France vs Holland
France earned a place in the Euro 96 semi finals after a 5-4 penalty shootout win that followed a hard fought 0-0 game through extra time. Right back Lilian Thuram was among the star performers for France as they were forced to defend long spells of Dutch pressure late in regulation and during extra time. […]
France vs Holland
Guus Hiddink would alter the shape of his Holland side in this match, reverting to a back four in defence presumably as a reaction to the humbling they received in the final group match from England. Blind would be the player to step forward into the midfield to make the back line a diamond, connecting […]
England vs Spain
England advanced to the semi finals of Euro 96 with a nerve wracking and somewhat fortunate victory over Spain at Wembley Stadium. After a scoreless, but not uneventful draw over 120 minutes, a David Seaman save secured a 4-2 penalty shootout victory for the Three Lions. England manager Terry Venables made a change to his […]
England vs Spain
England Head Coach Terry Venables had some tough decisions to make ahead of this game, primarily who would replace the suspended Paul Ince in midfield, but how that switch would then impact the rest of the team. Venables would eventually settle on David Platt, who’s position varied throughout the game within a highly fluid 4-4-2 […]
Euro 96 Round 3 Attack Analysis
The end of Round 3 of matches brings a close to the Group Section phase, and with it the departure of half of the competing teams at the tournament. Some would do their best to meander through Round 3 with as little effort as possible, while others would go down in a blaze of glory. […]
Italy vs Germany
Sacchi was left with an interesting dilemma in this match, in that Casiraghi and Chiesa had overall performed very well, despite the formers glaring miss versus the Czechs, but neither really complimented the other. Sacchi would choose to select Casiraghi, with experience likely being the deciding factor, and was partnered with Zola as the more […]
Italy vs Germany
Germany and Italy battled to a 0-0 stalemate to end Group C play, the result saw Germany advance as group winners, whereas Italy were eliminated. While the game may have lacked goals, it did not lack incident, as the Italians saw their Euro 96 campaign cut disappointingly short. Germany lined up in their 5-3-2 formation […]
Russia vs Czech Republic
With Russia unable to progress Head Coach Oleg Romantsev would make five changes to the starting line up and would again change formation, this time favoring a 4-4-2. Russia’s center backs were both very aggressive in carrying the ball forward into the midfield line, thus enabling Radimov and Khoklov to take up higher positions. On […]
Russia vs Czech Republic
Czech Republic qualified for the last eight of Euro 96 in dramatic fashion, with events both in this game, and in the Germany v Italy fixture played at the same time in Manchester playing pivotal roles in Group C’s final standings. The Czech’s came into this game without suspended defender and captain Miroslav Hadlek, but […]
Turkey vs Denmark
Turkey would close out their Euro 96 campaign with a return to a single target man, Hakan Sukur, leading the line in what was an altogether more attacking outlook. Hami, while deployed as a second striker, often dropped deep to carry the ball forward on the dribble. This would enable Turkey to connect the midfield […]