Euro 2008 LiveBlog: Germany vs Poland

GROUP B	June 8th, 2045 CET, Klagenfurt (Austria)
Germany 2 VS Poland 0 Podolski 20′, 73′

FULL TIME. The Poles were not dominated, and we’re going to go hoarse repeating this, but it’s finishing that matters. After an early stumble, it was Germany, or specifically Podolski, who had the better of that. 2-0 to Germany, and it’s four shutouts and four wins for favorites in the first four matches of Euro 2008.

90′ + 2 : Roger Guerreiro has switched sides, but nothing has really changed. Still making nice moves. Still putting good balls in. Still no one on the end of them.

90′ + 1 : Poland are running out of chances. Kevin Kuranyi is on for Germany, as Klose comes off.

89′ : Podolski takes probably his last chance at the hat trick, and can’t quite control it. We’ll have three minutes added on.

87′ : Only a handful of ticks left for Poland to get themselves out of the lone last spot in the group.

85′ : Hitzlsperger shoots just high, and it’s a good thing for Boruc’s hand. I don’t care how thick those gloves are – that bullet would have hurt.

83′ : Guerreiro is fast. He somehow gets to an overhit long ball, and puts in a cross. Lehmann parries, and a well-placed Pole could have tapped in without any problem at all. No one in the right spot to support.

81′ : Schweinsteiger takes another identical low shot, and Boruc falls on it.

80′ : A Polish defender, who remains blissfully anonymous to me, makes a horrible failed attempt at a clear, but Germany can’t convert.

77′ : Podolski wants a hat trick, but it’s Torsten Frings who has the chance. He can’t quite keep it in, though, and the attack ends in a goal kick.

75′ : Gomez off for Germany. Meh. Super Mario was in very little-pre-mushroom-Mario form. No Tanooki suit, that’s for sure. Sorry.

73′ : The TV coverage pops back in just in time for the replay of Podolski’s second. Goal Germany. Looks like we all picked the wrong German striker. Maybe.

70-somethingth’ : Damn you, ESPN. If someone scores while this satellite falls to Earth, I swear …

70′ : Great fingertip save from Boruc on …. well … on a shot of some sort. I’ve just lost TV. Awesome.

67′ : And it’s Schweinsteiger again with a long driven low shot, well handled by Boruc. The Poland corner that follows is handled just as easily by Jens Lehmann.

64′ : Schweinsteiger, well on his way into Abel Xavier hair territory, puts his cross long and out of play.

62′ : That’s a great chance for Poland. It’s even now on gifts to goalkeepers, because I’m not sure that was an offside. Either way, the finish hit the upright, but that was the best chance Poland could have hoped for, if not for the official’s whistle.

60′ : Podolski slow to get up, but it looks like he’ll be heading back into the match.

58′ : Poland have double the shots of Germany. It’s all about efficiency in this year’s Euro. Mariusz Lewandowski takes a yellow for his challenge on Podolski.

57′ : Ballack’s gorgeous cross goes to the far post, but the header is not well taken, and it’s a goal kick, nothing more.

55′ : Krzynówek tries a long, ambitious free kick attempt. But it’s wide and even if it was on target, it looked well handled. Bastian Schweinsteiger is on for Germany.

54′ : Another weak roller to Lehmann. Perhaps after the early bungling, the Poles think he’ll let one of those through.

52′ : Paweł Golański mixes up his shot with his pass, and nails one far past his target man. He’s been active, but I wouldn’t go so far as to say “useful”.

50′ : Łobodziński copies Guerreiro’s last cross, and like that pass, no one is close to being on the end of it.

47′ : We’ve got our first look at Roger Guerreiro, the … ahem … Polish midfielder. He crosses well, but there’s no one within ten meters of his target.

46′ : We’re back, and Germany is on the attack right off the bat. They have a free kick, and it will be Frings to take it. Ballack gets his head on it, but he has to bow down, and he pushes it wide right.

ESPN LOVES it’s “Axis” toy. I kind of like it too, and would play with it just as much if I was them.

HALFTIME: Different game, but same situation at halftime. Like Croatia, the favored Germans have the lead, but not the share of possession or chances that they would like. In fairness, they would be up two if not for a miraculous moment of confusion from Gomez on that first two-on-one. They aren’t dominating, not by any means.

45′ : Podolski takes a foot to a very uncomfortable place. The free kick is wasted, and so is the Polish counter. Krzynówek shoots weakly, and the half is over. 1-0 to the Germans.

44′ : One minute of stoppage coming. The Poles will not want to see the half end, as they have nice momentum right now.

43′ : I’m not sure if it’s the obsessive compulsive side of me, but that little streamer in the Polish end bugs the hell out of me. They’ll move it at the half.

41′ : Nice move down the right side for the Poles, but Żurawski is unable to keep the ball in. For all the talk about how this new ball floats, its bounce seems a bit tough to manage as well.

40′ : Yellow card for Smolarek after a slide tackle. Deserved.

39′ : Lewandowski makes a try for Poland, but it’s too weak, too wide … too everything but high. Dribbles out without effect.

38′ : Gomez misses left, after a great move from Fritz to save a ball and run it down the right flank.

35′ : Some pinball shooting from the Poles, knocking it twice off of Ballack in front of goal. A much better shot goes just left from Żurawski.

34′ : Gomez gets a little handsy chasing a ball out, and gets a foul for his trouble.

32′ : Gomez crosses well, but finds nothing but a Polish head. Germany is finding their stride, though, as the game moves on. A mistake at the back for the Germans still looks possible, though.

31′ : Ballack brought down quite a bit outside of the box. He’s been quiet, but he draws a foul, and a nice opportunity for a free kick. He nails it into the wall.

28′ : Wojciech Łobodziński makes some nice moves, but his tight-angle shot is not nearly enough to beat Lehmann.

26′ : This is clearly the most competitive midfield battle so far in this tournament. The German attack wins another corner. And Podolski puts it nowhere near anyone. Put a bit much on that one.

23′ : Corner for Poland. With the way the Polish midfield has been playing (well) and the way the Poles have been able to finish (poorly), you’d think they were hosting the tournament. Too soon?

22′ : Lehmann falls on an awkward ball. That one’s safe, but for my mind, he looks very likely to lose a silly one.

20′ : GOAL Germany. It’s Podolski, after another 2-on-1 with Boruc. This one he will not miss. And he doesn’t. Gomez with the assist.

18′ : Danger averted for Poland. A nice little passaround for the Poles comes to nothing as well.

16′ : Podolski lines up a dangerous free kick, and delivers, but a Polish header turns it into a corner.

15′ : Another probing ball for Poland, and another weak attempt by Jens Lehmann, who can only push the ball away along the grass.

13′ : So far, I have to say Chris has the best player of our many fantasy Germans, as Frings has looked fantastic.

11′ : Frings gets a great high cross in, but Klose whiffs it, an another disappointment for the German attack.

9′ : A perfect cross streams across the German net, and if anyone would have been there, we’d have a very surprising 1-0 to Poland.

8′ : Nice start, as the ball runs back and forth. Germany seem to have, amazingly, a bit of a problem getting anyone on the end of long balls. Not enough options at attack, perhaps?

6′ : A long German ball goes too long, and we have our first bit of trash on the pitch. Won’t be the last.

5′ : Germany are waking up on attack, and won’t miss another like that.

4′ : A sitter missed by Gomez. Two on one, and Boruc is handed a gift.

3′ : Smolarek is making himself quite available up top, and will cause some worries today.

1′ : Dangerous opening move from the Poles, and Lehmann handles badly. The followup shot goes high.

0′ : We are underway.

- 5′ : As “Lied der Deutchen” finishes up, we’re just about ready to go. Remember that I’m subbing in late for this match, so bear with me.

- 8′ : That’s the first “Worth-a-see Stadium” pun today. Clever boys. Also, as if we haven’t heard enough from England in this tournament, Alan Shearer is apparently predicting Poland to take at least a point today.

- 10′ : The players are on the pitch, along with yet another artistic pregame presentation. Full marks to the hosts so far, not only for their gutsy play, but for what I consider to be the best presentation in recent tournaments.

- 20′ : “We weren’t exactly thrilled to see them.” – Michael Ballack on the photo scandal. Probably the mildest reaction ever to seeing your own severed head on the front page of the newspaper.

-25′ : We have the starting teams for both sides, and here they are. 3 strikers for Germany, and all of them, you know, okay. If you like that sort of thing. Actually, technically Podolski is lined up as a winger.

Germany: Lehmann, Lahm, Metzelder, Mertesacker, Jansen, Fritz, Frings, Ballack, Podolski, Gomez, Klose.
Subs: Enke, Friedrich, Westermann, Rolfes, Schweinsteiger, Odonkor, Trochowski, Hitzlsperger, Borowski, Neuville, Kuranyi, Adler.

Poland: Boruc, Wasilewski, Zewlakow, Bak, Golanski, Dudka, Lewandowski, Lobodzinski, Zurawski, Krzynowek, Smolarek.
Subs: Fabianski, Jop, Wawrzyniak, Zahorski, Kokoszka, Pazdan, Gargula, Murawski, Roger, Piszczek, Saganowski.

-30′ : We have a direct confrontation between our editors’ fantasy teams today, as Laurie and I have German strikers (Klose and Gomez) and Daryl has Artur Boruc in goal. I’ve also got Ballack, so my selfish side will be allied to Germany. In fact, every one of us but Daryl will be.

-45′ : After another disappointing loss from a Euro host, we now have nothing in our sights but Germany v. Poland. There’s been all sorts of talk about the rivalry, and the fans. There were seven arrests yesterday after fans clashed. How will the action on the pitch compare?