Euro 2004 Day Ten

England and France both advance.

Today Steve and I watched matches live for the first time, switching back and forth between the England vs. Croatia and France vs. Swizerland matches. It was frustrating for awhile when we would be on the wrong channel and miss a goal, but we eventually ended up seeing the important goals that sent England and France on to the final eight. Here's how it all went down.

Croatia jumped out to an early lead only 6 minutes into their match against England when Niko Kovac poked home a loose ball in the box. However, the Brits were determined not to go home early, and applied consistent pressure on the Croats, eventually finding the net on an awkward angle, Paul Scholes goal. England only needed a draw to advance and were feeling good about their chances. Apparently Wayne Rooney read my slight skepticism in his abilities and proceeded to send a screamer into the far left corner of the net just before halftime, putting England up 2-1. Beckham celebrates in his typical heimlich-maneuver fashion.

Meanwhile, over at the France vs. Swizerland match, France gained a lead on a corner-kick header by Zidane . However, Swiss striker Johan Vonlanthen leveled the score and became the youngest ever Euro tourney scorer, beating the previous record estabished days earlier by Rooney. At halftime the score was 1-1.

The second half of England vs. Croatia turned into a bit of a scoring spree for England as Croatia had to push all men up, leaving them vulnerable to counterattack. Rooney took full advantage of this offensive tactic, and raced on a breakaway to net his second of the day. Croatia's Igor Tudor scored in the 73rd minute to give his side a bit of hope, but England's Frank Lampard erased all doubt about who would advance when he scored in the 79th minute. England were 4-2 winners, and tournament leading goal scorer Wayne Rooney was the talk of a nation.

Back at the France/Swiss match French coach Jacques Santini subbed out striker David Trezeguet and replaced him with Man U's Louis Saha, who immediately flicked a header to Thierry Henry for the go-ahead goal. Back on track, Henry raced down the flank and cut in to net a second one minutes later and France were through (3-1) as group B winners.

Photos of note:

1. Another awesome navel shot.

2. A cock.

3. God's gift to women.

4. Sven-spotting.

5. Cute Croat. Weird attempt at "checkerboard on face" paint.

6. France is one quick team.