Euro ramblings – Second Round Review by Jade Craddock

Another 12 games played and a host of talking points from Coca-Cola-gate (other fizzy drinks – and water – are available) to the first 0-0 draw between England and Scotland in England. So here’s a look at some of the highlights (and lowlights) of the second round.

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?

Surprise packages: Hungary versus France was seen as a shoo-in for the reigning World Cup winners who had eased past Germany, just four days before. However, the 60,000 fans in Budapest and the Magyars didn’t get the memo, shocking Les Bleus by going ahead at the end of the first half. Hungary couldn’t hold on to the lead as Antoine Griezmann equalised on 66 minutes, but a team boasting the likes of Mbappe, Benzema and Pogba couldn’t find a way past a determined Hungary side. A side it must be said whose 3-0 defeat by Portugal hugely flattered their opponents, after Hungary had held out for 84 minutes. A draw against the tournament favourites was little more than the side deserved, and it keeps the so-called Group of Death wide open. Whilst Hungary have proved a welcome surprise, Spain have been the opposite, managing just two underwhelming draws and scoring one goal. It is a team that remains blessed with talent but one that has become predictable and somewhat stale. With a prodigy like Adama Traore on the bench, someone who can genuinely effect games and terrorise defences, it seems unfathomable that he hasn’t featured at all in this tournament, even if not as a starter, he is the ideal option from the bench. Currently sitting third in their group and with a final match against Slovakia to play, Spain still have it all to do to qualify, and they’re going to need more than they’ve shown so far to do it.

Micah Richards

Moment: You might argue it comes to something when your moment of the round is the half-time entertainment, but then when that half-time entertainment is Micah Richards leading the karaoke it’s understandable. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Micah Richards is TV Gold. And when there’s a stale 0-0 to try to cover in the fifteen-minute break, why not opt for a little sing-song instead? Ashley Williams and Alex Scott were the perfect sidekicks for Richards and if nothing else comes out of this Euros for the home nations, we may just have found our next Eurovision trio right there. Analysing matches is all well and good, but let’s be honest, we’re all there for the pundit shenanigans. Next up, Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Graeme Souness have a half-time rap battle. Okay, maybe that’s just wishful thinking.

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.

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UEFA 2020 Euro Championship – Day 10

Group F: Hungary (1) 1 – 1 (0) France

Goal-scorers: Hungary – Fiola (45’+2’). France – Griezmann (66′)

Puskas Arena, Budapest

This has been to date a tournament very low on shock results, but there was a sniff of one in Budapest when Hungary, who got hit with three late goals against Portugal, had World Champions France trailing at the break. The goal came in time added-on at the end of the half and was a quality one which was wildly celebrated by the full-house at the Puskas Arena. Fiola headed the ball into the path of Sallai, who returned it in a one-two which allowed Fiola to beat Pavard and Varane before finishing past Lloris. As for most of the Portugal game, Hungary were resolute, but their resistance was broken on sixty-six minutes. It was a goal that was more direct that those with the usual flair associated with Les Bleus, as Mbappe ran onto Lloris’ long kick down field playing in Griezmann who scored from just outside the six-yard box. Did France deserve to win this one? They had more possession and more shots, but that would have cruel on Hungary who for their battling qualities deserved a point.

 

Group F: Portugal (0) 2 – 4 (0) Germany

Goal-scorer: Portugal – Ronaldo (15′), Jota (67′). Germany – Rúben Dias (35’og), Guerreiro (39′ og), Havertz (51′), Gosens (60′)

Allianz Arena, Munich

What was I thinking? How could I doubt that Germany would lose this game and be on the edge of elimination from the competition? Well the first fifteen minutes made very interesting watching. Germany were out of the blocks and on fire and had a goal disallowed after a VAR review for offside. They then got caught on the break with Ronaldo tapping home from close range and from nowhere they were behind, and you began to wonder if this was not going to be Germany’s day. From there on in though it was all about Die Mannschaft as Portugal retreated and Germany poured forward. Then in the space of four minutes the game was turned on its head and in the process a record was created. On thirty-five minutes Portugal’s Rúben Dias shinned Gosens’ cross into his own net and four minutes later Guerreiro did the same as Kimmich cut the ball back into the Portugal six-yard box. The record created by this bizarre passage of play was that it was the first time at the European Championship Finals that two own-goals had been scored in a game. In fact, Euro2020 had produced more OG’s than previous tournaments. Into the second-half and it was more of the same from Germany, with Havertz making it 3-1 six minutes after the restart with a simple finish from Gosens cross. The provider turned goal-scorer on the hour mar, as he headed home Kimmich’s cross to make it 4-1 and you wondered if another 7-1 demolition (as over Brazil in the World Cup) was on the cards. It wasn’t to be as Portugal got what turned out to be a consolation from Jota on sixty-sevens minutes, giving the score a closeness that didn’t reflect Germany’s dominance. Write-off the Germans at your peril.

 

Group E: Spain (1) 1 – 1 (0) Poland

Goal-scorers: Spain – Morata (25′) Poland – Lewandowski (54′)

La Cartuja, Seville

After another game where Spain dominated possession but only came away with a draw, many in the media seem to have hit the panic button as far as Luis Enrique’s side is concerned. We should though cast our minds back to 2016 in which Portugal only made it through to the knockout phase after three draws, before going on to lift the trophy.  Yet the Spanish are not creating a great deal from all their ball retention, but you have to be ‘in it to win’ it and Spain will fancy their chances of progression as they face Slovakia in their final game. It all looked good on twenty-five minutes when Alvaro Morata scored from close range but only after a VAR review to send the Spaniards in at the break with a goal advantage. Poland though kept plugging away and with a talent such as Lewandowski in their side, he is always a threat. And so it proved nine minutes into the second-half as he rose to head home and level it at 1-1. That joy though looked to be short-lived as just four minutes later Spain were awarded a penalty. The Villarreal striker Moreno stepped up but put his spot-kick against the post with Morata unable to convert the rebound. As with the France v Hungary encounter did the ‘big’ side warrant a win based on their dominance of the game? Some will argue yes, but the simple fact is it’s a game all about goals and the history books will show it finished 1-1.

 

Today we reach the stage where teams find out if they need to pack their bags and head for the exits or prepare for the knockout phase as the last round of group games begin. Sensibly these days they kick-off at the same time so that no side has any advantage, or in the case of West Germany and Austria at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, allows any room for collusion. For older readers check out the Disgrace of Gijón – Wikipedia

Group A sees Wales travel to Rome and face Italy whilst the Swiss play Turkey in Baku. These final games are all about ‘ifs and buts’ For instance how do Italy approach the game having already qualified? Do they rest players or simply continue to build momentum with the same side? Do Wales look to play for a point?

The permutations are as follows, so you’ll need to read carefully!

  • if Wales draw with Italy they will finish second and play in their last 16 match in Amsterdam against Group B’s runners-up.
  • If they lose, Wales could still finish second. However, if they lose and Switzerland beat Turkey with a big enough change in goal difference the Welsh could finish third. However, four points would still almost certainly be enough to see them through to the last 16 as one of the tournament’s four best third-placed teams.
  • If Wales win they would win the group and play their next game at Wembley against Group C’s runners-up.
  • Both Switzerland and Turkey need to win their final Group A game to have any chance of reaching the last 16.
  • If Switzerland win Swiss they would need Wales to lose to Italy, with a swing of five on goal difference, to have any chance of finishing second. Four points might be enough with four third-placed teams going through.
  • If Turkey win they would have to hope that their three points were better than two the other third-placed teams. However, with their current goal difference of -5, it is likely they would need a big win over the Swiss for them to progress.
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UEFA 2020 Euro Championship – Day 9

Group E: Sweden (0) 1 – 0 (0) Slovakia

Goal-scorer: Forsberg (77′ pen)

Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg

Given there was so much at stake for both sides, it was incredible to witness an opening half that was so devoid of action. Slovakia seemed content to sit back and take a point whilst the Swedes offered little and looked unlikely to make any sort of breakthrough. As a result I ditched this game at the break. From the highlights in the second period at least both ‘keepers were made to earn their money with Sweden’s Olsen reacting smartly to keep out Kucka’s effort, whilst at the other end as Dubravka produced a superb save to keep out Ludwig Augustinsson’s header. The Slovakian ‘keeper was then called into action again saving at his post as Isak went onto a slaloming run through the Slovakia defence and fires goalward. The defining moment arrived thirteen minutes from time, Isak flicked a ball onto Quaison who touched it on as Dubravka came out and collided with the Swedish player. The referee pointed to the spot. Now I’ve looked at it a few times and I think Dubravka is unlucky as he has to come out and can’t get out of the way of the players as the ‘keeper goes for the ball. However, Forsberg stepped up and coolly placed his kick home. The final round of games will see Slovakia play Spain whilst Sweden will face Poland, with a clearer picture of who needs what emerging after today’s encounter between Spain and Poland.

 

Group D: Croatia (0) 1 – 1 (1) Czech Republic

Goal-scorers: Croatia – Perisic (47′). Czech Republic – Schick (37’pen)

Hampden Park, Glasgow

I’ll be honest and a say I wasn’t fully paying attention to this one, with the England game a nervous distraction. Suffice to say, Croatia put in a better display than they did against England with Perisic’s leveller early in the second-half showing the quality of the Inter Milan striker. The Czech Republic had led through Schick’s third goal of the competition after he earned the Czech’s a penalty eight minutes before the break. With a bloody nose from the foul, he sent Livakovic the wrong way earning himself top spot in the race for leading scorer at this early stage. The Czechs have one foot in the last sixteen with England up next, whilst Croatia know that only a victory against the Scots will give them a chance of progress.

 

Group D: England (0) 0 – 0 (0) Scotland

Wembley Stadium, London

Why are so many people surprised at the result? I said yesterday a point was likely which was exactly as it turned out. Whilst the heavens opened in the Wembley sky, the goals dried up on the pitch. Scotland failed to score for their second group game and England also drew a blank as Harry Kane looking decidedly off the pace was withdrawn for a second successive match. It wasn’t as dour as it could have been with genuine chances on both sides. And what a different game it would have been of any of them had been taken. As ever it was a reality check for England, with their pre-tournament betting as one of the favourites, laughable in the extreme, as they are simply not even amongst the best five teams at this competition. Maybe I’m being too harsh, and this was simply a bad day at the office, with the pressure of the Auld Enemy just too much for the players on the night. Tuesday will be a different game entirely and it will be intriguing to see if there are any changes for the Czech Republic. For now the Scotland game should be confined to the history pages and its onto the next challenge.

 

Today signals the end of the second round of games, which starts with Group F and Hungary hosting France at the Puskas Arena in Budapest and is followed by Germany in Munich who welcome Portugal to the Allianz Arena. Proceedings conclude with Spain hosting Poland in Seville.

Hungary will hope that home advantage has some benefit after the late collapse against Portugal, but it will be no easy task against a French side brimming with confidence after their win over Germany. Can’t see anything other than Les Bleus taking three points and progress to the last sixteen. Could Germany really be heading out of the competition? They will be in real danger if Ronaldo and Co. take all three points in Munich. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility and would be a sad way for Germany coach Joachim Low to end his stint in charge. Finishing up the day is the Spain v Poland clash. And it could be a very interesting one. Spain all possession and no finish against Sweden, with just a point and Poland undone by Slovakia with no points going into this game. Surely if the Spanish have the same possession again they will surely score? Stranger things have happened. A draw between these two would make for an intriguing last round of games. Things are starting to get interesting!

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UEFA 2020 Euro Championship – Day 8

Group C: Ukraine (2) 2 – 1 (0) North Macedonia

Goal-scorers: Ukraine – Yarmolenko (29′), Yaremchuk (34′). North Macedonia – Alioski (57′)

Arena Na?ionala, Bucharest

This game came as a pleasant surprise as I was unsure whether to tune in or not. As it turned out it was an end-to-end and highly entertaining ninety minutes. Ukraine looked dangerous from the start and Macedonia’s ‘keeper Stole Dimitrievski was called into action on a couple of occasions. He could though do nothing about the first goal on twenty-nine minutes. From a corner, a flick-on seemed to deceive the Macedonian defence and it allowed Yarmolenko to steal in at the back post to guide his effort home from an angle. Just five minutes later it looked game over as scorer Yarmolenko turned provider with a through ball to Yaremchuk who finished with aplomb. But as in their game against Austria, Macedonian fought back, and veteran striker Goran Pandev finished with a lovely dink over the ‘keeper only to see it ruled offside shortly before the break. Into the second-half and Dimitrievski kept his side in the match clawing away a free-kick from Malinovskiy. Macedonia made things interesting after fifty-seven minutes when they were awarded a penalty. It come after Arijan Ademi forced a fine save from Georgiy Bushchan with  Oleksandr Karavaev fouling Pandev as he looked to knock in the rebound. Alioski took the spot-kick only for Bushchan to save it, however, the Leeds United player swept in the rebound to raise hopes of a comeback. Macedonia continued to press but it was Ukraine who had the chance to kill off the game with six minutes remaining, when they were awarded a penalty for handball after a VAR intervention. Malinovskiy couldn’t make it count as Dimitrievski guessed right and parried the spot-kick away to keep alive Macedonia’s search for an equaliser. Ukraine fight to live another day. A mention for referee Fernando Rapallini, who I thought had a good game and it was good to see him book Ukraine’s Shaparenko for simulation in the box.

 

Group B: Denmark (1) 1 – 2 (0) Belgium

Goal-scorers: Denmark – Poulsen (2’). Belgium – T Hazard (54′), De Bruyne (70′)

Parken Stadium, Copenhagen

This was always going to be an incredibly emotional occasion given the awful events at the Danish game on Saturday and the outpouring of love and support for Christian Eriksen powered the Danes to an impressive first-half performance. Denmark got the perfect start when after only two minutes Belgium gifted the Danes the ball at the back and Yussuf Poulsen fired in. Belgium simply couldn’t get going and the Danes had decent chances to increase their advantage, through Wass and Damsgaard. Kevin De Bruyne returning from his facial injury came on in the second-half and was instrumental in turning it around for the Red Devils. On fifty-four minutes Lukaku made a storming run down the right into the box and played in De Bruyne, his neat ball onto Thorgan Hazard was swept in for the equalizer. The Belgians were now going through the gears and with twenty minutes left some wonderful interplay released De Bruyne on the left and from just outside the box he crashed home. In a grandstand finish the Danes poured forward at every opportunity. Their best chance fell to Martin Braithwaite who was unfortunate to see his header skim the top of the bar. In time added on, the Danes ‘keeper Kasper Schmeichel came up for a corner and was grateful to see the Belgian effort on the break cleared by his defence as he scrambled back to his goal. Belgium through to the last sixteen, whilst the Danes sit bottom with no points.

 

Group C: Netherlands (0) 0 – 0 (0) Austria

Goal-scorers: Depay (11′ pen), Dumfries (67’)

Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam

Statistics are useful, but never tell the whole story. Look at this game for instance. Austria had the greater percentage of possession in both halves of this game yet lost the match 2-0. It simply goes to show that you can have as much ball as you like, but if you don’t create anything with it, then its pointless. The Netherlands were functional rather than impressive. They pressed in phases as required but were at times wasteful in front of goal. The Dutch were ahead after eleven minutes from the penalty spot. Denzel Dumfries was clipped by David Alaba and Memphis Depay did the rest from the spot. He should have had a second after Weghorst choosing to pass rather than shoot himself laid it off to Depay who contrived to blast over from inside the six yard box. Thankfully it didn’t come back to bite the Dutch as on sixty-seven minutes Donyell Malen burst through the Austrian high line and unselfishly squared for Dumfries to seal the win. The Dutch through, whilst Austria have another bite of the cherry in the last round of group games.

Today’s offering sees Group E continue with Sweden taking on Slovakia in Saint Petersburg, and the Group D fixtures of Croatia v Czech Republic in Glasgow, with the Scots travelling to Wembley to face England in the last game of the day.

Slovakia caused the upset of the competition so far with their 2-1 victory over Poland and will face Sweden who took a point against Spain. These two sides have never met in a competitive fixture, and this meeting is a crunch game for both sides if they harbour chances of progression. I’ll take the Swedes to take this one although it will be close.

Interest then switches to Group D and Croatia and the Czech Republic. Croatia need something out of this game if they are to give themselves a shout of making the last sixteen. Were they poor against England, or did the Three Lions play that well? Maybe a bit of both. They are fighters and I can see Croatia storming back in this one with a two-goal win.

Which leaves us with the ‘Battle of Britain’. For this particular Englishman the nerves have already started some 10 hours before kick-off. It will no doubt be a dour old game familiar to anyone who goes to see their team in a ‘derby’ fixture. It’s a game neither side will want to lose, and England would probably be happy with a point having already banked three against Croatia. I’d love to see a free-flowing encounter with the Three Lions cruising to a 3-0 win but fear it will be more about attrition. Watching England for me is always a nervy experience and will be even more so against the ‘Auld Enemy’. Is it over yet?

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Euro ramblings – The Auld Enemies by Jade Craddock

With the small matter of an England-Scotland match to look forward to at Euro 2020, in preparation for the main event, I thought it would be an opportune moment for a match-up of a different kind – an England-Scotland five-a-side of autobiographies, mixing and matching across history.

England

GK: Peter Shilton – The Autobiography/Saved – England’s record appearance maker, Peter Shilton won some 125 caps across a career spanning two decades. He represented England at five major tournaments, including Euro 1980 and 1988 and the 1982, 1986 and 1990 World Cup, and shares the record for most World Cup clean sheets (10) with Fabien Barthez. Peter Shilton’s domestic career took in some 11 teams, including Leicester City, Stoke City and Notts Forest. His forthcoming second autobiography, Saved, to be published in September, will reflect on his struggle with gambling.

Def: Rio Ferdinand – Rio: My Story/Rio: My Decade as a Red/#2Sides – My Autobiography/Thinking Out Loud – With no autobiography by arguably England’s best ever defender, Bobby Moore, Rio Ferdinand steps in as England’s second-most capped central defender (behind Bobby Moore), with some 81 caps and 3 goals. Featuring for England from 1997 through to 2011, Ferdinand was included in three World Cup squads, as well as Euro 2008. Domestically, he won the Premier League, League Cup, Community Shield, Champions League and Club World Cup. His most recent book was published in 2017.

MF: Bobby Charlton – My Manchester United Years/My England Years/My Life in Football/1966: My World Cup Story – One of England’s 1966 heroes, Bobby Charlton won the Ballon d’Or in the same year and was also named FWA Footballer of the Year. He sits seventh on the list of appearances for England, with 106, and second on the list of top goal-scorers, having notched 49 in his career. A noted member of the Busby Babes, Charlton made over 600 appearances for Manchester United and had a career spanning nearly 25 years. Charlton’s clutch of autobiographies cover his impressive career, with the latest charting that epic World Cup triumph.

MF: Kevin Keegan – My Autobiography/My Life in Football – The only English footballer to have won the Ballon d’Or twice, Kevin Keegan captained England at Italy 1980. However, with England missing out on both the 1974 and 1978 World Cups, Keegan featured only in Spain 1982, but briefly due to injury. Across his career, Keegan won 63 caps and scored 21 goals, whilst domestic success came most notably at Liverpool. Following management spells with Newcastle and Fulham, Keegan stepped into the England role for one year. His second autobiography was published in 2018.

Striker: Wayne Rooney – The Way It Is/My Decade in the Premier League – Wayne Rooney holds the record as both England’s youngest ever goalscorer and the Three Lions’ top scorer, having bagged 53 goals in 120 appearances – whilst sitting second in the most caps chart. His England career spanned some 15 years, including appearances at Euro 2004, 2012 and 2016, and World Cup 2006, 2010 and 2014. Domestically, he holds the record as Manchester United’s top goalscorer, with 253 goals to his name, and is one of only two English players to have won the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, League Cup, Europa League and Club World Cup. His second autobiography was published in 2012.

Manager: Bobby Robson – An Autobiography/Bobby Robson: An Englishman Abroad/Farewell but not Goodbye/My Kind of Toon – Whilst it was Alf Ramsey who led England to World Cup success, it was Bobby Robson who oversaw their best post-World Cup campaign, prior to Gareth Southgate’s arrival, leading the Three Lions to the semi-finals of Italia 90. He was at the helm for eight years, winning some 47 of his 95 games in charge, and led England at Mexico 1986 and Euro 1988. As a player, he represented England 20 times, scoring 4 goals, and had a successful managerial career at Ipswich, Barcelona and notably his hometown of Newcastle. As well as a number of autobiographies, Harry De Cosemo’s Black and White Knight was published earlier this year.

Scotland

GK: Jim Leighton – In the Firing Line – With 91 caps to his name, Jim Leighton is the most capped Scottish goalkeeper, whilst sitting behind only Kenny Dalglish overall. His Scotland career spanned some 16 years from 1982 to 1998, which included two World Cups in 1986 and 1990. Whilst he missed out on Euro 92 and Euro 96, he returned as number one in the World Cup 1998 qualification and became the oldest player to play for Scotland aged 40 years and 78 days before David Weir surpassed this. His autobiography was published in 2000.

Def: Willie Miller – The Miller’s Tale/The Don/Willie Miller’s Aberdeen Dream Team – Described by Sir Alex Ferguson as ‘the best penalty box defender in the world’, Willie Miller featured for Scotland from 1975 to 1989, amassing 65 caps and one goal. He competed at the 1986 World Cup, but injury meant he missed out in 1990 and ultimately had to retire. Miller’s domestic career was spent entirely at Aberdeen (with a brief loan spell at Peterhead), where he notched up a club record 560 appearances, as well as 21 goals, in a 19-year career. He has three books to his name.

MF: Graeme Souness – No Half Measures/Graeme Souness: A Manager’s Diary/Souness: The Management Years/Graeme Souness – Football: My Life, My Passion – Across 12 years, Graeme Souness made 54 appearances for the Tartan Army, scoring four goals. In his time, he featured at three World Cups, including Argentina 1978, Spain 1982 and Mexico 1986. At club level, he made his name captaining a Liverpool side that dominated in the late 1970s/early 1980s before moving on to Sampdoria and later Rangers. A twenty-year managerial career ended at Newcastle in 2006 before Souness made the move into the media. His most recent autobiography was published in 2017.

MF: Kenny Dalglish – My Autobiography/My Liverpool Home/Kenny Dalglish: Notes on a Season – As well as a legend of Celtic and Liverpool, Kenny Dalglish wrote his name into the Scottish history books, by being the most capped Scottish player, with 102 caps, and matching Denis Law as Scotland’s top goalscorer. During his career, he won the PFA Player’s Player of the Year and FWA Footballer of the Year twice, whilst being runner-up to Michel Platini for the Ballon d’Or in 1983. He was inducted to both the English and Scottish Football Halls of Fame. As well as two autobiographies, Dalglish’s Notes on a Season compiles his programmes notes from the 1989/90 season as Liverpool manager.

Striker: Denis Law – The King: My Autobiography/Denis Law: My Life in Football – Joint top goalscorer in Scotland’s history, Denis Law’s tally of 30 is made all the more impressive having scored them in some 55 games for his country. Missing out on the 1958 World Cup, Law would feature in only the 1974 World Cup but was still named Scotland’s Golden Player – the most outstanding player of the past 50 years – by the Scottish Football Association. He won the Ballon d’Or in 1964 and was included in the PFA Team of the Century. His most recent autobiography was released in 2011.

Manager: Alex Ferguson – Managing My Life/My Autobiography/Leading – With no autobiography available by the legendary Scottish manager Jock Stein, despite only a brief spell in charge of the national team, Sir Alex Ferguson is chosen as manager after his incredible success on the domestic front. With an unparalleled haul of team and individual awards, Ferguson stands head and shoulders above most other managers, Scottish or otherwise, in his achievements and legacy. His most recent book, Leading, published in 2015, gives an insight into his managerial philosophy.

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Euro ramblings – First Round Review by Jade Craddock

With the first round of group matches now completed, Euro 2020 is shaping up nicely, with plenty to reflect on – the good, the bad and the downright bizarre (Antonio Rudiger nibbling Paul Pogba – that’s not a phrase I thought I’d be writing pre-tournament, but there you have it) – so here’s my first-round review.

Goal of the round: Scotland fans, look away now, but in truth it’s hard to look beyond Patrik Schick’s curling effort from just inside the Scottish half for the Czech Republic. The 25-year-old may not have been a household name before the tournament, but he’s catapulted himself to Euros fame surely with that goal, which will join the likes of Gazza and Van Basten in being wheeled out every four years. Andriy Yarmolenko can count himself unlucky that his goal against the Netherlands was upstaged by Schick.

Standout team performance: Belgium and Italy both looked impressive and untroubled in their first-round matches against Russia and Turkey respectively. Perhaps not the toughest opposition in either case, but as the saying goes, you can only beat what’s in front of you, and the Red Devils and the Azzurri both did so convincingly. Credit, too, to Slovakia – seeming minnows of the tournament who produced a disciplined, effective performance against Poland, to top a group which also includes Spain and Sweden after the first round.

Standout player performance: While Romelu Lukaku and Kalvin Phillips both had strong starts for Belgium and England respectively, there’s one man that continues to dominate on whatever stage he graces – N’Golo Kante. Ask any fan if they’d take Kante in their team and I imagine not one refusal. In fact, it got me wondering, in the way my brain is wont to do, whether I’d prefer a team of Kantes or a team of Ronaldos. The jury is out, but one thing’s for sure, I’d bite your hand off for even one Kante – actually, I wonder if that was what Rudiger was doing to Pogba, but he decided to bite his neck instead of his hand? And when it comes to standout players, it would be impossible not to mention Denmark captain, Simon Kjaer, and his speedy reaction, empathetic response and strong leadership in the face of the most challenging circumstances. If Kante is the Euros general, Kjaer is its absolute commander.

Surprise packages: Whilst Slovakia perhaps brought about the first round’s biggest surprise, Germany may have offered a different kind of surprise in being well below par. Maybe it was just a first-game anomaly, but Joachim Low will need to turn his side around quickly if they’re to progress out of this year’s ‘Group of Death’. As for players, Breel Embolo and Leonardo Spinazzola were both new names to me and impressed in their first outings, but it’s hard to judge either players or teams on one performance and, who knows, they may have peaked (or in Germany’s case dipped) too soon.

Newcomers: North Macedonia played their first ever game in a major tournament, having qualified for the Euros through a play-off against Kosovo. The Lynxes may have lost their first outing 3-1 to Austria, but nevertheless it was a significant moment in the nation’s footballing history, and who other than North Macedonia’s captain, top scorer and top appearance-maker of all time, Goran Pandev, to bag the country’s first ever tournament goal, becoming the second-oldest scorer in the history of the Euros in doing so. North Macedonia face two further tough tests against Ukraine and the Netherlands, but they’ve already made history, so why not once more? Off the pitch, both Nigel de Jong and Emma Hayes have proved to be impressive acquisitions on the media front, as too has Hal Robson Kanu.

VAR: Yes, I’ve said it, those dreaded three letters that have been the plague of the Premier League for the last few months. So imagine my surprise that VAR doesn’t only seem to be working effectively at the Euros, but it’s hardly even been noticeable. Naturally, now that I’ve written this, the second round is bound to be inundated with VAR controversies, but so far so good, and we’ve managed to get through a whole week unscathed, without discussing armpits or waiting an eternity for decisions to be made that can be seen in seconds. This is VAR as it’s intended to be, but, let’s be honest, we’re all still waiting for the first calamity.

England: A nation waited in expectation, or perhaps with pessimism, as England’s campaign got underway against Croatia. But a 1-0 victory was enough to get fans charting England’s route to the final – after all, we’ve never won an opening game at the Euros before, surely, this is fate?! Or perhaps it was just a disciplined England team beating a subpar Croatia team? Either way, England did the job required of them and a three-point first-round haul was all that could be asked of from the first outing in what was generally an untroubled day at the office for the Three Lions. It’s too early to judge just where England stand on the back of this one performance, but, in truth, there was little in the first-round performances across the board that would give Southgate much cause for concern at this stage.

Moment of the round: The defining and most uplifting moment of the first round came out of its darkest moment, when, in the aftermath of Christian Eriksen’s collapse, Danish and Finnish fans united in chanting his name. It was both a remarkably poignant and spontaneous show of the best side of football amongst the grief, despair and disbelief. We love football for goals, for surprises, for standout performances, but we also love it for the power to connect and bring people together.

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UEFA 2020 Euro Championship – Day 7

Group B: Finland (0) 0 – 1 (1) Russia

Goal-scorer: Miranchuk (45’+2’)

Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg

I had this down as a 1-0 for Finland and although I got the score right it was Russia who got the only goal to give themselves a shot at qualification for the knock-out phase. The Finns were quickest out of the blocks, and they thought they had a lead in the opening minutes when Joel Pohjanpalo’s diving header was ruled out by an incredibly tight VAR decision for offside. The deciding goal came in time added on in the first-half and was one of quality. Aleksei Miranchuk played a one-two in a crowded penalty area then curled home over the despairing dive of Hradecky. In the second-half the Finns never got going and they were relieved that Russia were wasteful with the good chances they had to seal the game, with Aleksandr Golovin and Rifat Zhemaletdinov both narrowly off target and Daler Kuzyayev producing an excellent save from Hradecky. Three points for Russia and an interesting last round of games to come, with Russia taking on Denmark and Finland taking on Belgium.

 

Group A: Turkey (0) 0 – 2 (0) Wales

Goal-scorers: Ramsey (42′), Roberts (90’+5’)

Olympic Stadium, Baku

As Ronaldo showed for Portugal against Hungary, big games require big names to show up and produce the goods. Whilst Gareth Bale subsequently missed a penalty after the hour mark, his influence and that of Aaron Ramsey was inspirational on the night. They combined as early as the sixth minute with Ramsey latching onto a Bale through ball only to see Ugurcan Cakir save. Where in the game against the Swiss, Wales were lethargic, here they were lively and again the Ramsey/Bale combo created another first-half chance which the ex-Arsenal star blazed high over the bar. Then just three minutes before the break it was a case of third time lucky, and Bale’s ball was beautifully controlled on his chest by Ramsey and coolly slotted home. Turkey fired on by a large following came out stronger second-half and pressed Wales back. However, the Welsh had a chance to kill the game when they awarded a penalty on sixty-one minutes. Bale was hero turned villain though as he contrived to fire his spot-kick high into the Baku night sky. Cue a more nervous second period with Ward saving well from Demiral’s header with just three minutes left. Then deep into stoppage time Wales had a corner, and rather than just keep it tight, Bale produced a dazzling burst along the goal-line pulling the ball back for Conor Roberts to put the Welsh on the verge of progression to the last sixteen. For the Red Dragons it’s starting to feel like 2016 again!

 

Group A: Italy (0) 0 – 3 (0) Switzerland

Goal-scorers: Locatelli (26′, 52′), Immobile (89′)

Stadio Olimpico, Rome

Italy ominously chalked up another 3-0 win to put themselves through to the last sixteen. Whilst many will claim that the Swiss are amongst Europe’s top nations, the Azzuri did what was required and could have had more than the three goals they scored. Manuel Locatelli got the ball rolling scoring from inside the six-yard box after Domenico Berardi’s surging run and cross on twenty-six minutes and he doubled the lead ironically twenty-six minutes later with a shot from outside the box that Swiss ‘keeper Sommer didn’t move for – perhaps unsighted. However, he was at fault with a minute to go when another long range effort from Immobile skipped off his hands into the net. Nobody will want to face Italy in this form, and Wales will have the dubious pleasure of going to Rome in the final round of group games.

 

Group C opens the day with Ukraine playing North Macedonia in Bucharest, followed by the Group B game in Copenhagen as Denmark host Belgium. Thursday’s games conclude with the Netherlands welcoming Austria to Amsterdam.

Ukraine and North Macedonia both lost their opening game, so realistically a win is needed for either side if they are to progress from the groups. In terms of FIFA rankings, Ukraine sit in 24th spot with North Macedonia down at number 62. Additionally, Ukraine have beaten North Macedonia in both competitive encounters prior to this match, 1-0 at home and 2-0 away, in the qualifiers for Euro 2016, so the stats suggest a Ukraine win. The Ukrainians were unlucky not to get anything out of the five-goal game against the Dutch and they are my tip to take the win here, either 2-0 or 3-1.

Action then switched to Copenhagen where the Danes host Belgium. How will Denmark react after the tragic circumstances surrounding their last game and Christian Eriksen’s awful collapse? These things can often inspire and equally be an immense distraction. It will be very much a feature of the game, as Belgium have stated they intend to kick the ball out of play in the tenth minute to take part in a minute’s applause for Christian Eriksen. Difficult to call, but for me Belgium are one of the favourites for the title so expect them to take the three points and seal their progress.

Last up is a visit to Amsterdam where the Netherland lock horns with Austria. Both have three points on the board. In the FIFA  ranking, the two sides aren’t that far apart with the Netherlands in sixteenth spot and Austria down in twenty-third. The Dutch have won the last six games between the sides and expect them to make it seven tonight.

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Euro Ramblings – Euros Greatest of All Time by Jade Craddock

Messi or Ronaldo? Ronaldo or Messi? Forget nature v nurture, leave v remain, Corrie v EastEnders, the most hotly contested question of our day and age comes down to the choice between a footballer from Argentina and one from Portugal (who said that society hasn’t progressed?). And it is a question that can divide opinion even among the most united in all other opinions. Messi devotees will point to his superior assists, his dribbling, his team play and his greater individual awards, whilst Ronaldo supporters will cite his club goals, his success in multiple leagues, his incredible athleticism and a superior international record. And whilst debates over who is better are likely to continue for as long as these two keep going – or one of them retires – Ronaldo has ensured his status as ‘greatest of all time’ in Euros history, with a host of records tumbling in his first outing in Euro 2020. Sorry, Messi, this is one arena in which you can’t compete with Ronaldo, in fact no one can.

Most appearances – As Ronaldo led his Portugal side out on Tuesday evening against Hungary, it was his 22nd appearance in the tournament proper. He already held the record, ahead of Bastian Schweinsteiger (18) and Gianluigi Buffon (17), but with a possible further 6 games ahead, Ronaldo could extend his advantage and reach some 28 appearances by the tournament’s end. Whether or not, Portugal qualify from the group, should Ronaldo feature in the two remaining group-stage games, he will also surpass Gianluigi Buffon’s record of 58 appearances, which includes qualifying, with Ronaldo currently sitting on 57.

Most tournaments played – Euro 2020 marks Ronaldo’s fifth – yes, fifth – finals campaign. Whilst a host of players, from Lothar Matthaus to Peter Schmeichel to Olof Mellberg, have racked up an impressive four campaigns, Ronaldo is the only man in history to achieve a breathtaking five campaigns, spanning some sixteen years, with his first appearance in Portugal 2004 aged 19. Now 36, Ronaldo will have to wait another three years until the next Euros in Germany 2024, which may be a bit of a stretch for a then 39-year-old Ronaldo, but I wouldn’t entirely count against it – after all, he hasn’t yet got the oldest player records.

First player to score at five consecutive Euros – When Ronaldo stepped up to slot home a penalty in the 87th minute in the match against Hungary, he became the first player to score at five consecutive Euros. No other player has scored at more than three consecutive Euros, with Wayne Rooney and Thierry Henry amongst those holding that honour, whilst a host of players, including Dennis Bergkamp and Roman Pavlyuchenko, have scored at two. Having first scored against Greece in Euro 2004, Ronaldo also charted the longest gap between first and last Euros goals of some 17 years, which he may extend if he adds any more to his name this tournament.

All-time top scorer at the Euros – I must admit to some surprise that the goalscoring record for the Euros previously stood at 9, held by Michel Platini. Ronaldo obviously shared my surprise and sought to boost that number to a healthier total by bagging a brace, and in doing so catapulting himself to the top of another chart and putting some daylight between himself and his competitors. Now on 11 goals, you wouldn’t bet against that number rising, though Portugal perhaps don’t have the easiest of matches coming up to get out of the group. And despite scoring 11 goals, Ronaldo has only netted against five different opponents (Greece, Netherlands, Czech Republic, Hungary and Wales), so he’ll have to break that if he’s to improve his tally against France and Germany. Incidentally, in terms of most goals including qualifying, no guesses for who claims that record – Ronaldo holds some 27-goal advantage over his nearest rival, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, so I suspect this one may stand the test of time, as perhaps will his record as Portugal’s top goalscorer, where he sits almost 60 goals ahead of Pauleta (and some 40 caps ahead of Joao Moutinho).

Most tournaments with at least one goal/most tournaments with at least two goals – Whilst Ronaldo’s first goal secured him the record of being the player to score at least one goal in the most tournaments (5), his second goal added the complimentary record of scoring two goals at the most tournaments (4). Ronaldo also holds the record for scoring at least three goals at most tournaments (2), and another goal at Euro 2020 would cement that record still further.

Most minutes played – Going into the tournament, Ronaldo sat top of minutes played, ahead of Gianluigi Buffon, who notched 1620 minutes in Euros final campaigns. Another 90 minutes for the Portuguese talisman saw his figures jump to some 1880 plus minutes, which equates to over 31 hours’ playing time! Ronaldo could rack up a possible further 540 minutes should Portugal go all the way, which would take his tally over 2400 minutes – or 40 hours! I feel like taking a rest just contemplating that figure.

Most victories by a player at the Euros – With 83 minutes on the clock, Andreas Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas may have been thinking their record for most victories in the Euros was intact, but whilst Raphael Guerreiro rocked the boat as he put Portugal ahead, Ronaldo’s brace well and truly sank it. All three players had notched up some 11 victories in their Euros careers, but Ronaldo once more took the record outright after the 3-0 triumph over Hungary. Again, matches against France and Germany may not make this an easy record to progress for Ronaldo, but he won’t be resting on his laurels.

With at least two games in which Ronaldo will most likely feature, it’s possible for the records to keep on tumbling, and one that’s been in everyone’s sights (including surely Ronaldo’s) in recent years has been Ali Daei’s international goalscoring record of 109 goals. Now sitting on 106, Ronaldo could feasibly add this to his record haul, but, again, given the games that lie ahead, it won’t be easy – but then scoring 106 goals isn’t easy in itself and if there is one man/machine that can do it, it’s surely Europe’s G.O.A.T. Ronaldo also currently sits two behind Karel Poborsky on most assists in the Euros with 6 and one behind Zidane et al for most penalties scored – a hugely feasible 2, whilst Ronaldo would need to feature in every game through to the semi-finals to surpass Sergio Ramos as the most capped European international. Whilst there’s not much you’d put past this superhuman, Jude Bellingham and Johan Vonlanthen can breathe a sigh of relief that their youngest player records are secure and Michel Platini’s record of 9 goals in a single tournament will need a gargantuan effort even from Ronaldo. But if Ronaldo wants to add another record to his haul, how about fastest goal? I’ll be setting my stopwatch for 66 seconds when Portugal take on Germany on Saturday and I wouldn’t bet against him. Who knows, maybe even Messi will be watching on to see what other records his rival sets.

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UEFA 2020 Euro Championship – Day 6

Group E: Hungary (0) 0 – 3 (0) Portugal

Goal-scorers: Guerreiro (84′), Ronaldo (87’ pen, 90+2’)

Puskas Arena, Budapest

Well as the clock wound and six minutes on the clock I was thinking that my pre-match prediction of a draw was looking pretty good. Portugal had been the better side and throw in a Ronaldo sitter of a miss before the break and you thought Hungary had earned a bit of luck to grab a point. And then it all changed. Eighty-fourth minute. A deflected ball into the box and Guerreiro’s less that convincing shot also took a deflection to wrongfoot ‘keeper Gulacasi and the ball bobbled in. 1-0 Portugal. Three minutes later Rafa Silva bursts into the box  he is fouled by Willi Orban – penalty Portugal, Ronaldo steps up, thank you very much. 2-0 Portugal. Then for good measure in time added on, some magic from the Portuguese skipper, a lovely set of wall-passes, and Ronaldo dummies Gulacasi and slots home. From nowhere the reigning champions win 3-0. Love him or hate him, Ronaldo is one of the world’s best players of all time and the goals in this game made him the European Championship Finals leading scorer. His penalty took him to 10 goals equal with Platini and his 11th puts him clear. Who would bet against Ronaldo scoring even more before the competition ends?

 

Group E: France (0) 1 – 0 (0) Germany

Goal-scorer: Hummels (20’og)

Allianz Arena, Munich

Not sure why but found the game all a bit comedic. Whether it be the Greenpeace protestor who dropped into the stadium or Antonio Rudiger’s nuzzle into the back of Paul Pogba and subsequent grab of the Frenchman’s moobs, to the own-goal from Hummels who wonderfully shinned it into the top corner. There were also two goals to France which were chalked off by VAR in the second-half and then seemingly every effort on goal by Germany kicked into the ground in some form of weird skill competition. Germany weren’t though laughing at the whistle and have Portugal and Ronaldo next up. This is one interesting group.

 

So we hit the start of the Second round of group fixtures. Back to three games today.

The opener in the Krestovsky Stadium sees Russia with home advantage over Finland and hoping to get their first points on the board after their 3-0 loss to Belgium. The Finns won in Denmark 1-0, and it will be interesting to see how they approach this game. Do they look to take a point or go all out for a win, knowing that group favourites Belgium await them in their final fixture. Historically these neighbours have a troubled past, with Russia invading Finland during the Second World War so there could be a bit of spice in the encounter. In football terms, Russia hold the upper hand winning all four games between the countries. I thought Finland would be the weak link in this group but could instead turn out to be one of the surprise packages. I’ll stick my neck out and sat Finland to nick another 1-0 win.

Game two of the day sees Wales play Turkey in Baku, with the media suggesting this will be like a ‘home’ game for the Turks with a large following attending. Wales have that point from the encounter with the Swiss, whilst Turkey lost 3-0 in the opening game of the competition 3-0. I felt the Welsh looked tired for large parts of the match with Switzerland and worry that if they got behind today they could struggle. However, the Red Dragons are not a side to roll-over, and I think this one could end as a draw. Don’t expect a 6-4 game that occurred when these teams last met in a World Cup Qualifier!

Wednesday closes in Rome with Switzerland travelling to take on Italy who were quietly impressive in their win over Turkey. On that basis and the evidence of the Swiss in their draw with Wales, I can’t see anything other than an Italy win.

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UEFA 2020 Euro Championship – Day 5

Group D: Scotland (0) 0 – 2 (1) Czech Republic

Goal-scorers: Schick (42′, 52’)

Hampden Park, Glasgow

This was a game I would have attended if COVID hadn’t intervened. With a reduced capacity for 2021, UEFA held a ballot and I lost out unfortunately. So it was a day at work and meetings in Manchester. I had my laptop so thought great I’ll be able to watch the game on the way back to Leeds. Of course I had forgotten how poor the Wi-Fi can be as the train has to pass through various tunnels and the area around Marsden Moor. Subsequently it was nigh on impossible to make out much of the game – I resigned myself to the fact I was simply not meant to watch this fixture. By the time I reached home it was just in time to watch the last thirteen minutes, so had to settle for catching up on the highlights. It seems that there were chances on both sides, and the Czechs were simply more clinical. Scoring just before half-time is always a significant time for a side to take the lead and Schick was impressive to get behind his markers and plant his header away from the five of Marshall. If that was quality then his second seven minutes after the break will be one of the goals of the tournament, catching Marshall off his line from just inside the Scotland half. Attention in this group moves to Friday and the England v Scotland battle and an intriguing contest between the Czechs and the Croats.

 

Group E: Poland (0) 1 – 2 (1) Slovakia

Goal-scorers: Poland – Linetty (46′). Slovakia – Szczesny (18’og), Skriniar (69′)

Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg

Can this be considered the first shock result of the tournament? Poland ranked 21st in the FIFA list with Slovakia down in 36th position. Yes, I suppose we can. Slovakia were dangerous from the off and it was no surprise when they went ahead, although there was a touch of fortune about their goal on eighteen minutes. Robert Mak ran at the Polish defence and fired low, Wojciech Szczesny in goal got down to his right and pushed the ball onto the post, but it ricocheted off the prone ‘keeper and into the net. Slovakia held the advantage into the break and could have been further ahead. That lead was short-lived as within a minute of the restart Poland were level with a well worked move, and although Linetty didn’t connect cleanly it still found its way in. The game swung Slovakia’s way just after the hour mark after Krychowiak collected a second yellow card for a pretty soft foul leaving the Poles down to ten-men. Within seven minutes Slovakia went ahead, from a corner it was played to Skriniar close to the penalty spot and his sweetly struck finish beat Szczesny nestling in the bottom right corner. A famous victory for Slovakia which put them top of the group.

 

Group E: Spain (0) 0 – 0 (0) Sweden

La Cartuja, Seville

Yes a game that finished 0-0 but not a boring encounter by any means. The stats showed that Spain had 85% possession and had 17 shots to Sweden’s 4. Morata and Olmo had the best chances for Spain which were wasted, but credit must also go to Robin Olsen in the Swedes goal who made some smart saves. As so often in games like this where one side has so little of the ball, they are always dangerous on the break with Alexander Isak unlucky after a charging run into the box that saw his shot deflect off Spanish defender Marcos Llorente onto the post and into the arms of a relieved Unai Simon in the Spanish goal. Isak also created Sweden’s best second-half opportunity as he created a chance for Marcus Berg who wastefully fired wide. Spain will see it as two points dropped and will be desperate to beat Poland in their next game.

 

The first round of group matches concludes today with two games from Group F, with Hungary hosting current European champions at the Puskas Arena in Budapest and Germany welcoming France to the Allianz Arena in Munich.

Hungary and Portugal met in the group stage of the Finals in 2016. It was the last round of fixtures and turned out to be quite a game. Hungary were ahead three time in the game through Zoltan Gera, and a brace from Balazs Dzsudzsak, but each time were pegged back with goals from Nani and two from Ronaldo to ensure a 3-3 draw. It proved to be a vital point for Portugal as it enabled them to qualify to the knockout phase as one of the best third placed sides and of course went on to lift the trophy. This could be a cagey encounter and may well end as a draw.

France and Germany conclude Tuesday’s action in Munich, with their last meeting at Euro 2016 in the Semi-Finals, where Antoine Griezmann got a double to send the hosts through to the Final. Is there discount in the French camp after the recent Giroud and Mbappe spat in public, and will it impact Les Bleus performance? It’ll be a case of wait and see. Whilst this game doesn’t have the friction of a Germany v Netherland encounter, there is bound to be a bit of an edge between these two and for fans of a certain age, Harald Schumacher’s appalling foul (well assault) on Patrick Battiston at the 1982 World Cup which left the Frenchman without two teeth and three cracked ribs necessitating his requiring oxygen on the pitch, is not something easily forgotten. Don’t be surprised if this game ends as the second draw of the day.

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