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Euro 2012, EURO girls, Portugal, Prediction, ronaldo, semifinal, Spain
It’s time to determine the first Euro 2012 finalist, it will be either the world #1 ranked team from Spain, or their neighbours from Portugal. So far both teams have been impressive, Spain winning their group and Portugal able to qualify from the group of death. Obviously at this stage, only the toughest teams remain. Let’s take a look at both in depth.
Spain have been tournament favourites ever since it started back on June 8th, not 
much has changed, as they are expected to make it to the final here. They played a convincing semi-final against France, however there has been a lot of talk about their unwillingness to move the ball forward. They are definitely the kings of midfield passing, but how far is that really going to get you. When they don’t start Fernando Torres, they lack scoring threats, and that was seen against France as well as Italy. The Portuguese are not going to make things easy on defense, as they proved against Germany and the Netherlands, two world-class teams. If Spain goes with the 4-3-3 formation and start Fabregas, you can expect more of the same old boring midfield passing, and not a lot of attacking.
Portugal have shown two different sides throughout this tournament. On one side, they’ve shown that they can shell up and play defense only, like they did against Germany, or they can attack and open up the game, like they did against Netherlands and Czech Republic. Either way, they will have their hands full here against Spain. If Spain is able to neutralize Ronaldo (and they’ll have to), then Portugal is finished. Ronaldo is finally having the international tournament that he should, and in this game he’ll be lining up with his Real Madrid teammate Alvaro Arbeloa whom he knows well, and this can be an advantage for Portugal.
Spain will most likely win the midfield battles and control possession, as they 
always do. The game will most likely be low scoring, and potentially need extra time if neither team breaks down defensively. Look for Spain to swarm the ball in a 4-6 formation until they get it. Look for Portugal to feed Ronaldo at every chance, as he has the potential to cause major problems.
Prediction: Spain wins 1-0
Spain plays a brand of soccer which frustrates its opposition. They keep the ball out of their own goal by maintaining possession and patiently building up play until the opportune time to strike. Extremely difficult to defend for 90 minutes.
Enjoy the game!
I think it would be useful to diusscs a couple of points that are rarely addressed in the media. The euro is a “one size fits all” currency. It’s a strong currency, which is well-suited to countries like Germany and the Netherlands but not for the likes of Greece and certain other southern countries. For them it is a strait-jacket. They lose the ability to devalue their currency for example, and that is an important lever for government to regulate the economy. This diminishes the ability to export. This is an opportunity however for the northern countries, that are able to benefit and grab a larger market-share (i.e. they have hitherto benefited economically from the skewed euro construct). They were after all in the euro primarily to benefit themselves. Stands to reason. And don’t forget that Greece was allowed in despite not satisfying the requirements.Another major problem with the euro is that it does not allow countries to determine interest rates themselves. This is another major lever that is not available to government. This led to immense property bubbles in Spain and Ireland for example, where interest rates were far too low and totally unsuited to the economies of those countries. With terrible consequences.Therefore, the euro was primarily a political construct, not an economic one. It is flawed. A common currency area cannot exist without full political union. And that is not something I and many others would accept without a fight, especially as european ideas of integration (so far) are not so flexible as those in the US.Huge money transfers between sovereign countries are an especially touchy subject, as there is no common national goal or history for example. Nothing substantial that can bind people anyway, no vision beyond endless taxation without true representation.In my opinion, the euro was a rash undertaking and smacks of hubris, Countries like Germany and the Netherlands should take more responsibility for their role in its form and the devastation it has caused. The relative profligacy of countries like Greece must not blind us to the inherent flaws of the euro itself. PS. In my opinion the British Pound will never be a strong currency. It is devaluing all the time. Only shale gas will save the pound, I think.
Spain 1-0 over zee Germans in the final
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