The group of death teams, which included the likes of France the current world champion, Germany also a world cup winner and Portugal the defending Euro champion are literally dead. All of them were knocked out in the round of 16. Switzerland, Czech Republic and Ukraine have surprised the whole world by deservingly qualifying for the quarter-finals. Belgium, Spain and England had a rough patch but made it through to the round of 16. Italy has been outstanding and undefeatable and Denmark were surprisingly outstanding too even with the the breakdown they had with their talism an Erisken.
The Euro 2020 Round of 16 matches provided the exticitment not often seen at international tournaments. The beginning of the group stage was really interesting. But this round of 16 overall quality was superb and memorable. This is a brief review of what what happened in the round of 16
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A night to remember
Extraordinary things happenes on football fields but we are talking about the world's most popular but what happened on 28 June 2021 was definitely distinctive because of the simple reason the two matches that were played on that day produced great football, something which usually doesn't happen mostly in prestigious multi-nation tournaments.
Croatia vs Spain and France vs Switzerland was jaw breaking and dramatic which made them instant blockbusters. Silly mistakes, fantastic goals, penalty shootout, penalty save, underdog knocked out a world champion, but most of all, four teams entertained the world with a great display of football. Switzerland will never forget this day because everyone thought France would easily win the match.
Denmark turnaround
Denmark who lost their first two matches in the group stage but won their last two matches in the Euro 2020. Denmark were the deserving winners against Wales. Dolberg hit brace while Joakim Maehle and Martin Braithwaite also added one goal each. It has been a remarkable turnaround for the Danes, who had witnessed one of their best player and friend collapse on the field and then went on to lose their games against Finland and Belgium. They were able to score four against Russia which booked them a spot in the Round of 16 and scored four again to qualify for the quarter-finals against wales. That have been remarkable during the knock out.
Italy show power of quality and depth
Italy knew exactly what to expect against Austria in their Round of 16 fixture. Austria will sit back, hold on the pressure and will counter-attack in numbers. It really worked for Austria for the whole two first two halves until extra time. It helped them with one goal but was disallowed due to offside.
Chiesa and Pessina scored in the extra time. Later in the extra time Italy conceded a goal, but they did enough to win the contest. While in the group stage, Italy showed superiority
Sterling the best so far in the English team
Raheem Sterling has been the best player for England in Euro 2020 so far. No one expected a spectacular performance from him since his poor performance at club level. He has scored three goals in four matches, two of them turned out to be the winning goal.
At his best, Sterling can be hugely influential but at his worst, he can be the most frustrating man on the pitch sometimes. But Sterling’s influence on England in this competition has only been positive. Sterling is a world class player and he has done well with Manchester City over the years to earn the tag. England has been struggling in all matches but made it through but the German side couldn't. Low wrong selection cost them the match.
Sweden played well but couldn't make it.
The 2-1 result wasn’t necessarily cruel on the Swedish side because Ukraine did play well to win the game.the Ukraine had an early lead thanks to zinchenko. He was able to score his first goal in the tournament. Another player with outstanding performance was Emil Forsberg but was unlucky because his side couldn't make it to the quarter final. He scored four goals in the competition and could’ve added two more if not for his two shots hitting the post against Ukraine.The sublime skills, how he create space for himself in tight spaces, executing the passes and his ability to hit the ball cleanly, were very evident. Especially against Ukraine, it was a masterful performance.
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Belgium rattled in win
Belgium vs Portugal was a very tough one. Belgium had a goal in the first half thanks to Thorgan Hazard's wonder strike they were able to beat defending champions Portugal. Portugal’s second-half performance almost look like there was going to be a equaliser and two of their best players – Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard had to be taken off due to injury concerns. The Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said there is a chance they will be in the quarter-final against Italy. It could be a great knockout match between two best teams and it deserves players like De Bruyne and Hazard to be a part of it.
The flaw of Netherland
Czech Republic will smile after humbling the almighty but imminently flawed Netherlands. With their world class players, the Dutch collapsed against the better-organised opponents. They couldn't register a shots on target while the Czechs were able to register five on goal and scored two. They have worked hard to make it to the semi final.