The end of the group stage at a major international tournament is always a bittersweet moment. No longer are we treated to a feast of two-to-four matches per day, but with the knockout rounds beginning you’re left with the best teams going head-to-head in win-or-go-home matches. With that in mind, here are The18’s Euro 2020 Round of 16 predictions for the eight matches we can’t wait to watch.
The European Championship is entering its knockout phase and the following is an overview of the remaining 16 teams:
AUSTRIA
Una espontánea saltó al campo de juego en medio del Bélgica vs Finlandia, en la Euro 2020. Vistiendo un top negro, la invasora tenía como misión promocionar WTF Coin, una de las 634.789 compañías (sí, es un número aleatorio) que tratan de convencer al mundo que las criptomonedas son la gran cosa.
Rápidamente, los agentes de seguridad del Gazprom Arena, en San Petersburgo, la tomaron y le mostraron el camino de salida.
On Monday, an unreal 90 minutes unfolded that will be remembered by Danish fans forever. For Denmark to finish second in Euro 2020 Group B, the Danes needed a victory against Russia, Belgium to defeat Finland and some help on goal differential.
Belgium did its part against Finland in St. Petersburg.
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)
Ever since Cristiano Ronaldo moved those two Coca-Cola bottles on Monday, the Euro 2020 press conferences have been filled with weird bottle antics. This is by far the weirdest trend I’ve ever seen that will be one of the big stories of these Euros.
Denmark, playing with all the verve and commitment that comes with paying tribute to a fallen talisman, played just about the perfect first half against No. 1-ranked Belgium on Thursday. Then Roberto Martínez pulled out his trump card and it became apparent why Belgium is ranked as the best team in the world.
El Parken Stadium de Copenhague hoy fue una gran olla de emociones. Dinamarca volvió a salir a un campo de juego tras el desgarrador paro cardíaco que afectó a Christian Eriksen, el sábado 12 de junio, para enfrentar a Bélgica, y casi toda la energía que brotaba en las tribunas fue para rendir tributo al futbolista, que hoy se recupera en el Rigshospitalet de la capital danesa.
On Wednesday, Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku announced that his team planned to kick the ball out of play in the 10th minute of the game against Denmark to pay tribute to Christian Eriksen. The Eriksen tenth minute moment on Thursday was as beautiful as you could imagine.
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.