The group stage of the Euro ends, it is time to take stock of the first 36 matches played in the four corners of the Old Continent. What are the tops and flops of the first round of this 16th edition? Maxifoot offers you its selection.
Denmark has won hearts.
After almost two weeks of competition and 36 matches already played, football fans were able to breathe this Thursday. Indeed, the group stage is now over, a third of the teams have already packed their bags to return to the country.
The 16 remaining teams, qualified for the round of 16, will engage in an intense fight from Saturday to hope to meet again on July 11 in London. What should we remember from the first part of this Euro? What are the tops and flops? Maxifoot offers you its selection.
TOPS
1. Denmark. It is the blow of heart of this beginning of Euro. Bruised by the serious heart disease of Christian Eriksen for his first match against Finland (0-1), the Nordic training has logically attracted the sympathy of all lovers of the round ball. But beyond this unfortunate event, it is the services offered by the Vikings that were greatly appreciated. On a mission for the playmaker, the Danes offered great football and above all a constant spectacle. Dominated matches, 59 shots in three outings, an exceptional match against Russia (4-1) to snatch the qualification after two initial defeats, the partners of Simon Kjaer have lived a thousand lives in this first round. All in a Parken Stadium on fire which ignited every Danish goal.
2. Le Stade Ferenc-Puskas. During three matches, we were treated to the football we love, in a packed stadium with a warm and sometimes even electric atmosphere. The only country to have allowed its enclosure to be filled to 100% of its capacity, Hungary has allowed all football lovers to experience pre-Covid-19 football again. A lively atmosphere, encouragement, songs, whistles, claps … Everything was there. With more than 67,000 spectators for Hungary-Portugal, Hungary-France and even Portugal-France, we would have thought we were in a parallel dimension after several very complicated months for the entire world population.
3. The return of Italy and the Netherlands. With hindsight, it’s hard to realize it, but the 2018 World Cup was played without Italy and the Netherlands. You know, the 2006 world champion, but also the 2010 finalist and the 2014 semi-finalist … A terrible lack for fans of these countries but also for lovers of European football. Back in this Euro, the Azzurri and the Oranje did not miss their entry into the running. Attacking football, spectacle, envy, the two teams were a pleasure to see. If they had the advantage of receiving for their three games, the two teams were able to reassure themselves to move forward with confidence for the rest of the tournament. With a possible surprise the key? Only the future will tell us.
4. Cristiano Ronaldo. So yes, some will highlight his 3 penalties on his 5 goals scored in this group stage. But still it would be necessary to put them! For his fifth participation one Euro, a record, the star of Portugal once again made the nets tremble. More on this proof than on all the others in just 3 games. With now 14 goals on the clock, the Juventus player has left Michel Platini and his 9 goals, all scored in 1984, on the floor. Charismatic leader of the Lusitano team, Ronaldo, top scorer in the history of the tournament, has the opportunity to seek a new title, five years after that gleaned in France. It will be necessary to count on him to believe in it until the end!
5. The suspense of the group F. The death group has kept all of its promises. If Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands have crushed their hens, that England and Spain have come out without glory, France, Germany and Portugal have to fight to join the next round . The fault of a particularly catchy Hungarian team which gave a hard time. The Magyars even virtually wiped out the Germans, who fled 5 minutes from time on Wednesday. The Lusitanians, for their part, were eliminated for a time after Karim Benzema’s second goal, before getting back into the game. A suspense of all the moments and especially the best match of the competition with Portugal-Germany (2-4), this group F made salivate!
THE FLOPS
1. The crash of Turkey. This is the huge disappointment of the first round. Despite solid eliminations, including a brilliant victory against the Blues (2-0), in June 2019, the Turks completely missed their competition. The only team of the tournament, with the inexperienced North Macedonia, having lost all their matches, the formation led by Senol Gunes served as sparing-partner Italy, Wales and Switzerland in group A. Merih Demiral, Caglar Sync, Hakan Calhanoglu or Burak Yilmaz have holes in large widths to leave by the small door. We are far, very far from the magnificent Turkey which made us all vibrate during Euro 2008 with spades matches.
2. Penalties. For those who criticize Cristiano Ronaldo for scoring very often from the penalty spot, some nations dream of having such a precise player in this exercise … Because on this Euro, it’s a real disaster! Of the 14 penalties whistled, only 8 were scored. That is to say a conversion rate of 57%. A very low percentage. Among the players who missed their attempts are Pierre-mile Hojbjerg (Denmark), Gareth Bale (Wales), Ezgjan Alioski (North Macedonia), Ruslan Malinovskiy (Ukraine), Gerard Moreno and Alvaro Morata (Spain). During the second round, we will have to adjust the sights so as not to feed eternal regrets.
3. The stars of the Premier League. What if the highest championship in the world had completely burned out its stars? The question deserves to be studied. Because to find the trace of Harry Kane or Bruno Fernandes, it is necessary to look … Top scorer of the last World Cup (6 goals), the British striker completed a catastrophic first round. The top scorer and best passer in the last English league is just a shadow of himself, leaving Raheem Sterling, far from exceptional, to steal the show. And what about the performance of its Portuguese counterpart? Point of the finger for his propensity to disappear in the big matches, the Lusitanian was transparent, to the point of losing his place against the Blues. Ghostly.
4. CSC galore. No, the top scorer in the Euro is not Cristiano Ronaldo. The top scorer is the CSC! Of the 94 goals scored in the event, 8 were scored against their own side. Yes, 8! Merih Demiral, Wojciech Szczesny, Mats Hummels, Ruben Dias, Raphal Guerreiro, Lukas Hradecky, Martin Dubravka and Jurak Kucka all found the flaw the wrong way. While no match in the event had known two CSC, two meetings have managed to offer us this unusual performance: Portugal-Germany (2-4) and Slovakia-Spain (0-5). More surprisingly, no goalkeeper had scored in his own goal in the first 15 editions of the Euro. We are already 3 in 2021!
5. The soporific group D. If some matches were interesting to follow, we will have to dig to find a nice poster in this Pool D. If Scotland has served as a deadweight for Patrik Schick, author of a stratospheric goal of 50 meters, or Luka Modric, Scorer with a magnificent outside foot, it was clearly difficult to be ecstatic about the matches of the teams concerned. With only 10 goals scored in 6 games, it is by far the least prolific group. England, who finished leader, only scored two small goals. Only Scotland, Turkey and Finland have done worse in the competition so far. This is to say deep boredom …
What were your tops and flops in the first round of this Euro? Do not hesitate to react and debate in space add a comment …
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