THE CHAMPIONS BLOG: UEFA EURO EDITION #4
THE CHAMPIONS BLOG: UEFA EURO EDITION (THE EURO BLOG)
The Round of 16 hosted some incredible matches over the last four days. We were treated to some incredible stunners, nerve-racking drama, and controversial VAR decisions, across Germany. Unfortunately, we've had to say goodbye to the reigning champions, but, the game only continues. Heavy rains flooded some games, but the show must go on. This is the Champions Blog: UEFA EURO Edition.
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Day 16:
Switzerand vs Italy (Olympiadstadion, Berlin)
Germany vs Denmark (Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund)
The first Round of 16 match of EURO 2024 took place in the capital, Berlin with Switzerland hosting the reigning champions, Italy. Both teams finished as runners-up in their groups, with Switzerland narrowly missing the top spot to Germany, and Italy missing out on first place to Spain. Both sides have also met in the tournament's previous edition in 2021, with Italy winning 3-0 in Group A in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, courtesy of a brace from Manuel Locatelli and a single goal from Ciro Immobile. For most of the first half, Switzerland dominated possession and made good use of it, coming close to cracking the Italian defense many times. However, luck wasn't on Murat Yakin's side, just yet. In the 37th minute, luck finally rocked onto the Swiss, when Remo Freuler scored a great goal, to give the Swiss a 1-0 lead and one foot into the quarter-final of EURO 2024. The half would end with Switzerland holding onto a 1-0 lead, with Italy on the brink of another reigning champions' Round of 16 exit. Within a minute into the second half, Switzerland doubled their lead, thanks to a stunner by Ruben Vargas, leaving Donnarumma no chance of saving. That goal was the second-earliest goal scored in the second half of the European Championship history, and the earliest since 1984. This goal meant that Italy's title defense was now hanging on by a thread. Italy started to attack more, but they couldn't find a goal back, let alone an equalizer. In the end, the Swiss were able to hold on and progress into the quarter-finals. The Swiss's win in Berlin would see them march onto their second consecutive quarter-finals in the EUROs, while the reigning champions have failed to retain their crown in 2024.
A couple hours later, Dortmund hosted the second of the Round of 16 tournament encounters, with the hosts, Germany taking on Denmark. The Danes have yet to win a game in EURO 2024, as they drew all three games in their group, scoring only twice in the tournament. Germany is one of the competition's front runners, after finishing at Group A's top, winning twice while only drawing once. Early on in the first half, with just five minutes played, German defender, Nico Schlotterbeck, headed the ball past Kasper Schmeichel to give Germany an early 1-0 lead. However, after careful speculation, the goal was disallowed after it was revealed that one of the German players committed a shove against one of the Danes. Midway through the first half, the game had to be suspended for a temporary amount of time, due to adverse weather conditions in Dortmund. After half an hour, the game was able to resume from the 34th minute. Constant German chances were continuously saved by Schmeichel, while the Danes came close to scoring twice at the end of the half. Two and a half minutes into the first half, Denmark's Joachim Andersen scored a crucial half-volley to make it 1-0 for Denmark. Jubilation was shown to the supporters in red and white, but agony followed shortly after as a VAR check saw Denmark's goal disallowed after it was revealed that Thomas Delaney was offside. Only a few minutes later, Germany appealed for a handball on Andersen, which made it a crazy few minutes for the Crystal Palace defender. After careful VAR speculation, Germany was awarded a penalty. Kai Havertz was able to answer the call for Germany and give them the lead. In the 68th minute, Jamal Musiala made a dashing run across the length of the pitch and finished off so composed, getting the better of Schmeichel to make it 2-0 to Deutschland. That would be enough for Germany to take them to the quarter-finals. The hosts march onto their first quarter-finals since 2016, after losing in the Round of 16 last time to England in EURO 2020, however, this also meant that the dream was over for the Danes, as they exited Germany with a bitterly disappointing campaign.
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Day 17:
England vs Slovakia (Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen)
Spain vs Georgia (RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne)
Day 15 of the European Championship kicked off in Gelsenkirchen, when heavy favorites, England took on potential dark horses, Slovakia, in a highly anticipated Veltins Arena. England has made a slow start to the tournament, scoring only twice in the group stages, while only gaining five points. Fortunately for Gareth Southgate's men, it was enough to seal Group D's top spot. Slovakia has made a promising start to the competition, by pulling off one of the biggest shocks in EURO history. They did this by defeating Belgium 1-0 in their opening game. They gained four points, after losing to Ukraine and drawing to Romania. They qualified for the last 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams. The Slovaks started the game off strong, by constantly pressurizing the English attack and defense, making sure that they wouldn't get on the scoresheet. Eventually, all this pressure from Slovakia would soon pay off, as Ivan Schranz finished off a brilliant Slovakia counter-attack with a composed finish that met the end of Jordan Pickford's. Scharnz scored his third goal of the tournament, which stunned everyone in Gelsenkirchen. It would stay that way for the remainder of the first half, and England would go into the second half knowing that they needed to attack more and defend more properly if they wanted to progress into the quarter-finals. In the second half, it only took five minutes for England to register a goal, as Phil Foden managed to equalize the match for England with a simple tap-in into an open net. However, VAR struck again and the check confirmed that Foden was offside, meaning the scores remained 1-0 for the Slovaks. England worked harder to find an equalizer and came close in the 80th minute when Declan Rice's shot hit the post, but they couldn't find a goal to tie the scores, and England were on the brink of a humiliating exit. However, just when all hope seemed lost for England, a miracle happened. Kyle Walker threw in the ball from a throw-in, and Marc Guehi got a head on it before Jude Bellingham hit home a sweet acrobatic effort, which might go down as one of the greatest goals in European Championship history. With the game in the closing stages, the game would go to extra time. Hope was rejuvenated in England, and within the first minute of extra time, Harry Kane headed the ball into the back of Martin Dubravka's net, giving England the lead for the first time of the evening, sending the England fans into dreamland, and an arrow into the hearts of Slovakian fans. Fortunately, Kane's header was enough for England to set up a quarter-final encounter against Switzerland. Unfortunately, this defeat marks the end of Slovakia's underdog story, as they're still to win a single game in the knockout rounds of any tournament.
Later on in the day, the attention shifted to Cologne as heavy favorites, Spain took on tournament debutants, Georgia. Spain is the only team that managed to register a 100% record in the group stages, winning every single match in the group stage. Meanwhile, Georgia's first win at a major tournament came last time out, when they stunned Portugal, 2-0 to grab third and qualify as one of the best third-placed teams. Both sides have met in the qualifying stages, with Spain winning 7-1 in Tbilisi and 3-1 in Valladolid. Spain had a strong start to the game, but it was the Georgian supporters who would be celebrating. In the 18th minute, Otar Kakabadze's cross met the chest of Robin Le Normand. The defender accidentally chested the ball into his own net, rewarding Georgia with a stunning 1-0 lead, while also conceding Spain's first goal of EURO 2024. Spain constantly counter-attacked from that own goal, and shortly before halftime, they got their just reward. 20 minutes from Le Normand's own goal, and Spain was already back in it. Rodri's shot from 20 yards out met the back of Marmadashvili's net, adding another crucial goal to the Manchester City defender's repertoire and equalizing the game for Spain. The teams would go into the half holding onto a 1-1 draw, with the potential winning goal able to be scored by any team. Roughly five minutes into the second half, Spain already found the lead. Their star midfielder, Fabian Ruiz, who's had quite a tournament so far, headed the ball into the Georgian net after Lamine Yamal's freekick was saved by Marmadashvili. Spain's second half would only get better, as Nico Williams scored his third international goal, with a fantastic solo effort, finished off perfectly well, potentially sealing Spain's place in the quarter-finals. Eight minutes after William's stunning solo effort, Spain's ticket for the last 8 was punched in when Dani Olmo dispatched a beautiful curling effort, sailing past Marmadashvili, while nailing the final nail in Georgia's coffin. Georgia's debut campaign in the EUROs comes to an end in Cologne as Spain marches into the quarter-finals and will face Germany in Stuttgart.
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Pictures Above: Spain player, Nico Williams goes to celebrate after scoring Spain's third goal against Georgia. A swarm of England players crowd near the corner area and celebrate.
Day 18:
France vs Belgium (Dusseldorf Arena, Dusseldorf)
Portugal vs Slovenia (Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt)
The third round of matches started off in Dusseldorf as France, ranked 2nd in the world, met with Belgium, ranked 3rd in the world. Both teams have had a slow start to the tournament, scoring a combined total of only 4 goals in the group stages. Both teams also finished as runners-up in their respective groups, with France losing by a point to Austria and Belgium losing on goal difference to Romania. Both teams played with possession for the duration of the first half, but neither team could find that crucial goal to take the lead, and it remained even Steven in Dusseldorf. France's best chance of the half, came in the 33rd minute when Jules Kounde's cross met the head of Marcus Thuram. The youngster headed the ball well but sent it wide, sailing the ball over Casteel's net. Belgium's best chance came 10 minutes earlier when Kevin de Bruyne's free-kick was saved by Mike Maignan's feet, sending the ball into the air. For the duration of the second half, both teams attacked with confidence, but neither team could find the winner. Five minutes from extra time and the first goal of the match finally came around. In the 85th minute, Randal Kolo Muani's shot took a deflection off the knee of Jan Vertonghen and went into the back of Casteel's net. After a quick look at the goal, it would go down as an own goal by Jan Vertonghen, securing a quarter-final spot for France against either Portugal or Slovenia in Hamburg. Belgium's disappointing tournament comes to an end in Dusseldorf, as Domenico Tedesco's job is in danger.
Later on in the day, Portugal and Slovenia faced off each other in Frankfurt. Slovenia are appearing in their first knockout match in a major tournament. Portugal is looking to establish a new UEFA EURO record, looking to become the team with the most appearances in the quarter-finals, having been eliminated in the Round of 16 last time in EURO 2020 to Belgium. Portugal started off the game strong by dominating the ball, and even coming close in the 12th minute, when Bruno Fernandes just tapped the ball wide of the goal. Slovenia's Benjamin Sesko had a cracking shot from a couple yards out, but his shot was comfortably saved by Diogo Costa. The teams would go into the half, drawing 0-0, with all to play for in the second half. In the second half, Portugal dominated possession but wasn't able to make the most of it and score a potential winner. Cristiano Ronaldo was their main attacker, but he couldn't find the net and score in 5 different EUROs. After another goalless 45 minutes, the game went to extra time. Right before the end of the first half of extra time, Portugal was awarded a penalty, due to a clumsy foul committed by Vanja Druksic on Diogo Jota. Ronaldo stepped up for his country, and it looked like he would score for the first time at EURO 2024, but Jan Oblak's superb stop denied Ronaldo a goal at his sixth European Championship, and Portugal a place in the quarter-finals. The scores remained even, and for the first time this European Championship, we're going to have a penalty shootout. Josip Ilcic of Slovenia took the first penalty of the shootout, but his effort was brilliantly saved by Costa. Ronaldo stepped up for Portugal, and this time, he made no mistake from 12 yards out. Slovenia's next two penalties were brilliantly saved by Costa, while Portuga;'s Bernardo Silva sealed the deal with Portugal's third penalty. Portugal was through to their seventh European Championship quarter-final, appearing more times than other team. Slovenia's tournament came to an end, but they have plenty to smile about.
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Pictures Above: Portugal goalkeeper, Diogo Costa, saves one of the penalties in the penalty shootout against Slovenia. France players, Randal Kolo Muani and Kylian Mbappe celebrating after scoring the winner against Belgium.
Day 19:
Romania vs Netherlands (Allianz Arena, Munich)
Austria vs Turkey (Red Bull Arena, Leipzig)
Day 19 of the EUROs kicked off where the competition started, in the Allianz Arena in Munich. This time in Munich, it was an encounter between Romania and the Netherlands. Romania has made the knockout stages of the EUROs and of a major tournament for the first time since EURO 2000, by surprising Belgium by topping the group on goal difference. The Netherlands has made a slow start to the tournament, finishing with just four points and qualifying for the last 16 as one of the four best-placed teams. The Dutch look to bounce back and produce a dominant display after their slow start to the EUROs. After a dominant start from Romania, the Netherlands found the first goal of the game. The goal came from Cody Gakpo, as the Liverpool winger scored his third goal of the competition. His goal was an absolute thunderstrike, after cutting back inside before blazing his shot past Florian Nita, giving the Dutch the lead. Since Gakpo's goal, Romania's attacking threats started to decrease, making the Netherlands more confident to attack. Unfortunately, the Dutch, wouldn't find the net for the rest of the half, meaning they had to settle for a 1-0 lead. Things would only get better for the Dutch in the second half, as the Dutch's constant attacking threats would only intensify. In the 62nd minute, Gakpo looked like he scored a simple tap-in, bringing his tally to four goals. However, after a quick check by VAR, the goal was disallowed, after it was revealed that the Liverpool forward was offside. Ronald Koeman's men would then go ahead and find a doubler 20 minutes after Gakpo's disallowed strike, as Donyell Malen redeemed himself after scoring an unfortunate own goal last time out against Austria. A great run from Gakpo keeping the ball in play, saw Malen finishing off a simple tap-in, giving the Dutch a two-goal cushion. 10 minutes later, into the third minute of extra time, Malen completed his brace after scoring a tidy finish from a clinical Netherlands counterattack following a Romanian corner. In the end, it was 3-0 to the Netherlands. Romania's campaign was over in humiliating fashion, as Ronald Koeman's men bounced back from that defeat against Austria and arched onto their first quarter-finals since EURO 2008.
Later on that day, Austria took on Turkey in Leipzig, competing for the final place in the quarter-finals. Austria stunned France and the Netherlands by winning Group D in some style, while Turkey managed to qualify as runners-up of Group F, just narrowly defeating the Czech Republic in Hamburg. Austria is competing in consecutive Round of 16 ties for the first time in their history while Turkey are playing in their first knockout game at the EUROs since 2008. Within the first minute of the game, the ball was already in the net. Within 57 seconds, Merih Dehmiral of Turkey scored a simple tap-in after a Turkey corner caused a scramble in the Austrian penalty area, causing the ball to slip to Dehmiral, who managed to finish off a tidy one-time finish. That goal made history as it was the second-earliest goal in UEFA EURO history and the quickest goal in the knockout stages of the competition. Immediately after Dehmiral's opener, Austria almost scored from a long-range shot by Christoph Baumgartner, just narrowly finishing just inches wide from the left post. Unfortunately, the rest of the first half wouldn't be as lively as the opening few minutes, as Turkey managed to hold onto a 1-0 lead. Into the second half, Austria looked to equalize things when Marko Arnautovic was one-on-one with the keeper, but Mert Gunok managed to pull off an excellent save, keeping Turkey in the lead. 15 minutes into the half, Dehmiral added another goal to his name, as he managed to score a towering header as the Turkish fans celebrated their hearts out in the stands of the Red Bull Arena. Not too long later, a corner was swung in by Marcel Sabitzer of Austria. Posch's header looked like it would go out, but Michael Gregoritsch was able to tap the ball, sending it into the roof of Gunok's neat, making an immediate impact after coming on at the start of the second half. When the fourth minute of added time came, Austria was so close to bringing the game to extra time, but Baumgartner's header was superbly stopped by Gunok, producing one of the best saves of the tournament, saving Turkey with the last kick of the game. Turkey has advanced to the quarter-finals of the EUROs for the first time since 2008, while Austria's magical tournament ends in Leipzig.
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Pictures Above: Turkey goalkeeper, Mert Gunok producing an amazing save to keep his country in the tournament. Netherlands players, Donyell Malen and Xavi Simons celebrating after scoring a goal against Romania.
16 of the remaining teams have now dissolved into 8 teams, as we get down to the wire here in Germany. We were treated to some shocking displays and some dramatic last-gasp winners across Germany, as many big names head out of the tournament, including the reigning champions, Italy, while surprising names like Turkey, progress to the quarter-finals. The Champions Blog will return soon as the quarter-finals kicks off, tightening the situation in Germany.
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