DAY SEVEN IN the Euro 2012 house and some of the contestants are eyeing up the suitcase and verging on a nervous breakdown.
Not Ireland though; we’re singin’, drinkin’ and by 10pm tonight we’ll be winning.
Join in and contribute to the fun and frolics by tweeting @TheScore_ie or hitting up our Facebook page. Cool, huh?
Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God….
It’s here. The day has finally arrived when Ireland – proud holders of the Carling Nations Cup – meet the reigning world and European champions.
Bring it.
But first, here’s a wee snapshot of central Gdansk last night, thanks to Guardian journalist Gregg Bakowski who has since abandoned attempts to break down the hordes by nationality.
Before we dive head first into the day’s festivities, get the groundwork done. Here is Adrian Russell’s preview of Croatia v Italy (it matters… a lot) and this little profile of Giovanni Trapattoni and Vicente del Bosque.
What have they in common, you ask? Oh, just a rake of medals and… being old.
Looking forward to the game tonight? To get you in the mood, Niall Kelly looks at what happened the last 5 times Ireland played Spain.
We actually beat them once, you know.
And the winner of the award for worst Abba-related pun ever goes to…
Want to see Mario Gomez pole vaulting in a suit for no apparent reason? Of course you do.
YouTube credit: HUGOBOSSTV
BREAKING: Sky Sports are reporting that Simon Cox will start alongside Robbie Keane.
We’ll have a full story up shortly.
Here’s the latest Ireland Euro 2012 song:
YouTube credit: HUGOBOSSTV
Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
We now have a full story up on those reports that Trap has given Simon Cox the nod to start tonight. You can read it here.
The Twitterati have spoken, and they’re thumbing down that Cox decision in their droves:
Our man in Gdansk had a chance encounter with Pat Kenny the other night. Read all about it here.
This picture is all over the internets today (via @kenearlys):
To keep you busy, here’s a quick poll:
If the reports are to be believed, is Trap right to start Cox?
Poll Results:
This just in…
Is this Ireland’s biggest ever game, asks Miguel Delaney.
Okay, Adrian here, in for the long haul. I may vomit with nerves, FYI. How are we all feeling out there? Some of you commenters on this post are feeling pretty, pretty bullish.
Someday maybe, there’ll be an investigation into my underwear. UEFA have vowed to probe — it says here — Nicklas Bendtner’s bookie-branded nick-nacks. The 24-year-old striker scored twice in Denmark’s 3-2 defeat in Lviv, Ukraine, on Wednesday as Morten Olsen’s side battled back from a 2-0 deficit but were beaten with a goal three minutes from time. And then he went and spoiled it all…
As NFL QB, Eli Manning says: I’m not superstitious; but I am little-stitious. And we’ll take any omen going today. The good people at Irish hockey have been in touch with this bit of news:
Our man in Gdansk, Miguel Delaney, should be working away in the media centre ahead of what he thinks is Ireland’s biggest game ever. Instead, he’s taking pictures of an unsuspecting Sara Carbonero. What’s Polish for ‘restraining order’?
This just popped up in our Facebook stream. Pin this one on the wall, Trap:
Newstalk production team member Bobby Ewing — we can presume that’s his real name — tweets this dinger of a picture from Sopot:
Yet another Fr Ted reference here ahead of Trap’s team selection. Someone also needs to teach Glenn Whelan that Xavi is small and Iniesta is far away.
H/T Haganator
RTÉ’s Tony O’Donoghue says there’s a strong rumour ‘from the Irish camp’ that Simon Cox will start in midfield. What do you think of that?
These Irish fans have been busy this afternoon in Gdansk.
Kevin Kilbane and Frank Stapleton are currently on The Last Word. Kilbane is pretty optimistic it has to be said, rolling out phrases like ‘nothing to lose’ and ‘nothing to fear’. There’s no mention yet of his Ice, Ice Baby performance. Matt Cooper asks Stapleton about these comments from his former international team-mate Michael Robinson, which emerged yesterday but the big man shrugs it off.
“Although I grew up in Greystones and have always spoken with an Irish accent – which automatically makes people assume you’re “more” Irish – my mother always spoke to me in Spanish as a child and I used to spend entire summers over there. As such, I’ve always felt exactly what I describe myself: Irish-Spanish.”
Who ordered the slideshow of pictures from Gdansk? Anyone… anyone.
Tonight we’re all Italians. Niall Kelly is liveblogging the Azzurri’s clash with Croatia over here. Let’s hope they can put a stop to the Croats’ gallop.
Okay, as the best newscasters say: let’s leave it there. You can follow Italy v Croatia here and I think there’s a game on later too that we might keep an eye on.