Euro 2008, Group B match
Poland Vs Croatia - 12th match With co-hosts Switzerland out of the tournament, hosts Austria managed to get some hosts remain for themselves after a Injury time penalty goal from Ivica Vastic. The Croatian born Austrian player also qualified his birthplace with his goal and too became the oldest scorer n the history of European football championship.
Video highlights of Austria Vs Poland 1-1
Goals of the match
1st goal: Roger Gurreiro for Poland in 30 th minute.
2nd goal: Ivica Castic for Austria in 90+3 minute in penalty.
GERMANY
Lehmann 6.5 – Looked shaky at times in the first half, and his handling was less than secure. Fumbled a cross in the first 40 seconds that could have led to Kryznowek scoring. However he made a fine stop from Saganowski late on.
Lahm 8 – Neutralised Kryznowek very well, never losing out in a one-on-one battle. The most impressive of the Germany defenders. Also did well offensively.
Metzelder 6 – Looks completely unfit after his long injury absence and will be crucified by a better opponent. Having said this he didn’t do too bad tonight and made one vital interception from a Guerriero cross.
Mertesacker 6.5 – Won everything in the air as would be expected, and was reasonably solid on the floor.
Jansen 5.5 – Struggled really badly against the dangerous Lobodzinski in the first period, but improved after the break.
Fritz 7 – Very lively down the German right. Crossed well and gave his marker Golanski a number of problems. Somewhat surprisingly taken off on 55 minutes.
Frings 7.5 – Was superb in the first 25 minutes, then faded a little, before regaining his dominance in the final 30. A class act when he is on form.
Ballack 7 – Provided a superb through pass for Klose’s early chance, and had some shorts spells of excellence throughout the game. Brought out a superb save from Boruc at 1-0.
Podolski 8.5 – Germany’s best player in the first half, getting behind Golanski at will, and putting his side into the lead. Added a second after the break with a thumping volley into the top corner.
Klose 7 – Wasted a one-on-one chance early on when he tried to pass to Gomez instead of shoot himself. Made up for it soon after by setting up Podolski for the opener. Also involved in the second goal.
Gomez 6 – Excellent pass that started the move for Podolski’s first, but a disappointment thereafter. Missed a good chance at 1-0.
Substitutes
Schweinsteiger 6.5 – Has had a poor season but did relatively well and got behind Golanski, and also had a few shots at goal.
Hitzlsperger 6 – Only had 15 minutes to make an impact, and helped close out the game.
Kuranyi N.A – Only on the field for a matter of seconds.
POLAND
Boruc 7 – Offered little protection from the defence in front of him, and could do nothing on either goal. Made one stunning stop from Ballack at 1-0. Undoubtedly a top-class keeper.
Wasilewski 5.5 – Could not cope with Podolski in the first half, although he improved after the break.
Bak 5 – The 35-year-old showed all of his advancing years tonight. His lack of pace was a real problem, and his command of the defensive line was also non-existent.
Zewlakow 5 – Almost identical assessment to his centre back partner Bak. Pushed up suicidally when Germany scored their first goal.
Golanski 4.5 – The fourth and final member of the Marx brothers. His mistake prior to Podolski’s second was of Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zippo proportions.
Dudka 6.5 – Neat and tidy in the middle of the park, and held his own for spells, but no cutting edge to his game.
Lewandowski 7 – Did well in the centre of midfield. Distributed the ball, and also got forward well, firing in a number of long-range shots.
Lobodzinski 7 – Caused havoc down the right in the first half, beating his marker Jansen on a number of occasions. Also forced a fine save out of Lehmann. Faded after the break and was substituted.
Zurawski 5.5 – Never really got into the match, and missed a fine chance, scuffing the ball wide when well placed. Subbed at half time.
Kryznowek 6 – Gave his all as usual, but got little change down the flank against Lahm. Had more success when he cut inside, and had a few half chances, one coming in the first 40 seconds.
Smolarek 5.5 – A disappointment. Would have been expected to cause the Germany centre backs some problems but it never really happened for him.
Substitutes
Guerreiro 7 – Gave the Poles a lift after his introduction at half time, showing some Brazilian-like touches.
Piszczek 6 – Never got into the game after replacing the impressive Lobodzinski.
Saganowski 6 – Almost grabbed a consolation at the end but was denied by a fine Lehmann save.
Original analysist from goal.com
Euro 2008 Group B - Game 4 - Lukas Podolski netted both goals against the country of his birth to give Germany a winning start to their Euro 2008 campaign against Poland in Klagenfurt.
Group B kicks-off on Sunday and tournament favourites Germany will be looking to get off to a flying start against neighbours Poland, who are in the first European Championships finals. Everything looks set for a cracking match up.
Best Foot Forward
Joachim Löw’s side rightly come into the tournament as one of the favourites following a superb qualification process and Germany will no doubt be looking to get themselves off to a winning start against Poland in Klagenfurt in their opener.
The Germans cruised through their qualifying group that included the Czech Republic and many believe they finished second on purpose as to avoid a ‘Group of Death’ like the one that Italy, France and Holland find themselves in.
The two teams met in the group stage at the World Cup 2006 in Dortmund and it took a 91st minute goal from substitute Oliver Neville to secure a narrow 1-0 win for the host nation. The occasion was huge then and the rivalry is such that the forthcoming clash is likely to be just as massive.
The German team that took to the field two years ago against Poland remains pretty much intact with just one or two changes expected. Co-trainer Hansi Flick has even joked that the Germans will be using exactly the same team talk they used last time out.
The one worry concerning the Germans going into the tournament is surprisingly their defence. Keeper Jens Lehmann has not had a lot of football this season at Arsenal and has not looked on top of his game during recent warm-up games.
Christophe Metzelder, a Löw favourite, will partner Per Mertesacker in the centre of the defence, but he too has missed a lot of games this season for Real Madrid through injury. The one positive thing is that the same concerns were being raised prior to the World Cup in 2006 and they proved unfounded as the Germans reached the semi-final.
Poland Look To Beenhakker
After breaking new ground in qualifying for their first European Championship finals, Poland will enter their opening Group B match against Germany looking for another first in the form of a long-awaited win over their neighbours. The Poles have failed to register a win in the previous 15 meetings between the two sides.
Poland will look to the experience of their coach Leo Beenhakker to see them through against the Germans. After losing his opening game in the qualifying group, the Dutch coach led the country to the top of the group ahead of Portugal and qualified the Poles for the European Championships for the first time.
The Polish tabloid press have certainly been stoking up the fires in recent days with a series of inflammatory front pages which haven’t gone down to well in the German camp. The have been images of Beenhakker holding the severed heads of both Ballack and Löw and plenty of jingoistic references.
Coach Leo Beenhakker has described the publicity stunt as “mad, dirty and sick” and will be hoping the incident doesn’t impact too much upon his side’s preparations for the vital opening clash with the Germans.
The label of underdogs will suit the Poles. The pressure will be very much on the Germans and to even gain a point will be seen as a success. A win however would surely cause national jubilation.
FORM GUIDE
Germany
17/11/07 Germany 4 Cyprus 0 (Euro Qualifier)
27/11/07 Germany 0 Wales 0 (Euro Qualifier)
06/02/08 Austria 0 Germany 3 (Friendly)
26/03/08 Switzerland 0 Germany 4 (Friendly)
27/05/08 Germany 2 Belarus 2 (Friendly)
31/05/08 Germany 2 Serbia 1 (Friendly)
Poland
06/02/08 Czech Rep 0 Poland 2 (Friendly)
27/02/08 Poland 2 Estonia 0 (Friendly)
26/0308 Poland 0 USA 3 (Friendly)
26/05/08 Poland 1 Macedonia 1 (Friendly)
28/05/08 Poland 1 Albania 1 (Friendly)
01/06/08 Poland 1 Denmark 1 (Friendly)
TEAM NEWS
Germany
Joachim Löw has intimated that he may play Bayern Munich striker Lukas Podolski on the left hand side of midfield in what will be the only real surprise in his line-up. Mario Gomez looks to have won the battle to partner Miroslav Klose up front with Marcell Jansen to play at left back with Bayern team mate Philipp Lahm on the other flank.
Predicted Line-Up: Lehmann, Lahm, Metzelder, Mertesacker, Jansen, Frings, Ballack, Schweinsteiger, Podolski, Gomez, Klose
Poland
Poland’s preparations have been hit after Dortmund midfielder Jakub Blaszczykowski suffered a hamstring injury which means he will miss the finals.
However, there is better news regarding defender Michal Zewlakow, who has recovered from a leg injury and will be ready for his country’s opening game in Group B. The other late injury news concerns third-choice keeper Tomasz Kuszczak, who has suffered a back injury and is also out of the tournament.
Predicted Line-Up: Boruc, Zewlakow, Wawrzyniak, Bak, Wasilewski, Lewandowski, Lobodzinski, Murawski, Dudka, Smolarek, Zurawski
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Germany- Michael Ballack
The Chelsea midfielder will want to lead his country to Euro 2008 glory and end a barren run which has seen the Germans not win the tournament since 1996. A win in Austria/ Switzerland will also go a long way to dampen Ballacks’s personal disappointment of losing out on this season’s Champions League. He has hit form at just the right time towards the end of the season and should be Germany’s key-man in the coming weeks.
Poland- Mariusz Lewandowski
Poland face an uphill task if they are to cause an upset and beat the Germans in this Group B opener. The midfield area will be key and if enforcer Lewandowski can shackle Ballack then part of the battle will have been won. The Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder will also look to get forward at set-pieces to provide a goal threat.
PREDICTION
Germany are a real tournament side and will be looking to top the group despite three matches to come against Poland, Croatia and Austria. They haven’t looked to be on top form in their last two friendly matches against Belarus and Serbia, but should be good enough to secure a win over rivals Poland in this Group B opener.
Germany 2-0 Poland
