Euro 2012 Update*

Germany continues to roll, Portugal got a win, and Russia was fined $150k for the violence of their fans at the tournament.

PORTUGAL 3, DENMARK 2

Whether they advance or not, the Danes are putting on one hell of a show. They beat the Netherlands, and were tied 2-2 with Portugal until the 87th minute. The Danish play the Germans next, and they're probably going to be the toughest test for Germany so far. But give credit to Portugal for getting a big goal and a big win when they really needed one.

GERMANY 2, NETHERLANDS 1

I picked the Dutch to win this tournament because of their talent up front. But their lack of talent and experience in the back is really showing. Mario Gomez took full advantage of the Netherlands' defensive weaknesses, scoring his 2nd and 3rd goals of the tournament. The Dutch left Bastian Schweinsteiger uncovered, and that's like allowing Rajon Rondo to pass to whoever he wants. Only Schweinsteiger's name is much more fun to say than Rondo's. The German defenders don't look very sharp, though, and that might be what prevents the team from winning the tournament.

UEFA fined the Russian soccer association $150,000 because Russian fans attacked stadium staff after Russia's win over the Czech Republic. Here's a clip of the incident in question:

In soccer, the team is punished for actions of the fans. Essentially, the actions of the fans involved in this incident have cost their soccer federation $150,000. UEFA also issued a suspended punishment for future violations. If Russian fans cause any more trouble in this tournament, the team will be deducted 6 points (they have 4 now), and will likely not advance to the next round.

Hopefully it will be an effective deterrent to prevent any further trouble.

Euro 2012 Update*

Just as a sidenote, some people in this country think that Europe is the epitome of civilization. Well, not all of it is. There have been stories out of Euro 2012 about monkey noises directed at a black Dutch player, some Russian fans were accused of racist chants during their match against the Czech Republic, and a 14 arrest brawl broke out hours before the Ireland/Croatia match (10 of the arrested were Polish, 3 were Irish, 1 was Croatian). So yeah, Europe is like here. There are jerks everywhere. Now to the matches...

Poland 1, Greece 1
Not a bad start for the host country. They'll take the 1 point. Greece was unable to convert a penalty kick against a Polish goalie who had just entered the game (he replaced the previous goalie, whose foul was the reason there was a penalty kick, for which he was also ejected).

Russia 4, Czech Republic 1

Russia look like they have some very good form for this tournament. They could dominate Group A.

Denmark 1, Netherland 0

This is a stunning upset. I picked the Netherlands to win it all, and they lose to the Danish. The Dutch should settle into a groove, though, as all the top-flight teams seem to be a bit out of step at the start of the tournament.

Germany 1, Portugal 0

The Germans dominated most of the play, but struggled to finish. It was the equivalent of an American football team not doing well in the Red Zone. Mario Gomez scored Germany's goal. I know that doesn't sound like a German name. His father was Spanish. He was born in Riedlingen, Germany. He scored a header when a ball glanced off a Portuguese elbow. That glance was Germany's best last-pass of the game.

Spain 1, Italy 1
A pair of giants met, and nothing was decided. Spain do look beatable, though. And that's new.

Croatia 3, Ireland 1

The Croats crushed any aspirations Ireland might have to advance to the next stage. And with Spain and Italy drawing, Croatia has an outside chance to advance themselves.

Today's games:
England vs. France in a rematch of about a dozen different wars. And Sweden vs. Ukraine in a battle over who gets to use blue and yellow as national colors.