This article is produced in partnership with Upday
Denmark, winner and Wales (4-0) and Italy against Austria after extra time (2-1) are the first two qualified for the round of 16 of the Euro. Two matches are on the program this Sunday: Netherlands-Czech Republic and Belgium-Portugal.
What happened yesterday
Joy after fear. On June 12, Denmark was plunged into concern after Christian Eriksen’s heart failure against Finland. Football then took a back seat. After losing their first two games against Finland and Belgium, the Danes miraculously qualified for the round of 16 of Euro 2021 thanks to their success on Monday against Russia (4-1) and here they are now in quarter-finals! After conceding the first goal, Wales stopped playing and Denmark regaled. The Niçois Kasper Dolberg who had only played 30 minutes until then scored a double (27th, 48th) then Maehle (89th) and Braithwaite (90th + 4) gave the appearance of a festival to the Danish qualification. Denmark will meet the winner of the Netherlands-Czech Republic in the quarter-finals on Saturday 3 July in Baku (Azerbaijan).
Best team in the 1st round (3 wins, 7 goals scored, 0 conceded), Italy took its time. We didn’t expect Austria to hurt Squadra Azzurra so much. But Italy managed to snatch its victory in overtime thanks to two players off the bench, Federico Chiesa (95th) and Matteo Pessina (105th). But Austria never abdicated after Kalajdzic’s goal (2-1, 114th). The turning point of the match was the goal denied by the VAR to the Austrian Arnautovic for a very slight offside (65th). Italy was hot and is doing well. The good story is that of Federico Chiesa who freed his team at the start of extra time by scoring the second goal of his career in the selection. The Juventus striker (24) follows in the footsteps of his father Enrico, Italian international between 1996 and 2001. Federico Chiesa is a scorer in a Euro 25 years after his father who scored two goals at Euro 1996 in England . Italy will meet the winner of Portugal – Belgium in the quarter-finals on Friday July 2 in Munich.
The program of the day
Netherlands-Czech Republic (6 p.m. on beIN Sports 1)
Three wins, 8 goals scored, 2 conceded … Winner of Ukraine (3-2), Austria (2-0) and North Macedonia (3-0), the Netherlands have shown themselves solid and offensive to finish at the top of Group C. A performance to be put into perspective given the level of his opponents. But the future midfielder of PSG, Georginio Wijnaldum nevertheless marked the spirits with his three goals and his grip on the Batavian game. In front, Memphis Depay, whose transfer to Barcelona has finally been formalized, held his rank (2 goals). But De Boer’s side, which had been heavily criticized before the competition because of their 5-defender system, will now really get to the heart of the matter. The Netherlands will nevertheless start favorites against Austria. In the first round, the Austrians secured their qualification by beating Scotland (2-0) and drawing against Croatia (1-1) before losing to England (1-0). She will count on Patrik Schick, the Bayer Leverkusen striker (25) who scored the 3 goals scored by his team during this Euro.
Belgium-Portugal (9 p.m. on M 6 and beIN Sports 1)
An enticing and open duel in perspective. If it cracked against Germany (4-2), Portugal made a good performance Wednesday against the France team (2-2) and snatched its qualification by extricating itself from the group of death . Belgium is undefeated for twelve meetings in all competitions (ten wins, two draws). First in her group with three wins in three matches – against Russia, Denmark and Finland – she is full of confidence. It will also be a duel between Cristiano Ronaldo, top scorer in the group stage, with five goals scored, including two doubles, and Romelu Lukaku, who scored three goals. If he scores again, Ronaldo would then become the record scorer in selections, overtaking Iranian Ali Daei, whom he had equaled (109 goals) against France by hitting twice from the penalty spot.
The player who made us dream: Kasper Dolberg
He is the unexpected hero of the first round of 16 between Denmark and Wales (4-0). In the first round, Kasper Dolberg stayed on the bench against Finland and Belgium, before returning for 30 minutes against Russia. Yussuf Poulsen injured and not on the scoresheet, the OGC Nice striker started against Wales. And he did not fail by offering himself a brace including a magnificent shot curled on his first goal. Dolberg (23), who is coming off a very average season in L1 (six goals in 25 games), brought his total to ten goals in 29 caps for Denmark. ” This is completely crazy. In fact, I don’t know how I feel. It’s total madness. It’s surreal. This is where it all started for me (he played at Ajax Amsterdam) and to play here again in this setting was insane, ”he said.
The sentence to remember
“He won the title of top scorer of the season, but we won the championship. It was particularly important to win this title and that was my goal. In Cristiano, I envy dribbling and shooting. On the contrary, I think he envies my strength and our team play a bit. ” Romelu Lukaku, striker from Belgium who has already started the match against Cristiano Ronaldo.
The blue point
After a day of recovery, the Blues returned to training this Saturday in Bucharest. They have tested a new three-defender system and hope to get Hernandez back. Released against Portugal because of a painful knee, he multiplied the races and could make his comeback to Switzerland on Monday in the round of 16. The Blues tested a system with a three defense Varane, Lenglet and Kimpembe. The corridors were occupied by Pavard on the right and Rabiot on the left. In the middle were Pogba and Kanté, while Griezmann was in charge of feeding Mbappé and Benzema in attack. Thomas Lemar, victim of a blow to the shin last Thursday, trotted with a member of the medical staff. Jules Koundé, hit in the thigh against Portugal (2-2), was also content with laps at a moderate pace, with a physiotherapist from the Blues. Lucas Digne (thigh elongation) and Marcus Thuram (right adductor) remained in the gym to perform recovery work. They should be forfeited.
The info that escaped you: an Argentinian referee for France-Switzerland
Fernando Rapallini was appointed by UEFA as referee for the round of 16 for the Blues, Monday night in Bucharest (Romania) against Switzerland). This 43-year-old Argentinian is the only non-European in this Euro. He has never refereed neither France nor Switzerland in international matches.
Must-read articles
We begin with a rare and exclusive interview with Marcello Lippi, world champion with Italy in 2006 who agreed to evoke for the Parisian, Didier Deschamps, his ex-player at Juventus Turin between 1994 and 1999. Extract: ” Didier was not a simple player, he was a coach on the pitch. Frankly, it was eye-popping. It was enough to look at it and listen to it. With a gesture, he replaced. He understood everything at the same time as I did. And even before. Once, I didn’t like a placement. I got up from the bench and sat down straight away: Didier had already solved the problem! In fact, he had the coach costume under the jersey. “
On the side of the French supporters, it is the grumbling. Many fans of the France team will not support the Blues against Switzerland on Monday in Bucharest due to the exorbitant price of plane tickets and uncertain sanitary conditions.
