The group stages of Euro 2024 came to a fittingly dramatic conclusion on Wednesday, as rank outsiders Georgia shocked Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, and secured a place in the knockout stages of the tournament.
At the start of the day, all four sides in Group E started the day on three points, and two draws meant all four finished the day on four points, with Ukraine finishing bottom on goal difference and being eliminated.
Then came the incredible scenes in Gelsenkirchen as Georgia defied odds and expectations by beating the 2016 champions, while Turkey snuck through at the Czech Republic’s expense thanks to a 94th-minute winner.
The Athletic’s writers pick apart the key talking points of Day 13…
So, what does the knockout stage look like?
Lopsided. Most of the big hitters (Spain, Germany, France and Portugal) are on the same half of the draw now, meaning only one of those countries can make the final.
This is partly a result of Didier Deschamps’ side coming second in their group, but also due to the fact that 24-team tournaments (where six third-placed teams advance to the knockout stage) are, by their very nature, conducive to creating imbalanced halves of the knockout stage.
On the ‘easier’ side of the draw, one of Romania, Netherlands, Austria and Turkey is guaranteed to be in the semi-final.
As for England? Well, it remains possible that only Slovakia, Switzerland and Romania stand in their way of a first tournament final on foreign soil.
Will Jeanes
Georgia shock Portugal and make history
In the biggest shock of Euro 2024 so far (at least, according to FIFA world rankings), Georgia defeated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal 2-0 to secure a place in the knockout stages in what is their major tournament debut.
Georgia, ranked 74, took advantage of Roberto Martinez rotating a Portugal team (ranked sixth) who had already qualified top of Group F, scoring in the second minute through the immensely talented Khvicha Kvaratskhelia before Georges Mikautadze converted a second-half penalty.
It’s impossible to imagine how huge a moment this will be for football in the country. The game is growing in popularity in Georgia, where emphasis is placed on developing and nurturing young talent. They hosted the Under-19s Euros in 2017 and then co-hosted the Under 21 Euros with Romania last year.
After their historic qualification in March, Georgia manager Willy Sagnol told The Athletic they were going “to play with ambition” and how his players “didn’t want to go to Germany for shopping or tourism.”
In their three group matches, they certainly did that, playing with bravery and attacking flair. Now their reward is a last-16 tie against the mighty Spain on Sunday in Cologne. It will be a difficult prospect coming up against the only team in the competition with a 100 per cent winning record, but they will certainly approach the game the right way.
Tom Burrows
Georgia’s players and staff celebrate a famous victory (Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Belgium through, but lack of cutting edge will cost them
From arguably the most favourable group in the tournament, Belgium contrived to finish second and will now face tournament favourites France — their behemoth neighbours who crushed their World Cup dreams in 2018.
If only Belgium could steady themselves in and around the box, they would have avoided such a fate, but this match was a reminder that individual talents do not add up to winning teams.
Belgium only mustered one clear chance in the first half when Kevin De Bruyne (who else?) played a perfectly weighted pass to split the defence, but Romelu Lukaku (who else?) scuffed his shot.
The Belgian striker has 85 international goals, but he often has the appearance of a man cursed in front of goal. That theme continued, but the general lack of composure let Ukraine into the game.
The lack of understanding down both wings and between Jeremy Doku and Lukaku was painfully apparent. De Bruyne is doing his best to carry the team as its one remaining superstar, but Lukaku must find his mojo and Domenico Tedesco must find a better chemistry or this stressful episode will surely precede a swift exit.
Jordan Campbell
Romania and Slovakia silence the sceptics
Before a ball was kicked, Romania and Slovakia both knew they could qualify from Group E if they avoided defeat. The expectation (but not guarantee) that Belgium would get a result against Ukraine raised fears that the match at Frankfurt could see a repeat of The Disgrace of Gijon — where West Germany and Austria pretended to play football for 90 minutes to both get out of their group at the 1982 World Cup.
But rest assured, Slovakia and Romania wanted to win their Group E game from the off.
Francesco Calzona’s past with Napoli has seen Slovakia play with a certain Serie A flavour at this tournament. Powered by Stanislav Lobotka, this is a side that can play neat passing triangles but also hunts for the ball in packs after they lose it. They’re also one of the most intelligent teams when it comes to set pieces, using plenty of decoy runs and mixed signals to throw the opposition off the scent.
Romania and Slovakia both clearly wanted to win (Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
On the other side, Edward Iordanescu is a manager who appreciates the value of width in football. Romania’s full-backs Nicusor Bancu and Andrei Ratiu push high and wide during their attacking phases. The addition of Ianis ‘son of Gheorghe’ Hagi to the starting line-up gave Romania another tricky one-v-one winger.
The initial 13 minutes saw seven attempts on goal. There was no attempt to ’game theory’ their way out of this group game, but instead some good old-fashioned footballing fun. The game’s opening goal, scored by Duda, came from a lovely deep cross from experienced (today made for his 130th Slovakian cap) right-back Peter Pekarik.
Romania responded through a Hagi dribbling move that wrong-footed defender David Hancko and gave away a penalty. The screens in the Waldstadion said Razvan Marin’s penalty reached a speed of 157kph (98mph).
With temperatures pushing north of 30 degrees, both sides could have been content for a score draw, passing it nicely around the back, but they went for it instead. It was a little error-strewn, but extremely entertaining. So what brought it all together? A desire to avoid France in the last 16 and enter the “weaker” side of the knockout bracket? The Corinthian spirit? Slovakia and Romania put on an attacking feast. Purely for the love of the game.
After the match, Romania manager Edward Iordanescu sent a message to those who had doubted his team, and Slovakia.
Carl Anka
Ukraine out, but tournament will be worse for their absence
Serhiy Rebrov and his players lined up on the edge of the penalty box in front of their hordes in yellow and blue after the final whistle, with elimination confirmed despite the goalless draw and tears stinging their eyes, and team and support saluted each other in a show of defiance and pride.
That Ukraine were competing at Euro 2024 at all is remarkable. Since the Russian invasion in February 2022, their domestic league has been wrecked with their squad dispersed around Europe. In that context to have qualified and acquitted themselves as well as they have, making life as awkward as they did for Belgium in Stuttgart, was a staggering achievement.
The shadow under which they live remains inescapable. It was evident among their followers on Wednesday night. “Peace has a price,” read the banner they unfurled during the first half and depicting Nazariy ‘Hrinka’ Hryntsevych, who was killed in the conflict earlier this year. The image included 182 photos of fallen Ukrainian soldiers, all supporters of clubs in their homeland in civilian life.
It was seen, too, in the reaction of the Belgian fans who, having bellowed their own national anthem to the heavens, applauded throughout the rendition of that of their opponents.
Ukraine’s players applaud their fans after their draw with Belgium (Joe Prior/Getty Images)
But it was clear most evidently in their performance.
Rebrov’s players were unrecognisable here to the mishmash that subsided to Romania in Munich in their opening group match. Their subsequent victory in Dusseldorf over Slovakia was achieved on a wave of emotion. But here, against much-fancied opposition, they worked feverishly to nullify the Belgian threat – their endeavors summed up by the blocks conjured to deny Yannick Carrasco and Jeremy Doku as time ticked away.
They posed a threat on the counter, too, but were thwarted by a lack of cutting edge. Their forays up-field tended to peter out at the critical moment. Roman Yaremchuk chose to cross when presented with their clearest first-half opportunity. Ruslan Malinovskyi’s corner almost crept inside the near post. When Belgium did part obligingly, Georgiy Sudakov skimmed his shot straight at Koen Casteels.
With that save went their last chance. By the end they looked exhausted. Drained. But still defiant.
“We showed the character of our nation,” said Rebrov. “We’re nearly 900 days into the war and it was important to show Europe and our people in Ukraine that we are still fighting. We are still part of Europe. It was important to represent the country here.
“We are still alive. We are still fighting. We will not stop.”
Dominic Fifield
Dirtiest game in Euros history?
Given the high stakes in the Group F match between Turkey and the Czech Republic, tensions would always be elevated and tackles full-blooded. Still, nobody expected the dirtiest game in Euro’s history.
The action started in the 11th minute when the Czech Republic’s Antonin Barak was handed a yellow card for a pull on Ferdi Kadioglu, and he was awarded a second yellow, and his marching orders, under 10 minutes later. After Ozcan was booked in the 31st minute, the next card went to striker Patrik Schick, who was not even on the pitch. The Bayer Leverkusen striker was awarded a yellow for dissent and would have missed the Czech Republic’s last-16 game if they had qualified after he had picked up a yellow earlier in the tournament.
As it happens, that was the first of five yellows awarded to players who were not on the pitch at that time and the third of 18 overall (16 yellows and two reds). Two of those yellows were given to Turkey players for their celebrations after Cenk Tosun grabbed Turkey a winner in added time, sending his team through and the Czechs out.
Kovacs handed his second red card of the evening to Czech midfielder Thomas Chory, who was involved in an on-pitch bust-up after the final whistle. The Viktoria Plzen striker entered the game in the 65th minute.
Elias Burke
(Photo: Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Stat of the day
Cristiano Ronaldo’s three unsuccessful attempts at scoring against Georgia mean he has now had 12 attempts at goal without scoring — more than any other player at Euro 2024.
It’s hard to imagine he’ll be happy about that…
What’s next?
UEFA have kindly blessed us with not one, but two rest days.
The action will return on Saturday, when the knock-out stage begins…
- Switzerland vs Italy (5pm BST/12pm ET)
- Germany vs Denmark (8pm BST/3pm ET)
(Top photo: Edith Geuppert – GES Sportfoto/Getty Images)
Read the full article here