UEFA 2020 Euro Championship – Day 17
Wales (0) 0 – 4 (1) Denmark
Goalscorers: Dolberg (27′, 48′), Maehle (88′), Braithwaite (90’+4’)
Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam
In the opening quarter of an hour the Red Dragon of Wales was on fire, with Gareth Bale buzzing and getting a couple of good shots off. Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand reacted by moving Christensen out of the back line to the space in front and from then on the Danes never looked back and were the better side. Therefore it was no surprise when they went ahead after twenty-seven minutes, with a delightful finish from Dolberg. Denmark one-nil up at the break, with Robert Page no doubt telling his side they were still in the game. However, that was all blown out of the water three minutes after the break. Kieffer Moore appeared to be fouled right in front of referee Daniel Siebert, but he allowed play to continue and from that the Danes and Dolberg had their second. Replays showed it was clearly a foul and despite protests from Gareth Bale the official refused to check VAR for the foul. What is the point of VAR, when this clearly was a wrong decision by the match official? From then on in the Welsh were deflated and the extra 5,000 miles travelled by the side compared to the Danes kicked-in as did their tiredness and frustration with the referee which saw a late booking for Bale for sarcastically clapping Daniel Siebert and Harry Wilson’s red card. Now no one would deny that Denmark were the better team, but that second goal changed the course of the match as it effectively put the game out of the reach. If it had remained 1-0 and Wales found an equaliser who knows what may have happened. We will of course never know, but I’ve sympathy for Wales having to contend with all that travel and of course being on the end of a poor decision, which should have been reviewed. The Danes though from a seemingly impossible position of losing their first two group games now have the pleasure of the look distance travel to Baku and await the winners of Netherland and the Czech Republic
Italy (0) 2 – 1 (0) Austria AET (0-0 at FT)
Goalscorers: Italy – Chiesa (95′), Pessina (105′). Austria – Kalajdzic (114′)
Wembley Stadium, London
Not worth watching right? A walk in the park for the Italians who had been so impressive in the group stages? Erm, no. It is why we love the game. That unpredictability when an underdog gives its all and frightens the life out of the ‘big boys’. Austria defended for their lives and made it to half-time with the score at 0-0. In the second-half, the Austrians gained in confidence and thought they had the lead on sixty-five minutes, but a tight VAR decision saw Marko Arnautovic’s effort ruled out for offside. So unbelievably at full-time it was goal-less and extra-time loomed. It began all about the substitutes, with the Italian pair of Chiesa and Pessina scoring in the first period of extra-time. Austria though refused to just roll-over and in the second period Schaub forced Donnarumma into an excellent one-handed save. The young Italian ‘keeper though was slightly at fault for the Austrian goal which gave them hope. Donnarumma expecting an out-swinging corner, left his near post vulnerable which allowed Kalajdzic’s header to beat him. Italy though held on and progress to the last eight. It’s a cliché in football, that when a side is playing below par, the good ones still find a way to win and that is exactly what Roberto Mancini’s players did. The Azzuri through to a date in Munich and await the winners of the Belgium v Portugal encounter.
Netherlands v Czech Republic (Puskas Arena, Budapest)
These two teams last met in October 2015, when the Dutch were beaten 3-2 in a Euro 2016 qualifier. The Czechs raced into a three goal lead through Kaderabek, Sural and a Van Persie own-goal, with the Dutch getting two late goals through Huntelaar and Van Persie (at the right end of the pitch). It saw the Czech’s qualify as group winners, whilst the Netherland didn’t make it to Euro 2016 after finishing fourth.
The Dutch eased through their group with a 100% record after wins over Ukraine (3-2), Austria (2-0) and North Macedonia (3-0). No one is really talking about them as possible winners of the tournament, but they will have too much for the Czech Republic, who looked very ordinary in finishing third in England’s group after a win over Scotland (2-0), a draw with Croatia (1-1) and of course a 1-0 loss to the Three Lions.
Belgium v Portugal (La Cartuja, Seville)
These two have never met in the World Cup or European Championship Finals before. It pits Belgium ranked No:1 by FIFA against the reigning European Champions.
The Belgians emerged from their group with a perfect three wins from three, beating Russia (3-0), Denmark (2-1) and Finland (2-0). Portugal as at the 2016 Finals had a rollercoaster of a last group game to progress. Having beaten Hungary with three late goals, they were taken apart by Germany, before a 2-2 draw saw them into the last sixteen.
You would expect Belgium to progress, but how can you write off Portugal when you have Ronaldo in the side, a man capable of dragging his compatriots through singlehandedly. It one of those where your head says the Belgians will surely progress, but your heart says otherwise. Could be a fascinating watch.
Who has impressed? Standout for me have been Italy – positive, fluid and solid at the back. They currently are my favourites. But the trouble with knockout football is that a big defensive display from the opposition in ninety minutes and extra-time and then anything can happen in the penalty shoot-out. Spain showed what they can do in their final game, and you can never write off a side that has Ronaldo in it, although Portugal have a tough tie up against Belgium. World Champions France weren’t at their fluid best, but in a difficult group emerged top and will more than fancy their chances against Switzerland.
Of those leaving the tournament, the exit of Turkey and Poland must be considered shocks, whilst it was always going to be difficult for debutants Finland and North Macedonia. Scotland will be disappointed that they slipped out of the competition with a whimper rather than a bang, scoring just once and collecting just a solitary point. And Hungary were just six minutes from going through at the expense of Germany.
Team performances: With games played simultaneously for matters of fairness in the final group stage, it doesn’t make for the best viewing for fans, or at least for those with neither the time or inclination to record games and watch each one, i.e. me. So some big decisions needed to be made – Finland v Belgium or Russia v Denmark, Sweden v Poland or Slovakia v Spain, and at what point to switch over from the England game. Needless to say, there was action that was missed, but, by and large, each of the final group games did its best to satisfy viewers – not least the final day’s offerings, with a record haul of 18 goals scored in a single day across the four matches – if only every matchday was like that? When it comes to best team performances, it’s hard to look past Spain’s 5-0 trouncing of Slovakia, whilst Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands all maintained their unblemished record – Italy’s made all the more impressive by the fact they had eight changes to their usual starting XI and even managed to sub their goalie in the dying minutes and didn’t look for one second diminished. Thank goodness Italy B team didn’t enter as a separate entity. However, my standout team performances of the final round have to go to a couple of sides who came out of the group wilderness to qualify at the last second, notably Switzerland, but, even more impressively, Denmark, who on the back of two weeks of heartache and a tally of zero points pulled through in emphatic, determined fashion in their 4-1 demolition of Russia – let’s be honest, we’re all Danish fans to some degree at the moment.
Individual performances: In terms of individual performances, Xherdan Shaqiri, Luka Modric and Emil Forsberg all made the headlines for impressive outings that largely sealed the fates of their respective teams, but Marco Verratti’s return from a knee injury in Italy’s 1-0 victory over Wales was a masterclass in midfield magnificence. However, whilst Verratti may be the head’s choice, the heart’s choice can only be Bukayo Saka. Starting for the first time in a major tournament, Saka looked completely at home, or rather he looked like he was showing everyone else round his home – right, guys, let me give you a tour, here’s the back door, through you go, Jack, that’s it Raheem, after you – 1-0. Grealish too made an impressive first start in the tournament, but there was no getting away from the overall effect of Saka’s energy, positivity and forward thrust, which gave England added impetus and was just what Southgate ordered. Although Saka’s now given Southgate a new headache in his forward line, as if having to choose between the likes of Sterling and Rashford, Mount and Grealish isn’t enough, Saka made himself the kid you can’t ignore. Mind you, it’s not a bad headache to have – certainly better than the one Danilo must have woken up with after Hugo Lloris’ best Anthony Joshua impersonation.
Goals: And, as for goals, well, take your pick from the 39 recorded across the final group games. There was Andreas Christensen’s thunder-blaster against Russia, Luka Modric’s strike of beauty against Scotland, Ferran Torres’ cheeky flick against Slovakia and Xherdan Shaqiri’s curled finished against Turkey. Sadly, Martin Dubravka and Juraj Kucka both made the showreel, but for the wrong reasons – both scoring own goals in Slovakia’s 5-0 defeat to Spain – only the second time that has ever happened in Euros history, the first being in Portugal’s 4-2 loss to Germany – like they, say, you wait ages for a bus and two come along at once, though I suspect Dubravka, Kucka, Dias and Guerreiro could have done without these particular buses. It certainly keeps Own Goals’ tenure at the top of the Golden Boot chart alive and kicking, and whilst Emil Forsberg, Romelu Lukaku and Gini Wijnaldum make up the chasing pack, one man currently leads the way. No prizes for guessing who – Ronaldo, of course. And, on the topic of Ronaldo, it wouldn’t be a week at the Euros without another Ronaldo record. In fact, it’s like a game within a game, as he picks off decades-old records as if they’re fluff. This week’s record included that of becoming top scorer at the Euros and World Cup combined, with his twentieth (and subsequently twenty-first) goals surpassing the nineteen of Miroslav Klose. His second penalty against France also saw his international goals tally reach the hallowed 109 of Ali Daei, needing just one more to become the best international goalscorer of all time. Portugal face a tough test against Belgium next and potentially Italy in the quarterfinals and France in the semi-finals if they are to go all the way and retain their European crowns, but if they’re going to do it, you wouldn’t count against Ronaldo being the man to deliver the goals.
Moment: All players, I imagine, dream of their final international game ending with them sealing a win and lifting a trophy. Sadly, players all too often bow out with a whimper, if they get beyond the subs bench, that is. So, it was poignant to see one man get a deserved farewell, albeit without the goals and the trophy, when North Macedonian captain, talisman and general lynchpin, Goran Pandev brought time on his twenty-year international career against the Netherlands, earning a guard of honour as he was subbed off in the 69th minute. Pandev is the nation’s top scorer and appearance maker. He became the first man to captain his side in a major international tournament at this Euros and the first man to score a goal at a tournament. Aged 37, this was both Pandev’s first and last tournament and whilst three defeats from three may not be the dream ending, leading his nation out in the biggest tournament in Europe isn’t a bad way to sign off. And who doesn’t love a guard of honour. I may have had something in my eye as I watched on, but it definitely wasn’t a tear.
England: And so to England, and it has to be said on the back of the Scotland game, the mood of the nation had taken a decided turn for the worst, with fans even beginning to worry whether the Three Lions would get out of the group. However, such is the fickle fate of football that even before a ball was kicked in England’s final decisive game against the Czech Republic, they had qualified, thanks to other results. Yet, it was still decisive in determining England’s next opponents and talk prior to the game turned to the question of whether England should go for the win and top the group or play out for a draw and a second-placed finish, on the basis of a possibly easier route to the final. As if football was that easy to determine. With a win clearly all that was in Southgate and his team’s plans, England secured a 1-0 victory, a top-of-the-table finish and a Round of 16 game at Wembley. What was yet to be decided, however, were their opponents. As it stood, going into Group F’s final fixtures, Germany would be England’s nemesis once more, but there were a whole 90 minutes to play in both a Portugal and France and Germany and Hungary game that could reset the whole complexion of the group. In fact, the complexion didn’t change at all, despite at various points in the 90 minutes, England set to face Portugal, France, Portugal again, Hungary, Portugal once more, Germany, Portugal for a fourth time, until eventually an equalising goal from Goretzka brought everything back to where it had been 90 minutes previously. But it was a rollercoaster for those 90 minutes, as England hopes rallied as Hungary secured second-place, dive-bombed on France and, in true English fashion, ended up in the inevitable outcome of facing Germany. It could be worse, but it could be better, and whilst it’s appealing to say Germany aren’t at their best, that in itself is worrying, as they continue to get the job done regardless. And what if we had finished second you ask, well, there would have been the small matter of a game against Spain in Copenhagen, a possible quarterfinal against France in St Petersburg, before a meeting with Belgium, Portugal, Italy or Austria in the semi-final. Definitely a walk in the park then.
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
Group B: Russia (0) 1 – 4 (1) Denmark
Group B: Finland (0) 0 – 2 (0) Belgium
Group C: Ukraine (0) 0 – 1 (1) Austria
Group A: Italy (0) 1 – 0 (0) Wales
Monday sees the completion of two more groups, with Group C games featuring North Macedonia v Netherlands and Ukraine v Austria. North Macedonia travel to Amsterdam having already been eliminated and the Dutch guaranteed progression to the knockout phase. The real interest lies in the game in Bucharest, where Ukraine and Austria both have three points. A draw or win sees Ukraine finish second, whilst for Austria to grab that spot, they must win the game, or they will have to rely on being one of the best four third-place finishers. Ukraine have looked a more adventurous side in their two fixtures at the Euros, but the return of striker Marko Arnautovic after his one-match suspension will boost Austria. For me though, Ukraine will take second spot after beating the Austrians.
The evening kick-offs see Group B come to its conclusion with Finland playing Belgium in St Petersburg and Russia travelling to Copenhagen to face the Danes. The Belgians have already secured a last sixteen spot, whilst the Finns could progress with a win, while a draw will be enough if Russia lose to Denmark. Unfortunately for Finland I can’t see them taking anything from the game and will be eliminated. For Denmark and Russia, its all to play for. The Russians will go through to the knockout phase if they win, or if they draw and the Finns don’t overcome the Belgians. Denmark too can progress but need to beat Russia by more than one goal and hope that Finland lose. This is a difficult one to call, but I think Russia will probably do enough with a draw.
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 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