EURO 2020 ROUND OF 16 GAME REVIEW

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

02 JULY 2021 | Angelo Ziovas

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The round of 16 in Euro 2020 offered up many great games as well as a few shocks as well.

Italy v Austria

Starting the knockouts was Austria v Italy, with Italy being expected to win this and looking formidable opponents for the Austrians, it turned out to be anything but easy for the Italians, even though they came out 2-1 winners. Austria fought through the game and even thought they had gotten a goal to put them ahead in regular time. However, they had a goal ruled out for offside in the 66th minute.

No goals in 90 minutes meant extra time was needed to break the deadlock, and after only 5 minutes of extra time, the substitute, Federico Chiesa scores the first goal of the game with what was a piece of quality from the winger. Then just before the break at 105 minutes, Matteo Pessina scores a second with a nice close-range finish which proved to be the winner on the night. The second half for Austria, they tried to fight back and even got a goal in the 114th minute with a brilliant header from Sasa Kalajzic. But it was not enough, and Italy win a close fought game between the two sides.

Denmark v Wales

Denmark v Wales proved to be the biggest win on the score line in the round of 16, with the Danes scoring 4, winning 4-0 in what could have been a close game, but their quality of finishing was superb, and the Welsh could not handle it. Kasper Dolberg scored a brace, putting the ball in the back of the net with a lovely curling effort in the 27th minute, then scoring again just after the break on 48 minutes.

Wales hung on but could not convert as they seen only 1 shot on target out of the 11 they had in the whole game. The Danes made it 3 near the end just before Harry Wilson of Wales was sent off. Then, compounding Wales misery, Martin Braithwaite sored a 4th in what was a great performance from the Danish team. It will give them loads of confidence going into the quarter finals.

Netherlands v Czech Republic

Netherlands v Czech Republic ended 0-2 to the Czechs, they played really well, and their pressing game was very good, not allowing much time on the ball for their key players. The Dutch had no reply, they tried fashioning out chances, but it was not enough. The Dutch failed to register a single attempt on target and to add insult to injury, Matthijs de Ligt got himself sent off for an extremely silly handball after he was beat by his man. From there the Czechs did not have to wait long for their first goal on 68 minutes via Tomáš Holeš. Then to add to the Dutch disaster, Patrik Schick scored 12 minutes later to send them through to the quarter finals, in impressive fashion.

Belgium v Portugal

Belgium v Portugal proved to be the only last 16 game with 1 goal in it. Belgium came out 1-0 winners after a brilliant strike from Thorgan Hazard gave them the lead on 42 minutes, before that, it was a cagey affair.

The goal proved to be the winner, even with Portugal throwing all they had at the Belgians, it still was not enough in the end. Portugal had 23 shots, only 4 of which on target and did not take the chances they had. Belgium, only having the one shot on target out of total of 6 shots throughout the entire game, and had only 1 out target, won them the game. Which means the holders are out and Belgium move on to the quarter finals still looking for their first European championship win.

Croatia v Spain

Croatia v Spain was an instant classic and proved that when Spain take their chances, they have a real shot at winning this tournament, the goal fest ended 5-3 to Spain, in a brilliant game of football.

The scoring opened through a horrific error from Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon, who when getting a pass from Pedri, took too light of a first touch and let it into his own net, giving Croatia the lead. The Spanish however, fought back, looking the right that mistake and did so. Pablo Sarabia scored the equalizer in the 38th minute to atone for the prior mistake. At half time the scores remained level, but Spain soon took the lead in the 57th minute courtesy of a Cesar Azpilicueta header who jumped highest to give the Spanish the lead. Ferran Torres extended the lead in the 77th minute via a great finish after a brilliant ball forward where Croatia did not look focused and Spain capitalised.

Croatia, committing men foward eventually found a second through Mislav Oršić, with scuffle in the box where he managed to put the ball just over the line to give Croatia a lifeline in the 85th minute. In the dying minutes of the game, goalscorer turned provider crossed the ball into the box, Mario Pasalic came from deep to get a head to it and remarkably made it 3-3 to take the game to extra time.

From there 10 minutes into extra time, Alvaro Morata got himself on the scoresheet by taking down a great cross and smashing the ball in on the half volley to give Spain the lead again. Then two minutes later Mikel Oyarzabal gave the Spanish a 5th goal, turning in another great cross from Dani Olmo and finally putting the game to bed with what may be one of the games of the tournament.

France v Switzerland

The first game of Euro 2020 to be taken to penalties, and against all odds. Switzerland have a place in the quarter finals after a game that finished 3-3 after extra time, then Switzerland winning 5-4 on penalties to take them through over the world champions.

The Swiss got off to a flying start when 14 minutes in Haris Seferovic turned in a headed goal to make it 1-0 Switzerland. The game remained stationed at 1-0 until just over 10 minutes into the second half where Switzerland found themselves with penalty, Ricardo Rodriguez seen his shot saved by Lloris and thus launched France to turn on the style with Karim Benzema scoring two goals within 4 minutes of that penalty. The game was turned on its head at this point and France finally looked like the brilliant team we had seen in the world cup.

Paul Pogba in the 74th minute delivered an absolute stunner from outside the penalty area to give the French a bigger lead to 3-1. Switzerland refused to lay down though, just 6 minutes later, Seferovic, came up big with another headed goal to bring them back to within one. Then another 6 minutes later, with Switzerland pressing to get the ball back, they do successfully, and Granit Xhaka delivers a brilliant ball through to Mario Gavranovic, who scores a brilliant 90th minute leveller to take the game into extra time.

With Extra time coming to a close and penalties looming, Kingsley Coman who had came off the bench in the 111th minute, rattles the bar to almost give France the winner right at the death of extra time. But it was not to be, Penalties awaited. With no one missing their penalty, it was down to Kylian Mbappe to keep the French in it, but he found his attempt saved by Yann Sommer to take Switzerland through after an outstanding performance and a brilliant game.

England v Germany

In what was one of the biggest games of the last 16, England came out and beat the Germans 2-0 making a statement in the process as the last time they had beaten Germany in a major tournament was in 1966.

The game was 0-0 for a long time into the game, both teams have had chances up to the first goal but no one had really taken them, until Raheem Sterling got onto the end of a Luke Shaw cross to tap it in for 1-0 in the 75th minute. The Germans then had a brilliant opportunity to level the scores in the 80th minute with Thomas Muller through on goal but drags the shot wide of the post letting the English off the hook and quite possibly losing the game for Germany then and there. 5 minutes later the English doubled their advantage as Harry Kane headed home a second to finish off the Germans and send England into the quarter finals.

Sweden v Ukraine

The last of the round of 16 games seen Sweden take on Ukraine. Ukraine beats Sweden to progress to the quarter finals with a 2-1 win over the Swedes.

Ukraine scored first with Zinchenko firing in on the 26th minute from the far post after a cross in and struck it in for 1-0 to Ukraine, the keeper did what he could to save it but the power on the ball was too great. Sweden responded via Emil Forsberg with a shot from just outside the area that deflected in off the defender and sent the keeper the wrong way. Both sides were fashioning out chances with the game being relatively even throughout.

The game was still 1-1 after 90 minutes and so was plunged into extra time to settle the difference. It took all the way until the 121st minute where a brilliant cross in from Zinchenko, turned provider for this goal, bends it in to the area where substitute Artem Dovbyk headed it in from close range to break Swedish hearts and send Ukraine into the quarter finals.

EURO 2020 ROUND OF 16 GAME PREVIEW

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

29 JUNE 2021 | Angelo Ziovas

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Germany v England

In one of the biggest games in the last 16 Germany will take on England in another massive clash. Both nations have slightly underwhelmed so far, but with such a big match and a place in the quarter finals on the line, they will both be up for it.

England have had a slow start to their Euros journey, and while winning 2 out of 3 of their group games, it has only been by the one goal, the wins against Croatia and Czech Republic, both 1-0 wins and not comfortable by any stretch, in between those games was a goalless draw vs Scotland, who pushed the English and tested them in the match. They may have trouble scoring but they have been solid in defence, conceding no goals so far, being the only team other than Italy not to concede.

The English squad has great players in there, Phil Foden, Jordan Henderson, Mason Mount and Jude Bellingham will be crucial through the center of the pitch while wide players like Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling will be the wide players on offer and will use their pace to get in behind the German defence, while Harry Kane will be looking to get on the score sheet. John Stones will be a central figure in defence.

Germany has had a rough group stage progression with first losing to France 1-0 in a less than stellar performance, then rebounding with a great result against Portugal ending 4-2. They then came from behind twice to gather a 2-2 draw against Hungary. The Germans have not been at their best and it shows, while they were great against Portugal, their performances against France and Hungary were not of the quality we have come to expect from German teams. All three games have shown that the German defence has been quite leaky in the group stage, conceding 5 goals. Against Portugal they were vulnerable on the counter attack, and the same against Hungary, who performed brilliantly against the Germans. Out of the teams that qualified for the knockout stages, other than Portugal who conceded 6 goals, they are tied with Ukraine and Switzerland with conceding 5 goals in the group stages.

The Germans have the quality on the pitch to win the whole tournament with attacking options like Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sane, Thomas Muller and Timo Werner. Midfield options such as Kai Havertz, Leon Goretzka and Ilkay Gündogan who can pull the strings on the ball. With the experienced Mats Hummels at the back with options like Niklas Süle and Antonio Rüdiger, they need to be prepared for the pace of the English attack if want to stop them from scoring.

The last time these two nations met in major tournament was all the way back in the world cup in 2010, that encounter ended 4-1 to Germany. Germany also apart from the 2018 world cup have been in at least the semi final stage of a major tournament since the 2006 world cup, and Germany will want to once again make the latter stages and will make it hard for England. If the game goes all the way to penalties, History will be on the Germans side as they have only lost one shoot out in 7, and England have lost 6 out of 9 and lost both their penalty shoot outs against Germany. The winner faces Sweden or Ukraine in the quarter final.

Probable line-ups

England: Pickford - Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw - Phillips, Rice - Foden, Mount, Sterling - Kane (c) Out: - Doubtful: -

Germany: Neuer (c) - Ginter, Hummels, Rüdiger - Kimmich, Goretzka, Kroos, Gosens - Havertz, Müller, Gnabry Out: - Doubtful: Klostermann (hamstring)

Sweden v Ukraine

The last of the round of 16 games has Sweden take on Ukraine. Sweden like their world cup form in 2018 have been impressive so far in the group stage, topping their group and looking good in all three games. Ukraine have been rather disappointing after their impressive qualifying campaign to get into the euros.

Sweden have looked very impressive once again in a major tournament and is looking to build on their success in the group stage to reach the quarter final. Topping the group they started with a credible goalless draw against a quality Spain side, then beat out Slovakia 1-0 and followed that up with a 3-2 win over Poland, and while they have looked impressive, they have also faltered a little bit. After being 2-0 up against Poland they did falter a little bit, conceding 2 goals before managing a 94th minute winner to get the victory. Against Slovakia they may have gotten the win but were not all that good in the first half of that game. While they have been impressive, at times they have been poor.

Emil Forsberg has been at the core of this Swedish team and will be key for them as they go into this game, he scored the penalty to win the game against Slovakia and grabbed a brace in the game against Poland. Alexander Isak and Victor Lindelof will also be crucial at both ends of the field for Sweden. Dejan Kulusevski is a player that the Swedes have only utilised once so far and in that one time he provided both an assist and a goal. They would be smart to utilise him again in this game.

Ukraine have only won 1 of their 3 group games and ended up as one of the best third placed teams to gain entry into the knockout stages. Something that could give them some invigoration however is that even though they may have lost against the Netherlands 3-2, but their performance in the game to level the scores after they went two down was exceptionally good, as were the goals. They then took victory against North Macedonia 2-1 before being defeated by Austria in matchday 3.

Andriy Yarmolenko, Roman Yaremchuk and Olexandr Zinchenko will be difference makers for Ukraine in their bid to reach the quarter finals. Yarmolenko and Yaremchuk have both been involved in Ukraine’s goals in the group stage. While Zinchenko will look to make a difference by pulling the strings in the midfield.

This game has the ingredients for an interesting matchup, both teams will look at this as one of the easier games they could have gotten in the round of 16 and both teams will be eager to show what they can do and make it to the quarter finals. Ukraine have only ever won two in the European Championships as Ukraine (formerly part of the Soviet Union) and is their first appearance in a knockout game in the Euros. This is the first time since 2004 that Sweden have made the knockout stages and a major European tournament. Germany or England will be opponents for whoever wins here.

Probable line-ups

Sweden - Olsen; Lustig, Lindelof, Danielson, Augustinsson; Larsson, Ekdal, Olsson, Forsberg; Isak, Kulusevski

Out: - Doubtful: -

Ukraine - Bushchan; Karavaev, Zabarnyi, Matvienko, Mykolenko; Stepanenko, Shaparenko, Zinchenko; Yarmolenko, Yaremchuk, Malinovskiy

Out: - Doubtful: -

EURO 2020 ROUND OF 16 GAME PREVIEW

EUROPEAN FOOTBALL

28 JUNE 2021 | Angelo Ziovas

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Croatia v Spain

Two nations that were expected to do more than they have shown so far now face each other in the last 16. Spain and Croatia have had a bit of a mixed run so far in the group stage. Spain struggled to beat Sweden and Poland, only achieving a 0-0 draw and a 1-1 draw respectively, only to absolutely dominate Slovakia by putting 5 past them in an encouraging 5-0 victory. It would not be a stretch to say that Spain have been disappointing thus far, they have shown their quality but in the two draws they suffered their finishing and overall quality in front of goal was very lacking.

While Spain do not have the amazing calibre of team that won them three major tournaments in a row between 2008 and 2012. They have a squad that is more than capable of ending up in the latter stages. While not having the brilliant Puyol and Pique pairing at the back, Spain have only conceded the one goal so far, and with Aymeric Laporte finally getting the chance to play at international level, he will be looking to make sure the defence holds up along with Pau Torres who has played in two of the three group games, with Eric Garcia playing they other game. Their midfield is a strong unit with the likes of Koke, Thiago, Rodri, Sergio Busquets looking to fashion chances for the attack. Alvaro Morata who while has not been on scoring form for the Spaniards, works hard on the pitch, but with Ferran Torres scoring against Slovakia he may start for them.

Croatia, like Spain have been slightly below expectations, their opening game ended in a 1-0 defeat to England, then drawing against a determined Czech Republic 1-1, then they finished off needing a win against Scotland and that is what they did coming out as 3-1 winners to get to the knockouts in second.

The Croats have a number of great players among the squad, with the biggest name being Luka Modric, but even with him comes several quality players to potentially make a difference. Mateo Kovacic, Ivan Perisic, Marcelo Brozovic and up front with Ante Rebic and Andrej Kramaric. They certainly have enough quality to challenge the Spanish, especially through the midfield which is easily Croatia’s strong point.

The last time these two sides met in the Euros was in the last Euros in 2016 in the group stage, Croatia came out 2-1 winners on that day, and even in more recent encounters, Spain came away with a 6-0 rampage win in September of 2018, but Croatia have won their last meeting which came in November of 2018 where the Croats won 3-2. France or Switzerland awaits in the quarter finals.

France v Switzerland

Probably a game where France expects to win on paper, but the Swiss are never an easy opponent. The world champions will be keen to win this game and progress, but France have not been as impressive as maybe they were expected to be. Switzerland knows however, that knocking out France would be a huge statement and really put questions on this French team. Especially considering France have a lot of expectations after their disappointment losing in the final of Euro 2016.

The French squad shows just why they are favourites for the Euros once again, the world champions boast an incredible side. Quality up and down the pitch, with names such as Lucas Hernandez and Raphael Varane keeping out attacks, N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba running the show through the center of the park, and a front trio of Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann.

However even with an incredible team, they were a little underwhelming in the group stages. A 1-0 win over Germany which started things off well but they didn’t look at their best, a 1-1 draw against a highly spirited Hungary, who France struggled to break down, and a 2-2 draw against Portugal where they gave away two penalties. While group stage games are not an indicator of how well a team plays in the knockout stages, there are signs for France that they need to step it up starting in this game against the Swiss.

Switzerland have been good so far in the tournament, playing out a 1-1 draw against Wales, then were beaten by Italy 3-0, but bounced back with a 3-1 over Turkey. They have looked good and will show no fear against France, and Austria and Czech Republic’s performances will definitely give them the belief that they can go on and bet France.

Breel Embolo, Xherdan Shaqiri, Haris Seferovic and Granit Xhaka will all be key for Switzerland as they attempt to pull off the win against France and make their way to the quarter finals. Shaqiri who has been there for Switzerland, scoring 2 goals and assisting 1 goal, but the whole team will need to be a well maintained unit if they want to progress.

The last time these two played each other at a Euros tournament was back in 2016, and it ended in a draw, and was in the group stage. This time it is knockout football, and there can only be one winner. The winner will go on to face either Croatia or Spain.