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Don't see a thread for the tournament in general, as opposed to the Irish matches?
I really really hope that nonsense of counting down from 10 to start a match dies alongside whoever thought it would be a good idea. **** right off.
Have our miss of the tournament already I think. Romania should be 1-0 up.
Alright game so far. First instance of "He won the ball" from commentary for a bad challenge too.
Goalline officials have to be the biggest waste of time ever. How can he not spot that was a corner from Griezmann's shot? They seem to spot nothing. Just get rid.
This was a wild, dangerous overstatement. Got very scrappy towards the end of the first half. Have to appreciate Romanian gameplan though.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeverFeltBetter
Stancu now first and second on the "worst miss" leaderboard.
Not a great game alright, but interesting.
Giroud moved the keepers arms as he was moving to collect the cross. How is that not obstruction/undue interference?
Didn't think there was any intent to be honest. Keeper should have been stronger.
Screamer from Payet. Moment of genius to win it. France will have to improve if they have hopes of winning it.
I don't really think intent matters there. If the keeper took one of Giroud's legs out as he moving to shoot, intent or no, it'd be a free, but the keeper has to just be stronger when an attacker directly interferes with his ability to collect a cross?
Referee lost the plot a bit in the second I thought. France should certainly have had a penalty, then no free or yellow when Evra got an elbow to the face. Even enough contest, Payet's spared the hosts blushes a bit. France clearly a bit rusty after two years of friendlies. Had to appreciate Romania's attitude and willingness to chase the ball and close the opposition down all game, thought they deserved a draw despite the fouling (as much as Payet's tears, I think I'll remember one of their defenders bleeding down the side of his face in the last minute and playing on).
I thought they played well tbh, Romania were a hard enough team to break down..........
Tomorrow's first game between Albania and Switzerland will be first time in a Euros that brothers play on opposing sides; Granit Xhaka will line out for the Swiss and Taulant Xhaka will play for Albania. In total, nine members of Albania's 23-man squad had the right to play for Switzerland and six members of the Swiss squad could have opted for Albania. This unusual occurrence is due to Switzerland having welcomed in thousands of Kosovan refugees escaping the Kosovan War in 1998-1999.
Thought it was just two players going up for a cross. The nick on the keeper's arm was unfortunate, but unintentional. If a free had been given, there'd have been complaints about over-protection of keepers. The reason the keeper's arm got nicked in the first place was because he wasn't attacking the ball properly - if he'd attacked in properly, reached the ball at a higher point and even got a strong punch away, the goal would enver have happened.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeverFeltBetter
And on that note, much and all as Payet's goal was a screamer, I thought the keeper could have done more than just watch it go in. He was perfectly placed for the shot, which wasn't exactly in the corner. I know there was some power on it, but just thought a top keeper might have thrown himself across at it and maybe gotten a hand to it.
Maybe that's being harsh. But I think, as well as Romania played, they were ultimately undone by one bad keeping error and one awful miss - and let's give them the benefit of the doubt on the second instance in both cases. A better team mightn't let France off like that. (Not sure if they'll meet a better side before the quarters though, in fairness)
The flip side, then, is that maybe France have their home comp jitters out of the way now.
Without checking back on every tournament it seemed like a standard opening performance from the hosts, plenty effort and enthusiasm but just not fully at it. Grinding out the win was the main thing but it does seem like their absentee(s) in defence might be too much to overcome.
I definitely agree on that. Better keepers would have been ready to dive when Payet got the ball - I see the likes of David De Gea on his toes ready to spring in the same kind of situation - and a save would have been perfectly possible with the right timing. Maybe his confidence was sapped by the first.Quote:
Originally Posted by pineapple stu
More dodgy keeping sees Switzerland go 1-0 up on their B team in just four minutes.
Also, that countdown again...
God, aye, the countdown thing... I'd been hoping it was just an opening-game gimmick, but looks like it'll be a constant.
Cana might have been better leaving that ball and potentially conceding a goal rather than handling it to stop the chance as he surely knew he'd get a straight red. But it now has his team down to ten men and he'll miss their next game. He's their captain so he might well have left them worse off in the long-run all things considered.
Awful goalkeeping that time, didn't know what he was doing. Albania have a goal in them, because the Swiss seem surprisingly frail at the back, but the Swiss should really put them away early in the second.
I think Cana actually got a second yellow as opposed to a straight red, which I thought was quite odd.
He did, you're right. It should have been a straight red as he was preventing a goal-scoring opportunity by handling (haven't looked it up but pretty certain's that's a sending-off offence in the rule-book), but it was definitely going to be a booking and Cana would have known he was already on a yellow, so unforgivable really. Unless he had a total brain-fart.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeverFeltBetter
Yeah, don't know why it was a second yellow alright. Very cynical, knew exactly what he was doing and deserved a straight red.
Don't know does it make any difference in terms of the ban? Still just one game I presume?
Expect Switzerland to get a couple more in the second half now. Could see a 3-0 result.
Brian Kerr is great!
"You might have seen his underpants there - Oh holy God!"