Page 9 - Soccer360 Issue 107

DID YOU KNOW?
Germay started the tournament strong but eventually
got taken out
by eventual winners Spain in the quarterfinals after defeating Denmark in the round of 16.
THE OPENING GAME
After a long and frenzied build-up, the excitement of Euro 2024 finally got underway with an intriguing clash as
hosts Germany met Scotland in Munich. There was cautious optimism among
the home supporters while the Tartan Army quietly fancied their side’s hopes of springing a surprise, but the match itself was embarrassingly one-sided as Germany immediately marked themselves out as contenders with a crushing 5-1 victory. The front three of Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtz, and Kai Havertz were all among the scorers in a formidable performance.
RAPID BAJRAMI
Defending champions Italy were stunned in a dramatic start to their tournament opener against unfancied Albania as they fell behind after only 23 seconds. Nedim Bajrami seized on a poor throw-in by Federico Dimarco and smashed a shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma at the near post
to score the fastest ever Euros goal. The Azzurri soon recovered and eventually won 2-1, but Sassuolo midfielder Bajrami etched his name into the record books.
BELGIUM STUNG BY SLOVAKIA
There was a gap of 45 places in the FIFA rankings between Belgium and Slovakia when they met in Frankfurt, but Francisco Calzona’s side defied their status to claim the first shock result of Euro 2024. Ivan Schranz’s early goal was enough to settle the outcome as a misfiring Belgium were frustrated by poor finishing, committed defending, and having two goals disallowed. It left the Red Devils under serious pressure and with work to do in order to reach the knockout stages.
THRILLING TURKEY TRIUMPH
Few may have seen it coming, but Turkey’s opening Group F encounter with debutants Georgia was easily one of the games of the tournament. Both teams threw caution to the wind and amid the chaos, delivered eye- catching football and some special goals. Mert Muldur’s fantastic volley opened the scoring for Turkey, only for the impressive Georges Mikautadze to equalise. The second half was more of the same with Arda Guler restoring the Crescent-Stars’ lead with a beautiful curling effort, and they survived a late onslaught before scoring a breakaway third goal to seal an enthralling 3-1 victory.
ENGLAND UNDER FIRE
One of the standout favourites to lift
Euro 2024, England unconvincingly came through their opening match against
Serbia with a 1-0 win, but their performance against Denmark in their second Group
C outing set alarm bells ringing for Three Lions fans. While they escaped with a 1-1 draw that was enough to secure a last 16 place, a disjointed display riddled with errors was met with fury from the stands and criticism towards coach Gareth Southgate as a team full of world-class attacking players struggled to find a spark.
SPAIN MAKE A STATEMENT
The meeting of Spain and Italy was one of the most eagerly awaited match-ups of the group stage, and nobody expected it to be so one-sided. Spain had already laid down a marker with a clinical 3-0 win over Croatia in their opening game, but they produced an even more dominant performance to sink the holders as they controlled the midfield battle throughout and winger Nico
SOCCER360 7
LEFT:
Germany destroyed Scotland
5-1 in the tournament’s opening match
MAKING THEIR MARK
Lamine Yamal was not the only player to make a splash at Euro 2024, so Stephen Donovan names five of the tournament’s other breakout stars.
RICCARDO CALAFIORI - ITALY
It was a fairly underwhelming defence of the crown as far as Italy were concerned, but they have a new star defender in Riccardo Calafiori. With a good positional sense and a useful turn of pace, he is also good on the ball and represents a new generation of centre-backs for the Azzurri. His performances in Germany helped earn him a summer move to Arsenal.
MARC GUEHI - ENGLAND
Many fans of the Premier League will have already been aware of Marc Guehi’s talents through his mature displays for Crystal Palace, but amid the pressure cooker
of a major tournament he took
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ARDA GULER - TURKEY
Having already shown clear signs of his potential for Real Madrid towards the end of last season, there were high hopes for Arda Guler at Euro 2024 and he truly didn’t disappoint. His wondrous goal against Georgia in his side’s opening match set the tone and he was influential throughout their run to the quarter-finals, also assisting both goals in the last 16 win over Austria.
NUNO MENDES
Portugal flattered to deceive
on their way to exiting the competition in the quarter-
finals, but young defender
Nuno Mendes was one of A Selecao’s outstanding performers throughout. The 22-year-old Paris Saint-Germain star showed pace and dynamism when supporting attacks but was also immaculate at the back as his side conceded just once while he was on the field.
DAN NDOYE - SWITZERLAND
One of many emerging stars
at Bologna, the versatile Dan Ndoye was a lively presence for Switzerland, playing as both
a striker and a wing-back. He continually got himself into threatening positions and always asked questions of opponents, grabbing a well-taken goal against Germany along the way. Even more exciting for the Swiss is that he still has room for improvement.
League Cup for years to come. in 1955