Germany 2-1 Spain

Without Francesco Sciotti, World Champions Spain crashed to defeat in a dour match against the Germans.

Captain Alex's lob put his team ahead and Luca del Vecchio made it 2-0 with no reaction from the Spanish. Alex dF could have made it 3-0 but Sam Cole came close to a goal too after a good run and a high shot.

Spain pulled one goal back in the second half, thanks to a fine flowing move from Marco to Sam to Antoine. But the Germans hung on to take three valuable points.

BEST PLAYER POINTS: Alex H 4, Alexis 3, Luca DV 3, Marco 2, Danyal 2, Sam C 2, Alex dF 1, Fabio 1, Kei 1, AledB 1, David 1

France 3-2 Ireland

The shadow of Thierry Henry loomed over Ambrit Stadium as Ireland took on France, a crucial game for the former World Champions after losing their first two matches.

A scoreless first half was notable for some fine goalkeeping from both Christian and Danilo and the second half began with a cracking goal from Giovanni after the ball was moved quickly from Francesco G to Mattia J. Ireland equalised quickly through Leo after a sustained period of pressure but Francesco G put Giovanni through again and he scored after his first shot came back off the bar. Francesco himself made it 3-1 on the break and Emilio pulled one back after Leo chested the ball down to him on the edge of the area. Some fine performances today from Mattia J in a new defensive position, from Andrea Ooi and especially from Christian.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Christian 8, Andrea Ooi 3, Jonathan 3, Giovanni 3, Mattia J 1, Emilio 1, Andrea S 1, Joshua 1

Italy 5-2 Spain

World Champions Spain crashed to a humiliating defeat at the hands of Italy despite plaing the better football for much of the game.
Italy however did have most of the early chances, with Max playing Simone in on the left three different occasions but, each time, Antoine was alert and snuffed out the threat.
Max then lost the ball in midfield to Alessio and his quick pass set up Francesco S for the opening goal. Francesco then turned creator, setting up Kei for a rare goal and a two-goal lead.
But Italy reacted quickly: Max set up Simone for a goal and then Simone returned the compliment and the score was suddenly 2-2. Half-time.
Upon the restart, Kei tied himself up in knots and Max nipped in to score. Spain never really recovered. Despite some great work by Antopine in goal, Simone added two more goals - the second a beauty which he conjured up out of nowhere - and Spain find themselves needing a win next Friday.
BEST PLAYER POINTS: Antoine 6, Simone 6, Francesco S 2, Ale P 2, Jiaqi 1, Marco 1, Alexis 1, Max 1, Kei 1

Holland 2 - 0 Sweden

Una partita bella e appassionante come non la si vedeva da anni! Questo il primo pensiero dopo aver assistito a Olanda Svezia, il cui punteggio ha un valore relativo rispetto al bel gioco visto in campo. Tutte le giocatrici si sono espresse a un ottimo livello e meriterebbero tutte un punto almeno; se non tutte lo hanno ricevuto è segno che i punti a disposizione dei giudici erano davvero finiti!

L'inizio della partita è tutto in favore della Svezia, con Camilla e Giulia scatenate in attacco, che danno l'impressione di poter segnare una valanga di gol. Tuttavia la difesa dell'Olanda dà spettacolo e blocca qualsiasi iniziativa avversaria, in particolare grazie all'eccellente prestazione di Joana in porta e di Valeria pronta a chiudere ogni spazio. Fondamentale il ruolo di Olivia, che questa volta non si è limitata a difendere, ma si è anche proposta in avanti creando quella superiorità necessaria a smarcare le compagne.

La partita si sbilancia dopo il vantaggio dell'Olanda in contropiede con la bella conclusione di Emma. La Svezia prova a premere, Camilla non trova la rete dopo un splendide azioni personali in cui brucia tutta la squadra avversaria; ma come spesso accade nel calcio, chi si butta in avanti finisce per scorprirsi dietro: la seconda rete di Emma giunge proprio allo scadere del primo tempo. La Svezia è costretta a metter Camilla in porta per l'infortunio di Livia (colpita duto per ben tre volte nel match - vera sfortuna!), ma la spinta offensiva non si placa, con Giulia che compie dribbling a ripetizione, pur non trovando la rete.

Insomma: una partita appassionante, come speriamo ce ne siano in futuro. Brave ragazze!

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Olivia 7, Emma 5, Joana 4, Valeria 2, Giulia 1, Camilla 1, Livia P. 1.

Germany 2-1 France

Quel dommage! Another defeat for France and the former European Champions are now staring elimination in the face.

Without F. Gallo for most of the first half, Les Bleus nonetheless kept the score to 0-0 (thanks also to some good saves from Christian) until Alex dF knocked in a rebound after a good run and shot from captain Alex H. But Francesco then marked his entry immediately with a brilliantly taken goal at the near post off a Robin corner to make it 1-1.

As the second half progressed, the French often dominated the play but the last pass was usually wasted or late. The Germans were always dangerous too though and Luca dV was unlucky when his shot rebounded off the post into Christian's arms. The result remained in the balance right to the end, when Mattia M got a lucky break in a tackle with Sam (who had a great game in defense - always in the right place at the right time) and found himself with just the goalkeeper to beat... and he beat him.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Sam S 6, Robin 3, Luca dV 2, Christian 2, Alex H 2, Francesco G 2, Mattia M 2, Ale dB 2

International News: Firat declares for Italy!

In a shock announcement yesterday Firat Etim's agent announced that, thanks to an Italian grandmother, Firat will now be available to play for Italy. Cesare Prandelli, Italy's coach, said he was ecstatic about the news and hoped to include Firat in his next squad for the crucial matches against Spain and England. (Reuters).

Portugal 4-3 Sweden

Giulia E scored three goals today and still managed to finish on the losing team thanks to four goals from Julia A.
In a huely entertaining game, the score went from 1-0 for Sweden to 2-1 for Portugal, then 3-2 to Sweden and 4-3 to Portugal.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH POINTS: Julia A 6, Livia P 4, Camilla 4, Priscilla 3, Giulia 3, Anjali 1

Ireland 4-0 England

A clearly superior Irish team played a weakened England off the park in a highly entertaining game today.
None of the Irish players kept possession for too long, making the ball do the work and maximizing their one-man advantage. Emilio scored the first goal when he accelerated away from two defenders and slipped the ball into the corner of the net.
Joshua made it 2-o before half time.
England made a brief recovery after the break and might have cut the Irish lead but Ludo's shot came back off the post and English heads went down. Luca Cerri chipped a ball over the English defense and Emilio scored again to make it 3-0. Joshua got his second goal too when a neat turn left him with just the goalkeeper to beat.
Excellent performances by many of the Irish team, especially Leo and Andrea.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Andrea Ooi 6, Leo 5, Emilio 3, Joshua 2, Idriss 2, Ludo 1, Tim 1, Tommaso 1