After a crazy first day of Euro 2012 action, here are five takeaways from the Poland-Greece draw and comprehensive Russian victory:
Poland 1 – Greece 1
Russia 4 – Czech Republic 1
1. First time’s a charm. If the whole tournament takes after the Poland-Greece game, football fans are in for a great month of action. Free-flowing play, controversial decisions, ceaseless drama: this match had it all. The result was in the balance the entire way, and it was impossible to look away during the second half. It might not have been one for the purists, with plenty of fouls and a pair of red cards, but the rest of the group stage has a lot to live up to.
2. Too many whistles. The talking point of the Poland-Greece game was set in stone from the moment Greece’s Sokratis Papastathopoulos was sent off in the first half for a pair of soft yellow cards. Once Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny (rightly) received a straight red in the second half, refereeing was sure to come to the forefront. In truth, though, the tone was set early on. In an attempt to calm the emotions, fouls came fast in furious in the first half and never abated. The match never found it’s true tempo thanks to heavy-handed refereeing, red cards or not.
3. Take your chances. Poland rode the momentum generated by the home crowd and dominated the first 35 minutes of play. Robert Lewandowski did redeem himself minutes later, his whiff on an open header in the 14th minute personified Poland’s wastefulness in front of goal. The Poles failed to turn chances into a lead, and once Greece hit on the break to equalize, the co-hosts never looked the same after a fast start.
4. Russia is the clear favorite in Group A. The Czech Republic had their moments during a second half fightback, but overall, the Russians controlled the second game of the night. When in rhythm, Russia attacked in waves, and Czech goalie Petr Cech looked overwhelmed without his Chelsea defense in front of him. 4-1 was a fair scoreline, but it could’ve been more, and that underlines how impressive Russia’s opening victory was.
5. Alan Dzagoev is a budding superstar. Even after his first goal killed off a fast Czech Republic start, I had planned on heaping praise on the young attacker (No, seriously, I swear). A second, even more impressive, finish made it clear, though: the 21-year-old is heading for big things. Dzagoev is at the heart of Russia’s plans for the future, and while there may not be much depth in the youth ranks around him, fielding a competitive squad to host World Cup 2018 looks a lot less daunted than it did a few hours ago.
