I'll be honest - when I was getting geared up for the Euro's I was firmly against the majority of the 3rd placed teams going through. "What's the point in that?" was my main thought - you can play 3 naff games and get through on a lucky decision resulting in one of those game giving you a win. Having watched the Matchday 3 games, and the fight still shown in them, I hold my hands up and admit I was in the wrong. How refreshing to see matches that still meant something to those involved, with no one potentially out at the end of Matchday 2. Its thrown up some blinding games, great tension and made what is usually a bit of a dead rubber actually mean something. I stand corrected.
It has been quite fascinating looking at the teams before the tournament and earmarking which ones I thought were ones to watch, then seeing them live up to those expectations over the 3 games. Only 3 teams have looked like true contenders over the course of those 3 matches to me - Italy, Belgium and Netherlands. Sure France have looked good here and there, and Spain thumped a load of goals in (eventually) but those 3 teams have been the standouts for me so far.
So looking back to my pre tournament posts, I see I made some predictions about who I thought would finish top and bottom of each group. Looking at them now, I think I did a half decent job, with Portugal and Spain not winning their groups being the only real blots on the copybook. Overall then not bad, maybe I should have had a few quid on some of them?
Last night saw the climax of the group games, with Germany, Hungary, Portugal and France providing a fitting pathway into the knockout stages with more drama than an episode of Eastenders. I nearly got travel sickness trying to follow all the twists, turns and convoluted standings, and trying to work out who England would face next, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one. It did feel strange at points in the evening being an Englishman and cheering on France and Germany at various points, but sometimes you've gotta do what you've gotta do. I'm just glad we have avoided France, they were the team in that group that worried me the most.
Casting an eye on the Round of 16 fixtures there's some tasty games in there, the standouts being (for me) Belgium v Portugal and of course England v Germany. I haven't managed to catch as much of Belgium as I'd have liked so far, but they are a quality outfit and could cause a pretty inconsistent Portuguese defence some real issues. England v Germany is for me the tie of the round (not just as an England supporter) - the history and fanfare around this fixture always makes it special. I think the Germans are vulnerable this time around, but England are going to have to perform well for the full 90 minutes to get the better of them I think. If we do, a quarter final against either Sweden or Ukraine beckons, both of which are beatable, so this is a real chance for England to really push on and go for it.
I'll round off with some predictions for the Round of 16 - lets see if I can carry on my good form:
Croatia v Spain - I've got to back Spain here, although I think it will be very tight
France v Switzerland - Its got to be France right?
Italy v Austria - Again I cant see Austria coming through this one against the efficient Italians
Belgium v Portugal - tough one, I'm going to go with Portugal simply as I've backed Ronaldo to win the Golden Boot
Wales v Denmark - my heart says Denmark, but my head says Wales, and I'm going to go with my head
Netherlands v Czech Republic - The Czechs will need to step up from last game to get anything here and I cant see it happening. Netherlands for me
England v Germany - I really feel like this is the tournament where England finally deliver, so I'm going with the Three Lions
Sweden v Ukraine - Sweden will have just too much for Ukraine and will grind them down so I'll plump for Sweden here
So there you have it, all the best and enjoy the games, catch you on the other side!!
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