Daily Archives: June 27, 2024

Euro 2024: Ranking every team in the group stage – England 13th, Georgia 5th, Austria 2nd

Leave a reply


Romania
“The group stage of Euro 2024 is done. Opinions have been formed, conclusions drawn, rash predictions (revised from your pre-tournament rash predictions) have been made, players/teams/managers have been written off as chumps and losers or hailed as the next geniuses of the game. But who has been the best team at the tournament so far? There is a natural way of determining who’s been good and who’s been bad: specifically, who’s qualified and who hasn’t. However, that’s a little dull, isn’t it? It doesn’t take in the nuances of entertainment and subjectivity; just because you progress to the latter stages of a tournament doesn’t mean people want to watch you play football. So here’s a definitive ranking of the 24 teams who have done battle at Euro 2024. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Winners and Losers of the Euro 2024 Group Stage

Leave a reply

“There are 67 hours between the conclusion of the Euro 2024 group stage on Wednesday and the start of the knockout stage on Saturday. After the near-constant soccer action for the first 12 days of the Euros—which brought breathtaking goals from outside the box, late drama, and history for multiple nations—it’s time for the business end of the tournament. The tournament began with 24 teams and is now down to 16. We bid adieu to Scotland, Hungary, Croatia, Albania, Serbia, Poland, Ukraine, and Czechia and are left with all of the top eight pretournament favorites in the round of 16. Switzerland and Italy will begin the knockout stage at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, the first of eight matches in four days. …”
The Ringer

How Czech Republic v Turkey became the dirtiest game in Euros history

Leave a reply

“As Cenk Tosun finished off a seven-on-four counter-attack in injury time, the Turkey bench were off their seats to celebrate a 2-1 victory that sealed their qualification for the knockout stages. It was chaotic stuff, and yet that was only the start of it. In the madcap aftermath, Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs handed out five bookings, extending the record set 20 minutes earlier for the most cards awarded in a single game at a European Championship. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Georgia 2 Portugal 0: Biggest shock of Euro 2024, Ronaldo’s frustration, glorious Kvaratskhelia

Leave a reply


“In the biggest shock (by the FIFA world rankings) of Euro 2024 so far, Georgia defeated Portugal 2-0 to secure a place in the knockout stages in what is their major tournament debut. Georgia, ranked 74, took advantage of Roberto Martinez rotating a Portugal team (ranked sixth) who had already qualified top of Group F, scoring in the second minute through the immensely talented Khvicha Kvaratskheliabefore Georges Mikautadze converted a second-half penalty. Cristiano Ronaldo started the game but his pursuit of becoming the oldest player ever to score at a Euros — he is 39 — goes on and he was substituted on 66 minutes with only a booking to show for his efforts. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
Guardian: Kvaratskhelia propels Georgia to last 16 with famous win over Portugal
Independent: Georgia’s glorious victory over Portugal reveals Euro 2024 quirk that helped them make history
NY Times/The Athletic – Czech Republic 1 Turkey 2: Most cards in Euros history, Montella’s entertainers qualify, Czechs out
Guardian: Turkey progress after Tosun finally puts out 10-man Czech Republic’s fire

Slovakia 1 Romania 1 – Heavy rain and genuine excitement as both sides progress to last 16

Leave a reply


“Romania and Slovakia came into their final Euro 2024 group game today knowing that a draw would take them both through to the last 16… but the match did not begin sedately. There were 11 shots in the opening 25 minutes and the last of them resulted in a Slovakia goal — via a powerful header from Ondrej Duda. By half-time, Romania were level, thanks to an equally emphatic penalty from Razvan Marin. The two sides continued to trade blows into the second half, in a match further enlivened by lightning, heavy rain and one of the themes of the summer: a questionable pitch. Despite several close shaves, there was no more scoring, meaning we got the draw many expected, but in a significantly more exciting fashion than most imagined. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
Guardian: Dignity reigns on stormy night as Romania and Slovakia battle into last 16
NY Times/The Athletic – Ukraine 0 Belgium 0: Qualified success for Belgians, heartbreak for Ukraine
Guardian: Belgium booed despite edging through as Ukraine receive heroes’ farewell