Euro 2016 Round of 16 Predictions:pt 2

Today I saw my Poland vs Switzerland prediction get pretty close to being 100% correct! It went into extra time like I thought it might and Poland came out with the win. Unfortunately for me and the 100% accuracy of my prediction, the game went into penalties. Wales didn't dominate Northern Ireland as much as I thought they would; they seemed put off being the team in the favorite role. Still, Bale and co. pulled out the win to advance to the quarter finals. Portugal vs Croatia was a game in which I predicted Croatia to win, and I really wanted them to beat Portugal. Ricardo Quaresma denied me of my dreams when he headed in the rebound off Ronaldo's shot in the 117th minute.  Hopefully Poland can give Portugal trouble in the quarterfinals.

"The Harder Side"

Germany vs Slovakia
As mentioned in my last post, one side of the knockout round bracket is seen as much easier than the other side. Germany takes on Slovakia in one of the matches on the so called harder side. Germany is the defending world champion and the Germans should be able to handle Slovakia. Slovakia is not a terrible team; they held England to a nil-nil draw and beat Russia 2-1. Slovakia and their star man Marek Hamsik will definitely put up a fight but in the end I think Germany just has too much power. Germany will advance to the quarter finals.

Italy vs Spain
Italy and Spain were the two teams in the finals at Euro 2012; one of them will be leaving after the round of 16 in this year's competition. This is an intriguing matchup to happen so early in the tournament. Spain has been on a decline since winning the Euros in 2012. They did not advance out of the group stage in the 2014 World Cup and got humiliated 5-1 by the Netherlands in the process of not advancing. But Spain are still Spain, and they have a lot of talent. Although Italy lost to Ireland 1-0 in their final group stage game, Italy already knew they were going to be first in the group so that game might not be the best reflection the Italian side. They did beat Belgium 2-0 and Sweden 1-0 in their first two games; Italy's defense is about as solid as anyone's in the tournament. The likes of Iniesta and David Silva will really have to work hard to get through Italy's back line. I have to pick Italy to win this one. It should be a pretty good game to watch and hopefully the Azzuri can pull out a victory.

France vs Ireland
As the host nation takes the pitch in Lyon tomorrow they will want to put in a dominate performance over Ireland. The Irish got a late winner from Robbie Brady against Italy to send them into the knockout rounds. I have always loved Ireland for some reason and I love supporting them in every match they play. I even have an Ireland jersey with my last name on the back. Unfortunately for me and the Irish the French team should win this game tomorrow. France let one or two of their starters rest in their last group stage match including their star man Dimitri Payet. These players should be rested and ready to play. Ireland could put up a little resistance but France will win the game.

Iceland vs England
I actually think this will be a good match. Iceland, despite only having a population of around 330,000, have proved they are not a bad side at all. Iceland tied Portugal and Hungary and THEN BEAT AUSTRIA! Iceland works together great as a team, they have a star man in Gylfi Sigurdsson, and their keeper is outstanding. England is having a typical England tournament. Lots of hype and expectations surrounded them when coming into the tournament and then they drew Russia, barely beat Wales, and drew Slovakia. Both teams have quality and this is a great matchup. I love Iceland, I was excited when I heard they qualified for the competition and I cheer wildly when I watch them play. This game is hard for me to call because my love for Iceland might be clouding my judgment. I think it will be close and it might depend on who Hodgson decides to play for England. This might not be my best prediction ever, but I have Iceland winning this one in a tight and thrilling match.

Thanks for reading! More to come!

Euro 2016 Round of 16 Predictions: pt 1

One day and just a year ago was the last time I posted on this blog. Yes that was a long time ago and blah blah blah. But now, I'm back and one of the most exciting competitions in football has been going on this summer in France. Euro 2016 kicked off 13 days ago as the host nation took the pitch at the Stade de France to play Romania. Dimitri Payet gave les bleus all 3 points with a stunning strike in the 89th minute. That set the tone for the tournament and now it is almost time for the knock out rounds.


"The Easier Side"




Switzerland vs Poland
One side of the knockout round bracket appears much easier than the other side; one side of the bracket holds many major championship winners while one side holds underdogs that could make a deep run into the tournament. The first game on the "easier" side is Poland vs Switzerland. This should actually be a pretty good game as both teams have some star power, and a good supporting cast to go along with players like Xhaka (who's having a great tournament) and Shaqiri for Switzerland, and Lewandowski and Blaszczykowski for Poland. Switzerland took Argentina deep into extra time two years ago in the World Cup before Di Maria broke Swiss hearts, and Poland could have beaten Germany in their group stage match this Euro tournament. This will be a close match and it could go deep into extra time; I have Poland pulling out a victory and advancing to the quarter finals.


Croatia vs Portugal
Portugal might be blessed that they finished third in their group and got thrown over to the easier side of the knockout bracket. The fact is, Portugal is not that great of team despite being ranked 8th in the world. Unfortunately for Ronaldo and Portugal, Croatia is no easy task. Croatia just beat Spain and that was without their star midfield man Luka Modric. Modric is not the only quality player Croatia has, Rakitic, the Barcelona midfielder, is no slouch and Perisic bagged the late winner against Spain. Mandzukic, the Juventus man, is another striking great striking option for Croatia. If Croatia has no distractions from their fans, Croatia should beat Portugal and move on to the next round.


Wales vs Northern Ireland
Wales was, and still is, my sleeper team to make deep run in the tournament. With the likes of Bale and Ramsey on their side with the supporting cast of Joe Allen (who played great against Russia), Neil Taylor and Joe Ledley, Wales is a great team. They play hard and finished first in their group, above England. After beating Russia convincingly, and pulling out a 2-1 win over Slovakia, Wales should handle Northern Ireland easily. Wales will advance to the quarter finals where they will either meet Belgium or Hungary.


Hungary vs Belgium
This is hard game to call. Hungary did not have many expectations, if any at all, coming into this tournament. They ended up winning Group F. They beat Austria handedly and played a great 3-3 draw with Portugal. Belgium, although being the 2nd ranked team in the world, did not convince me that they were a great team in the group stage. Belgium has always been a team, to me, that has great star power but doesn't play well together. For some reason I didn't catch as much action from Group E as I did the other groups. I just didn't watch as many minutes of Group E play, so I may not know enough about Belgium yet. Hungary vs Belgium should be an intriguing match, and for some reason I just have to go with my gut feeling: Hungary is going to win this match and advance to the quarter finals.


That wraps up my predictions for the so called "easier" side of bracket in the Euro 2016 knockout rounds. I'll try to have my predictions up for the other side as soon as I can! Thanks for reading and come back for more!