Your Thoughts Exactly

The second leg of games have been played, (and the third leg of Group A,) and the standings are, of course, not as predicted. Upsets are becoming more common in major soccer sports championships, for a number of reasons. The second-tier countries have improved, but additionally, the national teams no longer play as many matches together; as the regular seasons for the major European Leagues ended only weeks before the start of Euro 04. Thus some talented teams have failed show cohesion necessary for creating good soccer. Thus an underdog can get hot and go through to the next round. Is this a good thing?

Good question, and I’m not going to answer it, so there. I’d much rather tell you about my gambling successes. I’ve been taking Sports Tab to the cleaners, and if it weren’t for Holland’s collapse, I’d be living the good life. Let’s hope I don’t run out of magic before Pro Football Pick Em.
Group A Leg two games saw Portugal bounce back to beat Russia 2-0. I watched Spain Greece at 2 AM, having picked the draw result. Spain dominated the game, scoring on a nifty pass from Raul to Fernando Morientes. Greece was able to snag a second half goal, leading me to scream in delight as several seedy Spaniards glared at me. The Greeks went into New Jersey Devil mode, held on for the tie, and I won some cash. +25 AUD
Next was England Switzerland, where England bounced back from the worst defeat ever to claim a 3-0 victory. 18 year old Wayne Rooney scored the first goal, and pocketed another. Rooney has played well this tournament, and the English press is exploding in their praise for him. Think Luke Walton after Game 2 of the Finals times 100. I like him because he has the look of a burly, ugly, drunk, wanker, and he gets into scuffles all the time. He’s not that great a player however. Naturally, some team like Chelsea will pay 100 million for him and he’ll be run out of soccer by 25. Not a bad life. I’d take it.
France drew with Croatia 2-2, only through cheating. Croatia scored two second-half goals for the 2-1 lead, but France struck back after David Trezeguet controlled a ball with his hand, then put it past Croatia’s keeper. This goal cost me 73 dollars, as I had bet on Croatia to win outright. I demand an investigation. Luckily I had also tabbed a parlay of England to win and Croatia to win or draw, so I still ended up +11. England needs to tie or to beat Croatia to qualify. Hopefully the Swiss
Group C saw Denmark beat Bulgaria 2-0, sending them home and Sweden tying Italy 1-1 on a sick goal by Ibrahimovic (doesn’t sound Swedish to me.) He basically posted up the keeper, leaped into the air and volleyed the ball behind him over a defenders head. Plus I had picked that game to be a draw. And Denmark to win. Let the good times roll. +30 dollars.
Group D Latvia drew Germany 0-0 in a typical German borathon. Even I couldn’t make it all the way through this match (it had nothing to do with the 5 whiskey tonics before going out,) Holland took a 2-0 lead on Czech Republic going into the half. All they need to do is hang on and I win 100 dollars on a parlay of them winning and Latvia covering. But no. They give up 3 second half goals to the Czechs. Tragic. -20 AUD.

Leg three of Group A also happened, a tense game between Portugal and Spain, the winner moves on, loser goes home. Portugal hadn’t beaten big brother Spain since 1981. A great second half goal gives Portugal the lead. Both teams miss golden chances, with Fernando Torres hitting the post for Spain, and Portugal missing two point blank headers. In the end, Portugal hangs on. Greece loses to Russia but advances due to more goals scored than Spain. Spain, the talented losers yet again. Why didn’t they play Morientes?
Still, I won 16 on Portugal, lost 10 on Greece and Russia to tie, but won 27 on Greece to qualify for the quaters, 14 on Portugal to qualify(after the game 1 loss), 15 on Czech Republic to win their group and 11 on Portugal to win their group. Fantastic. +73

I’ll do revised predictions after the last group matches.