EURO 2012 Unbiased Match Reports – 8 June 2012
Poland 1 Greece 1
Warsaw
I think it was Jimmy Greaves who said “football is a funny old game”. Can’t remember who said it was also “a game of two halves” and just about everybody has said “the referee is a bastard” at one time or another. All these clichés were hugely applicable to Euro 2012’s opening match.
Set in the fabulous new National Stadium in Warsaw and following a brief but well-conceived opening ceremony, the co-hosts started their campaign against 2004 Euro-champions Greece and some of that 2004 side still turn out for the visitors. Poland are built around their Dortmund trio – defender Piszczek, midfielder and captain Blaszczykowski and centre forward Lewandowski.
Teams :
Poland
Szczesny ®, Boenisch, Wasilewski, Perquis, Piszczek, Polanski, Rybus, Obraniak, Murawski, Blaszczykowski and Lewandowski. Subs: Tyton (for Rybus - 69)
Greece
Chalkias, Maniatis, A Papadopoulos, Torosidis, Papastathopoulos ®, Holebas, Karagounis, Ninis, Katsouranis, Samaras and Gekas. Subs: K Papadopoulos (for A Papadopoulos – 36), Salpingidis (for Ninis – 46) and Fortounis (for Gekas - 68).
Match Report :
You could sense the anticipation of the Polish supporters as the team took the field. Greece too were well represented but one wonders where they found the euros to make the trip. One of their fans wore a quite magnificent Hoplite helmet.
The opening exchanges were tentative but as Poland gathered speed the Greeks seemed content to wait and see what might happen. Gekas did a lot of hard running but as the ball never came near him it was mostly in vain.
The first chance was created by Pisczczek and Lewandowski but Obraniak’s shot was blocked. Shortly afterwards Chalkias was obliged to tip a shot from Murawski over his bar.
For a team that had sailed through their qualifying group Greece looked strangely brittle at the back. Their only threat in the opening stages came from a Karagounis free kick but Gekas headed wide.
Just past the quarter hour mark the Poles were rewarded for their more positive approach. Blaszczykowski was sent beyond Greece’s left back and his beautifully delivered cross was gleefully headed home by Lewandowski. 1-0 Poland.
With something to defend the Poles played a little deeper, inviting Greece forward and looking to hit them on the break. The game continued in this fashion for the remainder of the first half. On 36 minutes Greece lost centre-half Papadopoulos and promptly brought on another unrelated Papadopoulos. This younger model was a definite improvement and from this point on Greece’s defending looked more assured.
The turning point came shortly before the break when Spanish referee Carlos Carballo saw two non-existent fouls, produced two yellow cards and then a red for Papastathopoulos. I’ve seen some cretinous refereeing decisions in my time but that ranks among the worst. The Greeks were amazed – and incensed. You could sense trouble brewing.
Those that know their history will understand there is little the Greeks relish more than an unequal contest – remember Thermopylae! At half time they replaced the ineffective Ninis with the hard running Salpingidis of PAOK and in the second half Poland barely got a kick.
Within minutes of the restart Torosidis got down the right and his cross was not dealt with. The ball dropped to Salpingidis who duly levelled the scores. 1-1. Moments later Samaras was guilty of and awful miss when given the opportunity to put Greece ahead.
It was hard to tell who had just 10 men as Karagounis dominated midfield and the Poles found themselves chasing the ball. Then on 70 minutes the numbers were evened up when Szczesny brought down Salpingidis in the box and received his marching orders. Rybus was sacrificed to allow back-up keeper Tyton to face the penalty. Karagounis stepped up and hit his spot kick to the keeper’s left. It wasn’t the worst penalty I’ve seen but the big keeper got down well and turned it away. Greece’s captain sank to his knees, head in hands.
That was about it. The final minutes of the game looked as if both sides realised that 1-1 was about right and neither did much to alter that scoreline. Greece should have won it – they had sufficient chances to do so – but they had been distinctly second-best in the first half so a draw was probably fair.
Greece play the Czecks on Tuesday. Poland are likely to be more fired up that evening when they face the Russians.
MOM: Salpingidis (Greece)
Russia 4 Czech Republic 1
Wroclaw
The worst thing about sport on free-to-air TV is that you have to watch some of it on ITV and be subjected to the mindless ramblings of Jim Beglin and his ilk. Under these circumstances it is impossible to completely enjoy the football. However, this was a decent match and some of Russia’s passing and movement off the ball was quite splendid. The Czechs weren’t that bad either – I’m not writing them off just yet.
It was almost a home game for the Czechs – Wroclaw being close to the Czech border and an easy journey. That said, the Russians had travelled in numbers too and there were lots of pretty girls among their supporters.
Teams :
Russia
Malafeev, Aniukov, Ignashevich, Zhirkov, Berezutsky, Shirokov, Denisov, Zyryanov, Dzagoev. Arshavin and Kerzhakov. Subs: Pavlyuchenko (for Kerzhakov – 73) and Kokorin (for Dzagoev – 84)
Czech Republic
Cech, Gebre Selassie, Kadlec, Hubnik, Sivok, Rezek, Rosicky, Plasil, Pilar, Jiracek and Baros. Subs: Hubschman (for Rezek – 46), Petrzela (for Jiracek – 75) and Lafata (for Baros – 85)
Match Report :
I’d have liked to have watched Arshavin and Rosicky meet in the centre circle but of course we had to have bloody adverts for bloody bookies instead.
The Czechs got into their stride first and Jiracek’s sweet movement caused early concern in Russian ranks. As the game progressed Russia began to get their passing game going and suddenly the Czechs were on the back foot.
On 15 minutes a right-wing cross was headed back across Cech’s goal by Kerzhakov. This was the closest the Zenit striker came all evening despite being given countless opportunities by his comrades. The header came back off the post and, with the Czech defence slow to react, Dzagoev fired in the rebound. 1-0. Almost immediately the youngster was put in again by Arshavin’s pass but this time he fired wide.
The Russians did extend their lead on 25 minutes. Arshavin appeared to be seeking Kerzhakov but his pass was allowed to travel across the area for Shirokov to lift it over the diving keeper. 2-0. It might have been more had Howard Webb penalised an obvious push on Arshavin in the box before half time.
Rezek had seen a lot of the ball in the first half but done very little with it. He was withdrawn at half-time and the more defensive Hubschman came on. He sat in front of the back four and allowed the more creative Czeck midfielders to get forward.
Get forward they did. On 52 minutes Plasil steered a fabulous ball through Russia’s defence for the eager Pilar to take past Malafeev and score. 2-1.
The game suddenly became stretched with attack at one end followed by another at the other. The Czechs gamely fought for an equalizer but one sensed their more adventurous approach may allow Russia’s better passing game to undo them. The Russian’s created several good chances but Kerzhakov spurned every one.
It was a relief when Dick Advocaat hauled him off on 73 minutes and brought on Pavlyuchenko in his place. In earlier times, Kerzhakov might have found himself on a one-way journey to the Gulags but I guess his punishment for such abysmal shooting will be to watch the rest of the tournament from the bench.
The change soon had an impact. Within 5 minutes Pav put Dzagoev through on the right and his fiercely struck shot had Cech grasping at air. 3-1.
Not long after the big Russian collected a ball on the left hand side and began a mazy run along the edge of the box. I’ve seen Pavlyuchenko do this when he was at Spurs and it often ended with an unstoppable shot on target. That is what happened this time too. Although Cech got a hand to it, the ball was struck so hard he could not keep it out. 4-1.
The Czechs kept trying but could not reduce the deficit. Russia threatened to add more goals in the closing minutes but the final whistle saw them comfortable 4-1 winners.
It was a good opening day. We saw some magic passing, sweetly struck shots, dreadful refereeing and also witnessed some quite awfully hit slices wide when it seemed easier to score. There was some very ordinary defending too.
Thankfully, Czech fullback Gebre Selassie was not abused for being black which is somewhat of a relief given the pre-tournament hype.
More of this please!
MOM: Arshavin (Russia)
EURO 2012 Unbiased Match Reports Tuesday 12th June
Greece 1 Czech Republic 2
Wroclaw
Every once in a while you see a match that is so well played you want both sides to succeed. There is slick passing, neat finishing, heroic defending and magnificent individual performances all over the park. Unfortunately, this match had none of these attributes. It was the worst match I‘ve endured for a long time and the only point of interest was whether any of the countless errors may lead to another goal.
Wroclaw is Poland’s 4th largest city and sits astride the River Oder. It is the long-time capital of Silesia and unsurprisingly, given its geographical location, has been ruled by pretty much every central European power down the centuries. Indeed it has changed hands more often than a library book and, in the 13th century, inhabitants burned it to the ground rather than see it fall to the Mongol invaders.
Like the rest of Poland, Wroclaw saw a great deal of suffering during the 20th century but remains a seat of learning with a buoyant economy. Heavy industry (like Krupps) used to thrive here but increasingly the people of Silesia earn their livings from financial services and technology – LG electronics has a number of plants here. In 2014 Wroclaw becomes the European Capital of Culture and its Municipal Stadium (capacity 44000) is home to current Polish champions, Slask Wroclaw.
Teams :
Greece
Chalkias, Maniatis, K Papadopoulos, Torosidis, Holebas, Karagounis, Fotakis, Katsouranis, Fortounis, Samaras and Salpingidis. Subs: Sifakis (for Chalkias – 23), Gekas (for Fotakis – 460 and Mitroglou (for Fortounis - 71).
Czechs
Cech, Gebre Selassie, Kadlec, Sivok, Limbersky, Hubschman, Rosicky, Plasil, Pilar, Jiracek and Baros. Subs: Kolar (for Rosicky – 46) and Pekhart (for Baros – 64).
Match Report :
Both sides made changes – the Czecks tinkered having decided they were better with Hubschman shielding the defence. Greece were obliged to replace both first choice centre halves – and it showed!
Within 5 minutes Greece were two goals adrift and looking simply awful. They were opened up by a fairly ordinary forward pass from Hubschman that allowed Jiracek in to score. Then his new Wolfsburg colleague benefitted when a low cross from Selassie beat the Greek defenders and allowed Pilar to bundle the ball home. 0-2 and the 2004 champions were rocking!
It seemed that the Czecks were bound to deliver the coup de grace but Greece steadied themselves and the game became an error strewn midfield battle where neither side seemed able to create anything of note. On 23 minutes the Greek keeper limped off. Maybe it was his pride that was hurt but his replacement, Sifakis, was soon in action turning away a long range effort from Rosicky.
The dreary game was not helped by poor refereeing. The French officials were unnecessarily fussy and when one side began to string a few passes together play was dragged back for some minor indiscretion. The worst single decision was to rule out a Fotakis header who was clearly onside when Cech was beaten.
Greece replaced Fotakis at half time bringing on Gekas who started last Friday but this time the striker got on the score sheet. Defenders hate it when midfielders drop back into their box, the reason why being amply demonstrated when Sivok blocked Cech’s route to an easy claim and the ball span loose. Gekas hid his surprise and rolled the ball into the unprotected goal.
If anything the second half was worse than the first with possession being regularly squandered by both sides. Most strikes on goal were from distance and never looked like working either keeper.
My hopes were raised when Olympiakos’ beefy Mitroglou joined the fray. He ran about a lot and clattered Czeck defenders but was ultimately just as clueless as the rest of them.
Stuck on 1 point Greece need a miracle against Russia if they are to stay much longer. On paper, this win sees the Czeck Republic go second and needing just one more point to reach the ¼ finals. In reality they will do well not to get battered by the Poles in this stadium on Saturday night.
MOM: No. You must be joking!
Poland 1 Russia 1
Warsaw
This meeting was always going to be about more than a mere 90 minutes of football. These nations, as they say, have history and actively dislike each other. On the streets of Warsaw this resulted in running battles and the sort of thuggery we thought had gone from the beautiful game. Fortunately events on the pitch demonstrated that the beautiful game lives on and, indeed, thrives!
Both national anthems were sung with a passion and the visitors unfurled a huge banner bearing the message “This is Russia!” Not any more it ain’t.
###Teams :
Poland
Tyton, Boenisch, Wasilewski, Perquis, Piszczek, Dudka, Polanski, Obraniak, Murawski, Blaszczykowski and Lewandowski. Subs: Mierzejewski (for Dudka – 73), Matuschyk (for Polanski – 84) and Brozek (for Obraniak – 90).
Russia
Malafeev, Aniukov, Ignashevich, Zhirkov, Berezutsky, Shirokov, Denisov, Zyryanov, Dzagoev. Arshavin and Kerzhakov. Subs: Pavlyuchenko (for Kerzhakov – 70) and Izmailov (for Dzagoev – 79).
Match Report :
With Szczesny suspended Poland started with last week’s penalty hero Tyton in goal. In midfield Dudka was preferred to Rybus. Russia kept the same XI that started so well in Wroclaw.
The game began at a high tempo with hard running and tackling from both teams. Arshavin looked to get his side moving but the first real chance fell to Poland. Boenisch headed goalwards from Obraniak’s free kick but Malafeev was equal to it.
Poland thought they’d scored on 17 minutes but Polanski’s effort was cancelled out by the linesman’s flag. Russia were always competitive and Kerzhakov looked likely to break his scoring duck more than once. Zhirkov rampaged forward from right back at every opportunity and both Dzagoev and Arshavin were a constant menace.
It came as no surprise then when the Russian’s grabbed the lead on 37 minutes. Awarded a free kick on the left, Arshavin surveyed his options before curling a terrific free kick goalwards. Dzagoev started his run a long way back and met the ball right between the sticks – he got something on it, possibly his shoulder, and the ball flew past Tyton. 0-1. How the Russian fans loved that!
Poland regrouped and saw out the remainder of the half with no further damage. They then began the second half with a series of furious attacks with the excellent Lewandowski pre-eminent. The big striker linked up well with Polanski before being driven wide by Malafeev who then blocked the angled shot. Russia’s keeper was called into action soon after as Lewandowski closed in on a cross but Malafeev punched the ball to safety.
Both sides kept attacking and the game became stretched. But these teams retain the ball well and rarely misplace their passes. Each move ended with a cross, a strike on goal or cool defending from their opponents. It was a joy to watch.
As the hour approached Poland’s captain Blaszczykowski, who’d worked tirelessly up and down their right flank, was played inside by Obraniak. The Dortmund player looked up and saw a shooting opportunity. The stadium exploded into raptures as his beautifully struck left foot blast sailed into the far corner of the net. 1-1 (and goal of the tournament to date).
Substitutes entered the fray as the second half progressed but the tempo remained high as both protagonists sought to win the game. Poland created enough chances to wrest away a remarkable victory but the Russians blocked Lewandowski’s thunderous shot and Mierzejewski and Boenisch were both guilty of excitedly firing wide of the target. You could almost touch the collective sigh of relief as this furious contest was ended by Mr Lannoy’s whistle.
Tuesday’s matches were as alike as chalk and cheese. Whereas the earlier match saw two nervous sides display much that is bad about modern football our faith was restored by the splendid evening game contested by good footballers on a mission.
Who knows what Saturday’s games will deliver but it will be a crying shame if Poland and Russia do not reach the knock-out phase. I doubt Poland’s police force share those sentiments but, for those of us watching from the safety of our sofas, we really do want to see much more football played the way Poland and Russia play it.
MOM: Lewandowski (Poland)
EURO 2012 Unbiased Match Reports Saturday 16th June
Czech Republic 1 Poland 0
Wroclaw
This meeting of neighbours took place close to the Czech border and the visitors had over 9000 fans in the stadium and many more in the squares and fan parks of Wroclaw.
The rules of engagement were clear – Poland had to win. No other result would see them stay in their competition. A draw may have done for the Czechs but the vagaries of the UEFA scoring system meant that some results in Warsaw could see both these sides eliminated - and coming top could avoid facing Germany next.
Teams :
Czech Republic
Cech, Gebre Selassie, Kadlec, Sivok, Limbersky, Hubschman, Plasil, Pilar, Kolar, Jiracek and Baros. Subs: Rajtoral (for Jiracek – 83), Rezek (for Pilar – 87) and Pekhart (for Baros – 90).
Poland
Tyton, Boenisch, Wasilewski, Perquis, Piszczek, Dudka, Polanski, Obraniak, Murawski, Blaszczykowski and Lewandowski. Subs: Grosicki (for Polanski – 56), Mierzejewski (for Murawski – 73) and Brozek (for Obraniak – 73).
Match Report :
There were injury doubts about both Cech and Rosicky before this game. The Czech keeper was fit to start but their captain was not and Kolar replaced him. The Poles were unchanged.
The massive Russian flag unfurled in Warsaw on Tuesday night made such an impression on the Poles that they created their own version. A simply vast Polish flag was unfurled among the home fans.
Although Poland ultimately succumbed to the “paralysis from pressure” their coach had feared, there was no sign of nerves early on. Poland were sharper than their opponents and set about trying to break down the red wall in front of them.
There is an old adage in football that says you need to score when you are on top. Poland were guilty of failing to do so despite creating a number of reasonable opportunities. The very best of these fell to centre forward Lewandowski who linked up beautifully with Dortmund team mate Blaszczykowski but the big #9 fired his left foot drive the wrong side of the post. Little did he know he’d not get another chance until the dying seconds of the match.
Poland continued to drive forward and the Czechs were guilty of stopping them by any possible means. This resulted in a string of Polish free kicks with which Obraniak threatened the Czech goal. One flew just wide and when another was blocked Boenisch hit the rebound past Cech’s post.
Then, with all the magic that football can inspire, the whole game dramatically turned. As a massive storm broke over Wroclaw and thunder boomed overhead, the Czechs mounted a string of attacks. Pilar, with a goal in each of his first two games, began to get time on the ball and Poland were suddenly forced to defend frantically.
At half time, the news of Greece’s goal in Warsaw meant that both these sides would go out if the game remained goal-less. Now it was win or bust!
Poland had played a great first half against Greece and a great second half against Russia but they really needed a fabulous half now. Yet the stadium went quiet when the Czechs picked up where they’d finished the first period and Limbersky and Pilar engineered a string of attacks. Poland found themselves penned back and hacking the ball away.
Pilar had a shot blocked and Gebre Selassie put a header just over the top. Sivok should have broken the deadlock with a header that Tyton did well to save.
Poland’s rare forays up-field were largely ineffective. Passes were over-hit and players dithered on the ball and were dispossessed. One such situation proved fatal for Poland.
Murawski was robbed in the middle of the park and the ball played to Baros. He went past his marker and delivered a precision pass to Jiracek. The Wolfsburg forward cut inside the desperate lunge of Boenisch and tucked the ball under Tyton. 1-0.
There were little more than 15 minutes for Poland to conjure more goals and they flung themselves forward in a desperate search for goals. Their panicked fans screamed for redemption but on the pitch the game was getting niggley. Scottish referee Craig Thompson had his hands full as players squared up to one another and Czechs tried to waste time. A Polish equaliser would still knock them out so the stakes were ludicrously high and the tension immense.
Lewandowski’s next chance came – and went – but it was his captain Blaszczykowski who came closest to a late goal. His little dink looked to have beaten Cech but Kadlec headed clear - and time ran out.
They were still playing in Warsaw where a goal for Russia would send the Czechs home but when that result was confirmed the team in red were able to celebrate.
Their players and fans were “over the moon” but the Poles were out and their team slunk away from the pitch. They’d brought much to this tournament and shown some moments of great class but ultimately were not quite good enough.
The Czechs fight on and will go to Warsaw next Thursday to play whoever is second in Group B.
MOM: Pilar (Czech Republic).
Greece 1 Russia 0
Warsaw
Euro 2004 was a one off – wasn’t it?
Greece came into the final tie of Group A with a single point garnered from their battling second half performance against Poland. They lost to the Czecks in their next game - it was a quite awful match. Russia on the other hand had given the Czecks a football lesson before being held to a draw by the Poles.
No danger then that Russia would not progress serenely into the next phase while Greece would head home to subsist on Eurozone bail-outs.
When will we learn that sort of thing only happens in rubbish sports. In football, the impossible sometimes happens!
Teams :
Greece
Sifakis, Maniatis, K Papadopoulos, Papastathopoulos, Tzavelas, Torosidis, Karagounis, Katsouranis, Samaras, Salpingidis and Gekas. Subs: Holebas (for Gekas – 64), Makos (for Karagounis – 67) and Ninis (for Salpingidis - 82).
Russia
Malafeev, Aniukov, Ignashevich, Zhirkov, Berezutsky, Shirokov, Denisov, Dzagoev, Glushakov, Arshavin and Kerzhakov. Subs: Pavlyuchenko (for Kerzhakov – 70) and Izmailov (for Dzagoev – 79).
Match Report :
Greece made a number of changes, some enforced, some tactical. Upshot was they ended up with Samaras, Gekas and Salpingidis up-front with everyone else getting behind the ball. Their captain Karagounis was gaining his 120th cap, equalling the national record. Russia made just one change, Glushakov replacing Zyryanov who had fallen ill.
Anyone expecting Greece to sit back and do nothing would have been surprised. Although Russia had the bulk of play their opponents never missed an opportunity to counter attack and the 3 forwards stretched the width of the field made Russia’s fullbacks nervous about venturing too far forward.
Russia had plenty of the ball in midfield but rarely threatened Sifakis’ goal. When they won the ball they broke with purpose and always carried more threat than the team in red. This was aptly demonstrated when Karagounis burst forward forcing Malafeev to turn his effort round the post. Russia then managed to block the shot engineered following the corner kick.
It is impossible to just defend for 90 minutes: you must have a means of relieving pressure and Greece’s front three gave them that. In Gekas through the middle and Salpingidis and Samaras on the flanks, they had talented players who made space for themselves, controlled the ball first time and never, ever wasted it.
Samaras in particular had a brilliant game. He seems to have been around for ages but I doubt he has ever played as well. Russia’s right back Aniukov was driven to distraction as time and again the big #7 went past him and sent Russia’s midfield flooding back to defend their own box.
Russia were limited to long range pots at goal but Sifakis was rarely required to do other than watch them sail past. Anguished Russians looked heavenwards, asking why that hadn’t nestled in the top corner as intended. The Greek plan was working.
Still Russia came on. Kerzhakov came close to breaking his duck but his shot just missed the back post and Russia’s brightest hope, Arshavin, brought a rare save from Sifakis. Karagounis was lucky to escape punishment when he pushed over Shirakov. Then Zhirkov fired a long range shot over the bar.
Zhirkov had looked one of Russia’s better players but he was wrong-footed by a wayward header by Denisov right on half-time. Karagounis pounced on the error and surprisingly kept ahead of Zhirkov in the footrace towards the box before firing the ball under Malafeev. 1-0 - and everything we knew about Group A changed at that moment.
Russia brought on Pavlyuchenko for the misfiring Kerzhakov and started the second half expecting to force their way back into the match. However the Greeks seemed liberated by taking the lead and soon fancy flicks, nutmegs and smart movement off the ball were all added to their game. Russia were penned back and Torosidis hit a peach of a cross towards Gekas only for a super interception by Aniukov to end the move.
The one thing that I hate about football is poor refereeing and we saw a dreadful example on the hour mark. Karagounis made another determined run into the box where he was tripped by Ignashevich. You’ll rarely see a more obvious penalty yet Mr Bloody Eriksson decided it wasn’t and booked the Greek captain for diving.
It was a scandalous decision which not only robbed Karagounis of the chance to put the game beyond Russia but also of playing a record breaking 121st time for Greece in the ¼ final. He was visibly shaken by the injustice and ran to the 4th official complaining. He spent the next few minutes muttering to himself before Santos wisely took him off and Katsouranis took charge of the armband.
If Russia hoped this would deflate Greek spirits they were mistaken. Greece continued to boss the game and as Russia shot from anywhere in the hope of fluking an equaliser, the Greeks side stuck to Plan A which saw them home.
Samaras continued torment Aniukov who finally got the yellow card he deserved. The full back was sacrificed as Russia flooded the field with strikers but never got as close to scoring as Tzavelas did at the other end when his lovely free kick struck the corner of post and bar with Malafeev rooted to the spot.
The clock ticked down. The Russians became even more gung-ho but their shooting continued to work the ball-boys and not the keeper. The game in Wroclaw was over and the Czecks were top of the group. A late goal here could still save Russia but the ability to hit the target had even deserted Dzagoev whose final shot of the match was a shocker.
Greece celebrated long and hard. Forgetting his personal grief, Karagounis brought his children onto the pitch where his team mates danced for joy in front of their fans.
For all their early promise, Russia had left the tournament looking a poor side. They were out-thought and out-fought by the team that knows how to win a fight with their backs to the wall. Few will be sad to see Russia’s unpleasant supporters go home and the Polish Police will probably be over the moon!
I’m no psychologist but I wonder to what extent Russia underperformed because they only needed a draw. For Greece, only a win would do and at no point during the game did they not look like getting it. Make no mistake – the better side won here.
England face exactly the same situation next Tuesday. I trust Roy is shrewd enough to get them ready to face a fired up Ukraine team and a stadium full of their fans for whom only a win will do!
MOM: Samaras (Greece)
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Republic | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 6 |
| Greece | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Russia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 |
| Poland | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 2 |
