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Euro 2012 Live Blog: Alan Dzagoevs’ Double Powers Russia Past Czech Republic to Top of Group A

Final, 4-1 Russia: Russia stands atop the heap in Group A after demolishing the Czech Republic.

Advocaat's men were lethal going forward, and there was little the Czechs could do in the face of the Russian advance.

Young star Dzagoev announced himself on the global stage with a suberb pair of goals. Arshavin was at his 2008-esque best, unbalancing the defense with his dribbling and passing ability.

If there was any doubt to its status as one of the Group A favorites, Russia put it to rest. It punished any mistakes the Czech Republic made in defense, and could have scored more than four goals

Russia faces co-host Poland in its next game. The co-host will not be able to rely on the services of star goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. He must serve a one-game ban after he was sent off in Poland's 1-1 draw with Greece.

That's all for now and thanks for joining us. Let's discuss the action from Day One on Twitter @NESNsoccer and Facebook. Be sure to keep an eye out for some news, fan reactions, analysis and opinion that is on the way on NESN.com.

4:24 p.m., 4-1 Russia: Substitute Pavlyuchenko has made quite an impact on this game. He danced around Czech defender Roman Hubnik, before beating Cech with a thunderbolt.

He has a goal and an assist in his first seven minutes of action. It looks like his January move from Tottenham to Lokomotiv Moscow did him a world of good.

4:22 p.m., 3-1 Russia: Alan Dzagoev has become a man on the international stage.

The 21-year-old scored again for Russia. He took a pass from& Roman Pavlyuchenko and thumped his shot past Cech from 18 yards out.

3:53 p.m., 2-1 Russia: The Czech Republic punishes Russia for its lackadaisical approach in the early minutes of the second half.

Vaclav Pilar ran onto a perfect through-ball from Jaroslav Plasil, beat the offside trap, rounded goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev and scored in the 52nd minute.

Can you say all that three times fast?

Halftime, 2-0 Russia: Russia is fully in control after the first 45 minutes.

Goals from Dzagoev and Shirokov gave the Russians a comfortable cushion, and the Czechs haven't been able to muster much of a response.

Czech Republic started out well, passing with ease through the Russia midfield. But it committed too many players forward at that fateful moment in the 15th minute.

Dzagoev started and ended the move which resulted in his goal. He showed off his skill set on the play, passing wide to set up the cross, having the intelligence to time his late run, and then finishing it off with a well-placed shot.

The Czechs were stunned, but pushed forward in search of the tying goal. An error in the midfield lead to the counter-attack that Russia used to score the game's second.

Dick Advocaat's men are in control. They are sitting deep and looking to catch the Czechs for the third goal. If that happens, the game is as good as finished. The Czechs must be smarter with the ball and draw the Russians out of their bunker.

3:10 p.m., 2-0 Russia: Russia doubles its lead in the first half.

Andrey Arshavin sent Roman Shirokov into the area with a well-weighted through ball from the left.

The 30-year-old midfielder reached the ball before the on-rushing Cech, and chipped it over the goalkeeper with his first touch.

Russia is looking lethal on the counter-attack.

3:00 p.m., 1-0 Russia: Russia takes the early lead in the 15th minute thanks to an assured strike by Alan Dzagoev.

Konstantin Zyryanov sent a cross from the right into the area. It found the head of unmarked forward Aleksandr Kerzhakov, whose well-placed header bounced off the far post into the path of Dzagoev.

The young CSKA Moscow star made the most of his chance. He hit it accurately past the goalkeeper Cech and through the legs of a pair of defenders.

We predicted that the Russians would be dangerous going forward, and they showed why.

2:50 p.m., 0-0: The Czechs are tipped to make an early exit from Euro 2012, but they're not playing like it in the Group A opener.

The young team has the early territorial advantage over the Russians, but there is a long way to go.

2:40 p.m.: The sounds of the national anthems of Russia and the Czech Republic are filling the Wroclaw Municipal Stadium.

We're all set for the Group A game between Russia and the Czech Republic.

Final, 1-1: Poland-Greece ends in a 1-1 draw. It's a massive disappointment for Poland, as it looked like it would storm to victory in the Group A opener.

The hosts were excellent in the first half, and Lewandowski gave them a deserved lead. Poland's failure to score a second goal in that dominant first half cost it dearly.

Greece made a couple of inspired substitutions that turned the game in its favor. Salpingidis scored the equalizer and won a penalty that could have given Greece the lead. But Karagounis could not beat the backup goalkeeper.

The result leaves Group A wide open. Russia and Czech Republic will play at 2:45, and there is everything to play for here in Poland.

1:50 p.m., 1-1: We've come to added time, and Poland and Greece are still locked at 1-1.

The Polish crowd is willing its heroes forward and whistling every time the Greeks get the ball. Signs are pointing to a draw, which would be good for Greece, but a disapointment for Poland.

1:30 p.m., 1-1: The dramatics are in full effect here in Warsaw.

Szczesny took down Salpingidis in the area in the 70th minute, gave away a penalty kick and got himself sent off. His backup for club and country, Lukasz Fabianski is injured so Przemyslaw Tyton had to face Georgios Karagounis.

Karagounis, the captain and one of the heroes of 2004, hit the penalty low and to the right, but Tyton got down and pushed it away.

Szczesny was celebrating on his way to the locker room, but he'll miss the next two games.

This opening game has been full of drama. Two red cards and a missed penalty bode well for the rest of the tournament.

1:10 p.m., 1-1: Greece has scored an improbable equaliser. Dimitrios Salpingidis came on as a substitute for the ineffective youngster Sotiris Ninis and scored (in the 51st minute) just five minutes into his shift.

A cross came from the right side of the Greek attack, and Poland goalkeeper Wojiech Szczesny left his line to intercept it. Neither a Greek attacker, nor Polish defender, nor Szczesny could reach it, and and the ball came to a stop at the six yard box.

Salpingidis arrived first and buried the shot.

Halftime, 1-0 Poland: Poland wanted a good start to Euro 2012 and got just that.

Lewandowski's goal gave Poland a well-deserved lead after 18 minutes.

Greece's defending has been shambolic from the opening whistle, and it will only get tougher.

One starting center back, Avraam Papadopoulos, limped off with injury. The other, Sokratis, was sent off after receiving two soft yellow cards.

It took Greece 30 minutes before it mounted any sort of sustained possession. It has to do a better job of putting Poland under pressure or it will be overrun in the second half.

12:45 p.m., 1-0 Poland: It's gone from bad to worse for the Greeks.

The central defender Sokratis has been sent off in the 44th minute.

He was already on a yellow card when he grabbed a Polish player, who slipped and fell as he was turning. It was a harsh call, and Greece is down to ten men.

12:17 p.m., 1-0 Poland: Robert Lewandowski scores the first goal of the tournament. It comes in the 18th minute of the game, and crowd's roar nearly blows the roof off the national stadium.

Poland had done much of its attacking down the right side. Perhaps it spotted a weakness on the left side fo the Greek defense.

Jakub Blaszczykowski got free on the right and drove an inch-perfect cross to the head of his teammate. Lewandowski was free in the area, and headed it past the goalkeeper. It was a goal scored in Poland but made in Dortmund, Germany. Both players feature for the reigning Bundesliga champion. Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp must be somewhere grinning that unshaven grin of his.

12:15 p.m., 0-0: As expected, fans of co-host Poland have packed the national stadium in Warsaw. They're loud, proud and all wearing red and white.

The expectations for the home team are sky-high, as there's no reason the Poles shouldn't advance out of a wide-open Group A.

The home team has controlled the early part of the game, but there's still 80 minutes left in the first game.

12 p.m. ET: Hello, fans. Welcome to our live coverage of Euro 2012.

Sixteen European nations will compete for the title of best national team on the continent.

As part of our coverage, we'll bring you live updates — goals, stars and breakout performances, — from each of the group-stage games.

Instead of our usual play-by-play, we'll update you on the major events of each day's action during. We'll have pregame, halftime and postgame anaylsis with added insight and opinion between games. When the knockout rounds start, we'll cover the games in our usual, live style.

We start on the first day of action with the Group A opener between Greece and Poland. We hope you enjoy the tournament with us.

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