UEFA Euro 2012: Ranking Group C After Day 3

Group C gave us plenty of goals this evening, as Spain faced Italy and Ireland faced Croatia.

The two last World Cup Champions went head-to-head in an exciting battle of skill and tenacity, and Ireland fell at the first hurdle after waiting 10 years to get into an international tournament.

But who played the best football today?

I have ranked the four teams in order of worst to best.

Ireland

After a foul by Vedran Ćorluka on Doyle, Ireland had a spot kick and fired it beautifully to the far post for a sweet header by Sean St Ledger.

They showed good composure and looked comfortable, though they lacked some possession.

Their defence became weaker and weaker as the Croatians increased the pressure and forced the corner that led to the goal that sent them ahead.

Conceding three minutes in and just before halftime are the two worst times to concede. So they showed amazing grit and determination to still play the way they did.

The third goal was unlucky for Ireland again as it bounced off Shay Given’s head after hitting the woodwork.

A last ditch effort in the last five minutes of added time did nothing to ease the pain. You cannot be conceding sloppy goals at this level of play.

They did show plenty of heart, but their 10 years away from international tournaments made itself clear. There was a lack of tightness at the back, which allowed Croatia to move around unmarked.

It was a shame that Robbie Keane did not get a penalty when he was fouled, as it could have changed the direction of the whole game.

Still, Ireland have bigger problems now in the form of Italy and Spain.

Croatia

Croatia scored within the first three minutes of their game against Ireland, dampening Irish spirits with a header which really should have been saved.

Croatia didn’t quite dominate the possession in the first half, but they certainly looked stronger than Ireland for the majority of the first 45 minutes.

A sloppy bit of marking, and possibly a fan’s whistle, allowed Sean St Ledger to head in an equaliser.

Croatia managed to get deep into the defence by halftime, allowing them to put the pressure on and get ahead in the first half.

Just before halftime, a Croatian corner and a mess in the box resulted in a free ball for Nikica Jelavić to just place into the back of the net. He wasn’t offside because the ball wasn’t played to him by a Croatian, but it was more a case of being in the right place at the right time.

In all fairness to him, he remained composed and placed the ball perfectly into the back of the net.

They put the game out of sight as soon as the second half started with a shot from Mario Mandžukić that bounced off the post, off Shay Given’s head and into the net.

I scored a goal exactly like that on FIFA 12 the other day. I didn’t think it would happen in Euro 2012.

From that point, a Croatian win was a foregone conclusion.

Italy

Italy managed to keep up with Spain in terms of the chances they were creating on goal, but bad decisions in the box and their midfield let them down.

They showed extremely good attacking play in the first half, which allowed them some great opportunities to score.

As the game passed the 30-minute mark, we saw a bit more flair and excitement from Italy as they went back and forth with Spain, the midfield not having much time on the ball at all. It was an exciting first half.

Mario Balotelli came one-on-one with the goalkeeper in the 53rd minute for the best opportunity in the game to score, but fluffed it by taking 15 minutes to line up the shot.

He was substituted for this and the yellow card he received earlier in the game.

Antonio Di Natale scored from a beautiful bit of build-up play and slips it past the keeper despite Antonio Cassano being open.

They played a fairly good game, though they looked marginally weaker than Spain.

Spain

Considering Spain started without a recognised striker, I believe they did very well in terms of how they played against the Italians.

They played a smoother game than their opponents and managed to retain possession in a more effective manner.

David Silva fired off a couple of wayward shots in the first 30 minutes, but Spain were able to delve deeply into the Italian defence—mostly down to Andrés Iniesta.

Silva and Cesc Fàbregas also managed to cause a lot of problems for Italy with extremely good interplay in the box, breaking down the Italian defence with short, measured passes.

Spain upped their game as the second half started, increasing the pressure on the Italian goal and forcing some fantastic saves from Gianluigi Buffon.

Fàbregas fired in an equaliser within three minutes of Italy scoring, further showing that the game was evenly matched.

Fàbregas was very influential in the second half for Spain, creating some marvellous runs though the centre of defence.

Fernando Torres found himself one on one with Buffon seconds after coming on, but the Italian goalkeeper managed to derail the promising attack.

The Spaniards kept up the pressure for the remainder of the game, but could not capitalise on any further chances.

They did play marginally better than Italy, who found it a little more difficult to hold onto the ball.