Euro 2012 blog: Day 12 lessons
The group stages came to a close as Ukraine fell agonizingly short of the quarter-finals and England topped the group as Sweden stunned France.
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England 1 – Ukraine 0
Sweden 2 – France 0
Final group
standings: England, France, Ukraine, Sweden (teams in bold advance)
– Goal line
technology is long overdue. The powers in control of football have
been dragging their feet for years, but the tenor for introducing a better way
to decide which attempts are goals and which are not only grows with each
controversy. This time the victim was Ukraine, as Mario Devic’s 63rd minute
shot equalized for the co-hosts before being ruled out. It is impossible to
know whether the Yellow-Blues would’ve scored the second goal they needed to go
through, but the outcome should never be based on a split-second decision.
– The infallibility
of host nations is a myth. There was a time when the host nation was
expected to win the title. Later, this belief was adjusted to regard hosting
as, at the very least, a free pass to the knockout rounds. But recent results
have proven this theory wrong. Austria and Switzerland both failed to get out
of the group stages at Euro 2008, as did South Africa at World Cup 2010. Even
Argentina underwhelmed as hosts of the 2011 Copa America, bowing out in the
quarter-finals. The failure of both Poland and Ukraine to move on is just
another blow.
– The groups were
uneven. The condensed field normally results in abnormal parody, and
UEFA can’t help the way that the draw plays out. But Groups B and C were noticeably
tougher than their counterparts. Czech Republic and Greece (Group A) will be
scratching their heads about how they made it this far, while Germany and
Portugal fought tooth and nail just to get through. Croatia (Group C) somehow
finds itself out despite playing some of the most exciting football of the
tournament, while France and England look unlikely to advance after final day
struggles.
– Sweden did
themselves proud. “Playing for pride” is an overused cliche of the
final group stage games, normally equated to an already eliminated side bowing
out gracefully with a 2-1 or 1-0 loss. The Swedes went above and beyond,
shocking a French side that had the look of a dark horse title contender. The
kindness of Sweden’s fans has been one of my major takeaways from Kyiv thus far
— plus, nearly the entire contingent stuck around for the meaningless France
game — and it was great to see their dedication rewarded.
– Can France
harness their strengths? I admittedly missed the entire
France-Sweden game to take in the Ukraine finale in the Kyiv fan zone, but even
if France played the finest game ever by a losing side, it is hard to justify a
two-goal to a team with nothing to play for. At their peak, France has the
attacking flair to go toe-to-toe with every team at the tournament. Their
mental fragility and weakness at the back, though, could easily be exposed by
defending champion Spain. The Spaniards have showed some inconsistencies of
their own, making this the most intriguing of the quarter-final match ups.