Euro 2020: A memorable month of talent and near tragedy
General view of fans entering Wembley stadium ahead of the the UEFA Euro 2020 round of 16 match between England and Germany
In a tournament of goal feasts, shocks and headlines, there’s no doubt that the sight of Denmark talisman Eriksen fighting for life on the pitch against Finland after suffering a cardiac arrest put the whole thing in perspective.
The Dane has, thankfully, recovered but it is still not clear how the incident will affect his future career and the personal impact cannot so easily be mitigated by the fact that his teammates did him proud by going on to reach the semi-final. This will always be remembered as Eriksen’s tournament and you hope and pray it is not his last.
Denmark’s emotional 4-1 victory over Russia in Copenhagen, which saw them qualify for the knockout stages on a night when they also celebrated Christian Eriksen, left just about everyone who watched it in tears. That included fans in the ground whose outpouring of love for their team’s star player was matched by the tributes paid by his teammates, whose team spirit shone through, driven on by a passionate atmosphere.
They also played remarkably well. Goals from Mikkel Damsgaard, Yussuf Poulsen, Andreas Christensen and Joakim Maehle gave the Danes their first win of the tournament and secured second in the group.
Patrik Schick’s second goal against Scotland in the Czech Republic’s group stage victory in Glasgow will not be forgotten quickly and is likely to be included on the Euros showreel for many tournaments to come. David Beckham’s half-way line effort against Wimbledon in the Premier League in 1999 is still being shown, so that gives you some idea of the appetite for a long-ranger.
Schick’s effort was not quite so far out but in terms of technique it was just as good and possibly better, the ball starting left and arcing right before leaving goalkeeper Andy Marshall totally flummoxed as he desperately tried to keep it out, ending up in the net himself. Wonderful. Unless you’re Scottish, of course…
Two-nil and even Harry scored. England’s victory against old rivals Germany was played out in a remarkable atmosphere at Wembley that set the tournament alight. Raheem Sterling got the party under way, but the roof really went off when Kane, who hadn’t scored in the group stage and looked out of sorts, sealed it with a late second.
The roar of celebration felt like it had been held inside for 55 years, when England last beat Germany in a knockout game – and it transformed belief in Gareth Southgate’s side in an instant. This was the first time that England fans really dared to dream that football might, finally, be coming home.
5 The one when France underestimated Switzerland
When Paul Pogba scored a pearler to put France 3-1 up against little Switzerland his extended dance routine celebration hinted that he felt the game was all over. Well, it wasn’t. The Swiss fought back with two excellent late goals to earn extra time and penalties.
Mario Gavranavic’s nerveless and precise finish in the 90th minute goes down was one of tournament’s iconic moments, as does goalkeeper Yann Sommer’s penalty shoot-out save from, of all people, Kylian Mbappe. In fact, the PSG man was the only person to miss a penalty as the Swiss went through 5-4.
Probably Swtizerland’s biggest ever knockout victory and a massive shock for the world champions.
Looking for a Hollywood headline at Euro 2020? Then why not Artem Dovbyk who scored his first ever international goal in the 121st minute against Sweden, to send Ukraine into their first ever quarter-final.
That’s a lot of subplots to work with. In fact, striker Dovbyk was only considered because of injuries to other key players when he got the call in the 105th minute.
“It must be fate,” he said later. “It was just because of circumstances that I had to go on the pitch.” It was Oleksandr Zinchenko who assisted, crossing for Dobyk to power home a header which set off crazy celebrations and sealed a 2-1 victory.
Spain’s stunning 5-3 victory over Croatia in extra time was right up there with the best games in the tournament, but there’s one moment that gets most air time when the blooper reel is produced.
Spain’s Pedri enjoyed an excellent tournament but his remarkable 45m own goal – the second-longest Euro finals goal in history just behind Patrik Schick’s half-way line stunner - was an out-and-out internet hit.
Receiving the ball from Aymeric Laporte he tried pinging a lost-distance pass back to goalkeeper Unai Simon, who had lost concentration. It seemed to clip off Simon’s boot and into the net, but the goal was ‘awarded’ to the Barcelona teenager instead.
Italy’s semi-final victory over Spain on penalties at Wembley was an all-around classic which had just about everything. So much quality, so much passion, so much technique – all delivered at break-neck speed.
There were two very different styles of play on show, with Spain dominating possession in midfield and Italy producing beautiful interplay up front and ferocious defence from their ageing centre-back partnership.
But it was the sheer pace and energy of the game which made it stand out as one of the best at Euro 2020. Federico Chiesa’s superb goal put Italy ahead before Alvaro Morata equalised – only for the Spaniard to miss his penalty in the shoot-out.
England deserved their run to the final of Euro 2020 but having endured so much bad luck in the past they got a fair dose of good fortune in their semi-final against Denmark.
With the score at 1-1 in extra-time, and England’s nightmare of penalties looming, Raheem Sterling darted into the area, forcing Simon Kjaer to stick out a foot. Did it connect? Probably not. But VAR didn’t overrule the penalty and England won the tie when Harry Kane’s penalty was saved, but the Tottenham star followed up to score the winner.
A dive according to those in Denmark (and in Scotland where the Scottish Metro’s headline was ‘England dive into final’).
We’re used to seeing Ronaldo break records but the ones he created in Euro 2020 when he scored twice against France in a 2-2 draw were impressive.
They were the 108th and 109th of his international career, moving him level with former Iran striker Ali Daei as football’s top international goalscorer of all time. It also took his overall tally in Euros finals to 14 – a new record, beating Michel Platini. The result also took Portugal into the last 16.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
