Round of 16 - Germany v. Slovakia
posted by The Blue Devil @ 11:15 AM
Lakenheath Old Boys
We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Lakenheath Old Boys
We are all former students at Lakenheath High School and other public schools in East Anglia. We were in school in the 70s and 80s and drank deeply from the well of British culture of those decades - the pints, the telly, and of course the footie!
Contributors
Previous Posts
- Round of 16 - France v. Republic of Ireland
- France 2016 Predictions Game - Group Stage Update #3
- Day 13 - Group E Wraps Up!
- Day 13 - Group F Wraps Up!
- Day 12 - Group D Wraps Up
- Day 12: Group C Wraps Up
- Day 11 - Group B Wraps Up!
- Happy 1st Anniversary!!
- Day 10 - Group A Wraps Up
- Euro 2016 Predictions Game - Group Stage Update #2
118 Comments:
Hello mate. I will be around for this match. For some reason, I don't expect the same entertainment value as we did earlier, but I'm around just in case. Slovakia can make it difficult for the Germans and other than the match vs Wales, have had a decent tournament. I still expect the Germans to prevail
Welcome back, mate. I'm back from a refreshing shower and am having a Braunschweiger sandwich (courtesy of Red Devil) in honor of the German side. I agree with you - there are few things that we can rely on these days in the hurly burly world of modern international football, but the German team is one of those things.
Here is the team news out of the Stade Pierre Mauroy this afternoon:
Germany (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Kimmich, Hummels, Boateng, Hector; Khedira, Kroos; Müller, Özil, Draxler; Gomez.
Slovakia (4-3-3): Kozacik; Pekarik, Skrtel, Durica, Gyomber; Hrosovsky, Skriniar, Hamsik; Kucka, Duris, Weiss.
Some interesting changes from Jurgi Loew today. Boateng slips over to his preferred position as center back with Himmich coming in as right back. Hector keeps his place on the opposite side. So too Draxler, who has edged out several players. And most dramatically Goetze is dropped in favor of Super Mario Gomez up front.
Slovakia meanwhile go with an attacking looking lineup with Kucka, Duris and Weiss all up front; however, I suspect that they'll revert to a 10-1 formation fairly quickly.
Wow! A great lunch.Generous of the Red Devil.
Teams in the tunnel - Hamsik seems to have a fresh Mohawk going.
Well, the Slovaks aren't going to win any singing competitions. Some fairly tuneless work going on there.
I've always been a big fan of pates and chopped liver. What about you, MUR? Can you murder a chopped liver sandwich at a good New York deli? Or are you more a pastrami man?
We're just about set for the second match of the day - let's hope it's a good 'un.
The retractible roof is casting a huge shadow over the pitch with just one strip of sunshine on the far side of the pitch. And we're away - Germany wearing their traditional white and black while Slovakia reverts to all blue.
I don't know about all of this countdown to kickoff nonsense that has crept into this tournament.
Martin Skrtel clears early on - he'll be a busy man this afternoon.
I'm still not sure why Thomas Muller is playing so far off the frontline. Perhaps its something to do with his role at Bayern, but he would seem the best attacking option for the Mannschaft, no?
Afternoon boys, what did I miss in the first five minutes
Took a 3 mile walk in 37 minutes and then jumped in the pool... couldn't drag myself out!!
Slovakia are putting Germany under pressure when they have the ball in their own half, which augurs well for us - we might see a fast, attacking game. Or we might not.
Welcome, UWS - well, that header from Sami Khedira tipped over is really the first goalmouth action.
ONE NIL!!!
A Prince of a goal!!!
GOAL!!!!!
And from a very unlikely source - Boateng with a meaty volley that flies straight in!
1-0!
It was deflected
Poor defending there. The Slovak defenders seemed to almost move out of the way of the shot, only putting toes in the danger zone.
England...that's how you score agains the Slovaks
Nice one, MUR. But Jerome isn't the prince of the family Boateng. Perhaps a duke?
Come on, UWS - that volley could just as easily have been blocked out as countless England shots on goal against Slovakia were. I don't know why they stepped out of the way of that one.
Let's hope the Germans don't sit on that lead now - go for more goals!
Now the Germans have a penalty!! This is all going tits up for the Slovaks.
Definite push by Skrtel.
PENALTY FOR THE GERMANS!
Was it a flop... why did the Pool man push an England man
Def pen... stupid two handed push
Ozil...saved
Now then, the Germans never miss a penalty. Ozil steps up and...oh my word!
I'll get my coat....
Not a great pen there from Beaker. Good height for the keeper - easily saved.
Not a good pen... very savable if the keeper doesn't just dive.
React like you do for every other shot!!
If it is a good enough pen, it will be a goal. If it isn't a good pen, you could save it
Gomez tries to bundle his way through the crowd - nothing doing there.
The question that that begs UWS is whether a goalkeeper who guesses right can get across and save even a good penalty. I don't know.
So far, group winners France and Wales are thru, Second place Poland are thru and third place Portugal are thru
As if I was not nervous enough, I dropped my computer before the game. MacBook pro is tough, my flashdrive? less so.
Ok, Germany in control so far, but they really could have been up 2-0.
Sheer German dominance so far.
I think if it is side netting the keeper doesn't have a shot of saving it anyway. These keepers react so well to shots all game long... just try and save it!!! It is a shot on goal.. try and save it
Not good, you save it... they chip it down the middle, you catch it
Welcome back, Red Devil. Sorry to hear about your flash drive. At least you've got a 1-0 lead to cheer you up?
Well, I do love it when a player tries a Panenka and the keeper catches it.
pretty robust challenge from Skrtl. Guess he knows he won't get two pens called on him.
Oh - Ozil should have scored there - the goal was gaping.
Thanks Blue Devil.
plus, I found that I have another flashdrive with me, so I am in the process of converting it to my primary back-up.
Yes - but Skrtel has to worry about getting two yellows. He picked up one in the penalty incident. If he gets sent off, it's definitely curtains for Slovakia.
Excellent Plan B, Red Devil.
How's the research and writing going, RD? You should have plenty of grist for the mill with that shocking Brexit vote.
It sounds strange, but playing a classic center forward like Gomez makes Germany more variable than when they have all these skilled players buzzing around. It opens up the opportunity for an early cross and a knockdown.
So far there has been no child-care option here, so I am pretty much the only one taking care of the kids as Chiara takes care of business, etc. I limit myself to about one hour a day of coding German newspaper stories (the work I have my students do in the other languages). I really never get much work done here, so that's cool. Plus, I am watching a truckload of football.
Kimmich has been a real find. He gives Germany a much more attacking option on the wing that Howedes or Mustafi.
I definitely like the look of Kimmich - he broke through at Bayern this year, right?
It's interesting to have heard Italian commentators the last two competitions. Their admiration for Germany's attacking philosophy is a painful reflection for the catenacio they see here.
I'm sure. What's the Italian reaction been to their progress so far? It'll be fascinating to see how Conte turns out the side tomorrow. And of course their prize for getting through against Spain would only be a quarter final against this lot. Ouch!
Great take and turn from Draxler. I like the cut of his jib. He'd of course never deign to cross the threshold at Eland Road, but if he did, we'd lay out the black pudding for him.
that was too close
Slovakia have a chance for a free kick... doesn't beat the first man
cross comes in again... header... nice save
Oh - great save from Neuer from a head-shoulder effort. Best chance yet for Slovakia. Just a reminder that this game isn't over yet.
Germans sleeping a bit toward the end of this half.
The Italians were very happy with the Belgium game, but admitted that the Sweden result was fortunate.
There's your boy Draxler - the Moonraker!
GOAL! Oh - sublime skill from Draxler beating his man and then laying it on a plate for Gomez.
2-0!
Two nil
Great wing play, great cross... super mario scores
There's a novel idea how to attack
That's got to be over and out for Slovakia. I could see them nicking a random goal from a set piece if the Germans fell asleep.
I hate the talk of how difficult it is to break down teams that sit back
Germany are doing it
Half time
Off to walkie the doggies
Apparently, that goal puts Gomez pretty high on the all-time list of German European Championship goalscorers, perhaps above Klinsman and near Voeller. Let me research that.
To be fair to England again, UWS, if you wind the tape back on the Slovakia game, you'll find that Raheem Sterling did that several times and fizzed crosses over the six yard box. The difference is that Harry Kane hasn't been at the races while Gomez was reliably standing where he should be. Honestly, a mailbox would have scored that goal.
And that's the first half, then. As I said before, the Germans are the most reliable thing in world football. Although, I still haven't gotten used to the idea of a German player missing a penalty.
- "It is possible to keep fiscal discipline" - German Minister of Finance
- "It is possible to accept migrants" - German Chancellor
- "It is possible to break down park-the-bus teams" - Die Mannschaft
Podolski missed one in the 2010 game they lost to Serbia.
If Italy wins, that will certainly mean the end of Germany's run, while I think they will struggle against Spain's ability to possess the ball. However, I am glad to see them regain a bit of offensive mojo these last two games.
Agreed, Blue Devil. There is something reassuring about knowing you have a center forward lurking around the 6-yard box.
Ok. Family is back. Posts will be sketchy from now on.
Kate and I are enjoying the watermelon that Red Devil donated to us; perfect for an exceedingly hot afternoon here in Fredonia.
Say hi to everyone!
Too hot for Shadow and walk so I just had some refreshing watermelon
You two want to come over for a swim?
No wait a minute, when you are here it's like it is March!
second half underway
First German pen miss since 1976 Final
We're back on for the second half after a really quick half-time.
Decent effort but straight at Neuer
Actually, I think that Bastian Schweinsteiger missed one at an earlier tournament. And I was shocked then!
Maybe it was at the WC not Euros
Commentator is the one that brought it up
Nice look there by the Slovak
A couple of free kick chances in quick succession for Slovakia. Both wasted. But that will encourage them to come forward.
sweet move by Draxler.
This really is cynical from Germany. They're clearly taking the foot off the gas.
Three nil
They will be favorites going into the Quarters
GOAL! Drawler gets the goal that he deserved. 3-0. Over and out.
Why can't England do this!
Well, I wonder that, too. They certainly create the same chances but somehow the ball doesn't quite bounce in the same direction.
Draxler has arrived! I must admit I find him a bit too convoluted in his dribbling. Not enough bang for the buck, but he has been the deal-breaker this game.
Slovakia are showing exactly how mediocre they are today.
Hummel gets an unnecessary booking. That might be trouble further down the road. What's the rule with the yellow cards this time? Do they get wiped off at a certain point?
I agree, Red Devil. Julian - Leeds awaits you!
Derek Rae is being really irritating today with his overly particular pronunciations of players names. Alejandro needs to give him a slap.
I said earlier in the first post
I think that the yellow cards used to wiped out after the group stages but not any more
They get wiped out at the semi final stage. So, players can't be ruled out of the Final with a yellow in the semi... It changed when so many players were missing the showcase event
WOw. That was a bit of a harsh yellow. Hummels got to the ball two feet before the opponent. HOpe that does not come back to haunt them.
Boateng gets a rest now. Howedes on for him. And Draxler is replaced by Podolski.
Someone needs to slap Alejandro for his comment when you were here
That's a one-time in match chance and he's had three of them
MUR That's a good rule.
Thanks for the repost, UWS.
Yeah - that was classic Moreno commentary.
One last change for Germany - Pigstick on for Khedira.
a few years ago, I would say that pulling out Sami would mean losing too much speed and aggressiveness in the midfield. Sadly, even the aging Schweinsteiger is not really much of a step down for a Khedira who looks tired and imprecise.
Except for the US versus Argentina, when was the last time you saw the team that was chasing a result pinned back into their half so much? Slovakia had a brief moment of steam prior to the 3rd goal, but since then, they have been rightfully disheartened.
How hot is it in Fredonia, Blue Devil?
87F right now, which I know that MUR would scoff at as merely "balmy." But for us it's hot. We'll be over at your place watering this evening.
Thanks so much, Blue Devil. That IS hot for Fredonia.
We haven't seen much of Kroos today - he's been the only German player missing.
We're supposed to get thundershowers rolling in tomorrow night - we desperately need it!
It's 90 in ENY
Cor!
Are you going to hit the pool between the matches?
Probably
Indeed, with such a deep-lying opponent, Germany was playing a lot more horizontal balls, so he was just swinging the ball left to right, but nothing very incisive.
BTW, hello from Chiara.
Could easily have been four there. Kroos coming in on that cross.
Ciao from us, too.
Over and out, though I may be back for some of the third game.
A fantastic quarterfinal match awaits the Germans.
Final whistle blow - the most commanding performance from Germany in this tournament - and perhaps the best showing for any of the teams. Italy or Spain awaits them next Saturday for the marquee match up of the quarters. And then England in the semis? Be still my heart!
Germany have to favorites now
I'm off to the store now and will be back for the late one.
Sorry I wasn't around to chat. I was on the phone, but watched the entire match. The German performance was the most dominant of the tournament . Congratulations, Red Devil.
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