In the round of 16 of the European Championship, there are still four games left, Portugal, France and Belgium, three traditional giants, will appear one after another, and these are the last two games in the first half. France and Belgium are arguably Euro disappointments, and if they don't finish top of their group, a clash of strong forces is inevitable, and they could meet Portugal, Spain or Germany before reaching the final.
In the four knockout matches of the European Championship that have ended, Germany and Switzerland in Group A, Spain in Group B, and England in Group C have all advanced to the quarterfinals, and three of them are the top teams in the group. It can be seen that although the European Championship has been expanded to 24 teams, it is not difficult to qualify for the group, but if you want to go further, you must strive for a better ranking in the group stage. It is still very important to be first in the group.
The meeting between France and Belgium illustrates this point, and perhaps it also reflects the charm of the European Championships. France and the Netherlands, like the qualifiers, were once again in the same group as they were in the same group, and unexpectedly, Manchester United abandoned Austria led by coach Rangnick to beat the two giants to win the first place in the group. France were relegated to second place, while the Netherlands had to finish third in their better group to qualify for the knockout rounds.
The situation was similar for Belgium, with an "unexpected" defeat in the first game, and the giants were suddenly in trouble. A win and a draw made the group an interesting one, with all four teams tied on four points and only ranked on goal difference and goals scored. In the end, Romania topped the group, Belgium followed France in second place, Slovakia finished third on goal difference and progressed, while Ukraine could not progress from the group even with four points.
As a result, France and Belgium, the two second-placed teams in their groups, can only meet in advance in the round of 16 of the knockout round. The two teams are in trouble, and too few goals are an important factor. France had just one own goal and one penalty, while Belgium had scored zero goals in two of their group games, and out of 24 teams, only Serbia had fewer goals than either team. Such statistics are really surprising, especially in France, although Mbappe is injured, but the whole team is difficult to score, how to win the championship?
Therefore, if you don't win the group, the road ahead will be even more difficult. France and Belgium, two teams that have not scored a goal, with the current situation, it is possible to win or lose, although France will have a better chance of winning. The winner of both teams will face the winners of Portugal and Slovenia in the quarterfinals, although Ronaldo's goalscoring ability has declined, but he is willing to be a green leaf and assist his teammates, the former European champions, it will not be too difficult to beat the opponent.
France vs Belgium and Portugal vs Slovenia will see a place in the semi-finals, with the winner between hosts Germany and in-form Spain depending on the schedule. Many "strong teams" are clustered in the top half, which is similar to last season's Champions League.
The European Championship seems to be getting more and more interesting.