With the Second Round of the European Championships now over, it is time for the 8 remaining teams to start thinking about going all the way. The Quarter Final line-ups are complete, with a couple of interesting fixtures lined up.
In this post, I recap the two matches played on Monday. The
preview of the Quarter Finals will be presented in a separate post.
Match Reviews
Italy vs Spain
The Italians were always going to play their customary game
against the Spanish, that of sitting back, soaking up all the pressure and
trying to catch them out on the counter.
The first half did not go to script. Italy were the first to
get a shot on target, David de Gea pulling off another great save from a Pelle
header. De Gea was the hero again as he parried a Giaccherini overhead kick
from close range on to the post to keep the scores level. Spain were feeling
the pressure presumably. Spain had the possession but the Italians kept
creating chances; Parolo the next to head wide of goal. In the 33rd
minute, Eder drove a low shot past the wall which de Gea could only parry into
a central region. Giaccherini dinked it away from de Gea on the follow-up and Chiellini
knocked it in from close range. The Italians were ahead and richly deserving of
their lead. De Gea saved once again from Giaccherini to keep his team in the
contest.
The match went back to the afore-mentioned script in the
second half. Spain had all of the possession. They were not overly troubling
the Italians though. A tame Morata header was safely pouched by Buffon. Eder
had a shot saved when he was one-on-one with de Gea. If not for the Spanish
goalkeeper, Italy would have been home and dry by this point. Spain mounted
some sustained pressure in the last 20 minutes but the Italian defense was up
to the challenge. When they got past the defense, Buffon was their undoing. Buffon
saved point blank from Pique, who did not get a good contact on his shot. In
the dying minutes, Italy broke with a man extra down the right. Matteo Darmian
found Pelle unmarked in the center of the penalty area. Pelle gratefully
scored. The Italians had pulled off another tactical masterstroke. The two-time
defending champions were out.
My Prediction:
Italy 2-0 Spain
Final Score: Italy
2-0 Spain
England vs Iceland
England were awarded a penalty on 3 minutes as Sterling was
fouled in the box. Rooney made no mistake in converting. The English was short-lived
as Iceland hit back just 2 minutes later. A long throw was not dealt by the
defense, the ball finding its way to Ragnar Siggurdsson in the 6 yard box, who
made no mistake. England looked to take charge again, but their efforts did not
bear fruit. Iceland were ahead before 20 minutes! Kolbeinn Sigthorsson got
space away from two English defenders and fired a low shot on goal.
Inexplicably, Joe Hart, despite getting a hand on the ball, could only divert
it into the corner of the goal. Bad goalkeeping seems to be a disease that
plagues every England goalkeeper at major tournament.
After that point, Iceland started keeping England at bay,
although creating the odd chance themselves. The first half ended with the same
score. In the second half, England rang the changes but none of their
substitutes could manage to create problems for the underdogs. In fact, England
were pathetic in the second half. They failed to have a decent shot on target
all half. Iceland, when they did foray forward, had better chances to extend
their lead than England did of equalizing. Rashford was brought on with 5
minutes left. It was too late a change to make. He wasn’t given enough time to
make an impact.
The English failure mainly went down to team selection and
tactics. Hodgson seemed clueless as to what he expected of his players. The
players reciprocated with the worst half of football played by any English in
any major tournament, perhaps ever! Credit where it’s due, Iceland played the
game of their lives and were the deserving winners. The repeat of the mutual
salute between the players and the fans sent goose-bumps through everyone
watching. This really is a fairytale!
My Prediction:
England 1-1 Iceland, England to qualify
Final Score:
England 1-2 Iceland
Iceland will play in the Quarter Final of the first major tournament
that they’ve qualified for. To be honest, they absolutely deserve to be there.
England always find a way to shoot themselves in the foot. This time, they dug
their own graves too. The Italians put on another master-class, in a repeat of
their performance against Belgium. Their match against Germany is the glamour tie
of the Quarter Finals.
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