Croatia

Those on the beeb have called it “almost watchable”, but quite frankly I disagree. Admittedly it isn’t the free-flowing match that we were treated to last night, but it’s been a tense, exciting encounter - with chances at both ends for the teams taking part. Apparently the atmosphere is electric over in Vienna, and Niko Kranjar has obviously let the noise get to him, and is working his socks off. Inches away from nailing an all-important goal in the first half, just take a look at this heat map below from the CPI - and feel guilty about sitting on the sofa and not having covered even near 5,619 metres (the most industrious player on the pitch) in the last 45 minutes…!

We love football blog love Niko - and it’s easy to see why!

There’s a high chance that at least one of the Quarter Finals will go the distance and end in what some dub the ‘nightmare’ of a penalty shoot-out. We’d like to disagree with this term, as there is no more exciting way of separating two teams who have been locked for 120 minutes than the randomness of 10 spot kicks. Let’s face it, the Silver and Golden Goals just didn’t work did they? And the proposal that the teams should play until a goal is scored or all the players collapse through exhaustion just isn’t reasonable in a tournament format where they may have to play again a few days later. Amusing, but inhumane.

In fact, the Castrol Index tells us that neither team playing tonight has taken part in a penalty shoot out in a major tournament, so if it goes the distance, the nerves will surely be jangling. Not so the Germans, who – had the game last night had gone that far – would have stepped up confident in the knowledge that the last penalty missed by a German player in a major tournament was in the World Cup. In 1982.

Half of me hopes this one goes all the way so both sides get a chance to show that they can convert from 12 yards, half that it finishes in normal time in a thriller like last night.

So I’ll go for a 2-1 victory to Croatia, hard-fought and dirty.

Jack is going for a Nihat brace and a surprise 2-0 victory for Turkey.

Stats powered by Castrolindex.com

Lets get the first thing straight… This was no classic, and if you managed to stay motivated throughout the entire 90 minutes then you must have been either a very enthusiastic Pole, Croatian - or loved Slaven Bilic as much as we do! However, scratching about the Castrol Performance Index for something exciting to scribe for this hallowed blog, we came up with ths heat map showing Ognjen Vukojevic, who really summed up the Croatian spirit throughout the game, and let’s be fair, the tournament.

Putting in a shade over 12,000 metres over the 90 minutes and bossing the midfield with a well-disciplined, spirited performance - he was all over the park! Just the kind of midfielder you need.

So on this night of mediocre football, let us not focus on the games - but an excellent 9 group points for Croatia…

OK, so it hasn’t been the most attacking match, with few chances and little excitement, but we *can* pull something from the game, even if it’s some stats to tell you why it hasn’t been great. The two defences are miles apart - literally - in terms of distance covered. The Polish back line has run 13001m between them, whilst the Croats have covered just 9405m - both playing back fours. Poland have been pushing up the left a little bit, and Croatia have a noticeable gap at left back that could well be exploited. Leo Beenhakker should definitely point this out at half time…if he’s paying attention to the Castrol Index stats!

Stats, as you know, powered by http://www.castrolindex.com

Lewandowski certainly put in the effort for Poland in the first couple of games, completing 29 of his 35 passes against Austria last time out, and having a great time in the middle of the park battling for and winning the ball. At the crucial moment though, it was him who was grappling a little bit too hard in the penalty area, catching the ref’s eye and gifting the opposition a spot kick. A look at his CPI heat map tells us that he really should stick to what he’s good at, dominating play in the centre circle, as the small time he spent defending cost his team dear.

Crossing practice must surely have been on the cards in both camps ahead of tonight’s match. Already on these pages we have extolled the virtues of wide play and the importance of decent crosses. A quick look at the cross success chart, however, shows that the two teams in tonight’s crucial match are, quite frankly, poor at getting the ball in from the flanks. They should either get better at it, or carry on lumping it forward in the hope that someone gets on the end of it. Not quite Championship winning tactics.

Stats powered by http://www.castrolindex.com

The Malaysia Star (yes, that’s Malaysia in the Far East, writing on the Euros – that’s the power of football) reports that the old powerhouses of European football – France, Italy and Germany – are spent forces ‘clearly past their sell by date’ having to face up to the young guns of the Netherlands, Spain and Croatia, led by coaches such as van Basten and Bilic, who have the hunger that the likes of Domenech and Donadoni just don’t have.

Tvenne from OleOle has provided a round up of the tournament so far after each team has played two games. For those who haven’t been paying attention a chastisement - ‘shame on you’ he says ‘because you’ve missed a great tournament’. He argues that games with two ‘less skilled’ teams often provide the best entertainment (er…Netherlands vs. Italy, or France?) and quotes the Turkey vs. Switzerland game as an example of ‘just amazing’ football. He concludes by saying the Dutch are looking favourites with their goals coming from all angles and players and a goalkeeper playing at ‘possibly the best level of his career’. Or Spain.

Over at EPL Talk, The Gaffer thinks there is a player who holds the key to the Netherlands’ success, and its one that doesn’t make the headlines. Orlando Engelaar is a rangy midfielder who frustrated Italy’s attack by outjumping Toni, but also provided many of the telling passes in attack. By utilising the stats provided by the Castrol Index, The Gaffer managed to show how Engelaar changes his game depending on the opposition….cunning stuff, and it just goes to show the power of statistics in providing insights into the game.

101 Great Goals has a great write up of yesterday’s matches, compete with links to video highlights of both games. They write about the epic Croatian victory over the much-fancied German side, saying they ‘threatened’ and ‘frustrated’ before they went ahead. They also reckon the Austrians ‘absolutely battered’ the Polish lines in the opening salvo, and were unlucky to go down, but the final score was a fair result.

The Guardian has a daily podcast from James Richardson and friends in Vienna with reactions to the games as they happen, quite handy if you can’t get to a TV, or missed a game, and the irreverent slant they take is a refreshing change to usual analysis. Well worth a listen.

For those of you on the move and up there with your mobile technology, NoShape has come up with a handy little application for your phone. Mobile Football does exactly what it says on the tin, puts football…on your mobile. Download it from the NoSpace site, and have results, a calendar and info about the towns and stadiums where the games are being played.

Revealed yesterday by Brooks (amongst a host of others), any Austrian player that scores in the tournament is being offered a lifetime supply of beer from a Viennese brewer. Step up to the penalty spot one Ivica Vastic who calmly belted it past Boruc, and as the Austria Football Blog puts it became one ‘lucky player’. We’re sure it was the thought of national pride that was going through his mind as he approached the ball, not the free booze. Probably.

‘Yes! Free beer!’