Euro 2020 - Round of 16

Wow. What a round of football. Just like that, the world cup winners of 3 years ago, the 2018 world cup runners up and a team that won all their group stage matches are all knocked out of the Euros. We've seen it all; one sided games, goal fests and matches affected by extra time and penalties. Continue reading to find my opinions on this incredible round of football, and stay tuned for our views on the Quarter Finals as well!

The Opener

An amazing display of talent and excellence was shown by Denmark as they demolished Gareth Bale’s Wales 4-0 to kickstart the knockout stages.

Kasper Dolberg scored an early goal in the 27th minute and another right after the break at half time. Joakim Mehle scored a late one in the 88th minute to add to their rampage. Wales were unable to convert any of the many chances they were offered and in frustration, Harry Wilson snuck in a leg which led to a very controversial red card. Denmark took this to their advantage and Martin Brathwaite scored a last-minute goal to cap it all off for the Danish.

Big Upsets

Netherlands vs Czech Republic

One of the big upsets was the Dutch losing to Czech Republic. This was one of the most unexpected results anybody could have predicted. Netherlands had won all three-group stage matches and were looking like one of the strongest teams in the Euros. During the match I think Netherlands were a little overconfident, as, instead of playing attacking and creating opportunities to score, they were passing the ball around and waiting for a goal. Czech Republic took double the shots of Netherlands and out of all the shots the Dutch took none of them were on target. As Czech were doing the opposite of the Dutch, their constant attacking attitude led to openings and opportunities for two great goals by Tomas Holes and Czech’s superstar Patrick Shick.

France vs Switzerland

The biggest upset according to me was France losing to the Swiss. I think France played well in this match, but they were mediocre in their defense. The first goal was scored by an amazing jump and header by Haris Seferovic which put the Swiss in the lead. France’s new star Karim Benzema scored two quick goals in the 57th and 59th minute to put the French in the lead. A stunner was scored by Paul Pogba in the 75th minute which seemed to rule out any chances of a Switzerland comeback. However, Seferovic and Mario Gavranovic scored two late goals and inspired a comeback to draw the game. No goals were scored in extra time, so it went straight to penalties. After 9 penalties it was 5-4 to the Swiss. If Kylian Mbappe scored it would go into sudden death. As Mbappe was France’s star player everybody expected him to score, but Yann Sommer threw in an amazing dive to knock out the World Cup champions.

Huge Matches

Spain vs Croatia

Spain were the favourites in this match as they did extraordinarily well in the group stages. On the other hand, Croatia didn’t start as well as they would have wanted to. The first 15 minutes saw Spain create lethal chances and have 80% possession of the ball. Against the run of play, Croatia scored in the 20th minute due to a horrific error by Unai Simon. Deservedly, the Spaniards got their goal which was scored Pablo Sarabia in the 38th minute to equalize the game.19 minutes later the Champions league winning captain Cesar Azpilicueta scored an amazing header in the 57th minute to clinch the lead. The impressive Ferran Torres scored a goal of his own in the 77th minute to extend his team’s lead. Although, it was not over yet. Mislav Orisic and Mario Pasalic scored two inspirational goals to equalize the game once again and take it to extra time. In the first 10 minutes of extra time Spain’s star player Alvaro Morata scored an amazing volley to make it 4-3. 3 minutes later Mikel Oyarzabal scored to an amazing cross to seal the win.

Belgium vs Portugal

I personally feel that Portugal deserve to win this match as they took more shots and played more attacking but they were not able to convert any of them. I think that it would have gone into extra time if it were not for the stunning goal by Borussia Dortmund’s Thorgan Hazard. The 28-year-old collected a pass from Meunier, tapped it ahead right outside the box and shoot a curler with technique and skill. If not for Kevin De Bruyne’s injury, Belgium might have scored more goals. I noticed that the Portuguese were trying to cross the ball into the box all and try to header it in. Many of these were on target but none of them were a match for Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois.

Germany vs England

This match was one that everyone was looking forward to in the Round of 16. Most people were backing England because of the amazing players they had and the wide range of abilities each one could do, and although Germany only won one match in the group stages, they were looking dangerous. During the first half England tried to keep the possession, pass the ball around and look for opportunities. On the other hand, when Germany got the ball, they looked more threatening. They would try to create fast plays, mostly from counter attacks. Werner missed a simple one on one chance against Jordan Pickford in the first half. Another header was offered to Robin Gosens by a beautiful cross by Joshua Kimmich which was also not converted. Lots of chances came and went but in the 75th minute a short cross from Luke Shaw from inside the box was received by Raheem Sterling and tapped past Neur. In the 81st minute another very simple one on one chance was offered to Thomas Muller, but he dragged it wide. England took advantage and in the 86th minute and Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish gave another short cross to captain, Harry Kane who put in an accurate diving header to seal the game for the British.

Extra Time affected games:

Sweden vs Ukraine

Sweden surprisingly topped their group, pipping Spain and Ukraine placed third to edge through to the Round of 16. Both teams got off to lively starts, each creating their own chances. The first one to convert was Manchester city defender Oleksandr Zinchenko, followed by Swedish star Emil Forsberg just before the half time interval. The two teams went goalless in the second half and took it to extra time. It was looking like penalties would have to decide the outcome of the game, before Dovbyk headed in a Zinchenko cross in added time to send Ukraine to the quarter finals.

Italy vs Austria

Although, there were many shots taken and chances created none of them were converted, especially by Italy. They clearly looked like the better team but were extremely unlucky and hit the post twice. Austria held Italy and took the game to extra time where Federico Chiesa and Mateo Pessina scored two goals in the first 15 minutes of extra time. Sasa Kalajdzic scored a late goal, but Italy defended well until the end to seal the win and send them to the quarter finals.

Predictions for the next round : Belgium vs Italy – Belgium

Switzerland vs Spain – Spain

England vs Ukraine – England

Denmark vs Czech Republic - Denmark

Written by - Aakarsh Gubbi

Edited by - Siddhanth Gubbi