With the first quarterfinals known, let's start the E04QF thread.

Portugal - England
France - Greece

I think the Portuguese will have the edge versus the English and I don't see the Greeks pull off another stunt, so it will be France with a relatively easy match, although they haven't convinced me yet.

(Edit)
Sweden - Holland
Czechia - Denmark

The Greeks beat Portugal and draw with Spain. They have earned respect and I think France will have a tough game against them. Greece have defended very well throughout the tournament and France have not looked convincing up-front. So, it is concievable that Greece would be able to nick a goal then defend and France would struggle to find a way past. However after the Switzerland result it is just as concievable that France will have a renewed attacking belief and, if Saha plays, they could destroy Greece. Overall I think it's going to be a close match but I reckon France will win it by the odd goal. Either 2-1 or 3-2.

Portugal versus England is going to one very close match. The Portugese have struggled so far but after they put their faith in C. Ronaldo they have looked much better. He added much needed pace down the wing and he's ability to run at people will certainly worry England, especially with our dodgy left-side. However Figo and the rest of Portugal's forward players have looked lacklustre. The Portugese defence has had an average tournament and the Greece game showed they are breachable.

England have had a tournament of two halves. The attacking half has looked impressive, particularly one Mr Rooney. Owen while assisting two of Rooney's goals hasn't really done much but in the second half of the Croatia game he looked much more interested and with the attention now focused squarely on Rooney he might just pop up and steal the headlines. The midfield has looked good, except for Beckham who has been poor by his standards, with Lampard and Gerrard being among the best centre-midfield partnership in the whole tournament. I would prefer Dyer to be on the left instead of Scholes as Ashley Cole has so far been unprotected and against Portugal that could be fatal. The defence has looked shaky with Terry and James being the main worries. However if it regained the assureness it showed against France I think England will triumph. My prediction is 3-1 to England.

I am more concerned about the referee than the players. Portugal recieved no help from Collina, but in the Russian game the ref. may as well been wearing a Portugese kit. I don't trust the Swedish ref. from the last game either.

If UEFA supply a fair referee, I will enjoy the Portugal-England game and expect the winner of that contest to take home the cup. It will be a great crowd aswell, with English supporters being most numerous, and Portugal being the home side. I predict 2-2 and penalties :cry:

Greece may have performed well, but they are clearly the underdogs. Their chances ride on silencing Henry without conceding any free kicks. If they can do that, they will be fine. I predict 2-1 to France.

Scarey stuff! :p

Come on, stop whining about referees! Portugal is in the QF not because of or thanks to the refs. And trust me, I'd rather have seen another team in Portugals place... :sad:

I'd expect France and England to progress to the semi-finals. I'm unconvinced by Portugal - while they did play better in the Spain game, there were still a number of chances that the Spanish team should have taken, and it's quite inconceivable for this England team to play as disjointedly as Spain did on Sunday. As long as England don't give away many freekicks near their own goal (their set-piece defending has been very poor, as others have pointed out), then they should be too strong for Portugal.

Greece, well, they were very lucky to get to the quarter-finals. Good defending, true, but they were outplayed in all three games and there are bound to come unstuck sooner or later. Having said that, France appeared terribly lackadaisical in defence against both Croatia and Switzerland, so if they become over-confident for the Q-final, they could let themselves be surprised by Greece yet.

As an aside; Stormbind, I agree that the referee in the Portugal - Russia game was wrong to send the Russian keeper off. However, I think you've been watching a different tournament to the rest of us if you think generally there has been a consistent refereeing bias towards Portugal. Portugal beat Russia because they were the better team, and played better. They beat Spain because Spain didn't play at all well - their teamwork was terrible, and their tactics foolish. El Sop is right - Portugal have earned their place in the QFs.

Denmark has a nice squad, but will falter to the mighty Czechs. They will fall into the same trap as the Dutch usually do, attack too much.

I expect Czech Republic - Denmark to be a nice game. I'd say the chances are equal, the Czech offense may be a bit stronger, but so is the Danish defence.
For the Czechs today's results are good, I think, because Italy would have been exactly the kind of team they wouldn't look good against.

Denmark has a nice squad, but will falter to the mighty Czechs. They will fall into the same trap as the Dutch usually do, attack too much.

I'm not convinced that that's really such a bad idea against the Czechs - their defense is definitely the weakest part of the team. The Dutch lost it when they started defending instead of going for the jugular (and because of crap defending and biased refereeing of course).

Czechs are still favourites to win that one but I wouldn't count out the Danes too quickly.

I think the danes were easily the best team of their group and that they have a good chance of beating the czechs. I don't see Czech Republic as such a big favourite in this game.

Sweden otoh, didn't seem to be as great as the 5-0 score line against the bulgarians sugested at first. I think that Holland is definitely a better team if they can sort their problems out. If it's against Germany, then I think it can go either side, if it's not the Germany of the latvian game showing up. I don't see Latvia pulling enough upsets to see them going to the semis.

In the France-Greece match, the french should advance, but will probably have the usual problems in breaking Greece's defence. I predict that Zidane and especially Henry will play closer to their real capabilities and that should be enough unless the defence screws it royally.

Portugal-England should in theory be close. Both teams seem to be playing better now, but have their weak spots. I can just hope Portugal wins.

Portugal-England should in theory be close. Both teams seem to be playing better now, but have their weak spots. I can just hope Portugal wins.

That is going to be a very interesting match... :mischief:

Denmark has a nice squad, but will falter to the mighty Czechs. They will fall into the same trap as the Dutch usually do, attack too much.

Hm.

As long as the danish don't substitute their wingers, the danish system looks pretty suited at beating the czechs.

Wayne Rooney is by far the best striker in the tournament, and if Portugal do not deal with him, like that of Croatia then by, by Portugal.

prediction:- England 3 portugal 2

I'

As an aside; Stormbind, I agree that the referee in the Portugal - Russia game was wrong to send the Russian keeper off. However, I think you've been watching a different tournament to the rest of us if you think generally there has been a consistent refereeing bias towards Portugal. Portugal beat Russia because they were the better team, and played better. They beat Spain because Spain didn't play at all well - their teamwork was terrible, and their tactics foolish. El Sop is right - Portugal have earned their place in the QFs.
==


Fair point,
there's been a few dodgy decisions , especially the sending off of the Swiss player which helped a toiling England to win.

Portugal as a team are quite used to cheating so hopefully a strong ref can ensure a fair game.

... I don't trust the Swedish ref. from the last game either.
...

That would be Anders Frisk. While I didn't see that particular game he usually does a pretty good job. At least that's my impression when I watch his games.

I'm not convinced that that's really such a bad idea against the Czechs - their defense is definitely the weakest part of the team. The Dutch lost it when they started defending instead of going for the jugular (and because of crap defending and biased refereeing of course).

Czechs are still favourites to win that one but I wouldn't count out the Danes too quickly.
Okay, the Danes should have an attacking concept in mind, it will be their best chance. What I meant to say is that I think the Czechs really like and are good at playing teams that attack. They really had more trouble with themselves against Latvia than against Holland.
Besides, the Danes have a remarkably bad historical record against the Czechs 1-6-11 (W-D-L). Then again, history tells us nothing (except when it comes to Spain :( ).

So we have:

Portugal - England
France - Greece

Sweden - Holland
Czechia - Denmark

So we have:

Sweden - Holland


Bwaaa.... Not good. :sad:

With the luck they had so far the Dutch will beat Sweden. Generally though their defence should get problems with Larsson, Ljungberg and Ibrahimovic.
As said yesterday I expect Czech Republic vs. Denmark to become a great match.

As said yesterday I expect Czech Republic vs. Denmark to become a great match.

Yeah I am looking forward to that one! Two teams that both have played positive football.

Yeah I am looking forward to that one! Two teams that both have played positive football.
Same here. The Danes have the best width of all the teams and the Czechs have the best movement. It should be one hell of a match.

It would have been a nice final...

So we have:

Portugal - England
France - Greece

Sweden - Holland
Czechia - Denmark
All teams with attack in their head. Some teams (Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Czechia) more than others, but fortunately no "defense only" teams like Italy or Germany.
Should all be interesting matches.

It would have been a nice final...
Without England no final is nice, merely tolerable.

All teams with attack in their head. Some teams (Holland, Sweden, Denmark, Czechia) more than others, but fortunately no "defense only" teams like Italy or Germany.

:lol:

You haven't really watched England play against France and Switzerland, eh?

You can bet they'll get out their 8-0-2 tactic again, which would in fact be a smart thing to do.

And Sweden's not exactly offensive either, they play a classic counter tactic. Not that this was bad.

Hitro: Who cares, now Germany and Italy are out ?

Spain : out.
Italy : out.
Germany : out.

That makes 180 million depressed people. :(

It remains only England and France in the big countries... and I wouldn't be surprized to see France being out on penalties. Obviously, it's the euro of small countries this year.

But beware, small countries certainly don't mean small teams ! ;)
That's quite obvious to me don't get me wrong !

Hitro: Who cares, now Germany and Italy are out ?
Well you have a point, it might get boring.

But don't worry, the Scandinavians and the Czechs may create some entertainment. And maybe also Portugal.

Spain : out.
Italy : out.
Germany : out.

That makes 180 million depressed people. :(

It remains only England and France in the big countries... and I wouldn't be surprized to see France being out on penalties. Obviously, it's the euro of small countries this year.

But beware, small countries certainly don't mean small teams ! ;)
That's quite obvious to me don't get me wrong !
Let the biggest of the small ones win :D

It remains only England and France in the big countries... and I wouldn't be surprized to see France being out on penalties.

I really can't see France losing against Greece considering that Greece won against Portugal who played out their worst game of the tournament and scored an equaliser against Spain who should have already finished off the game. Finally they lost to Russia who had already gone out... Not a team that is likely to knockout France who have won when it matters so far.

If France will go out then certainly not on penalties.

Spain : out.
Italy : out.
Germany : out.

That makes 180 million depressed people. :(

You can add the 142 million Russian people.

You can add the 142 million Russian people.
and 5m Scots cos the English are doing well - and various other celts apparently

Without England no final is nice, merely tolerable.
Poor Mr President, destined never to see a nice final :(

Germany : out.

That makes 180 million depressed people. :(


And at least 16 million happy people.

Poor Mr President, destined never to see a nice final :(
Don't cry for me, CFC.

Don't cry for me, CFC.

:lol:

You never know this could be our year.....................

I predict: Portugal over England-close & exciting game :cool:

France over Greece by 2 goals ;)

Holland over Sweden- tight game :scan:

Czechs over Denmark- another close & exciting game :D

Beckham who has been poor by his standards

What standards?

I've been away for a few days, but I remember a short discussion about Beckham where you were praising him. What thread was that in? I need to find it to reply...

Without England no final is nice, merely tolerable.

And the last time Ingerland was in a final, that was...darn I cannot stretch that far back... :p


On a more serious note now the GREAT OTTO said that our players will fight like heroes. Statements like this always precede embarrassing defeats in Greek history... :cry:

I expect France to win like Russia did...

Portugal - England is going exactly like expected. A lucky goal for England that enables them to play their defensive tactic which Portugal finds no way through.

Great entertainment though; I do think England are allowing themselves to be pushed back too much for their own good. Maybe Rooney going off was the real blow ?

What is weird is the Portuguese insistence on mucking up all their setpieces when it's exactly what England have been most vulnerable to so far.

Please keep me up to speed with score and happenings :scan: .

A lucky goal for England that enables them to play their defensive tactic which Portugal finds no way through.

Looked pretty well taken to me and the portugese keeper has made several good saves. The portugal players fall down very easily.

Half time 1-0 England

I think Portugal have tried to buy this tournament, and this game! :(

Before kick off..

1. Portgual gets an extra day to prepare
2. A Swiss referee - is that the most neutral they could find? :confused:
3. Ronaldo is grinning like a school boy who has just got away with lying

In the game

Offside against England. Didn't look that way to me :hmm:

Owen scores. Absolute perfection!

Four bad ref. decisions in a row against England: Throw, Corner, Free Kick, Corner... :hmm:

Fifth bad. decision against England. Ronaldo clearly dived.

Potugese played kicked Rooneys foot. Check his eyes before the kick, it's clearly intentional. Shoe comes off, and Rooney is taken to hospital. Free kick to Portugal.. :hmm:

Ronaldo performs obvious foul. Climbing onto and English players back (26 mins)

Ronaldo looks for a free kick, and gets it (28 mins)

Bad ref. decision against Vassal (England). Absolutely no foul. Commentators equally confused over this decision. (30 mins)

Bad ref. decision against Lampard (England). Absolutely no foul. This time it's a dangerous free kick to Portugal (under 40 mins)

Another bad ref. decision against Vassal.

England picks up two yellow cards, Portungal none, but Portugal has commited by far the most fouls. Most English fouls weren't fouls at all.

Beckham asks the referee why the treatment isn't like for like!! I agree absolutely. (about 42 mins)

Commentators state that the referee is giving out yellow cards one way. 45 minutes.

Can anyone seriously say that Portugal hasn't paid for a result? :confused: :sad:

@col: Certainly well-taken, but the luck was in Costinha''s colossal blunder with the backpass when there was little if any pressure on him.

Both the England yellow cards were deserved. But to give a free kick against Rooney because his ankle got stamped on, so badly that he's now in hospital, is a bit much.

what exactly is wrong about a swiss referee? is it common knowledge that we hate england or what? :confused:

Phew.
The damoclean sword is haging above our heads. One slip, and bang.
Cole is playing brilliantly.

Yay, Figo is off..

Bugger, Figo's substitution scored..

And there it is, you knew it had to come eventually: Postiga for the equaliser !

Give me some comments and updates :scan: .

What the hell ?!?
Campbell's goal disallowed. That was fair !
Bugger..

THE FIX IS IN!!! :)

England's go-ahead goal disallowed for a "foul" in the 90th min.

Invade the Swiss !

Why can't you be neutral like you usually are :(

Cetainly a homer of a ref. All the big decisions going against England.

A perfectly good goal disallowed. Keeper fell over with noone touching him.

Worst dispaly by England so far who are missing Rooney.

THE FIX IS IN!!! :)

England's go-ahead goal disallowed for a "foul" in the 90th min.

Clear foul by Terry on the keeper (leaning on him) there if you ask me.

There we go into extra time.

1-1 Going to extra time

O cmon. Terry just stood there, a position where he is perfectly entitled to stand..

The goalie just fell over when jumping at the ball (which was a couple of feet away)..

Not in the five-yard box he isn't.

Nuno fouls James - nothing given.

First yellow for Portugal, for taking down Beckham infront of the ref. That decision was overdue!

Bad decisions against Vassal. Again, nothing wrong. Probably free kick awarded to Portugal because the ball was passed to Owen :crazyeye:

Nuno dives.

Owen is pulled down on the half way line. Appeals, and is awarded nothing.

Bad decision against England (77 mins)

Portugal scores from a shoulder. That's pretty rare!

England's 2nd goal is disalowed!! (I suggested this would happen in another thread!)

Bad decision (92 mins)


---

This is just like the Portugal - Russia game!! :cry:

Clear foul by Terry on the keeper (leaning on him) there if you ask me.

Indeed. Clear foul.

what exactly is wrong about a swiss referee?
Well, it certainly looks like Portugal is subsidising his income.

Didn't England beat Switserland 3-0 in this tournament? Bring back Scarey ref!! :(

I don't like the english team.absolutely no fan.
I saw the replay 5 times.
Terry did nothing nil zilch.
England probably did not deserve to win but this was a friggin robbery if I ever seen one.

ooooh... that was neville , clear penalty, but some guilt from the referee saves england this time...

'The grocer from Zurich isn't balancing the scales fairly for England'

A classic, BBC commentator :lol:

Terry did not commit a foul. England's second goal was clean.

The first half of extra time was as above. Any 50-50 decision (and maybe others) are automatically given to Portugal.

So sad..
That swiss referee is going to be assasinated :hmm:

I was just going to say England were lucky there with a ball that did cross the goal line after all but Rui Costa's already pre-empted me !

2-1 to Portugal, 10 minutes to go now.

I still don't see what Terry did wrong ?!?

Edit: What the hell, Ronaldo was laughing after kicking Cole in the face!

I still don't see what Terry did wrong ?!?

I know that the English competition tolerates more than mainland European competitions. Is this one of those issues? It was simply a foul...

sorry, but did the ball crossed the line just before the portuguese goal?

Epic match!!!!!!! 2-2 :)

I think it did.

However, Lampard scores to make the discussion moot - 2-2 to Ëngland !

Yesssss !!!

O god penalties. My heart is going to burst..

Penalties :eek:

And there we go to penalties !

You can do it lads !

Slow motion replay here seemed to show conclusively that Terry jumped cleanly and did not push the keeper.

Penalty shoot-out. No matter the result, best EC 2004 match so far imho.

England nominate Waddle Southgate and Psycho to take pens.

Sorry - having a nightmare there.

If England don't win now I'm gonna petition the government to "beat the **** out of Europe."

Beckham... misses

Why does he take them ?!?!

Beckham puts it into row Z
Deco scores.
Advantage Portugal

0-1 for Portugal!

Use the edit button Col :mischief:
How frightfully rude. My speech is being impeded :p

edit Later :crazyeye:

Owen scores 1-1
Simao 1-2
Lampard 2-2
Rui Costa misses !!!! 2-2
Terry 3-2
Ronaldo 3-3
Hargreaves 4-3
Maniche 4-4
Cole 5-4
Postiga 5-5 outrageous chip :eek:
Vassell misses. Ricardo saves.
Ricardo scores 6-5 Portugal are through. :cry:

2 - 1 Portugal

1-2 for Portugal, come on England we want to meet you in the semi's!

Oooh yea !

2 - 2

Beckham misses, Rui Costa misses :eek:

Port keeper shouldn't move and stay in the middle! All Johan Neeskens style ;)

Jeezus did you see that penalty spot?

Final countdown.

We wuz robbed.

Phew, I can finally go to the bathroom :ack:

:cry:
I still can't believe that the goal was disallowed..

Well, that was pooey.

England did not play well in the second half, but they were the better side. They did everything they needed to on demand - which just shows how much better they were.

Dodgy Portugese have bought this championship, I'm sure of it.

Did anyone else notice: the Portugese goaly was messing with that penalty spot before they started shooting... :p

Postiga 5-5 outrageous
What was outrageous ?

The way he took the penalty

Quick Stormbind change your sig to avoid humiliation :(

He chipped it very very slowly and let the keeper dive out of the way.

England exit in their traditional fashion - losing on penalties.

IncrediblE!!! Ricardo is certainly the MAN OF THE MATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everyone here seems to believe the referee has cost us the game disallowing Campbell's goal.

IncrediblE!!! Ricardo is certainly the MAN OF THE MATCH!!!!!!!!!!!!

With his bare hands!! :eek:

He chipped it very very slowly and let the keeper dive out of the way.

England exit in their traditional fashion - losing on penalties.

Ah, competing with the Dutch squad? ;)

Everyone here seems to believe the referee has cost us the game disallowing Campbell's goal.

Thats my interpretation :(

Everyone here seems to believe the referee has cost us the game disallowing Campbell's goal.

Well all the English supporters do :mischief:

Everyone here seems to believe the referee has cost us the game disallowing Campbell's goal.

What? You got to be kidding. There was a clear foul on Ricardo..

That's a fecking joke, Switzerland is gonna get invaded.

What? You got to be kidding. There was a clear foul on Ricardo..


Not on the slow motion. He jumped into the England player and fell over.

What? You got to be kidding. There was a clear foul on Ricardo..

The English commentary was certainly claiming it.

And the foul was by whom?

Terry just stood there with a half hearted attempt to jump. His arms were slightly splayed because it is physically impossible to jump with any height without use of the arms.

Campbell, if anything, is guilty of leaning on Terry. A foul on a teammate = no freekick..

Ashley Cole was man of the match. He consistently outperformed Ronaldo.

Quick Stormbind change your sig to avoid humiliation :(
Cheers :)

Stop complaining about the referee. He shouldn't have had to disallow the portuguese goal either, who's complaining about that?
Ricardo is definately a tough one! Congratulations Portugal.

Anyways, Portugal deserved to go through IMO..

Really great game (when you aren't emotionally involved ;) ), Portugal deserved the win IMO, they had the advantage most of the game.

Go Portugal! :goodjob:

I bet the English hate that referee...

Really great game (when you aren't emotionally involved ;) ), Portugal deserved the win IMO, they had the advantage most of the game.
Agreed. England fortunately got punished for their destructive way of playing. Nice penalties by Portugal except for Rui Costa.

Beckham... :D

And then claiming it was no foul. :lol:

Yes, Portugal were the better team. However, the better team doesn't always go through, and, in this case, with a fair decision, the worse team on the day would have gone through.

I agree, England were crap tonight. But we still should of gone through ;)

62 % of possession. Portugal seems to have dominated head and shoulders this match.

Ashley Cole was man of the match. He consistently outperformed Ronaldo.

:confused: Ronaldo was one of the best players, I barely saw Cole.

Campbells goal was irregular because Ricardo was handicapped in the 5m zone (or whatever you call it)

Stop complaining about the referee. He shouldn't have had to disallow the portuguese goal either, who's complaining about that?
Nobody is complaining because it never happened.

Come on man, don't pick on me for lousy english.

:confused: Ronaldo was one of the best players, I barely saw Cole.
:hmm:

Well, obviously they are showing a different match in the rest of Europe.

On the Ronaldo/Cole comment, what the hell?
Cole has head and shoulders the best player in the game. He consistently got back and tackled Ronaldo, brilliant defensively. Made good attacks too.

If it wasn't for Cole, then Ronaldo would of made an even bigger impact..

:confused: Ronaldo was one of the best players, I barely saw Cole.

Campbells goal was irregular because Ricardo was handicapped in the 5m zone (or whatever you call it)
Precisely. And Ronaldo's just great, in my view the best player on the pitch. And he was still running after 120 minutes.

Intresting game, I am happy I watched this as a neutral spectator. Portugal deserved it though. Cheers.

Stop complaining about the referee. He shouldn't have had to disallow the portuguese goal either, who's complaining about that?


What disallowed goal?

Ruud Gullit: no foul :o

Beckham... :D

yes, can't believe he took the first penalty. he is even more egomaniac than I thought.

What disallowed goal?

The, eh, not allowed goal, the ball that was stopped on the line. Or over the line, I still haven't seen a replay of that.

uffffff.................... Man nothing compared with spain game, this time was almost heart attack..... Eusebio almost had one.....

I think Portugal earn it, but England made a great game defending to. Congratulation to them to.....

I cant think what smiles use....I am very.... dont know..... :eek:

yes, can't believe he took the first penalty. he is even more egomaniac than I thought.

Erikkson chose the order you clod.

62 % of possession. Portugal seems to have dominated head and shoulders this match.
Already said, England played badly in the 2nd half but there is a clear reason for this..

After the Rooney was taken off, and to hospital, thanks to a precision Portugese kick... Erickson (who has been great) had to redesign his team's formation. Notice how he made three early substitutions to that end. England were terribly inconvenienced by the unexpected change to their squad, but they were still the better.. in that, man for man, England beat Portugal.

On the Ronaldo/Cole comment, what the hell?
Cole has head and shoulders the best player in the game. He consistently got back and tackled Ronaldo, brilliant defensively. Made good attacks too.

If it wasn't for Cole, then Ronaldo would of made an even bigger impact..

maybe he was not bad, but you say it yourself, he couldn't hold Ronaldo

Beckenbauer: foul :eek:

He should've brought on Heskey.

Why is it always penalties? Why?

Erikkson chose the order you clod.

Nice Call! :thumbsup: ;)

Why is it always penalties? Why?
Maybe I am wrong and there is a God after all?

He isn't gonna stop Ronaldo completely, no one could :rolleyes:
But he did a great job. I can definitely say that if Cole hadn't played so well, Portugal would have won easily in normal time..

@Strombind: you should change your sig...;)

He should've brought on Heskey.

Yeah, maybe Dyer would have been better ? There was 40-50 meters between the English midfield and strikers änd it only got worse when Gerrard and Scholes were taken off :eek:

Why is it always penalties? Why?

Because it was a close game........ hard game...... suffer game........ until last minute....until last second... what a game........

Change France to Switzerland immediately Stormbind :goodjob:

Cole was awsome. I noticed in the first half how Ronaldo kept swapping sides to try a find a way through (Neville + Beckham, or Cole)... he was outclassed on both sides of the pitch and he knew it.

In addition to beating Ronaldo everytime they met, Cole found the space to launch a few attacks.

He couldn't beat Ronaldo every time because that particular attacker was free to chose which part of the pitch he was playing on, and the defender doesn't have that choice.

Maybe I am wrong and there is a God after all?
If there was a God, he would be English. If there was a devil however...

He isn't gonna stop Ronaldo completely, no one could :rolleyes:
But he did a great job. I can definitely say that if Cole hadn't played so well, Portugal would have won easily in normal time..

Yes, he did a great job indeed,it was one of the most interesting fights in the game.. Cole cutted more of 60% of Ronaldo chances for shure.

Absoloute joke to suggest cole played badly, as for wether the portugese goal crossed the line if we hadnt been robbed by surely the worst refereeing decision since 1998 the game would already have finished

Bah - the worst refereeing decision ever was taken in 1966 :p

I dunno Phil, I counted about 40 awful referee decisions thoughout that match. Funny how they all went to Portugal.

If it wasn't for corruption, England would have won comfortably. Take the Rooney incident for example :p

--

If anyone thinks my sig. is impossible, do remember that Russia will back England up ;)

'The grocer from Zurich certainly weighed his scales in Portugal's favour'

So true, BBC commentator, so true :(

The most exciting game in the championship so far. I agree that Cole should be the man of the match.

BTW, I like what the Portuguese goalkeeper did... very nicely played, and good use of psychology, whatwith the gloves and kicking after saving...

yes, pick on me that'll help ;) well, Cole was good, but Ronaldo was awesome - you could see because he played vs. a strong defense.

I imagine he'll be able to sell his grocery store and retire the size of the bribe he must have got

yes, pick on me that'll help ;) well, Cole was good, but Ronaldo was awesome - you could see because he played vs. a strong defense.

Well if you say something silly like Cole wasn't brilliant, what do you expect to happen :rolleyes:

I only will say this one time, I have seen every english man saying robbed, not true, where?? that goal disalowed? you cant touch the goalkeeper in the little area, its in the book.

More things????

If Portugal losed I would accepted it, because it was a great game, anyone could win, I say again, congratulations to England to give us to this great game, please accept it, and party with us this great game!

I imagine he'll be able to sell his grocery store and retire the size of the bribe he must have got

Portugal deserved to win, face it. It was a great game.

Englishmen have always been sore losers.

I only will say this one time, I have seen every english man saying robbed, not true, where?? that goal disalowed? you cant touch the goalkeeper in the little area, its in the book.

U r Joking??? firstly the keeper didnt even jump, he was barely touched, its impossible to jump without lifting your hands, he wasnt obstructed in any way. If that wasnt a goal im a swiss grocer from Zurich

We didn't touch the goalkeeper, the goalkeeper touched us. If he is going to hurl himself at Terry, he is obviously gonna end up on his bonce !?!

I would celebrate, if the result had been the result of a fair referee with good decisions.

If that chance had never come about, and you had clearly won without any unfairness, then sure i would party with you because of a good, fair game. But, if it is an unfair game, then you can't expect the recipient of biased decisions to celebrate can you ;)

If that wasnt a goal im a swiss grocer from Zurich

Ah, then you know the referee, I take it... :p

I only will say this one time, I have seen every english man saying robbed, not true, where?? that goal disalowed? you cant touch the goalkeeper in the little area, its in the book.

The Big Book of Portuguese Lies?

Englishmen have always been sore losers.

No its just bloody annoying

I only will say this one time, I have seen every english man saying robbed, not true, where?? that goal disalowed? you cant touch the goalkeeper in the little area, its in the book.

The goaly jumped into the English player's back. Infact, that's a penalty ;)

More things????

I listed hundreds, each and every one of them is accurate. See earlier in this thread. Putting the huge list of dodgy ref. decisions to one side... what about the foul on Rooney?

If you watch the replay, the Portugese defender is beaten... he looks down at Rooney's feet (the ball is maybe 5/6 feet away) and then kicks Rooney's foot!! The shoe flies off...

Rooney played on, he had beaten the defender and wanted to cross the ball in... but the ref. intervenes and gives Portugal the free kick! What the... ? :hmm:

Shortly afterwards, Rooney is taken to hospital. You think that was good sportsmanship? :confused:

Oh, and BTW, the city's called Zürich (or Zuerich if you can't find the ¨), not Zurich.

The Big Book of Portuguese Lies?
Lol hear hear

Oh, and BTW, the city's called Zürich, not Zurich.
yes but as I have a standard english keyboard i dont have that character and am not aware of the shortcut :D

@ the comments that Portugal deserved to win, you obviously didn't read my earlier comment.

Yes, Portugal were the better team. However, the better team doesn't always go through, and, in this case, with a fair decision, the worse team on the day would have gone through.

I agree, England were crap tonight. But we still should of gone through ;)

The goaly jumped into the English player's back. Infact, that's a penalty ;)

Oh, and we all know how well you do with penalties, don't we? :p

Terry (or whoever it was) blocked the goalkeeper, in "his" area that's a foul, plain and simple.

yes but as I have a standard english keyboard i dont have that character and am not aware of the shortcut :D

Then copy/paste or use an 'e' after the 'u' - it looks so bloody silly spelled Zurich.

Did you know that England made a complaint to UEFA yesterday about the penalty spot that ended up being used. Interesting that..Of course, Portugal were affected too, but still very interesting..

'tis a conspiracy, I'm telling ya! And the toss of the coin was biased as well - a biased toss, I'm telling ya!

Then copy/paste or use an 'e' after the 'u' - it looks so bloody silly spelled Zurich.
I will in future although to me it looks sillier spelled Zuerich

Terry (or whoever it was) blocked the goalkeeper, in "his" area that's a foul, plain and simple.


No it isnt. There is absolutely nothing in the rules that says a player must get out of the way when he himself is competing for the ball. The keeper jumped into Terry, realised he want going to reach the ball and then fell over.

It is routine for players to stand in that area.

Thank you. :D

Oh, and we all know how well you do with penalties, don't we? :p
That's beside the point. The goal shouldn't have been disallowed.

Well, hopefully UEFA will think it very unussual that the Portugese goaly was handling the penalty spot before Beckham shot ;)

I wasn't saying the penalty spot was a conspiracy theory :hmm:
I was merely saying that it was interesting that nothing was done about it.

'tis a conspiracy, I'm telling ya! And the toss of the coin was biased as well - a biased toss, I'm telling ya!
Sure hope Denmark go out after getting a perfectly good goal disallowed, of course you wont complain as its all fair :rolleyes:

Yes, Portugal were the better team. However, the better team doesn't always go through, and, in this case, with a fair decision, the worse team on the day would have gone through.

I agree, England were crap tonight. But we still should of gone through ;)
Well it is understandable that you wanted England to go through and a penalty shootout is always about alot of luck, but to blame in on the referee is unfair and exactly the kind of thing you guys always accuse the Italians of...

Face it that the better team has won, albeit lucky, but still deserved. ;)

This is definitely Tim's year now...

Then copy/paste or use an 'e' after the 'u' - it looks so bloody silly spelled Zurich.
How do you think it's spelled in English? :confused:

Looks bloody silly in a foreign alphabet, I can tell you ;)

No it isnt. There is absolutely nothing in the rules that says a player must get out of the way when he himself is competing for the ball. The keeper jumped into Terry, realised he want going to reach the ball and then fell over.

It is routine for players to stand in that area.
Damn straight. There are no special rules for goalkeepers or the 6-yard box.

No it isnt. There is absolutely nothing in the rules that says a player must get out of the way when he himself is competing for the ball. The keeper jumped into Terry, realised he want going to reach the ball and then fell over.

It is routine for players to stand in that area.

If you're right..he's certainly not the first to fake a foul..:rolleyes:

The referee, supposedly one of the creme de la creme of Europe, made a mistake which cost a national team their place in a competition held only every four years. I think it is feasible to blame the referee, or at least moan at UEFA for not implementing video replays..

Sure hope Denmark go out after getting a perfectly good goal disallowed, of course you wont complain as its all fair :rolleyes:

Well, we're not quite as accustomed to success as you are - so we're not as arrogant and bloated as Englishmen. In other words, we're used to losing - we suck. So I bet we'll complain less, yeah.

@0blivion: I know, I'm just flaming - I love how you limeys are so predictable and excited about football.

No it isnt. There is absolutely nothing in the rules that says a player must get out of the way when he himself is competing for the ball. The keeper jumped into Terry, realised he want going to reach the ball and then fell over.

It is routine for players to stand in that area.
He wasn't competing for the ball, all he was doing was blocking the goalie. And that is a foul. He saw that Campbell would go for the ball and didn't bother to "compete" for it. It was an interference. It is more than routine that this is considered a foul.

@0blivion: I know, I'm just flaming - I love how you limeys are so predictable and excited about football.

I am allowed to enjoy a sport and not be accused of being a limey :hmm:

Well, we're not quite as accustomed to success as you are - so we're not as arrogant and bloated as Englishmen. In other words, we're used to losing - we suck. So I bet we'll complain less, yeah.

@0blivion: I know, I'm just flaming - I love how you limeys are so predictable and excited about football.
Trust me we are pretty used to losing....we just expect to win all the time

Thats because footballs everything here and to go out like this :cry: :cry:

@0blivion: Sorry about that old chap. But as Hitro said, what you're doing is what you accuse the Italians of doing.

Send all your moans and complaints to:

Euro 2004 S.A.
Head Quarters
Avenida da Republica, nº53
PT-1050-188 Lisboa
Portugal

Telephone: +351 217 99 2004
Telefax: +351 21 799 20 40
Web Site: www.euro2004.com

He wasn't competing for the ball, all he was doing was blocking the goalie. And that is a foul. He saw that Campbell would go for the ball and didn't bother to "compete" for it. It was an interference. It is more than routine that this is considered a foul.
Blocking the goalie? Look at his eyes, i doubt he even saw Campbell coming. They must have shown it at a crazy angle in your country. The keeper fouled Terry if anything

Is 'limey' a derogatory term?

I am allowed to enjoy a sport and not be accused of being a limey :hmm:
I like being a limey. Kind of fruity (not gay) with a punch :smug:

Blocking the goalie? Look at his eyes, i doubt he even saw Campbell coming. They must have shown it at a crazy angle in your country. The keeper fouled Terry if anything
Nonsense. The goalkeeper area is a special case. If that is a good thing or not is a completely different matter. I would probably agree if you would say that these kind of things should not be considered fouls, but according to the present rules they are, and that is what matters when it comes to accusations of "robbery".

He wasn't competing for the ball, all he was doing was blocking the goalie. And that is a foul. He saw that Campbell would go for the ball and didn't bother to "compete" for it. It was an interference. It is more than routine that this is considered a foul.

Certainly not. It is certainly legitimate and routinely occurs at most corners and free kicks.

He is allowed to take up a position and stay there. He is allowed to compete for the ball. Which rule exactly forbids this?

He wasn't competing for the ball, all he was doing was blocking the goalie. And that is a foul. He saw that Campbell would go for the ball and didn't bother to "compete" for it. It was an interference. It is more than routine that this is considered a foul.

of course he was competing for the ball he was looking straight at it.

The goalkeeper area is NOT a special case. The keeper jumped into Terry, not the other way around. Campbell simply out-jumped Terry and scored a perfectly legal goal. We were robbed.

Is 'limey' a derogatory term?
Doesn't offend me. It originated from British sailors eating limes to prevent scurvy. Pretty sensible if you ask me

I don't know if Limey is a deragotary term, it just seemed to be said in a derogotary manner :hmm:

Is 'limey' a derogatory term?
Yes it is, except in American dictionaries where it's just slang for British sailor (historical) or English person (current day). Although it has a sensible story behind it, those who use it generally do so in derogatory way.

Certainly not. It is certainly legitimate and routinely occurs at most corners and free kicks.

He is allowed to take up a position and stay there. He is allowed to compete for the ball. Which rule exactly forbids this?
You're not going to get me reading a rule book. :p

Something like this is always a foul. He was not moving towards the ball, which is "sperren" in German. In the goalkeeper's area always a foul. No idea about the English word.

I don't know if Limey is a deragotary term, it just seemed to be said in a derogotary manner :hmm:
Mebbes ur still in shock after such a clear cut goal was ruled out by a madman

woooohoooooo
I don't want to hear anybody blaming Italy one more time. England played catenaccio after 0-1, the substitutions prove it. And payed for it.
I enjoyed this portuguese victory, expecially Postiga's "cucchiaio", same as Totti in Euro 2000

He wasn't moving towards the ball because the ball was moving towards him :hmm:
He did try and jump for it, but was impeded by the goalkeeper and 15 stone of Campbell leaning on his back.

It was a blatant foul by Terry he had his arm on the keepers head and hands!!! So what if he wasn't looking at him.
This contreversity will be used by the English to disguise how abysmal they were!!! What happened to the "world class" midfield??? They were dreadful!!

Wee Ronaldo had some game, he looked amazing! What price the English lads rioting in Lisbon tonight??? They are so bad losers!!!

Altogther now, Becks cannae hit a spot!!

England played catenaccio after 0-1
Important to mention that again! :D

England's substitutions were solely caused by the fact that Portuguse defenders enjoy trying to snap Rooney's ligaments..

woooohoooooo
I don't want to hear anybody blaming Italy one more time. England played catenaccio after 0-1, the substitutions prove it. And payed for it.
I enjoyed this portuguese victory, expecially Postiga's "cucchiaio", same as Totti in Euro 2000
ENGLISH CATENACCI-ATION!!!! :D

Best game of football I have ever seen. England winning/losing/winning/losing/lost.

And to think that the Portuguese Goalkeeper puts them out that’s just :lol:
And that Ref is so uncontroversial, when he refereeing again, I’ll have to watch that match.
The ref was a little bias, Portugal were stronger though they deserve to go through. And Campbells goal was a foul.

Ricardo is hero for scoring the last goal.(well never see a game as good as this when Scotland is playing :cry: )

Not in this country. Such goals are always allowed provided the forward has not committed a foul by jumping into the keeper.
As said in an earlier post, I wouldn't have a problem if that was generally the case. But it isn't.

It's not more offensive than Yank.

I would also like to point that this referee was the same of Italy-Sweden, and didn't give a foul on Buffon when Ibrahimovic scored. Buffon was usable to reach the ball.

Go check out the Quarter final thread instead of oepning a new one :)
Plenty of arguments for and against your interpretation in there ;)

Closing this thread. Please post comments about the quarter finals in the quarter final thread.

It was a blatant foul by Terry he had his arm on the keepers head and hands!!! So what if he wasn't looking at him.

You're allowed to jump with your arms. The keeper was the one that jumped into Terry. He doesn't have to get out of the way. And we're not using this as an excuse. We're pointing out the fact that we would have won if the referee hadn't made a disgracefully bad decision.

It was a blatant foul by the goal keeper. He jumped into Terry without going for the ball, and then fell on the floor because a heavyweight Cambell applied a greater force in the opposite direction.

Poor Terry was sandwiched, and the Goaly was the lighter of the 3 so just bounced off and fell over. There was no foul.

As for Terry's hand: it's attached to his arm... he has to put it somewhere!!

Yeah stop *****ing about refereeing. The play was way too defensive, you handed away the initiative for the game and the victory. One would think that the lesson should have been learned by now in this championship but nooooooooo............

Yeah stop *****ing about refereeing. The play was way too defensive, you handed away the initiative for the game and the victory.
England played defensive because Rooney was fouled and taken out of the match; their entire game plan was wrecked by one of the worst fouls in footy history. It's very difficult to work out a new plan in the middle of the game with all the players already chosen!

Jesus man, i have posted twice that England didn't deserve to win the game. Can you read?

Yes we didn't deserve to go through, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't have gone through with a fair decision :gripe:

:lol:

col closed the "Well done Ricardo" thing but not the "Come on England" one... :mischief:

And it was no foul by the goalkeeper, in his area he can basically do what he wants except for maybe hitting others, but depending on the case even that goes through. It was a foul by Terry.

And even if it wasn't that still would be no excuse for the destructive football England played.

You're allowed to jump with your arms. The keeper was the one that jumped into Terry. He doesn't have to get out of the way. And we're not using this as an excuse. We're pointing out the fact that we would have won if the referee hadn't made a disgracefully bad decision.

Sounds like an excuse to me!!! And you can bet the tabliods will be screaming about it.

Fact is that if your arms touch the keeper it's a foul. If you watch the replay you'll see Terrys arm hit the keepers face and arm. Thats a foul. If you think it isn't then may I ask is this the 1st game of footbal you have ever watched??

Anyway I think the ref dissallowed it because England were terrible and it would have been a travesty if they'd gone to the semis, so well done ref!!!

It was a foul by Terry.

And even if it wasn't that still would be no excuse for the destructive football England played.

It was a foul :(

Even we italians don't complain this much...geez..:rolleyes:

Stormbind: so you lose a player and you have to change your whole strategy?:confused:

The 'Come on England' thread was established well before the game, and was already quite large when most discussion moved in here. The other thread was just plonked there after about 100 replies on this one concerning the England - Portugal game, and was therefore just someone who hadn't noticed this fact.

Terry did nothing.

And even if it wasn't [a foul] that still would be no excuse for the destructive football England played.

:gripe: --->>>>

England played defensive because Rooney was fouled and taken out of the match; their entire game plan was wrecked by one of the worst fouls in footy history. It's very difficult to work out a new plan in the middle of the game with all the players already chosen!

Jesus man, i have posted twice that England didn't deserve to win the game. Can you read?

Yes we didn't deserve to go through, but that doesn't mean we wouldn't have gone through with a fair decision :gripe:

Chill. The posts drop in here like penalties behind James.. I dont read them all.

England played defensive because Rooney was fouled and taken out of the match; their entire game plan was wrecked by one of the worst fouls in footy history. It's very difficult to work out a new plan in the middle of the game with all the players already chosen!

Did you watch the same game??

How exactly was it the worst foul ever?? or even a foul??

They just tangled chasing a ball if you've ever played a game of football in your life you'll realise these things happen!

Sometimes you have to just grind out results and win when you dont deserve to, every team does-the decision would have been more dissapointing but no less disgraceful had we been playing top quality football. in my opinion we deserved to win purely for the spirit we showed in defending.

It was a foul :(
:lol:

You changed your mind because Ruud Gullit said so? All the people who say it was a foul are either English or Ruud Gullit. I mean, can there be more proof that it wasn't? ;)

:lol:

You changed your mind because Ruud Gullit said so? All the people who say it was a foul are either English or Ruud Gullit. I mean, can there be more proof that it wasn't? ;)

Huh? I don't understand what you mean?

EDIT: I haven't changed my mind at all! It wasn't a goal, it was a foul!!

Inter32: You lost Totti and changed your whole strategy :confused:

Did you watch the same game??

How exactly was it the worst foul ever?? or even a foul??

They just tangled chasing a ball if you've ever played a game of football in your life you'll realise these things happen!

Ugh! I went though this several times...

Rooney beat the defender, the ball was 5/6 feet away from the defender!

The defender looked down at Rooney's feet, then kicks his foot, and the shoe flies off...

That's a blatant, premeditated foul.

The 'Come on England' thread was established well before the game, and was already quite large when most discussion moved in here. The other thread was just plonked there after about 100 replies on this one concerning the England - Portugal game, and was therefore just someone who hadn't noticed this fact.

How many smilies does one have to put to mark a non-serious comment here? ;)

And Inter is right, not even the Italians complain that much. When Germany didn't get its penalties yesterday and Holland got its irregular goals I mentioned that once. Germany still sucked. As did England. Period. And you "wasn't" robbed. :p

Chill. The posts drop in here like penalties behind James..

A good one! :goodjob: :lol:

England's substitutions were solely caused by the fact that Portuguse defenders enjoy trying to snap Rooney's ligaments..

Scholes' and Gerrard's substitutions too ? Talk about a delayed response...

Huh? I don't understand what you mean?
I think you posted earlier that you thought it was a not a foul. Then later you posted Gullit said it was and Beckenbauer it wasn't. And now you seem to have changed your mind. But maybe I confuse something about who posted what.

@Hitro: I'm sure that you are confused by all these posts in the last hour. But I didn't change my mind at all.

And there goes things....


Spain : out.

Italy : out.

Germany : out.

England : out.


As things are going, I wouldn't be surprized all countries with more than 20 million people will be out on tomorrow.

Fair point Jack.
Sorry Hitro, i have gone into a 'argue with everything' mode. If i'm not careful I'll be flaming other England supporters next on their use of punctuation :mischief:

Stop crying, that was a foul, just like the one on Buffon in Italy-Sweden.

And there goes things....


Spain : out.

Italy : out.

Germany : out.

England : out.


As things are going, I wouldn't be surprized all countries with more than 20 million people will be out on tomorrow.

So what? :hmm:

And there goes things....


Spain : out.

Italy : out.

Germany : out.

England : out.


As things are going, I wouldn't be surprized all countries with more than 20 million people will be out on tomorrow.
Or France will just win it by playing mediocre football. ;)

Inter32: You lost Totti and changed your whole strategy :confused:

Not really: His perfect sub was Pirlo. I could be wrong.

Spain:Poor Tournament
Italy:Poor Tournament
Germany:Poor Team
England:Robbed

Portugal also had a refused goal. Let's call it an even.

The responsible for England's defeat isn't the referee. It's, in my humble opinion, England's coach. Playing defensive wasn't a natural strategy for England, the attack should have been reinforced after Rooney's departure.

If England hadn't been satisfied about leading with only one goal, they wouldn't be on the plane tonight. A 2-0 would have killed portuguese.

As things are going, I wouldn't be surprized all countries with more than 20 million people will be out on tomorrow.

It's amazing how poorly many of the favourites are playing. Now France just needs to go and all the really big countries will be out...

England:Robbed

I tend to disagree on that one...

Spain:Unluck and poor 3rd game
Italy:Unluck and poor 1st game
Germany:Poor team
England:Poor quarterfinal

Spain: Unluck and poor 3rd game
Italy: Poor games, far too defensive
Germany: Poor team
England: Poor quarterfinal

we're keeping replying between 4-5 messages. We should enter in a chat