Euro Wrap, June 10

Here we have your review and match video from Spain 4-1 Russia and Greece 0-2 Sweden.

We’ve now seen all of the Euro 2008 teams in one game apiece, and we’ve seen the very different styles that each country brings to the tournament. And on no day were those differing styles more evident than today.

This was the first day for Group D games, and the matches played were polar opposites from a style perspective. One was fast-paced, high-energy and high-scoring. The other was…Greece-Sweden.

Let’s take a look at how they played out.

GROUP D	June 10th, 1800 CET, Innsbruck (Austria)
Spain 4 VS Russia 1 Villa 21′, 44′, 75′; Cesc 90′   Pavlyuchenk 85′

David Villa 1 – Guus Hiddink 0

The scoreline is perhaps flattering to Spain, but they were clearly the better team on the day when it came down to execution, which is what it all comes down to. David Villa, who wasn’t even a sure starter last week, damn sure cemented himself into the starting lineup today. The guy, who may or may not be for sale, slacked the jaws of many a club president today, and also made himself the early favorite for the Golden Boot with his triple.

Mother Russia deserved more, but they didn’t get it. Clinical finishing and superior class were the differences for Spain today, but Russia had a great deal of possession, tackled well and pretty much did things right in the Spanish half of the field. The problem was their back line, which went from weak timber to sawdust over the course of 90 minutes, leaving Guus Hiddink a great deal of work to make sure they up the performance against Sweden and Greece. Spain clearly deserved the win, but four goals didn’t give a clear indication to the quality of Russian play aside from the back line, which was allowing Villa to make diagonal runs like they’re going out of style.

But perhaps more evident than anything for the Russians was the absence of Andrei Arshavin, Russia’s captain and expert on the final ball – whether it be a pass, shot, cross, whatever – one thing they needed desperately. They’ll have to manage once more before he returns in game number three.

Th lethal Spanish attack is everything we expected, and were it not for their history, they might have become the early tournament favorites over the Germans, because Russia is also being picked by many to go through (though Sweden played well today and got a leg up). Problem is, we’ll have to wait until the knockouts to know whether they can turn around the mentality and finally put their talent on full display. But damn, it’s going to be fun to watch them til then.

GROUP D	June 10th, 2045 CET, Salzburg (Austria)
Greece 0 VS Sweden 2   Ibramovic 67′, Hansson 72′

We saw the last two teams in Euro 2008 take to the pitch today, as the defending champions Greece took on a skilled but inconsistent Sweden side. The Greeks won their first-ever title four years ago with an almost purely defensive effort, and their defend-and-counter (dare I say catenac… nevermind) strategy was highly effective then.

But it’s a risky way to play, since if you do give up a goal, you have little to offer in return. That’s just what happened, as none other than Zlatan Ibramovic re-opened his rather dusty international scoring account with a lovely drive across Antonios Nikopolidis’ goal and into the far corner. It was Zlatan, all over.

The Greeks replied with a few awkward chances, but mainly it was the same defending, the same long balls, and the same set-piece focus in their offense.

Speaking of awkward, though, Sweden’s clincher was probably the ugliest goal you will see in Euro 2008. Swedish defender Petter Hansson took the last touch after a tennis match in front of goal. Bad keeping, bad defense, and to be honest, pretty terrible striking too, but it did cross the line, and it’s worth just as many goals as Ibra’s brilliant strike.

Greece was unable to change their game plan of depending on set pieces and playing for 1-0. Down a goal is a bad place for anyone, but for a defending team, it’s especially harsh.