Football

Sweden does not boast a very impressive record against Ukraine. Apart from the international friendly played in 2011, Sweden have not been able to beat them. The last time they met in Euros was way back in 2012 at Kyiv, where Andriy Shevchenko led Ukraine to a great victory. This time around, Sheva is the coach of this team and again, he would lead his boys to register a thrilling win.

Since that heartbreak at Turin in 1990, the Germans always had the edge over their fiercest enemy England in the showpiece events. Even if the matches came close, the Germans always smiled – agony had been the best friend for England whenever they faced Germany; but every domination and agony has an end and at Wembley today, finally, England beat Germany in a major event.

Your talents determine what you intend to do whereas motivation determines you, but it is the attitude that determines how well you do it. Pressure is something when you don’t know what to do, but you don’t feel it all when you soak it up and go for the kill till the last breath – Switzerland never gave up!

What a match it was! It was frenetic and justice would have been done if both the teams qualified but that could not happen. Spain advance to the quarterfinals, but Croatia deserve the accolades for providing a match that had every element of a thrilling story that would inspire every football fans for eternity. 

Brazil were looking for their fourth win and end the group stages with a hundred per cent record but Ecuador halted them at Brasilia. Brazil qualified for the quarterfinals long ago, but this draw was much needed for Ecuador regarding the progression for the next round.

Belgium are the favourites to win this year’s Euro, but tonight at Seville in the Round of 16 clash against Portugal they were below-par and clearly, Portugal were unlucky. Portugal dominated the game and had been denied several times – so close, yet so far. Portugal, the defending champions, are out of the tournament and perhaps, this might be the last time we witnessed the great Cristiano Ronaldo in this event.

Budapest was a sea of orange – the Dutch fans travelled to Hungary with a festive mood thinking that Holland would progress and fulfil the expectations, but they, perhaps, undermined the patience and fighting qualities of the Czech Republic, who stunned Holland and their passionate fans in a high voltage contest.

The scenario was similar at Wembley where the Azzurri were pushed to the limits by Austria yet again in the Round of 16 encounters of the Euro 2020. Federico Chiesa walked out onto the Wembley pitch with six minutes of normal time remaining and this tight, fretful encounter still goalless – like Totto, he broke the deadlock and this time, it was during the extra-time.  

The defeat against Finland was understandable. After the tragic incident of Christian Eriksen, it was never possible for Denmark to focus, still, they came out to play and showed that despite the tragedy they are strong and passionate enough to carry on the show. Belgium defeated them, still, there was hope as a victory against Russia would help them to progress and they did earn full points – right now, they dashed the dreams of Wales and advanced to the next round.  

What a breathtaking group stage it was! Some of the matches and goals were right there at the top and already a part of football’s folklore.

Whether it is the greatest volley in the history of football in a final or the volley of Zinedine Zidane in 2002 is the greatest – the debate would go on, but it seems, Van Basten might just beat Zidane.

The criterion of Uruguay is that they are slow starters in a major event and gradually pick their tempo. In this year’s Copa America, they started with a defeat and then drew and tonight registered a victory. The display might not be eye-catching but still, the whole unit seems steady.   

Since that quarterfinal encounter between Brazil and Colombia, the clash between the two countries has never been the same. It offers more ragged displays rather than rhythmic football and controversies just add more fuel. The Group Match encounter was no different either – Brazil won in a tight finish but the match left a bad taste due to a controversial referee decision.

Group F was the Group of Death and the progress to the next round would be a stifling challenge. There is no doubt about the quality of the teams like World Champions France, defending Euro Champions Portugal and the tough nut Germany – while, the fighting spirit of the Hungarians would a challenge for everyone and they proved that. Sadly, Hungary, like Poland exit with their heads high.

At Seville and Saint Petersburg; Spain and Poland started off with the intention to gain momentum and advance to the next round. While Spain enjoyed a goal-fest, Poland left the event with their heads high after contesting a classic against Sweden.

Croatia built up in a steady and methodical manner with Modric at the centre of everything pulling the strings from the midfield like a master, who knows how to do it and when to deliver – years after years he has been doing this for Real Madrid and there is no need to explain in details, what Real Madrid produce – champions!

If any team deserved to progress to the next round then it has to be Denmark after all they had gone through in the last couple of weeks. They were dubbed as one of the tough contenders but when Christian Eriksen collapsed at Copenhagen in the match against Finland, the scenario changed and they lost two consecutive matches.

Argentina stretch their unbeaten run to 16 matches after beating Paraguay by 1-0 whereas Uruguay earned their first point in Copa America after drawing against Chile. The outcome is, however, good for Chile who advance to the quarterfinals along with Argentina.

After that epic encounter at the Johan Cruyff Arena against the Dutch, it was expected that Ukraine would go a long way in the EURO 2020 – their fighting spirit and the coordination between the players showed a lot of promise, but as the tournament progressed they lost their firepower and right now, they are out of the mega-event.

At Rome, Italy maintained their unbeaten run whereas in Baku Switzerland kept the hope alive for the progress to the next round. Wales breathe a sigh of relief despite the defeat at Rome because of the goal difference as they finished second in Group A.