Day 12 Recap

In the final day for most teams, the games were either heartbreakers or meaningless. There was no in-between for these games. You'll see what I mean in the recaps.

Men- Ukraine vs. Austria- 6-4 Ukraine. Ukraine went up very early with 2 goals, and never looked back. Both teams gave a fine effort, but it was obvious to anyone that Ukraine was still reeling from their defeat the night before. Austria, as they've done the entire tournament, kept up their intensity and played very well. The game was never that far out of reach for the Austrians, and they punished Ukraine's mistakes. The game was utterly meaningless though.

Men- Scotland vs Portugal- Portugal 3-2. In a decisive game for Scotland, Portugal kept on rolling with a 3-2 victory. Teams alternated goals, and momentum switched back and forth(as it has for almost every other Group C games), but ultimately Portugal's 3rd goal was the clincher. Portugal assured themselves of first in the group, leaving second place to be decided by the Poland/Norway game. Scotland needed a Norway win, a tie, or a win by Poland of less that 4 goals. The odds were clearly in Scotland's favor...right?

Women- France vs. Austria- France 5-2. France gains a little pride with the win, making sure they don't finish last in their group.

Men- Norway vs. Poland- Poland 6-1. There were 2 possible scenarios for the effect this game would have on the group. The first scenario was that Norway would win, or Poland would win, or maybe they'd tie...but in any case, the result would send Scotland and Portugal through, Poland and Norway would keep their statuses as teams that aren't very good, and life would go on. The other scenario was that Poland would destroy Norway, and go through ahead of Scotland, making Group C the absolute craziest group.

Guess which scenario happened?

Yeah, I can't believe I'm typing it either. Portugal and Poland are through in Group C. Poland played a spectacular game behind the support of their large contingent of fans, and Scotland was pushed out in heartbreaking fashion. Up only 2-1 at halftime, Scotland looked secure, but Poland played great in the second half, seemingly scoring at will. They've definitely come a long way from their embarrassing defeat by Germany. It seems almost fitting that they were the only team from which Portugal couldn't pull out a win.

Men- Serbia vs. El Salvador- 7-3 El Salvador. Another meaningless game. Serbia had tied them 3-3 at half, but it was never likely El Salvador would lose to Serbia.

Women- Ukraine vs. Chile- Chile 2-1. The battle for first place on the women's side was a good one, with Chile getting the victory and securing first. The women's playoffs are set, while the men's are to be decided on Monday.

Men- Greece vs. Canada- 4-1 Greece. Greece went out in a blaze against a rough Canada team. While Canada was playing to make it out of the group, Greece was playing for pride. Both teams beat up on each other, and once Canada's exit from the tournament was assured, the game turned into something less than soccer. It couldn't have ended soon enough.

Men- Nigeria vs. Botswana- 3-2 Nigeria. Like Greece, Nigeria regained some of their pride with a win in their final game. Though they played well, Laos and Saudi Arabia were just too good to be toppled. It's good that both Greece and Nigeria exited the tournament with a win and on a high note.

Women- England vs. El Salvador- England 5-1. England won easily, and look like they'll finish in second place in their group, barring Germany being upset on the final day.