The contenders are starting to separate themselves from the pretenders at Euro 2024.
Matchday 2 of this summer’s European Championship delivered in spades with thrilling matches and plenty of goals to savour, with the likes of Spain, Germany and Portugal reaffirming their credentials with big wins.
As the final round of games approaches, here are five takeaways from the latest clashes of Euro 2024.
Many thought Spain would meet their match in Italy after making mincemeat of Croatia in their Euro 2024 opener. However, Luis de la Fuente’s squad had other plans, strutting their way to another victory and securing their spot as Group B winners.
Sure, the winning goal came courtesy of an Italian foot – Riccardo Calafiori’s own goal, to be precise – but let’s not kid ourselves; La Roja were the dominant force in Gelsenkirchen. If it weren’t for Gianluigi Donnarumma’s heroics, the scoreline could have been downright embarrassing for the Azzurri.
Spain’s tiki-taka was in full swing, leaving fans and opponents alike in awe. If they can find more of a clinical edge, the rest of Europe will start quaking in their boots.
That’s a joke, guys.
Seriously, what was Gareth Southgate thinking? Following another lacklustre performance in Germany where the Three Lions were fortunate to draw with Denmark, Southgate made it abundantly clear who he’s missing from back home.
As Gary Lineker pointed out, it’s almost insulting to the likes of Adam Wharton and Kobbie Mainoo to assume they can’t fill Phillips’ shoes. Southgate’s fixation on Manchester City’s 28-year-old appears bewildering when there’s a fresh crop of talented players eager to prove themselves.
It’s about time Southgate shook things up and gave these promising talents their chance to see if they’ve got the spark to get the nation excited again.
At every international football competition, there’s a moment of refereeing incompetence or VAR drama ready to disrupt the positive vibes.
Take Friday’s clash between the Netherlands and France. Young Xavi Simons celebrated wildly as he thought he’d netted his first international goal at a major tournament, but after what felt like an eternity of VAR scrutiny, the goal was snatched away.
Why? Denzel Dumfries was accused of blocking Mike Maignan’s diving path.
It feels a bit cheeky to chuckle at one of the underdog nations at this year’s European Championship, but Samet Akaydin’s own goal for Turkey on Saturday? That was pure comedy gold.
Picture this; a wayward pass from Portugal lands at Akaydin’s feet. With seemingly no pressure around him, the Turkish defender casually rolled the ball back to where he thought goalkeeper Altay Bayindir was stationed. Little did he know, Bayindir had ventured out to intercept the pass. Cue the agonising sight as the ball trickled past the scrambling keeper and teased its way over the line, despite Zeki Celik’s valiant attempt to clear it.
To add insult to injury, this blunder doubled Portugal’s lead after Bernardo Silva opened the scoring, with Bruno Fernandes sealing the victory in the second half.
It’s moments like these that keep football fans simultaneously cringing and chuckling throughout a tournament.
Belgium finally got their Euro 2024 campaign up and running as they defeated Romania 2-0 in Cologne. Yet, it was the Red Devils’ number 10 who stole the attention with yet another goal chalked off by VAR.
Leading 1-0 thanks to Youri Tielemans’ finish in just 73 seconds, Romelu Lukaku got to work trying to further Belgium’s advantage with a goal for himself.
In the 64th minute, the 31-year-old did have the net bulging but, rather comically, VAR disallowed the finish for an ill-timed run. Perhaps it’ll be fourth time lucky for the striker on Matchday 3.
