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Oh no(( 4-1(( Those Spaniards((

Ah, that was a great game, interesting and fun (for me). If it weren't for the complete failure in Russia's defense, the score would have been 2:1 (in favor of Spain). And in general, the Spanish team let the Russians play; they could have scored a couple more goals. P.S.: The fourth goal was scored from an offside position.

Oh, what a bummer (( 4-1 (( Those Spaniards...

Nothing bad happened; in fact, it's even good that we lost like that. I'll explain why.

1. At the 2006 World Cup, the Spaniards completely crushed Ukraine 4-0 in their very first match, utterly dismantling their defense. And what was the result? The Spaniards were quickly eliminated from the tournament and watched from the stands as fans the quarter-final match between Italy and Ukraine. Given the psychological instability of the Spaniards and the unpredictability of our team, a repeat is quite possible.

2. The factor of public opinion. Imagine if Hiddink had fielded a defense consisting of Ignashevich and the Berezutsky brothers in every match, with all their blunders and inconsistencies. He would have been overwhelmed by criticism, with people saying that there are great players like Shirokov and Kolodin, but they weren't given a chance. Now everyone has seen that there is no alternative to these so-called army defenders. Yes, there will be mistakes, but it won't be such an easy game for the opponents in any case. Shirokov is a talented player, but he only really started playing well in his first season; we shouldn't break him, but gradually bring him into the starting lineup.

3. The Swedes and especially the Greeks are among the weakest teams at the European Championship. Anyone who watched the match between Sweden and Greece heard the deafening disapproving whistles from the stands during their game. They really played poorly. Our players are not exactly top-notch either, but the chances are good. We'll wait for Saturday and see what happens.

In principle, it's a very predictable result (I mean the defeat, not the score). But I don't see any reason to despair just yet. Moreover, I believe that a 1-4 defeat is much better than a 0-1 or 1-2. This should slightly ease the pressure on individual players and force the team to play with maximum focus and dedication. I am confident that the chances of SBR advancing from the group are 50/50, and the possibility of advancing even with 4 points is not far-fetched. P.S. Unfortunately, the lack of a top-class defensive midfielder in SBR significantly increases the burden on an already far from flawless defense. On the other hand, neither the Greeks nor the Swedes are Spain.

3. The Swedes and especially the Greeks are among the weakest teams at the European Championship. Anyone who saw the Sweden-Greece match heard the deafening disapproval from the stands during their game. They really played poorly. Our team isn't exactly full of stars either, but our chances are decent. We'll wait until Saturday and see what happens.

These weakest teams won the previous European Championship, and even then, no one considered them among the favorites.
The Romanians and the French also played very poorly, especially the French looked pale (the second half of that match is a clear illustration of that).
So, don't be so categorical in characterizing our opponents. The Greeks are a very organized team; they may not have any outstanding stars, but overall, they are very strong.
The Swedes are individually stronger than the Greeks. If our team plays against Ibrahimovic the same way they played against Villa, we'll get the same result. And unlike the aesthetically-minded Spaniards, who are indeed very weak in spirit, the Swedes are fighters, and their defense will definitely be better than the Spaniards'. By the way, if you take the first half and simply compare the number of chances, both teams have a leaky defense (our team could have equalized in the next attack, but...). Unfortunately, in the second half, our team started walking around the field again, and the number of chances near the Spanish goal sharply decreased (despite the goal, it was from a corner kick). But when our team ran, it was a pleasure to watch. Towards the end of the match, even for some time, the Spaniards started to falter, but then our team messed up and conceded the 4th goal, and it could have been 3-2.

These underdogs won the previous European Championship, and back then, no one considered them among the favorites either.

Lightning strikes twice, but rarely. The Greeks' highly controversial championship severely damaged the prestige of UEFA, so much so that at the 2006 World Cup, European giants allowed no upsets (I don't consider the Czech Republic's defeat against Ghana an upset). And the Greeks weren't even there – the champions failed to qualify.
Now, the Greeks are the same slow team, four years older and no longer scoring from set pieces. A dream opponent.

The European Championship differs from the World Championship in that it often sees victories by teams that are far from the elite. The most recent examples are 1992 and 2004.
However, I can't recall a time when a team that wasn't in the real top ten became world champion.

The Russian national team played quite well for a team without a defense and attack, meaning they only played with a goalkeeper and midfielders. And the result they achieved was quite good. Perhaps if they had included a couple of forwards in the squad, it would have been even better, but apparently, they couldn't find any.
In general, I can only remember one team where all the lines played truly like champions. That was the Brazilian national team of 1994.

Man, I almost choked on my beer while watching... One word - [censored]!!!!!! How could they?! There's no defense there, it's just [censored]!!!
And the fourth goal?! That was just ridiculous! I don't really understand football, and the discussions about the significance of this defeat aren't for me, but I'll be honest - I cursed our "team" for a long time and vehemently. Well, hopefully they'll win the next one...

The European Championship differs from the World Championship in that it sees victories by teams that are far from the elite. The most recent examples are 1992 and 2004.

Everyone loves to equate these years, but the national teams of Denmark and Greece were completely different. If Denmark showed very attractive football and won deservedly, then Greece was actively suppressing that kind of football.

In general, I can only remember one team where all lines played truly like champions. That was the Brazilian team of 1994.

I have always considered the German team of 1990 to be the ideal team. They went through the entire championship without a hitch.
The most significant drawback of Brazil-94 was the goalless final; champions should win the game. And in general, it seems that the Italians should be banned; two penalty shootouts with their participation. This is an insult to football.

Portugal rocks!))) They're awesome... both their defense:smile25: and offense:smile13:, and the goalkeeper, the goalkeeper:smile12:... in short, I adore Portugal!!!

My prediction is that our team won't even make it out of the group stage...

Hehe, who expected Russia to win everywhere?
4-1. And it's not surprising.
After that, "our Russia's" jokes about football suddenly reach a new level of awareness.
Especially amusing was the journalist's question to one of the players:
- What's the atmosphere like in the team after such a defeat?
- It's normal, as usual. Everything's fine.
As usual, they screwed it up.

Hehe, who expected Russia to win everywhere?
4-1. And it's not surprising.
After that, jokes about "our Russia" and football suddenly reach a new level of awareness.
Especially amusing was the journalist's question to one of the football players:
- What's the atmosphere in the team after such a defeat?
- It's normal, as usual. Everything is fine.
As usual, they screwed it up.

And I've always been amazed by the pseudo-fans of our national team, who, when things are going well, shout: "Russia, go!", but when something goes wrong, they are immediately ready to drag it through a pile of dirt. Perhaps it's because of such fans that the national team loses. No other country has this kind of attitude. When the English, French, or Andorrans lose, the fans cry, but they don't betray the national team. The national team is not a club. We only have one, and there isn't another.

Portugal rocks!))) They're awesome... both in defense :smile25: and attack :smile13:, and the goalkeeper, the goalkeeper :smile12:... in general, I adore Portugal!!!

Not a bad team... But I wouldn't sing praises to the defense and goalkeeper when they're playing aerial defense in their own penalty area. That's just terrible :smile18:

P.S. "Babadur is poetry" (S. Farada :)

Not a bad team... But I wouldn't sing praises about their defense with the goalkeeper when playing headers in their own penalty area. It's a complete disaster. :smile18:

P.S. "Babadur is poetry" (S. Farada :)

I completely agree.
Another weak point of the Portuguese national team is that they often can't handle the psychological pressure of a match, especially when things aren't going their way, and the players start to panic. And that never helps anyone.