Romania vs. Switzerland ended 1-1 after a frenetic and entertaining battle. Romania took a shock lead through another penalty by Bogdan Stancu, but the Swiss pegged them back in the second half on the back of an absolute stunner by Admir Mehmedi. Switzerland dominated the match for large periods, but their final ball was well below par and they wasted a multitude of good opportunities, while Romania threatened often on the break.
Russia vs. Slovakia ended 2-1 in favor of Slovakia as two moments of Marek Hamsik magic gave the small nation their first European Championship victory. It was a massive three points for Slovakia, and it mounts pressure on England in Group B as they get set to take on Wales tomorrow.
The game started out slow, as both teams fought for control in the midfield. As such, neither team really had any clear cut opportunities. Fedor Smolov came close with a low drive that went just wide, while Marek Hamsik came close with a dipping volley.
Birkir Bjarnason's goal wasn't a rocket from 30 yards out or a bicycle kick, but it was a goal that was Iceland's first international tournament goal ever. As about 10% of Iceland's population watched from the stands in Saint-Etienne, the "Ice Men" stole a point from a favored Portugal team. A special moment for this country no doubt, but their special moments may just be starting as the team demonstrated how they can perform on a big stage. Being down 1-0 at halftime, they responded just 5 minutes after the break with a historic goal from Birkir Bjarnason.
The result is official. Portugal have lost to tied with Iceland 1-1. It’s a result that somehow isn’t surprising but doesn’t make any sense at the same time.
Euro 2016 is well underway as we approach the end of the first round of group matches, and there have been some engrossing storylines so far. We here at The18 took a look at some of the highlights and surprising moments from the past week across France.
Dimitri Payet
In case you missed it, a video surfaced earlier this week of Germany coach Jogi Low scratching his crotch then sniffing his hand during Germany's 2-0 win against Ukraine. It was very funny and led to some content for some websites for which we are very grateful. But there's more.
Apparently, this was not an isolated incident.
Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is one of the world's most coordinated humans. The 38-year-old stops soccer balls with his appendages for a living. He is a professional coordinated person. He bosses the net for Juventus, and set a record this season for most consecutive minutes in goal in Serie A without being scored on.
After Italy upended Belgium at Euro 2016, though, Buffon was not quite as coordinated as usual. Just take a look.
Euro 2016 has made a remarkable number of headlines because of fan violence. UEFA has already threatened to boot England and Russia out of the tournament because of hooliganism. Luckily, there is one nation that brought fans who appear to be partaking in the Euros as a celebration of soccer and not an excuse to throw chairs at people: Ireland.
Yes, that Ireland. The Ireland whose citizens are famous for doing things like drunkenly throwing chairs and punching people.
Or, at least, Ireland brought Irish people on as good of behavior as Irish people can be on.
Ukraine was unlikely to beat Germany when they faced off in the first round of group play at Euro 2016 last weekend, but their struggles weren’t supposed to be this cruel. Ukraine played very well against Germany, and Germany quite honestly were boring, controlling the game with long spells of tepid possession. Still, Germany won 2-0.
Italy have defeated Belgium 2-0, and can you hear that? That deafening silence? That’s the rest of Europe coming to terms with the fact that Italy are once again a team to be reckoned with at a major tournament.