2008 July 17 « Jeorge Bird’s Arsenal Youth

Welcome to the Arsenal Youth coverage of Day Two of the 2008 UEFA u-19 Championships, which are being held in the Czech Republic. To catch up on what happened on Day One, click here. Read on for reports on today’s action.

GROUP A

Fran played 64 minutes as Spain lost 1-0 to Hungary.

Fran Merida-Spain 0 Hungary 1

After missing the first game of the tournament due to suspension relating to an earlier qualifier, Fran started the game for Spain as they took on Hungary in a must-win game. After their defeat to Germany in their opening game, the reigning champions were in danger of going out of the tournament at the group stage.

Fran, wearing the no.16 shirt, occupied a position on the left side of midfield but drifted across the pitch as the match progressed.

Spain’s opponents, Hungary, boasted Liverpool striker Kritzian Nemeth up front and gave the impression of a strong, physical outfit.

The game took a while to get going with both sides adopting a cautious approach and attempting to catch eachother out.

After some strong challenges from both sides, Guzan missed a chance for Hungary and then Spain showed their attacking threat when some neat passing found the ball at the feet of Emiliano Nsue who knocked the ball across the face of goal instead of firing it past Gulacsi. What it showed though was Spain’s counter-attacking ability and also that they looked sharper than they did against Germany three days ago.

Hungary were next to attack and had a flurry of chances in a very short time period but somehow managed to squander them all. Nemeth had the best opportunity but in the end he managed to take the ball too far away from goal and was closed down.

It was turning into a pulsating game of counter-attacking football with both defences having their weaknesses exploited and there was also a certain physical edge to the encounter as well.

This was demonstrated on 27 minutes when Spain’s Castellano was cautioned for elbowing Gozstonyi.

By this point the game was beginning to open up more and Emilio came close with another attempt.

Merida was beginning to influence the game and his corner was headed just over by Bolado before the diminutive play-maker had an effort on goal himself but blasted it over, frustrating his manager.

Fran then played a neat angled ball in towards Parejo but the striker opted to nod the ball onto a team-mate rather than go for goal himself. Hungary had another poor shot wide and then the half-time whistle blew, with Spain knowing they still had a lot of work to do.

Half time- Spain 0 Hungary 0

Spain made a change at the break, bringing on Jordi Alba for Bolado. Alba had scored in the defeat to Germany three days earlier.

He could have had an immediate impact on proceedings but failed to meet Merida’s cross with any conviction.

The second period was slow to get going and Nemeth was restricted up front for Hungary with the referee always seemingly opting to give key decisions against him.

Spain were intent on going ahead and Alba knocked a ball across goal but Nsue was too far away and Gulcasi gathered it.

Hungary then made their first sub, replacing Nikhazi with Szabo. They were growing more and more into the game and looked deadly on the counter-attack.

Merida, meanwhile, was finding his path blocked and struggled to create any more attacking opportunities. The same could be said for the rest of his Spanish team-mates.

Hungary, however, were displaying their counter-attacking style again and broke from a Spain corner to win one of their own.

On 64 minutes, Spain opted to withdraw Merida and replace him with reported Arsenal target Dani Aquino. Merida had put in a decent shift but was beginning to tire and Spain hoped Aquino would give them the injection of energy they desperately needed.

He made one lightning break soon after his arrival but was quickly picked up and marked out of the game.

Hungary’s Corsova had his header cleared off the line and then, following another terrific break, Hungary eventually did find the net, with Nagi capitalising on some poor goalkeeping to fire home.

Spain had further chances with Parejo coming close from a free-kick, whilst Aaron was denied by a fingertip save from Gulcasi with Alba hitting the rebound wide.

Emilio Nsue then capped off a poor display in front of goal by somehow missing a chance from two yards out after he opted to use the outside of his boot. He had a chance to make amends moments later, but squandered that too and was reduced to tears.

Hungary meanwhile were crying tears of joy come the final whistle after they managed to run the clock down to secure the victory. Dissapointment for Spain and Merida, but Hungary became the first team to make it through to the semi-finals.

Full time- Spain 0 Hungary 1

PLAYER WATCH: FRAN MERIDA

Despite the defeat, Merida performed well throughout and created several attacking chances. His eye for a pass is second to none but his first touch wasn’t always accurate and he needs to work on his shooting. He was also clearly lacking match fitness but that was understandable. It seems as if he has become stronger physically.

RATING: 7/10

Other game:

Germany 3 Bulgaria 0

Germany took the lead through Diekmeier on 16 minutes. They added to their advantage with further goals from Nsereko and Lars Bender.

RESULTS SO FAR: Mon. Bulgaria 1 Hungary 0, Germany 2 Spain 1. Today. Spain 0 Hungary 1,

FIXTURES: Sun. Hungary v Germany, Spain v Bulgaria

GROUP B

Kieran Gibbs- England 0 Italy 0

Kieran started the game in central-midfield as England looked to put Monday’s defeat to the Czech Republic behind them. In a fiercely contested game, both sides had chances early on with Sturridge and Sears coming close for England whilst Paloschi missed for Italy. Kieran gave away a needless foul on 4 minutes, but very nearly made up for it 10 minutes later when he smashed a shot against the crossbar. Then misfiring Italian forward Okaka Chuka squandered a couple of opportunities wide. Both ‘keepers were kept busy in the first period with Button keeping England in it at times. Crystal Palace’s Victor Moses was handed a start for this fixture and looked impressive on the ball but was lacking that killer instinct up front. The half-time whistle blew with both sides neck and neck.

Half time- England 0 Italy 0

The second half saw the game descend into a fouling contest, although England did come close through efforts from Moses, Gibbs and Sinclair. The Three Lions must now win their final game against Greece and home Italy slip up against the Czech Republic in order to qualify.

Full time- England 0 Italy 0

PLAYER WATCH: KIERAN GIBBS

Kieran’s attacking movements were restricted by the defence-minded Italians, but he still managed to hit the crossbar. He has been one of England’s brighter lights and if the Three Lions do go out of the tournament on Sunday, at least Kieran can be proud of his performances.

RATING: 6.5/10

Other game:

Czech Republic 0 Greece 0

In the other game in Group B, Greece managed to hold the hosts to a 0-0 draw despite being reduced to ten men after Nini was sent off for two bookable offences.