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Match day 9: Belgium/Ireland, Hungary/Iceland, Portugal/Austria


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In the german tv halftime analysis they had to send their expert Thomas Doll outside for he was too upset with the penalty decision.

They brought in a referee as expert, who stated that it was Kadar making contact with Gunnarsson that prompted the penalty. Doll disagrees and claims that Gunnarson threw himself over Kadar's supporting leg and the minimal contact by the other leg had no impact on Gunnarssons falling. 

I think it was a harsh decision in any case, though probably not wrong.

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Ireland were outclassed by Belgium and didn't put up much resistance.  They weren't helped by a referee who encouraged the Belgian defenders to mug Long & Hoolahan at every opportunity in the first half, and deny a penalty that immediately swung to an opening goal at the other end.  But realistically the Irish were very poor in possession and their attacks all collapsed from inaccurate passes, plus their defending collapsed in any kind of open space on a break-away -- they only seem comfortable when defending with numbers in their shell. 

That will build some confidence for the Belgians at last, plus it shows the benefits of picking the right team. 

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Quaresma starting - brilliant!

I'd like an Austria win or a draw as it would set the group up very nicely for the final round of games, and I'm going to Iceland vs Austria at the Stade de France.

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I'll say this, I thought right from the start that CRonaldo had let all the bad press following the Iceland game (well earned as it was) get to him. All that grinning and so on. I think it disrupted his concentration. Then all the arguing with the ref and so on... he kept trying, but his head wasn't right.

BTW, the record now reads 36 direct free kicks taken by CRonaldo in major tournament finals: goals, 0. By contrast Gareth Bale is 2 for 2!

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