Poland 1-1 Greece: 5 Things We Learned from EURO Opener

What a way to kick off EURO 2012.

One could not have asked for a more dramatic match to start off the competition or for a match with more talking points.

Two goals, two red cards, multiple mistakes by key players and multiple huge plays by unlikely substitutes.

Now, it clearly was not the greatest football ever played; it was entertaining, though, and isn't that what we all want?

Here are the five things we learned from the first match of EURO 2012.

Referees Need to Be Screened a Little Harder

About a minute into researching referee Carlos Velasco Carballo one can see that he gives out by far the most red cards in La Liga.

To be exact, Carballo gave out 15 red cards in 19 matches just this season, giving him a sending off rate of 78 percent, 18 more than second and 42 percent more than third.

This came through in his refereeing of the match, as he sent off two players, one of which (Sokratis) was a disgustingly soft penalty.

Further, he made many questionable calls for fouls and yellows.

How could he have been selected to represent Spain at the EURO with such a record? Is this the type of refereeing that is wanted?

Plain and simple, he should not have been here and should not continue refereeing.

The Power of the Super-Sub Is Alive and Well

Perhaps he should have been starting from the beginning, but the impact of Dimitris Salpigidis was incredible.

The little man came off the bench and immediately stuck the ball into the net with his first touch of the match.

Later, it was substitute Konstantinos Fortounis using his first ball to deliver a beautiful pass over the top to Salpigidis, who won the huge penalty.

On the other side, it was substitute keeper Tyton for Poland who preserved the draw.

Robert Lewandowski Is as Good as Advertised

Borussia Dortmund's Robert Lewandowski provided a huge threat in attack for Poland and got himself inches away from a few goals.

His fine positioning and read of the game led to the Polish goal, as he allowed for a cross to find his head and directed a powerful shot right past the keeper.

Expect to hear more from Lewandowski.

Goalkeeping Is a Problem for Both Nations

Coming into the match, Poland seemed to have the distinct advantage in terms of goalkeeping; however, both had great troubles between the sticks.

In fact, both goals were results of some very questionable goalkeeping.

For Poland's goal, Greek keeper Kostas Chalkias couldn't seem to make up his mind as to whether to come for the ball or stay on his line; instead, he ended up in no man's land with no hope of making the save.

For Poland and Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny, it was a bit of a horror show.  On the Greek goal, he got caught up with his defender and ended up spilling the ball and allowing the goal.  Later, when his defense was caught off by a great ball over the top, he ended up taking down a Greek striker and getting sent off.  Now Poland will have to go with reserve keeper Tyton, who did make the big penalty save.

These teams definitely have issues between the posts.

Group A Is Really Open for Anyone to Get Through

Both Poland and Greece were disappointing in their first match.

Now, no matter how Russia and the Czech Republic look in their match, this group looks to be wide open for anyone to progress.

This is especially true with the home side of Poland being subjected to a match with Russia without their top goalkeeper.

Russia and the Czech Republic must be thrilled with how this first match played out.

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