We've now had two knockout stages, and I think it's fair to say this tournament has continued to deliver on its promise of fun. The round of 16 held its fair share of surprise results, with the biggest being Switzerland's defeat of France on penalties, while Ukraine's win over Sweden and the Czech Republic's over the Netherlands were close behind.
I watched part of the Switzerland-France game and managed to catch the first four goals. Switzerland did well to get on the scoring sheet first, but I'll admit I gave up on them when Karim Benzema scored his two goals in rapid succession, and when Paul Pogba scored his screamer not long after. I switched off, and only later did I learn that not only had the Swiss equalized, but they'd beaten the world champions on penalties. This makes it so much more disappointing that Switzerland did so badly in the next set of penalties against Spain.
The other one that caught my imagination (other than the obvious Italy match, about which more below) was Ukraine vs Sweden. At the outset this one promised to be brutally boring - for all that the Swedes are effective at getting far in tournaments, they're one of the dullest sides around. Ukraine, meanwhile, doesn't have a much better reputation, as football journalists still hold up the Switzerland-Ukraine matchup from 2006 as the dullest game in the history of football. So I was surprised to find myself captivated by this match, in which I jumped out of my chair when Ukraine scored its winning goal.
As for Wales-Denmark, I have to admit I was one of the millions that was rooting for the Danes this time, given the narrative surrounding Christian Eriksen's collapse back in the first match. That said, I wasn't expecting a 4-0 demolition (nor, presumably, were the Welsh). With that narrative in mind, I wasn't too sad to see Denmark go on to beat the Czechs in the quarterfinal, even if it meant that yet again an Eastern European team wouldn't go on to win the tournament.
England continues to have a good tournament. Not only have they not conceded a single goal yet, but they've improved markedly from the slightly ponderous team that we saw in the group stage. The 2-0 defeat of Germany wasn't too surprising to me, since the Germans had failed to convince in their own group stage, but the 4-0 against Ukraine shows that the English have found their stride, particularly striker Harry Kane. It's getting harder to imagine who can stop them - certainly it doesn't feel as if the Danes are going to be able to do it.
And to be honest, I'm not sure Italy has it in them to do it either. I don't want to get over-confident, since Italy doesn't have the greatest record against Spain, but it's hard not to look past possibly the weakest team still in the tournament, and what I see there is likely England.
In terms of overall quality, I think it's fair to say that Italy is the best team remaining. They had an easy group stage, held off a stronger than expected Austria and controlled the game against Belgium, which is still the top-ranked team in the world. But knockout games turn on a moment, and the slightest weird wobble against Spain or whoever awaits in the final would see them going home. After all, it's rarely the brightest team that wins a tournament, especially at the Euros.
The other thing that has me worried is (I hate to say this) Gigio Donnarumma. A friend of mine laughed at me when he conceded in the Austria game and I asked if we could sub in Gianluigi Buffon, but my question was sparked by what looked like panic on Donnarumma's part. Even with that fantastic defense in front of him, he suddenly looked brittle, and I haven't shaken this sense of unease about him. It's odd, because he's meant to be a great goalkeeper, but I suspect that anything that dumps Italy out will stem from him.
But I hope not! I'd love to see Italy comprehensively banish the demons of 2018 by winning this, and in a style that puts paid to foreigners' lazy stereotypes that our football is negative and cynical. And if both Italy and England are firing on all cylinders for the next two matches, then we're in for a great tournament.
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