Late goals, brilliant saves and high-stakes drama. These three descriptors best summed up the round of 16 matches of the 2024 European Championships. With eight teams now heading home, eight more keep their eyes on the top prize as we get closer and closer to the final in Berlin on July 14.
Whether you watched all eight matches, only the highlights or missed the games completely, here’s one reaction to every round of 16 match:
Is it too soon to overreact to Italy’s recent performances in international tournaments?
Not managing to reach the 2018 or 2022 World Cup was two of the lowest moments in Italian national team history. Nestled between the two failures was a Euro 2020 victory, which settled the feelings of many Italian supporters. But after an early round of 16 exit, is it time for those supporters to gather their pitchforks?
The answer is no. Italy may be in a rut, but winning a European Championship only three years ago should still live fresh in the memory of most Italians. However, most of that Euro-winning team is gone, so Euro 2024 was the first chance for the new generation to showcase its talents.
It’s not clear how successful they were in doing that. On one hand, Italy finished second in the “Group of Death” and lost in the round of 16 to a talented, in-form Switzerland side. On the other hand, one could also view this tournament as a failure since Italy’s pedigree and history always requires a late-stage finish. In fact, the last time Italy failed to win a game in the knockout stage of a European Championship was in 2008.
So, now the pressure mounts even further for this new crop of Italian talent. The 2026 World Cup will be its biggest test yet, but before it can even imagine holding the trophy, it must achieve qualification, something it hasn’t done since 2014. For neturals, it will be interesting to see whether Italy rises to the test or succumbs to the pressure in these next few years.
Soccer can be a cruel sport, as Joachim Andersen discovered against Germany
For a brief two and half minutes, Danish center back Joachim Andersen was on top of the world. His close-ranged finish in the 48th minute gave Denmark a 1-0 lead over Germany, one of the favorites to win the Euros. The team’s celebrations were cut short, however, once VAR overturned the goal for midfielder Thomas Delaney’s offside position.
A little over a minute later, VAR once again intervened, only this time to inspect a possible penalty for Germany. The man in question? Joachim Andersen. After a check at the monitor, it was determined Anderson’s handball was worthy of a German penalty kick, which striker Kai Havertz tucked away for a Germany lead that it never relinquished.
To make matters worse, a replay of the semi-automated technology used to determine Delaney’s offside position found he was only offside by the edge of his toe. Post-game shouts for the removal of VAR and the cruel nature of soccer were louder than usual, but they were all meaningless to Denmark considering they were going home.
A brutal turn of events for Denmark is the best way of describing those five minutes. We’ll never know how the match may have changed if Andersen’s goal had counted, but given the way Denmark’s defense had played up to that point, it would have been very tough for Germany to find an equalizer. But Germany and its supporters won’t care — that’s the nature of the sport.
Jude Bellingham’s heroic goal disguised an otherwise dreadful England performance
Jude Bellingham is England’s savior. Without his bicycle kick in the 95th minute of regulation, the Three Lions would have exited the Euros with its worst finish in a major tournament since the 2016 European Championship. Supporters of England would have lost their minds, calling for the sacking of manager Gareth Southgate and scolding the English players for the embarrassment they created on behalf of the country.
But all of that was prevented, at least for the time being. Bellingham’s goal — the first shot on target for England in the match — forced the game to extra time, and a Kane header only two minutes into the extended period proved to be the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Slovakia.
Slovakia was not one of the premier nations in the tournament, and yet, it largely stifled England’s attack, something spectators have seen on numerous occasions in this Euros. When England faces a better side, whether it be Switzerland now in the quarter-finals or any team it faces beyond, major changes in the attack will have to be made. It can be either for the personnel or for the tactics Southgate implements — or both — but England will not see another game in this tournament if it doesn’t do so.
Spain once again proved its dominance in this tournament
For 20 minutes, it appeared the legend of the Georgian side would continue while Spain would suffer one of the biggest upsets in European Championship history. Georgia drew first blood in the 18th minute of the match when Spanish center back Robin Le Normand scored an own goal, the first goal Spain conceded so far in the tournament.
However, those Georgian dreams dissipated when center defensive midfielder Rodri finished a shot from the top of the box, bringing the score back to even. It was the opening of the floodgates that Spain needed, and in the second half, goals from Fabian Ruiz, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo completed a dominating performance.
After four matches, Spain has shown it can dominate games and win them, as seen in the Italy match. It can win with the entire bench on the field, as seen in the Albania match. And now Spain has overcome a deficit to win, as seen in the Georgia match. So, what more does it need to prove?
The answer is not much, but its biggest test of the tournament will come in the quarter-final match against Germany. Even though Spain won three out of three matches in the tournament’s “Group of Death,” Croatia and Albania failed to move to the knockout stage and Italy looked flat for most of the tournament, especially in its loss to Switzerland in the round of 16. Germany will prove truly how formidable Spain is against another top team in Europe, which makes the match that much more enticing to watch.
How do France continue to win these types of games?
France takes the meaning of “survive and advance” very literally. But so far, it’s been working for them.
The first match of the tournament against Austria finished 1-0 in favor of France, with only an own goal separating the two sides. It then proceeded to tie the Netherlands 0-0 and Poland 1-1, the latter being a match which featured two penalty goals. Then, in the round of 16, France defeated Belgium on a late own goal winner scored by Belgian center back Jan Vertonghen.
In four games played, France scored three goals. Two were own goals and one was a penalty. No open-play goals have been scored yet, but France is still heading to the quarter-finals.
This level of quality in the attack may not be sustainable, but it certainly has been for France so far. The starting front line of Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele will need to be more clinical if France is able to make it farther in the tournament. Or maybe they won’t. Maybe own goals, penalties and tough defending is all Les Blues will need to win their third Euros.
If Portugal are to beat France, Cristiano Ronaldo’s role has to change
The Cristiano Ronaldo show was in full effect against Slovenia. The only issue? It was more of a horror show than anything the 39-year-old could have imagined.
For Ronaldo, it began early with missed chances. Little touches in the box went wayward, and every freekick he took missed the target. The worst of his freekick chances occurred a little outside on the left side of the box, a perfect chance for midfielder Vitiniha to play a ball into the box for a header. Instead, Ronaldo called him off and took the chance himself, and as had been the case that game, his shot missed the target by a wide margin.
These antics continued throughout the match, culminating in a missed penalty right at the end of the first half of extra time. Ronaldo managed to score his penalty in the shootout, but it certainly didn’t distract from the rest of the game. After Portugal advanced with a 3-0 victory in the shootout, more people on X were inclined to speak about Ronaldo’s screams to the sky after all his misses than the heroics of Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa.
Ronaldo has yet to score at this Euros, a feat he seems to want to accomplish which would make him the oldest goalscorer in European Championship history. But if what he wants to achieve is another Euros crown, then he has to take a back seat. I’m not calling for manager Roberto Martinez to bench him, but a minimized role will not only help Portugal but also Ronaldo.
Service is not an issue for Portugal with all the talent it has in the midfield and on the wings. So, Ronaldo should focus more on the final chance than getting his touches on the ball. He’s not the same player he was a decade ago, one which tore up Europe with skills, tricks and impressive goals. All Portugal needs from him is his clinical nature, something he has done his entire club career and for the national team. If he lets the hard work fall on the shoulders of his younger teammates, Portugal will prove to be a far better side and Ronaldo will finally get his goal he so desperately craves.
The Netherlands will reach the final of the 2024 European Championship
The group stage didn’t shine a positive light on the Netherlands. A shock defeat to Austria in the third group match meant the Dutch finished third in its group, but a matchup against Group E winners Romania was certainly a better matchup than they could have suspected.
In fact, it proved to be the perfect rebound as the Netherlands dominated Romania in a 3-0 victory. Cody Gakpo continued his impressive play with a brilliant goal and assist, and the stellar Dutch backline only allowed five shots with one on target.
After such a dominating display, it's hard not to feel good about the Netherlands, especially considering its path to the Euro 2024 final seems easier than others. First up, the Dutch confront Türkiye in a quarter-final matchup and either England or Switzerland will wait for them in the semi-finals. Any team in the knockout stage will be tough, but the Netherlands’ talent levels coupled with its recent peak of form will surely result in a trip to the final July 14.
The Türkiye and Austria match was the game of the tournament (so far)
According to Ahmed Walid of The Athletic, the 3-1 victory for Türkiye over Georgia was the best match of the group stages. After the first round of the knockout stage, it appears Türkiye has once again participated in — and won — a game of the tournament.
After scoring the second fastest goal in European Championship history, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for Türkiye to sit back and absorb Austria’s pressure for 90 minutes, just like most sides defending a one-goal lead have done in this tournament. Instead, the match continued its frenetic pace for the full 90 minutes. Both sides combined for 27 shots, eight on target and three goals.
The final cherry on top to cement this game’s status as one of the best of the tournament was in the final moments of the match. Searching for a goal down 2-1, Austria sent a looping ball into the box, which landed right on the head of midfielder Christoph Baumgartner. His header skipped off the ground and seemed destined to nestle into the back of the net, which would have forced the game to extra time. That was until Türkiye goalkeeper Mert Günok sprawled across the face of the goal to get his hand on the ball and push it away.
On the Fox coverage in the United States, an electric Darren Fletcher announced it as “the save of Euro 2024.” And he’s probably right, given the circumstances of the match and the impeccable timing, strength and skill from Günok. So, with a save of the tournament, three goals and endless action and excitement, it’s fair to say Türkiye versus Austria was the game of the tournament.
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