EURO 2012

The idea of JT rousing the troops to a soundtrack of 'Tears In Heaven' is one I like.

:-)

those official player escorts look somewhat younger than twp's usuals

"Official player escorts" means something VERY different to John Terry, right?

superb gratuitous pendant shot there

Ukraine look terrified, England one up within five minutes imo

tyldesley tempting fate with 'the whole game live'

That last part of the Ukrainian anthem was the bonus "Fuck yeah the Russians are out" verse.

i only heard about rooney's stereophonics tattoo today ewww

They deserve each other.

loved that Ukraine anthem

błaszczykowski błaszczykowski błaszczykowski

y'all some sky 4 charlies

this is pretty rough so far

England wide open despite this cagey formation.

england have more in common with ireland than any other team here

why did this have to be on ITV

PART OF THE TEAM BANTUH

you know the game's shite when they're name-checking kit men and physios

idk if the game is shite, england are shite

as much joy as I'd get from an England exit, this right-back-wearing-#9 thing Ukraine have got going on is bothering me and makes them difficult to watch.

Blokhin's weathered face really detracts from his quite superb hair

ukraine have that quintessential soviet bloc precision and flanking movements without really being coldblooded enough

I suppose if we sigh at Ukraine's overhit Hollywood balls and 30 yard snapshots they'll immediately score from one

idk if the game is shite, england are shite

Good point well made, Ukraine playing with purpose and what looks like a good strategy so far.

Wazza's half dozen bad touches to this point make me think he's either going to cunt one into the top corner from nothing or kick someone up the arse and get sent off. No middle ground.

selin will have looked rodrigo palacio and he will have thought that the genoa man has lovely hair

"he looks hungry"

he always looks hungry

Milevsky and Devic have 10 goals between them in 74 internationals. There's not really much threat without Sheva.

sheva is as good as retired next month, u can be sure he will be on by 70mins or so

Ukraine do get it forward fast & on the ground, I like that

They don't seem to know what defending crosses is about though

it's about bigness, and about passion

it takes a nation of bigs to hold Roo back

It's about marking more like, that's shocking

Good move, poor finish

big andy woulda stuck that one in any day of the week he would've.

he would of

Gerrard's crossing from dead balls has been very good in this tournament - nice low trajectory, giving very little time for defenders to adjust.

Struggling to see the point of James Milner.

provides a useful distractionary target for supporters' vitriol when more feted players are being similarly useless

gerrard is not a midfielder but as long as welbeck gets four touches per half, his crossfield passes / crosses / setpieces probably justify wor andy's inclusion

James Milner is there to make Theo's impact more impactful.

in the land of the waste, the 6'4 wasteman is king

Iain Macintosh ‏@iainmacintosh

Remember, the more frustrated Rooney gets, the deeper he drops. He'll be in Poland for the second half.

Is anybody watching France-Sweden?

this is the worst group, all teams should go out. send russia and croatia to the qfs instead.

andy carroll would have fucking buried that header that roo missed

xxp i am. france are shit tbh. sweden sort of trying.

Nearly a Ricky Villa.

Ukraine are a few less bloodrushed heads away from being v likeable I think, as it is they're just vaguely annoying

thought iarmolenko was going for the full ricky villa on that one ha xxp!