Well my final prediction was half right. I said that Germany would be in the final. You can see it here.

Luis Aragones and company ruled with class and very top caliber play from the group to the final game. I would have to say that this has been very fun and enjoyable.

Now we will all wait until the Olympic Games start to watch some more soccer!  This will be very fun as the youth squads of the world go head-to-head and not the senior clubs. For the men, the age restriction is set at 23 however three over age players are allowed to compete.  For the women there is no age restriction.

More insight will come for the Beijing Games.

Ronaldo Situation: The Cristiano Ronaldo situation has gotten very interesting.  It has gone from Man U threatening to take Real Madrid to the FIFA to file a complaint, to them giving Real a one-sided list of players that they were demanding in return, and their final demands of a rather-large sum of money.  Here is a list of their demands and other actions.

1. Real has reported interest in Ronaldo, Man U threatens to file a complaint with the FIFA unless Real stops enticing Ronaldo with a Madrid offer. 
2. It is rumored that Man U demands Mahamadou Diarra, Sergio Ramos, and money.  This would have been a very one sided deal.  One player alone would not be enough to acquire Ronaldo however an argument could be made that Ramos will become one of the best Spanish defenders.  Maybe even on par with Carlos Puyol of Barcelona.
3. Man U demands 100 million euro in exchange for Ronaldo.

Very one sided and interesting.  Watch the Semi-Finals tomorrow!

1. I would rather see two good team play longer than 90 minutes.  Who really has the endurance to last that long.  Who will fight till the end or just give up.
2. While it is one of the sadest and gives a player the feeling of helplessness, it is one of the fairest.  Both teams have an equal chance.  Both have equal numbers of shots on goal.

Next Up: The first semi-final game is between Germany and Turkey which should be very interesting.  I will like to see the turntout of this game.

Future: Tomorrow Italy plays Spain to decide who will play Russia. Now this will be the game of the quarters. I liked watching Germany and Portugal but I will enjoy watching Spain and Italy do battle. Maybe it is because two of my favorite teams-Barcelona and AC Milan-are Spanish and Italian teams, respectively.

Two Quick Hits: 

1. Barcelona and AC Milan are both vying for the services’ of the Arsenal striker, Adebayor.  An AC Milan scout believes his team has a 50% chance of acquiring the striker.
2. Former Sunderland keeper Tim Carter has been found dead in a park with a rope tied around his neck.  Authorities do not believe that there is any foul play involved and his death is unfortunately classified as a suicide.

Game Summary: I am most pleased with the end result.  As I said this would be a good game.  No team had a clear advantage over the other which makes it an exciting game.  The penalties are always the best and that’s when I was on my feet. 

Russia and Netherlands Tomorrow: The power of Holland will be seen tomorrow as they face a talented but young goalkeeper in Igor Akinfeev.  I have probably “worn-out” my like for him by now but I have high hopes.

Other News:

• Barcelona: I recently reported that Barca made an opening transfer offer on Juventus’ striker David Trezequet.  They were told to “back off” and “he is not for sale.”  I guess they will have to look else where for a forward as he and Valencia’s David Villa have been placed on the untouchables list.  Barca had been interested in Villa before the Valencia statement. 
• Liverpool has offered 20 million pounds for the services of David Silva who plays for Valencia.

Germany beat Portugal today.  While the Portugese side did very well in taking the champions title for their group, Germany snapped up their hopes for 08.  The game got very exciting in the last minutes as Portugal scored a goal to make the final score 3-2.

Future Fixtures:

Tomorrow- Croatia vs. Turkey: I like this game.  The heroics of Turkey in their win against Petr Cech and the Czech Republic proved to the world that they are here to play.  However, they did trail in that game which is a weakness.  At the same time, Croatia did win all of their group games defeating Germany in the process.  Once again, I like this game. 

Saturday- Holland vs. Russia: In short, miracles may happen, but Holland hasn’t shown very many weaknesses.  I like the competition and level of play Igor Akinfeev will be up against but I don’t like his chances.  The power of the Oranje will prove to be too much for Russia on this day.

Sunday- Spain vs. Italy: This will be another good game.  Power vs. Power.  Class vs. Class. What better game than this that pits two top class keepers against one another(Casillas v. Buffon).  The defensive corps each possess.  The midfield so chalked full of talent.  And the strikers to finish.  This is truly the game that I will watch.

 Transfer Rumors:

• Barcelona put out an opening bid on David Trezeguet.

 Italy: defeated France 2-0 today as they will be moving on as the runners up from Group C.  They will be facing Spain in the knockout round-Quarter Final.  This will be a good match.

Holland: ended the hopes of Romania as they are the true spoilers of Group C, first with a tie against France, then with the same result against Italy.  I have a new found respect for the whole lineup aside from the afore posted Chivu and Mutu.  Holland will face either Sweden or Russia who go head to head tomorrow to round off the Group D.

 What’s ahead: Tomorrow Spain will take on Greece who are set to finish in last place of Group D if they do not pull off a win tomorrow against first place Spain.  Spain will finish in first tomorrow even if they lose.  They have defeated both Russia and Sweden making it impossible for them to lose the top spot by points. 

Russia or Sweden: Based on previous games, Sweden has the advantage over Russia.  Sweden only lost 2-1 as Russia lost 4-1.  However, the amount of goals scored does not really give any team the edge.  Russian Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev is a guy that I really like, however he and his squad are still relatively young.  They will be together for many Euros and World Cups to come.  I will watch this game to just see a good match and I leave no prediction for tomorrow.

Czech: I projected that the Czechs would move on and not Turkey.  However, things have gone for the worst for them as well as Goalkeeper Petr Cech.  The Turks will move on to play Croatia which is interesting, to say the least. 

Portugal: Ronaldo and company are moving on to face Austria or Germany.  This is very interesting to say the least because the potential Runner-Up to Group B will face them.  Turkey will only have to face Croatia-this is still a good match however more even than a Portugal v. Croatia face off.

 Tomorrow’s Matches:

Poland v. Croatia

Austria v. Germany

Potential Upsets: With an Austria win tomorrow, Germany could be sent packing and my Group B predictions would also get a shake.  If Austria pulls off a win, they would move on to face Portugal which will be yet another test of their true talent.

Group B is now a little funny , my prediction is still semi-correct.  I predicted that Germany would be the champion and Croatia would be the runner-up.  However, Croatia is set to be the champion and I’m just guessing that Germany will take the runner-up spot.

Death Group Rumblings: Group C just got shook more than shake and bake, Italy tied Romania and Holland beat France.  Holland is really showing a strong start.  Here is how the point scale has shaped up: Holland(6), Romania(2), France(1), and Italy(1).  The next set of games will be Holland vs. Romania and Italy vs. France.

Analysis: This is where things get shaky.  Holland has already been crowned as champions but everything after that is up for grabs…literally.  Surprise, surprise Romania is beating both Italy and France in points.  If Romania beats Holland, they will be the runners-up no matter what happens between Italy and France.  Italy or France needs a win to ensure that one will move on.

Prediction: While both Italy and France lost to Romania, both suffer from slow starts.  This is something that Holland has not suffered from as they beat up on Italy and France.  Romania will lose to a very strong and confident Holland side.  Holland just has to many pieces and they are all working properly.  Italy and France is a different can of worms in itself.  Both have played their way out of being champions or even runners-up.  Now only one will get to move on.  This maybe biased but I just have a feeling Italy will win this game.  They have been scored on less by one goal and should be at the top.  I also have more faith in Buffon than Gregory Coupet, not to say that I don’t love both of them.

Tomorrow Spain and Sweden will duke it out to see who will be the Group D champs.

Results:

Spain vs. Russia(4-1): Spain is the better team here, plain and simple.  I like Russia and their goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.  They have a young squad that should become something later on, we might see something as soon as the World Cup. 

Greece vs. Sweden(0-2):  Good all around match, however definitely not the highlight of the day.  It will be fun to see the next set of Group D games as we will soon who takes the runner-up spot.  

 Tomorrow:  Portugal vs. Czech Republic and Switzerland vs. Turkey: I am really looking forward to Portugal and Czech.  This will be the match of the day.  Tomorrow will also determine which team will have a chance to challenge the Czechs to the runner-up position. 

Analysis of Group A Runner-Up Position: Right now, the Czechs are in a position to take this spot.  They can even have the champion spot too but it would go against my prediction.  The challengers for this spot are the Swiss and Turkey.  However, the Swiss have already eliminated themselves by losing to the Czechs.  In other words, they will have to win tomorrow and beat Portugal to even have a chance.  Turkey is in a good position.  They have already lost to the best team in the group.  If they pull off a win tomorrow, and the Czechs lose, then the next game will decide who gets the spot.  The next game after tomorrow’s games will be the Czechs versus Turkey.

Sealed Deals and Targets:

• Giovani Dos Santos is officially a part of Tottenham.  While I would have enjoyed watching him play with my favorite Barca, he should break the Spurs’ first team.
•  Valencia is reportedly targeting Sevilla Goalkeeper Andres Palop.  I like Palop and I view him higher than Timo Hildebrand.  While Timo was considered as the replacement for Canizares, Palop will be better.
• Real Madrid is claiming that Man U has no proof of foul play between them and Cristiano Ronaldo.