In the quarterfinals of the European Cup, two matches have been completed, the host Germany defeated Denmark by two goals, and the defending champion Italy lost to Switzerland by two goals, and the two teams in Group A successfully entered the quarterfinals. Perhaps, Hungary in Group A failed to qualify for the third place in the group, and Scotland is at the bottom, just because the strength of the team that qualified in this group is really too strong.
Germany, as the host, scored 8 goals in the group stage, which is the strongest scoring ability among the 24 teams, compared to the championship favorite France, with only one own goal and one penalty in 3 games, the gap is a bit big. Germany's face of Nordic powerhouse Denmark in the round of 16 is similar to the opening match, and it is also a wonderful matchup full of elements and worth remembering.
In the first half, due to heavy rain in the stadium, lightning and thunder, and even some particles such as Xiaoice, the two teams had to suspend the game and resume play after almost half an hour. Denmark scored a goal, but Anderson's goal was disallowed for offside by a team-mate.
Soon, Anderson, who almost became the scorer, was awarded a penalty for grazing the ball with his palm in the penalty area, and Havertz, the "big scene", lived up to his expectations and used a very tricky shot to penetrate the gate guarded by Schmeichel and help the team take the lead. Fifteen minutes later, Germany scored another goal to seal the victory, scoring 10 goals in four games and advancing strongly to the quarter-finals, where they will face the winners of Spain and Georgia.
The first match of the round of 16 was played by defending champions Italy and Switzerland. Although Switzerland is not a traditional giant, it has successfully qualified from the group in the past three World Cups, as well as two European Championships, and only lost on penalties in the last European Championship. Therefore, Italy are in big trouble, with a shot on target in the first half, which is the second time in this European Championship that such a bad situation has occurred, and it also foreshadows the fate of the exit.
Italy conceded less than a minute again in the second half, and it seemed to be the same as Albania's fastest goal in European Championship history. The goal was weak, the goal was embarrassing, and Italy was powerless to return to the sky, so it could only declare the failure of defending the title and bid farewell to the European Cup in advance. Looking back at the qualifiers, until the final round barely passed a draw to advance to the main event. And in the final round of the group stage, if it weren't for the goal in the 97 minutes, Italy could only be ranked fifth out of the six group thirds, becoming the team that went out of the group early.
In fact, this Italian national team, I believe it is difficult to count the famous players. In the last final, there were also star players such as Immobile, Insigne, Verratti, Chiellini and Bonucci, although there is still a big gap with superstars such as Piero and Totti. However, the veterans were still able to use the European Championship as a sign of farewell for a generation. Since then, Apennine football has fallen into a vacancy period of renewal, Donnarumma seems to be the only star of the team, listening to the joke of "food delivery is faster than Italy", when will this former king return?
According to the schedule, there are not many giants in the bottom half of the table, the Netherlands against Romania, Austria against Turkey, these four teams will produce a semi-final team, and England against Slovakia, the winner will face the winners of Italy and Switzerland, and the winner will compete for a place in the last four. With Italy's exit from the tournament, it may clear the way for England, who are expected to be "guaranteed" in the last four and perhaps compete with the Netherlands for a place in the final.
Soon, the match between England and Slovakia will be played, and Foden, who left the team briefly a few days ago to accompany his wife to witness the birth of his third son, has returned. As the saying goes, people are in good spirits when they are happy, and I wonder if Foden, who was controversial in the group stage, can take on a new look and hand in a better answer?
England and Slovakia have met twice in qualifying over the past 10 years, winning both times. Eight years ago, in the group stage of the European Championship, the two teams played each other in the group stage. Therefore, some media have revealed that England have quietly taken penalties in special training to prepare for a possible draw. In terms of strength, it should not be difficult for England to advance to the quarterfinals, and it will even be easier than the Netherlands to advance to the semi-finals. It's just that Southgate has a group of excellent attacking players, and how to play better and cover up the deficiencies of defense with attack is the key to England going further.
Historically, England have won two European Championships and runners-up once, and if England can win the title, it will be the first time the team has won the trophy, and it will be the last laugh in a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup. Gareth Southgate has already produced England's best result in the European Championship, and this tournament is expected to go even further.