euro 2004 tourney fixtures and results
- Thread starter t1000v2.0
- Start date
i could play them but the quality was poor, also the goal scored was cut in the middle, i could see the Czech's forward take the ball from the defender then i see the ball into the back of the net, also in the last shot, after shooting the ball the player and the keeper just disappear
Hmm, strange, seems to work perfectly on mine. Are you sure you have the latest codec though, cos that is what i used to encode the vid, the latest is 5.1.1 I think...see if you have that one on your divX or windows media player. If there are still problems, i'll encode through mpg which is what I used for the first vid. The quality I know is poor, i used alot of compression, anyways, if you prefer I stick to the other kind, I'll revert back.
Il Corrierre Della Sera
Italy coach wr50l, who was absent from the touchline for the home victory over Netherlands earlier, was pleased by what his backroom staff said about the game.
He said,
"I've not seen the match yet, but I'll be watching the match tape tomorrow. I've heard that it was an even match which either team could have won. I was unhappy to hear that yet again we struggled in the aerial battle, something must be done about this as it is costing us goals."
The foreign coach also said that he had heard good things from his backroom staff about Roma youngster Antonio Cassano,
"I'm eager to watch the 20 or so minutes that Cassano got, he said, I think he is a great young talent, and I may use him in the tournament, he has a great chance to show me his ability with these friendlies."
It is rumoured that he is trying to negotiate friendlies with hosts Portugal, Germany and minnows Latvia.
wr50l's next friendly will be against novice coach ashmufc's Croatia squad tomorrow, it will be played on ash's PS2 tomorrow. Highlights exclusive to InsighTV.
Italy coach wr50l, who was absent from the touchline for the home victory over Netherlands earlier, was pleased by what his backroom staff said about the game.
He said,
"I've not seen the match yet, but I'll be watching the match tape tomorrow. I've heard that it was an even match which either team could have won. I was unhappy to hear that yet again we struggled in the aerial battle, something must be done about this as it is costing us goals."
The foreign coach also said that he had heard good things from his backroom staff about Roma youngster Antonio Cassano,
"I'm eager to watch the 20 or so minutes that Cassano got, he said, I think he is a great young talent, and I may use him in the tournament, he has a great chance to show me his ability with these friendlies."
It is rumoured that he is trying to negotiate friendlies with hosts Portugal, Germany and minnows Latvia.
wr50l's next friendly will be against novice coach ashmufc's Croatia squad tomorrow, it will be played on ash's PS2 tomorrow. Highlights exclusive to InsighTV.
Friendly result
Italy 1 Netherlands 0
Vieri 22
Match Report
The Azzuri took to the field against the Dutch side, which struggled to qualify for Euro 2004, but romped home in style after coming back from a 1-0 defeat against Scotland with Van Nistlerooy grabbing a hatrick in Amsterdam. There was however no place in the starting lineup for the goal machine, as Dutch Coach Nifty made a few surprise inclusions ahead of the match. He opted for the youngster Arjan Robben to play alongside Pierre Van Hooijdonk in attack. It was a relatively new strikeforce as most notable absentees were the big names of Nistelrooy, Kluivert and Makaay. But being a friendly, one can see the logic of giving a couple of the fringe players a run out. The Italians opted for a more tried and trusted combination of Vieri and Di Vaio, with playmaker Totti backing them up playing in his favoured offensive midfield role.
The game started at a frantic pace, as the Italians came flying out of the blocks and layed siege to the Dutch goal for about 10 minutes. A great chance fell to Di Vaio who couldn't direct his shot on target after being played in by Camronesi. Vieri had a header saved on 10 minutes, but the Azzuri kept on creating chances and the deadlock was broken in the 22nd minute, as yet another freakish incident led to the Italians scoring. Totti curled in a 25 yard freekick which looked to have been comfortably saved by Dutch keeper, Van Der Sar, but he dropped the ball as Davids stumbled in front of him possibly getting in his way. But the replay shows that he wasn't near the ball, and Van Der Sar simply switched off for about 2 seconds and just watched the ball about a yard from the goal line. Vieri saw the opportunity and pounced tapping the ball in, not beliving his luck. It looked like the curse of the drifting mind had struck again. Again, the dutch defence was opened up and Zambrotta running in from the left hand side tested Van Der sar with a left footed shot from an acute angle, but the big dutch keeper was equal to it and managed to hold on this time. There were signs of a dutch fightback and as the first half drew to a close, they had a great chance of an equaliser as Van Der Vaart played in a great through ball which caught out the Italian defence and sent Van Hooijdonk clear but Nesta covered well putting off the striker and he failed to convert the chance with a low shot just wide.
The second half saw The Dutch get more involved and their midfield bagan to get a grip on the game, as youngsters Van der vaart and Robben played some great attacking football. Robben in particular, who shined in the second half setting up a few chances and taking the game to the Italians at pace and skill. A Van hooijdonk freekick from a full 30 yards out tested Buffon, who had been awsome in goal, denied the forward the chance to put the dutch level. The Dutch kept on coming forward growing in confidence, and created a few more chances, however the Italians were still dangerous on the counter attack, but failed to create a clear chance in the second half. Instead, it was Zenden who came close to scoring late on, with a Scissors kick from a Van der Mayde cross. The winger came in unmarked to connect with the cross in stunning fashion, but the ball went just wide. A long range effort from Van Hooijdonk right on 90 minutes could have given the dutch a draw had he converted his long range effort after chesting the ball outside the box and belting the ball towards goal, which flew just over the bar. So the Italians came away with a 1-0 win, and for the dutch who can take heart from their peformance and especially their second half display. Still a bit more work to be done by both teams as we approach Euro 2004. But overall this game finished a pretty much even affair and with big guns, Nistelrooy and Makaay sitting on the bench, the dutch have enough fire power to make an impression in the tournament. As for the Italians, they will be equally strong, with a solid defence and potent strike force, capable of winning matches.
Match stats:
Team lineup:
Italy: Buffon, Nesta, Materazzi, Favalli, Panucci, Gattuso, Zambrotta, Camoranesi, Totti, Vieri, Di Vaio (Cassano 75)
Netherlands: Van Der Sar, Stam, F.De Boar, Heitinga, Cocu, Davids, Zenden, Van Der Meyde, Van Der Vaart, Robben, Van Hooijdonk
Shots on goal:
Italy 8
Netherlands 9
Fouls:
Italy 10
Netherlands 7
Posession:
Italy 49%
Netherlands 51%
Man of the match:
Robben
Match highlights
Italy 1 Netherlands 0
Vieri 22
Match Report
The Azzuri took to the field against the Dutch side, which struggled to qualify for Euro 2004, but romped home in style after coming back from a 1-0 defeat against Scotland with Van Nistlerooy grabbing a hatrick in Amsterdam. There was however no place in the starting lineup for the goal machine, as Dutch Coach Nifty made a few surprise inclusions ahead of the match. He opted for the youngster Arjan Robben to play alongside Pierre Van Hooijdonk in attack. It was a relatively new strikeforce as most notable absentees were the big names of Nistelrooy, Kluivert and Makaay. But being a friendly, one can see the logic of giving a couple of the fringe players a run out. The Italians opted for a more tried and trusted combination of Vieri and Di Vaio, with playmaker Totti backing them up playing in his favoured offensive midfield role.
The game started at a frantic pace, as the Italians came flying out of the blocks and layed siege to the Dutch goal for about 10 minutes. A great chance fell to Di Vaio who couldn't direct his shot on target after being played in by Camronesi. Vieri had a header saved on 10 minutes, but the Azzuri kept on creating chances and the deadlock was broken in the 22nd minute, as yet another freakish incident led to the Italians scoring. Totti curled in a 25 yard freekick which looked to have been comfortably saved by Dutch keeper, Van Der Sar, but he dropped the ball as Davids stumbled in front of him possibly getting in his way. But the replay shows that he wasn't near the ball, and Van Der Sar simply switched off for about 2 seconds and just watched the ball about a yard from the goal line. Vieri saw the opportunity and pounced tapping the ball in, not beliving his luck. It looked like the curse of the drifting mind had struck again. Again, the dutch defence was opened up and Zambrotta running in from the left hand side tested Van Der sar with a left footed shot from an acute angle, but the big dutch keeper was equal to it and managed to hold on this time. There were signs of a dutch fightback and as the first half drew to a close, they had a great chance of an equaliser as Van Der Vaart played in a great through ball which caught out the Italian defence and sent Van Hooijdonk clear but Nesta covered well putting off the striker and he failed to convert the chance with a low shot just wide.
The second half saw The Dutch get more involved and their midfield bagan to get a grip on the game, as youngsters Van der vaart and Robben played some great attacking football. Robben in particular, who shined in the second half setting up a few chances and taking the game to the Italians at pace and skill. A Van hooijdonk freekick from a full 30 yards out tested Buffon, who had been awsome in goal, denied the forward the chance to put the dutch level. The Dutch kept on coming forward growing in confidence, and created a few more chances, however the Italians were still dangerous on the counter attack, but failed to create a clear chance in the second half. Instead, it was Zenden who came close to scoring late on, with a Scissors kick from a Van der Mayde cross. The winger came in unmarked to connect with the cross in stunning fashion, but the ball went just wide. A long range effort from Van Hooijdonk right on 90 minutes could have given the dutch a draw had he converted his long range effort after chesting the ball outside the box and belting the ball towards goal, which flew just over the bar. So the Italians came away with a 1-0 win, and for the dutch who can take heart from their peformance and especially their second half display. Still a bit more work to be done by both teams as we approach Euro 2004. But overall this game finished a pretty much even affair and with big guns, Nistelrooy and Makaay sitting on the bench, the dutch have enough fire power to make an impression in the tournament. As for the Italians, they will be equally strong, with a solid defence and potent strike force, capable of winning matches.
Match stats:
Team lineup:
Italy: Buffon, Nesta, Materazzi, Favalli, Panucci, Gattuso, Zambrotta, Camoranesi, Totti, Vieri, Di Vaio (Cassano 75)
Netherlands: Van Der Sar, Stam, F.De Boar, Heitinga, Cocu, Davids, Zenden, Van Der Meyde, Van Der Vaart, Robben, Van Hooijdonk
Shots on goal:
Italy 8
Netherlands 9
Fouls:
Italy 10
Netherlands 7
Posession:
Italy 49%
Netherlands 51%
Man of the match:
Robben
Match highlights
Nifty1Pound50
Insert user title here
The Daily Telstar said:
Results so far:
friendly result 1: England 3 Sweden 0
friendly result 2: Croatia 0 France 1
friendly result 3: Germany 0 Denmark 1
friendly result 4: Czech Republic 1 Bulgaria 0
friendly result 5: Italy 1 Netherlands 0
Matches to be played:
Friendly 6: Portugal V Bulgaria (reinstated, to be played tonight)
Friendly 7: Portugal V Germany
Where are Latvia, Switerland Spain and Greece?? they havent participated in any friendlies so far, U want to add Spain V Latvia or something and Greece V Switerland, which is what I'll do. I want everyone to get atleast one game in, and i suppose those who are taking part should be a little active, so if its possible I want South Doset Blue, LFC 4EVA, Jackass and Jacro to pm me some tactics for the scheduled matches if possible.
First round friendlies added:
Friendly 8: Spain V Latvia
friendly 9: Greece V Switzerland
friendly result 1: England 3 Sweden 0
friendly result 2: Croatia 0 France 1
friendly result 3: Germany 0 Denmark 1
friendly result 4: Czech Republic 1 Bulgaria 0
friendly result 5: Italy 1 Netherlands 0
Matches to be played:
Friendly 6: Portugal V Bulgaria (reinstated, to be played tonight)
Friendly 7: Portugal V Germany
Where are Latvia, Switerland Spain and Greece?? they havent participated in any friendlies so far, U want to add Spain V Latvia or something and Greece V Switerland, which is what I'll do. I want everyone to get atleast one game in, and i suppose those who are taking part should be a little active, so if its possible I want South Doset Blue, LFC 4EVA, Jackass and Jacro to pm me some tactics for the scheduled matches if possible.
First round friendlies added:
Friendly 8: Spain V Latvia
friendly 9: Greece V Switzerland
Friendly Result
Portugal 0 Italy 1
1st Half
The game started pretty boring with both teams passing the ball around but italy seemed to be getting a the better of portugal.In the 14th minute deco skipped past a player and had a shot at goal but only to be blocked by nesta for Buffon to collect.
23rd min couto the defender made a miss pass to veiri for him to have a shot a goal but Ricardo saved comfortably.Italy had a few more chances at goal but all put wide,this shows how bad italy are doing in the first half.Portugal made a great counter in the 39th min with Cristiano Ronaldo crossing from the wing into the centre of the box but buffon saved a header from pauleta.the ball went out for a corner and deco put a deep cross in for pauleta to have another header at goal but this time it went wide. For a minute there portugal turned the table around on Italy and attacked with pressure.On the 45th minute Italy made i final push at attacking their shooting was just poor after camoranesi shooting wide.End of first half and its still 0-0!
Match Details
Portugal Italy
4 Shots on goal 5
1 Offsides 0
2 Fouls 2
0 Yellow Cards 0
0 Red Cards 0
2 Freekicks 3
1 Corners 4
0 Penalties 0
47 Possession(%) 53
2nd Half
At the start of the second half nothing big happend apart from a booking for Di Vaio for a challenge on deco.
Andrade slide in on Totti and conceded a freekick but no booking.Totti took the freekick short for camoranesi to have a powerful shot at Ricardo but he kept his nerve and saved it.
Italy made a substitution at the 70th minute Di Vaio off Cassano on.After Italy made their subs the Portuguese manager Sam Erasa felt is time for a change too.Cristiano Ronaldo was mved from striker to midfielder and Nuno Gomes came on for Rui Costa whom hardly participated in that match also beto the defensive midfielder came off for tiago and paulo ferreira went for Miguel to have a run on the pitch.
75th minute Italy gets a freekick 28 yards away but Totti blasts it over the bar.
So after so many wasted chances by both teams the game went into extra time.
Extra Time
1st Half
A freeckick awarded to Italy 24 yards away and Totti steps up to take it but passes it short for Zambrotta but got challenged by Nuno Gomes.
Then this happened 8th minute the man who missed more chances than anyone in the match took on two defenders and tried a shot with his left foot inside the 18 yard box and it just slipped into the bottom right hand side of Ricardo and went in for a GoaL!
After conceding a silver goal in the first half of extra time Portugal tried everything to get back into the game, they even changed their formation from a 4-4-2 to a more attacking 4-3-3 but it just wasnt their day, on the 14th minute Portugal made a last desperate attempt at goal but only to be shot wide from Nuno Gomes in the 18 yard box.
End of Game Portugal 0 Italy 1
In the end it was great game to watch both team try so hard but the better team won the game.Well Done Italy!!!!!!!!!!
End of Game Match Result
Portugal Italy
9 Shots on goal 11
1 Offsides 9
8 Fouls 4
0 Yellow Cards 1
0 Red Cards 0
4 Freekicks 9
5 Corners 4
0 Penalties 0
51 Possession(%) 49
Man of the Match: Totti for scoring the last minute Goal.
Portugal 0 Italy 1
1st Half
The game started pretty boring with both teams passing the ball around but italy seemed to be getting a the better of portugal.In the 14th minute deco skipped past a player and had a shot at goal but only to be blocked by nesta for Buffon to collect.
23rd min couto the defender made a miss pass to veiri for him to have a shot a goal but Ricardo saved comfortably.Italy had a few more chances at goal but all put wide,this shows how bad italy are doing in the first half.Portugal made a great counter in the 39th min with Cristiano Ronaldo crossing from the wing into the centre of the box but buffon saved a header from pauleta.the ball went out for a corner and deco put a deep cross in for pauleta to have another header at goal but this time it went wide. For a minute there portugal turned the table around on Italy and attacked with pressure.On the 45th minute Italy made i final push at attacking their shooting was just poor after camoranesi shooting wide.End of first half and its still 0-0!
Match Details
Portugal Italy
4 Shots on goal 5
1 Offsides 0
2 Fouls 2
0 Yellow Cards 0
0 Red Cards 0
2 Freekicks 3
1 Corners 4
0 Penalties 0
47 Possession(%) 53
2nd Half
At the start of the second half nothing big happend apart from a booking for Di Vaio for a challenge on deco.
Andrade slide in on Totti and conceded a freekick but no booking.Totti took the freekick short for camoranesi to have a powerful shot at Ricardo but he kept his nerve and saved it.
Italy made a substitution at the 70th minute Di Vaio off Cassano on.After Italy made their subs the Portuguese manager Sam Erasa felt is time for a change too.Cristiano Ronaldo was mved from striker to midfielder and Nuno Gomes came on for Rui Costa whom hardly participated in that match also beto the defensive midfielder came off for tiago and paulo ferreira went for Miguel to have a run on the pitch.
75th minute Italy gets a freekick 28 yards away but Totti blasts it over the bar.
So after so many wasted chances by both teams the game went into extra time.
Extra Time
1st Half
A freeckick awarded to Italy 24 yards away and Totti steps up to take it but passes it short for Zambrotta but got challenged by Nuno Gomes.
Then this happened 8th minute the man who missed more chances than anyone in the match took on two defenders and tried a shot with his left foot inside the 18 yard box and it just slipped into the bottom right hand side of Ricardo and went in for a GoaL!
After conceding a silver goal in the first half of extra time Portugal tried everything to get back into the game, they even changed their formation from a 4-4-2 to a more attacking 4-3-3 but it just wasnt their day, on the 14th minute Portugal made a last desperate attempt at goal but only to be shot wide from Nuno Gomes in the 18 yard box.
End of Game Portugal 0 Italy 1
In the end it was great game to watch both team try so hard but the better team won the game.Well Done Italy!!!!!!!!!!
End of Game Match Result
Portugal Italy
9 Shots on goal 11
1 Offsides 9
8 Fouls 4
0 Yellow Cards 1
0 Red Cards 0
4 Freekicks 9
5 Corners 4
0 Penalties 0
51 Possession(%) 49
Man of the Match: Totti for scoring the last minute Goal.
![-=[101st]=-](/data/avatars/m/2/2894.jpg?1589305201){kind=avatar}
-=[101st]=-
Super 14 Champions 2006
can i get another friendly?? io am sweden... adnyone wanna play the swedes?
Nifty1Pound50
Insert user title here
The Euro Gazette said:
Friendly result
Portugal 2 Bulgaria 1
C. Ronaldo Manchev 18
8,32
Match Report
Last night saw the return of Bulgaria for a friendly against the host nation and one of the favourites, Portugal. The Portuguese Manager, Big Sam Erasa, opted to go for a mix of youth and experience, and the old guard of Fernando Couto, Luis Figo and Beto with the new attacking talents of Deco, Ronaldo and Nuno Gomez. This was the opportunity for the new players to show off their abilities and stake a claim for a starting place in Sam's eleven. The tough tackling Costinha made up the defensive midfield along with Beto in a revamped 4-4-2 formation. Figo and Deco made the the left and right side wing positions respectively, with Wing backs Paulo Ferreira and Rui George supporting. The frontline consisted of Nuno Gomez playing off Ronaldo who dropped back in a deep forward role. Bulgaria made a few changes from the side that lost 1-0 to the Czech Republic. The 4-3-3 formation was dropped in favour of 5-3-2. In came Zagorcic to sure up the heart of a 3 man central defence. The 3 man attack was also dropped, and out went Hristov and Dimitrov and in came Manchev, letting Jankovic drop back to the attacking midfield supporting role, with Berbatov pairing up with Manchev.
The game began at a steady pace with neither team taking risks. Portugal started off brightest with the midfield quartet linking up nicely with the forwards. It only took 8 minutes for the first goal to arrive and it went the way of the Portugese. An attempted clearence by Martin Petrov hit Deco as the ball hung in the air for Gomez to head goalwards with power, only to be denied by the woodwork. The ball came back off the post and Christiano Ronaldo dived in to head the rebound and score the opening goal of the match. It was another bit of sloppy defending which the Bulgarian manager would be keen to eradicate before the tournament begins. It didn't take Bulgaria long to find an equilzer and the goal came with their first main attack. Berbatov found himself in space on the left wing managed to keep the ball, turn his defender and put in a decent cross. His strike partner, Manchev climbed well and headed in from a tight angle to level the match on 18 minutes, with the Bulgarian manager JTHK dancing with joy and rightly so, as his change in personnel paid off. With the confidence boost of a goal, Bulgaria could have taken the lead with aother header, this time by Berbatov, which went just wide, but gave the keeper some work to do. It was becoming clear that the Portuguese were struggling with crosses, and the ariel ability of Berbatov and Manchev were proving a little too much for the backline. As Bulgaria took the initiative and played at times some good football, it was Portugal who produced the second goal of the half. The ball broke to Ferriera on the right and his cross was met by the head of Figo arriving in the box, which the keeper did well to get a hand on, but with Ronaldo arriving yet again, he headed in an almost identical goal to his first. The young forward has improved greatly on his heading ability as he showed in the FA cup final a week ago, scoring the opening goal against Millwall. With the first half ending 2-1 to Portugal, the question remained, could Bulgaria hold out against a Portuguese side regaining contol of the match.
The second half didn't produce as many chances as we were expecting, and the game turned more into a midfield battle, with few goalmouth chances. The closes Portugal came was with a Luis Figo Freekick from about 30 yards left of the penalty box. His stinging shot looked as though it was going to crash into the back of the net, but with Zdravkov reacting late, pulled off a great save to deny the Portuguese winger. Bulgaria remained a threat though, and they crafted another chance in the dying stages of the match, with Manchev heading over the bar.
Bulgaria again battled hard, and the choice of tactics and team selection looks as though it is paying off. Manchev is pushing hard for a starting place now, and if he continues to threaten goal with his ariel ability, there is a good chance he may be awarded with a place. The defence also played their part, but still lapse in concentration from time to time. As for the portuguese, it was a steady display, and some plus points are the perfomance of Deco and Ronaldo playing positively. The defence didn't come out of the game too great, as they never managed to snuff out crosses enough, for which they would be severly punished by better sides in the tournament. So the game finishing then, 2-1 to Portugal, a fair result considering the performance of both sides.
Match stats
Team lineup:
Portugal (4-4-2): Ricardo, Ferreira, Rui Jorge, Carvalho, Couto, Costinha, Beto, Figo, Deco, C. Ronaldo, Gomez
Bulgaria (5-3-2): Zdravkov, M. Petrov, Zagorcic, Pazin, Kirilov, Peev, M. Petkov, S. Petrov, Jankovic, Berbatov, Manchev.
Shots on goal:
Portual:10
Bulgaria: 4
Posession:
53/47%
Man of the Match:
C. Ronaldo
Highlights
----------------------------------------------------------------
Portugal 2 Bulgaria 1
C. Ronaldo Manchev 18
8,32
Match Report
Last night saw the return of Bulgaria for a friendly against the host nation and one of the favourites, Portugal. The Portuguese Manager, Big Sam Erasa, opted to go for a mix of youth and experience, and the old guard of Fernando Couto, Luis Figo and Beto with the new attacking talents of Deco, Ronaldo and Nuno Gomez. This was the opportunity for the new players to show off their abilities and stake a claim for a starting place in Sam's eleven. The tough tackling Costinha made up the defensive midfield along with Beto in a revamped 4-4-2 formation. Figo and Deco made the the left and right side wing positions respectively, with Wing backs Paulo Ferreira and Rui George supporting. The frontline consisted of Nuno Gomez playing off Ronaldo who dropped back in a deep forward role. Bulgaria made a few changes from the side that lost 1-0 to the Czech Republic. The 4-3-3 formation was dropped in favour of 5-3-2. In came Zagorcic to sure up the heart of a 3 man central defence. The 3 man attack was also dropped, and out went Hristov and Dimitrov and in came Manchev, letting Jankovic drop back to the attacking midfield supporting role, with Berbatov pairing up with Manchev.
The game began at a steady pace with neither team taking risks. Portugal started off brightest with the midfield quartet linking up nicely with the forwards. It only took 8 minutes for the first goal to arrive and it went the way of the Portugese. An attempted clearence by Martin Petrov hit Deco as the ball hung in the air for Gomez to head goalwards with power, only to be denied by the woodwork. The ball came back off the post and Christiano Ronaldo dived in to head the rebound and score the opening goal of the match. It was another bit of sloppy defending which the Bulgarian manager would be keen to eradicate before the tournament begins. It didn't take Bulgaria long to find an equilzer and the goal came with their first main attack. Berbatov found himself in space on the left wing managed to keep the ball, turn his defender and put in a decent cross. His strike partner, Manchev climbed well and headed in from a tight angle to level the match on 18 minutes, with the Bulgarian manager JTHK dancing with joy and rightly so, as his change in personnel paid off. With the confidence boost of a goal, Bulgaria could have taken the lead with aother header, this time by Berbatov, which went just wide, but gave the keeper some work to do. It was becoming clear that the Portuguese were struggling with crosses, and the ariel ability of Berbatov and Manchev were proving a little too much for the backline. As Bulgaria took the initiative and played at times some good football, it was Portugal who produced the second goal of the half. The ball broke to Ferriera on the right and his cross was met by the head of Figo arriving in the box, which the keeper did well to get a hand on, but with Ronaldo arriving yet again, he headed in an almost identical goal to his first. The young forward has improved greatly on his heading ability as he showed in the FA cup final a week ago, scoring the opening goal against Millwall. With the first half ending 2-1 to Portugal, the question remained, could Bulgaria hold out against a Portuguese side regaining contol of the match.
The second half didn't produce as many chances as we were expecting, and the game turned more into a midfield battle, with few goalmouth chances. The closes Portugal came was with a Luis Figo Freekick from about 30 yards left of the penalty box. His stinging shot looked as though it was going to crash into the back of the net, but with Zdravkov reacting late, pulled off a great save to deny the Portuguese winger. Bulgaria remained a threat though, and they crafted another chance in the dying stages of the match, with Manchev heading over the bar.
Bulgaria again battled hard, and the choice of tactics and team selection looks as though it is paying off. Manchev is pushing hard for a starting place now, and if he continues to threaten goal with his ariel ability, there is a good chance he may be awarded with a place. The defence also played their part, but still lapse in concentration from time to time. As for the portuguese, it was a steady display, and some plus points are the perfomance of Deco and Ronaldo playing positively. The defence didn't come out of the game too great, as they never managed to snuff out crosses enough, for which they would be severly punished by better sides in the tournament. So the game finishing then, 2-1 to Portugal, a fair result considering the performance of both sides.
Match stats
Team lineup:
Portugal (4-4-2): Ricardo, Ferreira, Rui Jorge, Carvalho, Couto, Costinha, Beto, Figo, Deco, C. Ronaldo, Gomez
Bulgaria (5-3-2): Zdravkov, M. Petrov, Zagorcic, Pazin, Kirilov, Peev, M. Petkov, S. Petrov, Jankovic, Berbatov, Manchev.
Shots on goal:
Portual:10
Bulgaria: 4
Posession:
53/47%
Man of the Match:
C. Ronaldo
Highlights
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