Soccer at the Olympics! (Olympic Football!)

Well the games that I looked forward to in my last post have taken place and there were some surprises and some great performances! Japan and Sweden opened things on the 28th with an inauspicious 0-0 draw. However, New Zealand v.s. Brazil was a close, tense battle that finished 0-1 to the South Americans. Then came the high-scoring parties: Canada hammered South Africa 3-0 before the United States defeated Colombia by the same score (though with a bit more controversy after Abby Wambach was punched by Lady Andrade and 29 other fouls were committed throughout the game). In a more tame game, Great Britain v.s. Cameroon similarly finished 3-0 in favor of the home side. The last game of the day took place between the French and the North Koreans. It seemed a completely different side of North Koreans from their opening 2-0 victory over Colombia but that is the nature of soccer! As it was, France ran out 5-0 winners. On to the men's action on the 29th of July which saw Egypt and New Zealand play out a 1-1 draw to start things off. Mexico was victorious over Gabon by a margin of 2-0 while Brazil defeated Belarus 3-1 to end the morning games. At noon Japan edged Morocco 1-0 while Senegal upset Uruguay in a 2-0 shocker! South Korea and Switzerland finished 2-1 before the afternoon games arrived: Great Britain faced the United Arab Emirates and sank 3 past them though admittedly allowing one into the back of their own net. As for the last game of the day, Spain were left with a bad taste in their mouth as Honduras managed to pull off a one-goal wonder: they denied Spain their chances and finished on top in the process after a goal in the 7th minute from Jerry Bengtson! However, if the score had been decided on by yellow cards the Spanish might just have won: 7 for them while Honduras had "just" 6! And what do you have to look forward to? Well, tomorrow (July 31st) the women return with an in-form Japan squaring off against a South Africa who have no hope of progressing to the next round. Then, Canada, who must win to have a hope at qualifying, face Sweden who are in a slightly better position tied at the top of the table with the Japanese. The U.S. then take on North Korea a little after noon with the North Koreans' only hope coming if they are victorious by a margin that the French cannot better against a Colombian side that have no hope of making it through. As far as the afternoon games are concerned, New Zealand's match with Cameroon is largely a battle over pride while Brazil's game with Great Britain will decide who faces who in the next round. And then on the 1st of August we have the men playing. Brazil v.s. New Zealand provides little hope for the Kiwis to advance while Egypt's match with Belarus may be a more tightly contested affair. Japan v.s. Honduras is the match-up of the first and second place teams in their table respectively while Morocco and Spain who play at the same time both have barely any chance at all to go on. Also at noon, Mexico face Switzerland in a game the Swiss must win to have any hope of surviving. The Mexicans must likewise win because their position in the next round is in no way assured. South Korea and Gabon are the last of the noon-time games with similar stakes as the previous match-up: technically, either side could still go through depending on the results. Last but certainly not least we have Senegal taking on the United Arab Emirates while Great Britain face a serious threat from the Uruguayans. Try to catch some of what I am sure is going to be an exciting couple of days!

The Olympics Soccer so far.

Well, I'd like to start with the women's soccer that took place on the 25th of July! Team Great Britain opened things with a 1-0 victory over New Zealand while just an hour later the Japanese women's team edged Canada in a 2-1 battle. At the same time, the United States defeated France in a 4-2 thriller! As for the afternoon games the Brazilian women's team obliterated Cameroon  5-0 with Sweden treating the South Africans much the same way in a 4-1 victory. The last match of the day was between Colombia and North Korea. Despite getting a late start after some stadium ineptitude, the North Korean women played a great game winning 0-2. Look for the continuation of the women's action on the 28th of July! On to the men's games now where Honduras and Morocco opened the day with an exciting 2-2 draw as Mexico and South Korea played out a goalless draw. Next up was the upset of the tournament thus far: Spain getting edged 0-1 by a wonderful Japan side. As for the noon-time games, the United Arab Emirates were barely beaten by Uruguay's Olympic side in a 1-2 spectacle. Gabon and Switzerland then tied with one another: 1-1. And then came the afternoon games with Belarus seeing New Zealand off with a 1-0 scoreline before Brazil took on Egypt. In a cataclysmic battle, Brazil out-scored the Egyptians in a 3-2 fiesta. Last but not least, Team Great Britain weren't able to hold onto their lead against Senegal who drew level at the death to make it 1-1 when the final whistle blew. And now for a look into the future with more women's action coming on the 28th. Japan and Sweden face-off to get things started early in the morning while New Zealand and Brazil kick-off next. Canada and South Africa will play at about the same time while at noon the United States meet Colombia. The other Group G match up will be between France and North Korea but that takes place after Great Britain's game with Cameroon's women's team. And ending this forward look how about the men's games that will be taking place on the 29th? Egypt and New Zealand open the day while Mexico and Gabon play a little later. A couple of hours before noon Brazil will meet the team from Belarus in what many predict will be a one-sided affair. Japan and Morocco take the pitch at 12:00 while Senegal and Uruguay meet at the same time in what is sure to be a fascinating fixture. South Korea and Switzerland then play a quarter after while later in the afternoon Great Britain face the United Arab Emirates and Spain meet Honduras. Keep enjoying!

The Olympics! A Day Early... And Not In England.

Coming up tomorrow (today) July 25th 2012 we have the following action-packed line-up of women's soccer! Team Great Britain will start things off against New Zealand in Group E while Japan and Canada face-off an hour later to get Group F underway! Group G starts at the same time with the U.S.'s best facing France. Then, an hour and 45 minutes later Group E's second match kicks-off with Cameroon facing Brazil and an hour's rest between that and the two following games: Sweden v.s. South Africa and Colombia v.s. North Korea! I hope you are ready because I am sure the games are going to be explosive! And looking on to the 26th when the men's tournament begins: Honduras take on Morocco before Mexico face South Korea and Spain meet Japan. After a brief respite the action continues with the United Arab Emirates facing Uruguay and Gabon challenge the Swiss. That won't be all though! Belarus fight New Zealand as Brazil take-on Egypt with Team Great Britain welcoming Senegal. Hope you're ready because here they come!

U-19 Euro Championship and a bit more.

It is a tournament that has few equals! Not only have Spain made it to the Finals once more, following a thrilling Semi-Final against France which wasn't resolved after a 3-3 scoreline! Despite the French side's best efforts, the Spanish were victorious 4-2 in penalties and face Greece who showed a lot of spirit to fight through regulation and extra time for a 1-2 scoreline against England. In other news, the national men's team rankings at the senior level were released on the 4th of July and here's a quick look at them: Spain obviously remain on top of the world after a convincing performance at the European Championships. Germany maintained 2nd despite falling out at the Semi-Finals. Uruguay are then in 3rd while England have risen to 4th in the world with Portugal behind them in 5th position. Italy's run to the Final carried them up 6 places to 6th while Argentina are in 7th. Following the Argentines are quite the motley crew: the Netherlands, whose tournament ended in disgrace after falling in an admittedly competitive group; Croatia who similarly disappointed though they did give a decent enough run; Denmark who actually made a good showing of themselves - defeating the Netherlands before giving Germany and Portugal runs for their money (though they did eventually lose). Brazil fell, though that was largely due to inactivity rather than anything else. Greece rose 3 places following a performance that undoubtedly made their supporters proud, to put them into 12th position. Russia and France stayed in 13th and 14th respectively despite mediocre performances in the Euros (Yes, Russia were looking quite convincing before Greece showed their heart and upset them in their last group game. As for France, their Quarter-Final loss to Spain was honestly to be expected though they may have been hoping for better). And last but not least, Chile are in 15th position! Cheers.

Onwards!

As everyone probably knows, Spain convincingly seized the 2012 European Championship and cemented their place in history with a record third title: the 2008 European Championship, the 2010 World Cup, and this year's premier tournament. It was quite a tournament too! Every game had at least a goal (I'm counting penalties here), most of the star players of European football had a good tournament, and several younger players made names for themselves! Spain's 4-0 victory over the Italians, (in which they faced a side of just ten men after terrible injury luck for the Italians) may be compared to countless other high scoring games including Russia's 4 - 1 victory over the Czech Republic; Portugal's hard-fought 3 - 2 encounter with the Danes; the entertaining spectacle that was England's 3 - 2 win over Sweden; as well as Germany's 4 - 2 victory over Greece in their Quarter-Final game. Now, however, we move on as Spain were again crowned the masters of the world, though this time at the Beach Soccer European Championship! There, they defeated the then-holders and hosts Russia in an explosive 5-3 encounter. As well as the previously mentioned, Ukraine and the Netherlands also managed to book their places in the Beach Soccer World Cup which will take place in Tahiti in 2013 by finishing 3rd and 4th respectively. Last but not least, the European U-19 Championship is also taking place with Group A having been won by Spain (again! They keep popping up!) with 7 points while Greece got through to the next round with 6. Portugal and Estonia weren't so lucky with 4 and 0 points respectively. As for Group B England and France managed the same tallies as Spain and Greece in Group A with Croatia taking 4 and Serbia left with nothing. Hope you are ready for the Semi Finals!