same here mate... im like c'mon, cant the time just go faster, I HOPE DP will shine, plzzzzzzzzzzz god, help DP & Azzurri...
Forza AzzUrrI!
Forza AzzUrrI!
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The games are afoot: general Euro 2004 discussion thread (4 Viewers)
- Thread starter Zlatan
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Here's what 2 famous British papers are saying today about the game. 
The independent":
"England hung on in the face of constant French pressure, into added time. Then Zinedine Zidane struck twice, punishing a brace of English lapses."
"This proved a rare sight of goal for Owen as the French took command, monopolising possession. They had a easy fluidity of movement and much neater ball retention. England pulled back, apparently by design, into two banks of white, asking the French to play through them if they could."
Speaking of the goal scored by Lampard:
"It was also, in truth, a steal, utterly against the run of play. In this it was reminiscent of the quarter-final against Brazil when Owen had stolen away to score. Then, crucially, England failed to hold on to the interval. This time they went in at half-time buoyed by a lead."
Now, what the Guardian thinks of this game:
Cruel, late and lucky but France deserved it
"England nearly earned a reward for sheer guts and persistence in Lisbon last night, which is a nice thing to be able to say after the way they caved in to Brazil's 10 men in their last match at a big tournament. But anyone who believes that France did not deserve their victory in this curiously emotional match was probably watching the game through a pair of lenses painted with the flag of St George.
The odds against England winning this tournament will have lengthened, partly on the basis of an opening defeat and partly through the contrast in quality between their general play and that of France. There was virtue in their willingness to suffer and to struggle until they had found a way back into the match, but in terms of pure class there was only one side in it.
Twenty minutes into the first half, five- sixths of the crowd were standing in a kind of petrified silence. The scoreboard still said 0-0, but France were giving England a football lesson. Every banal sideways pass that cost England momentum, every failure to use possession to make inroads in the opposition half, was greeted with jeers from the French fans crowded into the stadium's west stand. On the other three sides, the white flags hung limp in the sultry air as a great football team went about the business of restoring its reputation.
Six of France's starting line-up last night earn their living in the Premiership. Rightly acclaimed as models of skill and professionalism, in turn they appreciate the honest commitment embodied by English league football at its best. But last night they were keen to demonstrate their superiority, and as Robert Pires and William Gallas went to work on the left flank of England's defence, forcing Paul Scholes and Ashley Cole into missed tackles and last-minute clearances, they seemed to be on the way to achieving their aim.
After 10 minutes, Thierry Henry pirouetted through 540 degrees - one and a half circles - to disembarrass himself of a marker. It seemed to symbolise the ease with which the French were assuming command and asserting the superiority of their approach, and their supporters loved it.
This was a meeting between the nation that invented the game and the one that came up with its international institu tions and competitions, a fixture that can never be a matter of indifference. The giant red girders of the Estadio da Luz reflected the thousands of England flags lining each tier, just as the deep blue of the early-evening sky matched the shirts of the French fans. Goodness knows what outsiders will have made of such a private battle."
The independent":
"England hung on in the face of constant French pressure, into added time. Then Zinedine Zidane struck twice, punishing a brace of English lapses."
"This proved a rare sight of goal for Owen as the French took command, monopolising possession. They had a easy fluidity of movement and much neater ball retention. England pulled back, apparently by design, into two banks of white, asking the French to play through them if they could."
Speaking of the goal scored by Lampard:
"It was also, in truth, a steal, utterly against the run of play. In this it was reminiscent of the quarter-final against Brazil when Owen had stolen away to score. Then, crucially, England failed to hold on to the interval. This time they went in at half-time buoyed by a lead."
Now, what the Guardian thinks of this game:
Cruel, late and lucky but France deserved it
"England nearly earned a reward for sheer guts and persistence in Lisbon last night, which is a nice thing to be able to say after the way they caved in to Brazil's 10 men in their last match at a big tournament. But anyone who believes that France did not deserve their victory in this curiously emotional match was probably watching the game through a pair of lenses painted with the flag of St George.
The odds against England winning this tournament will have lengthened, partly on the basis of an opening defeat and partly through the contrast in quality between their general play and that of France. There was virtue in their willingness to suffer and to struggle until they had found a way back into the match, but in terms of pure class there was only one side in it.
Twenty minutes into the first half, five- sixths of the crowd were standing in a kind of petrified silence. The scoreboard still said 0-0, but France were giving England a football lesson. Every banal sideways pass that cost England momentum, every failure to use possession to make inroads in the opposition half, was greeted with jeers from the French fans crowded into the stadium's west stand. On the other three sides, the white flags hung limp in the sultry air as a great football team went about the business of restoring its reputation.
Six of France's starting line-up last night earn their living in the Premiership. Rightly acclaimed as models of skill and professionalism, in turn they appreciate the honest commitment embodied by English league football at its best. But last night they were keen to demonstrate their superiority, and as Robert Pires and William Gallas went to work on the left flank of England's defence, forcing Paul Scholes and Ashley Cole into missed tackles and last-minute clearances, they seemed to be on the way to achieving their aim.
After 10 minutes, Thierry Henry pirouetted through 540 degrees - one and a half circles - to disembarrass himself of a marker. It seemed to symbolise the ease with which the French were assuming command and asserting the superiority of their approach, and their supporters loved it.
This was a meeting between the nation that invented the game and the one that came up with its international institu tions and competitions, a fixture that can never be a matter of indifference. The giant red girders of the Estadio da Luz reflected the thousands of England flags lining each tier, just as the deep blue of the early-evening sky matched the shirts of the French fans. Goodness knows what outsiders will have made of such a private battle."
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