Euro 2016 - The Last 16 - Review
So I wanted to spend a little bit of time in this blog dissecting each of yesterday's three games. And then it turned out that actually all three games were dull as ditchwater. Nevertheless, we got three results so there's still some space to talk about what the heck happened.
Switzerland 1-1 Poland (Poland win 5-4 on pens)
If you'd told me at 5pm on Saturday that the first game of the day would also be the most interesting I'd have laughed you out of the room. And yet here we are. Poland started the game really well and created some decent chances, but the longer the game went on, the more Switzerland came into it. That's unsurprising, particularly as Poland took a deserved lead through the once again excellent Blaszczykowski, with a wonderful move. I was once again impressed by Milik, but he needs to improve his finishing if he's to become a top striker. And speaking of top strikers, Robert Lewandowski had yet another quiet game, but sooner or later he has to start firing.
As for Switzerland, when they were on top they looked good, but they were always going to need a moment of magic, which simply didn't look like coming until Xherdan Shaqiri scored an absolute wondergoal, arguably one of the best goals ever at an international tournament and definitely the best goal at this tournament, with a staggering scissor kick from the edge of the box. The technique was flawless as he had to adjust his body in midair in a fraction of a second. Utterly special goal.
And after that it came down to penalties, which was a tense affair. But Poland came out trumps, with five flawless penalties, as new Arsenal Granit Xhaka midfielder was the man to miss the decisive penalty. *Insert Arsenal joke here* So it's Poland into the last 16 to face Portugal (coming to them).
Wales 1-0 Northern Ireland
This game was set up very tense and very tight, much as the other two were. Essentially, this was two teams with very similar strengths and weaknesses, both very well set up to defend well and hit hard on the counter, and as such, Wales, being the team with more quality, had to settle into the role of controlling the ball in the first half and struggled to break down NI. The game played perfectly into the hands of the men in green and white, but as the game wore on, it became more open and desperate and as such, it played into Wales' hands. Northern Ireland didn't offer enough in terms of attacking threat, and all it took was one excellent ball into the NI box by Gareth Bale and the GAWA were toast, as McAuley put into his own net. Wales probably deserved it overall, but neither team really gave it their all and NI will be disappointed to have been knocked out by a team that was there for the taking.
Croatia 0-1 Portugal AET
This was somehow the worst game of the lot. And for that Portugal deserve a lot of credit, as they managed to completely and utterly neuter a Croatia that up until this point in the tournament had played a lot of fluid and attacking football. I'm genuinely disappointed to see Croatia go home, as they were one of the most exciting teams at this tournament, but they came up against an experienced side with a good set up, and lots of decent defensive players.
And it took 115 minutes for basically anything to happen as a result, although I was only half-watching this turgid, painful game of boring football. But when things happened, boy did they happen, as Vida, Croatia's central defender, missed two clear openings off set pieces, the awesome Pjaca wreaked havoc off the bench, having been left on it for far too long and Croatia hit the post. But it was Quaresma who nicked the game for Portugal after Nani's mishit shot landed at the feet of Ronaldo, whose shot was well saved. So Portugal are through, and I would expect them to try the same tactic against Poland. That said, I would back Poland in that game. But then, I also backed Croatia.
Euro 2016 - The Last 16 - Preview
France v Republic of Ireland (2pm)
This is a game that France are thoroughly expected to win and understandably so. Despite looking unconvincing throughout the group stage, they won both of their opening games and secured a 0-0 draw with the Swiss. And to be frank, France are a better team. They have more talent, more quality in every area of the pitch and on paper, this is a home banker. But on paper in international tournaments doesn't take everything into account. The French are there to be beaten, they look uncertain, there's pressure on their shoulders as home nations and they can't seem to work as a cohesive unit. And then there's Ireland, who played okay during the group stage, but against a team that are very similar to France in many respects Belgium, they were tactically naive and inept. If Ireland can learn from the mistakes of the Belgium game then they stand a chance, but you would have to still say France should win this game.
Germany v Slovakia (5pm)
This is another home banker. Germany were excellent during the group stages, and although they never hit top gear, and struggled at times during their opening two fixtures, they still haven't conceded a goal and when they switched to playing Mario Gomez up front against the Northern Irish, they were exceptional. On another day they'd have scored 4 or 5 as they eviscerated the GAWA. And you would imagine that Slovakia will set up similarly, to frustrate the Germans. But Germany have shown already in this tournament that they are well equipped to break down teams that will sit deep. And although Slovakia have some real quality on the counter attack, it remains to be seen whether or not they will have the opportunity to utilize their dangermen. Personally I would be surprised if Slovakia made a game of it.
Hungary v Belgium (8pm)
This one should be very interesting. On paper, Belgium have a far superior team to Hungary, with the likes of Lukaku, De Bruyne and Hazard and should win easily. But they were really poor in the group stage because their manager is completely hapless, they've missed Dembele and they don't look like a cohesive unit. On the other hand, Hungary should have finished bottom of Group F on paper but exceeded all expectations, beating Austria and drawing their other two games, scoring a joint high of six goals in the group stages. But how they set up against Belgium will be crucial. Up until now they've gone at teams, unsettled them, and hit them hard. As a result, they've often looked open at the back and this might, might play into Belgium's hands. So we'll see how it plays out, but I would be backing Hungary to cause an upset.
Spain v Italy (5pm Monday)
This one is tasty. The set up is easy to predict. Spain will dominate possession, dominate the play, create chances, look to break down Italy. Italy will be tough to break down, sit behind the ball and look to counter. The big area of interest is the full backs. Alba and Juanfran have got forward quite a lot for Spain and Italy's wing backs will definitely have their work cut out for them. Nevertheless, the big question is whether Spain will have the cutting edge to break Italy down, and I think that they will. Between Iniesta and Silva, I think that Spain have too much quality not to score at least once in this game, And then the question is how early they score. If Spain can get a goal early, then they'll win easily, but the longer Italy can frustrate them, the more it plays into their hands. Personally, I think Italy will be unable to counter punch, and Spain will win, but it could easily go either way.
England v Iceland (8pm Monday)
Ah England. This game will shape up pretty much identically to all three of England's group games. They'll dominate possession, control the ball, whilst the opposition will sit deep and look to hit them on the counter. The difference is that Iceland have proved very very good on the counter, and won't necessarily play for the draw, in the way that the other three teams did. As such, that makes Iceland arguably more dangerous than Wales and definitely more dangerous than Slovakia and Russia. And if I'm being honest, I've seen nothing in the group stages to indicate that England have what it takes to break Iceland down. so it's all down to how Iceland play. If they turn up, then they'll cause England a lot of problems. I could see this one going all the way to penalties.
The Hard and Fast Section
- England are better than Sri Lanka at ODIs. Simple.
- Whitewash down under. Magnificent rugby.
- Argentina v Chile tonight. Money on Argentina.
- Antony Joshua. What a man.
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