Euro 08

The semis of Euro 08 are over and the finals are here. Two countries still in the running and here’s my view on them.

Germany- Germany was lucky against Turkey. Scoring in injury-time to get the win, they were damm lucky. The kind of luck that makes me thinks they will be favorites against Spain. You can never write off the Germans and Coach Joachim Low has managed to tweak his team into a winning one. Michael Ballack is basically playing as a second striker behind Miroslav Klose with Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger supporting in the wings. However, this system leak goals and with the running of Fernando Torres, the speed of Silva, the passing of Xavi; Spain will score. In my humble view, Torston Frings must play or else the German defense is in for a torrid time against the Spaniards.

Spain- Don’t let the 3-0 score line fool you. I thought Russia had the better of the game before Xavi managed to put Spain in front for good. Since the group stages ended, I think Spain has been more interested in keeping clean sheets than scoring goals. Not a bad idea actually as they do have David Villa and Fernando Torres up front. However, if both teams play with their same style, than Germany will have an extra man in midfield. As good as I think Marcos Senna has been, that’s a big problem for Spain. For Spain, a lot will depend on whether Xavi and Senna can stop Ballack and company from running riot in the midfield.

Winner: Germany