Offshore drilling, Euro 2012: Poland 1, Greece 1

2 Comments

source:  Man of the match: It was a curious halftime substitution, Greece bringing on a forward for somebody who could play midfield (after going a man down). Fernando Santos obviously knew his team well, because veteran Dimitris Salpingidis was the right move. In the 51st minute, Salpigidis poached an equalizer, and midway though the second, he won a penalty kick and red card, evening the numbers.

NBC Sports: Poland held by Greece as two sent off
As it happened: Monday’s action from Euro 2012’s opening night

Packaged for takeaway:

  • What a disappointing result for Poland. You come out, dominate the first half hour, and take a one goal lead into half time with a man advantage. Then not only do you fail to get full points, you’re lucky to get one after a penalty kick isn’t converted.
  • Experience is largely overrated (and overused, but commentators). Tonight, it really seemed to matter. Poland seemed naive in the second half, never working to put the game away when they had control. Greece, on the other hand, overcame their disadvantage and, by full time, were clearly the better side.
  • After the first half hour, it was clear Poland had three advantages, none of which they used in the second half:
    1. Greece couldn’t handle the right side of Poland’s attack. Robert Lewandowski would come back and play forward to Jakub Blaszczykowski and Lukasz Piszczek (all Borussia Dortmund players). The combination was almost never stopped and produced Poland’s only goal (a first half header from Lewandowski from a Kuba cross). In the second half, Poland only threw Piszczek forward once.
    2. Poland was dominant on set pieces in the first, but in the second, they never pressured the Greece defense enough to earn more opportunities.
    3. And twice in the first half, Poland had jailbreak counter attack chances. Greece played too deep in the second to concede any counters.
  • Aside from Przemyslaw Tyton’s penalty kick save (becoming the first substitute `keeper to save a kick in the tournament), the goalkeeping was terrible. Kostas Chalkias took himself out of position on Lewandowski’s opener, while a meek decision poorly executed left Wojciech Szcesny’s goal open for the equalizer. Szczesny also got himself sent off after he took down Salpingidis. Normally you’d saw Poland will miss him, but as bad as he was today (with little to do), they probably won’t.
  • As Gareth Southgate would later point out, Giorgios Karagounis had a ton of time to wait before the penalty kick. Tyton was allowed a lot of time to come on after Szczesny’s unexpected sending off.
  • It bares repeating: Poland abandoning the advantages they had down their right was ridiculous. The three best players on the field were Lewandowski, Blasczcykowski and Pisczcek, none of whom were a factor in the second.
  • Instead, Poland’s defense nearly gave away the game. Central defenders Damien Perquis and Marcin Wasilewski were continuously beaten by passes chipped over their head, while left back Sebastian Boensich kept Salpingidis onside on the play that saw Szczesny sent of.
  • Greece deserves a lot of credit, though. At halftime, I said Fernando Santos’s first priority needed to be keeping this a one goal game, the idea being Greece had little chance to advance should they leave the match with a -2 difference. Instead, Santos helped orchestrate an unexpected point.
  • But neither of these teams look like quarterfinal material. Group A is weak, but it’s not weak enough for the two teams we saw today to advance. Both teams need improved defenses before they take the field again on Tuesday. And it needs to be made clear to Poland’s players: They have to put in 90, not 30, minutes.
  • ProSoccerTalk is doing its best to keep you up to date on what’s going on in Poland and Ukraine. Check out the site’s Euro 2012 page and look at the site’s previews, predictions, and coverage of all the events defining UEFA’s championship.

    USMNT vs El Salvador, live! Score, updates, how to watch, videos

    0 Comments

    The USMNT host El Salvador in a winner-take-all CONCACAF Nations League Group D finale on Monday (7:30 pm ET), at Exploria Stadium in Orlando.

    [ MORE: USMNT player ratings vs Grenada | Recap/highlights ]

    The group winner will qualify for the finals (four teams) of the 2022-23 CONCACAF Nations League (June 15-18) as well as the 2023 Gold Cup (June 24-July 16). The group runners-up will also qualify for this summer’s Gold Cup.

    Following their 7-1 thumping of Grenada on Friday, the USMNT is in good shape and interim head coach Anthony Hudson will likely rotate his first-choice back four back into the lineup.

    [ MORE: Folarin Balogun to USMNT? “It’s something that will come to me”

    Christian Pulisic, Brenden Aaronson, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna and Ricardo Pepi all sparkled in the final third against Grenada and we could see Alex Zendejas and Daryl Dike from the start in Orlando.

    Of course, Folarin Balogun is also expected to be watching on from the stands as intrigue grows around his possible switch from England to the USMNT to give the Americans another fine young attacking talent.

    Here is everything you need for the USMNT vs El Salvador.


    How to watch USMNT vs El Salvador live, stream link and start time

    Kick off: 7:30pm ET
    Stadium: Exploria Stadium – Orlando, Florida
    TV in English: TNT
    TV/streaming en Español: Universo/Peacock

    [ LIVE: CONCACAF Nations League scores – USMNT vs El Salvador ]


    USMNT squad

    Goalkeepers (3): Ethan Horvath (Luton Town), Zack Steffen (Middlesbrough), Matt Turner (Arsenal)

    Defenders (8): Sergino Dest (AC Milan), Mark McKenzie (Genk), Tim Ream (Fulham), Bryan Reynolds (Westerlo), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Birmingham City)

    Midfielders (7): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Johnny Cardoso (Internacional), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Weston McKennie (Leeds United), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Alan Sonora (Juarez), Djordje Mihailovic (AZ Alkmaar)

    Forwards (6): Taylor Booth (Utrecht), Daryl Dike (West Bromwich Albion), Ricardo Pepi (Groningen), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Alejandro Zendejas (Club America)


    EURO 2024 qualification live! EURO qualifiers schedule, updates, standings

    0 Comments

    EURO 2024 qualifying is here, and you’re in the right spot for groups, fixtures, and results.

    Italy outlasted England in penalty kicks to win EURO 2020 and is bidding to become the first repeat winner since Spain in 2008 and 2012.

    [ MORE: Breaking down Premier League title race ]

    England is still seeking its first European Championship and will be favored to emerge from Group C with aforementioned Italy as well as Ukraine, North Macedonia, and Malta.

    Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions started off 2024 qualifying well as Harry Kane snapped a tie with Wayne Rooney atop England’s all-time goals list with a 2-1 win in Italy, the nation’s first in the country since 1961, and then Bukayo Saka led the Three Lions to a 2-0 win over Ukraine on Sunday.

    Netherlands and France are also in a spicy group that has dark horse Republic of Ireland and former champions Greece, as well as Gibraltar.

    [ MORE: Live scores, updates, standings from EURO 2024 qualifying ]

    A number of nations have guaranteed themselves no worse than a playoff spot due to their performances in the UEFA Nations League: Netherlands, Greece, Italy, Spain, Scotland, Georgia, Croatia, Turkey, Serbia, Kazakhstan.



    EURO 2024 qualifying schedule

    Thursday, March 23

    Kazakhstan 1-2 Slovenia
    Slovakia 0-0 Luxembourg
    Italy 1-2 England – Video, player ratings as Kane breaks Rooney record
    Denmark 3-1 Finland
    Portugal 4-0 Liechtenstein
    San Marino 0-2 Northern Ireland
    North Macedonia 2-1 Malta
    Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0 Iceland

    Friday, March 24

    Bulgaria 0-1 Montenegro
    Gibraltar 0-3 Greece
    Moldova 1-1 Faroe Islands
    Serbia 2-0 Lithuania
    Austria 4-1 Azerbaijan
    Sweden 0-3 Belgium
    Czech Republic 3-1 Poland
    France 4-0 Netherlands

    Saturday, March 25

    Scotland 3-0 Cyprus
    Israel 1-1 Kosovo
    Armenia 1-2 Turkey
    Belarus 0-5 Switzerland
    Spain 3-0 Norway
    Croatia 1-0 Wales
    Andorra 0-2 Romania

    Sunday, March 26

    Kazakhstan 3-2 Denmark
    England 2-0 Ukraine — Video, player ratings as Saka leads Three Lions
    Liechtenstein 0-7 Iceland
    Slovenia 2-0 San Marino
    Slovakia 2-0 Bosnia and Herzegovina
    Northern Ireland 0-1 Finland
    Luxembourg 0-6 Portugal
    Malta 0-2 Italy

    Monday, March 27

    Montenegro 0-2 Serbia
    Netherlands 3-0 Gibraltar
    Poland 1-0 Albania
    Austria 2-1 Estonia
    Sweden 5-0 Azerbaijan
    Moldova 0-0 Czech Republic
    Hungary 3-0 Bulgaria
    Republic of Ireland 0-1 France

    Tuesday, March 28

    Georgia vs Norway — Noon ET
    Wales vs Latvia — 2:45pm ET
    Romania vs Belarus — 2:45pm ET
    Switzerland vs Israel — 2:45pm ET
    Kosovo vs Andorra — 2:45pm ET
    Turkey vs Croatia — 2:45pm ET
    Scotland vs Spain — 2:45pm ET


    EURO 2024 qualifying standings

    Group A

    Spain — 3 pts, +3 GD
    Scotland — 3 pts, +3GD
    Georgia
    Norway — 0 pts, -3 GD
    Cyprus — 0 pts, -3 GD

    Group B

    France — 3pts, +4 GD
    Greece — 3 pts, +3 GD
    Republic of Ireland
    Gibraltar — 0 pts, -3 GD
    Netherlands — 0 pts, -4 GD

    Group C

    England — 6 pts, +3 GD
    Italy — 3 pts, +1 GD
    North Macedonia — 3 pts, +1 GD
    Ukraine — 0 pts, -2 GD
    Malta — 0 pts, -3 GD

    Group D

    Turkey — 3 pts, +1 GD
    Wales — 1 pt, 0 GD
    Croatia — 1 pt, 0 GD
    Latvia
    Armenia — 0 pts, -1 GD

    Group E

    Czech Republic — 3 pts, +2 GD
    Faroe Islands — 1 pt, 0 GD
    Moldova — 1 pt, 0 GD
    Albania
    Poland — 0 pts, -2 GD

    Group F

    Austria — 3 pts, +3 GD
    Belgium — 3 pts, + 3GD
    Estonia
    Azerbaijan — 0 pts, -3 GD
    Sweden — 0 pts, -3 GD

    Group G

    Serbia — 3 pts, +2 GD
    Montenegro — 3 pts, +1 GD
    Hungary
    Bulgaria — 0 pts, -1 GD
    Lithuania — 0 pts, -2 GD

    Group H

    Slovenia — 6 pts, +3 GD
    Northern Ireland — 3 pts, +1 GD
    Denmark — 3 pts, +1 GD
    Finland — 3 pts, -1 GD
    Kazakhstan — 3 pts, 0 GD
    San Marino — 0 pts, -4 GD

    Group I

    Switzerland — 3 pts, +5 GD
    Romania — 3 pts, + 2 GD
    Israel — 1 pt, 0 GD
    Kosovo — 1 pt, 0 GD
    Andorra — 0 pts, -2 GD
    Belarus — 0 pts, -5 GD

    Group J

    Portugal — 6 pts, +8 GD
    Slovakia — 4 pt, +2 GD
    Iceland — 3 pts, +4 GD
    Bosnia and Herzegovina — 3 pts, +1 GD
    Liechtenstein — 1 pt, -7 GD
    Luxembourg — 0 pts, -10 GD

    Antonio Conte, Tottenham part ways

    1 Comment

    Antonio Conte’s belabored but seemingly inevitable exit from Tottenham Hotspur was just that, as Spurs announced the Italian legend’s exit late Sunday.

    Conte went off on everyone at the club following a 3-3 draw with Southampton in Premier League Matchweek 28, and the international break did nothing to calm or rectify the situation.

    “I see selfish players, I see players that don’t want to help each other and don’t put their heart [into the game],” Conte said at one point, later criticizing ownership, coaches, and staff. See the full press conference atop this post.

    Cristian Stellini will stay on and oversee the season as “Acting Head Coach” with longtime Spurs man Ryan Mason assisting the Italian.

    [ MORE: Saka, Kane scored as England cruises past Ukraine ]

    Conte, 53, was appointed Spurs boss on Nov. 2, 2021 following the firing of Nuno Espirito Santo, and helped Tottenham to a top-four finish and a return to the UEFA Champions League.

    Spurs went unbeaten in their first seven matches to open the 2022-23 season, only losing away to West Ham and Chelsea, but a 3-1 loss at Arsenal in the North London derby started a run of ups and downs not normally associated with Conte teams.

    After beating Brighton and Everton, Spurs failed to win consecutive Premier League matches between October 19 and late January, when Spurs beat Fulham and Man City on consecutive match days.

    Tottenham was on a 5W-1D-2L Premier League run when Conte launched into his incredible rants following the Southampton draw. That, combined with a lifeless Champions League exit against AC Milan, was far too much to sustain him at the club.

    Tottenham Hotspur statement on Antonio Conte

    From TottenhamHotspur.com:

    “We can announce that Head Coach Antonio Conte has left the Club by mutual agreement. We achieved Champions League qualification in Antonio’s first season at the Club. We thank Antonio for his contribution and wish him well for the future.

    “Cristian Stellini will take the team as Acting Head Coach for the remainder of the season, along with Ryan Mason as Assistant Head Coach.

    Daniel Levy, Chairman: ‘We have 10 Premier League games remaining and we have a fight on our hands for a Champions League place. We all need to pull together. Everyone has to step up to ensure the highest possible finish for our Club and amazing, loyal supporters.'”

    What now?

    It’s very strange that Spurs would wait one week into the international break and then announce that Conte was leaving without a new coach in place (Stellini was a long time Tottenham assistant).

    Spurs are currently in fourth place on the table with 49 points, one point behind Manchester United, but Newcastle (47 points) and Liverpool 42 points) both have two matches-in-hand on Stellini’s men. Brighton’s also on 42 points and has three matches-in-hand on Spurs.

    Stellini actually may have a pretty easy task presuming he didn’t follow up Conte’s comments about the players by yelling, “Yeah, I agree!”

    There are points to be had along the way as Spurs return from break to meet Everton, Brighton, and Bournemouth, but the relatively soft landing ends with Newcastle, Manchester United, and Liverpool in the following three PL matches.

    Palace, Villa, Brentford, and Leeds wind down the fixture list, so it’s reasonable to think Spurs will return to the Champions League if they can get through Liverpool on April 30 with a look at the top four.

    Premier League top scorers: Who is leading Golden Boot race?

    0 Comments

    Harry Kane scored twice on Saturday to give him 20 goals on the Premier League season, and impressive figure with 10-plus matches left for the teams of the Premier League this season.

    Then Erling Haaland converted a penalty at Crystal Palace to give him 28 on the season, reminding the country that the Golden Boot race remains in fait accompli territory.

    [ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ] 

    There is something somewhat dull about knowing the identity of the 2022 Golden Boot winner, the lone curiosity being the final number of his final tally, we get it, but most of what Haaland is doing this season is simply marvelous and to be admired without much fear.

    Haaland’s Premier League-leading 28 goals have him seven goals clear of the next closest challenger: Tottenham’s fantastic and firing Harry Kane.

    The Norwegian star piled up 20 goals in a single Premier League season faster than any player in history… by seven games (Kevin Phillips of Sunderland did it in 21). Now he’s within five goals of equalling Kevin Phillips’ record for most goals in a debut Premier League season.

    And the later this season goes with him projected so far over the current record, the less chucking is accompanied by marking out the pace (especially considering Haaland was not beaten up by the World Cup, as Norway was not in the tournament). And even though Haaland is currently overperforming his expected goals total, it’s clear that projecting him for the Premier League record is rather realistic.

    Which records can Haaland break?

    Haaland may not be likely to hit 50 goals given the schedule congestion to come for Man City, but the Premier League record is very well under assault and that figure isn’t entirely absurd. He’s played in 23 of Man City’s 24 games, scoring 26 goals.

    Mohamed Salah holds the 38-game season record with his 32 goals scored for Liverpool during the 2017-18 season, while Newcastle’s Andy Cole and Blackburn’s Alan Shearer bagged 34 during 42-game seasons in the 20th century’s final decade.

    Haaland also could topple the record for goal involvements (goals plus assists) in a single season, including beating the 42-game record. Alan Shearer put up 47 over 42, while Thierry Henry holds the 38-game record with 44.

    Other records that Haaland could legitimately tie or topple:

    • 30 goals in a first Premier League season (Kevin Phillips, Sunderland, 1999-2000)
    • Goals in 24 different Premier League matches (Salah, Liverpool, 2017-18)
    • Most goals in a Premier League match (Five tied with five)
    • 11-straight Premier League games with a goal (Jamie Vardy, Leicester, 2014-15)

    Read on to see the latest Premier League goal totals for the 2022-23 season, as Haaland looks to claim a Golden Boot in his first PL season.

    Premier League 2022-23 Golden Boot race

      1. Erling Haaland, Man City — 28
      2. Harry Kane, Tottenham — 21
      3. Ivan Toney, Brentford — 16
      4. Marcus Rashford, Manchester United — 14
      5. Gabriel Martinelli, Arsenal — 13
      6. Bukayo Saka, Arsenal — 12
      7. Miguel Almiron, Newcastle — 11
      8. Aleksandar Mitrovic, Fulham — 11
      9. Mohamed Salah, Liverpool — 11
      10. Rodrigo, Leeds United — 11
      11. Martin Odegaard, Arsenal — 10
      12. James Maddison, Leicester City — 9
      13. Phil Foden, Man City — 9
      14. Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa — 9
      15. Harvey Barnes, Leicester City — 9
      16. Leandro Trossard — Brighton/Arsenal — 8
      17. Danny Ings, Aston Villa/West Ham — 8
      18. Darwin Nunez, Liverpool — 8
      19. Roberto Firmino, Liverpool — 8
      20. Callum Wilson, Newcastle — 7
      21. Brennan Johnson, Nottingham Forest — 7
      22. Alexis Mac Allister, Brighton — 7
      23. James Ward-Prowse, Southampton — 7
      24. Kai Havertz, Chelsea — 7
      25. Solly March, Brighton — 7
      26. Wilfried Zaha, Crystal Palace — 6
      27. Pascal Gross, Brighton — 6
      28. Kaoru Mitoma, Brighton — 6
      29. Heung-min Son, Tottenham — 6
      30. Phillip Billing, Bournemouth — 6
      31. Alexander Isak, Newcastle — 6