Spain & Italy scramble into the Euro 2012 quarter-finals

 

Spain and Italy both secured their place in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals on Monday night, but neither side qualified from Group C with the ease that had been expected.

After draws in their opening two games, the Azzurri secured a 2-0 victory over the already eliminated Republic of Ireland, while Vicente del Bosque's men left it late to see off Croatia and in turn knock Slaven Bilic's side out of the tournament.

With Spain and Italy having reached the quarter-final base point, both sides will now be focused on reaching the peak of the Euro 2012 mountain...
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Ronaldo passes Euro 2012 exam with flying colours to send Dutch & Danes packing

 

Cristiano Ronaldo answered his critics in stunning style on Sunday night with his virtuoso performance in Portugal's 2-1 victory over Netherlands at Euro 2012.

After enduring a difficult start to the competition, the Real Madrid star scored both goals to book his side's place in the quarter-finals against Czech Republic - sending the Dutch and Denmark home.
That took Ronaldo's tally for the season to an astonishing 65 for club and country, although the 27-year-old will know that his work has only just begun if he is to deny arch-rival Lionel Messi yet another Ballon D'Or.
 

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Euro Hero! Karagounis keeps Greece currency high as Germans await

 

Greece booked their quarter-final place at Euro 2012 courtesy of Giorgos Karagounis' strike which dumped Russia out of the competition.

Germany are likely to be Greece's opponents in the next round, while the nation who were triumphant at Euro 2004 are today voting whether to stay in the eurozone.

Angela Merkel has warned that Greece's bailout is not negotiable and the German chancellor is lying in wait - along with Joachim Low...

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the Arab Spring

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Zlat's amazing Carroll (are you Ibrahimovic in disguise?)

 

Much has been made of England's tactical approach to Euro 2012, but their conservative approach went out of the window against Sweden as the Three Lions roared to a 3-2 victory.

Striker Andy Carroll came into the team and made an instant impact, heading home the opener with a towering header from a Steven Gerrard cross.

However, the Swedes took the lead, thanks to a double from Olof Mellberg before goals from Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck sealed victory for England and a good night for Hodgson and his men.
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Fans fly the Irish flag while players wave white ones

 

After a 3-1 defeat to Croatia in their opening game of Euro 2012, Republic of Ireland took on reigning world and European champions Spain, hoping to pull of a shock and keep their Euros dreams alive.
Unfortunately for the Irish, those dreams quickly turned into a nightmare as an early goal from Fernando Torres set the tone for a difficult evening for the Boys in Green.

Goals by David Silva, Cesc Fabregas and a second for Torres followed as Spain ran out 4-0 winners to put an end to Giovanni Trapattoni's hopes of a quarter-final berth, despite the magnificent backing from the Irish fans.
 

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Bendtner takes Ronaldo back to school

 

Portugal may have left it late, but they still did just enough to beat Denmark 3-2 in their Group C clash on Wednesday night.

Both Pepe and Helder Postiga combined to give the Seleccao a commanding two-goal lead, but Nicklas Bendtner gave the Danes a lifeline by maintaining his 100 per cent record against their opponents.

However, talisman Cristiano Ronaldo did not help his country's cause by fluffing a pair of gilt-edged chances to extend his side's lead in the second half, inevitably allowing Bendtner to equalise with a clinical finish.

Nonetheless, Silvestre Varela's dramatic winner secured a vital win, but were it not for the Porto super-sub, the Arsenal striker could have made Ronaldo pay for his inexplicable profligacy in front of goal.
 
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Poland and Russia help football triumph over hooligans

 

Hours after some of their supporters clashed on the streets of Warsaw, Poland and Russia went to battle on the pitch on Monday night and produced a thrilling exhibition of free-flowing football.
More than 120 fans were arrested as riot police fired rubber bullets to disperse supporters following violent scenes in the Polish capital in the build up to kick-off.

But with Euro 2012 quarter-final spots up for grabs in Group A, the co-hosts and their neighbours ensured that the beautiful game was the real winner as goals from Alan Dzagoyev and Jakub Blaszczykowski saw the game end in a 1-1 draw.
 

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Shevchenko's Ukrainian dream comes true

 

Andriy Shevchenko is undoubtedly one of the finest finishers of all time. However, during his goal-shy time with Chelsea, the Ukraine forward could only imagine moments like the two he experienced last night.

The national icon received a huge cheer when named among Oleg Blokhin's starting lineup, with the striker facing a fight against time and fitness throughout the entire 2011-12 campaign in order to be ready for the tournament.

But after falling behind, thanks to Sweden's own hero Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the 35-year-old sent the crowd into raptures when he found the net with two superb headers in quick succession, securing an emotional victory in the co-hosts' European Championship debut.
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Buffon blocks goal-shy Torres' scoring thoughts

 

He had the chances to break down Italy's resolute defence and hand Spain a victory in their opening Group C clash but Fernando Torres' poor club form appears to have followed him into Euro 2012.

After Cesc Fabregas, the player who was selected to lead the Spanish attack in favour of Torres, cancelled out Antonio Di Natale's opening goal for Italy, the Chelsea man was brought on to grab the winner for the reigning European champions.
But after Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon pulled off a superbly timed last-ditch tackle to stop Torres from scoring, the Chelsea man followed with a wayward lob over an open goal after being put clean through.
 

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