Berlin.-Only two places remain to be decided to complete the quarter-finals of the European Championship in Germany.
On Monday, Portugal eliminated Slovenia on penalties in a duel that made Diogo Costa the hero. After 120 minutes of equal play, the tie was decided on penalties, where the goalkeeper had an unforgettable night at Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, deflecting shots from Ilicic, Balkovec and Verbic to maintain their unbeaten record and allowing Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva to celebrate their executions and take the team led by Roberto Martínez to the next phase.
The one who had a performance to forget was CR7 himself, who has yet to score in the tournament and had the opportunity to seal qualification in extra time, but could not break Jan Oblak’s resistance when he had a controversial penalty to give his team the victory. In any case, he showed his personality by taking charge of the first shot of the shootout, which he completed with an apology after crying inconsolably when he thought that luck was against him.
In the first round, France also had to suffer, because the Le Bleu team had to resort to the solvency of Mike Maignan to defuse the danger posed by Romelu Lukaku and Kevin de Bruyne at the end of their match against Belgium.
Didier Deschamps’ side were only able to seal victory five minutes from time, when Kolo Muani’s shot deflected off a defender and threw Casteels off balance. A victory that did not convince, but served to keep them in the race for their third Euro title (1984 and 2000 were the other victories for the French).
The next round will see a rematch of the 2016 edition, when the Portuguese defeated France and took the most coveted title in the Old Continent. Without a doubt, the French will be looking for revenge.
Yesterday, Rodri’s leadership was key to lifting Spain from its first moment of uncertainty, Fabián Ruiz’s class in scoring and assisting, Lamine Yamal’s display of personality and Nico Williams’ strike unleashed the forcefulness to overcome the warlike Georgia in the round of 16 and avoid the surprise so that Luis de la Fuente’s team can advance in the continental competition. The Iberian team will have to face Germany in what will be a duel of candidates that will allow them to take advantage of the license to dream.
The German side continue to make steady progress in the Euros and have reaffirmed their status as contenders. On Saturday, they put on an attractive show that was characterised by controversy. In any case, Julian Nagelsmann’s men closed out a 2-0 win against Denmark at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund with goals from Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala to wait with their teeth sharpened for La Furia.
The other match that is confirmed is between England and Switzerland. The British had to suffer more than they imagined to beat Slovakia, as Ivan Schranz had given the Italian Francesco Calzona’s men the lead; but Jude Bellingham’s talent prevented the Slovak miracle in the fifth minute of added time to draw the match and take the match to extra time. And when the action resumed, Harry Kane sealed the 2-1 scoreline so that Gareth Southgate’s team won again without convincing.
The Swiss, on the other hand, struck a blow against Italy at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. With goals from Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas, Murat Yakin’s men imposed the conditions to defeat Luciano Spalletti’s Azzurri, which meant another failure for La Nazionale. The four-time world champions’ crisis became even greater and showed that winning the Euro 2020 was an oasis in the desert.
Since the World Cup hosted by Germany in 2006, Italy has been experiencing a series of disappointments. It was eliminated in the group stage in South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014 and did not qualify for the World Cups in Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022.
The rest of the draw will be decided on Tuesday, when the Netherlands play Romania and Austria face Turkey. There is still room for two more teams in the last eight, Infobae.
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2024-07-06 00:38:53