Monthly Archives: June 2016

To begin with, the selection of the English team was wrong! Mark Noble and Danny Drinkwater had a place in The Three Lions’ squad. However, Hodgson preferred to give Wilshere a chance, which was a total mistake. Wilshere recorded only 140 minutes of playing time during the season and his invitation for the national team was quite a surprising one.

Moreover, Adam Lallana, who showed he just can’t find the net kept finding his place among the starting eleven! Ross Barkley could have been more helpful, but you can’t know that, because you didn’t give him the chance to appear for a single minute on the pitch… And another good player – James Milner, who has proved he is reliable and can help the team was just on a trip in France. He recorded only 3 minutes of playing time. Then, why you took 23 players? Why didn’t you take just 11?

Joe Hart had nothing to do during the 360 minutes he spent on the pitch at the Euro 2016, except Russia’s late equalizer, Bale’s long-distance free-kick and Iceland’s 2 goals. Maybe, he made only 2 saves and let the opponents score easy goals. Then, why you play him again, when you have picked another 2 good goalkeepers?

When something is going wrong, you need to change the tactics and the players on the pitch. Harry Kane was awful during the whole time he was on the pitch. Why didn’t you take him off? And another question – why did he take all the free-kicks? Don’t make me ask you about the corners…

I just want to ask Roy Hodgson – why he kept his tactics with crossing the ball, when he saw that it brings nothing to his team against Iceland. And one more thing – I am sure the coach has watched a thousand of videos with Iceland playing with long throws – then why you conceded such a goal?

But, it’s not only about the work of the coach. The players, who are excellent individuals, didn’t seem to be dedicated enough. They didn’t sacrifice for the team, which is the most important thing in football.

Too many questions, but there is no answer… Maybe the next head coach of The Three Lions will find the answers and achieve something significant with England, because the truth is that the fans are sick of waiting for another title from a major international tournament. England have really talented and good players, but haven’t looked like a team for a very long time! The only thing left to be done is analysing the mistakes, because they mustn’t be repeated!

France hit the bar on three occasions, but failed to beat Switzerland in their final match of Group A of the Euro 2016. However, the goalless draw was enough for The Blues to finish in the first place in the overall standings of the group. The draw was also a good result for the Swiss, who remained second in the group and will also continue to the Round of 16. In the other match Albania achieved a historic victory against Romania with the score of 1-0 and will be hoping to qualify for the next phase as one of the best four third teams. The Romanians are going to leave the tournament.

France played a strong first half in Lille, but The Blues were much more cautious during the second half. The team of Didier Deschamps, however, again did not concede a goal, although France’s defence is considered to be the weakest link of the team. At the end of the match The Blues were lucky that the referee Damir Skomina didn’t award the Swiss with a penalty.

The head coach Didier Deschamps made some changes in the starting eleven. He played Andre-Pierre Gignac in the attack. Moussa Sissoko and Yohan Cabaye also got a chance to shine. Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann, who came in as substitutes in the previous meeting, returned among the starting XI. The match in Lille was under number 50 in the career of French coach Deschamps.

Paul Pogba was the most creative player on the pitch. He hit the bar twice during the first half, but couldn’t find Switzerland’s net. It’s interesting that Pogba also showed another good “skills”. He proved that he knows how to tear off shirts, severing Mehmedi’s shirt twice.

However, the most interesting moment of the game, which described it best, was when Greizmann imploded the ball, stepping on it with his boot.

Dimitri Payet, who was left on the bench, came on the pitch after the 60th minute and made some good attempts on goal. He also hit the bar with a good volley, 15 minutes before the end of the game. Payet was compared with Michel Platiti, who scored 9 goals during the Euro 1984. We will see if Payet can take the glory at the end of the Euro 2016.

France will face the second best team in group C, so the Frenchmen will meet Poland, Northern Ireland or Germany.

Goalkeeper: Hannes Halldorsson

The 32-year-old goalkeeper of Bodo / Glimt showed an incredible performance against the favourites Portugal. He made a total of 10 saves during the first game of the group stage, conceding only one goal and helping his team record a historical 1-1 draw. Halldorsson denied Cristiano Ronaldo, as the forward of Real Madrid couldn’t find his net. The goalkeeper also saved a great header by Nani from about 3-4 metres. So, Halldorsson is our pick for the goalkeeper position.

Right Fullback: Kyle Walker

Even though England couldn’t win their first match against Russia, Walker showed a classy performance. His superb dribbling during the first half, created several goal-scoring chance, which was missed by Lallana. However, Walker was also good in defence and can’t be blamed for Russia’s late equalizer.

Centre Back: Shkodran Mustafi

The German defender was excellent in the first group game against Ukraine. He opened the score sheet early in the game. Then, he gave the Ukrainians no chance in attack, helping his teammates keep a clean sheet. Surely, he will have plenty of offers after the end of the European championship.

Centre Back: Leonardo Bonucci

To continue with, we all know what Bonucci is capable of. Even though he plays as a defender, his best skill is passing. And he proved that again after providing a great assist to Giaccherini for the opening goal against Belgium. Leonardo Bonucci also kept Belgium forwards quiet and Italy recorded their first 3 points at the Euro 2016.

Left Fullback: Tamas Kadar

Another less-known name in our squad, but Kadar of Hungary was the best left fullback after the first matches of the group stage. He was superb in defence and tireless. Kadar gave the Austrians no chance. He became even more active after Dragovic’s red card.

Central Midfielder: Luka Modric

To be honest, I didn’t expect Modric to perform well for Croatia after the long season with Real Madrid, but the Croatian midfielder was the best player for his nation against Turkey. He scored the only goal of the game with a great volley. Modric also created some of the most interesting situations in front of Turkey’s goal.

Central Midfielder: Andres Iniesta

You know when you have a player like Iniesta in your squad, that he can win a match for you with just one touch. Iniesta was performing at his usual level against the Czech Republic, when he made that terrific pass in the 86th minute and Pique found the net. So, Andres Iniesta is deservedly in our squad for his match winning delivery.

Left Winger: Dimitri Payet

It’s obvious Dimitri Payet can become the best player of the European championship. He is not afraid to take the responsibility. He made an assist for France’s first goal and then in the last minute of the game scored with a very nice shot. The 29-year-old Frenchman is tireless, skillful and has a great shot and passing abilities. He can lead France to the glory!

Right Winger: Krizstian Nemeth

The word, which can describe Nemeth’s performance in Hungary’s first match of the group stage is “discipline”. He showed solid performance and helped his teammates record a superb victory against the favourites Austria.

Attacking Midfielder: Wesley Hoolahan

Hoolahan of Norwich City proved that he deserves his place among Ireland’s starting eleven. He was at the right place at the right moment and scored Ireland’s only goal in Isaksson’s net with a brilliant shot from a half-volley. He is able to help his team achieve something significant at the Euro 2016.

Forward: Arkadiusz Milik

The forward of Ajax Amsterdam scored the only goal for Poland against Northern Ireland and brought the first victory for his nation at the European championships. He showed a great partnership with the star striker Robert Lewandowski, and both created several good goal-scoring chances.

The captain of the Irish national football team Robbie Keane can miss the European Championship finals in France through injury. He is Ireland’s top goal-scorer and his absence would affect his team’s performance a lot.

35-year-old striker received a calf injury during a training session on Saturday and won’t be available for the friendly match against Belarus in Cork.

“He felt pain in the calf on Saturday morning, so we’re just taking it on a daily basis. He won’t play in the friendly game against Belarus,” the manager Martin O’Neill said.

“He had it scanned and it’s hopefully not too serious, but enough to put him in jeopardy for a while, so we’ll see how it is. He had an injection this morning and we’ll see how it is when it settles down. Robbie is a pretty quick healer – he says that himself. He is the captain of the team, we would want him to be there and there’s not much more I can tell you,” O’Neill added.

The manager of Rep. of Ireland has more problems, because Harry Arter and James McCarthy are also doubtful.

Robbie Keane has scored 67 goals in 143 appearances for the national team since his debut in 1998. He is the player with the biggest number of goals in the European qualifiers – 23. The forward has scored 3 goals in 4 matches at World Cup tournaments. Only 20 of his goals for Ireland are in non-competitive games. In his club career, Keane has scored more than 300 goals. He is a real goal-scoring machine and the doctors will do everything to get him back on the pitch for Ireland.

Ireland are to start their participation at the Euro 2016 on 13th June against Sweden. They will also have to play against Italy and Belgium.

Keane, for sure, will be in the squad of Ireland. But, he will be more useful on the pitch. Without him, Ireland don’t seem to have a big chance for reaching the Round of 16.

However, Ireland had a great qualifying campaign, losing only 2 of 12 matches, including the playoffs. The Irish team even recorded a victory (1-0) against Germany, which directly left Scotland on 4th position in the qualifying group.

In conclusion, we can take a look at the average odds for Rep. of Ireland. The odds for Republic of Ireland not to proceed into the Round of 16 are about 1,61 (last place in the group – 2,2). Republic of Ireland – under 3 points in the group – about 1/1.

The spectators are going to see a repetition of the last year’s final in the NBA. The Golden State Warriors managed to turn things around against the Oklahoma City Thunder winning the series 4-3, although being behind by 1-3. The champions won the final match (№7) of the series at home (96-88), securing a participation in a second consecutive final game of the league against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Warriors finished the regular season with the record of 73 victories and just 9 defeats, then they were on the brink of elimination in the finals of the Western Conference, but found the strength to return, improving several records and now they will have the chance to defend their title. So far, only nine teams in the history of the NBA have managed to win the series, after being behind 1-3 in the playoffs.

Stephen Curry was simply outstanding. He showed incredible performance, scoring 36 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and making only 3 errors. Curry scored 13/24 for 40 minutes of playing time (7/12 for three points).

Klay Thompson helped his teammates to record another victory, by scoring 21 points. Thompson scored three-pointers on 6 occasions (he scored 11 three-pointers in the previous match between these two teams). Draymond Green finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists.

Kevin Durant was the best for the visiting team. The small forward finished with 27 points, while his teammate Russell Westbrook recorded a “double-double” with 19 points and 13 assists.

Thompson and Curry set a new record, after they finished with 30 and 32 three-pointers. So far the biggest number of three-pointers in the playoffs was 28!

The Warriors experienced a difficult first half, in which they recorded their lowest score of the season – only 42 points, and the guests went into the locker room with an advance of six points after the first 24 minutes. In the third part things went in a different direction and the problems were for Oklahoma City, who scored only 12 points against 29 for the hosts.

The Thunder were “fighting” until the very last minute of the match and eventually were losing by only 4 points – 86:90, but then Curry showed what he can do and scored another 6 points for his team, stamping the Warriors’ visa for the finals!

The finals, against Cleveland, start on Thursday, and the first two games will be held at Oracle Center in Oakland.

Welcome to the beautiful world of sports! The world, in which you can forget about all your problems. This is the newest online sports magazine – Sons of Roto. I am Jamie and I am proud to present you my articles with the best analysis and betting tips. We will also take a closer look at the best players in football, basketball, etc.

There are lots of betting strategies, but we are going to pay attention on these with less risk of losing money. Not everything in betting is luck. You should be statistically prepared. In addition, you should be good at mathematics, because a big part of the most successful strategies is combinatorics. But, if you are not – that’s not a problem, because I am here to help you.

Moreover, you can find here the most interesting news about transfers and recent results. Because, without the most recent news you won’t be able to place the winning bets! When you start reading you will find out that there are no 100% sure tips! Becoming an expert in betting on football, for instance, depends on a combination of several very important factors…

Be aware of everything! Don’t look only at the odds, because sometimes the odds are just numbers! I mean that, nowadays, there are no such things as surprises in sports, especially football! When watching a football game, for example, don’t watch only where the ball is – pay attention to the movement of the players – that’s the key of live betting!

Don’t rely on only one strategy! Be aware of the newest opportunities in sports betting. And one more thing – don’t do it only with passion, just think and be reasonable! Don’t be greedy!

When betting, don’t be in a hurry! Firstly, read all the information about the game and then make your prediction. Don’t bet on a team, just because it’s your favourite! But I will talk about this later.

I am also going to make my predictions for UEFA Euro 2016 and I hope you will join me with the analysis. We will take a look at every single possible way of betting, because every betting option has its advantages.

There are no faultless people. The bookmakers are also humans! So, take advantage of their mistakes and make your profit. So, are you with me? Join me and let’s take their money and make all the bookmakers cry!