Czechs rebound; Group A up for grabs

• by Samuel Charles  @SoccerIsArt, Jun 13, 2012

[EURO 2012 WRAP] In Day 2 of Group A action on Tuesday, the Czechs' 2-1 win over Greece and Poland's 1-1 tie with Russia left the group wide open going into the final games on Saturday. For a recap of the action and who's best poised to advance. ...

GROUP A, DAY 2. Bitter rivals Poland and Russia tied 1-1 at Warsaw's National Stadium. Polish captain Jakub Blaszczykowski’s incredible strike in the 58th minute electrified his nation's capital, salvaging a vital point for the co-hosts and denying Russia passage to the quarterfinals. Alan Dzagoev headed home an Andrey Arshavin free kick in the first half. Dzagoev’s third goal, and Arshavin’s third assist, both are tournament bests thus far.

In Wroclaw, the Czech Republic turned their 4-1 nightmare against Russia into a dream start against Greece, with two goals inside six minutes. Keeper Peter Cech gave Greece a lifeline when he mishandled a ball in the 53rd minute, which Theofanis Gekas pounced on. To no one’s surprise, Greece ran out of ideas, and it finished 2-1.

GROUP A OUTLOOK. On Day 3, Russia plays Greece and the Czech Republic faces Poland. Both games are on Saturday (2:45 pm ET, ESPN).

First-place Russia has 4 points and a +3 goal difference. The Czechs have 3 points (-2), Poland has 2 points (0), and Greece is last with only 1 point (-1).

But Greece will advance with a win. In fact, each team controls its own destiny in that a win will see it through to the knockout stage.

Russia will advance with a tie. The Czechs will advance with a tie if Greece doesn’t beat Russia.

Russia is assured first place by beating Greece.

Greece and Poland can only advance by winning their final games.