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| Final Shake-Up | |
At this stage of any sporting tournament people can usually start to predict with some degree of accuracy whose name will end up on the trophy. With Euro 2008, however, this is only getting easier due to the increasingly small number of teams left in the competition.
If Spain beat Russia tonight they will line up against pre-tournament favourites, Germany in the final. At the beginning of the tournament the suggestion of a final including the Germans and the Spanish was the shortest odds available, they were, according to Blue Square, the two favourites for the title.
It’s when you start considering all the other things that have happened that it suddenly seems slightly less likely. The Germans were humbled by a Croatian team that somehow failed to deal with the endlessly plucky Turks, who, in turn, almost sent the Germans crashing out just a few days later. In fact, were it not for the intervention of the woodwork once or twice in Lehmann’s favour, the German goalkeeper would have been plucking the ball from the back of the net more than once.
Looking down the other side of the draw, you have to marvel at the turn around for the Russians. Humbled by Spain in the opening match, albeit without Arshavin, the man who has become a bit of a talisman for Hiddink’s side, they somehow belittled the Dutch in the quarter final, Holland, we must remember, are a side that out of nowhere thumped the two World Cup finalists of just two years ago.
The Spanish, meanwhile, seemed to have everything under control, even if they did rely on some moments of late brilliance from their forward line to secure two of their three wins in the group stage. When it comes down to penalties against the Italians though, not many people were backing Spain to come through, yet, against the odds it was the Italians who folded and are left heading back home as the Spanish prepared for their semi.
The thing about this tournament that has been so remarkable is the difficulty of predicting what will actually happen, which has made it such a delight for those neutrals among us to watch, whilst also providing massive entertainment for those who enjoy football betting. Still, at the same time, despite the random turnarounds, and the shocks, it still looks like being the two pre-tournament favourites who line up against each other in Vienna to play for the second biggest prize in international football.
The Germans find themselves favourites to win, by quite a margin it seems, but their form has been questionable and they don’t look to anyone quite like the European powerhouse that once they were, of course, that’s the point with Germany, they don’t necessarily need to be good to beat you, you just wake up the following morning wondering how you managed to get knocked out. So, from that point of view, I am making no predictions for the final, as I will almost certainly be wrong.
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