Greatest Euro Matches: England-Italy (2021)

Euro 2020 did not take place in 2020: Due to the global Covid pandemic of 2020 the tournament had to be postponed to 2021. Additionally, led by the later-disgraced UEFA president Michel Platini, UEFA had decided that not one nation would host the tournament, but instead the tournament was to be hosted by 11 cities in 11 different countries to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the tournament. Even though the pandemic was in its wane, this caused enormous logistical problems as many countries still had restrictions about travel and assembly. 

The city chosen to host the final was London, and at the time of the final there were still many travel restrictions, another advantage for England who throughout the tournament that football would “be coming home”. 

England had reason to be optimistic, if not arrogant. Managed by former England player Gareth Southgate, he had taken England to the 2018 semifinals. The team surely counted with an extremely strong combination of experience and talent from the Premier League, perhaps the strongest league in the world. Jordan Pickford from Everton was in goal, behind Manchester City’s Kyle Walker, John Stones, Manchester United’s Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, as well as Atletico Madrid’s Kieran Tripper. Midfield included Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson and Manchester City’s Jack Grealish, but also some very talented youths such as West Ham’s Declan Rice, Manchester City’s Phil Foden, Chelsea’s Mason Mount, Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka and Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho. Finally attack included the team’s captain and topscorer, Tottenham’s Harry Kane, Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford and Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling. 

England walked through qualification, scoring an impressive 37 goals in 8 matches, and only losing one match to the Czech Republic, but winning their group. Therefore expectations were high when they got into a group with Croatia, Scotland and the Czech Republic. Despite winning the group the side did not look impressive though: they defeated Croatia and Czechia, 1-0 in both case, and tied Scotland 0-0. Not many goals, but a strong defense. 

The first real test came in the last-16 when they faced their arch-rivals of Germany, defeating them 2-0 and really creating expectations about the title. In the quarterfinals England trashed Ukraine 4-0, and faced Denmark in the semifinals in a match that had to go into extra time and was only won after a controversial penalty that Harry Kane scored on the rebound. 

As they were to face Italy at home, England’s fans were almost prematurely celebrating as they were to face Italy at their legendary Wembley Stadium. 

Since winning the 2006 World Cup Italy had not impressed at World Cups. They had been eliminated at the group stages in 2010 and 2014 and had even failed to qualify to Russia 2018. Things had been a bit better in the European Championships as they had made the 2012 final, but were trashed by Spain. After the debacle in the 2018 qualification the former player Roberto Mancini, with ample experience in clubs such as Inter Milan and Manchester City, became manager. The goal was to qualify for the European championship, something he managed in style by winning ten out of ten matches, although the group had not looked too strong with runners-up Finland and Greece.

The squad was strong though and counted a talented young goalkeeper from AC Milan in Gianluigi Donnarumma. In defense the veteran captain from Juventus, Giorgio Chiellini, continued to play at an incredibly high level and complemented by strong players such as Alessandro Florenzi from Paris St. Germain, Lazio’s Francesco Acerbi, Napoli’s Giovanni di Lorenzo and Chelsea’s Emerson Palmieri. In midfield was the workhorse from Paris St. Germain, Marco Verrati, alongside Chelsea’s strong defensive midfielder Jorginho, including Inter’s Nicolo Barella, Juventus Federico Bernardeschi or Juventus Federico Chiesa. Strikers included Lazio’s Ciro Immobile, Napoli’s Lorenzo Insigne and Sassuolo’s Domenico Berardi. 

Italy looked strong from the start of the tournament: They won all their three matches, 3-0 over Turkey, 3-0 over Switzerland and 1-0 over Wales. They struggled to defeat a hard fighting Austrian side 2-1 after extra time in the last-16, but then played a great match to defeat the strong Belgians 2-1 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals they faced one of their archrivals, Spain, and won after penalty kicks to make it to the final against England. 

As it had been in the semifinals against Denmark they away fans were limited to Italians living in London, who faced a hostile English crowd who booed the Italian anthem and were insisting that “Football is coming home”. We were reminded of the worst of English fans; there were big fan troubles and English racism against their own players after the match had been lost. 

That said, it was the start of dreams for England: after two minutes Kieran Trippier passed the ball towards the far post where an unmarked Luke Shaw brought England ahead 1-0 on a half-volley. 

The fastest goal in a European Championship final. 

England were in ecstasy, but also appeared overly careful after the goal, and slowly Italy started to take over possession and get chances, but were kept away from big chances from Pickford and the defense. While England was leading at half-time it did not feel that the match was over, but that Italy would be hard to defeat. With two changes 10 minutes into the second half Italy continued to dominate possession, and one felt that Southgate, leading 1-0, was pulling back too much. After Italy steadily getting closer Italy finally scored. Following a corner kick Verrati hit the post, and Juventus’ Leonardo Bonucci was there to pick-up the riposte. 

At 34 years of age, Bonucci remains the oldest player to have scored in a European Championship final. 

Italy continued dominating against an England side that looked almost afraid in how careful they were playing in front of their home crowd, and the match ended 1-1 after extra time as well. 

Gareth Southgate made changes in extra time that seemed to prepare for penalty kicks as he brought on Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho in the 120th minute. At the score 1-1 on penalty kicks Andrea Belloti missed for England, and when Harry Maguire brought England ahead 2-1 it seemed that things were going England’s way. But following Bonucci’s goal, Marcus Rashford missed the goal entirely and score was 2-2. Following Bernardeschi bringing Italy ahead it was Jadon Sancho’s turn to miss when Donnarumma saved his shot, and suddenly the great Jorginho could make Italy champions, but a great Pickford saved. The last one to shoot for England was the young Bukayo Saka. He had to score, but his short was saved by Donnarumma, and Italy were champions of Europe for the second time since 1968. 

It was a big disappointment for England, but at least Football stayed home with Italy.  

London, 11th July 2021 Wembley Stadium 
Attendance: 67,173 
Referee: Bjorn Kuipers, Netherlands 

England-Italy 1-1 (AET) 
Penalty kicks: England-Italy 3-2 

England: Jordan Pickford; Kyle Walker, (Jadon Sancho, 120), John Stones, Harry Maguire; Kieran Trippier (Bukayo Saka, 71), Luke Shaw, Kalvin Phillips, Declan Rice (Jordan Henderson, 74 (Marcus Rashford, 120)), Raheem Sterling, Mason Mount (Jack Grealish, 99); Harry Kane (c). Manager: Gareth Southgate 
Italy: Gianluigi Donnaruma; Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini (c), Emerson Palmieri (Alessandro Florenzi, 118); Jorghinho, Nicolo Barella (Bryan Cristante, 54), Marco Verrati (Manuel Locatelli, 96); Federico Chiesa (Federico Bernardeschi, 86), Lorenzo Insigne (Andrea Belotti, 91), Ciro Immobile (Deomenico Berardi, 54). Manager: Roberto Mancini 

Goals:
1-0 Kyle Walker (2) 
1-1 Leonardo Bonucci (67) 

Penalty kicks:
1-1 Domenico Berardi 
1-1 Harry Kane 
Andrea Belloti missed for the Italy 
1-2 Harry Maguire 
2-2 Leonardo Bonucci 
Marcus Rashford missed for England 
2-3 Federico Bernardeshci 
Jadon Sancho missed for England 
Jorginho missed for Italy 
Bukayo Saka missed for England

Greatest Euro Matches: France-Switzerland (2021)

France won the World Championship of 2018 in Russia, and were surely considered one of the favourites to take the European title in 2020. That said, due to the COVID pandemic the tournament 2020 could not be the year that they would be able to take the title, as the entire tournament was postponed to 2021. Gthis nevertheless appeared to mean nothing with a team captained by the experienced Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and with strong defenders such as Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane and FC Barcelona’s Clement Leglet. The wingbacks were the Bayern Munich players Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez. In the meantime Manager Didier Deschamps had too many brilliant midfielders to choose from: Paul Pogba from Manchester United, Ngolo Kante from Chelsea, Moussa Sissoko from Tottenham, Andrien Rabiot from Juventus or Kingsley Coman from Bayern Munich. And it attack, complementing one of the world’s best players, Kylian Mbappe from Paris St. Germain, were such stars as FC Barcelona’s Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele, Chelsea’s Oliver Giroud and Real Madrid’s superstar Karim Benzema. 

In every way France looked awesome, but had not been perfect in qualification, losing one match to Turkey, but still winning their group. 

In the group stages France ended in the so-called “Group of Death” alongside Germany, Portugal and Hungary. Although playing in Munich France defeated Germany 0-1 in their opening match and 1-1 and 2-2 with Hungary and Portugal respectively was enough to win the group and make it to the last-16 where they were to play the unfancied Swiss. 

Despite being unfancied Switzerland was a solid and organised side of experienced players who played in good clubs, mainly in Germany. Borussia Monchengladbach’s Yann Sommer was the goalkeeper in front of strong defenders such as Borussia Dortmund’s Manuel Akanji, Borussia Monchengladbach’s Nico Elvedi,Torino’s Ricardo Rodriguez and Newcastle’s Fabian Schar. Midfield counted the strong Arsenal player Granit Xhaka and Liverpool’s Xherdan Shaquiri. And as strikers Switzerland counted with Mario Gavranovic from Dynamo Zagreb, Benfica’s Hafis Seferovic or Borussia Monchengladbach’s Breel Embolo. 

Switzerland had won their qualification group ahead of Denmark, Ireland, Georgia and Gibraltar. In the first round of the tournament they were in a difficult group with Italy, Wales and Turkey. They tied Wales 1-1 in their opening match, but were destroyed 0-3 by Italy in their second match. Defeating Turkey 3-1 in their last match was enough to take them through on third spot, and to face the French World Champions in a match in which they were certainly the underdogs. 

Perhaps it was the typical French arrogance, but they started the match doing nothing. Instead, it was a determined Swiss midfielder from Frankfurt, Steven Zuber who made a perfect pass from the left, and Hafic Sevfrovic perfectly headed the ball into a Swiss lead. The French defense had looked like they were sleeping, and now France had to prove themselves as Switzerland defended deep with a strong Yann Sommer in goal. That said, besides some shots from outside the area France looked wobbly and were losing, deservedly, 1-0 at halftime. 

Deschamps put on the young Bayern Munich player Kingsley Coman on for defender Leglet in the second half to put more pressure, but it was the Swiss who had the chance to make it 2-0 when a well-playing Steven Zuber rushed down the left side and was taken down inside the area. The subsequent penalty by Ricardo Rodriguez was nevertheless saved by Hugo Lloris. 

Instead of 2-0 the penalty appeared to give the French renewed energy and their combinations started working when Real Madrid’s great Karim Benzema made a brilliant first touch on a pass from Mbappe and made it 1-1. Two minutes later Antoine Griezmann went into the area and his shot was half saved by Sommer, but the ball ended with Benzema who headed it in for 1-2 for France. 

The match had completely turned around within five minutes, and now France were playing like the World Champions that they were, although their defense continued to look shaken during the few Swiss attacks. 

Fifteen minutes before time Paul Pogba scored one of the best goals of the tournament on a spectacular long shot that ended in the corner of the goal. Fantastic goal, and with 3-1 it seemed that France were dancing their way to the quarterfinals. 

But Swiss tenacity and a poor French defending are a dangerous combination. 

Wolfburg's Kevin Mbabu, who had come in a few minutes earlier, was given all the time in the world to lay a perfect pass into the French area where Seferovic again rose above a sleepy Raphael Varane and made it 2-3 on another header, and the French World Champions looked incredibly shaken. 

Arrogance can quickly become frustration, and the Swiss put pressure. Gavranovic, who had come in for Shaquiri, had a goal cancelled because of a tight off-side. But not giving up, Gavranovic rounded Kimpembe in the 90th minute and with a flat shot towards the far corner he made it 3-3. Again the French defense did not look like World Champions but more like Sunday school boys. 

Everyone thought 3-3, but Kinglsey Coman almost gave the French the victory hitting the crossbar in the last second of the match, which thus had to go into extra time. 

 Both teams were visibly tired in extra time. Switzerland defended heroically as the French pushed forward. Yann Sommer made good saves from Benjamin Pavard and Olivier Giroud, and Mbappe missed a big opportunity to make it 4-3, but in the end it was all in vain as it ended 3-3 and the match went into penalty kicks. 

 It was 100% accuracy from both sides before the last kick by none other than Kylian Mbappe. His shot was saved by Yann Sommer, who could immediately celebrate the sensational victory of Switzerland against the World Champions. 

 Switzerland faced Spain in the quarterfinals, whom they also gave a close match, only to lose in penalties. But their elimination of France in this extraordinary match will always be remembered. 

Bucharest, 28th June 2021 Arena Nationala 
Attendance: 22,642 
Referee: Fernando Rapallini, Argentina 

France-Switzerland 3-3 (AET) 
Penalty kicks: France-Switzerland 4-5 

France: Hugo Lloris (c); Raphael Varane, Clement Lenglet (Kinglsey Coman, 46 (Marcus Thuram, 111)), Presnel Kimpembe, Benjamin Pavard, Adrien Rabiot; Paul Pogba, Ngolo Kante, Antoine Griezmann (Moussa Sissoko, 88); Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema (Olivier Giroud, 94). Manager: Didier Deschamps 
Switzerland: Yann Sommer; Ricardo Rodriguez (Admir Mehmedi, 87), Manuel Akanji, Nico Elvedi; Silvan Widmer (Kevin Mbabu, 73), Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka, Steven Zuber (Christian Fassnacht, 79); Xerdan Shaquiri (Mario Gavranovic, 73), Haris Seferovic (Fabia Schar, 97), Breel Embolo (Ruben Vargas, 79). Manager: Vladimir Petkovic 

Goals:
0-1 Seferovic (15) 
1-1 Benzema (57) 
2-1 Benzema (59) 
3-1 Pogba (75) 
3-2 Seferovic (81) 
2-2 Gavranovic (90) 

Penalty kicks:
0-1 Gavranovic 
1-1 Pogba 
1-2 Schar 
2-2 Giroud 
2-3 Akanji 
3-3 Thuram 
3-4 Vargas 
4-4 Kimpembe 
4-5 Mehmedi 
Mbappe missed for France

The hate engendered by football

The European Championships were great but unfortunately the tournament was accompanied by the eternal problem of bad fans, nationalism and racism. The fans that were most widely discussed were the English fans with their booing of national anthems, breaking into Wembley stadium for the final, and the racist abuse against England players following the final. This appears as just a continuation of decades, many decades, of problems with English football fans (for many years I had a problem supporting English teams at all, still do, mostly because I connected English football directly with the hooliganism of the 1980s, when I started watching football), so this should not be that surprising. However, the problem of these "bad fans" is hardly only an English problem; booing at national anthems happens in every stadium and racism continues being rampant all over footballing Europe, becoming more evident with social media. I am still convinced the vast majority of football fans, English and beyond, are decent people, even the ones that behave in this way!

What is the problem then?

Football is a simple game of kicking a ball in an "us-against-them" contest. While idiots exist in all societies, the simple premise of the game attracts a higher proportion of idiots among the population. Idiocy tends to be enlarged by emotional events such as a football match; add nationalism and a media that pours gasoline on a fire rather than building bridges (including social media, but certainly not excluding the traditional media), and you get the perfect cocktail for idiots to do their thing, while the rest of people wonder who the hell those idiots are!!!???

As a fan I understand the passion: I have also experienced moments of intense disappointment, of injustice, of hating the other team when they score a goal. However, a minimum level of intelligent human beings should realize that these are fleeting emotions that cannot define our lives. That would be idiocy!

I have had long periods of disappointment with football (as I have also shown in this blog), and these were mostly caused by the intensity of hate that I have repeatedly experienced in football: Hate towards other teams, players, fans, countries, races...  I still have a really hard time not seeing football as a sport of hate, but I do love the game, the passion and occasional fraternity between fans (that we fortunately also saw in this tournament, but is in my view all too rare), and have decided that I will try to ignore, as far as possible, all these idiots that are a scar not only on football, but to society at large.

Idiots.

The finals

I had a long trip from San Salvador to Denmark, but I managed to watch this weekend's two great football finals where the home teams, each in their own legendary stadium, lost to the away side.

The Copa America final on Saturday at Maracana Stadium between Brazil and Argentina, was won 0-1 by the Argentineans through an excellent first half strike by Angel di Maria. The Brazilians were not bad, and managed to put some pressure on Argentina in the second half, but in the end the Argentine defense stood strong and Argentina even had the biggest chances for a greater victory.

Argentina's first international title since 1993, and the first time Lionel Messi, losing three finals before this one, had taken a title with his national team, so in every way this was a special (and well-deserved) victory for the Argentineans.

On the European championship final: much of England had for days been prematurely announcing that football would come home, hardly aware that football is already home everywhere else in the world. And this kind of premature celebrations hardly win any sympathy: while the English were (understandably) disappointed most of the world (including myself) celebrated Italy's European Championship triumph.

Having watched the match, England should be disappointed: they went ahead 1-0 after only two minutes on a goal by one of the tournament's best players, Luke Shaw. England kept playing well, but slowly Italy got more comfortable on the pitch, while England, oddly, retreated more and more to defend their lead. One can only feel that they should have kept pressure, trying to close the deal, instead of more or less openly inviting Italy back into the match. 

The Italians do not say no to an invitation and Leonardo Bonucci's second half equalizer was fully deserved as England totally left the match to the splendidly unforgiving Italians.

As  extra time was approaching its end Gareth Southgate made some curious changes, clearly aimed at putting in the kickers for a nerve-wrecking penalty kick contest: Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho came in at the end, and it were exactly those two who missed for England after they had been put in a golden position by Pickford's save of Andrea Belotti's kick. Even though Jorginho missed another for Italy, the only 19-year old Bukayo Saka did not have the nerves to make a proper kick, which was saved by the best player of the tournament Gianluigi Donnarumma (only 22-years old, he may well become one of the best goalkeepers in footballing history), giving Italy their second European champion's title, the first being in 1968.

The most talented young players from England were punished for their infinite talent, and that was the most heartbreaking thing in a final won by the best team of the tournament.

Italy was the best team of the tournament as a whole; a solid, attacking team, scoring most goals (alongside Spain) and with one of the best defensive records, they showed few weak points. All in all, a splendid team, and I reiterate that I find this the best Italy side I have ever seen.

England, in the meantime, won few friends: granted, they played the tournament with the cynical planning required to win a tournament; winning, but not impressing, with a strong defense and some extremely talented players. That said, they seemed too calculating, too careful, despite their immense talent, something that only became too obvious in the final. 

But more than the team, the English fans won no friends in the rest of the world. The vast, vast majority of English fans are good, decent hardworking people (like the vast majority of fans in the world), but they retain a greater minority of brainless hooligans than anywhere else in the world, and their society seems in total denial that they exist: booing at national anthems, using lasers against opposing sides, insults and spits, were sadly overshadowed by the fans storming Wembley before the match and most of all by the racist insults suffered by English players after the defeat.

Who the hell wants to win with supporters like that...?

I have never supported England and never will, but I understand the greatest disappointment that real English fans may feel (even in their denial): that their team's achievement of reaching a final will forever be overshadowed by the memory of the idiotic few ruining the party of the many.

When winning is secondary

Today's semifinal match between England and Denmark was a dramatic fight between the English home-stars and the hard-fighting Danes. The result of 2-1 for England was perhaps not as surprising as how it happened: Denmark taking the lead on a spectacular free kick goal by the young Mikkel Damsgaard and then an own-goal equalizer by Simon Kjaer, before the game went into extra time, where a very weak penalty call gave Harry Kane the chance to score the winner for England after he caught the rebound from Kasper Schmeichel's save. 

Denmark lost with their heads held high. It is of course always disappointing to lose, but if this great tournament has shown anything, it is that winning is secondary. 

What happened to Christian Eriksen in the match against Finland should have underlined the forgotten truth in our post-COVID world: football is not why we celebrate, it is our excuse to celebrate together! Danish fans have every reason to celebrate and be proud of their team and of themselves; decent and hardworking people who just want to enjoy a friendly contest!

Just as the vast majority of fans all over the world.

Maybe it was not a penalty; maybe England did not deserve the victory (I think they did), but in the end it does not matter much, and I am just happy I have been able to enjoy this tournament and a Danish National team that in my view are as much champions as the legendary teams of 1986 and 1992!

For many people it will be impossible to support England in the final: it was disappointing that many English fans booed the Danish national anthem, and as often happens, English media appears only too happy to pour gasoline on the fire of nationalism that sadly continues to haunt football. I will certainly support Italy: I love how they are playing and the joy that some players (notably Chiellini) appear to have at playing.

I hope it will be a great final, and whoever wins will be a great winner (because just as there are bad losers, there are really bad winners), and that fans will celebrate the sport that brings us together, so that we can all be champions!

In the meantime I shall have a beer to celebrate the champions from Denmark!

The first finalists

The semifinal match between Italy and Spain went as I expected except for the result: the Spaniards, whose quality has varied enormously during the tournament played some of their best football against an Italian side that was not allowed to play the possessive attacking style that has characterized their games in the tournament so far, and with better strikers Spain could have carried the day. 

Despite Alvaro Morata´s equalizer following Federico Chiesa´s outstanding first goal for Italy, Spain missed big chances or simply poor shots against an Italian side whose defense did not look as steady as in previous matches (this may be a comfort to their opponents in the final). 

In the lottery of penalties the misses came firstly from Dani Olmo, who until then had played an outstanding match, and then Morata, whose miss will probably be remembered more than his goal, and add fuel to his many critics. 

Although Spain deserved better in this match there is no doubt that seen over the entire tournament Italy are the right finalists. They have been strong and have a strong team spirit led by the ever-smiling Chiellini, who appears to love every moment of the tournament. 

Perhaps Chiellini is one of the few people who have realized that it is only football, and enjoying it must come before the result... 

Like almost every Dane in the world I am excited about tomorrow´s match, but weary about Danish chances against a top-motivated English side playing in front of its home spectators. Denmark (luckily) defeated England in a Nations league match in October last year (a prelude to their excellent World Cup qualifiers and this tournament) and will play without the massive pressure of expectation that burdens the English players. But I would still say that chances are heavily stacked (90%) in England´s favour to make it to the final and face a fantastic Italian side!

The best Italy ever

One of the reasons I have had a difficult time supporting Italy over the years is their defensive and awaiting style. I have always felt that they have the players to put more pressure and use their attacking skills, while combining their defensive capabilities, surely some of the best in the world.

Roberto Mancini's Italy has these qualities, and it is impossible not to fall in love with this Italian side, and today against Belgium (whom I supported) they were truly a better side against a Belgian side that managed to create good chances (not a mean feat against this Italy), but who were surely outplayed by a better Italian side, winning 2-1 on goals by Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne. Belgium's weaknesses, that had been exposed by Denmark and Portugal in previous matches were just too obvious against the Italians, and a disappointed Belgium will have to go home in the quarterfinals just as they did in 2016.

Italy looks like the team to beat to take the title, and they will now face Spain in a repeat of the 2012 Euro final (won by Spain) and the 2016 last-16 match, (won by Italy). Italy will surely be the favourites after today's match, but also because Spain did not impress at all in its penalty-kicks victory over Switzerland who, with a bit of fortune, could have pulled another surprise as they did against France. 

Spain-Italy matches are by definition impossible to predict, but  I think that this Italy side will be the favourite of any neutral fan, including myself!

What I think and what I wish for

So we now have the four quarterfinals after some really exciting last-16 eliminations, and after these I feel more confident to make some predictions, although in these knock-out matches anything can happen, and it has been reaffirmed that there are no bad teams in this tournament. 

On a good day everyone can beat anyone.

And there is certainly also a difference on what I think will happen and what I wish for. So here come my predictions for the quarterfinals:

• Spain-Switzerland: both teams come from two extraordinary knock-out matches, but I would not expect another epic drama; Spain are enormous favourites and must be delighted that they will not be facing France. At the same time Switzerland are surely hoping for more, and will be playing without pressure, but they will be facing a Spanish side hungering for success and with a lot of talent. I think it is 99% sure that Spain will make a semifinal, although I hope that the little guy can beat the big guy again, and Switzerland pull another surprise.
• England-Ucraine: England defeated a poor German side, but nobody has scored against them, and they are looking more and more like having the cold-blooded confidence to go all the way. Ucraine in the meantime are there through a combination of luck and fight, but not exciting play. They defeated the most boring team of the tournament, Sweden, 2-1 after extra time, in one of the most boring matches of the tournament, and thus deserve to be where they are, but they are almost sure to get no further. On the more personal level it hurts to admit that I would rather see England in the semifinal, because I think it would be good for the tournament.
  
• Denmark-Czech Republic: In my unashamed subjectivity I hope that Denmark will win and make it to the semifinal. But I am concerned at how happy the Danes are not to be facing the Dutch when the Czechs actually showed themselves a much better team that the Dutch. Football teams are more than the sum of their individual players, and both Denmark and the Czechs have shown that, but I think that the Czechs have an upper-hand, because I think that they are more cold-blooded and will enter the match better-prepared than the Danes. I think the Czechs will win, but I hope the Danes will.
• Belgium-Italy: In some ways this is a moral final between two of the best sides of the tournament, but they have also been shaky at times, and certainly don't appear invincible. Belgium struggled to defeat Portugal (and were indeed a bit lucky) and with some injuries appears to be vulnerable to the Italians. The Italians also struggled to defeat Austria, but they prevailed with their heads level and made it to the next round. I therefore think that Italy is slightly more likely to prevail (60-40), but I certainly support Belgium wholeheartedly!

So if we take how I think it will go, these will be the semifinals:

• England-Czech Republic
• Italy-Spain

In this scenario I predict a final between England and Spain.

But in my hopeful scenario these would be the semifinals:

• England-Denmark
• Belgium-Switzerland

And hopefully a final between my two favourite teams in the tournament, Denmark and Belgium (with Denmark taking the title!)

Exhaustion from so much excitement!

The two last-16 matches in the European Championship today were two incredible matches that left me exhausted after such rides of drama, goals and emotion! But this is truly what football is all about!

Spain had to fight unusually hard to defeat Croatia in what frankly should have been a relatively easy game for Spain against a Croatian side that still wins morally by the mere fact of their never-ending fight. Unai Simon's own goal was the single most comical moment of the entire tournament (and congratulations to the goalkeeper for rising up to the challenge and having some great saves afterwards), and put Croatia ahead when everyone was expecting Spain to score the first goal. That said, when the Spaniards finally managed to score by Pablo Sarabia, they were in complete control, and we all thought that the match was over after Cesar Azpilicueta and Ferran Torres made it 2-1 and 3-1 respectively.

But Croatia never gives up, and they managed to score two late goals by Mislav Orsic and Mario Pasalic to take the game into extra time.

In extra time, after Alvaro Morata made it 4-3 for Spain following some dreadful Croatian marking, the game was nevertheless over, and when Mikel Oyarzabal made it 5-3, the tired but brave Croatian had little energy left to mount a comeback.

Spain are in the quarterfinals, and very likely semifinalists, as Switzerland, whom they will face (and probably defeat) in the quarterfinals did them the favour of eliminating France in another exciting match.

Switzerland took an early lead by Haris Seferovic, the Benfica  striker, and they took their lead to halftime. France mounted a feeble pressure early in the second half, until Switzerland were given a penalty, that could have given them a decisive lead, but Hugo Lloris saved Ricardo Rodriguez penalty kick. After that France were like another team, and Karim Benzema put them ahead with two quick goals, before Paul Pogba made it 3-1 on a spectacular strike.

By this time France were in total control, and it seemed unlikely that the Swiss could make a comeback, but alas, they did: Seferovic made it 3-2 on another header where the French central defenders (Rafael Varane and Clement Leglet) looked very poor, and in the dying second Mario Gavranovic made it 3-3 on an excellent strike that also exposed a slow French central defense.

The French appeared defeated even when they were up 3-2, and despite some chances in extra time we all had the feeling that the Swiss would pull the surprise in penalty kicks (and the Swiss seemed very happy when it went to penalty kicks). There were some great kicks by both sides until it came down to the last kicker: Kylian Mbappe, who had played a very poor match to say the least, and the youngster crowned it by having his penalty saved by Yann Sommer, and putting Switzerland in the quarterfinals.

Kylian Mbappe is only 23, and I hope he can overcome this. That will define him as a great player, or merely another good youngster.

The World Champions are out, and Switzerland have made it further that even they had dared dream (and in all likelihood as far as they will make it).

The underrated Czechs

I had been hoping that Netherlands and Denmark would face one another in the quarterfinals for no other reason to see some of the best fans in the world competing in beer drinking.

But it is not to be. Instead Denmark will be facing the unpredictable Czechs, who played a fantastic match against the Dutch, who have every reason to be disappointed after their excellent first round. The Czechs were extremely well-organized, and in the second half managed to completely close down the Netherlands, for whom Matthijs de Ligt red card proved crucial: the young Juventus player had been extraordinary in defense, and his absence left a huge hole in the Dutch defense which the Czechs fully exploited with goals by Tomas Holes and Patrik Schick.

After watching the Czechs today I think that they are a much more difficult adversary for Denmark than the Netherlands would have been, but I doubt that we will see a repeat of the Euro 2004 quarterfinals when the Czechs walked over an overrated Danish side. This is a better and more united Danish team than back then, and surely have a chance to defeat the Czechs, but would be extremely wrong in underestimating them!

The first two quarterfinalists

Denmark destroyed Wales 4-0; the the first time in European Championships that a team has won two games in a row with at least 4 goals, so that underlines the wave that the Danish team is riding on, and they appear to have reason to be (carefully) optimistic about the quarterfinal, where they will face either the Netherlands or the Czech Republic. I am saying carefully because, despite it all, Denmark has some weaknesses that stronger teams can exploit. Wales started the match well, but when they went behind on a goal by Kasper Dolberg, they had nothing to offer; that will not be the case for any team that Denmark will face in the quarterfinals.

That said, the Danes in the quarterfinals is proof of enormous mental strength in a team that has been on an emotional rollercoaster over the last two weeks.

Italy won 2-1 against Austria after extra time. After the first round Italy was rightly touted as perhaps the strongest team of the tournament, but today they looked weaker against a well-organised Austrian side who with a bit of luck and better technique could have won against the long-undefeated Italians. At the score 0-0 the game had to go into extra time, where the Italians went ahead 2-0 on goals by Federico Chiesa and Matteo Pessina. That said, the Austrians scored the first goal against Italy in 11 matches when Sasa Kalajdzic pulled one back, and did give a bit of excitement to the last minutes of the match.

Italy will face the winner of Portugal-Belgium. Despite them not winning as overwhelmingly today, the Italians should still be considered favourites, specially because they can keep their heads cold in a match like this one. In my view Italy are still one of the favourites to take the title.

The usual suspects

Before the tournament Group F had been dubbed the "Group of Death", with Germany, Portugal and France, and then Hungary as an attachment. In the end Hungary proved the greatest team of the group, and it is a pity that they did not make it through, fighting bravely against the Germans in Munich, but only making it to 2-2 after being ahead twice.

It was exciting, and one was almost hoping for a repeat of the legendary 1954 World Cup final, but this time with Hungary coming out on top.

In the end it was "the usual suspects that made it through".

Germany end up in second spot in the group, and will be facing England at Wembley stadium in one of the most classic matches in modern football. This time though, England will look like favourites, as the Germans have looked shaky, and the English have the best opportunity show themselves from the best sides.

Just never underestimate the Germans like they underestimate others.

The defending world champions of France have not looked impressive either, although they are still favourites to go the whole way, specially because they are pacing themselves. A 2-2 score against was enough for them to win Group F and they will now be facing Switzerland in the last-16; the Helvetians are never easy to play against, but France should be expected to make it through. Karim Benzema scored both goals for France against Portugal, and his experience and skills may be paying off for the French.

Portugal is through on third spot in Group F; same as in 2016, and then went on to win the whole thing. The Portuguese look shaky in defense, as they did against Germany, but they have fantastic individual talent, crowned by the great Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo scored both goals for Portugal against France (on two correct penalties) and he has equaled Ali Daei, the legendary Iranian striker, as the most prolific national team goalscorer of all time, and it appears likely that he will be the most scoring ever, and add another record to his legend.

It will not be easy in the quarterfinals though, as Portugal will face the fantastic Belgians. That said, the Portuguese are confident that they can defeat anyone on a good day.

Sweden and Spain through

 Sweden without Ibrahimovic is a solid albeit not entertaining team, and they have shown it by winning Group E ahead of Spain, and in the last match against Poland in a dramatic way. Poland had to win to make it through, but went down 0-2 on two goals by Emil Forsberg before making a heroic comeback through two goals by the great Robert Lewandowski and the hope of a victory, but in injury time Viktor Claessen scored the winner for Sweden that put them in the first spot ahead of Spain. 

Spain had been hoping to take the first spot when cruising over Slovakia by a 5-0 victory. Spain finally managed to show some efficiency in front of goal, although it was against a Slovakian team that showed one of the poorest performances in the tournament, and they deserve to be out.

Sweden will be facing Ukraine in the last-16, while Spain will be going to Copenhagen to face Croatia. Sweden will be big favourites against the Ukranians, who just made it through on a third place, while Spain and Croatia will surely be a clash between two teams that have yet to show their best sides.

England through

England entered the tournament as one of the favourites, and have proceeded to win their group D today after defeating the Czech Republic 1-0 on a first half header by Raheem Sterling. England thus go through with seven points and a score of 2-0. In their last-16 match England will face the runner-ups of Group F (France, Germany, Portugal, or even Hungary, who could defeat Germany, and with France beating Portugal, could become runner-ups, as unlikely as it may appear), and will thus face a quality team. England have not looked like a world-beating team in the first round, but that makes them, in my view, more likely to succeed: a winning team needs to pace itself to the knock-out matches, and that may be what England needs to do to make it all the way. No matter who they face, it will be an exciting match with England playing at home.

Croatia made it as runner-ups with a 3-1 victory over Scotland. While not looking as good as they did in Russia, Croatia is a team that, on a good day, can beat any team in the world. After a solid start the Czechs only took the third spot. In the match against England it was a bit disappointing that they did not try harder to go for a goal and become group winners, but they appear satisfied to just make it beyond the group stages. I doubt that the Czechs will make it any further, and their memory from the tournament is likely to be Patrick Schick's spectacular 2-0 goal against Scotland.

Danish Delight

It is great to be wrong, and I was wrong about the end result in group B, where I had thought the two final matches between Belgium and Finland, and Russia and Denmark, respectively, would end 0-0.

For a long time the Belgians appeared unable to open the Finnish lock that would have put the Nordics through in their first tournament ever. In the end it is a pity for Finland, but they lacked the luck when their goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky pushed a rebound into goal. And when the great Romelu Lukaku made it 2-0 for the Belgians there was little the Finns could do.

The Belgians win the group with three victories, and although they have not been spectacular, they confirm that they can go all the way.

At the same time in Copenhagen Denmark started a bit nervously against Russia, who had a big chance to go ahead. But after the young Mikkel Damsgaard scored a spectacular goal to put Denmark ahead, the Danes were in control. Russia was forced forward and this gave the Danes the space they had lacked in the first half, but it was only a gift from a Russia defender, who passed the ball to an unmarked Youssuff Poulsen in fron of goal, that Denmark scored for 2-0. Despite Andrem Dzyuba scoring on a penalty for the Russians, Denmark were in control, and great goals by Andreas Christensen and Joakim Maehle put the Danes in the unlikely second spot in the group.

Finally the Danes improved their scoring statistics, which had been dreadful after the first two matches, but most of all, the victory was an emotional tribute to Christian Eriksen, who is doing well and must have been as delighted as every Danish fan about the result.

Denmark will face Wales in the last-16, and while they have to play up to their best, Denmark surely has a chance to make it to the quarterfinals.

The Group A results

Group A has finished in the Euro 2021, and Italy won the group in style with three victories and a score of 7-0. After their first two 3-0 victories against Turkey and Switzerland respectively Roberto Mancini had decided to rest many players against Wales, and although the Welsh did get some good chances, the Italians always seemed comfortable with their 1-0 victory, and continued to their 30th unbeaten match.

Italy will face the runner-up in group C: either Austria or Ukraine, who are indeed facing one another in a mini final to decide who faces the Italians in London, in match were the Italians will be huge favourites to make it to the quarterfinals.

Wales ended up runner-up in the group ahead of the Swiss on better goal difference, and will be looking to play the runner-ups in group B (probably Finland or Russia) and a repeat of their successful 2016 campaign. In the meantime Switzerland must await the results of other group to see whether they go through on this spot. 

Turkey is going home after three defeats in one of the most disappointing performances of the tournament.

First in a long time

Yesterday I went out to watch football. Not at the stadium, but in a bar. This was the first time in almost 18 months that I did this, so it felt special; a small step towards the normality that we all eagerly await.

With limited TV channels offering the Euros in San Salvador, it was not easy to find a good sports bar, but I found Punto Marino Sport in the upmarket neighborhood of San Benito. Despite the name it is not really a sports bar, and I was the only person there watching football, while reggaeton music played in the background.

I nevertheless enjoyed it. First I watch England-Scotland in what was predictably a spirited fight by the Scotsmen, who largely deserved the victory, against an English side that hardly lived up to its enormous expectations. 0-0 was a fair result, and now England will play a thrilling match against the Czech Republic, who defeated Scotland 2-0, and who are looking strong. Scotland will face Croatia, and it is interesting that all teams in that group have something to play for.

I next watched the Copa America. Chile defeated Bolivia 1-0. I have been watching many Copa America matches, but I must admit that it lacks excitement and passion. The empty stadiums mean that the matches are like a party without music, and most games have been defensive and few goals. In its 0-0 tie with Colombia, Venezuela basically refused to attack, and Brazil's matches have been kind of one-sided.

The tournament should probably have been cancelled. It is nearly impossible to get excited about it (although a few beers help!).

 

Disappointed Denmark

It was with big expectations that Denmark went into the European Championships, but after two defeats Denmark is almost out of the tournament.

It is a pity, as Denmark have been extremely unlucky, even beyond the horrible thing that happened to Eriksen in the match against Finland. Denmark was the better side but lost 0-1 in Finland's only attack, and today Denmark was also unlucky, but against the best team in the world, Belgium.

Denmark were by far the better team in the first half, but was only ahead by one goal after Yussuf Poulsen's early strike. Kevin De Bruyne came on in the second half for Belgium, and the Belgians managed to put pressure on a Danish side that was nevertheless still fighting with spirit. But this was not enough against the quality of the Belgians when the speed of Romelu Lukaku and the genious of De Bruyne combined to serve the ball for Thorgan Hazzard and an equalizer.

1-1 was a good result in a match that already before the tournament was expected to be difficult, but given Denmark's many attacks it felt like a disappointment, and when Kevin De Bruyne scored what would become the winner for Belgium, it surely became a disappointment. Denmark continued attacking, but to no avail.

The Danes can be proud of the quality and spirit they put into the match, but in the end what wins matches are goals, and unfortunately the Danes are very inefficient in front of goal (something that was also the case against Finland). To have any chance of progressing Denmark must defeat Russia (and given how poor they are at scoring, this would not appear likely) and at the same time hope that Belgium defeats Finland in a match where Belgium has nothing to play for,  while Finland has everything to play for, as a tie will likely put them through. 

My tip for both matches is 0-0, which would result in Belgium and Russia going through on first and second spot, while Finland will go through as 3rd, and Denmark will be out.

The unimportance of football

 Just like all Danish and Finnish fans I had been looking forward to Denmark-Finland. For both teams it was a special match: a Danish team full of expectations playing at home in the European Championships, and Finland making their debut in an international tournament.

Finland won 0-1 in what was probably their only attempt on goal in the match, and while that in itself is a historical result, the match will be remembered for Christian Eriksen's terrifying experience when he went down in the 42nd minute of the match. There appeared to be some confusion, but it was soon clear that it was serious, and when we saw medics giving CPR to Eriksen while shocked players stood around in tears, it became emotionally difficult to watch (I personally stopped watching).

Everyone feared the worse and the match was suspended. There will probably be debate about whether it was the correct thing to do, but an hour later the match continued, and despite Danish pressure Finland managed to get their extraordinary victory against some clearly drained Danish players. 

Amid the sad circumstances of the match the mutual solidarity between fans and players was extraordinary, and even when Joel Pohjanopalo scored he refused to celebrate in respect. An hour later, Romelu Lukaku (who plays with Eriksen at Inter) dedicated his first goal against Russia to the Dane.

Football transcending rivalry is beautiful.

It is reported that Christian Eriksen is in stable condition in the hospital. As a sports-man he will probably be disappointed that Denmark lost, but I think that everyone considers his recovery to be much more important than any football result. So we all wish him and his family all the best, and congratulate the Finns for their unlikely victory.

One year late, but it is here

Perhaps it is because of the COVID lockdowns, the lack of sports and excitement, or even the one-year delay, but I have been looking forward to these European Championships. This despite the low expectations on quality and the continued xenophobia, greed and politics that continue to haunt football in general, but very specifically when it comes to national teams.

That said, I will enjoy focusing on football ranting over the next month or so, and delighted to see fans in the stadiums!

The opening match was as much a disappointment about Turkey, as about a warning about Italy. I had certainly expected more from the Turks' young team, but they did not seem like a team that wanted or even believed that they could win , and only one shot on goal throughout the match is only witness of a team that was there to defend. 

And they defended well, but we can thank the Italians that it did not work, and Italy's 3-0 victory was not too big. Italy were deservedly rewarded for their patient pressure and dominance, and should indeed be considered one of the candidates to go all the way.

Who are these candidates anyway?

Let us start by saying that all teams can make it; there are no weak sides in the tournament, and on a good day the lowest ranked sides of Finland or North Macedonia can defeat the highest ranked of Belgium or France. And be certain that we will see surprises from smaller sides, as well as disappointments from some of the so-called "giants". That said, there are certainly some teams that I will personally find interesting to watch (in no particular order):

• France: the defending World Champions have the most complete squad of all, with perhaps the best player in the world, N'golo Kante, as well as super stars as Kylian Mbappe or Rafael Varane, even a returning Karim Benzema, who had been out of the world cup squad. If things work for them as they did in Russia in 2018, they will win
• Belgium: The side continues to be ranked number 1 in the FIFA world rankings, and continue to have a side that can defeat anybody. However, as in 2018, one has a feeling that they lack one last bit of something to go all the way. That said, personally, Belgium will be one of my favourite teams to watch, and as long as they don't face Denmark (which they will), to support
• Portugal: One cannot dismiss the defending champions from 2016, despite it being the most boring final of all time. Portugal are still led by the Great Cristiano Ronaldo, who despite his age is still brilliant and surrounded by hugely talented players. Portugal will go for the repeat for sure, and will be contender, although I hope it will be more entertaining than in 2016....
  
• Germany: The ever-strong German poor results lately have probably weakened expectations, but one would be silly ever to discount the Germans. This will be the end of the Joachim Low era, and no matter how they do, it will be interesting to see how it ends, and whether it lays a foundation for a new era of for German national football; the talented youngster are plenty. Personally I always look forward to watching Germany, but I never support them!
  
• England: I will not support England in any match. That said, any football fan should be excited about their talented young team; after so many years England is managing to get hugely talented youngsters from the best league in the world. After making it to the semifinals of the World Cup they must certainly be considered contenders for the title; expectations from English fans are always huge, but this time they are justified
• Croatia: I always love watching Croatia, simply because no matter what, they put so much passion into the game. After making it to the world cup final in 2018, they are nevertheless an older side, but still led by the Great Luca Modric, and many talented young players. Despite it all, they are unlikely to win the title, but could defeat anyone
  
• Denmark: Of course I am biased, as I will support Denmark, but beyond that, I think that after many years of not having a full first-rate side, Denmark now has a full contingency of solid players, all playing in big clubs in some of the best leagues. In particular defense looks world class (including one of best goalkeepers in Kaspar Schmeichel), and there are many promising young players. The attacking power is still weak, and although they will have to do their best, on a good day they can defeat anyone

Of course, all 24 sides are worth watching, and may I add that Italy (winning today) and Spain should probably also be considered (serious) contenders for the title. Additionally, it will be great to watch and welcome the fans from Finland and North Macedonia to their first international tournament ever, and hope for them that they get some good results and fun on the way!

And last of all: let us enjoy this with respect and friendship centered around our common love for football, and forget all the narrow-mindedness that keeps separating us.