Sweden vs France 2-0 Euro 2012

Sweden vs France 2-0 Euro 2012 Highlights Larsson Ibrahimovic Goals Video
Sweden vs France Euro 2012 ( Sweden France VIDEO BELOW)
Final score and result:- Sweden vs France 2-0 ( Larsson, Ibrahimovic)
Olympic Stadium, Kiev- Group D, Euro 2012- 19 June, 2012- Tuesday- 19.45- 19/6/12
Swedish captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic scores a sensational volley goal as the Scandinavians shock France in their final game in Kiev.

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Italy vs Ireland 2-0 Euro 2012 Highlights June 18 Cassano Balotelli Goals Video

Italy vs Ireland Euro 2012 ( Italia Republic of Ireland VIDEO BELOW)
Final score and result:- Italy vs Ireland 2-0 ( Cassano, Balotelli)
Municipal Stadium, Poznan, Poland- Group C, Euro 2012- 18 June, 2012- 19.45 UK- 18/6/12- Mon
Italy progress to the quarterfinals of Euro 2012 as runners up in Group C behind Spain as goals from Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli help them beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0 in Poznan.

Italy vs Ireland 1-0 ( Antonio Cassano goal vs Ireland 35′)
Italy vs Ireland 2-0 ( Mario Balotelli goal vs Ireland 90′)
Italy v Ireland Euro 2012 attendance:- 38,794 ( Referee- Cakir)
Italy starting lineup vs Ireland Euro 2012:- Buffon, Abate, Barzagli, Chiellini, Balzaretti, Pirlo, Marchisio, Thiago Motta, De Rossi, Di Natale, Cassano
Republic of Ireland starting XI vs Italy 2012:- Given, O’Shea, Dunne, St. Ledger, Ward, McGeady, Whelan, Andrews, Duff, Keane, Doyle

Portugal vs Holland Euro 2012 Highlights 2-1 June 17

Portugal vs Netherlands Euro 2012 ( Portugal Holland VIDEO BELOW)
Final score and result:- Portugal vs Holland 2-1 ( Ronaldo*2/ Van der Vaart)
Metalist Stadium, Kharkiv- Sunday, 17 June, 2012- Group B, Euro 2012- 17/6/12- 19.45 UK KO
Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice to send Portugal into the last eight of Euro 2012 ( where they will meet the Czech Republic) as the Netherlands go out of the tournament without winning a single game.

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We asked for your suggestions for the best goal scored in Europe over the 2011-12 season, now it’s your chance to vote

Broadcaster secures commentary rights to England and Ireland matches and the knockout stages of the Euro 2012 football championship

Absolute Radio has secured commentary rights to England and Ireland matches and the knockout stages of the Euro 2012 football championship, and claims it will be the first to broadcast live games from the tournament on FM.

The commercial broadcaster has struck a deal for the live commentary rights to all six England and Ireland games in the group stage of the tournament, which kicks off next month in Poland and the Ukraine.

Absolute also has secured the rights to cover two of the quarter finals, one semi-final and the final.

The radio broadcaster is claiming a first with matches going out live on FM in London and the south-east, as well as nationwide over AM.

BBC Radio 5 Live and TalkSport hold radio rights for all Euro 2012 matches, but only broadcast on MW.

Absolute Radio presenter Jom Proudfoot, a former TalkSport commentator, will cover all the games, most of which kick-off about 7.45pm UK time.

This will dovetail with specially scheduled editions of Ian Wright’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Football Show, which will start at 5pm every day of the tournament, from 8 June to 1 July.

“Wrighty’s been there, he’s done it and he knows what the players will be going through,” said Paul Sylvester, head of presentation at Absolute Radio. “He’ll have an amazing insight and will give his views in his brilliantly unique way.”

Live commentary of matches will also be available on digital radio, the internet, mobile phones and digital TV.

Absolute Radio is in the second year of a three-year Premier League deal.

The broadcaster has the rights to 32 matches and gets the second pick of 3pm Saturday games, but it is the first time that it has branched out to European Championship rights.

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• Defender says Spanish champions are ‘following’ him
• Serbia international is under contract until 2016

The Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has admitted that he is aware of interest from the Spanish champions Real Madrid, but has indicated that he is happy to remain at Stamford Bridge.

Ivanovic, 28, signed a contract with Chelsea in February that takes him to the summer of 2016 but the captain of Serbia said on Sunday: “I know there is an interest from Madrid, who are following me. But it’s not the time to talk about it now.”

The versatile Ivanovic was suspended for Chelsea’s Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich, and saw the January arrival Gary Cahill take his place in Munich.

But the player who was signed by Chelsea in January 2008, four months after the departure of the current Real Madrid manager, José Mourinho, said: “I’m am very happy with Chelsea. I have just won the Champions League, a change is complicated. I am very happy in London.”

• Campbell wary of racism and violence in Poland and Ukraine
• ‘You could end up in a coffin,’ says former England defender

Sol Campbell has warned England fans they will be putting their lives in danger if they go to Euro 2012.

The former England defender believes Uefa was wrong to choose Poland and Ukraine because of the threat of racism and violence.

Speaking on a Panorama special, to be screened on BBC 1 on Monday night, Campbell said: “Stay at home, watch it on TV. Don’t even risk it … because you could end up coming back in a coffin.”

The programme reveals a history of violence and racism in the host nations and comes after the families of England’s Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain said they would not go to Euro 2012.

The brother of Walcott tweeted that he and his father will not be flying out to support the Arsenal midfielder because of “possible racist attacks”.

Those fears have been stoked by the Foreign Office, which carries a statement on its website warning “travellers of Asian or Afro-Caribbean descent and individuals belonging to religious minorities should take extra care.”

Campbell does not believe Poland and Ukraine deserve to host the competition, which begins on 8 June, because of the problems that still persist in those countries.

“I think that they were wrong, because what they should say is that if you want this tournament you sort your problems out,” he said.

“Until we see a massive improvement, that you have sorted [it] out, you are never going to get the tournament. You do not deserve these prestigious tournaments in your country.”

In response Uefa said: “Uefa’s zero-tolerance approach to racism is still valid both on and off the pitch and ultimately the referee has the power to stop or abandon a match should racist incidents occur.”

• Former Everton loanee Landon Donovan scores hat-trick
• Germany’s Joachim Löw unconcerned by loss to Switzerland

Scotland suffered their heaviest defeat since November 2003 after a dreadful performance in Jacksonville, Florida, ended with the USA as 5-1 victors. Landon Donovan gave them the lead in the fourth minute and the former Everton loan signing completed his hat-trick in the 65th minute. Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones also scored and an own goal from Geoff Cameron in the 15th minute, when he diverted Kenny Miller’s header past his own goalkeeper, did little to ease Scotland’s humiliation.

The Scotland manager, Craig Levein, praised Jürgen Klinsmann’s team, and admitted he felt frustrated by his side’s lacklustre effort. “It was evident tonight that there was one team out there who were focused and ready to play the game and another one who looked as though they had finished the season and had nothing to play for,” he said.

The team Klinsmann managed from 2004-06, Germany, had a more difficult night with a makeshift team deprived of the eight Bayern Munich players who were given a week off after their defeat in the Champions League final. Switzerland’s Eren Derdiyok scored a hat-trick in their 5-3 victory in Basel. The striker’s second goal exposed the rustiness of Arsenal’s Per Mertesacker, playing his first game after recovering from the injury he sustained playing against Sunderland on 11 February, and though goals from Mats Hummels, André Schürrle and Marco Reus gave coach Joachim Löw hope by fighting back to 4-3, Admir Mehmedi re-established Switzerland’s two-goal lead 13 minutes from time. André Lichtsteiner was their other scorer.

“We made far too many mistakes,” Löw said. “The team had not played with such a lineup before. Now we have two weeks to work on this and I have absolutely no concerns that the co-ordination within the team will start working.”

Holland, who have been ever-presents in the top four of Fifa’s rankings for the past four years, also suffered a rare home defeat, their first in 19 games after Bulgaria fought back from 1-0 down at half-time to win 2-1 at a sold-out Amsterdam Arena. Robin van Persie put Holland ahead with a shot from 10-yards in the dying seconds of the first half after a clever, chipped pass from Wesley Sneijder. Ivelin Popov equalised for Bulgaria from the spot when Tottenham’s Rafael van der Vaart handled the ball and Ilian Micanski scored in second-half injury time when John Heitinga’s wayward pass presented the visitors with their chance.

The co-hosts Poland registered their second win in a week while based at their training camp in Austria. Having defeated Latvia 1-0 in Klagenfurt on Tuesday night, Damien Perquis’s bullet header gave them the same margin of victory against Slovakia on Saturday at the Hypo-Arena.

In another Euro 2012 warmup game played at a neutral venue, this time Hamburg, Denmark were beaten 3-1 by Brazil. The Danes, who are in the same group as Germany, Holland and Portugal, wanted a testing workout and certainly endured one in the first-half when Brazil went 3-0 up with two goals from Porto’s Hulk either side of Niki Zimling’s own goal. Denmark were more positive in the second-half, Liverpool’s Daniel Agger missing from two yards out and Arsenal’s Nicklas Bendtner having his shot blocked by Tottenham’s Sandro. Bendtner did get on the scoresheet 19 minutes from time when he tapped in Zimling’s low cross.

Portugal, who open their campaign against Germany on 9 June, were booed off at full time after a tepid 0-0 draw with Macedonia in Lleira. The visitors, under the management of John Toshack, were ultra-cautious, playing five at the back and four narrow midfielders and thoroughly stifled the hosts. Even so, Helder Postiga wasted two perfunctory second-half chances to seal victory.

Greece, who are also based in Austria, could manage only a 1-1 draw with Slovenia when Jasmin Kurtic smashed in an 86th-minute equaliser after Vasilis Torosidis had given the Euro 2004 champions an eighth-minute lead. By contrast Greece’s Group A opponents Czech Republic benefited from a late goal, David Lafata scoring in the fourth-minute of stoppage time to defeat Israel 2-1 in Graz.

New England manager admits ‘we have work to do’ after picking up a win in Norway but says he is eagerly looking to the future

While explaining his selection of Andy Carroll on the eve of the match against Norway, Roy Hodgson alluded to the willingness of Rinus Michels, the father of Holland’s total football and a guru of modern coaching, to throw on a big man and bash the ball up to him in times of crisis. But before resorting to the tactic of despair, Michels had the imaginations of such men as Johan Cruyff and Johan Neeskens to exhaust. England, as we saw on Saturday night, are not so fortunate.

At the final whistle there were embraces between Steven Gerrard and John Arne Riise, former Liverpool team-mates, and Roy Hodgson and Brede Hangeland, erstwhile colleagues at Viking and Fulham, their warmth testifying to the genial nature of the occasion. Crimson streaks in the evening sky over the rapidly emptying Ullevaal Stadion, signalling more good weather to come, could have been taken as an optimistic omen. But although England secured their first victory under their new manager, they showed themselves, as so often in the past, capable of answering small questions while leaving the big one completely unanswered.

Those lesser matters are not without importance. Robert Green came through an increasingly busy 90 minutes unscathed, a relief on his first international appearance since the fateful blooper against the United States two summers ago, and will make an adequate understudy to Joe Hart. Similar judgments can be made of Joleon Lescott and Leighton Baines, who are unlikely to let the side down if called upon during Euro 2012. Up front, Andy Carroll appears to be back to the effectiveness he showed on his international debut against France 18 months ago while Ashley Young confirmed the impression that he rises naturally to the occasion in an England shirt.

But the old question remains hanging in the air: how are England going to fabricate a link between solid defence and promising attack effective enough to enable them to worry the best teams? Egil Olsen, Norway’s manager, gently alluded afterwards to the lack of creativity in England’s midfield, expressing surprise at the amount of space they had allowed his own men. Despite years of evidence to the contrary, foreigners still seem to expect England to produce qualities that have long been the property of others.

It is an issue that has bedevilled not just every manager of the national team since Terry Venables but most of those who preceded him as well, and it would have been foolish to imagine that Hodgson could provide the answer after a mere two training sessions in charge of a severely depleted squad. Nevertheless it is inevitable that the newcomer’s early steps will be scrutinised for significance and on Saturday his midfield, arranged in a line of four between the defensive quartet and the attacking duo, looked stodgy and completely lacking in unpredictability, despite the big names and reputations involved.

Scott Parker, confirming his return to fitness after missing the end of the domestic season, performed more than adequately in the role of destroyer and blocker, the latter skill more frequently in demand the longer the evening went on. Alongside him, however, Gerrard was unable to bring the best of himself to the game – and even brought some of the worst when he lost possession a few minutes before half-time and responded by flying into the tackle that cost Tom Hogli, Norway’s right-back, any further involvement in the occasion. Hodgson defended his captain, but it was the sort of rash challenge that can cause serious injury and, on a genuinely competitive occasion, might have attracted more than just a wagged finger from the referee.

Hodgson who had taken care to draw Gerrard into the fold by awarding him the armband and thus an unquestioned place in the team, explicitly criticised his captain’s choice of passes while discussing the contribution of the two central midfield players. “They were passing the ball quite well,” he said, “although at times Steven was looking for the early ball in behind. We have work to do.”

Later he said: “We have to get in between the lines a little bit better. We have to be more positive when we get a chance to play the ball between those lines. When we break that midfield line when the other team are pressing, we have to be more positive trying to feed those balls in.

“A few times we had the opportunity but then we turn out or alternatively Steve is trying to find passes through there that are very, very difficult to find [even] with his passing ability. That’s a work in progress and I’m hoping we will get our wide midfielders helping the [central] midfielders out there and get the balls fed into them, into Ashley Young, because the few times we did it looked good.”

Hodgson was right to point out that since he has been contracted for four years, he is looking further ahead than the coming few weeks. “I have my sights firmly set on the future,” he said, and what he needs is the return of Jack Wilshere to action and to the form that promised so much before his injury a year ago, along with the emergence of a fresh talent such as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Josh McEachran or Tom Cleverley to work alongside him.

In the meantime he must find a way of providing Parker with the right defensive partner – probably Frank Lampard – and moving Gerrard further forward into a position from which his passing would become less speculative. But as long as the manager remains wedded to a traditional 4-4-2, a solution to his most profound problem may remain out of reach.