Jul 08, 2016 by Alex Baker
Having beat world champions Germany 2-0 in the Euro 2016 semifinals, host nation France is now set to face Portugal in Sunday’s final.
The tournament showpiece at the Stade de France will pit two of the standout players in these Euros against one another in Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann.
With three goals in Euro 2016, Portugal’s Ronaldo is now tied on nine goals with France legend Michel Platini as the all-time leading scorer in the European championships. However, while Platini scored all nine of his goals in a single tournament, Ronaldo’s are spread out across four competitions, making him the only player to have scored in four different European championships.
Griezmann on the other hand, is making his first appearance in the finals of the European championship... Read More
Jul 07, 2016 by Steven Schott
Most football fans are aware of the odd discrepancy that despite their dominance over the sport throughout the decades, Germany have never won a competitive fixture against Italy. Technically, they still haven’t, with Saturday’s win on penalties in the quarterfinals officially being counted as a draw. It’s a little less well known however, that the last time France won a meaningful contest against Germany was in the 1958 World Cup.
Thus Didier Deschamps’ team will be looking to buck the trend of nearly 60 years of history when the two continental powers clash in the semifinals of Euro 2016 on Thursday. Germany, as world champions, and France, as tournament hosts, were always favorites to reach the final going into this tournament one month ago. But only one will progress to... Read More
Jul 06, 2016 by Alex Baker
Real Madrid teammates Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale will face off against one another as Portugal meets Wales in the Euro 2016 semifinal on Wednesday.
Despite being somewhat understated in the quarterfinal that saw Wales eliminate Belgium, Bale has lit up this tournament with three goals and a number of sparkling performances so far. Beyond that, the 26-year-old has played a real leadership role on the pitch.
Far from the one-man team they were billed as at the start of the tournament, Wales have also reaped the benefits of a strong collective spirit and notable individual contributions from the likes of Ashley Williams, Hal Robson-Kanu and Aaron Ramsey among others.
Apart from a 2-1 loss to England, the Dragons have won all of their matches in the tournament... Read More
Jun 29, 2016 by Alex Baker
The round of 16 in Euro 2016 is now in the books. After a knockout round that saw defending champions Spain eliminated by a resurgent Italy side, and perennial hopefuls England knocked out by tournament debutantes, Iceland, we can look ahead to some intriguing quarterfinal clashes later this week.
Poland vs. Portugal
After being ridiculed for missing a penalty in Portugal’s scoreless draw with Austria in the group stage, Cristiano Ronaldo was back on song helping his team battle to a 3-3 draw with Hungary in its final group stage outing and setting up the late winner against Croatia that booked Portugal’s passage to the quarters in the next round. Next up for CR7 and company is a date with Poland, a side that despite not having played particularly... Read More
Jun 27, 2016 by Alex Baker
The round of 16 at Euro 2016 gets underway this weekend with teams playing on two sides of a lopsided bracket; one side of which contains heavyweights like Germany, Spain, England, Italy and France; the other side of which contains the likes of Belgium, Wales, Hungary, and Portugal. While there are a number of standout match-ups in this weekend’s action, the one that really catches the eye is Monday’s tantalizing clash between reigning European champions Spain and perennial tournament favorites Italy. Spain, who were among the favorites heading into the tournament, had a tougher than expected time progressing through the group stage. They were fairly subdued in their tournament opener, winning 1-0 against the Czech Republic in a game that looked much tougher for Vicente Del Bosque’s side than it... Read More
Jun 13, 2016 by Alex Baker
The three teams that are most pundits’ picks to win the tournament all managed wins in their opening round of group stage play for Euro 2016. While it would be incorrect to say that France, Germany, or Spain cruised to comfortable victories in their opening matches, each did manage a win and collected three points that could prove invaluable in plotting their trajectories into the next round.
Host Nation France Beats Romania France kicked off the proceedings against Romania on Friday in front of a capacity crowd at its own Stade de France. After a scoreless first half, Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud put the French ahead in the 57th minute, beating Romania keeper Ciprian Tatarusanu to head in the first goal of the tournament.
But Romania lived up to its reputation... Read More
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