retired_firebear369

Switzerland v. Russia
Parken, Copenhagen

With Holland’s win in the early match, Russia would now be through with a victory of their own. As a result, Switzerland knew it had to claim at least a point with Russia playing Holland in the final round of matches.

Switzerland made two changes enforced by injuries. Sébastien Baumann replaced Fabrizio Zambrella who was out with a groin strain. Christian Keller replaced Adrian Studer, who suffered a broken arm in training. Russia’s only change was replacing injured Alexey Safronov with Yury Iljin

Switzerland (4-4-2): Diego Benaglio, Marco Padalino, Reto Ziegler, Philippe Senderos (c), Daniel Panizzolo, Stéphane Baumann, Sébastien Baumann, Christian Keller, Gerardo Clemente, Davide Chiumiento, Johan Vonlanthen
Substitutes: Severin Baumberger, Thomas Raimondi, Martin Meyer, Philipp Degen, Leandro Fernand, Simone Fumasoli, Yannick Bravo

Russia (4-4-2): [/i]Sergey Kabanov, Victor Pimenov, Maxim Korolev, Eugeny Smirnov, Rusland Rakhimov, Yury Iljin, Yury Zhirkov, Sergey Tcherkasov, Vyacheslav Yudin, Alexandr Chernov (c), Nikolay Tyunin
Substitutes: Igor Akinfeev, Denis Ivanov, Igor Nikiforov, Valery Vorobjov, Alexandr Orekhov, Ruslan Vorobjov, Andrey Gusev

Russia created the first chance eleven minutes in. Alexandr Chernov cut inside from the left and shot from the edge of the area. Diego Benaglio was on top of the situation and held onto the shot.

The game quickly became bogged down in midfield until Switzerland opened the scoring in the 32nd minute. Sébastien Baumann was put through on goal by Stéphane Baumann, and finished with a perfect lob over Sergey Kabanov to give Switzerland its first goal of the tournament.

Russia did not respond well to the challenge. Their attacking moves were constantly being broken up by a Swiss defence led by captain Philippe Senderos.

Switzerland nearly put themselves two goals ahead in the 70th minute. Johan Vonlanthen fought off a pair of Russian defenders to force a shot in, but Kabanov was there to save with his right hand.

Ten minutes later, Vonlanthen continued to put pressure on the Russian goalkeeper. He put himself through with some fantastic dribbling and hit a hard shot that appeared to have beaten Kabanov. Nevertheless, he managed to reach back and divert the ball around the post.

Switzerland 1 (Baumann 32)
Russia 0
Attendance: 41619

[b]Yellow Cards
Switzerland: [b]Philippe Senderos, Johan Vonlanthen
Russia: Victor Pimenov, Maxim Korolev, Eugeny Smirnov

Group D Table:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Holland | | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 6 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Russia | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Switzerland | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 3 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Wales | | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 0 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_firebear369

Day 8: 18th June 2016

Belgium v. Italy
Atletion, Aarhus

While there was only one team through to the next round at this point, there was a strong possibility that the Czech Republic could join England in the quarterfinal. The first match of the eighth day of the tournament was critical for Belgium. Defeat would elimination from the tournament, and even a point may not help. Italy, on the other hand did not necessarily need victory. A draw would suffice, although they would have to defeat the Czech Republic in their last game.

Belgium made three changes to their lineup. Thierry Lepage replace Peter Mollez between the posts. Michaël Kone replaced the injured Guillaume Raphaël and Kevin Van Haezendonck came in for Bram Philips. Italy named an unchanged side.

Belgium (5-3-2): Thierry Lepage, Geoffrey Mujangi Bia, Jelle Van Damme, Charles Xavier, Costanzo Sebastien, Michaël Kone, Tim Van Speybroeck, Kevin Van Haezendonck, Wouter Vandermieren, Steven Defour (c)¸ Jonathan Blondel
Substitutes: Peter Mollez, Benjamin Leruth, Yuksel Dinçer, Dave Kerwyn, Freek Vermeulen, Bram Philips, Glenn Van Der Zanden

Italy (4-4-2): Roberto Grossi, Marco Motta (c), Nicola Giordano, Andrea Greco, Salvatore Mele, Fabio Benedetti, Alberto Gentile, Francesco Antonelli, Emanuele Salvadori, Vito Galli, Marco Magno
Substitutes: Paolo Monti, Marco Conti, Alessio Mancino, Pietro Zammuto, Arturo Lupoli, Andrea Pierantoni, Marco Bergamini

Alberto Gentile nearly put Italy in front after just thirty seconds. His shot from ten yards was hacked off the line by Charles Xavier.

The Belgian defence held firm after that, and they were rewarded in the 27th minute. Kevin Van Haezendonck lofted a ball over the top for Jonathan Blondel to run onto. The striker calmly slotted it past Grossi to give Belgium the lead.

The sides went into the locker room with the 1-0 scoreline, and it appeared the second half would end the same. Belgian hearts were broken three minutes from time, when Italy scored the equaliser. Francesco Antonelli nodded down a header from Emanuele Salvadori, and Alessio Mancino was there to power it home.

Belgium 1 (Blondel 27)
Italy 1 (Mancino 87)
Attendance: 20155

retired_firebear369

Bulgaria v. Czech Republic
Aalborg Stadion, Aalborg

After Italy’s draw with Belgium earlier in the day, it appeared that the Group was going to be more tightly contested than anticipated. Bulgaria could put themselves top of the group with a victory over the Czechs, while the Czech Republic would advance with a victory.

Bulgaria made four changes, with Nikola Boykov and Ivan Korbankolev, plus Ivan and Dimirar Dimitrov replacing Chavdar Yankov, Slav Jekov, Nikola Hristozov and Valeri Bojinov. The Czech Republic made one change as Jan Karsnak replaced Jiri Vicera in defence.

Bulgaria (4-4-2): Dimitar Pavlov, Borislav Marinov, Dimitar Ignatov, Yordan Iliev, Ivan Dimitrov, Nikola Boykov, Kamen Shapkarov, Dimitar Dimitrov, Georgi Kyorlenski, Ivan Korbankolev, Dimitar Berbatov (c)
Substitutes: Atanas Trifonov, Nikola Hristozov, Ivan Kirov, Atanas Chipilov, Slav Jekov, Naiden Nedialkov, Yulian Vasilev

Czech Republic (5-3-2): Petr Cech, Petr Hanus, Tomas Hübschmann (c), Jan Karsnak, Michal Cerny, Tomas Cerny, Radek Lukes, Adam Krumnikl, Petr Mochow, Martin Krása, Josef Goldie
Substitutes: Jiri Kolar, Stanislav Horak, Tomas Toman, Martin Klesa, Vaclav Sverkos, Michal Prchlik, Lukas Prochazka

A dull first half produced only one incident worth noting. In the 44th minute, Josef Goldie was carried off on a stretcher with a broken foot, and would no longer be taking part in the tournament.

Bulgaria was first to produce a chance six minutes after the break. Kamen Shapkarov’s long range effort looked overly ambitious at first, but it forced a magnificent save from Petr Cech.

The Czech Republic finally got an opportunity in the 79th minute, and they took it. Adam Krumnikl’s corner drifted in, and Tomas Hübschmann leapt above six Bulgarian defenders to head it past Dimitar Pavlov to give the Czechs the lead.

Bulgaria’s pursuit of an equaliser quickly became desperate. Pavlov came up repeatedly as Bulgaria won numerous corners and free kicks. They finally broke through two minutes into stoppage time. Dimitar Berbatov’s free kick went to Dimitar Ignatov, and his shot from fifteen yards took a deflection off of Krumnikl and rolled in.

Bulgaria 1 (Ignatov 90)
Czech Republic 1 (Hübschmann 79)
Attendance: 15872

Yellow Cards
Bulgaria: Georgi Kyorlenski*
Czech Republic: Adam Krumnikl, Radek Lukes*

Group A Table:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Czech Republic | | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Bulgaria | | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Italy | | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Belgium | | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 1 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| </pre>

retired_mgailtm

Nice story so far, a few tight affairs and shock results! Everything you need for a good cup tournament. KUTGW

Ps. could you please post the man of the match awards too?

retired_firebear369

Thanks for the comment . The tournament has turned out really well so far, hopefully the rest of it doesn't disappoint.

Day 9: 19th June 2016

Scotland v. Denmark
Atletion, Aarhus

After their surprise result against Ukraine, Scotland were in a dream land. With a win in their second match, they could very well put themselves into the quarter finals. They now face the hosts, who are coming off of a disappointing defeat to Germany last time out. It is nearly a must-win situation for Denmark.

Scotland made two changes from their side which defeated Ukraine. Steven Whittaker replaced Patrick Scullion in defence. David Clarkson replaced Craig McBride and took a forward role. Denmark made two changes to their side. Danilo Arrieta came in for Mikkel Bischoff, and Leon Andreasen replaced Magnus Troest.

Scotland (4-4-2): Craig Gordon (c), Jim Crawford, Clark Kay, Scott Bell, Steven Whittaker, Kirk Broadfoot, Darren Fletcher, Kevin Cawley, Charlie Adam, David Clarkson, Andy Bagshaw
Substitutes: Michael McGowan, Patrick Scullion, Andy Love, Graham Weir, Michael Parker, Chris Gardiner, Craig McBride

Denmark (4-5-1): Kasper Schmeichel, Martin Albrechtsen, Dennis Cagara, Sebastien Svärd, Jesper Engstrøm, Christian Poulsen (c), Johan Absalonsen, Thomas Kahlenberg, Danilo Arrieta, Leon Andreasen, Lasse Qvist
Substitutes: Kenneth Stenild, Mikkel Bischoff, Asmat El Ouargui, Søren Nørbæk, Bajram Fetai, Tommy Bechmann, Anders Christiansen

Denmark came out as the more desperate side and got their opportunity to go in front on just three minutes. Thomas Kahlenburg got onto the end of a cross from Christian Poulsen, and his header looked like it was going in. Craig Gordon was there, however, and tipped the shot onto the crossbar.

Scotland had their first chance three minutes later. Andy Bagshaw laid the ball off for Charlie Adam to shoot from ten yards out. Kasper Schmeichel was ready for it and parried it away to his left.

Schmeichel kept Scotland off of the board just thirty seconds later. Jim Crawford’s long throw-in fell to Bagshaw, but his shot was pushed over by the Hannover goalkeeper.

The Scotland dream continued in the 14th minute, when they deservedly went in front. Crawford threaded a ball through traffic to a barely onside David Clarkson who calmly slotted it past Schmeichel to give Scotland the lead.

Scotland were awarded a penalty three minutes later, when Leon Andreasen was ruled to have handled the ball as he fought with Clarkson for a header. The Leeds striker sent the ball into the top left corner, and Scotland fans had to wonder if it could get any better than this.

Matters were made worse for Denmark after Kahlenburg was stretchered off after a collision with Charlie Adam in the 40th minute. Halftime arrived, and Denmark were booed off by their own supporters.

Scotland continued to dominate proceedings, as they got another scoring opportunity eleven minutes after the break. Clark Kay lofted in a terrible cross that nearly went in, but Schmeichel tipped it over for a corner.

Denmark never looked like scoring again, and their frustration boiled over when Jesper Engstrøm was sent off seven minutes from time for pushing Clarkson.

Scotland 2 (Clarkson 14, pen 18)
Denmark 0
Attendance: 20179
MotM: Charlie Adam

Yellow Cards
Scotland: Steven Whittaker, Kirk Broadfoot
Denmark: Jesper Engstrøm, Bajram Fetai

Red Cards
Denmark: Jesper Engstrøm

retired_firebear369

Ukraine v. Germany
Aalborg Stadion, Aalborg

With the tournament’s surprise package Scotland topping the group with six points, Ukraine needed to take a point to stay alive. A win would give them a more realistic chance at advancing. Germany could book their place in the next round alongside England and Scotland with a win.

Ukraine made a number of changes after their disappointing defeat to Scotland. Eugene Borovyk replaced Kostyantyn Oliynyk in goal, Olexiy Gai replaced Artem Fedetskyi at right back, Olexandr Aliev replaced Sergiy Rozhok in midfield and Artem Milevskiy took Valeriy Kutsenko’s spot up front. In contrast, Germany made one change. Eugen Polanski replaced injured midfielder Sebastien Schweinsteiger.

Ukraine (4-4-2): Eugene Borovyk, Olexiy Gai, Vyacheslav Goncharuk, Olexandr Yatsenko, Anatoliy Kitsuta, Oleg Husyev, Kostyantyn Kravchenko (c), Vyacheslav Kolyada, Olexandr Aliev, Artem Milevskiy, Dmytro Moldovan
Substitutes: Kostyantyn Oliynyk, Dmytro Brovkin, Igor Boyko, Igor Korotetskyi, Valeriy Kutsenko, Sergiy Rozhok, Andriy Maschenko

Germany (4-4-2): Tim Wiese, Kevin Schöneberg, Sascha Dum, Robert Huth, Dominik Reinhardt, Alexander Baumjohann, Dennis Grote, Eugen Polanski, Marco Engelhardt (c), Ashkan Dejagah, Lukas Podolski
Substitutes: Philipp Tschauner, Tim Bauer, Benjamin Lauth, Mario Gomez, Tom Bertram, Mike Hanke, Kevin Kuranyi

Ukraine kept it tight at the back and were able to take out much of the excitement from this encounter. The two sides went into half time without a single shot close to the target.

Germany finally had a chance to break the deadlock in the 67th minute. Alexander Baumjohann’s volley was taken on the volley by substitute Kevin Kuranyi, but Eugene Borovyk was equal to it.

With seven minutes remaining, Ukraine took the lead with their first attacking move of the match. Oleg Husyev’s corner was volleyed in off of the post by the criminally unmarked Olexandr Aliev to put Ukraine in front.

The closest Germany came to an equaliser was a long range effort by Kuranyi in the second minute of stoppage time, but Borovyk was never going to be troubled by it. Ukraine could now celebrate a famous victory with a great possibility of advancing.

Ukraine 1 (Aliev 83)
Germany 0
Attendance: 15875
MotM: Eugene Borovyk

Yellow Cards
Ukraine: Olexandr Aliev
Germany: Robert Huth, Mike Hanke

Group C Table:
<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">| Pos | Inf | Team | | Pld | Won | Drn | Lst | For | Ag | G.D. | Pts | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 1st | | Scotland | | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 2nd | | Germany | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 3rd | | Ukraine | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 4th | | Denmark | | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 0 | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|</pre>

retired_jgirl87

Great work. :thup:

I see my Czech boys have got themselves a tough match against Italy to confirm their progress through to the next round after those bloody Bulgarians equalised in the last minute.

retired_somi

Scotland 2 (Clarkson 14, pen 18)
Denmark 0

Yes! Go Scotland!

retired_lina2212

Exellent story! shame no Nasri for france, and i do hope IRL there is no Glen Johnson ny 2014