Dear England and soccer fans,
I strongly assume that by now most if not all would have seen the
England France Euro 2004 match and while I know that what happened
was heartbreaking and downheartening and it is like Man U's
incredible victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League in
1999 and though England have lost a great chance for victory and to
top the group, I will give you all a few good reasons to stay
optimistic and state there is still hope for the 3 lions!!!
Yes, France scored 2 to win 2-1 in the end after England had lead
1-0, but this is where the similarities end. In case anyone
forgets, this is NOT the final. Unlike the Champs League final in
1999, England might have lost the battle but they have not lost the
war yet.
Assuming England can recover and finish 2nd in the group (it will
be a miracle if France fails to top the group), then it will still
be all to play for. After looking thru the tournament group and
format, you will see that there really might not be much of a
difference finishing 1st or 2nd in this group. The Portugal Spain
Greece Russia group is the group that will supply the teams that
will meet the teams from Englands group in the quarter finals.
Honestly do you think that there is much of a difference between
meeting Spain, Portugal and Greece in the quarter finals?(assuming
that Russia does not qualify and it will be a miracle if they do).
Unless Portugal really bucks up which will then change the
situation as it might be a bit more difficult to face a good host
country team in a match.
Assuming France gets 1st in the group and England is 2nd, and both
get thru their games, then it will be onto the semi finals and
potential opponents for France will be Holland, Czech Republic or
Germany (assuming no big shocks or upsets). England will most
likely face the Azzuri Italy or possibly Holland, Czech Republic
and Germany too (that group is a tight one).
From my analysis there is not much of a difference between
finishing 1st or 2nd in Englands group (barring unexpected
results).
So as you can see it is not a complete and total disaster and think
about the 1988 tournament in then West Germany. Holland lost their
1st match to Russia but they recovered to reach the final and beat
Russia 2-0 So in the end they got the last laugh! (in case you do
not recall Marco Van Basten scored an absolute marvellous and
fabolous goal in that final)
Hope this soothes the pain and encourages us to remain
positive.
Best Regards
THE ANALYST
