Well, for one, that Cristiano Ronaldo is very good at the game called football. Derek Rae and the annoying spud were comparing the two Iberian sides today, but I have to say that Portugal most often looks like Spain’s B team. As with Spain’s 4-1 win, the 3-1 scoreline to Portugal definitely flattered them because the Czechs looked dangerous. Speaking of which, what the hell as Milan Baros been eating? I didn’t see him play for Lyon or Pompey, but the man was on fire today.

But back to Portugal. I wondered if maybe they hadn’t missed the opportunity to win a trophy after Euro 2004 and the World Cup, and I still wonder. Without Ronaldo the team is average, and whenever Ronaldo goes missing during the game (which seems to happen quite a lot) the team goes flat. After awhile without the ball, when Ronaldo finally does get it he must feel like he should beat six guys and score with a 40-yard blast. Usually what happens is that he loses the ball in traffic because, contrary to reports, he is not Superman. I think he’s the best player in the world by a stretch but there are limits.

In short, Portugal don’t look too hot to me. They’ve played a C-side in Turkey and a B-side in the Czechs. They won by a two-goal margin both times but I think they were fortunate in both cases. Sure, they can probably do the same thing to their likely quarterfinal opponent of Croatia or Poland, but I can’t see them beating the Germans. Both Turkey and the Czechs failed to cut off the supply to Ronaldo for 90 minutes; the Germans can do that. Don’t get me wrong, I think Portugal has players with the ability to pick up the slack (Deco being the obvious choice) but will they? Evidence suggests not, at least to me. That’s what puts Spain apart—shut down Torres and get slain by Villa. Neutralize Iniesta and you still have to contend with Xavi, with guys like Fabregas and Xavi Alonso coming off the bench. So my bet is Portugal gets bounced by Germany in the semis. Which still may be one round better than Spain.

What can you say about Switzerland vs. Turkey? The pitch made the game a mess and the Swiss were unlucky, but they were also not good enough. It’s telling that their strongest stretch of the game came when they adopted the hoof-n-hope approach during torrential rain. And Turkey, should they go through, would scare no one.

Theoretically, an upset should happen any day now, but when? Where? France drawing and Holland crushing Italy are certainly surprising results, but not upsets. Croatia vs. Germany tomorrow? I doubt it. Looking forward to that one to see what Germany is made of. They looked good against Poland but other teams have looked better since. I’m quite curious to see how they respond and I’m surely not alone.

Current Mood: Euro 2008 is Too Short |