Cesc Fabregas, Spain confident

The quarterfinals of Euro 2008 are underway and there are indeed some interesting matches ahead, but I want to speak about the Italy versus Spain game on Sunday.
The Spanish will indeed be looking to overcome their quarterfinals jinx by beating the defending World Champions, Italy, who have looked rather shaky so far in this competition. Spain on the other hand has been playing well and have won all three of their group matches, and if momentum counts for anything they will beat Italy come Sunday. I am very excited about this game and hopefully Spain can live up to their hype.
Cesc Fabregas stated in an interview today that he believes his team will overcome their Italian opponents, primarily because they take care of the ball much better in terms of possession. I too agree with his statements, as long as Spain settle into their rhythm, the game is theirs. Don't get me wrong I'm not writing Italy off, they are a very good team and I respect them very much, but they seem to be struggling in the aspect of cohesion and chemistry. They don't have a fast counter attack like Spain or the Netherlands and their creativity seems a little watered down. However in football anything can happen.
Spain will certainly be hot favorites to lift the trophy if they do beat Italy, and with their morale bursting the roof right now, they certainly believe that impossible is nothing.

Netherlands: Reasons For Success @ Euro

With the Netherlands securing their spot in the quarter-finals of Euro 2008 with an impressive 4-1 display over France, that literally had me jumping out of my seat, I just want to point out why I think they're being so successful thus far in this competition.

Attitude
Wesley Sneijder declared before this game that he and his teammates are afraid of no one and you can vividly see it. These players really want this cup, you see it in their attitude on the pitch ,they never look like loosing and they play at a high energy level especially on their fast-breaks.

Chemistry
With Ruud van Nistelrooy, Robben and Sneijder all playing at Madrid, it is clear that this team has an upper hand in terms of knowing each other very well. You can see how easily they play as a unit and definitely playing with each other at the same club is a big factor in competitions like this one, where teams are comprised of players who play in various leagues.

Raw Talent
Just take a look at Sneijder's screamer in the top V, Robben's fantastic left footed strike, which he scored even while Gallas was closing his space, Van Nistelrooy's incredible ability where if he isn't scoring he's providing, and also with the likes of Van Persie and Van der Vaart. Clearly the Dutch aren't short of raw talent, this team oozes it through their pores.

Good Management
I know many people question Marco Van Basten's ways and tactics, but clearly he has the formula for winning. Italy blamed their lost on the poor tactics of their manager, never giving the Dutch credit for the way they played, but they proved today that Italy's beat-down was no fluke. Van Basten's tactics and decisions may be questionable to some, but let's face it, he's Dutch, and the Dutch produce good managers.

After seeing the Netherlands destroy two heavyweights in this competition, I definitely see them going all the way to the final. Let's wait and see if my prediction holds true.

Nehtherlands the Shock of Euro 2008?

After watching the Netherlands win convincingly over current World Champions, Italy, in their first group encounter at Euro 2008, I felt compelled to write something.
Everyone knows the Dutch have quality and they are capable of beating anybody, but nobody probably thought they would have thrashed Italy the way they did. I myself was so shocked but I throughly enjoyed the display they put on. Shadows of doubt are often placed on the Dutch because although they possess extreamely gifted players, they too like Spain often disappoint on the big stage. However after defeating current World Champions, Italy, one is left to ponder if they have what it takes to win Euro 2008.
Ajax, Barcelona and Dutch legend Johan Cruyff said in an interview before the match with Italy, that his country has a good team but he questioned head coach, Marco Van Basten's tactics, saying he has doubts about them. I wonder what he thinks of his tactics after Italy's 3-0 thrashing. Tactically what I gathered from the way the Dutch played, is that they counter attacked very well, caught Italy off-guard when they pushed heavily up the pitch, they found their wide players frequently to stretch Italy's defense and they often looked to beat the offside trap with quality balls down the middle. To me they played like an ideal Dutch team and I personally found nothing wrong with Van Basten's tactics, as they played quality attacking football.
I was going to state who I personally thought stood out in this game, however it is very hard to point a finger at any one player because overall this was an excellent team effort. The Netherlands truly played like a cohesive unit.
It is still early days in the competition and we are yet to see if the Dutch will play this well again, but after their first game against Italy, they have definitely tipped themselves as one of the favorites to win Euro 2008.