Euro 2008 - Final

Well after a couple of weeks of fantastic football we are at the Happel Stadium in Austria and we are down to two teams left with the Germans going up against the Spanish,this Tournament has been very good to watch,from the highs of the Netherlands who looked fantastic until they ran into Gus Hiddink and his Russian side to Turkey and they amazing ability to come back from the brink of defeat to register game saving goals to continue on in the tournament,the sweeping goal scoring moves of Germany and Spain have been very impressive and really both these issues deserve their place in this final,so what can we expect today,will the Germans continue on their way to winning the tournament or will Spain who have finally after what seems like an eternity win something that they have always had a chance at but have failed to live up expectations?? I don’t know,I would love to see Spain win this game but Germany have always looked capable of scoring a goal or two and this game looks no different,so I’m more interested in goals in this game.

For the Neutral watcher like myself this game is a mouth watering affair that I am very much looking forward to,Germany have shown to be a very good side who seem to have little problems finding the back of the net,they play very well and their sweeping goals movements in their most recent games have been nothing short of brilliant,however you have to say that the Spanish themselves have looked very.very good,they are missing Villa for this game but with Fabregas in their side and looking in great form they can still construct very good plays and they can definitely score goals,so lets now look at either side and see who’s in and who’s out.

The Spanish are without Villa but they still have more than enough talent to get the job done here today if they can maintain they form and compousure,Fabregas has looked very sharp in Spain’s most recent games and with the loss of Villa a lot of the goal scoring chances will fall on the shoulders of Torres and Silva but Spain the longer this tournament has gone on have looked very good at the back and although they have been under immense pressure in some of their games they have never been broken as some might of expected from past Spanish sides,in fact at the back they look very solid and composed with Puyol being a major influence there,his tactical play has been very good in Spanish games,all in all this Spanish side even without Villa still has a very menacing look about it with players the calibre of Ramos,Marchena,Iniesta and Savi in their ranks.

The Germans have shown that tactically they are very strong,their is some possible late worries about Ballack if what I’m reading is correct,but I think Ballack will play and he will rise to the occasion and lead the Germans very well,in fact he has been playing well all season in the EPL and has continued on in that vein in this tournament,I have no doubts whatsoever that he will lace up his boots and get out there on Sunday Night,Apart from Ballack there would seem to be no other injury woes for the Germans and they will take the feild pretty much with the same side who beat the Turks in their last game.I have been greatly impressed with germany’s goals coring talents,Klose has as always put himself in a position to score most times and man you have to say it ,doesnt Bastian Schweinsteiger have a fantastic name that sounds brilliant when he scores a goal and the commentators say his name and he has also shown to be a very good finisher also,add in Podolski who has also been brilliant in finishing of goal scoring moves and the Germans look well up for the challenge that the Spanish are about to give them.

Recent results and they are’nt any for these two sides against each other,in the database the only result was a 1-1 draw at the 94 World Cup and apart from that on another site they say that these sides have played each other 19 times with Germany holding the edge winning 8 with the Spaniards 5 wins with 6 draws,In Euro games from the past either side has a win a piece with the Germans winning 2-1 in 88 and Spain winning once in 84,1-0.

I like the look of this game,Spain have their problems with no Villa but they still have a wealth of talent and if they don’t think about missing Villa to much they are still well capable of pulling off a win here,Germany have looked great in attack but not so great in defence and for Spain that is an area in defence where they have looked very solid,both sides have shown some great play so far this tournament and although many are thinking that this game could be a very tight affair and goals will come at a premium and like most big games a draw is enevitable,I have my doubts over that.

The Germans have shown that they can leak goals but that they have more than enough to lay on a few of their own,Germany have scored 3 goals in their last 2 games against the Portuguese and Turks and apart Fromm a 1-0 win over Austria have also scored 2 a piece in both games against Croatia and Poland,they look a bit doubtful in defence and i am also expecting Spain to score in this match at some stage.

The Spanish to apart from that one game where they drew 0-0 with the Italians have scored 2 goals or more in each of their games at this Tournament and I think that the loss of Villa could well bring the best out of Torres who will know that a lot of their chances rest on his shoulders,I thought that even though Spain drew 0-0 with the Italians that they created some great chances and will do again today and this time against a German backline who have looked shaky could get some joy against them,so all in all this game is looking like a great open attacking game.

I know both sides will be nervous and they could get off to a slow start,but Spain scored 3 second half goals last match in very heavy rain and they made it look easy,Germany scored 3 against Turkey and they cam up with that final goal when they really needed to get one which shows that the Germans never can be counted out and always have more than enough skill to fight back,I see people saying that this game will end 1-1 and go to extra time,personally I think that this game will end 2-1 to either side or 2-2 and go to extra time so I think the odds on the total goals being over 2.5 look very good and I’ll tip them and put a decent bet on them.