrilling 1-1 draw that included two red cards and a penalty in the opening game of Euro 2012 at the National Stadium in Warsaw.
                                        Franciszek Smuda's men dominated proceedings in the first half and deservedly took the lead through Robert Lewandowski. Just before half-time, Sokratis Papastathopoulos was sent off for a second bookable offence, leaving Greece with an uphill task to overturn their deficit.
                          Fernando Santos introduced Dimitris Salpingidis after the break and the PAOK man made an instant impact, netting the equaliser shortly after the restart. The substitute later won a penalty after he was fouled by Wojciech Szczesny, who was sent off for the offence, but captain Giorgos Karagounis missed from the spot. Ultimately, the two sides had to settle for a draw in game which offered plenty of excitement from start to finish. Both teams employed a cautious approach in the beginning of the match, but it was Poland, spurred on by their vocal fans, who created the first chance. A cross from the right by Lukasz Piszczek caught the Greek defence by surprise, but Lewandowski failed to connect with pass. The ball ended up in the path of Rafal Murawski, who powered a shot at goal from outside the box, but his finish was palmed over the bar by goalkeeper Kostas Chalkias.
                                                     Greece's reply came in the 12th minute when Theofanis Gekas sent a header wide of the left post from inside the box with the Polish defence beaten. Smuda's men soon regained the initiative, and were looking particularly dangerous down the right flank as Borussia Dortmund duo Jakub 'Kuba' Blaszczykowski and Piszczek were causing the visitors plenty of trouble.Their persistence paid off the 17th minute as they combined well on the wing before the former Wisla Krakow midfielder delivered a perfect cross for Lewandowski, who powered an unstoppable header past the onrushing Chalkias, making amends for missing with a volley moments earlier. The opener calmed the nerves of Poland, who took their foot off the gas after their period of dominance.

                              Greece adjusted their approach as well, and looked more committed in attack, but were struggling to create chances as the home side's pressing game was proving difficult to handle for the visitors. Things went from bad to worse for Santos' men as in the 37th minute Avraam Papadopoulos was forced to leave the pitch after picking up an injury. His replacement, Kyriakos Papadopoulos nearly made an instant gaffe as his poor clearance on a free kick allowed Damien Perquis to fire a shot from inside the box, but to the relief of the Schalke man the finish missed the target.

                                                   The turning point of the half arrived in the 44th minute when Sokratis Papastathopoulos picked up his second caution of the game for foul on Murawski, leaving Greece with 10 men for the remainder of the match. Sotiris Ninis was replaced by Salpingidis after the restart, and Santos' decision paid instant dividends. A mix-up by Szczesny and defender Marcin Wasilewski gifted Salpingidis a golden chance to level the proceedings, and the attacker took it with both hands, finishing in the left corner. Smuda's men looked shell-shocked by the equaliser and were lacking ideas in the final third. Greece, on the other hand, were defending superbly, easily soaking up the pressure, waiting for their chance on the counter. Just after the hour mark Georgios Samaras had a superb opportunity to put the Greeks ahead, but sent a volley from just outside the six-yard box way over the bar. Poland received another blow as in the 69th minute as Szczesny was shown a straight red after fouling Salpingidis in the box, conceding a penalty in the process. Karagounis, however, saw his spot-kick saved by substitute goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton, wasting a chance to give Greece the lead.
                                 The visitors had a goal disallowed in the 75th minute, and despite their best efforts were unable to score again as the game ended in a draw.

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Euro Cup 2012

The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2012, will be the 14th European Championship for national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament will be hosted by Poland and Ukraine between 8 June and 1 July 2012.
                                               It is the first time that either nation has hosted the tournament. This bid was chosen by UEFA's Executive Committee in 2007. The final tournament features 16 nations, the last European Championship to do so (from Euro 2016 onward, there will be 24 finalists). Qualification was contested by 51 nations between August 2010 and November 2011 to join the two host nations in the tournament. The winner of the tournament gains automatic entry to the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup hosted by Brazil

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