Well we are now 5 days in and have moved through each teams first game, which has certainly thrown some light on the likely runners and riders for the latter stages. I have to say so far I've loved every minute, there's been plenty of action, very few dull games, and even the games featuring the so called 'lesser teams' have been entertaining as hell.
Last time around we had covered up to England's game against Croatia, so without any pause lets head back in and pick up where we left off.
The second game in Group D saw the Scots taking on the Czech Republic. In my head I had this down as a very close game, and without some great goalkeeping and some improved Scottish finishing it could have been a different story than the 2-0 scoreline suggest. Another serious contender for Goal of the tournament (GOTT) from Schick was the standout moment of the match, although there were plenty of other talking points and chances in a highly entertaining game.
Group E saw the first slightly disappointing match. Spain were unable to break down Sweden and could only manage a tame 0-0, the first of the 'big' teams to falter so far in probably the least entertaining game so far. Moving on, Poland v Slovakia was never going to be an all time classic, but all credit to Slovakia who fought back and pulled off the victory to go top of the group after round 1.
Finally Group F. Portugal v Hungary and France v Germany. The Portuguese left it very late to pick up the win, all 3 goals in their 3-0 victory coming after the 84th minute. CR7 bagged himself a brace to go joint top of the scoring charts, as the defending champions kicked off their campaign with a deserved win, although it must have been a bit nervy at the end until that first goal went in. In the first true heavyweight clash the French ran out winners over Germany thanks to a Hummels OG (was I the only person who found this very satisfying?) and looked like a very good outfit. 3 players stood out for me - Benzema (who I always regarded as a bit of a lazy mare before but worked his socks off for the team), Varane (what a quality defender!) and Kante (who seemed to be literally everywhere on the pitch).
So, heading into Matchday 2, how are the predictions looking? Its a bit too early to tell with any real conviction, but apart from the Spain draw and Finland winning most of the games have gone pretty much as I expected, no real shocks yet, so the predictions are, I feel, looking good. We'll find out more as Matchday 2 gets under way and the groups take shape a bit more.
Two final points:
Firstly, is anyone else finding the delay before giving a player offside is getting ridiculous? One of the games the other day the guy received the ball, and I had time to go and make a cuppa before the flag went up! Ok I jest a bit, but I find it really annoying that this delay has been brought in. If he's offside flag it immediately!
Secondly, after the England v Croatia game there were rumblings from Modric (among others on the Croatia team) that England had an unfair advantage having matches at Wembley, effectively home fixtures. Firstly, this is also the case for Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Portugal, but no one has moaned about that. Secondly, the better team won. Get back in your box Modric!!
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