The Croatian side promised so much from the beginning of the tournament that the overall balance of the team as a team was neglected in favor of the little starlets such a as Modric. The game started with a penalty kick and right from the 4' Modric put the Croatians on top. It appeared a match to be won clearly by the Croatians but the home side loyally struggled the entire match, giving us the best game in moths, so far. The game leveled at 20' with the Austrians attempting to reach the box. The match swayed relentlessly from one end to the other. We found in one minute Austria in a full attacking capacity and in the next moment a home side defending by any means possible. At 33' it was clear that the Croatians still had the pace in their hands with the ability of fasten or slowed it at any moment. But the point was that none of the midfielders of Croatia made correct choices. This lack of game in the midfield gave the advantages that the hosts will have in the second period.
The equalizer seemed fair in a match that was far from grace even on both sides. As early as the 56' Austria tried to find the equalizer relentlessly. Several players like Niko Krankjar and Modric were completely lost. Luca is the engine of the team, and he proved his condition of Central midfielder in the sense of speeding the game. But if we remember, speeding a game is not a resource for loosing pressure, and that was the mistake by the Croatians. The visiting side recovered the ball in the 67' but this ease on pressure was regained and then was when all the attacks became predictable; vertical crosses or crosses from the sides. The push was so intense by the 75' that the equalizer was close. The drive by the home side was inevitable. The problem was the finish (i.e. Arsenal FC). The game was this; a promising start by the eastern side that diminished in time ending in a disappointing finish. The referee stand out due to his polemic decisions but it was the lack of final touch by the Austrians that ended abruptly their hopes for future knock-out stage contendants. The final free kick epitomized the match; pure effort but no talent.
Germany v. Poland 2-0
Of course that the match that raised expectation due to the media coverage was my first title-contender team Germany (second Portugal, Holland third and Spain performing a very decorous show). The starting XI by the Bavarians was clearly offensive but with one problem that I will comment later; Lukas Podolski. Of course it was not a problem in the end due to his two goals and leading scorer of the tournament but certainly out in trouble Marcel Jansen. I will paraphrase Eduardo Biscayart on this topic. He said that the German midfield was "fake". Fake in the sense of belonging positions, which again has to do with Dissapearing in the Pitch. However Clemens Fritz is not a truly Left midfielder and neither Ballack as a central role and even less Frings. This problem began taking shape before the goal. Lukas Podolski could not find his form in the left side, thus leading to Jansen in lateral role, laving spaces which the Polish attacks wasted, actually. The goal arrived at 20' from an onside pass from Klose. The defense played bad the offside trap leading to the eventual lead. Germany played calmly after the goal, even though the Polish side pushed strongly at 35'. By the time the half time whistle was blowing the efforts by Poland were enough to equalize with the already troubled German midfield merely holding.
In the second half the match was balanced, again with the Polish side through Guerreiro. Then it appeared that the Polish attack was reaching the leveler when the counters by Germany were at hand, hence for some minutes we had a match that swayed from side to side. Bennhacker was keen on the progression of the game through touch. Bu that was not even enough for them to level the game. Boruc at least performed three definitive saves. Then the final punch to the opposition came with the goal from "Prinz" Poldi. The swing by Klose provided Poldi a perfect opportunity to volley the number 5, which eventually happened. From the second goal towards the end the German superiority overwhelmed the Polish capacity, which ended far from being on goal. Schweinsteiger produced little change, but it was the whole team, the group effort, who proved why title-contenders epithet should be removed instead of title-owners, although it is too early to diagnose a winner at the end of the month.
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