Few in the history of the game have had the desire to score possessed by Cristiano Ronaldo. Unfortunately for the Portugal captain, his defense his currently scoring more than him against Germany.
Ronaldo’s early goal was erased by a pair of own goals as Germany led 2-1 at the half of their enthralling Group F match on Saturday. Germany went on to win 4-2.
Week 1 of 4 of Euro 2020 brought plenty of goal-mouth action, but also some disappointing performances — especially from some tournament favorites.
While we're only just starting the second matchday of the group stage, it is never too early to make some broad and definitive conclusions about the action that has taken place thus far.
Here are the biggest things I noticed from the opening week of the Euros.
The pre-tourney favorites have been underwhelming — except for Italy (and maybe Belgium)
América y Europa, dos continentes que viven el fútbol de manera distinta. Pasión de los hinchas o el fútbol de constelaciones y estrellas. La espontaneidad o la organización desmedida. La humildad o el lujo donde sobran los millones. Improvisación o coordinación. Pasantía o tesis de doctorado. Sueño o consagración.
El Océano Atlántico separa el nuevo del viejo continente. Unos 7.000 kilómetros de distancia corroboran las diferencias políticas, económicas, culturales y sociales que existen entre ambos. El fútbol no escapa a eso.
Quienes querían un partido lleno de acción seguro terminaron satisfechos luego de ver el clásico europeo entre Alemania y Francia. Hubo goles (válidos y anulados), un momento de intimidad entre Antonio Rüdiger y Paul Pogba, un activista de Greenpeace cayendo en paracaídas sobre el campo y, por supuesto, vimos a Joachim Löw con esa vieja y maldita costumbre de olerse los dedos después de habérselos metido quién sabe dónde.
Joachim Low is BACK pic.twitter.com/YOSo6HL9Uy
The highly anticipated Group F showdown between France and Germany finished with the same score line as when these sides met in the 2014 World Cup quarterfinals and had the identical sole goal scorer. This time around the French came away with the 1-0 victory. One question many fans are asking though is: Did Rudiger bite Pogba?
Moments before the first half ended some legend working on the camera crew caught this intimate moment between Antonio Rudiger and Paul Pogba.
Soccer's European Championship kicks off on Friday with the 24 teams' battle for glory accompanied by off-field conflict over the anti-racism gesture of "taking the knee".
England were booed by some of their fans in two friendlies while Ireland were jeered in Hungary for kneeling before kickoff in a move borrowed from American NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick and popularised by the Black Lives Matter movement.
The build-up to every major international tournament is the same: who has the best striker? Or, this is why x midfielder is going to dominate or why this winger is the key to this country getting out of its group.
But no one ever talks about the goalkeepers. In such a short tournament, where three matches decide a team's fate, the importance of the goalkeeper becomes magnified.
So let's give the goalkeepers the spotlight for a little bit, because often they're the ones that end up deciding the tournament.
Si bien la Copa América todavía es una incógnita, tranquilos, muchachos, que este verano no hay sequía de fútbol. De hecho, el próximo viernes 11 de junio comienza la Euro 2020.
Sí, 2020 en 2021, porque ya saben: Covid-19.
El torneo se jugará en 11 ciudades del Viejo Continente y por segunda vez en su historia tendrá 24 selecciones participantes. ¿Quiénes son? ¿Cuáles son los grupos? ¿Cuándo son los partidos? ¿Dónde puedo verlos? Bueno, todo lo que necesitas saber está aquí.
With no due respect to the Concacaf Nations League, meaningful international soccer returns from a Covid-induced hiatus with Euro 2020, slated for June 11 to July 11. Hosted in 11 cities across Europe, the European Championship will mark the first major international tournament since the Covid-19 pandemic struck the planet. Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch Euro 2020 in the U.S., from TV to streaming.
Seville has replaced Bilbao as a host city for Euro 2020 with St. Petersburg in Russia, already a host venue, taking the three group stage games from Dublin, UEFA said on Friday.
Wembley Stadium in London has gained the Irish capital's last-16 match, taking its total number of fixtures to eight, which include the semifinals and final.