CNN-IBN's football experts Novy Kapadia and Karim Bencherifa preview Wednesday's Euro 2012 matches in Group B. ...
09:11 PM, Jun 13, 2012
Kharkiv: Rafael Van der Vaart has identified the three Germany players that his Netherlands side should be wary of in their Euro 2012 clash on Wednesday. Bert van Marwijk's side take on Die Mannschaft in Kharkiv in the second round of Group B fixtures, with the Oranje in desperate need of a win following their shock 1-0 defeat to Denmark in the opening round. Despite Germany currently sitting joint-top of...
01:12 PM, Jun 13, 2012
Lviv: Portugal coach Paulo Bento has acknowledged that his side is under intense pressure ahead of its Euro 2012 contest against Denmark. The Seleccao head into the match against Morten Olsen's side looking for their first point in Poland and Ukraine after kicking off their campaign with a 1-0 defeat against Germany last week. Portugal suffered a 2-1 defeat to Denmark in the last match between the two sides in...
01:02 AM, Jun 13, 2012
Lviv; Denmark coach Morten Olsen said that he is enjoying this year's European Championship a lot more than the 2010 World Cup, and not only because his team has had a better start. From a quality standpoint, Olsen says, the football played two years ago in South Africa made it "one of the less good" World Cups since 1998. Olsen said that Euro 2012, by contrast, has offered "very good...
09:53 PM, Jun 12, 2012
Gdansk: Germany's second group game defeats in the past two tournaments should act as a warning when they face the Netherlands in their Euro 2012 Group B match on Wednesday in Kharkiv, team manager Oliver Bierhoff said on Tuesday. The Germans, among the title favourites, go into the game on the back of a 1-0 win over Portugal with the Dutch having their backs to the wall following a surprise...
07:40 PM, Jun 12, 2012
Kolobrzeg (Poland): Before the European Championship, Cristiano Ronaldo probably didn't count Denmark's second-string goalkeeper among the obstacles standing between him and an elusive trophy with Portugal. But Stephan Andersen's clean sheet against the World Cup runner-up Netherlands is cause for concern for a Portuguese squad which lost its tournament opener to Germany 1-0. "It's only by scoring we'll be able to win, but we'll have to be cautious because Denmark...
07:06 PM, Jun 12, 2012
Gdansk (Poland): Whether it's Robin van Persie or Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, one of the Dutch star strikers had better start scoring if the Netherlands is to live up to its billing as a European Championship favorite. With its back to the wall, the Netherlands has to beat Germany on Wednesday in Kharkiv, Ukraine, to have a chance of advancing from Group B. Neither Van Persie nor Huntelaar scored in the 1-0...
06:32 PM, Jun 12, 2012
Compared with some of his predecessors, Bert van Marwijk has had an easy time managing the Netherlands over the last four years when it comes to crisis management. The Dutch have been notorious over the years for in-fighting and feuds that can ruin harmony in the squad and destroy their hopes in major tournaments. Van Marwijk has avoided such issues through intelligent management and, more importantly, strong performances and results...
11:19 AM, Jun 12, 2012
Krakow (Poland): Both are ranked in FIFA's top four. They finished second and third at the last World Cup. If that were not enough " it's the Netherlands vs Germany, one of the biggest grudge matches in football, and of all sport for that matter. And to compound matters, the Netherlands needs to win Wednesday's Group B game to claw its way back into the European Championship. A loss would...
08:52 PM, Jun 11, 2012
Kharkiv: Netherlands defender Joris Mathijsen and playmaker Wesley Sneijder are both expected to be available for their side's Group B encounter with Germany on Wednesday after completing a training session on Sunday. The Malaga stopper has been struggling with a hamstring injury which ruled him out of the Oranje's opening match against Denmark on Saturday. The Dutch starting XI that lost 1-0 to Morten Olsens men had a short and...
07:51 PM, Jun 10, 2012
Lisbon: Portugal's most capped player Luis Figo has defended Cristiano Ronaldo after their 1-0 opening Group B defeat by Germany at Euro 2012, saying the team must improve his supply lines to get the best out of the forward. The Real Madrid striker had a disappointing game on Saturday in Lviv, decided by Mario Gomez's 72nd minute header, and rarely threatened to score. "I think the team need to give...
07:36 PM, Jun 10, 2012
Kharkiv (Ukraine): Netherlands striker Robin van Persie had a dreadful evening in Kharkiv, as chance after chance literally slipped away for him on the wet grass of Metalist Stadium. He was frustrated by poor aim, a weak first touch or by Denmark goalkeeper Stephan Andersen, who unlike the Dutchman had a flawless game on Saturday. Van Persie's performance was the complete opposite of his stellar season at Arsenal, where he...
01:33 PM, Jun 10, 2012
CNN-IBN's panel of football experts said, Portugal paid price for relying too much on Cristiano Ronaldo. ...
01:28 PM, Jun 10, 2012
Germany forward Lukas Podolski admitted that his side were not at their best during their 1-0 win over Portugal in Euro 2012 Group B, but felt that they deserved victory for all of their hard work. Joachim Low's side only managed one serious attempt on goal in the first 45 minutes, but Mario Gomez's header in the second-half was enough to give them all three points. After being lauded for...
11:15 AM, Jun 10, 2012
Just three games into Euro 2012, Denmark have sprung the first surprise of the tournament as they edged past a wasteful Netherlands 1-0 in the opening match of the Group of Death. Netherlands now find themselves in big trouble and on the wrong end of the table, needing to win their next two matches against Germany and Portugal. The Dutch dominated the game from the word go, apart from Wesley...
09:38 AM, Jun 10, 2012
Lviv: Mario Gomez has spoken of his pride after scoring the winning goal to help Germany defeat Portugal 1-0 in their opening match of the European Championship on Saturday. The Bayern Munich star popped up in the second half to break his unhappy record of having never scored in a major tournament, ensuring that the Nationalelf capitalised on Netherlands' earlier defeat to Denmark. After the match, Gomez could not hide...
03:35 AM, Jun 10, 2012
Lviv: Germany kicked off their Euro 2012 campaign in efficient fashion, grinding out a narrow 1-0 win over Portugal at the Lviv Arena on Saturday. Mario Gomez's pinpoint header on 72 minutes sent the beaten 2008 finalists to a crucial three points, and joint-top of Group B with Denmark after their tournament opener. The match was certainly not one for the purists, with clear cut chances hard to come by....
02:19 AM, Jun 10, 2012
Kharkiv: Netherlands coach Bert Van Marwijk believes that victory in his side's next Euro 2012 game against Germany is an absolute necessity after a disappointing 1-0 loss to Denmark in their tournament opener. Despite the Dutch creating a number of goal-scoring opportunities, a first-half strike from Michael Krohn-Dehli consigned the 2010 World Cup finalists to defeat. The loss could see Oranje crash out of the competition at an early stage,...
12:54 AM, Jun 10, 2012
Kharkiv: Netherlands midfielder Ibrahim Afellay has described his side's shock 1-0 loss against Denmark as "unbelievable". Michael Krohn-Dehli's first half goal proved enough to hand the Danes victory in the opening Group B fixture, with Bert van Marwijk's team guilty of profligacy in front of goal. The Barcelona winger, who missed much of last season through injury, spoke immediately following the game and admitted that he struggled to understand where...
12:45 AM, Jun 10, 2012
