Post by The Quito Diet on Jun 3, 2016 12:29:14 GMT
Fixtures
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13th June - Republic of Ireland vs Sweden - 15:00 - BBC
13th June - Belgium vs Italy - 20:00 - BBC
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17th June - Italy vs Sweden - 14:00 - ITV
18th June - Belgium vs Republic of Ireland - 14:00 - ITV
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22nd June - Italy vs Republic of Ireland - 20:00 - ITV
22nd June - Sweden vs Belgium - 20:00 - ITV
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13th June - Republic of Ireland vs Sweden - 15:00 - BBC
13th June - Belgium vs Italy - 20:00 - BBC
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17th June - Italy vs Sweden - 14:00 - ITV
18th June - Belgium vs Republic of Ireland - 14:00 - ITV
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22nd June - Italy vs Republic of Ireland - 20:00 - ITV
22nd June - Sweden vs Belgium - 20:00 - ITV
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Pointless trivia; Italy are the only former champions in what on paper very much looks like the fabled 'group of death' in which the only actual deaths tend to be managerial reputations.
To see what Maskya Yoshida can come up with to explain the Republic of Ireland's chances of escaping from this group, have a look here;
Top of the morning to you and welcome to the Euro 2016 introduction to the one real Ireland.
Ireland; famous for Bono, Liam Neeson, that alcoholic from The Tudors and Jedward are a nation of alcoholics and the hundreds of Irish Bars in France ('cause fuck knows they're everywhere) will be in party atmosphere for the next month as Ireland appear in only there third ever European Championships.
The Republic of Ireland don't have a good record in this competition, in the fifty six years the competition has existed Ireland have previously only qualified twice with their last win coming in 1988 when the very Irish Ray Houghton's single goal was enough to beat g7vikings 's England.
That sentence is enough history, let's look at who the Irish will be facing in the next three weeks;
Belgium, a team who'll be heavily favored by the English media due to the fact they're essentially a Premier Select x11. However they do have Simon Mingolet.... Can Ireland beat them? No
Italy, one of the most successful tournament teams of all time, a team who can go into any tournament with no form and still manage to reach a final. However, their top scoring forward in their team is Graziano Pelle. Can Ireland beat them? No
Sweden, they have Ibra. However, they have no one else. Can Ireland beat them? Maybe
So all in all it looks like another disappointing campaign for the Irish, the most they can hope for is a third place finish and qualifying through the now ridiculous group stage we have with UEFA wanting more games and money.
For those who want a well-written and informed piece on Ireland in this competition, you may just want to read from here;
The key difference between this Ireland team and the one that lost all three of their matches at Euro 2012 relates to attitude. Four years ago Giovanni Trapattoni probably had a better bunch of players but stifled the side due to his conviction that Ireland were not good enough to aspire to being anything other than plucky sucker-punchers.
Trapattoni’s decision not to take Coleman to Poland and Ukraine four years ago was decried at the time, as was the Italian’s neglect of Wes Hoolahan, who has since become the chief creator under O’Neill. At 34 the Norwich City playmaker finds it hard to last 90 minutes and including him makes a flat 4-4-2 impossible, which is why O’Neill usually favours a 4-2‑3-1 or a midfield diamond with Hoolahan at the tip. When he is on the pitch his wriggly runs and inventive passes give the Irish an element of surprise they otherwise lack.
Shane Long’s speed and aerial power are also crucial and give Ireland an essential counterattacking threat against teams who have more possession than them, which could be everyone at Euro 2016. With Jonathan Walters either partnering Long or playing off the right, the Irish attack can spread panic in any defence if given decent service.
James McCarthy will anchor midfield if fit. Glenn Whelan’s place in the centre would have been in jeopardy if Harry Arter had been fit but the Bournemouth player’s injury makes him a probable starter.
O’Neill’s greatest area of concern is central defence, where it is difficult to predict which two players he will select and even more difficult to feel safe with whichever pairing he goes for. John O’Shea will probably start, having played every group game until being sent off in the last one in Poland. In his absence for the play-off, Ciaran Clark played well alongside Richard Keogh against Bosnia-Herzegovina. And Shane Duffy looked solid at times during the warm-up matches. All four centre-backs, however, are prone to concentration lapses so the goalkeeper, Darren Randolph, is likely to see plenty of action against such strikers as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Romelu Lukaku and Michy Batshuayi.
Possible Starting 11
Which Republic of Ireland player is going to surprise everyone at Euro 2016?
Jeff Hendrick was the biggest revelation of the qualifying campaign, along with Randolph. Hendrick was not even a regular starter for Derby County when he made a decisive impact off the bench for Ireland in Germany, setting up a late equaliser for O’Shea. He then earned a place in the first XI and his runs from midfield and composed distribution became a recurring feature of the campaign, whether he played centrally or on the left. His dribble and pass for Walters’ winning goal against Georgia was a work of beauty and he has a lovely understanding with Brady, with whom he has been playing since they were 10-year-olds at the Dublin junior club St Kevin’s Boys.
Which player is likely to disappoint?
James McCarthy. In a team with plenty of limitations but generally admirable spirit, the Everton midfielder is the one player who sometimes leaves onlookers wondering whether he could have done more. Too often he is akin to the Irish Mikel Jon Obi, content to sit deep rather than assert the attacking quality that he does actually possess. Other than that, Long’s finishing can still be sketchy and James McClean’s tackling scary.
What is the realistic aim for the Republic of Ireland and why?
Defensive weakness and a relative flair deficit make elimination in the group stage probable but progress beyond that is not unimaginable, as the team have inexhaustible energy and, in Long and Walters, forwards who can floor any rival who is not up for a fight, especially when Hoolahan is at his mischievous best. If Ireland’s central defenders have a good day against Ibrahimovic in their first match, the rest of the team are roughly the equal of Sweden and a win would give them a powerful boost before facing Italy and Belgium, who have more quality but will have to show similar endeavour.
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For what will inevitably end up reading like fan-fiction about Zlatan as all reports on Sweden are, see what Star of Spurs has to say;
"Wonderful Zlatan today, isn't it?", the prolific striker announced to the squad at breakfast, as he took his seat at the head of the table.
His fellow teammates murmed in agreement, and then murmured louder when he asked again. His teammates were long-suffering, pale in the shadow of the striker. He was all the media and the fans wished to talk about, and it made the others bitter to their core. Sure, they'd tell themselves, he's won everything there is to be won, they might say. Sure, they'd say, he's still prolific. Sure, they'd reason, he can do things that bring the crowd to their feet. But has he ever had to suffer, like the others? Has he ever had to retrieve the ball from behind him eight times, as goalkeeping stalwart Andres Ikasson had to in Manchester City's infamous 8-1 defeat to Middlesbrough? Has he ever been given up on, like his goalscoring partner John Guidetti was, declared a saviour and then forgotten? Has he ever grafted, as defence mainstay Andres Granvqist has on every pitch he's walked onto for his entire career, often to no acclaim?
No, Zlatan always got what Zlatan wanted. It was Zlatan's world, and we were merely observers.
And his teammates were tired of it.
They had hatched a plan. Inside their twenty-two bed room (Zlatan had a room to himself, naturally), the squad had put together an elaborate trap. They would invite Zlatan in, under the pretence of an interview promoting a book that Zlatan hadn't written, but would naturally assume he had. The interviewer they had hired would compliment him, feed his ego, getting him off guard, and then the players would strike, taking him by surprise, tying him up and ensuring that for once, another Swedish player could get the limelight. Maybe Kim Kallstrom, noteworthy for inexplicably owning the #9 shirt despite being a central midfielder, or Martin Olsson, the more successful of the still unpopular male-centred remake of the Olsen twins.
They waited until the afternoon, and then the plan begun. The interviewer welcomed Zlatan in, and pulled out a throne for him to sit, and asked him pithy questions. What is it to dare to Zlatan? How good are you exactly? And the players listened from outside, waiting for their chance to ambush.
They waited.
They waited, daring each other to strike.
And after a few minutes, Pontus Wernbloom, which is apparently a real name, breathed deeply, and threw the door open, and immediately stumbled backwards at the scene.
The reporter, strangled with his own microphone, tied to his chair. On his shirt, written in blood, was an unsettling message that made the players shake and scream.
"DARE TO ZLATAN".
And as the players attempted to process what they were seeing, they had failed to notice that the door behind them had closed.
But they did notice the click of the lock.
And they turned as unison, and gasped.
Marcus Berg fell to his knees. "Mercy, Zlatan. Mercy."
But there was no mercy to be found here. There was no peace, and there was no justice.
There was only Zlatan.
There was always only Zlatan.
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To see what ic 's Mrs has let him write about Belgium's chances, see below;
And for AlexC 's thoughts on a side that many people are finding difficult to place in Italy, have a look below;