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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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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