Euro 2012: Czech Republic and Greece Moving On

Czech Republic's Petr Jiracek and Poland's Ludovic Obraniak

The nice thing going into the final four days of group stage play at Euro 2012 was that pretty much everything was up for grabs.  Ireland and Sweden had been eliminated in their respective groups, but all the quarter-final spots were still on the line.  It set the table for some mouth watering drama.

The Group A Finale took place on Saturday with the Czech Republic against Poland and Greece against Russia.  In Wroclaw, the Czechs needed a win over cohost Poland to advance.  They were able to deliver, but looked a little nervy out of the gate.  The first 25 minutes were pretty much all Poland.  The opening minutes saw efforts from Dariusz Dudka and Robert Lewandowski hit the side netting, and Sebastian Boenisch forced a great save out of Petr Cech on 22 minutes.

The first half ended scoreless, but it was the Czechs who came out on fire in the second half.  They were eating possession and minutes on the clock, but had a hard time carving out great chances.  They finally got their breakthrough in the 72nd minute. Milan Baros ran into the top of the area, then expertly dished to Petr Jiracek, who easily slotted the ball into the Poland net to make it 1-0.  The lone goal would be all the Czechs would need to see off Poland punch their ticket into the quarter-finals.

Giorgos Karagounis scored the Greeks' game winner. (AP Images)

The other simultaneous Group A fixture featured Greece going up against heavily favored Russia, who had been in command of the group since opening day.  The Greeks needed a win and help from the Czechs, and they got both.

Greece came out on the offensive, forcing a flurry of early corner kicks.  However Russia denied them a goal through a nice save by Vyacheslav Malafeev.  Kostas Katsouranis also sent an effort just wide of the Russian net in the early sequences of play. 

After that the Russians pretty much took over for most of the rest of the half.  Andrey Arshavin had a shot saved, Aleksandr Kerzhakov and Yuri Zhirkov would also have good looks, but would fail to penetrate the Greek goal.  On the stroke of half time, the Greeks would make them pay for being wasteful.

Greek Captain Giorgos Karagounis seized control of loose ball just outside of the Russian penalty in the 45th minute.  He ran unchallenged into the area and coolly eased the ball through the Russian 'keeper to make it 1-0 to the Greeks at halftime.

The Russians would continue to push for a goal in the second half, but there was not one to be found.  Unfortunately for the Greeks, Karagounis was booked for diving in the box late in the match. It was actually a pretty clear penalty, but the yellow will mean the Greek captain will miss their quarterfinal match.  In the end, it didn't dampen the Greek spirits as they held on and celebrated a famous victory, sending them through and sending the Russians home early.

Euro 2012: Greece vs Czech Republic and Poland vs. Russia

Czech Republic's Petr Jiracek celebrates his opening goal (Getty Images)

The players of the Czech Republic were looking for a good dose of redemption coming into the second day of Group A play.  Sitting on zero points after a day 1 drubbing by Russia, they faced being the first team to be eliminated if they lost.  However, they came out of the gates on fire to make sure that didn't happen.  The Greeks, on the other hand, turned in another nightmare first half effort from which they could not recover this time.

The Czechs opened the scoring in just the third minute when Petr Jiracek took a through ball and slashed open the Greek defense.  He snuck into the six yard box and slapped the ball past a helpless Greek 'keeper to make it 0-1.Then just three minutes later they capitalized on more lackluster Greek defense to double the lead.  Theodor Gabre Selasssie got behind the Greek back line and fired a centering pass to Vaclav Pilar, who poked home another goal to make it 0-2 to the Czechs after just six minutes.

In the end it would be all the Czechs would need, but the Greeks did get one back in half number two.  In the 53rd minute Petr Cech, who hasn't had a great tournament so far, tried to claim a ball in the box but ran into one of his defenders.  He couldn't hang on, and the ball fell to Greece's Theofanis Gekas who blasted the ball into the empty net to make it 1-2.  However, they never really threatened again and the Czechs held onto the win 2-1.

Poland's Jakub Blaszczykowski after equalizing against Russia

Meanwhile, the day's second match took place in Warsaw between Poland and Russia.  Unfortunately, the match was preceded by a march to the stadium by Russian fans celebrating a national holiday.  The Russians had cleared it with the local authorities, but it ended up leading to violence between the Russians and Polish Ultras that resulted in some injuries.

As for the match itself, Russia could punch it's ticket to the knockout stage with a win over the co-hosts, but found that the Polish football team was just as up for the fight as their fans were.  Still, the Russians controlled much of the of the first half and got on the board first in the 37th minute.  Andrei Arshavin sent a free kick into the box that found Alan Dzagoev unmarked.  The hero of the first match for Russia calmly flicked a header into the goal to make it 0-1 Russia.

The Poles were not about to roll over though, and they fought back hard in the second half.  The pressure paid off in the 57th minute when Arshavin reverted to Arsenal form and passed the ball right to a Polish defender.  In the end, Jakub Blaszczykowski ended up smashing an equalizer into the Russian net to make it 1-1.  That score would hold through full time as both teams seemed to come up a little weary toward the end.

The day's results did little to clarify the Group A situation.  Greece's lone point against Poland keeps them alive, and the Poles sit one point behind the Czechs, 2 vs 3.  Russia still tops the group on four, but they are not through yet.  That means both of Saturday's games will figure into the group scenario.

Euro 2012: Russia vs. Czech Republic

Russia's Alan Dzagoyev celebrates his first of two goals on Friday (AP Images)

The second game of Euro 2012 took place in Wroclaw, Poland, and had a lot to live up to after the dramatics of the first match.  In the end it really didn't have the drama, but it certainly provided the goals. The Czech's porous defense hung Petr Cech out to dry as the Russians ran rampant at full time.

It was actually the Czechs who settled first in the match, having some possession and making it difficult for the Russians to make anything out of it when they had the ball.  However, the men in red finally broke through on 15 minutes.  Alexander Kerzhakov headed a cross into the post and Alan Dzagoyev stepped up and smacked the ball into the net to give Russia a 1-0 lead.  It wasn't the end of the first half nightmare for the Czechs either.  They gave up the ball to Andrei Arshavin in the 24th minute.  The Arsenal man shuttled a pass through Kerzhakov and on to Roman Shirokov, who calmly chipped the ball over the Chelsea 'keeper to make it 2-0 to the Russians, which held into halftime.

The Czechs did make interesting for a little bit in the second half.   In the 52nd minute they managed to cut the lead in half.  Jaroslav Plasil sent in a gorgeous ball to Vaclav Pilar that opened up the Russian defense.  Pilar easily worked the ball around the Russian 'keeper and slipped the ball into the goal to make it 2-1.  After that the Czech side really got their act together, but couldn't find the equalizer.

The Russians finally finished the match off late on.  In the 78th minute Roman Pavlyuchenko grabbed a loose ball and passed over to Dzagoyev, who calmly finished off his second goal of the match to make it 3-1.  Pavlyuchenko himself would put the final nail in the coffin as he blasted a shot into the top of the goal on 82 minutes to make it 4-1 at full time.

Unfortunately, the match itself ended up being overshadowed by unruly fan behavior and alleged racism.  It just doesn't look like the tournament is going to be able to shake this.  First off, Russian fans were filmed fighting with and beating on Polish stadium staff after the match.  As a result, 4 members of the stadium staff were hospitalized, according to Bloomberg News.  Also, UEFA monitors at the match reported that Russian fans racially abused Czech defender Theodor Gebre Selassie, who is black.  UEFA has already charged the Russian soccer association with the beatings of the stadium staff, and they are seeking more evidence on the racism claim.  Apparently the fight started when the stadium staff tried to confront Russian fans who were using fireworks.  Punishments may range from fines to expulsion form UEFA competitions for repeated offenses.