Euro 2020 Round of 16 Round-Up

As we now move swiftly onto the quarter-finals we can proudly say that after these 8 games that this European Championship 2020 will be amongst one of the greatest Euro tournaments ever.

Denmark vs Wales

We begin at the first game in the round of 16 and it was a clear sign that this part of the tournament was only going to get better, after a 4-0 thrashing from the Denmark side. Wales seemed to be at their worst as they were out-classed in almost every way against a Denmark side that also could’ve been seen as not at their best as they did not have their talisman on the pitch sadly. But they were able to show that they can do very well with or without, and were able to go against what the public may have predicted massively.

Denmark’s Next Match: Czech Republic 

Italy vs Austria

Almost every game in this tournament was a surprise and this was one too, although the favourites were able to go through from this match after a 2-1 Italy win, Austria was able to put up an amazing fight and bring it right down to the 90th minute and then keep it on for a further 30 minutes during extra time but was just not able to hold on for any longer against one of the tournament favourite sides. Italy will now face Belgium in the Quarter Finals making it one of the biggest match-ups this tournament has to offer. 

Italy’s Next Match: Belgium

Netherlands vs Czech Republic

Netherlands must be shocked and amazed as to how this game turned out as they entered the game as favourites but the tides were all shifted after a deliberate handball from Matthijs De Ligt which got him sent off and causing all hell to break loose for both sides. Alarm bells were ringing in the backline for the Netherlands as Czech Republic found it easy to pounce upon and breakthrough their opponents and score two goals which were enough to push them through into the Quarter Finals.

Czech Republic’s Next Match: Denmark

Belgium vs Portugal

Alongside the England vs Germany match, this was one of the craziest games as we were guaranteed that a possible winner of the tournament would be knocked out, and wow, did both teams put up a fight as they fought until the final whistle with tensions as high for as long as can be. But Portugal was the first to blink and was taken over by Belgium who was able to score a great goal and retain this lead throughout the match. They, however, were challenged immensely by Portugal but they were able just to do enough to be able to push through. 

Belgium’s Next Match: Italy

Croatia vs Spain 

This game is most definitely in the talk of the Game of The Tournament after how crazy and how ‘topsy-turvy’ the game was. The game began well for both sides until a poor own goal was scored when a backpass was not able to be taken control of by the Spain Goalkeeper, allowing the ball to just roll through into the net. This had instantaneously put the Spaniards at a disadvantage but they were quick to reply with a goal of their own with a nice finish from Pablo Sarabia. Towards the 85th minute Spain was leading 3-1 but that was not the ending scoreline, within these last 10 minutes Croatia was able to score two very much-needed goals to at least push the team into extra time with goals from Mislav Orsic and Mario Pasalic.

The extra time however was not enough to allow Croatia to win and had sadly conceded two goals to stop themselves from progressing any further.

Spain’s Next Match: Switzerland

Switzerland vs France 

This game was the largest surprise of this round and probably the tournament after France had taken a shock exit against Switzerland. Maybe, France did play well but not up to the standard of a country that won the World Cup, they started poorly after they conceded to a strong header from clinical Haris Seferovic. Within 15 minutes of the second half, the game had switched sides and was now looking the way it seemed that it was meant to be straight from the off as France led 3-1 until the 81st minute where the same striker was able to rejuvenate their country for these last 10 minutes with a great goal.

By the full-time whistle, the game was 3-3, through an amazing goal which was enough to push them into extra time where they could beat the World Cup Winners. Tensions were high throughout the thirty minutes and you could see that as no country wanted to be the first to blink so they played it out and were not able to score a goal for either country leading the game into a penalty shootout. The pressure must’ve been immense for these players as this was their entire country relying on them to score and sadly it seems that Kylian Mbappe was the one to let his country down after missing his penalty allowing Switzerland to go through into the Quarter Finals. 

Switzerland’s Next Match: Spain 

England vs Germany

IT'S COMING HOME! England had one of the harder games this round of 16 as they took on Germany, and wow, let's just say this match shows why Football is called The Beautiful Game. Passion, Tension, and Skill, all of this mixed into one match would’ve surely caused it to be one of the greatest matches of the tournament, and it did not disappoint, as both teams had been in a stalemate until the latter stage of the match where England was able to hold on and score two important goals from Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane which was enough to push their country through against Germany and into the Quarter Finals 

England’s Next Match: Ukraine

Ukraine vs Sweden

You can see how important this tournament is for both countries as they met and fought until the final whistle. Sweden however fell as the defeated team due to an extremely late winner in extra time from Artem Dovbyk which sealed the game off entirely. Swedish fans however would argue that the sending off of their defender, Marcus Danielsson was the main cause for their team losing right at the end. This game was such a balanced match-up that clearly showed that both teams were good enough for each other. 

Ukraine’s Next Match: England