B1: Germany 2 - 0 Poland - 08/06/08

[z187]

germany played well, now I can see why many consider them the faviourte for the title.

[RunX]

Prinz Poldi Great win .. ! croatia next ! :@

[Podolski]

well done germany solid win solid play
MOTM LUKAS!
jansen was crap
frings, ballack, fritz, klose played well

[__-SNAKE-__]

Croatia will not be the same as today.

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Podolski double gets Germany going

An emotional Lukas Podolski struck in either half to give Germany an ideal start to their UEFA EURO 2008™ Group B campaign with victory against debutants Poland in Klagenfurt.

Star turn
The Polish-born FC Bayern München forward produced a vintage display as the three-time European champions recorded a solid win, putting Germany in front with a simple finish midway through the first half. Poland, in their first EURO finals match, pressed for a way back into the game but struggled to unpick Germany's defence and Podolski finally ended their hopes with an emphatic volley.

Krzynówek chance
With national pride and neighbourly rivalry adding an extra frisson and both sides keen to make a positive start there was plenty at stake, and it was Poland who began the brighter as they went in search of a first victory against Germany. Leo Beenhakker's team came close in the opening minute when Jens Lehmann got tangled up with Per Mertesacker while trying to deal with a high cross and the ball fell invitingly to Jacek Krzynówek, but the VfL Wolfsburg midfielder blazed over.

Gómez goes close
Germany responded in kind to signal their own intent, and should have opened the scoring after Michael Ballack sprang the Poland offside trap to release Miroslav Klose into an ocean of space down the left. The Mannschaft's other Polish-born striker bore down on Artur Boruc's goal but elected to pass and Mario Gómez was unable to make a proper connection at full stretch with the goalkeeper stranded, the ball slipping narrowly the wrong side of the post.

Podolski opener
Germany looked the stronger team as the first half unfolded and duly went ahead in the 20th minute after again catching their opponents flat-footed at the back. Gómez sent Klose clear on the right and this time the square pass was perfect delivered, leaving Podolski to tuck the ball neatly past Boruc. Head bowed and unsmiling, the scorer denied himself a true celebration out of respect for his heritage. Maciej Żurawski might have levelled while Gómez could have increased the German advantage with a clever flick, yet half-time came with no change to the scoreline.

Poland rally
Ballack could have strengthened Germany's position two minutes into the second period but his attempt skewed awkwardly off his thigh. Poland were far from out of it, however, maintaining a healthy share of possession without making significant inroads, while their supporters behind the goal provided plenty of encouragement. Those fans were further heartened as substitute Roger Guerreiro made some surging runs down the left, then Euzebiusz Smolarek had an effort ruled out for offside.

Clinching second
The alert Boruc tipped over Ballack's well-struck attempt but was powerless to prevent Podoski sealing the points in the 72nd minute – few goalkeepers would have kept it out. A swift passing move was cut off by Paweł Golański yet substitute Bastian Schweinsteiger dispossessed the defender and, although Klose missed his kick, Podolski showed how it should be done with a sweet left-foot volley. This time he allowed himself a satisfied smile and he was fully entitled to it having given Germany their first finals win since the Czech Republic were defeated in the EURO '96™ showpiece. Poland's long wait to overcome Germany continues but they next face co-hosts Austria on Thursday, when Germany play today's other winners Croatia.

euro2008.uefa.com - Tournament - Matches

Typical performance from Germany, solid in defence, very few missed passes in midfield and very effective up front.

Frings had a great game, he bossed around the midfield and went forward a lot, was a lot more dominant than Ballack who I thought was rather quiet. My man of the match goes to Frngs then. Podolski comes second for obvious reasons (the 2 goals) and Klose comes third.

It's a real shame that Gomez couldn't score on the 4th minute after that pass from Klose, but I don't think Löw will bench him because I thought this XI/formation worked really well.

Good start for Germany, I'm hoping they top the group, so that Portugal will only have to face them in the semi-finals.

[Sven]

Ballack and Frings relationship is very strong point, both suit each other, both know how to take turns.

[Vargas_4]

Good display from Germany. Really glad we got a good win.

Lehmann was crap. It hadn't been 1 minute when he made a blunder and almost gave Poland a chance to score. He later on made some decent saves. I hope he doesn't get nervous again. He can't be so clumsy.

Lahm was fucking awesome. Really liked his game. I felt Metzelder, Mertesacker & Lehmann need to communicate more. I felt they weren't getting on the same page at times.

Jansen was not good. All Poland's attacks came from his flank. If he hopes to keep up a starting position, he better get focused.

Fritz was actually pretty good. I liked his performance a lot. Frings & Ballack solid as always. Podolski was pure class. Scored 2 goals and wasn't even up front as striker! Lol. That's what's cool about putting Podolski on the left. He has the enough accuracy to make his chances count. Loved the 2nd goal. Though i felt bad seeing him kinda inner-struggled taking the fact he scored against his country of birth.

Klose did a good match. I know he should have really taking the opportunity by himself but i think he surprised us all giving it to Gomez. It even surprised him! I feel Klose should really evaluate the situations. If Gomez was a bit more open, then yeah, give the pass. If not, have a crack at it. But oh well.

I didn't agree bringing Schweinsteiger in for Fritz. He was having a really good match. I would have subbed Schweinsteiger for Jansen. Send Lahm to the other side and drop Fritz more at the back. Leaving Schweini on the right side of the field.

Anyways, good win. But we still need to improve.

Jansen needs to start playing better. He's our most defensive player in that position and was the most vulnurable during the whole game.

We really need to work on our crosses. We wasted many corners and set pieces because of that.

Anyways, good effort! Looking forward to our next match. If we win it, we can have the luxury of resting some key players and give other players a chance to prove their worth.

[Dragoen]

Great Game the best so far in this tournament.

In the first half we dominated Poland completly. There were some insecuritys at the beginning of the second half but the team didi the right thing to free themselves by scoring another goal.

Fritz and Podolski(who was MOM clearly) were both great on the wings.

Oh and the german comeentator said that Fritz was subed out because he was a bit bruised in the back and Löw did not want to risk anything.

[Buddha14]

Klose's misskick he'll claim that as an assist. Good finish though. Plays better for country than club.

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Originally Posted by Buddha14

Klose's misskick he'll claim that as an assist. Good finish though. Plays better for country than club.

It wasn't a misskick. I know Klose better than you, he always assists in those situations.

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Löw takes heart from German success

Joachim Löw was delighted to kick off UEFA EURO 2008™ – his first tournament as Germany coach – with a victory and he admitted the 2-0 win against Poland in Klagenfurt had given him great personal satisfaction. By contrast, Leo Beenhakker spoke of the disappointment and depression in the Poland dressing room after his side's brush with a "top-quality" opponent in Group B.

Joachim Löw, Germany coach
Of course we are happy that we won the first game and we are happy with the performance. As a coach, you keep asking yourself where your team are at, right up until the big kick-off. For the three weeks until the tournament starts, you don't have the chance to measure yourself against anybody, but we played well. We had one main focus, which was to win our opening match, and we did that. I think the team proved their determination and their focus. In the first half we had a number of great moves and the game went very smoothly. We can be very happy with the result.

The whole side played very well, not just Lukas Podolski. He scored the two goals and we know that Lukas can perform well and can be a threat to any goalkeeper. At his best, he is a very dangerous player. At times we were also attacking from midfield, while Miroslav Klose and Mario Gómez both contributed to the goals. There were a couple of dangerous situations for us so I'm glad we managed to get the second goal. The atmosphere was good in the dressing room because all that pressure was gone. Everyone was happy.

Leo Beenhakker, Poland coach
You can imagine that we are very disappointed. We competed well and we tried to make it our match but it wasn't easy because we had a genuinely top-quality opponent, with players playing at their highest levels. I wasn't impressed with the second goal. The main thing, especially after half-time when you are losing 1-0, is to try to create a little bit more pressure from the midfield and up front. Automatically you start to play a little more open and then you can suffer the consequence of a second goal. Germany are still the world champions of counterattacking.

At least we tried to get a goal and we made some chances, but after their second goal it was over – that's for sure. We played more or less at the same level as them for 70 minutes, but the last 20 minutes were ones to forget. After the match, everybody was quite depressed by the result but, at the same time, we are still in the tournament. That's what it's all about, whether you are in the EURO or the World Cup, but we have only three or four days now to recover physicaly and mentally.

euro2008.uefa.com - Tournament - Matches

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Ballack: We Made Them Pay

German captain Michael Ballack believes that Poland were made to pay for allowing too much space.

Germany triumphed 2-0 in Klagenfurt thanks to two goals from Lukas Podolski, despite the fact that he was playing an unorthodox left midfield role.Skipper, Ballack was left pleased with his side’s showing.

“We were highly concentrated and made very few errors, and we should perhaps have scored one or two more goals” Ballack admitted.

"But then we allowed Poland too much possession. However, we hit them at just the right time. All in all, we deserved to win.

"Against Croatia the group can now be decided, and we want to go and win that game” he added.

Asked what he thought Podolski would be feeling after scoring against the country we was born, he said: "I cannot say. It is something you will have to ask him.

"However, what I know is he wants to win with us. But I guess this can have a special meaning."

Goal.com - Euro 2008 - Ballack: We Made Them Pay

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Podolski Torn Over Poland Pounding

Germany striker Lukas Podolski has confessed he has ‘mixed feelings’ after scoring a brace to down the country of his birth…

The Bayern Munich hitman was born in the industrial city of Gliwice, before he and his family move to the German town of Bergheim while he was a child.

And while the 23-year-old admitted there was hint of regret as Germany ran out 2-0 winners in their Group B opener in Klagenfurt, he is focused on maintaining that sort of form throughout EURO 2008.

"Obviously I have mixed feelings," said Podolski. "I was born in Poland and I have a big family there so it's a very important thing for me. We applied what we worked on in training and must push forward from here.

"As I said, this is the first step and we must continue – we can't relax. We have two days to refresh ourselves and then it's back to training and everything continues from there."

Obvious

Podolski was named man of the match by the UEFA Technical Study Group, as he provided a constant threat to the Polish defence at the Wörthersee Stadion.

Roy Hodgson, one of nine expert panellists, claimed the decision was tougher than it appeared on paper, given the efforts of Germany’s midfield duo Michael Ballack and Torsten Frings.

"I think he was the obvious choice for the award because, apart from playing very well, he scored two goals," said the Fulham boss.

"However, it would be unfair to say he was the difference between the two teams, because I feel the two central midfield players, Ballack and Frings, were very important.

"But it would be hard to justify not giving Podolski the award because he was very impressive and scored both goals."

Hard Done By

Hodgson added that he believes Poland performed well against their more fancied opponents, insisting their downfall came at the hands of Germany’s steadfast defence.

"Germany are a hard team to beat because they have a lot of experience, pace and strength in their team," he said. "I thought the Polish had an equal share of possession but came up against a strong defence.

"At 1-0 down they were having to chase the game so they were always in danger of being caught on the counterattack as they were obliged to throw people forward. But they can feel a little hard done by."

Goal.com - Euro 2008 - Podolski Torn Over Poland Pounding

[__-SNAKE-__]

Originally Posted by Vargas_4

Good display from Germany. Really glad we got a good win.

Lehmann was crap. It hadn't been 1 minute when he made a blunder and almost gave Poland a chance to score. He later on made some decent saves. I hope he doesn't get nervous again. He can't be so clumsy.

Agreed he wasnt reliable maybe cause of lacking match practise, all he did was complain like a bitch that his defense had let in a shot.

Lahm was fucking awesome. Really liked his game. I felt Metzelder, Mertesacker & Lehmann need to communicate more. I felt they weren't getting on the same page at times.

Agreed on Lahm, he was excellent as always, Metzelder and Mertesacker do have good communication with eachother but to me it seems that they didnt trust the keeper much(cant blame them) Mertesacker was the best in central defence.

Jansen was not good. All Poland's attacks came from his flank. If he hopes to keep up a starting position, he better get focused.

I know he could have done a little better, but he did do ok for most of it, good overlaps and good teamwork with Lukas.

Fritz was actually pretty good. I liked his performance a lot. Frings & Ballack solid as always. Podolski was pure class. Scored 2 goals and wasn't even up front as striker! Lol. That's what's cool about putting Podolski on the left. He has the enough accuracy to make his chances count. Loved the 2nd goal. Though i felt bad seeing him kinda inner-struggled taking the fact he scored against his country of birth.

Fritz had a great 1st half, was surprised actually how good he was, I didnt like Ballack's role, it doesnt suit him, he's more of an attacking midfield than a central type, Frings is more a defensive role, Podolski was surprisingly good as a left winger and i liked that the fact he didnt celebrate neither of the goals.

Klose did a good match. I know he should have really taking the opportunity by himself but i think he surprised us all giving it to Gomez. It even surprised him! I feel Klose should really evaluate the situations. If Gomez was a bit more open, then yeah, give the pass. If not, have a crack at it. But oh well.

I agree with you 100% on Klose, he should stop always trying to give an assist and sometimes taking the chances for himself, Gomez was unlucky but he did give the pass to Klose for the 1st goal(Btw the italian media RaiUno stated that Klose was offside).

I didn't agree bringing Schweinsteiger in for Fritz. He was having a really good match. I would have subbed Schweinsteiger for Jansen. Send Lahm to the other side and drop Fritz more at the back. Leaving Schweini on the right side of the field.

Well puttin Schweini in really helped he is a creative midfielder and seeing Lahm having a good game on the left I guess Low didnt want to alter the defense much.

Anyways, good win. But we still need to improve.

True.

Jansen needs to start playing better. He's our most defensive player in that position and was the most vulnurable during the whole game.

We really need to work on our crosses. We wasted many corners and set pieces because of that.

Anyways, good effort! Looking forward to our next match. If we win it, we can have the luxury of resting some key players and give other players a chance to prove their worth.

It's true that the quality of crosses werent the best especially at Corners. Croatia wont be as easy as Poland, remember 1998. I doubt even if we beat Croatia will rest some key players for the game against the Austrians.

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(Btw the italian media RaiUno stated that Klose was offside).

Bullshit, the replays clearly shown that he was in the same line as the Polish defender.