THE EUROS UPDATE #1

Upsets, last-minute winners, closely fought games. The opening round of the 2024 Euro’s had it all. From Germany’s show of domination against Scotland in the opener, to Slovakia causing the upset of beating Belgium, almost every game so far has been full of entertainment.

GROUP A:

Most impressive - Germany. Germany opened the tournament with a bang! An impressive performance against a poor Scotland side certified the Germans as one of the favourites for the tournament.

GROUP B:

Most impressive - Spain. Another favourite nation proving their favourite status for this tournament. A special mention must be given to 16-year-old Lamine Yamal. The winger was the best player on the pitch in the first half, providing a beauty of an assist to Carvajal’s header.

GROUP C:

Most impressive - England. Despite the underwhelming performance level in the seocnd half, England kept a solid clean sheet with no real threat from Serbia. Southgate’s men were also the only team to walk about with a win in this group. There was no surprise when Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham got awarded Man of the Match, a brilliant offensive and defensive display from the Birmingham man.

GROUP D

Most impressive - Netherlands. The Dutch played some exciting, attacking football, with Cody Gakpo and Wout Werghorst providing the crucial goals in the 2-1 victory against Poland. France, as well as England, cruised to a 1-0 victory, with plenty of anticipation now being built for when these top teams face off in the next group match.

GROUP E

Most impressive - Romania. The Romanian’s looked fantastic when playing Ukraine, a game which was predicted by many to be an even matchup. With no standout names in the squad, a brilliant team performance was displayed. Are they the new dark horses of this tournament?

GROUP F

Most impressive - Turkey. Turkey v Georgia. What an entertaining game of football that provided. Turkey won this brilliant face-off 3-1, with Arda Guler scoring a stunner. Can last Euro’s disappointment become the hero this time round?

PLAYER OF THE ROUND: RICCARDO CALAFIORI

Have Italy found themselves another Maldini? Personally, I had never heard of Calafiori before he made his international tournament debut. Now, he is being spoken about everywhere. A confident, young defender, who looked incredibly impressive on the ball, constantly passing to the midfield creativity ahead of him, as well as supplying some of his own. A truly outstanding performance from the Italian.