In the early hours of this morning, the last two group matches of Euro 2024 have ended, so far all the matches in the group stage of the European Championship have been settled, and the list of the last 16 of the European Championship has also been officially released. Georgia impressed us in the final round of the group stage, beating Portugal 2-0 to advance to the round of 16 in the last minute. This small football country participated in the main match of the European Championship for the first time in history, and the team advanced to the knockout stage for the first time in the European Championship, successfully playing the role of a dark horse.
On the final day of the group stage, the most eye-catching is undoubtedly Group E. At the end of the first two rounds, the 4 teams all had one win and one loss and accumulated 3 points, which made the situation of qualifying for the group confusing. Whoever wins in the final round advances, who loses and who goes out, and if it's a draw, then the goal difference of the four teams needs to be compared. After the first two rounds, Group E is ranked by Romania, Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine. It was thought that Belgium would advance to the knockout stage as the group leader, but after 90 minutes of competition, Belgium did not knock on the door of Ukraine, and the two sides ended 0-0. In the other game, Romania and Slovakia also drew together, resulting in a three-round tie and four teams with four points, and finally Ukraine was eliminated due to goal difference.
In Group F, Turkey beat the Czech Republic 2-1 thanks to Tosson's stoppage-time goal to qualify for the round of 16 as group runners-up. In the other match of Group F, Portugal, who had already advanced to the first place in the group, lost a surprise 0-2 to Georgia. Georgia, who had looked like they had no hope of qualifying, relied on this hard-earned victory to advance to the round of 16 with the best four group results. In the end, Georgia, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Slovenia became the four best teams in the group of this European Championship and advanced to the knockout round, while Hungary missed out on goal difference and missed the round of 16.
At this point, the round of 16 of the European Cup has all been released, due to Georgia's "unexpected qualification", the original high probability of the 1/8 finals England and the Netherlands will not come, and the European powers are evenly distributed in each quarter. However, in contrast, the upper half of the region is home to Spain, Germany, Portugal, France and Belgium, and the smell of death is even stronger. If there is no upset, the top 8 battle will stage a number of giant showdowns where Mars collides with the earth.
Compared with dark horses such as Slovenia and Georgia, the "death half" created by Germany, Spain, France, Portugal, and Belgium is full of suspense and expectations. The German team, as the host of this European Cup, has always been the favorite to win the championship with its strong strength and deep heritage. They have a group of world-class players, such as Kroos, Wirtz, Gundogan, etc., and the tacit cooperation and outstanding performance of these players make the German team full of offensive firepower. At the same time, the German team is also very solid defensively, and they have made it all the way to the round of 16 with their strong overall strength and team understanding.
Belgium, who had high hopes, could only finish second in the group after a draw in the final round and were in the top half of the group, against France, who were also less than satisfactory in the group stage. A sullen draw sealed Belgium's group stage, and they were sent to play France in the top half of the table against Ukraine, and the European Red Devils were truly disappointing. The game was played with both sides on a five-to-five basis for most of the game, with Belgium only creating one real chance. The world's third-ranked team started playing backcourt after 80 minutes, causing fans from afar to boo the team after the game.
Although Belgium's golden generation has gradually withered, with stars such as De Bruyne, Lukaku, Doku and Trossard, Belgium should not play so badly in the group stage. However, such a team that is not bad on paper lost their hearts in the group stage, being beaten by Slovakia in their opening game and lacking the back of the net against Ukraine in the final round, a far cry from when they reached the semi-finals of the World Cup six years ago. Next, they had to meet France in the 1/8 finals in advance, although France did not finish first in the group stage, they are still the favorites to win the championship.
The other two teams in the top half of the death zone are Spain and Portugal, and their opponents are the two dark horse teams of Georgia and Slovenia. Young Spain were in the group of death at this tournament, but they beat Croatia by a narrow goal to beat Italy and Albania in the group stage to advance to the knockout rounds, and they were the only team to win all three games in the group stage. In this European Championship, the Spanish team showed strong attacking ability and stable defensive performance, and they successfully reached the round of 16 with the tacit cooperation of the team and excellent tactical execution. As Georgia, who advanced to the knockout stage of the European Championship for the first time, I don't know if they can continue to play the dark horse.
Portugal were confirmed to be top of the group after the first two games of the group stage, so they fielded players who had not played before in the final round, but Georgia did not give up as they beat Portugal 2-0 under their star Kvaratskhelia, and Portugal paid the price for their dismiss. It is worth mentioning that this is also the first time that Georgia have beaten Portugal in an official match. Portugal will face Slovenia in the quarter-finals, who have drawn all three of their group stage matches, including a draw against England in the final round. So Portugal should be careful and watch out for Slovenia to drag the game into a penalty shoot-out, after all, they have the experienced Oblak in goalkeeper.
In addition to these five strong teams, the teams in the bottom half should not be underestimated. England, Italy, the Netherlands and other traditional powerhouses will all be in the bottom half of the battle. Compared to the top half of the death zone, the competition in the second half is obviously not so cruel, and England is a standout and the most favored team. However, England's current form is also worrying, with only one win and two draws in the group stage, but so far Southgate has not found the ideal starting 11 and is about to enter the knockout stage, leaving England with no chance to try.
There is never a shortage of upsets in international competitions, and there is never a shortage of famous scenes in the knockout rounds, and the knockout rounds of the European Championship will officially kick off in two days. Whether it is the head-to-head battle between France and Belgium, or the seemingly disparity in strength between Spain and Georgia, it will bring us a wonderful match. The clarion call for the knockout round of the European Championship is about to sound, and for the 16 teams, every game is a battle of life and death, and every game requires them to show their best competitive condition, and the most exciting European Championship is about to be staged.
Attached: List and date of the round of 16 of the European Cup (Beijing time)
Upper District:
June 30 03:00, Germany vs Denmark
03:00 on July 1, Spain vs Georgia
July 2 at 00:00, France vs Belgium
03:00 on July 2, Portugal vs Slovenia
Lower Half District:
June 30 00:00, Switzerland vs Italy
July 1 at 00:00, England vs Slovakia
July 3 at 00:00, Romania vs Netherlands
At 03:00 on July 3, Austria vs Turkey