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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