Sweden leaves EURO 2012 with heads held high

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sebastian Larsson scored last night to provide a rousing send-off for already-eliminated Sweden.

Laurent Blanc's men were second best in group D as they blew their chance to emerge as group winner and in the end had to thank England for winning Ukraine and keeping them in the competition.

Ibrahimovic smashed home a volley, one of the best goal so far at EURO 2012

Ibrahimovic nets a wonder strike at 54 minute, so sensational that it could easily be the best goal of EURO 2012 so far, and maybe even throughout the whole tournament. Larsson lashed home the second in the injury time to seal the 2-0 victory for Sweden. France now will face the reigning champion Spain in the last eight, and the Swedes can leave EURO 2012 with their heads held high.

This was a lethargic and disappointing performance for the French. They never got into their stride going forward, passing too much and always ended up with going-wide efforts from range. None of the France's players got any flair, meanwhile their defenders couldn't handle pressure from Sweden. Up against Spain, France will likely to have a hard time to seize control of the match and prevent the tiki-taka.

Rooney: We can go all the way

After fired the Three Lions into the quarterfinal with a winner in the match against Ukraine last night, Rooney showed his confidence in the team's chance at EURO 2012. The next opponent for England is 2006 World Cup champion, Italy.

Rooney insisted that all remaining teams will be hoping to avoid England, "Italy will be difficult for us but we believe in ourselves. We expect to do well as a team, whether people expect us or not. We have stuck together, worked hard and we have a belief.

We are the group winner and ready for the challenges ahead. We know our qualities and what we are capable of. Not many teams will fancy playing us. We are difficult to break down and have players to score goals.

Rooney is confident in England's chance

Rooney had not scored in an international tournament since the European Championship 8 years ago. But after making a goalscoring return after two match suspension in Donetsk, the striker was quick to praise his team-mates, in particular skipper Gerrard.

“I haven’t scored in a major tournament in a while and it was nice to do that with the winning goal,” said Rooney. “The whole team was fantastic; we defended really well and stuck in there at times against a difficult crowd. Our fans were brilliant and we deserved the win.

“It was great to get three points and it’s always a great feeling to score. My overall game could have been a bit better but it was my first game for a while.

"The one thing I was delighted with was that I was always putting myself in goalscoring opportunities. I could have done better with a couple more but I got the goal and its three points.

“Steven's delivery has been exceptional in this tournament. He's a world-class player and I thought tonight he was really brilliant. He drove us on at times. We're lucky to have a player like that in the team."

Spain and Itally went through

Spain and Italy are the two teams advanced to quarterfinal at group C after last night matches. Spain needed to wait until 88 minutes to seal their 1-0 win over Croatia and finish the group stage as top of group C. Croatia had a defensive match, keeping tiki-taka playing style at bay when Spain's number 1 striker, Torres, did not perform well. Croatia was looking for counter-attack opportunity and this strategy seemed to be working well for them. However, when the match is about to end, one moment of relapse made them pay. Initiated by Fabregas, Navas had an easy goal after the nice set up by Iniesta at 88 minutes.

Meanwhile, in the other match, Italy was able to grab a 2-0 win for Italy. Cassano and Balotelli scored at 35 minutes and 90 minutes. With the result of the match between Spain and Croatia, Italy pulled through. This was a big push in Italy team's spirit, as this is their first win since November last year. The fans were also worried that history can repeat as in EURO 2004 when Denmark and Sweden drew and Italy was out. However, the Azzurri had had a good match and deserved the win.

Cassano after the opener

Tonight we will see the last two matches of the group stage, England vs Ukraine and France vs Sweden, stay tuned for more updates.

Meanwhile, check out the latest odds and offers at M88 Sports Betting

Croatia vs Spain, Italy vs Ireland betting tips

Tonight at EURO 2012, Croatia encounters Spain to decide the top spot at group C, while Italy takes on Ireland. 

If Croatia and Spain draw 2-2, Italy will be disqualified regardless of the result in their match against Ireland. But it's unlikely to happen, as Spain will need to keep the honor of the reigning champion and 2-2 is a risky result as a momentary relapse at the end of the match could earn them flight tickets home. 

Mandzukic secured 1-1 draw for Croatia in the game against Italy

Croatia will for sure go for goal as they need at least 1-1 draw and hopes Italy does not win Ireland with more than 2 goals gap. No doubt that Croatia is a strong team with Modric and Mandzukic, however would they be able to hold off Spain is a big question. With Torres back on form, Spain looks more dangerous than ever. Our bet is that Spain will win 3-1 in tonight match, therefore a Spain Asian Handicap (-)1.25 at M88 Sportsbook looks good to put money down. 

Meanwhile, if nothing goes wrong Italy will grab a win over Ireland, something that Croatia and Spain were able to do so easily. They would need a 2 goal gap and wait for result from the other match to know whether they are through to next round. They need to attack and try to avoid mistake like the match against Croatia, when they were ahead and one mistake changed everything. Our prediction for this match 3-0 for Italy, so why don't you go for Italy Asian Handicap (-) 1.50 or Over 2.50. 

Italy is likely going to win over Ireland, but would they able to go through?

For more odds and market, visit M88 Sports Betting

Ronaldo praised teammate for Portugal's win

Cristiano Ronaldo has praised his Portugal team-mates following the side's 2-1 victory over Netherlands in Kharkiv on Sunday night - a result that sees Portugal through to the quarter-finals.

Having navigated what was considered by many to be the tournament's toughest group, Portugal will now face Czech Republic in Thursday's opening quarter-final and Ronaldo, who found the back of the net twice to inspire a comeback victory, was quick to share the credit post-match.

"The team was spectacular. They should be congratulated," Ronaldo said. "We deserve this passage to the quarter-finals, because we always believed it was possible.

"We only think game to game. Our goal was to get past the first stage. We were able to and now everything is possible. We will have an extremely difficult game against the Czech Republic and both sides will have a 50% chance."

Ronaldo's thoughts were echoed by full-back Joao Pereira, who praised the unity within the camp as they responded well to a tough start.

"We stayed calm and we got through. This was our goal in a very difficult group, when many people doubted us,” Pereira said. “We showed we are a very united team, despite what has come out in the press. We all ran for each other and it showed on the field, where we managed to come back. We were losing, we showed our unity and we turned around the result."

Midfielder Miguel Veloso concurred, saying: "It was a great victory. Once more we showed great organisation and unity of the group. We had to defend and only a great team could come through and turn around the result after the Netherlands had scored. We should be congratulated on this brilliant victory. Once more, all united, we played really well.”

Paulo Bento, the Portuguese coach, was equally impressed with what he witnessed from his side, once more choosing to praise the unity of the group.

"The individual effort of players is not important,'' Bento said. "The issue of the effort players show for their clubs and country we have already talked about so much. We have discussed that enough. I'm proud of what we've done as a team and satisfied that we achieved our aim brilliantly.

"We have a certain kind of style, identity and ideas. The players put that into practice. Today we can talk about brilliance, it was the best game we have played here. We have been loyal to our spirit and that's what we're proud of.''

Netherlands out, Germany top of group B

Last night matches saw the third win in group stage for Germany and total opposite as Netherlands lost all three matches and say goodbye to EURO 2012

Germany showed that they are the boss in the hardest group of EURO 2012 by winning all three games, which is something that all the big team this year couldn't do. Lars Bender's goal at 80 minutes secured Germany a 2-1 win over Denmark. It seems that Loew's squad did not encounter any difficulty and did not show their full strength just yet. They will not likely have to even in quarterfinal, as their opponent would be the under-dog Greece.

Germany is unbeatable on their way to quarter-final

In total contrary to Germany's rampage, Netherlands lost 1-2 to Portugal last night to conclude their EURO 2012 with 3 losses, 0 points, and only 2 goals. What a terrible ending for big contestant for the EURO title. Ronaldo was Netherlands' terror last night as he scored a double to put Portugal through to next round. The scoreline could have been wider should Ronaldo had converted few other chances.

Portugal will face Republic Czech in quarter-final, a game they are considered the stronger team. 

England vs Sweden, Ukraine vs France betting tips

England will take on Sweden tonight in the game that they will want a win to be able to decide their faith in the last match. Meanwhile, France will be facing co-host Ukraine, whose home support would make them stronger than ever.

England vs Sweden

England, after all the mayhem and changes, appeared strong in their first match against France. Unlike their few last times entering into big tournament, expectation at EURO 2012 for England is lessened. That could be the reason that they play with a strong spirit, led by Steven Gerrard. Roy Hodgson, on the other hand, showed that he knows what he is doing, and more importantly, in this match, he knows Sweden full well. Hodgson started his coaching career in Sweden and had number of years working here.

England showed disciplined play against France

Rather than Ibrahimovic, Sweden does not have any other highlight in their squad. Their back looks trouble with wing defenders do not receive confidence from critics, and old central defender, who will have to go against youth and speed of Welbeck. With less pressure on the defense, England is likely to more open and will go forward. Our prediction is a 1-0 win for the Three Lions. Therefore, our suggestion is to go for England Asian Handicap (-) 0.5 



Ukraine vs France

 

Would France be able to show their attacking power?

Clearly, Ukraine has a good start and with the home support, they look stronger than ever. But France still has the upper hand, as they possess a much better squad with individuals can change the game like Ribery or Nasri. Shevchenko will not have a lot of space as in the game against Sweden. France has a really good running campaign for EURO 2012, and it's the time they show their attacking power. 

Our prediction would lean to France, however we do not discount that with the co-host's spirit Ukraine can upset France by a draw. Prediction: 2-1. Naturally, a Over 2.25 bet for this game is recommended. 

For more odds and betting visit M88 Sportsbook