The two weeks of fun are over and now it’s time for the business end of Euro 2024. A group stage that started with goals galore but dried up rather as the nerves affected some teams more than others. Now it’s sink or swim time as the knockouts have arrived and if day one is anything to go by then we’re in for an absolute treat. In just two weeks time we’ll be preparing ourselves to watch the Final in Berlin – but what lessons have we learned so far?
Germany has embraced the festival of football as we all knew it would
1 – The pressure has well and truly got to Southgate’s England
England have looked like a bag of nerves all tournament. Without doubt the biggest disappointment so far as the pre-tournament favourites slugged their way through a straight forward group scoring just two goals along the way. Despite three tepid performances Gareth Southgate persists with the same players and whether it’s nerves or this non-functional system, England’s stars look a shadow of themselves, unrecognisable from the players who tore up Europe all season.
Taking early leads against both Serbia and Denmark but insisting on sitting back and protecting them, Three Lions fans have had enough of Southgate’s negativity given the embarrassment of riches he has at his disposal. One can only imagine Southgate’s dismay seeing Julian Nagelsmann take off a midfielder and bring on a striker with 30 minutes to play and his side already leading 1-0 against Denmark.
Southgate abused by England fans in crowd following 0-0 draw with Slovenia
Having said all this, England not only topped the group but they now find themselves with an incredibly favourable draw with as ‘easier’ run to the final as you could ask for. Slovakia await in the last sixteen and if things click for the Three Lions as they did at this stage of Euro 2020, perhaps it could yet be a tournament to remember in Germany. Alternatively, it could be Iceland 2.0.
2 – Jamal Musiala is a superstar
What. A. Player. While Musiala was by no means unheard of going into the tournament I don’t think many of us realised just how good this boy is. He only turned 21 in February and he plays his game with an intelligence and maturity far beyond his years.
He ripped the Scots apart on the opening night and hasn’t looked back since. The way he dribbles with the ball reminds me of Eden Hazard, skipping past opponents as if they’re not there and as he showed against Denmark he has a calmness in front of goal that shows he’s a top class player.
Musiala slots past Kasper Schmeichel to make it 2-0 to Germany
I first heard the name Jamal Musiala when a friend of mine attended the 2014 League Two play-off final and witnessed AFC Wimbledon defeat Fleetwood Town in the EFL Kids Cup Final with an 11-year-old Musiala scoring four of Fleetwood’s seven goals. Those at Wembley that day knew that a star was born but what could have been for England, representing them at U15, U16, U17 and U21 level, only to switch his allegiance to his country of birth before making his senior debut for Die Mannschaft in 2021.
3 – Spain’s new generation are seriously good
It’s been twelve years since Spain won an international tournament following their four years of domination between 2008-2012 when they clean swept the major honours. It’s been a tough period for La Roja as they’ve shown promise at times but have always had obvious weaknesses in their ranks. “Weak” is not a word anyone is using to refer to Spain right now however, without doubt the team of the group stage in Germany.
Group B, which I dubbed the “group of death” before a ball was kicked posed some tricky tests for Spain’s youngsters but these were all passed with flying colours. Croatia are as canny as they come when we talk about “tournament teams” and Spain had the game done and dusted by half-time. The confidence boost this gave the whole nation was obvious to see and they went from strength to strength with a dominant display against the Italians in Gameweek 2. This then gave them the luxury of being able to rest their entire first choice XI against Albania in their final group game.
They seem to have struck the perfect balance between experience and youth with seasoned pros like Dani Carvajal, Rodri and Álvaro Morata providing much needed wisdom and discipline and allowing the likes of Lamine Yamal, Iñaki Williams and Pedri to excite and let themselves go.
Pedri, Yamal and Williams got a well deserved rest against Albania
The first knockout round draw has been kind to the Spanish (on paper) as they face Euros newbies, Georgia, who will likely see the game as something of a free-hit having already exceeded their wildest dreams by progressing through from the group. I would expect Spain’s wealth of attacking talent to be far too much for Georgia’s dodgy backline and I see there being goals in Cologne on Sunday night.
4 – Ronaldo’s past it
Cristiano is finished. As I called in my tournament preview, Ronaldo does not help this Portugal side. They made the same mistake in Qatar and while I understand that on a personal level Ronaldo’s been on fire since then (allbeit in a farmer’s league) he detracts from the ability of Portugal’s other stars. Bernardo Silva is a prime example; rarely have we seen him play anywhere near his level at Manchester City in Portuguese colours. Somebody like Diogo Jota would function so much better in this system as a work-horse with great anticipation in and around the penalty area.
As I mentioned, I called Portugal’s and Ronaldo’s struggles before a ball was kicked. However what I didn’t expect was CR7 firing a complete blank in the group stage. You could see by the time his side fell behind to Georgia in Gameweek 3, Ronaldo cut an incredibly frustrated figure, even picking up a booking for his petulance appealing for a penalty that was never going to be given. I think it was inconceivable to the all-time record Euros goalscorer that he could go through the group stage without finding the net.
Ronaldo receives yellow card for dissent towards Swiss official
I fully expect Portugal to comfortably progress to the Quarters on Monday night and I would be surprised if Cristiano does not open his account for the tournament against Slovenia. Nevertheless, that will likely spell the end of Portugal’s Euro adventure this time around. I am predicting France to hit form and make it through against Belgium and Rolls Royce, William Saliba, will have Ronaldo in his pocket from the off while Mbappé fires the French through.
5 – France are incredibly boring to watch
I slated England earlier for their dire displays but if they’ve been the most disappointing team so far then France are a close second. Many parallels can be drawn between the English and the French and I think ultimately it boils down to the immense pressure the players are feeling.
Didier Deschamps is the longest serving manager at the Championships and much like Southgate, you can see a clear reluctance to bow to the pressure of the public and play with attacking freedom. You can’t really argue that he’s got credit in the bank having won one World Cup, taken them to another final as well as the Euro 2016 Final in Paris, yet people will only ever judge the here and now. With success, as always comes expectation, and the French players appear to be feeling this on their backs this big time.
Mbappé with his broken nose alongside Deschamps
France needed an own goal to get past Austria in an underwhelming opener before an incredibly cagey 0-0 draw with the Netherlands on Matchday 2 in which the coach selected three more defensive midfielders. He stuck with this defensive approach as they finished up with a 1-1 draw with a Poland side who had already been eliminated, the one positive coming from that game being Mbappé finally getting off the mark in the Euros. Real Madrid’s new superstar scoring from the spot means that no French player has scored from open play in the group stage, making them joint lowest scorers remaining in the tournament, alongside England and Slovenia.
6 – Ralf Ragnick is actually a really good coach
Manchester United fans look away. It’s a Ralf love-in right now and maybe, just maybe, he was not the problem at Old Trafford after all. I would group Austria, Switzerland and Denmark to a slightly lesser extent (especially following their exit) as the sides I’ve seen who have made the absolute most of their limited resources. Austria probably have the fewest stars of the aforementioned teams but I think other than Spain, they’re most people’s team of the tournament so far.
Ragnick gegenpress has worked a treat so far. They could easily have taken something off France in their opener and dominated Poland before clinically snatching a win against the Dutch. Next up it’s Turkey who have gone under the radar a little so far but finished on six points in Group F. While it’s not a foregone conclusion I do expect Wreck-it Ralf’s Austrian machine to break the Turkish hearts.
Ragnick and one of his stars, Christoph Baumgartner
Should they indeed progress, a rematch with the Netherlands is the most likely quarter-final and Austrian fans might just start to think about moving their plans around for July 14th.
7 – “Weaker” teams make the tournament more fun
Scotland, this one’s for you. You might not have covered yourself in glory in footballing terms but you sure brought the positive vibes to these Euros. “No Scotland, no party” might just be the tagline of the competition so far and The Tartan Army have brought smiles to the streets of Germany this summer.
Scotland fans take over the streets of Munich
Who knows, a more competent referee and they could even have made it through. On the upside for the Scots, the Germans have loved the atmosphere surrounding their fanbase so much that many are campaigning to make their visit an annual event with German police supporting the idea.
On a serious note, this is now the third Euros where 24 teams (increased from 16 previously) have taken part and people do have very mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it’s great that teams who had never previously qualified for the Championships like Georgia have this incredible experience as a nation. On the other hand, we are forced to endure a number of more insignificant group games. The way I see it, more teams means more football to watch and that can only ever be a positive thing.
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