[This post is so late.]
I am so glad International Break is over! Seriously. Everyone on Real Madrid was getting hurt. Marcelo fractured his foot, Fabio injured his groin, Sami injured a muscle and Arbeloa and Karim were both hurt and I know that Gonzalo went down at one point too. I can't take everyone getting injured on my team! I'm so glad no one was injured on Chelsea. Although I am a little angry that Mata wasn't called up for Spain. But that isn't my choice. Anyway, let's move on to the actual games.
We'll start with Die Mannschaft. Germany completely crushed Ireland in a 6 - 1 win. The scorers were Marco Reus (32' 40'), Mesut Ozil (PEN 55'), Miroslav Klose (58') and Toni Kroos (61' 83'). The scorer for Ireland was Andrew Keogh in the 4th minute of added time (90 +4'). Germany showed up in full force for this game. They dominated completely and Ireland had no chance from the start. The ball possession was in Germany's favor at a ratio of 70% to 30%. Both teams ended the game with two yellow cards each. It was a fantastic game for Germany. Moving on the the Germany vs. Sweden game, it wasn't as good. The result was a 4 - 4 draw. The scorers for Germany were Miroslav Klose (8' 15'), Per Mertesacker (39') and Mesut Ozil (55'). The scorers for Sweden were Zlatlan Ibrahimovic (62'), Mikael Lustig (64'), Johan Elmander (76') and Rasmus Elm (90 +3'). The first half for Germany was great. They were able to get the lead early with two goals from Klose and another goal before the half. At the half it seemed that Germany had taken the game early. But, don't count your chickens before they're hatched. (That's what my grandma used to say). Early in the second half Mesut Ozil brought Germany to a 4 - nil lead and it seemed that the game was over. All Germany had to do was keep Sweden at bay and they had the win. That didn't happen. Sweden came back for the second half completely revived and ready to go. They were able to come back after spending most of the game losing to end the game in a draw. Two games in a row Germany allowed their opponent to score in the added time at the end of the second half. I'm starting to worry slightly about this. In two games, Germany allowed two goals in injury time. Hopefully this doesn't become a consistent trend. Germany still remains at the top of their group with 10 points in this qualifying round. However, Sweden is slowly creeping up behind them with 7 points.
On to Espana. Spain showed a very impressive team in their first game against Belarus. The score was 4 - nil. Spain's scorers were Jordi Alba (12') and Pedro (20' 69' 72'), Pedro taking the hat-trick. Spain picked apart the defense of Belarus and dominated the game. There were a few missed chances, but that always happens. Three yellow cards were given out, two going to Belarus and one for David Silva. It just makes me laugh that little David Silva got a yellow card. He looks so small and harmless. It's such a shame that the game vs France did not go like this. Spain drew 1 -1 with France days after their thrashing of Belarus. The scorer for Spain was Sergio Ramos (25'). His goal was almost an accident. Sergio's first attempt was a header off of a corner that hit the bar and rebounded into the players. Sergio had his head in his hands as if he was saying, "I can't believe I missed that" when his chance came again. The ball came towards him and this time he wasted no time in putting it in the back of the net. It was a good goal and his acrobatic celebration was even better. Spain could have had a 2 -1 win, however Cesc Fabregas missed his penalty. It happens. I'm not mad. The scorer for France was Olivier Giroud (90 +4'). Another team that allowed a goal in injury time. Now I understand why it's called injury time. (Get it? That was a joke). But seriously, Spain should have won that game. The result wasn't what they wanted for the reigning champions of Europe. But I'm still mad that Mata wasn't called up. He's been in excellent form. I'm not the coach though. So I trust Vicente del Bosque. Spain and France are both at the top of their group with 7 points each. Georgia is three points behind with 4.
And finally, my other team, Italia. Their first game was against Armenia and Italy took the win with 3 goals to 1. The scorers for Italy were Andrea Pirlo (PEN 11'), Daniele De Rossi (64') and Pablo Daniel Osvaldo (81'). The scorer for Armenia was Henrikh Mkhitarian (27'). [That name looks very difficult to pronounce.. I won't even try]. The game wasn't completely dominated by Italy until more in the second half, where goals two and three were scored. The ball possession was pretty much even, Italy just had more skill getting it into the back of the net. The first half saw more chances for Armenia than Italy, however Armenia failed to finish their attacks; the only goal coming in minute 27 by Mkhitarian. Italy brought the pace up in the second half, and were able to take the win from Armenia. This game saw 7 yellow cards, 5 belonging to the players of Armenia. Italy's second game against Denmark also ended in a 3 - 1 win for Italy. The scorers for Italy were Riccardo Montolivo (33'), Daniele De Rossi (37') and Mario Ballotelli (54'). This was Ballotelli's first appearance since Euro 2012; he wasn't able to play in the game vs Armenia due to a fever. Well, it looks like he came back with a vengence. [Especially after that loss to Spain in the Euros]. The scorer for Denmark was William Kvist (45 +1'). And here we have another goal in added time. I'm noticing a trend with these three teams. I guess they slack a little when it comes to added time. Italy had one red card for Osvaldo in minute 46. Two of the five yellow cards were given to Italy. With a man down, Italy was able to control the game and take another win. These two wins put them at the top of their group with 10 points, Bulgaria behind them with 6 points.
Wooo! So I'm really glad international break is over and I have been looking forward to league games and the Champions League. Thanks for reading!!
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