Simultaneous Matches + Our Liveblogs = Problem Solved

June 16th, 2008 | by: Laurie | Comments(1)

If you are as Euro-obsessive as we are, you probably noticed that both games yesterday were played at the same time.

No, this is not UEFA’s attempt to drive you crazy and run down the batteries of your remote as you flip frantically back and forth between channels. It’s the footballing world’s attempt to make things fair for the bookmakers teams, players and viewers.

Take today’s games. Poland has the tiniest sliver of a chance to go through. But in order for that to happen, Germany would have to lose. If Germany draws or wins, Poland’s out.

If Germany played first and won, do you think Poland would play with the same intensity? Field the same team? Or would coach Leo Beenhakker use the game as a glorified friendly, trotting out some new players and maybe trying some new strategies before World Cup qualifying? And would the players even be able to get motivated with nothing on the line?

The powers that be have decided that these glorified friendlies get bad TV ratings, make the bookmakers angry would not provide the quality that football fans like you and I deserve. And so both games on each day in Round 3 will be played at the same time.

This leaves all of us with a dilemma: Which game to watch? Today, do we choose a highly-motivated Poland vs. an already-qualified Croatia? Or a Germany that’s trying to prove it deserves to be a favorite vs. an Austria with home-crowd advantage and lots of anti-German bad blood?

We can’t help you with your decision, but we can perhaps make it easier for you to miss one of the games.

We will continue to liveblog every game, keeping you informed about the action going on on one field so you can focus on the other. We’ll also post photos and videos of goals and significant events as soon as we find them.

We can’t quite make up for the fact that you’re watching Germany slaughter Austria (or vice versa) when Roger Guerreiro slots home a hat trick. But we can make it that much less painful by letting you find out what happened.

So check out our liveblogs. They’re the next best thing to being there.

Check our our Croatia-Poland liveblog here.

And our Austria-Germany liveblog here.

Bet on these games and keep the bookmakers happy.