No more school, no more, stress,
vacation all the way with tons of opportunities to gain experience. You know
what that means... IT'S SUMMER TIME LOVIN'!!!!
Almost everyone's favourite season is
here to spoil us rotten with its bizarre habits of being scorching us with
devastating temperatures for the first 5 days, only for it to dawn its
"spring" mask and pretend it's primavera for the next 2 weeks or so.
Summer is strange, innit?
But what's more cool about summer is
that every 2 years (at least here in Europe), we get to watch FOOTBALL. Whether
it's the Euros or the World Cup, the summer instantly becomes fantastic for
everyone. 3 years have passed since the last Euros, where the trophy didn't
come home, but came to Rome. Another thing to note is that the tournament was
played in 2021 due to the Covid 19 pandemic (or as I'd like to call it, the
Кромид 19) still going strong at that time, so a year had to be skipped.
And just like 3 years ago, I'll be
making a quick recap of sorts of the tournament. Not to forget is to apologise
for my lack of writing anything. From the beginning of the end of May, up until
now, I was busy with taking care of my final university exams (with
fantastically positive results), with the only thing remaining left being the
thesis that I have to defend (David De Gea style). I will be working on it
during the summer, but I will be able to actually post whatever I feel like it
in my spare time. So look forward to my writings this summer.
ANYHOW TIME TO DISCUSS GROUP A!!!!
GROUP A
The Hosts Germany are in this group.
And... They wiped the floor clean with the other participants. They beat
Scotland 5-1 in the opening game of the tournament, beat Hungary 2-0, and only
drew against Switzerland.
The most noteworthy thing that happened
in this group (for all the wrong reasons), were Hungary's Barnabás Varga
collided with Scotland's goalkeeper, Angus Gunn, and was rendered unconscious.
It was a horrific sight for everyone watching the game. But the player was later
reported to have gained consciousness and was in stable condition. It was a
scary moment to be witnessed, that's for sure, but I'm glad Varga is back and
doing okay.
GROUP B
The Group of Death?
More like The Group of Shit!
Spain made everyone their bitches, Italy
shat themselves trying to advance, and CROATIA got knocked out alongside
Albania. LIKE WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?
No one expected Croatia to get
eliminated from a major competition. They've always been a strong side and
performed well, so for them to get eliminated this early from the competition
was a shocker.
On the plus side, Albania made history
with scoring the fastest goal in the competition's history: at just 23 seconds
after the start of the game.
GROUP C
The Group of Embarrassment
Why am I saying this? Just take a look
at England! They barely scraped a win against Serbia, and drew their following
two games.
Denmark were struggling in all 3 games.
Slovenia got fucking lucky
And Serbia were unlucky. Worst part of
all (no bias here), is that Serbia were the only team that sort of had a chance
to advance to the Round of 16, but lack of discipline and focus on defensive
play-style did them no favours.
This tournament also saw a new rule
added: The best 3rd placed teams got to advance in the tournament. Slovenia was
one of those 3rd place teams that got the opportunity to advance.
GROUP D
One of the two groups that surprised a
lot of people.
Austria ended up on top of the group
with 2 wins against Poland and the Netherlands. Their only loss, against
France, was an unfortunate one. An own goal prevented them from having a
perfect group run.
France managed to secure 2nd place
thanks to a penalty and 2 own goals (1 win, 2 draws). Craziest successful group
stage story of the tournament thus far.
The Netherlands' position speaks volumes
about their quality over the last couple of years. 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss is
not good for a major side like them. If it weren't for Poland's misfortune of
ending their Euro 2024 campaign with 1 point, they might've gone back home
alongside the Hussars.
Still, Austria topping their group after
playing decently was a refreshing sight to behold.
GROUP E
Group of 4, 4 points each, 4 for, 4
against (horrible joke)
Romania keeps on winning,
Belgium keeps on slipping.
Slovakia keeps on celebrating,
Ukraine keeps on crying.
GROUP F
This group was off my radar for a while
until the last games happened.
Portugal, despite finishing 1st, lost
their first game against Georgia. And the team might've played better if
Ronaldo wasn't in the starting 11.
Turkey's only bad moment in the group
stages was their match against Portugal, which they lost 3-0. Rest were easy
peasy, lemon squeasy.
Georgia are the true underdogs of this
group. Despite finishing 3rd in the group, they played all of their games with
such passion, people thought they were watching football from 20 or so years
ago. A fantastic underdog story and I was happy they got to advance in the
competition.
Czechia... Uh... It was nice having you
in the tournament, I guess?
ROUND OF 16
This one was just a mess. I'm sorry, but
the Italians didn't do shit at all throughout the match. Switzerland deserved
the win and to advance.
An easy time for Germany. Havertz and
Musiala finding the back of the net without any problems. The Germans kicked
Denmark back home like professionals.
The match was almost over, had it not
been for Bellingham's wonderful scissor kick goal in the last moment of
stoppage time. England got REALLY lucky with this match. Slovakia played with
heart, but just didn't act accordingly to the change of events. Tough luck,
lads. It was a pleasure to see you play in the Euros! Hopefully next time
you'll do better than ever before.
And so it ends the wonderful fairy-tale
of Georgia. Destroyed by a currently super good and frightening Spain, they
will live on as the people's champs.
I don't know what's worse: The fact
France advanced thanks to an own goal, or the fact that Own Goals is the
"top scorer" of the competition?
I believe BBC trolled Ronaldo during a
free kick in the match. His penalty miss in the 105th minute was peak trolling
by fate. Portugal played like shit (blame their tactics of PASS IT ONLY TO
RONALDO) and Slovenia played decently, but their penalties were... Let's just
move on!
I had delusional hopes that Romania
would beat The Netherlands in this match, mainly due to their standings and
performance in the group stages. But I guess it just wasn't meant to be for my
fellow Romanian friends. You did the Balkans proud, lads. May this success
serve as a form of motivation for future matches.
A fantastic match between 2 of the
biggest underdogs of the tournament. Merih Demiral was Turkey's hero in this
match. 2 goals, with his first being in the first minute at the start of the
match. Bravo, Turkey! And Austria weren't bad either, but they just weren't
able to find the back of the net again after Gregoritsch's goal in the 66th
minute. The team guided by Man United's former caretaker manager, Ralf Ragnick,
played superb football. He wasn't a bad manager after all...
QUARTER - FINALS
The biggest game of the tournament thus
far. Spain and Germany have equally been great from the get go, winning games
with ease and playing exciting football. It's just a shame that these two had
to play in the quarters rather than the final.
But nevertheless, the game was a
phenomenal one. Both Spain and Germany played aggressively, whether it was
during attacking or defending. You could say Spain was the better team, but
Germany isn't a side that should be underestimated. Especially with Wirtz's
equaliser in the 89th minute.
Everyone hoped for a penalty shootout
during the final minutes of extra time, but fate was a bit harsh: Merino booked
Spain's spot in the semis, thanks to his goal in the 119th minute.
Both teams showed courage, strength, and
all of that motivational good shit throughout the match, but in the end, the
better team won. Also Carvajal got sent off in the 120th minute, lmao...
This was the only game I decided to NOT
watch because of England's horrendous journey in this year's Euros. I was out
with friends having a good time, and following the game's results through
LiveScore. I was shocked when I saw that England, a country known for being
horrible penalty takers, WON THEIR MATCH AGAINST SWITZERLAND ON PENALTIES!!!
When I got home, I got to watch the
replay of the game. It was a good call to not watch it. Switzerland played
extremely well. But what's even better is that Southgate took out Harry Kane
before the penalty shoot-out, likely due to his ability to miss during crucial
moments. To summarise this match: Fate is a cruel mistress...
Going from one team being shit to
another, Netherlands had it lucky during their quarter - final match against
Turkey. "The Oranjes" were pretty much lost for half of the game
(this includes both halves). Turkey took the lead with a WONDERFUL header from
Samet Akaydin in the 35th minute from a corner kick. And not only that, but
Turkey were playing like beasts in the 1st half of the match. In the 2nd
however, they just backed down and played a more defensive style of football:
one of the worst mistakes a team could make (looking at you Piksi).
This was more than enough for the Dutch
to use it to their advantage and hit back at the Turks with in the 70th minute,
with De Virj as the centre "hero" of the equaliser.
6 minutes later, the top goal scorer of
the Euros struck again: OWN GOAL!!! Nice job Own Goal! You're on fire this
tourney. And as for you, Mert Muldur, you just got Turkey knocked out. And it
is a shame, because they were the last true underdogs of the competition going
in the quarters. I was hoping they would perform, equalise or even surpass
their 2008 performance, where they reached the semis, but lost to Germany 3-2.
SEMI - FINALS
In the summer of 2024,
A team called France played.
Favourites to lift the trophy,
And beat everyone up, they were.
Bad luck struck them,
To play mediocre football.
Scraping to the semis,
With the help from Own Goal!
Own Goal is a tricky fella!
Loyal to none.
Loyal to only itself.
Own Goal has had enough.
And decided France's fate:
With the help of Olmo.
You could not make this shit up, but
ENGLAND PLAYED DECENT FOOTBALL IN THIS MATCH!
Both Netherlands and England have been
described as "boring" and "unexciting" from the start of the
tourney. And those words aren't entirely wrong. Both teams were poor in their
group stage matches, even worse in the Round of 16 (England only), and abysmal
in the Quarter-Finals. But in the Semis? England did not mess about.
Xavi Simons may have scored in the first
10 minutes of the game, but that was the only highlight the Dutch side had.
Once the game restarted, the odds were against them. Especially in the 18th
minute, after England were awarded a penalty and KANE SCORED IT!!! It was a
controversial moment of the game, but it was a penalty. YOU DO NOT MAKE A
TACKLE LIKE THAT!
Then the game went on as usual, with the
score being 1-1, and England having beautiful possession based game plan with
amazing chances.
And then the moment came. 91st minute,
stoppage time. The new sub just entered the pitch. He was a pretty good player
for his team in the 2023/24 season. The ball is given to him. He turns around,
makes a move. He shoots... AND HE SCORES!!!
ASTON VILLA'S OLLIE WATKINS IN THE 91st
MINUTE TO SEND ENGLAND IN THE FINAL OF EURO 2024!!! OH MY GOODNESS GRACIOUS,
YOU CAN'T MAKE THIS UP!!! THIS IS WHAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF!!!
FINAL
And at long last, after a long and
painful Euros (mainly due to how boring and uninteresting it was to watch), the
stage is set for the biggest game: Spain vs. England.
Spain has been on a rampage this whole
summer. Tearing teams left and right with no remorse whatsoever, especially
that young lad Yamal. At 16 years of age, he's simply amazing. Spain's future
is looking hella bright.
On the other corner, England were
"the team of all time". Scraping themselves to reach the final, with
the only good game they had was the one against The Netherlands. I mean, I just
don't have the energy to talk about their shitty performance in the tournament.
It was pathetic.
I was originally going to post
"It's coming home", if they won it, but nah. They didn't. The final
itself was a joke. Spain made England look like chumps. Palmer's contribution
was unnecessary. The Matadors DOMINATED the field.
Felicitaciones
a España por ganar la EURO 2024. ¡¡¡Te lo merecías!!!
FINAL WORDS
Final words...
This tournament was shit to watch. I
cannot stress that enough. It was bad! Mediocre isn't a suitable adjective to
describe it. The only good things it provided were Spain and Own Goals winning
the Golden Boot (with 10 goals scored). The big names dropped off early (such
as Croatia and Italy for example), France were horrid, England making it to the
final by pure luck... I just can't.
I'm back to counting down the days until
the Prem starts. And of course publishing some writings for the time being.
Stay safe and hydrated!
Until next time
Ѓорѓи "GioGio" Илиев
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