Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
Andy Pakes previews this Sunday afternoon clash in the first edition of Game of the Week for 2012
Dave Hughes tells us about his sporting hero, Wes Morgan
The Netherlands have been on a remarkable run over the last few years, winning all bar 2 of their last 25 competitive games, and finished top of their qualifying group comfortably. One of these two loses occurred, of course, in the world cup final, where they were justly criticized for resorting to negative, dirty tactics in an attempt to stifle the Spanish. Since then the Dutch have opened up, complimenting their extraordinary attacking talents of man-of-the-moment Robin Van Persie, top scorer in qualifying Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, the irresistible playmaker Wesley Sneijder and, the lethal-when-fit, Arjen Robben, with a more expansive midfield play ensured by only playing one of their enforcers to make room for the more technically adept youngster Kevin Strootman. This attacking philosophy helped them score more goals than any other side in qualifying, and they look to have improved even further since the world cup.
Arguably Germany have improved even more. At the world cup they surprised everyone as a team balancing experience and youth played an expansive game unfamiliar to most German sides reached the semi-finals in deadly fashion, scoring four past both Argentina and, of course, England. Now even more young talent has broken into the first eleven, namely Bayern Munich’s Toni Kroos and Mats Hummels, as well as the 19 year-old attacking midfielder Mario Götze, who is currently receiving lavish plaudits across Germany. Aided by playing alongside more than most in clubs and youth teams, the current Germany team has an understanding rare in modern international sides, and with star man Mesut Özil playing as well as ever, anything less than an appearance in the final will be considered a disappointment.
As much as the Netherlands and Germany have improved, world and defending champions Spain must still go into the tournament as favourites. Their strength in possession is so superior that should the Spaniards meet either of the two in the Euros, it is inevitable they will control and dictate the pace of the game, leaving the opposition to hope for the best on the counter-attack – something both sides succumbed to as they were knocked out by Spain in the world cup. It is telling of both their quality and strength in depth that David Silva and Juan Mata, two midfielders currently lighting up the Premiership, are having difficulty breaking into a first team that of course includes the likes of even better players Xavi, Iniesta and David Villa. They remain the best team in the world, and injuries should not worry them as whichever team they set out play with confidently with the same possession-based, 4-3-3 game that they have become famous for. No team has ever won 3 back-to-back international titles, and there is always the possibility of a freak result, but Spain possess the quality, strength in depth and mental strength to do so.
Having watched both Spain and the Netherlands at Hampden, I have to say I believe the Netherlands are the better side. Too many teams sit back and defend against Spain and if you do that, they'll tear you apart. But defensively they're very fragile. Scotland put two past them in a game they would have drawn had McManus not inexplicably let the ball fly over his head late on in the game. Although they did win all the games in the group, only their wins against Liechtenstein could be described as convincing.
However, the Dutch are the whole package. They are great going forward, always carry a threat whilst being rock solid at the back. And if you're talking about strength in depth, just look at their bench. I remember Huntlaar coming off against Scotland, only to be replaced by Van Persie. I honestly believe that if Netherlands had played their football against Spain in the World Cup, instead of resorted to trying to kick them off the park, they would have won that game.
And I certainly wouldn't bet against those two teams making it to the final.
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