Euro 2008

Match day two saw Portugal grab the first quarter final slot by defeating the Czech Republic by 3 goals to 1.It was the Cristiano Ronaldo show as he set up two goals and scored one to seal Portugal's place in the knockout stage.Turkey beat co-host country Switzerland by 2 goals to 1,throwing Switzerland out of the competition.A late goal from man of the match,Arda Turan in the 92 minute of play kept Turkey's hope of knock-out play alive while dooming the Swiss.Croatia stunned Germany by 2 goals to 1. A late goal from the penalty spot allowed Austria to stay alive by tying Poland 1-1.Croatia's victory and the tie in the Poland-Austrian match allowed Croatia to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition.The result also will allow them to top Group B and avoid Portugal in the quarterfinals.Great victory for Croatia and a big disappointment for Germany who now have a tougher road to go through if they are to become European champions.Holland continued their superb run by crushing France 4 goals to 1.Italy and Romania had a 1-1 tie.Spain got a late winner from David Villa to defeat Sweden by 2 goals to 1.Russia knocked defending champion Greece out of the competition with a 1-0 victory.After match day two, we know who all the group winners are.Portugal from group A,Croatia from group B,Holland from group C and Spain from group D.The surprise winners of the group stages have to be Croatia and Holland.Before the start of the competition most people including myself were picking Germany to win Group B and either France or Italy as group C winners.Holland are really the team of the tournament right now.With 7 goals scored and 1 goal conceded, the "orange" machine is running smoothly and the team is real fun to watch.It is not just the goals that they are scoring but the quality of the goals.Who do you try to stop in a team that in just two matches has had six different goal scorers?(Wesley Sneijder 2 goals,Bronckhorst,Robben,Van Nistelrooy,Van Persie and Dirk Kuyt with one each).For individual performances, Spain's David Villa is on pace for the golden boot award.His late winner that sank Sweden carries his tally to 4 goals in two matches.After match day two, the teams to congratulate have to be all the group winners.Portugal,Croatia,Holland and Spain.Not only did these teams qualify for the knock out stages of the competition,they also lock up the top spot in their various groups with one match left to play.The disappointing teams have to be Switzerland and Greece who are out of the competition and though still in the competition you have to be disappointed with the performances of Germany,Italy and France so far.