THE CHAMPIONS BLOG: UEFA EURO EDITION #2
THE CHAMPIONS BLOG: UEFA EURO EDITION (THE EURO BLOG)
This round of matches saw many teams qualify for the last 16 of the competition. We witnessed some enthralling encounters as Germany hosted their second batch of matches. As the UEFA EURO tournament enters the exciting phase of the last 16, it's time to reflect on the riveting matches and unexpected outcomes that have captivated fans all over Europe. This is the Champions Blog: UEFA EURO Edition.
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Day 6:
Croatia vs Albania (Volksparkstadion, Hamburg)
Germany vs Hungary (MHP Arena, Stuttgart)
Scotland vs Switzerland (RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne)
Hosts, Germany continued their tournament against Hungary in the MHP Arena in Stuttgart. The hosts started their tournament in style, winning the competition's opening match, 5-1 against Scotland in Munich. Hungary started their campaign with a defeat against Switzerland in Cologne, losing 3-1. Germany made no changes to their starting 11 against Scotland while Hungary made two changes to their team, bringing on Begunduz Bolla and Marton Dardai in the place of Atilla Szalai and Adam Lang. Hungary almost surprised everyone in Stuttgart when they almost took the lead within the first minute. However, Manuel Neuer proved better and swept the strike away. Germany attacked with force and concentration, and eventually, it all paid off. German captain, Ilkay Gundogan dribbled past Peter Gulasci and passed it to Jamal Musiala who managed to tuck the ball into an open net, to score his second goal of the tournament. Hungary attacked after Musiala's goal and even grabbed a goal right before halftime, but, it was disallowed. Germany would hold onto a slim 1-0 lead in the half. In the second half, things would go the hosts way. In the 66th minute, Gundogan continued his great match by doubling Germany's lead by shooting a sweet strike past Gulasci. Thankfully for Naglesmann, that would be enough to seal the three points. This meant that Germany was the first team to seal their place in the Round of 16, while Hungary's EURO 2024 campaign was in trouble.
Earlier on that day, Croatia and Albania faced off each other in Hamburg. Both teams needed a win to keep their hopes of qualifying for the last 16 alive, as both started their campaigns with defeats with Croatia losing 3-0 to Spain in Berlin and Albania losing 2-1 to Italy in Dortmund. Albania stunned everyone once again by taking another early lead within the 11th minute. However, Croatia turned it around in the 76th minute scoring twice in two minutes. Then came the 95th minute. It looked like Croatia would go home with the three points, but a last-gasp equalizer by Klaus Gjasula earned a point for Albania, leaving Croatia in danger of an early exit. After Germany's win in Stuttgart, Scotland faced off against Switzerland in Cologne. Scotland had work to do after being annihilated 5-1 against Germany on day 1 of the EUROs, while Switzerland could qualify for the last 16 if they were to get the better of Scotland. However, Scotland was off to a flying start as Scott McTominay's shot took a deflection off Fabian Schar before the ball hit the back of the Switzerland net, making it 1-0 to Scotland. Switzerland wasn't behind for long as 13 minutes later, starman, Xherdan Shaqiri, hit a fantastic shot past Angus Gunn to equalize the game for the Swiss. Neither could find a potential winner and both would have to leave Cologne with a point and a desire to win in their next game.
Picture Above: German captain, Ilkay Gundogan celebrates after scoring Germany's second goal of the game.
Day 7:
Slovenia vs Serbia (Allianz Arena, Munich)
Denmark vs England (Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt)
Spain vs Italy (Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen)
A rematch of the last semi-final between Spain and Italy was in store for us in the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen. This was the fifth consecutive time that Spain and Italy would face each other in the European Championship, having encountered each other in every edition of the competition since 2008. Their last meeting came in the semi-finals of the previous campaign, with Italy prevailing 4-2 on penalties in London, before defeating England in the final to win their second European Championship. De la Fuente gave only one chance to his team that beat Croatia 3-0, replacing Nacho with Aymeric Laporte, while Spalletti kept the same squad that defeated Albania 2-1. Spain started off strong by attacking with real purpose. They came close to an early lead in the match's early stages, but Spain couldn't find the goal to give them the lead in the game. Italy also had their fair amount of chances, but the Azzurri couldn't find their opening goal. Eventually, La Roja and the Azzurri would go into the half with a goalless draw. In the second half, Spain opened the scoring within the first 10 minutes of the half, Nico Williams crossed the ball to Alvaro Morata. Morata got a flick on the ball but the ball went in after an unfortunate touch by Riccardo Calafiori, resulting in an own goal by the Bologna defender. After their first goal, Spain continued to attack, but they couldn't find the goal to double their lead in Gelsenkirchen. However, that own goal would be enough as Spain clinched the second spot in the Round of 16, while also sealing the top spot in Group B.
Earlier on that day, Group C hosted its first match of the day when Serbia and Slovenia faced off each other in Munich's Allianz Arena. Both teams needed the points if they wanted to get their hopes of qualifying for the last 16 alive, as they picked up a defeat (Serbia) and a draw (Slovenia) in their opening games. After a goalless first half, the fans in white would celebrate first as right back, Zan Karnicnik opened the scoring for Slovenia, to send jubilation to their fans. Then the 95th minute came and Slovenia was clinging on to their 1-0 lead. It looked as if they would head back with the three points, but Serbia refused to end their tournament with a game in hand, as they miraculously got their goal from a corner in the last minute, thanks to substitute, Luka Jovic, who kept Serbia's EURO 2024 campaign alive. Soon after the Munich encounter, the attention turned to Frankfurt for another EURO 2020 semifinal rematch, this time with Denmark and England in the Deutsche Bank Park. England prevailed the last time these two sides met in the last competition, winning 2-1 after extra time to make their first major final since the 1966 World Cup final. England took an early lead as Harry Kane picked up his first goal of the tournament, after a scramble in the Denmark penalty area. However, the Three Lions's lead wouldn't last long. In the 34th minute, Morten Hjulmand scored a screamer from way outside the England penalty area. That goal was Hjulmand's first goal for Denmark, while that was the first goal that England conceded in the group stage since EURO 2016 when Gareth Bale scored a sumptuous free-kick for Wales. Neither team would find a winner and both teams would leave Frankfurt with a point each.
Day 8:
Slovakia vs Ukraine (Dusseldorf Arena, Dusseldorf)
Poland vs Austria (Olympiadstadion, Berlin)
Netherlands vs France (Red Bull Arena, Leipzig)
Leipzig hosted probably the best match of the day between the Netherlands and France. Both teams started off their campaigns positively with wins against Poland and Austria, meaning a win for either team would see them through to the knockout phase. French star, Kylian Mbappe was named on the substitute's bench after picking up a nose injury against Austria, meaning that Anotine Girezmann had to take his place as captain. The Netherlands took their early chances to good use and came close to scoring within the first minute, but, Mike Maignan proved better than the Dutch. France came close to opening the scoring in the 14th minute when Adrien Rabiot was one-on-one against Bart Verburggen. He passed the ball to Griezmann but he couldn't pounce on the chance and give France the lead. Both teams couldn't find a goal and would go into the half in a 0-0 draw. In the second half, France attacked with force but still couldn't find their goal. In the 68th minute, the deadlock was finally broken as Xavi Simons shot the ball back into the French net after it was initially cleared out by Mike Maignan, the French keeper. However, after a lengthy VAR check, the goal was disallowed after it was revealed that Denzel Dumfries took a touch while being in an offside position. Unfortunately, neither team would find an onside goal, and we had the first goalless game of EURO 2024. However, both teams could still qualify for the last 16 if defeat is avoided in their next respective matches.
Before that enthralling encounter between the Netherlands and France, two other matches could ultimately decide the fate of their groups. The first match was between Slovakia and Ukraine. The Slovaks produced the first major upset of the competition, defeating Belgium 1-0 in Frankfurt, who are currently ranked 3rd in the FIFA World Rankings. Ukraine, on the other hand, had a start to forget, after losing to Romania 3-0 in Munich. However, after the Ukrainians had a shocking performance against Romania, they stormed back into winning ways. After a rough first half, conceding in the 17th minute courtesy of Ivan Schranz, Ukraine stormed back scoring two wonderful goals courtesy of Mykola Shaparenko and Roman Yaremchuk, giving Ukraine hope of making the last 16. Later on, Poland faced Austria in Berlin. Both teams started off their tournaments with defeats in the hands of France and the Netherlands, and both teams entered the Olympiadstadion with an acknowledgment that defeat would dampen their hopes of making the last 16. Austria started strong, scoring within 9 minutes thanks to a header from Gernot Trauner. Poland hit back on the half-hour mark when Kryztof Piatek scored to equalize the game for Poland. After half-time, Austria seemed like a whole new team. The brilliant mind of Marko Arnautovic inspired the Austrians to victory as his dummy helped Christoph Baumgartner score Austria's second and his penalty sealed the three points for Austria. They were now in touching distance of the last 16.
Picture Above: Dutch and French captain, Virgil van Dijk and Antoine Griezmann discussing matters with the referee, Anthony Taylor.
Day 9:
Georgia vs Czech Republic (Volksparkstadion, Hamburg)
Turkey vs Portugal (Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund)
Belgium vs Romania (RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne)
Hours later, Belgium and Romania faced off each other in Cologne. Romania was off to a flying start, defeating highly fancied, Ukraine 3-0 in Munich to grab their first win in the EUROs since 2000, when they defeated England 3-2 in Charleroi, Belgium. Belgium, on the other hand, had quite a shocking start, delivering one of the greatest shocks in European Championship history by losing 1-0 to Slovakia in Frankfurt, providing the first major upset of EURO 2024. This time, Belgium was off to a better start, scoring within 2 minutes. The goal came from a super strike by Youri Tielemans, scoring within 75 seconds of the match. The Belgians continued to attack, but the Red Devils couldn't find a goal to double their lead, meaning that they had to settle with a 1-0 lead at halftime. In the 62nd minute, Romelu Lukaku managed to tuck away a shot to make it 2-0 to Belgium. However, after a quick VAR check, the goal was deemed disallowed due to Lukaku being a fraction offside. That was his third disallowed goal of the tournament, having scored 2 disallowed goals against Slovakia in the opening game. Belgium's second goal eventually came in the 80th minute, when their captain, Kevin De Bruyne managed to make contact with the ball before Romania's rushing keeper came out to clear it. Belgium would then end the day with a 2-0 win, ensuring that the Belgians are back on track and up and running in EURO 2024, after their defeat against Slovakia.
Many hours before Belgium and Romania's encounter, the attention was turned to Group F, for matches between Georgia playing the Czech Republic in Hamburg and Portugal taking on Turkey in Dortmund. Georgia and the Czechs played the first match of the day. Georgia is competing in their first major tournament, but was off to a losing start after Turkey defeated them, 3-1 in Dortmund. The Czechs also were defeated in their opening game and were so close to grabbing a point, but Portugal's last-minute winner ensured defeat for the Czechs in Leipzig. The first bits of drama came in the late stages of the first half. After a Georgia corner, it was revealed by VAR that there was a handball from one of the Czech Republic's defenders. Georgia took advantage of their penalty and scored with just moments of the half left. The Czechs would immediately come back in the second half, as Patrik Schick chested the ball past a stranded Marmadashvili, making it 1-1 again. Georgia came very close to winning the match, with virtually the last kick of the game, but a missed chance by Saba Lobzhanhidze meant that the points were shared, and defeat next time would see both teams out of EURO 2024. Later on that day, Portugal and Turkey faced off each other in Dortmund. Both teams started off their tournaments positively with wins against their group mates, Czech Republic and Georgia. A win for either side would see them off to the Round of 16. Portugal had a strong first half, scoring twice in seven minutes. The first goal would come from Bernardo Silva, as he managed to tuck away his shot with a first-time finish from a deflection of one of the Turkish defenders. The second goal was an own goal from Samet Akaydin, due to confusion between him and the Turkish keeper. He allegedly passed the ball to Bayindir but he failed to clear it away and the ball went in the net. By the time the first half ended, it was 2-0 to Portugal. Early on in the second half, Portugal managed to grab another goal, thanks to a simple tap-in by Bruno Fernandes. Cristiano Ronaldo was one-on-one with the keeper but refused to be selfish and let Fernandes score to make it 3-0 for Portugal. That would be enough to seal the deal for the Portuguese, meaning that they would top Group F and have a place in the Round of 16 guaranteed.
Picture Above: Belgium captain, Kevin De Bruyne celebrates after scoring his goal and Belgium's second.
The second matchday of UEFA EURO 2024 provided thrilling and intense encounters across the host cities in Germany. We witnessed three teams successfully managing to qualify for the knockout stages after grabbing victories against their respective opponents. Many giants' campaigns are hanging on by a thread as we could see some big names heading out already. Some late goals also proved decisive for teams as their campaigns will be decided next matchday. The Champions Blog will return as the final round of group stage matches kick off.
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