Thanks to the late-headed goal scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal was able to claim a 1-0 victory against the Czech Republic on Thursday, which in turn sends them into the semifinals of Euro 2012.

The first half of the match was considered disappointing for the first quarterfinal match of the competition. Early chances by the Czech Republic only came from corner kicks, which they were unable to capitalize on due to very poor deliveries.

Portugal seemed to get into the game later in the first half, when Ronaldo fired a beautiful shot that Czech goalkeeper Petr Cech was able to save with an amazing dive. The goal would not have counted if it had gone in, due to referee Howard Webb stopping play mid-pass that was not heard by the Portuguese forward.

In the final minute of the first half, Ronaldo came up again after handling a great cross from Raul Meireles. He gained control of the ball and kicked it straight into the post, the only thing that could stop him from giving Portugal the lead. The chance gave off a strong sense of determination from Portugal, who went into halftime in control of the game even though both teams have not yet scored.

Portugal came out ready to play, with Hugo Almeida missing a header by inches only a couple minutes into the second half. Ronaldo showed up yet again five minutes later with a close chance, taking a bending free-kick that struck the post again instead of hitting the back of the net.

The Czech Republic did not seem as though they were trying to take any offensive chances; Portugal controlled much of the possession throughout the early part of the second half, and the Czech’s seemed to stay on the defensive no matter what. The only real chance for the Czech Republic came in at the 60 minute mark, when Vaclav Pilar managed to speed around the Portuguese defenders with ease, only to give the ball away with a disappointing attempt at a cross.

After several more attempts from Portugal, which were all wide of the net or beautifully saved by Cech, Ronaldo was finally able to capitalize in the 80th minute after a great cross from Joao Moutinho. Ronaldo found room and headed the ball directly into the ground, which in turn ricocheted over the diving Petr Cech and into the top of the goal.

This lone goal was all that was needed in order to send Portugal into the semifinals. For a team that has never won a title at the Euro’s, Portugal heads into the semifinals as an underdog that shows no signs of letting this chance slip through their fingers.

Portugal will play in their semifinal match on June 27 against the winner of the quarterfinal match between Spain and France, which is scheduled for June 23.

Image Courtesy of  Rui Alexandre Araujo / Shutterstock.com

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The Czech Republic, who were humbled in their opening game against Russia, took on Greece at the Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw, Poland in search of their opening win in the tournament.

It did not take long before the Czech fans were celebrating as they took the lead in just the third minute of the game. Veteran player Tomas Hubschman unlocked the Greek defense with a pinpoint pass for Petr Jiracek, and Czech midfielder had little difficulty beating Kostas Chalkias with his left foot.

No sooner than the Czech fans’ cheers had died down, they were once more on their feet celebrating their second goal of the game. A drilled cross from Gebre Selassie was dealt with poorly by Greek goalkeeper Chalkias, who only managed to palm the ball into the path of the arriving Vaclav Pilar and the ball was bundled into the back of the net off of the knee of Pilar.

Chalkias’ nightmare start to the game came to an early end as he walked off with an injury to be replaced by Michalis Sifakis, who was almost immediately called upon to make a good diving save to prevent Tomas Rosicky from extending the Czechs’ lead.

Despite being down 2-0, and in desperate need of at least one goal before half time, the Greece team looked lethargic for the rest of the half, failing to trouble the Czech defense with any meaningful attacks. The closest Greece came to pulling a goal back was through Giorgos Fotakis, who headed the ball in at the far post from a cross, only for the linesman to raise his flag for offside and ensure the score remained unchanged at the interval.

Instead of pressing hard to get back into the game in the second half, Greece was lucky to not be further behind when Selassie’s shot found its way to the feet of Milas Baros but the striker couldn’t connect properly with the ball and wasted a golden opportunity.

A lifeline was gifted the Greeks, however, when a cross was spilled by Czech goalkeeper, Petr Cech, following a mix up with Tomas Sivok, leaving Fanis Gekas with the easiest of finishes to give Greece their first goal.

The goal seemed to spur on Greece who was now in control of the game, but a combination of bad finishing and a lack of a final pass saw the Greeks spurn a host of chances as the game moved into the final 15 minutes.

Despite doing much better in the second half, Greece was unable to find a much needed equalizer, leaving them in the precarious position of needing to beat the strong Russia side in their last group game if they are to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout stages. The Czechs on the other hand are in a much better position going into their last game against Poland and, providing they can replicate their form from the first half of this game, will fancy their chances of qualifying from the group.

Image Courtesy of  photoplanet.am / Shutterstock.com

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Chelsea secured a famous victory on a cold, wet and windy night in London, as Barcelona hit everything but the back of the net in a frustrating evening for the reigning champions. Didier Drogba’s goal during half-time was enough for a slender 1-0 win to take Spain, but they rode their luck as both Alexis Sanchez and Pedro hit the woodwork, and a hatful more chances were missed during the 90 minutes.

There has never been a dull encounter between Barcelona and Chelsea, and this one set a similar tone early on, as Barcelona dominated possession, but Drogba caused considerable problems for the current winners. Barcelona threatened to cut Chelsea open, inside the first ten minutes, when Andres Iniesta found Alexis Sanchez onside, but the Chilean’s loop over Petr Cech came back off the crossbar.

The rhythm of the game was disrupted by a few small injuries, but Barcelona was still in control and Cesc Fabregas should have scored, when he sliced his shot off Sanchez just six yards from goal. As the game progressed past its half hour mark, Carles Puyol and Didier Drogba in particular were in war, Drogba being bundled to the ground consistently, whilst the 34-year-old Spaniard seemed to be struggling with a wrist injury.

Chelsea was frustrating the superstars, but Messi was pulling the strings when he could find space behind the Chelsea midfield. Minutes before half-time he released the ex-Arsenal midfielder Fabregas, whose dink over Cech was cleared off the line by a covering Ashley Cole. Drogba was frustrating Barcelona with a mixture of brilliant hold up play, and poor attempts at hitting the deck regularly to disrupt play.

But right on half-time, Drogba showed his class, as Chelsea broke up field from a Frank Lampard pass, Brazilian Ramires ran onto it and found Drogba, who squeezed his shot past Victor Valdes to give Chelsea a 1-0 lead at the break.

The second half continued very much as the first had ended. Barcelona was well on top, with Chelsea relying on the bullishness of Drogba up front for some respite. It was all very easy on the eye from the Spanish champions, but there was little to no end product, until a lovely link-up between Sanchez and Fabregas ended up with Sanchez having a shooting opportunity less than six-yards out, but somehow the winger slid the ball wide off the post.

Messi was coming more into the game as time went on, and Pep Guardiola introduced Pedro and Thiago to try and secure a crucial away goal in the final twenty minutes. The slippery surface was catching several of the away side’s players out, as the rain poured down at Stamford Bridge, but Barcelona still couldn’t find a goal despite being camped in Chelsea’s half.

With just five minutes remaining, pretty much all ten of Barcelona’s outfield players were in the opposition half, and Isaac Cuenca replaced Xavi, before Petr Cech made a big save from Carles Puyol with minutes remaining. Chelsea tightened things up even further by replacing their winger with a right-back in the shape of Jose Bosingwa, as the away fans became increasingly restless by their team’s inability to break down the Chelsea wall.

There was still one more piece of drama in the last action of the match. Pedro’s curling effort hit the post and rebounded to an unmarked Sergio Busquets, who put his left-footed effort well over the bar, with an almost open goal gaping in front of him.

That was the last kick of the game, as Roberto Di Matteo’s side held on for a hard-earned victory to take to the Nou Camp.

Image Courtesy of    I am a True Blue – Chelsea Football Club

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