The International Break 2011
After a fascinating few days of International I've decided to focus on 4 of our teams Republic Of Ireland, Wales, Scotland and of course England (excluding Northern Ireland as they did not play)
Over the weekend some of you may have seen a strong national display of a team that is beginning the produce a few high quality youngsters. A team that wore their badge with pride at the weekend. I am of course talking about Republic Of Ireland who reached the Euros on Tuesday with a 1-1 draw against Estonia in what can be described in a bit of a party atmosphere. But how will Ireland fair at Euro2012 against great teams such as Spain, Holland, Germany and England?
With an average age of 28.4 for some of Ireland's squad this will be the last European Championship they will be involved in and are very capable of a few upsets at these Championships. No doubt that Ireland's main attacking threat will be coming from the wings with Damien Duff, Aiden McGeady, Shamus Coleman and Stephen Hunt. I do have a funny feeling though that Aiden McGeady could shine at this European Championships as he is a class footballer that has definitely got some talent.
Ireland will have to go to these Championships just thinking "Why not?" and a few surprises could be in store.
Now the other success this weekend was England defeating the World and European champions Spain followed by a solid 1-0 win against a poor Sweden side. The performance against Spain was a display of discipline by England and Fabio Capello really impressed me with his tactics. Before the game a few people questioned the line up with Parker, Lampard, Bent, Jones all involved. The game was one of the best defensive displays I have seen in a while from England however England's opponents have lost their 3 friendlies before this one including loses against Portugal and Italy. The other positive from the two displays was the youngsters that came on and did their country proud. As a result Jack Rodwell, Danny Welbeck and Kyle Walker all started the game against Sweden. England I think though will be a strong force to stop at Euro2012 but will need the key injured players back such as Steven Gerrard, Jack Wilshere, Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand. All positives to take to Euro2012 for England then.
Finally the last two British teams who played at the weekend both secured to good wins with Wales beating Norway 4-1 in a very positive performance. I think that Wales were unfortunate not to make Euro2012 as they have started to produce a few more talented youngsters and have a bright future. The group draw for Euro2012 didn't really favour Wales either but looking back now they certainly have missed a good opportunnity to qualify for a major tornament. Bright things can be expected though.
Scotland on the other hand got a win against Cyprus despite being the poorest side out of the Great British sides this weekend. I feel that they are not producing enough youngsters and need to start producing more quickly as they are ageing squad that have been haunted by injuries for a while such as Darren Fletcher's flu and Kenny Millers thigh problem just to name a few. They did though have a tough group to play including Spain and the Czech Republic but really did push the Czech's all the way and missing ut on the play off's by 2 points. A lot to work on for the Scots but hopefully they can come back a strong formiddable force again.
Over the weekend some of you may have seen a strong national display of a team that is beginning the produce a few high quality youngsters. A team that wore their badge with pride at the weekend. I am of course talking about Republic Of Ireland who reached the Euros on Tuesday with a 1-1 draw against Estonia in what can be described in a bit of a party atmosphere. But how will Ireland fair at Euro2012 against great teams such as Spain, Holland, Germany and England?
With an average age of 28.4 for some of Ireland's squad this will be the last European Championship they will be involved in and are very capable of a few upsets at these Championships. No doubt that Ireland's main attacking threat will be coming from the wings with Damien Duff, Aiden McGeady, Shamus Coleman and Stephen Hunt. I do have a funny feeling though that Aiden McGeady could shine at this European Championships as he is a class footballer that has definitely got some talent.
Ireland will have to go to these Championships just thinking "Why not?" and a few surprises could be in store.
Now the other success this weekend was England defeating the World and European champions Spain followed by a solid 1-0 win against a poor Sweden side. The performance against Spain was a display of discipline by England and Fabio Capello really impressed me with his tactics. Before the game a few people questioned the line up with Parker, Lampard, Bent, Jones all involved. The game was one of the best defensive displays I have seen in a while from England however England's opponents have lost their 3 friendlies before this one including loses against Portugal and Italy. The other positive from the two displays was the youngsters that came on and did their country proud. As a result Jack Rodwell, Danny Welbeck and Kyle Walker all started the game against Sweden. England I think though will be a strong force to stop at Euro2012 but will need the key injured players back such as Steven Gerrard, Jack Wilshere, Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand. All positives to take to Euro2012 for England then.
Finally the last two British teams who played at the weekend both secured to good wins with Wales beating Norway 4-1 in a very positive performance. I think that Wales were unfortunate not to make Euro2012 as they have started to produce a few more talented youngsters and have a bright future. The group draw for Euro2012 didn't really favour Wales either but looking back now they certainly have missed a good opportunnity to qualify for a major tornament. Bright things can be expected though.
Scotland on the other hand got a win against Cyprus despite being the poorest side out of the Great British sides this weekend. I feel that they are not producing enough youngsters and need to start producing more quickly as they are ageing squad that have been haunted by injuries for a while such as Darren Fletcher's flu and Kenny Millers thigh problem just to name a few. They did though have a tough group to play including Spain and the Czech Republic but really did push the Czech's all the way and missing ut on the play off's by 2 points. A lot to work on for the Scots but hopefully they can come back a strong formiddable force again.
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