With a flash of genius from Luka Modric, Croatia struck down Scotland on Tuesday (3-1) to snatch their ticket for the knockout stages of the Euro in a group D dominated by England, pending the outcome of the first phase Wednesday with in particular Portugal-France.
See its purpose in the video, above.
Started on June 11, the European tournament is about to end its group stage despite multiple controversies, such as UEFA’s refusal to let the Munich stadium display the rainbow colors of the LGBT community on Wednesday, or the concerns of the World Health Organization (WHO) over increases in Covid-19 cases linked to competition.
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On the pitch, a twelfth team, Croatia, qualified for the round of 16 on Tuesday, and four tickets remain to be allocated on Wednesday during the final group day, with Portugal, defending champion against the France (already qualified), but also Germany and Spain.
On Tuesday night in Glasgow, the Croatians trembled for long minutes as they were held in check by Scotland, a result that eliminated them from the tournament, between a draw by Callum McGregor (42nd, 1-1) and Modric’s light strike (62nd, 2-1) that gave the runners-up the lead again.
The 2018 Ballon d’Or, from this outside of the foot that delighted Real Madrid, sent the ball to the skylight and delivered Croatia, until then mistreated by Scots who touched the dream of crossing for the first time the first round of a big tournament.
With two other goals scored by Nikola Vlasic (17th) and Ivan Perisic (77th), here are the Croats (4 pts) qualified by taking care of their goal difference, which allows them to finish second and play their eighth next Monday in Copenhagen against the second from group E, to be determined Wednesday evening.
Rainbow controversy
In a duel between two teams already qualified, the first place in Pool D goes to England (7 pts), victorious at least over the Czech Republic (1-0) on a new goal from Raheem Sterling, already the only scorer against Croatia (1-0). The Czechs (4 pts) finish them among the best third and will also see the eighth.
Not really the offensive performance that the English were waiting for to reassure themselves, but at least they finished the first round unbeaten, and without having conceded a single goal. Result: the “Three Lions” will play their eighth Sunday against the second of the very tough group F (France, Germany, Portugal, Hungary), with the advantage of still playing at home, at Wembley, the reference stadium of this Euro.
Tuesday, it is another enclosure, the Allianz-Arena in Munich, which caused controversy.
UEFA has indeed refused the project of the city of Munich to illuminate its stadium in the rainbow colors of the LGBT community on Wednesday for Germany-Hungary, to protest against a law deemed discriminatory recently passed in Hungary.
UEFA, a “politically and religiously neutral organization”, justified this veto by the “political context of this request, a message aimed at a decision taken by the Hungarian national parliament”.
If France has “regretted” this choice, Hungary hailed “a good decision”, while the Munich authorities have expressed their fury.
WHO worries
Before the match, the organizers of the Munich Pride March, associated with Amnesty International, plan to distribute 11,000 rainbow flags to spectators (only 14,000 seats will be occupied, due to restrictions due to Covid-19).
And the atmosphere could be strained with some Hungarian supporters. The “Carpathian Brigade”, a group of ultras recognizable by their black T-shirts, plans to land “by the thousands” in Munich, according to its Facebook page.
The Covid-19 continues to pose a threat to the tournament, especially in the United Kingdom, faced with a surge of the Delta variant, which is more contagious.
In London, which is due to host the semi-finals (6-7 July) and the final (11 July), the Wembley stadium case has sparked controversy: UEFA demanded from the British authorities a relaxation of health traffic restrictions for 2,500 VIPs, and planned to relocate the meetings concerned.
But the case was apparently settled on Tuesday: more than 60,000 spectators will be allowed in the stands at Wembley for the semi-finals and the final, British authorities have said.
Still, the health situation in Europe still appears fragile: the WHO expressed concern on Tuesday about the relaxation of restrictions in certain host countries of the Euro, calling for rapid reactions after increases in cases.
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