Croatia 2-1 Germany

Raise your hand if you saw this one coming. I need to tally the scores for the blog's bracket challenge, but I'd say no more than one person had Croatia prevailing in Klagenfurt on Thursday. ESPN announcers Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth (who are great to listen to, and I love the effects that blend the crowd noise with their commentary so that it sounds like they're actually at the game when in reality they're in a studio in the middle of Connecticut) noted that the Germans looked flat-footed and very different from the team who took the field against Poland last weekend. I have to disagree with them on this point. I think that a smaller Croatian midfield surprised a lot of people by outplaying Michael Ballack and friends, but I don't think the Germans necessarily had a bad game in the midfield. They had their defensive lapses for sure, but so did Croatia; the real problem was that the Germans just didn't create a lot of good opportunities in this game. They did possess the ball well and show patience in advancing when the Croats buckled down in their own half. I state the obvious here, but soccer comes down to who finishes and who doesn't a lot of times; it was no different here. But to say the Germans were dominated, or played a terrible game, is inaccurate. They didn't play their best, or create the chances in the offensive third, but they had enough skill keeping possession to give themselves some opportunities all game. I think they're okay and still expect them to advance out of this group. Lukas Podolski netted his third goal of the tourney with a sizzling volley in the box, but it was too little too late for the Germans. Their game with Austria is huge all of a sudden, and a silly red card by Schweinsteiger in injury time leaves one of their greatest offensive weapons stranded on the bench for the next one.

Of course there's also the matter of giving Croatia a ton of credit for this upset. They demonstrated an awesome team possession on the first goal, which ended on the foot of Darijo Srna at the six-yard box after 15 passes that saw every player for Croatia touch the ball. Grant Wahl was right; watching it on DVR is beautiful, a testament to how patience, switching fields and staying in the play can reward a team. They could've had one and possibly two more in the first half, but couldn't convert point blank gifts in the penalty box. The second goal was more of an unlucky break and slight error by German keeper Jens Lehmann than anything (watching the replay convinces me that a goalie should never let himself get beat near post like that, deflection or otherwise), but the Croatians were there to take advantage, and we can't say that about every team who has had similar opportunities afforded them in this tournament so far. The Germans showed speed and power in both the last World Cup and their opening game against Poland in Euro 08, but the Croatian side didn't seem to be afraid. They were just as physical and played virtually mistake-free soccer after their defense was a bit shaky against Austria. Croatia will head to the quarters with confidence, an extremely animated coach, and a lot of very, very talented players whose last names end with the letter C. Let's just keep crossing our fingers for those checkerboard unis before their run/the tourney itself ends.

Germany 2-0 Poland

Poland couldn't have been happy at the Euro draw when they saw Germany was in their group. Trying to beat the Germans for them has proven impossible over the years; they've never done it. Poland's last loss to Germany came in the 06 World Cup, in a closely contested Group A game. What had to make Sunday's result frustrating, yet again, is that the Poles really were competitive throughout a good deal of this game. They outshot the Germans and were able to string passes together and control the tempo through the first half and in the early portion of the second half. But Germany never looked completely off guard, and weathered the storm even as Poland got some quality looks on goal. Germany really is great to watch for any offensive-minded fan; they aren't afraid to send their wingers on long balls and let their speed do the rest in open space. Lukas Podolski's two goals were the difference; an important lunch and some spotty cable in Houston prevented me from watching all of this one, but I was able to see a lot of the second half. I only saw Podolski's second goal on a replay (thanks, cable box), a nasty volley buried into the top left corner that came thanks to a whiff by Miroslav Klose, which caused the ball to spin awkwardly in Podolski's direction. The Polish-born forward turned a forgettable play into the goal of the tournament after two days. The final score didn't seem to indicate how competitive Poland was in this one, but that seems to be how it's gone for years against the Germans. These Group B favorites got off on the right foot and have put themselves in a good position to advance; if Croatia doesn't play up to their potential later this week, we could be looking at 9 points for Germany in the first round.

And while we're discussing Germany, is there any name more ridiculous than Bastian Schweinsteiger? The winger was sporting a bleach-blonde 'do to match his uber-name, and created some nice chances when he subbed in; this wouldn't necessarily be worth mentioning if his name weren't Bastian Schweinsteiger, of course. That's the kind of name that can probably get you a free stein of the darkest brew at Hofbrauhaus, if I had to guess.

Group B Preview

Playing from behind after a weekend out of town, which may or may not have included some atrocious dance moves at a wedding reception. Let's continue with Group B, then get to some match reviews.

Germany
World Ranking: 5
Euro 04: Group play
WC 06: 3rd place (L-Italy/W-Portugal)
Three to Watch: Michael Ballack (Chelsea), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Lukas Podolski (Bayern Munich)
The undisputed group favorite and one of the favorites to win the whole thing, the Germans come into Euro 2008 off a bronze performance as hosts of the last World Cup. They haven't fared too well in this competition the last two times, having failed to win a match since 1996 (that's a shocking stat, isn it?), but they return a core of high profile players who are capable of taking them deep into June. While the Germans don't usually come to mind when speaking of fast-paced, high-flying soccer, they are a very aggressive team with a lot of young, offensive talent that should be entertaining to watch. They may not be truly tested until the semis, when they could potentially face Portugal.

Croatia
World Ranking: 15
Euro 04: Group play
WC 06: Group play
Three to Watch: Luka Modric (Tottenham Hotspur), Robert Kovac (Borussia Dortmund), Dario Simic (AC Milan)
After a string of recent disappointments on the international stage, Croatia looks poised to make it out of group play in this tournament. A late goal by Australia prevented them from advancing in the World Cup, but they were impressive in that campaign and have the benefit of drawing a group with one challenging game (Germany) and two very winnable games. This is another squad with world class talent and players from the best leagues across Europe. If you're angry at England's absence from this tournament, blame these guys; they eliminated them in a game where they basically had nothing to gain. I expect the Croats to make it out of this group as the runners up; it's just too bad we won't be seeing their trademark red and white checkerboard jerseys due to a color clash with all the teams in their group.

Poland
World Ranking: 28
Euro 04: Did not qualify
WC 06: Group play
Three to Watch: The names of these guys don't exactly roll off the tongue; let's wait for some stars to emerge before I do this to my keyboard.
Most of the players on the Polish team appear to be a cut below in terms of this level of play, but they had a very respectable run in 2006 in defeat and hope to continue that streak in their first ever appearance in the European Championships. They have never beaten Germany, and I don't expect them to break the streak in this tournament, but they should handle Austria, leaving their pivotal game to be the one versus the Croats. My money is on the Croatian team, but some have picked the Poles as a dark horse from this group.

Austria
World Ranking: 92
Euro 04: Did not qualify
WC 06: Did not qualify
Three to Watch: Roland Linz (Sporting Braga), Andreas Ivanschitz (Panathinaikos), Sebastian Prodl (Werder Bremen)
Widely considered one of the worst teams to ever participate in this competition, the Austrians qualifed automatically as co-hosts of Euro 08. FIFA's rankings show they're ranked below some pretty soft teams (Libya, Iceland, Georgia--and I don't mean the Bulldogs), and there was even a movement in Austria earlier this year to prevent the national team from playing in this competition so that the proud citizens wouldn't be humiliated. I happen to think they're probably exaggerating just a bit, as the home crowd will inspire them to make things interesting at the very least, but asking them to get out of this group or perhaps even just win a game might be asking too much. The Austrians will be done after three games, but it won't be as bad as some people have claimed.