Croatia came out of this game with a win that was not deserved. Croatia got a deserved penalty decision in the 4th minute which was put away. Beyond that, Croatia didn’t show much after that. Towards the end of the game, it looked certain that Austria would, and deserved a goal – but it never happened.
Portugal Vs Turkey
Portugal stamped their authority in Group A with a win against Turkey on the opening day. However, i was not too impressed by their play and it was evident to me that Portugal does have some defensive areas of weakness that could be exploited.
Both teams had their chances in the first half, and neither took them. Ronaldo’s free kick late in the half was parried away by a finger nail which was definately going to go in had it not taken that deflection.
Knowing Scolarri’s tactics, i was expecting a one nothing game, and it appeared to go that route when Pepe scored from close range after a quick one-two move. Excellent goal. There were a few chances where Turkey could have equalised, but it didnt happen and Meireles scored late in stoppage time to seal the victory.
Good win for Portugal, confidence boosting. But I’m still waiting for Ronaldo to show me that he is the best player on the planet.
Switzerland Vs Czech Republic
The Czech Republic come away from this game with a lucky win by a fumbled goal by Sverkos. Throughout most of the game, the Swiss actually looked the better side and the most probable to score, with most of the chances coming from Alex Frei. However, he suffered a knock on his knee towards the end of the first half and had to be changed out with Yakin coming in. In the 2nd half, Yakin showed us that he could score a goal, but never did.
In the 71st minute, Sverkos picked up a ball over the top, beat the offside trap and took a fumbled shot that fooled the keeper and went in.
Lucky win by Czech Republic. Swiss had plenty of opportunities but couldn’t put any of them away.