For the Euro Cup fans among you, how strange was Group C. Sweden, Denmark, and Italy were vying for two spots in the quarter finals. If Sweden and Denmark tied their match and Italy beat Bulgaria, all three teams would have five points, and which teams advanced would depend on the the tie-breaking rules. To make a very long story short, Sweden and Denmark could ensure that both of them would advance by tying with two goals each. And that is exactly what happened. The thing that makes this so strange is that some folks in Italy had expressed their concern before the match that the Scandinavians would collude to exclude Italy. Despite the unlucky (for Italy) result, those who actually watched the Scandinavians would testify that the teams were not colluding. It was a hard-fought match, and Sweden was lucky to make it.
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1. Posted by David Rosenberg on June 23, 2004 @ 4:07 | Permalink
I watched Sweden v. Denmark. Definitely no collusion (except for the last minute or so). Also, the Italians deserved to go home. The rules favor teams that score goals. Italy did not attack well against Denmark or Sweden and played dirty throughout.
Germany's exit was deserved too. They couldn't even beat a Czech side of second-stringers.
DR
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