Euro ramblings – And then there were eight by Jade Craddock
OK, hands up, who predicted this final 8 before the tournament started – or, for that matter, before the Round of 16 – but that’s why we love football isn’t it – the unpredictability – unless, of course, the unpredictable goes against us. As we head into the Quarter-Finals, there’s just time to reflect back on a memorable few days of the beautiful game.
Bye-bye to the big boys: Well, at least it’s farewell to a fair few of them, with the death knell sounding on all of the aptly named Group of Death teams, including reigning Euro champions Portugal, reigning World champions France and perennial contenders, Germany – three teams that many would have seen as being in it for the long haul, if not the actual winners. Netherlands, too, who, despite recent tournament disappointments, had looked so promising in the group stage fell at the first knockout hurdle, whilst Italy, who have impressed so much in the early stages, were pushed to the limits of extra-time by a team in Austria who many had written off before the starting whistle was blown. The early exit of these teams means that going into the Quarter-Finals, of the eight remaining teams, there are four nations who have previously won the tournament and four nations who have not – a 50/50 chance therefore that there will be a new national team lifting the trophy at Wembley. Of the teams who have already triumphed, Spain are the most recent victors in 2012 (with success also in 2008 and 1964), whilst Italy, the Czech Republic and Denmark all have one victory a piece, some 53 years ago for Italy, 45 years ago for the Czech Republic (then Czechoslovakia), and 29 years ago for Denmark. Of the teams still looking for their first Euro triumph, both Ukraine and Switzerland have surpassed their best Euros campaign already, by reaching the Quarter-Finals, whilst Belgium’s best result was as runners-up in 1980. As for England, only an appearance in the Final will guarantee their best ever showing at the Euros, having finished third in both 1968 and 1996, but why not finish the job?
Underdogs: Who doesn’t love an underdog story (aside from those on the wrong end of said underdog story, of course)? And the Round of 16 delivered its fair share, after some generally predictable results in the group stages. Both Austria and Croatia gave it their best shot, with Austria denying what had been a rampant Italy side for some 95 minutes before the Azzurri broke the deadlock. But even when Italy doubled their lead, Austria ensured a dramatic finale by getting one back in the 114th minute, but, alas, it wasn’t to be. Whilst, in the Spain game, La Roja were nearly victims of their own possession-based success when Unai Simon ceded a goal against the run of play to that most prolific of Euro 2020 marksman – Own Goal – with the Euros longest ever own goal, some 49 yards out. When Spain brought it back to a seemingly comfortable 3-1 on 77 minutes, it seemed that the game was virtually done and dusted, only for Croatia to draw level with two goals in the 85th and 92nd minute. After a concerted effort, Spain proved too much in extra-time, but Croatia more than played their part in an eight-goal spectacle. And as for the triumphal underdogs, the Czech Republic eased past Netherlands, whilst Ukraine sealed their victory over Sweden with the latest match-winning strike in Euros history. Denmark may not have been obvious underdogs against Wales, yet they came into the knockout stage on the back of a hugely difficult group stage with just one win, but booked their place in the last eight in emphatic style. But underdog performance of the round surely goes to Switzerland, led from the front by Haris Seferovic. Whilst many had France already booked in for the flight to Russia for the Quarter-Final, and even the final at Wembley, Switzerland had other ideas, taking the game to the World champions and getting their just rewards after 15 minutes. They should have sealed the deal in the 55th minute, but after Rodriguez’s penalty was saved, France looked to have killed Switzerland’s hopes with two goals in two minutes by Karim Benzema. Like Croatia, however, Switzerland, who undoubtedly put in their most impressive performance, fought back to take the tie level, before dispatching Les Bleus on penalties. Spain and England will need to tread very carefully in the last 8.
Managerial fashion stakes: For managers as much as players, tournament football is the pinnacle. The spotlight is on them – literally – and all of their big decisions are scrutinised – Was he right to go with a back three rather than a back four? Should he have gone with striker X instead of striker Y? And, most critically, what on earth is he wearing? We can all discuss managerial tactics until the cows come home – or at least until football comes home – but, let’s be honest, what we’ve really been thinking is: who’s Roberto Mancini’s tailor? Is Vladimir Petkovic’s squared-off tie inspired by 90s schoolkid fashion? And where has Gareth Southgate’s waistcoat gone? But my own personal inquest concerns Luis Enrique’s Round of 16 choice of jeans. I had to wonder in the quick turnaround from Spain’s last group game in Sevilla to the tie in Copenhagen whether he’d misplaced his trousers in packing and the jeans were a last resort or whether this really was his matchday attire. But each to their own, and we’ve all been there, receiving an invite with that dreaded nouveau term ‘smart-casual’ and wondering what exactly smart casual means – will a Hawaiian shirt suffice? Can flip-flops ever be smart-casual? Mancini is clearly a man who errs on the side of smart, Enrique on the side of casual, and maybe Mancini is just trying to get his money’s worth out of his Italian tailor, whilst Enrique is playing the long game and just holding his designer suit in wait for the final. Actually, maybe that’s why we haven’t seen Southgate’s waistcoat, he’s saving it for July 11th.
England: Has there ever been quite a build-up to a match as the one that seemed to dominate the media agenda for nigh on a week since it was discovered that England would be facing Germany in the Round of 16? There will be a few in politics who will be thankful for the shift in the media’s attention and, let’s be honest, we’d all rather see replays of the 1966 triumph and hear It’s Coming Home on a loop for twenty-four hours than any of that debacle. Going into the game, it seemed as if there was an equal helping of optimism and nerves – England a team full of potential and quality but not quite clicking, against an under-par German side who, typically, were likely to pull off the result when needed. Gareth Southgate’s selection underwent the inevitable scrutiny, but only time would tell if it was a masterstroke. In the first half, it perhaps looked more like a backstroke than a masterstroke, although the Three Lions never looked troubled by the German line-up. Jack Grealish was arguably the game-changer once more, having a role in both goals, with a welcome return on the goalscoring front from Harry Kane, and suddenly Southgate’s decision didn’t look so bad after all, well, unless it was something a little more entertaining you were after. But, in tournament football, it doesn’t matter how you win, just that you do, and at no point in the match did it really seem that England would lose, which isn’t a bad thing at all. And whilst credit goes to Sterling and Kane, and particularly to Grealish, for ensuring the win, Phillips and notably the back three of Walker, Stones and Maguire did much to give England an impressive defensive foundation. Though, for me, it all started with Jordan Pickford, who didn’t put a foot – or a hand – wrong – and perhaps deserved more of the accolades.
Croatia (1) 3 – 5 (1) Spain AET (3-3 at FT)
France (0) 3 – 3 (1) Switzerland AET (Switzerland won 5-4 on penalties)
Netherlands (0) 0 – 2 (0) Czech Republic
Belgium (1) 1 – 0 (0) Portugal
Group E: Slovakia (0) 0 – 5 (2) Spain
Group E: Sweden (1) 3 – 2 (0) Poland
Group F: Germany (0) 2 – 2 (1) Hungary
Group F: France (1) 2 – 2 (1) Portugal
Group D: England (1) 1 – 0 (0) Czech Republic
Group D: Scotland (1) 1 – 3 (1) Croatia
Goal of the round: Nothing quite to match Patrik Schik’s first-round effort this time out, though there were a couple of well-worked goals, including both of Wales’ goals against Turkey, Ronaldo’s tap-in after a perfect counter-attack against Germany and Kevin de Bruyne’s beautiful set-up for Thorgan Hazard. De Bruyne went one better with his winning strike against the Danes, but arguably Ivan Perisic’s strike against Croatia was the pick of the bunch. And on the subject of goals, both Patrick Schick and Cristiano Ronaldo picked up another goal apiece, to take their tallies to three each, but there’s a clear frontrunner for the Golden Boot at the moment – own goals. There had only been nine own goals in Euros history prior to this tournament, with the most at one tournament being the three scored in 2016. However, five own goals – over half of the total previously scored – have already been registered in the first two rounds of this year’s edition – including the opening goal of the tournament – with Portugal’s Ruben Dias and Raphael Guerreiro having the dubious honour of scoring two own goals in a single match for the first time in the tournament’s history. On a more positive note, Ronaldo’s third goal of the campaign saw him increase his Euros goals tally to 12 and edge just two away from Ali Daei’s international record, whilst this was also his 19th goal at World Cup and Euro Championships, equalling Miroslav Klose’s record. With a tricky match against France to close their group-stage account and keep their Euros ambitions alive, could Wednesday’s encounter be Ronaldo’s swansong at this tournament?
Standout team performance: There were a few standout performances across the round, not least from two of the three home nations, with Wales tapping back into the spirit of 2016 to see them earn a deserved victory against Turkey and all-but ensure qualification to the knockout round, whilst Scotland stepped up against the Auld Enemy to thwart England’s progress. After a dire start in Munich against France, Germany reminded everyone as to why they’re the most successful team in Euros history, with an impressive victory over Portugal, while both Belgium and Netherlands maintained their 100% start and eased into the Round of 16. However, my shout for team performance goes to Italy, who eased to another 3-0 win, becoming only the second team in the tournament’s history to begin the campaign with consecutive wins with margins of more than 3 goals. Despite not being on many people’s radars pre-tournament, Italy have in fact been on a very decent run, which has now seen them register 10 consecutive wins, and all of them without conceding a goal. They are 29 matches unbeaten, just one short of their record 30 matches between November 1935 and July 1939, and have scored some 80 goals. Defensive solidity is still at their core but they’ve added the deadly combination of goals – a team to watch surely.
Standout player performance: If ever a substitute changed a team’s fortunes, it was surely Kevin de Bruyne, who was introduced in the second-half when the Red Devils were 1-0 against Denmark and promptly cancelled out the deficit by calmly setting up Hazard. And just quarter of an hour later, he turned the game on its head with a beautifully struck shot to ease Belgium into the lead and through to the Round of 16. He exemplified the term ‘game-changer’. However, for me, Leonardo Spinazzola has been a revelation. A right-footed wing-back, he’s played the role to perfection on the front foot, always offering an outlet down the wing and often the furthest forward in the attack. Admittedly, he hasn’t been tested particularly defensively, but, as they say, attack is the best form of defence, and they don’t come more attacking in the wing-back role than Leonardo Spinazzola. Now 28, Spinazzola may just be at his peak, although if Chiellini and Bonucci are anything to go by, he should have another good 6–8 years yet.
Newcomers: I can’t mention newcomers without mentioning Billy Gilmour. Named ‘Star of the Match’ (a moniker I’m not even going to go into right now) against England, Gilmour once again proved his quality and maturity as he has done every time he’s stepped onto the pitch in the last twelve months. Despite being only 20, his schooling with the likes of Kante and Jorginho clearly shows, and his battle against team-mate Mason Mount was one of the highlights of the England-Scotland match. For me, though, Denzel Dumfries of the Netherlands, who has been named ‘Star of the Match’ (I know, I know) in both of the Oranje’s matches, has been mightily impressive, starring at right-back but scoring in both of the opening fixtures – and in scoring in his first two Euros games, he matched the feat that has only ever been achieved by one other player – Ruud van Nistelrooy – and again, I reiterate, he’s a right-back. Aged just 22, he’s already making waves, and I’m sure the Premier League scouts are out in force to prise him away from PSV. And when it comes to youngsters, Jude Bellingham’s reign as the youngest ever player at the Euros was over almost as soon as it began with Poland’s Kacper Kozlowski taking the record when he was introduced as a sub against Spain, aged 17 years and 246 days. Anyone feeling old yet?
England: The concerns going into the tournament for England were all about defence and how on earth the Three Lions would cope without Harry Maguire. Blessed with perhaps the greatest array of attacking talent in a generation, the only questions about England’s front line was how to fit them all in. However, two games down and that has totally switched. The defence, marshalled it has to be said by Harry Maguire’s replacement Tyrone Mings, has kept two clean sheets and been largely untroubled, whilst a four-pronged attack has registered just one goal and didn’t record a single shot on target in the first half against Scotland. It felt as if this match brought England crashing back down to earth, against a Scotland side who were resolute and determined but who rank some forty places below their Auld Enemy. In many ways, it was a sort of throwback, an old-fashioned tussle of yore, with a few more multicoloured boots than in the past. It wasn’t particularly pretty, the good old Blighty weather didn’t let the side down, and the first twenty-five minutes was more about the foul count than the pass count, with some proper duels between Mings and Stones and Adams and Dykes, and Mason Mount and Billy Gilmour who seemed to forget they’re Chelsea teammates. Mount and Rice were arguably the best of a disappointing bunch, with another solid display by Mings and Jordan Pickford putting on a good performance. With one match to go, England’s fate will be decided against the Czech Republic and whilst it’s not all doom and gloom, there is definitely need for improvement, and maybe it’s time for a change to personnel and shape.
Group F: Hungary (1) 1 – 1 (0) France
Group F: Portugal (0) 2 – 4 (0) Germany
Group E: Spain (1) 1 – 1 (0) Poland
Group E: Sweden (0) 1 – 0 (0) Slovakia
Group D: Croatia (0) 1 – 1 (1) Czech Republic
Group D: England (0) 0 – 0 (0) Scotland
Group D: Scotland (0) 0 – 2 (1) Czech Republic
Group E: Poland (0) 1 – 2 (1) Slovakia
Group E: Spain (0) 0 – 0 (0) Sweden