Euro 2016 Draw Announced

If you were sleeping this morning, US time, or perhaps just in a funk over what looks like will be the USA kit for the upcoming World Cup, you might have missed this bit of news.  The draw for Euro 2016, which will be held in France, took place Sunday in Nice.  The tourney will look a bit different this time around as 24 nations will get a chance to compete in the finals, instead of 16 which was the previous case.

It doesn't look like many of the big fish should have a problem making the finals.  England manager Roy Hodgson was particularly happy with the Three Lions' draw in Group E against San Marino, Switzerland, Slovenia, Estonia, and Lithuania.  It's hard to see any of those countries putting up much a fight against England, outside of perhaps Switzerland, whom Roy Hodgson previously coached in 1990s.

Wales should also like their draw.  They were placed into Group B with Belgium, Isreal, Cyprus, Andorra, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.  It's doubtful that they could top Belgium, but one would think they would have a decent shot at battling Israel for second place.

Euro 2016 qualification will also see a new nation competing to make their first international tournament.  Gibraltar was admitted into UEFA in 2013 and will play their first qualifiers this time around in Group D against Germany, Georgia, Scotland, Poland, and the Republic of Ireland.  They were originally drawn into Group C, but were moved because of political tensions between themselves and Spain.

You can check out the full draw below:

Matches begin in September 2014.  The top two teams in each group and the best third place team will automatically qualify for the finals.  The remaining third place finishers will have a playoff to fill out the field that will take to the pitch in France, Summer 2016.

Football Mourns The Death Of Gary Speed

Some bad news cast a somber pallor over today's football matches. Former EPL veteran and current Wales manager Gary Speed was found dead at his home in Cheshire. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

Some sites have been talking about the manner and circumstances around Speed's death. I'm not going to do that. The information is out there if you want it. All I'll say is that the police released a statement saying there were no suspicious circumstances around Speed's death, and that the family wished to have privacy at this time.

Speed was a Welsh football legend, winning 85 caps between 1990 and 2004. That's a record for outfield players for Wales. He was the captain of the team upon his retirement. His club career was remarkable as he scored in every EPL season until 2007. He played for Leeds, Everton, Newcastle, Bolton, and Sheffield United.

The death was announced shortly before today's EPL fixture between Swansea and Aston Villa. Swansea debated calling off the match, and Villa would not have objected. However, the match went ahead. A moment of silence eventually ended in of respectful chants of "There's only one Gary Speed." The two teams played to a 0-0 draw.

The Speed family have said that they will release a tribute at a later date. My thoughts and condolences to them at this difficult time.


RIP GARY SPEED 1969-2011
Photo: ryangiggs.cc

Euro 2012 Qualifying: England vs Wales

Both the English and Welsh teams had nice results in the first round of this qualifying weekend. England took out Bulgaria on the road and Wales beat Montenegro at home. England was in the driver's seat in the group but Wales has started to look a lot better.

Unfortunately there wasn't much to this match. Both sides started out very tentatively. The commentators pointed out that this was perhaps due to the fact that so many of these players know each other so well, and are good friends. Perhaps that altered the approach to the match. Intensity was not something really exhibited by either team throughout.

England had the better moments for the most part, and they had the only moment that ended up counting. In the 35th minute Ashely Young took a nice cross in the area from Stewart Downing and slotted it just inside the near post to give England the 1-0 lead. They held that lead through the half time interval and the rest of the match.

Wales did have one glorious chance though. In the 77th minute, a rebound off of a set piece fell right to Earnshaw in front of goal, but he missed, putting the ball high from point blank range. Wales put up quite a fight in the last 10 minutes, but couldn't really trouble Joe Hart. England went on to win 1-0. A lackluster effort to be sure, but 3 points, and it put the Three Lions very close to qualification.

Match Thoughts: Euro 2012 Qualifying: Wales vs. England

I'm an England fan, I'm wearing my England scarf as I compose this entry. Needless to say, the 2010 World Cup was a big disappointment. We're all waiting for Capello and Co. to pull it together.

So obviously, loved the Wales match. Loved seeing John Terry back as Captain. Loved seeing Lampard score the PK, and loved seeing England get up early over a young, inexperienced Wales side.

It was also nice to be able to actually see the match for once. ESPN carried the match, and a lot of the time we'll only get the friendlies on FSC. It was awesome to see an England match that meant something.

Really, what is there to say about such a dominant performance? Wales was totally hemmed in their own half for the entire first half, and England probably could have gotten more goals in. Obviously, Capello switching some tactics paid off some. Lamps had the PK, and a great goal from Darren Bent, and England had it done and dusted early.

Wales looked a lot better in the second half for sure, but just couldn't get it done against the high powered England side. Perhaps the only drawback for England was Wayne Rooney getting a yellow, which rules him out for the next qualifier.

For Wales. I was actually hoping to see a bit better display, and they came closer in the second half. Gary Speed has a lot of work ahead of him, but the good news is, there seems to be nowhere to go but up. I did think Ramsey did a good job as Wales Captain. At least Speed doesn't have the controversy that Capello has about the Captain situation.

Personally, though Capello's kind of screwed this up by his own actions, I think putting Terry back in with the armband was the right move, no disrespect for Ferdinand. The next controversy he has on his hands is the sending home of 5 Champions League players before the Ghana friendly, which is having some of the folks who bought tickets for that match feeling a little short changed.

Major props to Scott Parker though, he played an awesome match. I'd hate to see West Ham go down, just for his sake.

Can't wait to get a look at Carroll and some of the rest of the squad in the Ghana match!