Day 2- Frankfurt		Match 4	Group B
	HOLLAND	vs.	BELGIUM

The best part about it being Holland and Belgium is that they're Germany's neighbors and brought plenty of fans with them. They're even loud during warmups. Right before the match, the referee gets the two sides together. Belgium's surprised at who it is.

	Seychelles? What are you doing here?
	I'm officiating this match. Is that bad?
	Dunno. Never saw you as the ref type.
	Aw, but I've been practicing so hard back home. Egypt let me ref a couple of his qualifiers. And France and England taught me all about football, so I know the game-
	*interrupting* Do you play?
	Yeah, why didn't you enter the tournament?
	Uh, well, there's sort of a problem with that...

Too late. Belgium kicks a ball towards Seychelles. Seychelles tries kicking it back, but trips and falls flat on her face.

	Wow.
	Enough about me, let's get this game started!

Job-wise, Seychelles probably would have fit better as an announcer like Taiwan. Why is she a referee? Although her team is one of the worst in Africa (and thus not included in the game, to answer Belgium's question), one of the officials for the 2010 FIFA World Cup is Seychelles native Eddy Maillet. He was an official for the 2009 Confederations Cup (including an America-Italy match) and was in charge of Egypt's playoff match against archrival Algeria to determine who would advance to the World Cup. He's her only real contribution to the sport, so it's fitting to honor that.

Holland is all ready to kick it off. He puts the ball in play, makes one pass, and has his second intercepted by Belgium.

Belgium's not wasting any time! She charges down the field, into the box, takes a shot! Knocked down and cleared. Holland on the return trip, he splits the defense, shoots! Punched over the bar! Not even two minutes in and already both teams have taken hard shots.

Holland kicks the ball around, finds an open man on the sideline and hits him.

	Down the side, there's the cross. It curls out, right to his man. Header- GOAL! Holland finds the net!
	Jeez, I just sat down! What the hell?
	It was a brilliant, curling cross that fooled Belgium. He was right there to punch it in. Rousing start for the Dutch and disaster for Belgium.

3' - GOAL (NED) - Holland 1, Belgium 0

This sets the tone as Holland uses his speed and power to overwhelm Belgium early. She doesn't have an answer for it, and he shoots at will. Belgium is barely able to keep the ball out of her net.

	Is he onside? He must be- no flag! Breakaway for Holland! He's in the box! The keeper comes out to meet him and dives. But he fakes! He's wide open and trips over the keepers legs! That could be a penalty shot!
	No whistle! Ball gets loose, Belgium picks it up and they keep playing.
	Holland's giving Seychelles a look, but she's letting the goalkeeper work.

Holland continues his assault. Belgium does a great job keeping him from making it 2-0, but can't hold it long enough to generate a threatening offense. He steals it back and keeps plugging away.

	Belgium clears again, but Holland chests it and kicks it back to the edge of the box. Takes a shot! Long range! Off the post!
	Say this much- Belgium's getting it done inside her box. If she wasn't holding her own in there, he'd have tried to get closer before taking that.
	Still a good shot though. Belgium won't last long at this rate.

Perhaps she won't make it the whole ninety, but she survives twenty minutes doing this. Holland is getting some shots, but they aren't great and Belgium is not allowing him any rebounds or second chances. After clearing it to one of her midfielders, she spots an opening.

	Finally, she sees an angle! Good through ball and Belgium cruises down the sideline, past the defense! She heads into the box! Holland's catching up and gets in front of her to take the ball away.
	Wait, she got it back! Shoots! Right at the goalkeeper!
	Didn't amount to much, but it's hope for Belgium as Holland kicks it back downfield.

It takes a while, and Holland is not letting up his attack, but Belgium is starting to see her brother's formation a little better. Once she gets the ball from him, she has to be very deliberate in her passing, but she does manage to move the ball downfield better.

Here comes Belgium again! This time from the left side. She shoots! Kicked away for a corner!

Belgium is able to use this pattern to avoid turning the ball over and get some increasingly dangerous shots. Still, Holland's defense holds up.

After ten minutes of going back and forth, the possessions get even choppier for a bit as Holland and Belgium keep stealing it from each other at midfield.

	Holland kicks it forward, intercepted by Belgium. She doesn't get very far as he takes it right back. Kicked- intercepted again! She dribbles... good tackle on the ball! Holland has it back, but it's swiped away!
	Jeez, what was that? At least Belgium's got it now and heading downfield.
	Into the box, but not much room, she shoots! Knocked away by the keeper back to Belgium! No, off a defender's leg! Over to a striker. Shoots... GOAL! Belgium ties it up!
	Persistent little devil. Second shot of the attack and it just barely gets past the keeper into the corner of the net. It's a whole new game now.

38' - GOAL (BEL) - Holland 1, Belgium 1

	How was that, brother?
	Holland doesn't respond. He kicks the ball into play, whether she's ready or not.

Now the fire is lit under both teams. Holland was already attacking hard and keeps it going. But Belgium is psyched and steps up her defense to keep the score tied. Holland continues to find plenty of opportunities, but she's able to handle them.

	Nearing the end of the half and Belgium has certainly risen to the occasion. It's a miracle Holland only has that one early goal.
	You got that right. Belgium would have been happy going in down 1-0. The fact that it's tied up must really have her excited.
	Closing seconds now and she's going to try one more attack. Crosses, but Holland heads it clear... right to a Belgium striker! The shot! Knocked away for a corner!
	It ain't halftime yet. Now Belgium has a corner to play with.

Holland doesn't make the same mistake on the setpiece, clearing the corner away easily. This does end the half.

While the teams are in the locker room, Australia and Cuba impress upon their performance.

	I must say this has been an outstanding game. Holland's showing why he's a favorite in the tournament but after a shaky start, Belgium's been going toe-to-toe.
	Yeah, she had her back to the wall for the first twenty minutes where she was just trying not to give the game away. But she found sound some rhythm and found a way to tie the score.
	So what happens in the second half? Seems like Holland's throwing everything he can at her.
	Looks like it, but you can't say for sure. He's a tricky one. Belgium certainly is giving it her all though. And she has to be careful about that. If she tries too hard to score again and forgets about her defense, he'll take advantage.
	Except for one or two mistakes, Holland's defense has been solid throughout the half. Belgium's getting it done, but just barely. She'll need to keep it up.

The second half begins and even before Belgium kicks off, she and Holland are staring each other down. They have both been playing their hearts out and neither are willing to lose. That shows as not long after the start of play, Belgium starts dribbling down midfield and gets a hard tackle from behind. Seychelles stops play and calls a foul, but Belgium's forward is clutching his ankle.

	That's definitely a foul. Probably seeing a card here.
	Seychelles is waiting for the player to get up, but doesn't reach for her pocket.
	What, no card? Come on! He's going for the leg!
	Oh, it wasn't so bad. It's just a free kick.
	My guy's hurt!

So hurt, in fact, that Belgium has to use a substitution to get him out of the game. This was the guy that scored her first goal, so she's kind of pissed. Her attack goes nowhere and Holland gets the ball, but Belgium trips him up.

Once again, Seychelles blows the whistle.

	That one was a bit much. Yellow card!
	Hey, no fair! His guy got back up!
	Doesn't matter.
	Yeah, it's not your goalie this time.

It does start to get a little ugly out there, but Belgium tries to watch herself. Her next card might be red and she can't afford to lose anyone else. She still gets by, though. A few minutes later, she heads the ball forward and Holland drop her. This time, Seychelles does book him.

	Come on guys! It's a good game, try to play nice!
	Holland doesn't know nice.

Both of them are less violent, but no less aggressive as they keep playing. It's a very hard-fought, tight battle, even as they avoid deliberate fouls. Neither team is able to make much progress on the goal as the defenders don't let much through. Most of the time.

	Belgium pushing forward now, charges up and splits the defense! It's a breakaway... right at the keeper! He hangs on.
	Nobody's getting a whole lot of chances. When you get a good one, you have to do better than that.

After that, Belgium tries to slow it down a little when she gets the ball, as getting excited and charging in hasn't been working. She kills a few minutes and patiently looks for openings. Problem is that Holland isn't patient. He marks her and prevents her from sitting on the ball for long.

Holland, meanwhile, has always been looking for opportunities, but Belgium's defense prevents him from crossing the ball in blindly. Between Belgium looking to advance the ball and Holland trying to find a good way to get it in, the 70-minute mark passes with few shots and no scoring despite the intensity.

In that time, however, Hollland is getting more anxious. Rather than wait for the right in-pass, he goes for a risky cross to surprise her. He heads towards the goal, but doesn't bother the keeper.

Belgium, though, is patient and takes care of the ball, and moves downfield slowly, but steadily.

	Now Belgium's forward, let's see what she can find here.
	Boy, Holland's not giving her an inch, is he?
	Nope, but here's a cross... headed away by the defender. No trouble for Holland.

Even when Belgium does get the ball across, Holland's defense is as tight as her own.

	Just over ten minutes left on this one and it's still nodded up one apiece. Holland has it, kicking it around, tries a shot just inside the box! Over two Belgium players! And the crossbar!
	We said Belgium couldn't forget about her defense and she hasn't. Much as she wants to win this, she knows her top priority is keeping Holland from scoring.

Still, with that seemingly achieved, Belgium gets the ball downfield. Holland is able to stall her for a moment, kicking it out for a throw-in.

	Throw-in here for Belgium, deep in Dutch territory. Played right, it's almost as good as a corner.
	She's not pulling too many forward though. She doesn't want to sacrifice defense and give Holland the chance at a breakaway.
	There's the throw... and the cross! Chested by Holland out of bounds. Another throw for Belgium.

Belgium slides over and tries to throw it in again.

	There it is again. She's looking for a cross, but Holland kicks it out again! He won't let her in the box!
	He may just be kicking it away randomly, but he also keeps it on the sideline instead of giving up a corner kick.
	Throw number three for Belgium. It's in, kicked towards the box, Holland leaps and heads it away. He adds a kick for good measure and the attack is stalled.

It's getting later and Belgium can't help herself. After she stops Holland's attack, she pushes forward quickly and tries again.

	Belgium passes down the side, no fakes! She goes up the middle, past the defense, shoots! Defender gets in front of it! He clears...
	No, wait! Belgium stole it back! She shoots! DIVING SAVE by Holland! He catches it and falls to the ground. Holland refuses to lose this game too.

After his goalkeeper sends it downfield, he quickly goes on the attack.

	And now Holland's threatening. Sees an open shot just outside the box. It's on target... SAVED! Belgium's keeper knocks it away to a defender. It's cleared and we play on.
	Two great saves from both teams back-to-back. This is looking more and more like a final score.
	Belgium gets down the field, stolen by Holland. He fires it to an unmarked man downfield! It's a breakaway!
	Offside!
	Oh! Belgium pulled her defenders forward and caught him offside.
	He was too. Head's up positioning by Belgium.

Both sides keep looking for a final score, but the defenses don't budge.

	Nothing there for Belgium, Holland clears it away and there's the final whistle! It's a draw!
	After Holland scored that first goal three minutes in, if you had told me this one would end in a 1-1 draw, I would have told you to get the hell out of here.
	Belgium knows it too. She's thrilled about the result!

Indeed, Belgium is celebrating with her fans as if it were a victory. She hugs the first person she sees and gives him a big kiss. Unfortunately, it happens to be Holland himself. She quickly jumps off of him. He looks away, uncomfortable.

	Uh... good game, sis.
	She runs off to keep celebrating. Cuba is stunned.
	Wow, um...
	Well, you know what they say- a tie's like kissing your sister.
	Who the hell said that?
	I think America came up with it.
	That would explain a lot.

There's no extra time or shootouts yet. It's a tie, plain and simple. And that's okay by everyone.

Day 2- Frankfurt		Match 4	Group B
	HOLLAND	1:1 FT	BELGIUM
3'	van Nistelrooy	Referee SEY	Mpenza	38'

Taiwan chases down Belgium.

	Well, Belgium, it's not a win but it looks like you'll take it!
	Oh, you bet! To be at something as big as this and be an underdog against my own brother... I kept up with him and we were dead even today. I think I showed him something too. I'm thrilled.
	Were you worried after that first goal?
	I was terrified! You could see that I was out of it for a while after that. I had to calm down, figure out what to do on defense, then later I was able to open things up. The important thing is that I didn't panic.
	It did get really intense there. It looked like you weren't happy with the officiating in the second half.
	Nah, Seychelles is cool. Things got a little heated, but I think she kept it under control.
	You had that injury. Everything going to be okay?
	Uh, yeah, it wasn't too bad. I'll be back at full strength against Japan.
	That's right, you've got Japan next. After playing someone you're so close to, how do you get excited about playing someone you barely know like Japan?
	Now it's all about trying to advance. I got a point off Holland and Japan lost, so I know I can get through if I keep it up.
	Well, good work today, Belgium. Back to you, Australia!

Back to the studio indeed.

	What else is there to say about it? Great effort by Belgium to get a point off Holland.
	You bet. And Holland was busting ass out there. Can't accuse him of taking her lightly. That was a good game on both ends.
	Let's hope our last game tonight is equally thrilling- England vs. Austria.
	It's hard to say. England has always been one of the world's best. He has one championship to his name and he's been in six of the last seven World Cups, getting to the second round each time.
	Meanwhile, Austria's never seemed like the athletic type.
	He ain't awful though. I don't know if he wanted to work on his game or if Hungary and Germany talked him into it, but he's all right. He's just no England.
	Oi, basically what it comes down to is whether Austria's got a plan to keep up.
	Right. If he can figure out a way to keep England in check, this might be a close game. If not, England wins 2-zip in a snoozer.
	Well, time to head to Hamburg for kickoff.

Day 2- Hamburg		Match 5	Group C
	ENGLAND	vs.	AUSTRIA

This game starts in surprising fashion, with Austria getting a turnover and looking to advance the ball right away. He advances it too far, in fact, and draws an offside call.

	Wow, Austria looking to push forward early. Not what we expected.
	If this is his plan, it's an interesting one. I'm sure England wasn't expecting Austria to take a lot of risks.

But he does. Although England impressively gets the ball halfway down the field in a matter of two kicks, keeping possession easily the whole time, he does lose it eventually and Austria pushes up again, this time getting a shot off. It's not a great shot, but it forces the goalkeeper to react.

	It's right to the keeper, but Austria's announcing his intentions.
	Yeah, but let's see what happens when England gets into a groove.

What happens is this- England moves downfield at will. With a plaintive expression, he crosses the ball laterally, bounces it up to his attackers and gets in a shot. It bounces off for a corner.

Once Austria clears it, he's moving forward again. It's not nearly as flashy, but it's steady, careful and surprisingly fast. Austria can't get too far against England's defense, but the effort is alarming.

England's possessions are very often as follows- awesome cross, awesome through ball, another awesome cross, header, corner kick, cleared by Austria. Repeat this for ten minutes.

	Austria's coming in again and it's another cross.
	A little weak, that one...
	Well, it bounces in front of a defender. Austria slides in! Connects! GOAL!!
	Whoa!
	Austria strikes first! Didn't look like much, but the striker just got to it and knocks it past the keeper!

10' - GOAL (AUT) - Austria 1, England 0

Despite the shock of Austria opening up a lead on England, this doesn't change things much. England's too stubborn for that. And frankly, England knows that the "awesome cross, awesome through ball, another awesome cross, header, corner kick" pattern usually finds fruit if repeated long enough.

	How many corners has this been for England, anyway?
	Too many if you ask Austria. As we saw with Canada, anybody can make a set piece dangerous. And nobody can place a free kick the way England can. Here's his next corner, it's a low one... KNOCKED IN! GOAL!
	There's your proof. England serves up a low cross to the near post and he just needs to give it a nudge to tie this up.

13' - GOAL (ENG) - Austria 1, England 1

This still doesn't change anything. Both seem very stubborn about their game plans. As each has an early goal, they don't see much reason to deviate. Austria continues to hold onto the ball while eyeing progress. He gets a couple good shots- much more aggressive than when the game started. Despite saving them, it gets England's eyebrows to flare up a bit.

It also reveals a potential flaw in England's plan. As great as the "awesome cross, awesome through ball, another awesome cross, header, corner kick" plan looks, it doesn't eat up a lot of time. England finds himself getting two shots in within thirty seconds, then giving it back to Austria.

	You know, possession-wise, I think Austria's held it more.
	He sure has. They've both taken the same amount of shots, but Austria's quietly setting the pace. He refuses to be drawn into a pissing contest here.
	He's open on top of the box. Feeds him the ball, turns around and shoots! Knocked away for a corner!
	These shots aren't bad. Not stellar, but they're starting to make England work.

Still, the corner goes nowhere and England gets it back.

	Kicks it high across midfield and collected by England, then crossed back to the sides. Starts to dribble in, the cross is knocked away for yet another corner.
	Deviates from the pattern a little bit, but it's the same general concept.
	Corner's away! Leaps for the head... no, he fakes, but his teammate doesn't! Heads it in for a GOAL!
	Whoa-ho! Throwing Austria a new wrinkle on that one! One guy leaps up to head it in, but ducks while the next guy on the ground takes the shot! Sweet goal, and the second off a corner for England!

24' - GOAL (ENG) - England 2, Austria 1

This still does not deter Austria. Clearly, his strategy is steady but persistent aggression and he refuses to deviate from it. Even though it doesn't produce any goals, he creates some scary moments, banging one off the crossbar, even.

It's enough to make England blink. After Austria gets it back, England tries to be a little more firm.

	Austria in his own territory, looking to move it again. Uh oh! England's marking him!
	Run, Austria, run!
	Tries to pass it- it's stolen! England's only got the keeper to beat! Knocked away!

Suddenly, England's not giving Austria as much room to maneuver. In fact, he gets too close, their legs get tangled and he draws a yellow card.

	Excuse me... are you going to apologize for that?
	Hmm? No.

When England gets it back, Austria tries to mark him closer too. England makes a nice move to get past him, but Austria slides after the ball, knocking England down. Official Thailand blows the whistle.

	Careful there. Afraid I have to book you for that, Austria.
	Austria got a yellow card?
	We're through the looking glass now, folks. Free kick, England.

	It's up... over the wall... curls down towards the goal! Keeper leaps up and just barely punched it out of bounds!
	If Austria's going to change one thing about his strategy in the second half, he needs to keep England from these damn set pieces! Two goals and almost a third there!

He'll have some time to think about it, because the half ends soon afterward.

	Halftime now with England up 2-1. Hard to really pinpoint who's running the show here.
	Yeah, if you look at the numbers, it's pretty even. Only big difference is that Austria is way up on possession and England is way up on those corner kicks.
	Do they need to change anything?
	Dunno. England's winning and Austria's keeping it pretty close against one of the world's best. Why don't we just ask them personally? You there, Vietnam?
	I am, and rushing from Dortmund to Hamburg to get here on time is no picnic. But anyway, I'm here with Austria, only a goal down at half. Is your strategy paying off?
	Yes, I believe it is. I was able to secure a goal and remain competitive in the match.
	What adjustments are you making to draw even?
	Draw even? Oh, Austria's going to win!

Nobody knows where France came from, but he drapes his arm around Austria's shoulder, rubbing his chest with his free hand.

	Beating England is simple and fun! You just need to...
	He starts whispering things to Austria's ear. Horrible, horrible things judging by Austria's reaction.
	I refuse to stoop to such tactics.
	Even playing it straight, you can get into his head by saying...
	More whispers. Vietnam leans in, catches some of it, and blushes.
	And from there, it's just a matter of-
	Slam! France gets clobbered in the head with the electronic display board used by match officials.
	What are you doing to him?!
	I think he's unconscious. Where did you get that?
	Oh, I borrowed it from Thailand. It's a display board.
	A display board? Whatever does it display?
	Injury time.

Injury Time (noun): Extra playing time added on to compensate for time spent attending to injured players during the match. Also called stoppage time.

Back to the match! In the second half, England hasn't exactly abandoned his shock and awe tactics, but he's also holding onto the ball longer. The shots haven't exactly improved, but it results in longer possessions which, in theory, would scare Austria into making a mistake.

Austria maintains the same course as he's always had to the same results- sometimes he gets a shot off, sometimes the defenders squeeze him out. It's better than nothing.

This goes on for fifteen minutes, with neither side claiming an advantage. Most notably, England has thinned Austria's possession advantage.

	Austria moving quickly upfield, kicks it and finds an open man! He's got a breakaway! Shoots! Caught by the keeper!
	England's holding it more, but Austria's still getting chances. It only takes one.

That's the only problem. Somehow, Austria is finding ways to get shots in. England starts to guard Austria a little closer at midfield, but Austria kicks it around and still manages to progress.

	Austria working the sides, there's the cross... headed, off a defender and IN! There's the equalizer!
	Oh, what a bad break for England! He had two guys there to block it, but it caroms off the defender and gets redirected past the keeper. Austria catches a break for his second goal.

71' - GOAL (AUT) - England 2, Austria 2

No matter how it happened, Austria's defense has been holding and his offense just got an equalizer. This late in the game, nobody would have been surprised with a 2-1 final. Now they're a little anxious.

England kicks it into play. Suddenly they're all tied up!

Austria and England echo the sentiments. Austria maintaining his composure, England trying not to look too nervous.

	*collected* We're all tied up...
	*uneasy* We're all tied up?

On the sidelines, Hungary is watching faithfully.

They're all tied up?

Suddenly, she blushes and starts to snicker at an apparently naughty thought. Next to her, France is holding an ice pack to his head.

And they call me a lech...

England tries harder to control the possession now.

	England with the ball at midfield and loses it! It's anybody's! They collide and Thailand calls a foul on England.
	This could come down to who can keep themselves together. Austria's done his job. He'll take a draw.
	Austria sends his free kick downfield. Looking for an opening!
	Maybe he's not done yet...
	Into the box and the defender clears it easily.
	Then again, maybe he is.
	Now England's moving it downfield rapidly. Austria can't keep up with the counterattack. There's a cross! Headed! Off the crossbar!
	Wow, that was too close. With counters like that, Austria better not get too greedy here.

Austria seems to recognize that. He doesn't devote too much effort into his offense. He gets a few shots, but not very good ones. His dedication towards defense makes it hard for England to find a strong opening. He still can't get anything in.

	Ten minutes left and Austria has possession at midfield.
	You can tell England wants to put some of his guys on the attack, but he knows Austria can cut up his defense if he does. He can mark though!
	Pressure from England and Austria kicks it away... and again... and into the box! He shoots! Goalie knocks it away! Austria gets the rebound and shoots again but off a defender! One more time! And the keeper catches it! How did he get back into position?
	Austria really threatens but moments like these tell you how good England can be sometimes.

Minutes later, Austria has it again.

	Austria at midfield, under heavy pressure from England! He needs help and passes back. His defender kicks it up, but it's stolen! England feeds to his striker! He shoots- keeper knocks it to the ground and covers it up!
	Even when Austria's thinking defense, England is able to threaten.

If what he was doing before constituted taking a chance, Austria's done with it. He loads up on defense, attacking only when he spots a chance at a counterattack and never with more than two or three men. England can't get through the defenses now.

	A minute left and England still needs a goal. Looks for a cross, no, stolen by Austria. But oh, it squirts out for a corner kick!
	You can't do that! He'd been doing a much better job limiting England's corners and he screws up now?!
	Everybody anxious now, it's the moment of truth. Can England do it again? It's... not a cross, it's a pass. Now the cross... kicked out! One more time!
	That one was more out of necessity.
	There's the kick! It's up and Austria's got it! He clears it away to his man. He'll jog upfield but he's done it! He runs out the clock and draws England 2-2!

As I'm not trying to focus on individual players, he can't be incorporated into the story. But as he's sort-of appeared in an official Hetalia webcomic, I'll mention it as a sidenote because it's bloody David Beckham: he drilled those perfect corner kicks to his teammates to score both of England's goals... and also got booked early in the game. Due to his yellow card, he was subbed out in the second half to avoid getting another one. But that would have made the finish anticlimactic.

Austria doesn't react much. He takes a deep breath and calmly jogs off the field with Hungary. England looks bitter, but that's nothing new for him. All the talent in the world and Austria stuck to his guns and executed his plan.

Day 2- Hamburg		Match 5	Group C
	ENGLAND	2:2 FT	AUSTRIA
13' 24'	Lampard Rooney	Referee THA	Haas Haas	10' 71'

Vietnam catches up with England after the game. He is unsuccessfully trying not to look pissed.

	England, you were heavily favored and ahead for most of the game. A draw has to be disappointing.
	Even though it was a draw, there wasn't any doubt who the better team was today.
	But you didn't win.
	I don't know. Call it a moral victory. It was a good effort and I looked very impressive throughout.
	But you didn't win.
	But I didn't lose. Austria works very hard and played great. It's hard to look good when playing someone like that.
	But you didn't win! You're the best team in the group. He's the worst. You should have beaten him.
	That's very disrespectful to Austria! You know he qualified for the last Euro tournament?! I didn't do that.
	He hosted! He got in automatically! My point is that if you can't beat Austria, how are you supposed to beat better teams like Norway and Korea?
	England huffs angrily and walks away grumbling.
	Dammit, I need a drink...

Back in the studio, Australia and Cuba try to summarize.

	Well, he can spin it however he wants but at the end of the day it's not a good result for England.
	Not at all. Like 'Nam said, if he can't get three points against Austria, he's in for a surprise against  Norway and Korea. They're both strong players itching for some respect and have to be really looking forward to England now.
	Absolutely. Give a hand to Austria for coming up with a plan and sticking to it pretty much all game, but England really should have had this one.
	He'll have to do better than that in his next two matches if he wants to advance. This is a tough, tough group he's in.
	'At's right. Let's take a look at the group tables to see the damage.

 

Group A Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts   Russia 1 1 0 0 4 1 3 3   Germany 1 1 0 0 3 2 1 3   Hungary 1 0 0 1 2 3 -1 0   Greece 1 0 0 1 1 4 -3 0	Group B Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts   Canada 1 1 0 0 3 1 2 3   Holland 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1   Belgium 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1   Japan 1 0 0 1 1 3 -2 0
Group C Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts   England 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 1   Austria 1 0 1 0 2 2 0 1   Korea 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Norway 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0	Group D Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts   Spain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Turkey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Latvia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Lithuania 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Group E Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts   France 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Denmark 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Finland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Hong Kong 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0	Group F Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts   Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Switzerland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Egypt 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Estonia 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Group G Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts   Sweden 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Poland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Iceland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Liechtenstein 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0	Group H Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts   America 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Ukraine 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   Belarus 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   China 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

 

	Wow, I just realized something. We had three games, we marched out Holland and England... and yet the only guy who comes away with three points today is Canada.
	Ya hate this game?
	Naw, I think it's funny as hell.
	Well, if you think Canada was an underdog, you'll love tomorrow's lineup as Group D's Baltic states have to deal with some tough competition. Latvia faces Euro '08 Champion Spain while Lithuania draws Turkey.
	Don't forget Norway and Korea. With England and Austria drawing, winner of that one's in great shape in Group C.
	Righto. Well, that's it for today. For Cuba, I'm Australia. See ya next time!

Since it keeps coming up, I'll explain that Euro refers to the confederation championship between all the European nations. Since Europe is so dominant in the game, it's like a miniature World Cup. Great for Euro-centric Hetalia too- despite having half as many participants, there were just as many canon Hetalia countries in Euro '08 as there will be at the 2010 World Cup. Spain beat Germany 1-0 in the final, with Russia and Turkey rounding out the top four.

To Be Continued!

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