Hard to pick these things, because it doesn't take much for a deserving side to lose out. Couple of injuries, a bad bounce or two, bit of magic, penalty shootout, you name it. Sweden eliminated today though talented and playing one pretty fair half (you couldn't say the first half was good). In the end you'd say England scored on three either "superb" goals, or three "fortunate" goals - those three plays, most of the time you'd say they have a 1-in-five or less chance of going in, but all three did. The bomb which Carroll heads in? Lovely play at both ends, can't defend it, but a couple of inches different on the pass and the result is different. Walcott bomb? It came right to him, and what odds do you give on that player hitting the perfect strike from distance, it's not his game? And the third goal... Welbeck's training-ground spin-and-tip, how often does that work, much less go in in a competitive match? This isn't any attempt at all to denigrate England, but rather to show how... well, it just goes like it goes and sometimes there's nothing you can do.
That said... how do you argue against the form Spain and Germany seem to be playing into, given the talent they already have? It's not always a balanced tournament, kudos to Ireland for making the finals, but they've got their best players in the English League Championship, or on bottom-of-table Premier League sides (some just relegated), or in the Russian league, or... while sides like Spain, Germany have all their players loading all the top sides in Europe. Determination and teamwork takes you a long way, but when looking for magical moments, some just don't have enough talent to make them happen, or prevent the other side from finding them.
That said... how do you argue against the form Spain and Germany seem to be playing into, given the talent they already have? It's not always a balanced tournament, kudos to Ireland for making the finals, but they've got their best players in the English League Championship, or on bottom-of-table Premier League sides (some just relegated), or in the Russian league, or... while sides like Spain, Germany have all their players loading all the top sides in Europe. Determination and teamwork takes you a long way, but when looking for magical moments, some just don't have enough talent to make them happen, or prevent the other side from finding them.
