Adamo Marinelli
July 26th, 2021
At the end of the group stage of the EURO 2020 tournament, there have been a lot of fantastic games and a lot of surprises. Some teams that were expected to qualify for the group stage did so easily. Some teams that qualified for the group stage made it a little bit hard on themselves. Also, some teams fell short of the group stage but still had a memorable tournament. Here’s what we have learned so far and who the contenders to win it all are.
In group A, Italy finished first place with three wins, zero draws, and zero losses totaling nine points. They scored seven goals and conceded none and have won 30 consecutive matches, 11 straight without conceding a goal. Mancini’s squad is filled with talent at every position and they are a threat to win the Euros. They won 3-0 twice in this tournament, a feat they have not done once at any other Euro tournament.
Wales finished second place with one win, one draw, and one loss, totaling four points. They had a good tournament and gave Italy a run for their money in matchday three. They did not score very much, marking three goals, but played great defense only allowing two. Garreth Bale was exceptional for Wales in all three matches.
Switzerland finished in third place with one win, one draw, and one loss, totaling four points. Switzerland had the worst goal differential and lost the tiebreaker. Xherdan Shaqiri was the hero for the Swiss in the third match, scoring two goals to give them a much-needed win to finish third.
Turkey finished last in the group, with zero wins, zero draws, and three losses. They were a dark horse contender with their strong defensive core but unfortunately couldn’t execute their defensive gameplan in the tournament and conceded seven goals.
In group B, Belgium finished first place with three wins, zero draws and zero losses, totaling nine points. There was never any doubt that Belgium, one of the favorites to win the Euros would win this group. Romelu Lukaku was the all-star in a fantastic Belgium offense, which scored seven goals and generated plenty of chances.
Denmark finished second place with one win, zero draws, and two losses, totaling three points. This is phenomenal considering they played without Christian Eriksen, who suffered cardiac arrest in the first match. They played well in both losses, losing a close 1-0 game to Finland and a close 2-1 game against Belgium. They played very well in their 4-1 win.
Finland finished third in their group with one win, zero draws, and two losses, totaling three points. Their goal differential was worse than Denmark’s but better than Russia’s so they claimed third place. Finland won their first game but lost their next two. They were quiet offensively scoring only one goal, but they only conceded three.
Russia finished last in the group with one win, zero draws and two losses totalling three points, but had the worst goal differential of -5 and thus finished last in the group. Their offense was quiet, only scoring two goals and their defense could not hold up, allowing seven. They were expected to make some noise but ultimately fell short.
In group C, the Netherlands finished first in their group by winning all three of their matches - two in convincing fashion - and finished the group stage with nine points. They scored the most goals at the tournament, tallying eight, but surrendered two against Ukraine. They are phenomenal all over their roster and despite not being a favourite at the beginning of the tournament, they cannot be taken lightly.
Austria - another mid-tier team that did not have many expectations - was another team that surprised many people. They finished with two wins, zero draws, and one loss, totaling six points. In both of their wins, they played well, dominating possession time, shots, and shots on target. Despite controlling possession against the Netherlands they were outshot and out-chanced which led to a 2-0 loss. They will have a tough test against higher-tier opponents.
Ukraine, thanks to their one win against North Macedonia were able to clinch third place in their group despite losses to Austria and the Netherlands. They played well against the Netherlands tying the game 2-2 before conceding a late goal. They lost a close game to Austria and dominated North Macedonia in their lone win.
North Macedonia in their first-ever EURO tournament finished last in their group with no wins, no draws, and three losses. With no real expectations, they gave it their all in all three matches but simply got outplayed and outmatched. What a great career from Goran Pandev.
In group D, England won the group after recording two wins, one draw, and two losses, totaling seven points. England played very close games, scoring two goals and conceding none - one of only two teams to do so in the tournament. They drew 0-0 against Scotland and won 1-0 against Croatia and the Czech Republic. They relied on their strong defense and transition game to win.
Croatia finished second in their group with one win, one draw, and one loss, totaling four points. They ended up qualifying for the round of 16, but after recording a loss and a draw in their first two games, needed a win in their last. Croatia dominated possession time, controlled the pace of the game, and created more scoring chances than Scotland in a 3-1 win after being evenly matched in their first two games - both in shots and possession time.
The Czech Republic finished third in their group with one win, one draw, and one loss, totaling four points. Both Croatia and the Czech Republic had a goal differential of one, but Croatia had one more goal for, which was the tiebreaker. The Czech played incredibly well in all three of their matches, even in their loss to England: they played good defense and kept games close. The highlight of their tournament so far is definitely the half-field goal from Patrick Schick.
Scotland finished last in the group with zero wins, one draw, and two losses, totaling one point. They had a lot of expectations entering the tournament, but could not execute on either side of the ball. Their best game was a 0-0 draw against England where they played excellent defense, outshot England offensively, and limited England to only one shot on target. In their loss to the Czechs, they controlled possession time, but mistakes hurt them - they were outplayed and out-chanced offensively against Croatia.
In group E, Sweden took first place in a dominant performance, recording two wins, one draw, and zero losses for seven points. After a draw against Spain, Sweden dominated both Slovakia and Poland in chances and shots on goal despite losing the possession battle. They defended well and made each of their possessions count. They had four goals for, two against.
Spain finished second in the group with one win, two draws, and zero losses, totaling five points. They are a team that was expected to win this group, given their past success. They played excellent defensive football in their first two games, a 0-0 and 1-1 draw. In their last game, they dominated Slovakia 5-0. A strong defensive game, great passing, and a fantastic transition attack helped them cruise to victory. They will be a challenge in the round of 16.
Slovakia finished third in their group with one win, zero draws, and two losses totaling three points. They played well in their 2-1 win against Poland and despite getting outshot and losing the possession battle, played good defense and limited Poland’s shots on target. They kept the game close against Sweden, despite losing 1-0. Against Spain, they stood no chance, losing 5-0. They scored two goals, conceded seven. Their defense played well - just not against Spain.
Poland finished fourth in their group, with zero wins, one draw, and two losses, totaling one point. Despite getting outmatched in every game, they played decent football in all three games. They scored four goals and conceded only six in a group with a lot of talent. Their international football future looks pretty good.
In group F, arguably the most competitive group in the tournament, France finished first place with one win, two draws, and zero losses, totaling five points. No team in this group had more than one win, which says a lot about the talent in this group. France showed why they are one of the best teams in football, with their excellent defense and their ability to get scoring and offensive chances from everyone on their roster. They beat Germany 1-0 and tied against Hungary 1-1 and Portugal 2-2.
Germany finished second in the group with one win, one loss, and one draw totaling four points. It took them a late goal to force a 2-2 draw against Hungary to clinch their spot in the round of 16. Germany played great football, winning the possession battle in all three games, playing excellent defense, and relying on their transition game to create scoring chances. Germany and Portugal both had a goal difference of one, but Germany’s win over Portugal was
the tiebreaker.
Portugal finished third in the group with one win, one draw, and one loss, totaling four points. Portugal was able to score a lot of goals thanks to their talent on offense, particularly Christiano Ronaldo, who is tied for the most international goals with 109. Some were from the penalty spot, but a goal is a goal. Their fast-paced offense and ability to create scoring chances with their passing and their ability to open up the field with their formation helps them win games.
Hungary finished last in the group with zero wins, two draws, and one loss, totaling two points. Nobody gave them a chance in this overpowered group but they proved a lot of people wrong. After losing to Portugal 3-0 in their opener, they tightened up their defense, adjusted their schemes and they played very well against France and Germany, tying both games 1-1 and 2-2 respectively. They lost the possession time battle in both games but their defense limited scoring chances.
Teams like Italy, France, England, Portugal, and Germany met their expectations and easily qualified for the round of 16.
Teams like the Netherlands, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, and Spain all exceeded their expectations and qualified for the round of 16 despite not all of them being favoured to make the knockout round.
Teams like Turkey, Russia, North Macedonia, Poland, and Hungary all failed to execute their game plans and did not qualify for the knockout stage.
With all of that said, the round of 16 matchups are set. I believe that Denmark will beat Wales, Italy will beat Austria, the Netherlands will beat the Czech Republic, Croatia will beat Spain, Germany will beat England, Portugal will beat Belgium, France will beat Switzerland and Sweden will beat Ukraine.
In the quarters, I believe Italy will squeak by Portugal, France will defeat Croatia, Germany will defeat Sweden and the Netherlands will defeat Denmark.
In the semi-finals, I believe Italy will win in penalties after a 0-0 draw with France to advance to the Finals against the Netherlands who will upset Germany 2-1.
In the finals, I believe Italy will defeat the Netherlands 2-0 to win their first European Championship since 1968. Italy extends their win streak to 34 games, 15 without surrendering a goal. Mancini’s side is very talented all over their roster and are one the favourites to win the tournament.
The knockout stage is going to be very exciting with a lot of talented teams going head-to-head.
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