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
Just when it looked like Croatia was lacking the spirit and edge it showed in 1998 and 2018, just when it looked like Scotland might steal one and finally advance out of the group stage, Croatia’s talisman and captain stepped up. The record-setting Luka Modrić goal vs Scotland confirmed his side’s place in the last 16 of Euro 2020 and helped Croatia secure a 3-1 victory in the Group D finale on Tuesday at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
El plan de Escocia para seguir con vida en su primera Euro desde 1996 era simple en el papel: ganarle a Croacia en Glasgow, jugando en casa. ¿El gran obstáculo? Un tal Luka Modric.
Para combatirlo, Escocia tenía que bloquear su genio, amarrar su imaginación y encontrarle antídoto a su magia. Y no vamos a decir que no lo intentó, pero al final del día el "10" croata terminó desatando el mismo talento con que ganó el Balón de Oro 2018, dejando a Escocia varada en una orilla, abandonada a sus miserias.
Scotland scored in a major tournament for the first time in my 22 years on this planet. The Scots finally found the back of the net through Callum McGregor in their third, and final, game at Euro 2020 in a 3-1 defeat to Croatia. This Scotland goal vs Croatia was a historic moment for the small nation.
CALLUM MCGREGOR
On his WEAK foot he scores Scotland's first Euro goal in 25 years pic.twitter.com/X79Z63hoof
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.
Apenas Gareth Southgate anunció la alineación titular para el Inglaterra vs Croacia, en la Euro 2020, la crítica de los fans se hizo notar. Entre los reclamos, uno de los más recurrentes era sobre la inclusión de Kalvin Phillips y Raheem Sterling en vez de jugadores más de moda como Jadon Sancho. La apuesta, sin embargo, le dio buenos resultados al entrenador: Phillips y Sterling se combinaron para anotar el único gol del partido.
LONDON — Raheem Sterling finally found his tournament touch when his goal gave England a deserved 1-0 win over Croatia at Wembley on Sunday as they began a European Championship with a victory for the first time in nine attempts.
Sterling, something of a surprise starter after a flat end to the domestic season but a favourite of manager Gareth Southgate, slid home a 61st-minute shot after great work by Kalvin Phillips to end an individual drought that had run through England’s three previous major tournaments.
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.