Euro 2021 - Knockout stages

Wales - Denmark 0-4
Italy - Austria 0-0 (2-1 aet)

Ok, so it's not going to be as straightforward as it was beginning to look for Italy. Might as well, I thought the end of the game last night was great. Fast, tense, a joy to watch for the neutrals.

Italy conceded for the first time in the tournament and was really shaky at times. Even so, I thought they controlled the game fairly well, especially in the first half. Funnily enough, I thought they missed Chiellini going forward rather than defending. Old man Chiellini has been brilliant at setting up play from the back in the first two games. Whereas last night, it felt like something didn't quite click in Italy's midfield. All the service that Immobile got was long balls, not even a whole lot of them, and when it came to positional attacks, it felt like there was always the extra turn, the extra touch, which allowed Austria to then push it away.

To their credit, Austria played really well and was an unexpected match for Italy. I thought they dominated the second half, and Arnautovic's offside goal gave Donnarumma cold sweats, even if only for a couple of minutes. Clear offside, so no complaints about the goal being disallowed, but it showed vulnerability.

One thing the favorites tend to do in the modern game is, when they need a goal, they press forward more and more, faster and faster as the 90 minutes draw to an end, and sometimes it works, but sometimes leaves you vulnerable to quick counters, especially when you have either a fast or a strong guy up front. Italy will have none of that. They stayed calm, played their game, and I get the feeling - especially with this being Italy - they would have been happy to play the same for the next few weeks, should the need have arisen. Also, the idea of deciding the game on penalties didn't seem to phase them, though I think that's just bluffing. Slight advantage for Italy, sure, better goalkeeper and better players overall, but penalties are always a lottery. At which, if I was Austria, I would've taken my chances, though kudos to them for trying to wrap it up before that.

No need for any of that, anyway. Chiesa scored as soon as extra time started, and it was game over. Sure, tense final, in the knowledge that the hypothesis of Austria drawing level exists, but come on... it was over. And what a beautiful way to do it, by the way. Excellent composure from young Chiesa, stop the ball, send the defender the wrong way, then kill it with a wonderful curved shot. 90 minutes without a goal are worth it for that beauty.

Austria's goal was great, too. Incredible inspiration from Sasa Kalajdzic to push the ball behind with the back of his head, after getting down to boots level to find it in the first place. And it wasn't even a case of too little too late, his goal ensured Austria stayed in contention (again, no real chance, but at least hope) and, maybe more importantly, they managed to score against Italy. As history tells us, this is no mean feat. Austria can go home happy with their performance, and they'd do well to forget that pitiful display against Netherlands in the second game.

After the first game against Finland, I thought Denmark should consider achievement any game where all players survive. The Danes deserve huge credit though, they battered Russia to give themselves the best chance to qualify from the group and now they seem to be playing better and better.

I also thought Wales are the better team and they're slight favourites for this game. Nowhere near, they really came undone. No real aggression, not much attacking intent, and an overall surrender. Only 1-0 down at half time, but I couldn't really see them getting back in the game. Not only they didn't, but they're going home leaving a 0-4 scoreline behind them, which will be remembered more than the fact that the last two goals were scored very late in the game. I thought Aaron Ramsey has been a liability from the off, but midfield helped him in the group games. No more here, Bale was barely in the game, Joe Allen, Dan James, the starts in the Welsh team didn't really build anything, while the defenders passed to the opposition for the second goal.

By contrast, Denmark has been missing two of their best players, and they still showed their best football yet. I now think they'll be a headache for any opposition, though probably not a match for the big boys.

Wales can probably be happy with reaching the knock-out stage and probably overachieving for such a small nation, but an opportunity was missed here: even if they were to lose, you have to put up a fight. And I felt they didn't.

Euro 2021 - Penaldo

Spain - Slovakia 5-0

Sweden - Poland 3-2

Normally I should've been happy for Spain. I am, a bit. It was, after all, a pitiful display from a great footballing nation in the first two games. Never a good sight. Spain is clearly changing generations and redefining identity after the enormous successes of the past decade or so. Emulating the Barcelona tiki-taka is not working; truth to be told, the system was highly inefficient back then, too. It was just with a lot of effort and a team of very good players that they were able to sustain it, and it was known - though, granted, not easy - to dismantle it.

Nowadays Spain doesn't have a Xavi & Iniesta midfield. No Puyol, Pique or Ramos in defense and they play with a photo model as a striker. For all their 80-something possession against Sweden, not many opportunities to show from.

But they clicked just at the right time. The biggest battering of the tournament so far, good goals and overall an impressive display. Too bad it was at the expense of poor Slovakia, which was a really nice surprise against Poland. Unfortunately, they run out of steam, or they lack the experience to manage points, games and tempo at tournaments like this. And with Spain making sure their goal difference went down the drain, no chance of qualifying from 3rd place either. They'll probably be happy with the display, but they shouldn't be; I felt there was much more potential to their team.

I was glad when Morata missed the first penalty. I don't rate Morata all that much (can you tell?) and it kept the score at 0-0. But when your own keeper pushes the ball in the net after a shot that wasn't even extra difficult, hard to expect many rewards. With 2-0 at half time, Spain were flying, so much so that Ferran Torres could afford to hit back-heels in the goal by the end of it. Gerard Moreno too, was away too undisturbed throughout the game for my taste. He's probably been Spain's best player so far, let's see how he'll fare against real opposition. Croatia, for instance.

Sweden and Poland have, of course, decided to play a dynamic, high tempo, high scoring game, just after no one was expecting this from either of them. Of the two though, Sweden at least have been highly pragmatical. Settle for what you can until the decisive game, then go all out. And the injury time goal provides them with a cushier draw for the last 16. It's not going to be easy, no option will be from here on, but I'd take Ukraine over Croatia any day.

Poland, which the bookies were rating as one of the favorites, has been disappointing throughout, despite the redeeming performance of Lewandowski in yesterday's game. They're going home, to a nation that was probably expecting better.

Germany - Hungary 2-2

France - Portugal 2-2

I have no idea what happened in Munich, I doubt Low has, but the evolution of the scoreline didn't seem believable. Germany went 1-0 down to Hungary, and they were pulled back to level 2 after taking the lead. Congratulations Hungary, you finished last, but at least you made the proud boys in the home stands happy.

I watched France - Portugal instead, and I'm glad I did. It has been the best game of the tournament so far, bar maybe 'Italy thrashing another team' ones, but they run in different categories. Qualification on the table both teams really went for it, and both put on great displays. Ronaldo and Benzema, though both famous for inconsistency in form, have been excellent yesterday. Mbappe is always a threat, although I have to say, much as I admire him, the boy is not a clinical finisher. He'd put himself in situations all the time sure, but if Inzaghi, for instance, would've missed as much as he does, he would not have gotten this mention here. Although I can kind of see Semedo's point, pulling at Mbappe's shirt with both hands every time he got the ball: you have to keep him tied down, otherwise he runs away.

For Ronaldo haters, here's one more reason: 3 of his 5 goals so far were penalties, but now he's two clear in the goal-scorers board. Penaldo indeed, but they all count.

Euro 2021 - Sterling job

Czech Republic - England 0-1

Maybe I should stop predictions for a while, turns out I was wrong about England. Gareth Southgate did so well, he even made Raheem Sterling look good. And apart from the goal, England has been dominant and never really looked in trouble, despite a couple of chances from the Czechs.

The game was all wrapped up in a rather dynamic first half, the Czechs seemed resigned to their faith in the second, specially with Croatia being pulled level by Scotland. And when Croatia took back the lead, it was maybe too late to react, or they just couldn't be bothered.

I maintain Czechs are a good team, but clearly not top class. Let's see who they draw, they might suddenly remember they reached the semifinals in both 2004 and 1996.

Croatia - Scotland 3-1

I haven't seen any of this, but equally surprised and delighted that Scotland managed a goal. Croatia seems to be stumbling a bit, but they're drawn against a team from Spain's group, where everybody is stumbling.

One more day of group games, potentially the most interesting. Although I'd stay away from Sweden - Poland game. Unless you're trying to fall asleep.

Euro 2021 - Benelux

I wasn't able to watch the games today, I dozed off during the second half of Ukraine - Austria and it's just the Belgium game that I paid any significant amount of attention to. So the ramblings below are based on extended highlights, impressions from the first two games, and - as always - unfounded personal bias.

Macedonia - Netherlands 0-3

Ally McCoist got the score right for once, though poor Macedonia deserved better faith. One of the two teams to leave the tournament with 0 points, but very contrasting impressions of the two. While Turkey is a huge disappointment due to history, expectations and my general sympathy for the Turkish nation, Macedonia is a team no one expected much from. Yet here they were, pulling back level against Austria and twice being close to open the score against Netherlands. Qualified for the first tournament finals ever in the country's history and giving a great account of themselves.

Only, when push comes to shove, big boys will shaft any notion of romantic football and punish you any way they can. Also, their defense has been really shaky, they are unable to close off games and can't deal with the speed and technique of quality players.

That's why Netherlands were able to wrap the game up after an hour, with three goals from three similar actions: ball to winger, pass in the box, find a free man or hit the rebound. I have been critical of Netherlands so far, but they seem to be improving game on game. Wijnaldum is a better footballer than I thought, and today he was merciless. Even Depay looked to have clicked, though it might have to do with the quality of the opposition.

It's still hard to predict the Dutch's route, as they will face a third place from the D, E, F groups, and either of those could be problematic (e.g. Croatia, Spain or Portugal). We'll find out in the next 48 hours.

Ukraine - Austria 0-1

This was unexpected. Either Austria was greatly handicapped by not having Arnautovic in the previous game, or they wrote that off gambling on a win against Ukraine. I'm hoping for the former, because if it's the latter, not only is it disrespectful to the fans, to the sport, and to themselves but also, that's the kind of karma that blows up in your face. Either way, they are through, and bound to be Italy's next victim.

As for Ukraine, I thought they generally played well, they're a decent team and have a few quality players. Dare I say - and I know this is blasphemy in Kiev - that Shevchenko might not be the man to get everything out of this team? Either way, with three points and a -1 goal difference, they'll have to wait and pray. Either for Croatia to draw Scotland or for Slovakia to beat Spain. Neither is impossible, both are tall orders.

Russia - Denmark 1-4

My main expectation in this group was for Russia to finish last. I'm not petty, I just think they deserve it. Their football is largely clueless, they are not making the most of the quality they have in the team and the football they played was next to Turkey and Sweden in terms of ugliness, only Sweden's is efficient. They were very lucky to bet Finland and the Fin's voided goal was questionable, and both Finland and Denmark are better teams. Their shirts were a nod to the great Russian team who reached the final of the 1988 tournament, but the football was nowhere near.

That's why I was happy to see the result, which was before I saw the goals. The Danes really went for it, and I'm not sure whether Eriksen's accident was lucky or unlucky for them. They lost the points on the day, but I always thought it was insanity to restart the game. However, the football they played against Belgium, and especially today, was far better than the first half against Finland. So either Eriksen's accident really motivated them, or they were slow to get off the blocks and would've probably been even better with a fit Eriksen in the squad. Never mind all that, 4 goals today ensure they finish second, and it will be a great game against Wales. I see Wales as slight favorites, but it's a very even game.

Finland - Belgium 0-2

Despite the misstep against Russia, Finland was in a privileged position. Belgium didn't really need points, so a draw would've fitted both teams well, and even losing by one goal could've potentially put them in a qualifying position, pending other results. The fact that they couldn't do that is a marker of how far they still have to go, but also a testament to Belgium's attitude.

But I thought the line is from the sleeve?

I'm not impressed by Belgium, and I think a few of their players are over-hyped. Witsel the prime example, but also Vermaelen, Batshuayi, even Hazard. He's a good player, but not as good as media will have you believe. All that aside, they have been one of the strong teams of the tournament so far, end the group on maximum points and the same number of goals as Italy. Lukaku's on three goals and with a chance for the Golden Boot. Let's see who they draw.

Finland on the other side has to pray even harder than Ukraine. Also, they should master some basic football notions, such as 'the keeper is meant to keep the ball out of goal, not put it in' or 'when you need a point, make sure you defend well'. I started out being sympathetic towards them, they remind me of Iceland of the last Euro and the last World Cup, a team that compensates technical inferiority with hard work. But in the end they didn't even work that hard and oh well, what do you expect then?

My guess for tomorrow is Croatia will beat Scotland, but England won't beat Czech Republic. Where is home?

Euro 2021 - Legio Augusta

Italia - Wales 1-0

Trophy not pictured (yet)

What's scary about this Italian team is how they can play without their first team players, without any stars basically, in a game without real stakes, and still be in full control against a smaller team, ok, but by no means a bad one. The more I watch them the more I wonder how can they be beaten. France has the star power, Germany has the history, but the way Italy controls the game is something else. Dribble in our own box? Sure thing! We can pass it around, too! We're in the lead in injury time? Nvm, we're still gonna crowd their box and attack with seven people.

I mean... we might be witnessing the affirmation of a great team. And I hate to admit it, but credit must go to Mancini. Who was absolutely taking the piss when subbing the keeper for no reason whatsoever.

Wales, credit to them, they're having a great tournament, and are generally going through a golden period for such a small nation. I don't know much about the Jimmy Murphy team of the 50s and how they compare, but this Welsh team does better in international football than the one that I have actually seen, of the early 90s. That team featured Ian Rush, Mark Hughes, Gary Speed and a young Ryan Giggs, among others. 

They played great today and even troubled Italy on a few occasions. They could've never won this game, but the red card for Ampadu was harsh and it ruined the last 20 minutes of the game. Hard enough to play against Italy 11 v 11, 10 v 11 all you can hope for is not to concede more. And they didn't, which means they qualify from the second spot, waiting for one of Finland, Denmark, or Russia in the last 16. Any of them would be beatable.

Aaron Ramsey needs to learn how not to bugger clear-cut opportunities, but other than that, the Welsh are alright.

Switzerland - Turkey 3-1

I was so not tempted to watch the full game on catch-up despite its four goals, as the idea of suffering through Turkey's pitiful excuse for football was not appealing. The internet has been pinging the idea of Soyuncu to United today. Please, God, no!

And the Swiss didn't impress, either. They needed to batter Turkey today to recover the goal difference of the 0-3 loss against Italy, but clearly, they're not cut for battering teams, even as bad as Turkey. They'll probably go through, but only to lose in the knock-out round.

Turkey managed to score one, and although I was glad at the time because it helped Wales, they did not deserve a goal in this tournament. 0 points is a more accurate reflection of their input for this Euros. 

And yeah, these were the only games played today, as it was correctly pointed out to me on Facebook. There will be four tomorrow, with the resolutions for groups B and C. I want Russia to finish last and probably Austria to not qualify. Their display against the Netherlands has been pitiful.

Euro 2021 - A new Löw

My watching of the Euros this weekend has been fragmentary, and so will be my impressions. But I will drop them down here in full.

Sweden - Slovakia 1-0

It felt quite a dull game and a horribly unfair result. Slovakia is clearly the better team, they need to rise to the occasion a little bit. More confident going forward, more direct, more ruthless. Unfortunately, they've got what's deemed to be the toughest game of the group, against Spain. Frankly, they deserve qualification more than Spain, but if they can somehow play without a ball, that would help.

Sweden is a big disappointment for me in this tournament. Bar the momentary flashes of Alexander Isak, the football they showed is so negative and so unpleasant to watch, it's disgusting. Oh, yeah, they defend well. That's like saying about a runner that he can stand well. It's not the point of the sport! The goal of the game of football is to put the ball in the opposition's net. If you don't set out to do that, you're doing football wrong. They should thank their Nordic gods for the lucky win and the position they're in. Although something tells me the game against Poland will be another festival of incompetence.

Croatia - Czech Republic 1-1

This is the game I regret most not seeing more of, but by the bits I've seen looked like a dynamic game and probably a fair result. Croatia is clearly some distance from the World Cup finalist of two years ago, while the Czechs look like a team on the up. Of the two, Croatia seems to be in a thorny position. They should beat Scotland, though the Scots will also be winded by the point they got against England. And Czech Republic can, and probably will, get something against England, especially considering a point apiece would qualify them both.

England - Scotland 0-0

So... England are no longer favorites for the tournament, are they? This time around, the switch from over-hyped to mournful came earlier at the BBC. Funnily enough, this might help the team. With the pressure off, and very likely qualified from the group, England might go into the knock-out stages rejuvenated. They'll still flop, but will give a better account of themselves.

Hungary - France 1-1

Well, try and make sense of that! France clearly the better them, but not by enough if they could not come back to win the game. The good thing is, Hungary threw a bit of a spanner in the workings of this most spectacular group. Now Germany will probably win the group, while in Portugal - France nothing is guaranteed.

Les Bleus still displayed some beautiful football, Mbappe is still a joy to watch, but it was the putting the ball in the net bit they missed today. And all for a few inches along Benzema's shinpads.

Portugal - Germany 2-4

The smell of victory

What is annoying about the Germans is how easy they make it look like. I mean, for the first goal, Ronaldo has to run across the pitch at x3 speed, wait for Jota's perfectly weighed pass, then score. The second Portughese goal takes a jump above the defense and a masterful lob by the same Coca Cola PR nightmare. The Germans scored 4 times from the same type of attacker: take it forward, pass to the wings, crowd the box and force it in. 

Oh and that kid Gosens: have you got a spare one, by any chance?

For the people who discounted them after the loss against France, they shouldn't have. That game was very tight and it could've easily gone either way. But with this win they're back in the qualification mix and back amongst the favourites. By the football played so far, I dare say third favourites.

Spain - Poland 1-1

Spain tried hard not to win this game, and overall they don't seem all that interested in scoring. Luis Enrique might as well give it a go himself, he'll probably still be a more effective forward than Morata, minus the hair gel. I mean, I wouldn't head the ball either if it means running such a perfect hair. But for goodness' sake, from the penalty spot it should be really easy. Not for Moreno [insert black sheep joke here]. In the last 10 minutes or so, when the prospect of two points from two games became more and more substantial, I kept meaning to ask the Spanish players: 'Have you considered trying to shoot?'

I can't really tell if Poland is a huge disappointment or they were expected to be this bad. Oh, yey, we got Lewandowski, but bless, what do you expect him to do by himself? Kudos to him, he scored a good goal and the point should be credited all to himself (was it not a foul in build-up, when he pushed the defender, though?) This is as far as it will go though. Poland - Sweden will probably be painful to watch and a slow, eeked-out affair with maybe 2-3 attempts on goal. My guess is points will go Sweden's way.

With this second round done, tomorrow we start the round of simultaneous games. Italy vs Wales should be a good one, while for Switzerland - Turkey all I want is for Turkey not to score. If the Swiss settle for a 0-0, so be it, but the Turks haven't shown enough quality to warrant a goal. And for the late game, I'll probably go for Finland - Belgium, although Denmark - Russia sounds interesting as well: part football, part therapy, and all VAR decisions to go for Russia.

Euro 2021 - Graveyard shift

Either the football today hasn't been very exciting, or it's a coming down from two great games yesterday (Italy & Wales). Or just football saturation starting to creep in. Fact is, I got quite bored today.

Denmark - Belgium 1-2

The big question mark was how would Denmark play in the wake of Christian Eriksen's injury. And it does look like their reaction was a great one. Came out flying, scored quickly, completely dominated the first half. They might've stunned Belgium a little bit, hence the lack of reaction. The fact that in the end the Red Devils came back in the game is due to quality and experience. Denmark tried to sustain the fast pace after the break too, but that takes stamina, and there's little doubt about who the fitter team is. Instead, they should've packed the defence, absorb some pressure, frustrate Belgium and wait for some killer counters. Poulsen and Braithwaite have enough pace to resolve a counter-attack between them, and Braithwaite almost did it at the end. 

An interesting moment, Kasper Schmeichel's coming out for the final free-kick. His placement and jump were good, but almost cost him a third goal.

Belgium has done well to get back in the game and it was a show of force bringing De Bruyne, Witsel and Hazard from the bench, a way of saying they do have plenty of match winners in reserve. But overall they're not looking as good as they did at the World Cup in Russia. To be seen how far they go, and winning the group will certainly help for the knock-out stages, but they're not contenders for the tournament. The likelihood is they're gonna beat Finland, which means Denmark still has a shot at the second place if they beat Russia. And if they play like they did in the first half today, should be an easy task.

Netherlands - Austria 2-0

Another one where the winners were convincing on the day, but not convincing as serious contenders for the tournament. This is, I believe, the worst Dutch team I have seen in my lifetime. And they controlled the game and won comfortably, but Austria put in a really poor display tonight. If they've written off this game on account of beating Ukraine, it might blow in their face. And beat Ukraine they'll have to to be sure of finishing second, losing by two tonight means a draw might not be enough.

Back to slagging the Dutch a bit more: the fact the Memphis Depay, free agent, is their star player, is telling. Not much in the way of individual quality, link-up between midfield and attack is suffering, the forwards are afraid to shoot and they're missing a lot of chances. Ukraine almost drew them, and they faced a poor opponent tonight. But come the knock-out stages, things might look grim.

Ukraine - North Macedonia 2-1

Two missed penalties in the game,
but I didn't feel they worth a mention,
that's how much they mattered

I haven't seen the game live, caught up with the first half between the evening games and listening to the second half while writing this. It's funny, probably the lowest billed game at this Euros, but the football was more entertaining than in Netherlands - Austria. Ukraine, it seems, is actually a decent team and there's no accident they scored twice against the Netherlands. At the moment I see them as favourites against Austria. A win against Austrians will win them a meeting with Italy, which spells end of the road, but at least it will be an honorable exit, a result in line with the squad's worth.

Macedonia, it seems, will go back home without points, but already there's plenty of reasons for them to be proud. Add to that a decent display, maybe a goal against Netherlands, and they'll be hailed as heroes in Skopje, for good reason. Small country, young team, small selection pool, barely any international experience, yet they gave a good account of themselves and they've set the scene for further international success in years to come. Which is really the most they could've hoped for in this tournament. I like how they don't stop playing after conceding a goal, both their goals so far have been from losing positions.

Tomorrow's football is much more interesting than today's, unfortunately work trip to Bournemouth for me means I'll miss most of the next 6 matches. But I'm thinking Slovakia double chance against Sweden, Croatia to beat Czech Republic by one goal and England to beat Scotland by at least 2. I might not be able to blog tomorrow, but for the few people that actually read this, there's always Facebook to slag me off.