UEFA Euro 2020

[JENNYJET]

Football used to be simple to understand goals win matches etc. but it is becoming complicated as critics of cricket might say.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

As I understand it, FIFA admit association's rather than nations thus, East and West Germany , Soviet Union come to mind as those Associations collapsed into their new identities as reformed associations. Germany and Russia. The UK has never had it's own unified association but the four constituent countries remained independent for sporting purposes and FIFA rules permitted this so Gibraltar was admitted as separate from UK or GB. AS I UNDERSTAND IT!

Yes, FIFA does recognise associations as members and not countries per se although in reality it amounts to the same thing.

We need to employ tactics however.

We win our Group we will be through to a harder team, on paper, in the round of 16's (France, Portugal or Germany or Hungary). We come 2nd we go through to face Slovakia, Spain, or Sweden. On paper the coming 2nd in our group is an easier way to get through.

It does seem perverse but once in the last 16 all games are potentially difficult, given the knock-out stage of the competition.

It's been done countless times by many teams.

Tonight England require only a draw to guarantee qualification as four team with the third place finish from the six groups go through and already
three of the groups the best third place team can only achieve three points so England with a draw go through with four.

Wales are already through on this system which is designed to maximise the number of games and therefore income. In my opinion it lowers the quality of the competition but money talks.

The World Cup is due to be expanded to 48 teams so we might see the Dog & Duck in the finals at some point in the future.

Agreed. After the 'league section' of matches the original 24 teams are only reduced to 16. I suppose it extends the interest of more teams but 48 at the World Cup really seems overdoing it.

 

[Sherburnflyer92]

Football used to be simple to understand goals win matches etc. but it is becoming complicated as critics of cricket might say.

It's all about looking at the fixture list which is release before the tournament begins.

It goes from Group through to Final however it also gives "winner of Group x versus runner up of Group Y" and therefore fans/sideline analysts/football fanatics and even simple people like me look at it and go "What is the path of least resistance".

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Magnificent display by Scotland. England were slow and repetitive but credit Scotland who didn't allow their opponents to play.

Scotland fought tigerishly as I suggested they would in an earlier post today. England didn't summon the same amount of passion. Local derbies, whether international or club, invariably throw form and position out of the window so in that sense England can't be completely written off as possible winners, but I don't find myself entertained by their style. When they win it's often a ground-out 1-0.

I said before the tournament began that I expected England to win two and draw one of the group matches. I wasn't sure which would be the draw but England now need to beat the Czech Republic for my projection to turn out to be accurate. Given my dreadful track record down the years in forecasting results/scores England will either lose or draw their Czech Republic match.

Because Scotland battled so well, with considerable skill and enterprise at times, I certainly did not begrudge them their draw. They looked the likelier winners in the last ten minutes.

Whatever has happened to Kane? He was well below par against Croatia and eventually withdrawn with the same combination of circumstances occurring this evening. I can only surmise that he is not fully match fit. If so why play him?

 

[Jerry]

Magnificent display by Scotland. England were slow and repetitive but credit Scotland who didn't allow their opponents to play.

Kind of felt disappointed that Scotland didn't win. I think Scotland will probably be the more disappointed of the 2 teams there!

 

[JENNYJET]

I dozed off a few times it was that gripping! The fixture needs to be restored to regenerate some passion and needle so a annual trophy might do it some good. Well done to Scotland.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Kind of felt disappointed that Scotland didn't win. I think Scotland will probably be the more disappointed of the 2 teams there!

I think that Scotland would have been delighted at the prospect of a draw before the match began. Ex Scottish international and now football pundit Pat Nevin summed it up prior to the match when he said that Scotland would have to play out of their skins to 'get a result' (football parlance for winning or drawing in trying circumstances) and hope that England were below par. Former England defender Rio Ferdinand could only see an England win when speaking before the match.

England only flickered into life once or twice and should have gone ahead early on when an unmarked Stones hit the post with the goal wide open and they dominated possession in the first half but could not create any real chances.

In the last 15 minutes there seemed to be a growing belief in the Scottish team that they might actually snatch a win.

It was very much like a Premier League side (a mid-table one in England's case on yesterday's evidence) coming up against a normally moderate EFL club in the FA Cup, with the latter battling for their existence in the competition and giving the so-called superior team a hard time. There are 210 countries affiliated to FIFA through their national associations and at these Finals only North Macedonia (62nd) and Finland (54th) have a lower FIFA ranking than Scotland's 44th position. England are ranked 4th which will surprise many. Belgium are in 1st place, France 2nd and Brazil 3rd.

Scotland will have to beat Croatia to stand a chance of going through to the next stage of the tournament. It will be in Glasgow and after last night they will be buoyed up and could well do so.

It's funny how we non-Scottish people are hoping the team does well. I can't see similar sentiments being expressed in Scotland had the England-Scotland situation been reversed.

I dozed off a few times it was that gripping! The fixture needs to be restored to regenerate some passion and needle so a annual trophy might do it some good. Well done to Scotland.

England were very one-dimensional for much of the game. Foden often looks good with Manchester City although most of the time I only see game highlights on MOTD, but he is so one-footed that when playing on the right hand side he always cuts back inside to use his left foot thus slowing the flow and often weakening the angle. Defenders know it and plan accordingly. Why he doesn't sometimes make for the goal line and cut the ball back with his right foot is beyond me. I wonder what Southgate and Guardiola tell him about that.

Grealish is potentially the wild card with explosive pace and close control. Even in the pre-tournament 'friendly' matches he was closely marked and regularly fouled to halt his progress, as he is in the Premier League (most fouled player there). The same happened last night and as a result he didn't really get going after coming on as a substitute in the second half. Referees need to be alive to the 'professional fouls' (aka cheating) used to blunt Grealish.

I'm still not judging England on the evidence of a local derby match against a fired-up opponent. I expect an improvement in performance against the Czech Republic and if they come up against France or Germany in the last 16 that will be the ultimate test of their quality or lack.

 

[Jerry]

I think that Scotland would have been delighted at the prospect of a draw before the match began.

I think they'll be wondering what could've of been now!

 

[Brummiegem]

First point I would like to make is,can you imagine the morning papers and other media outlets,if England supporters had have done what the Scottish fans did yesterday?.Rock up in Edinburgh or Glasgow and taken over large swathes of the city and behaved the way they did.
Nicola Sturgeon would have been on the phone to Boris asking what the hell is going on? ’There is still a pandemic going on Boris.How dare you allow so many people to come up here and do that in our beautiful city’.
It seemed to me that there was little social distancing and very few face masks being worn.If there is a sudden increase in virus numbers in London or amongst Scottish football fans in the next few days and weeks,then I am sorry but you only have yourselves to blame.


Secondly,why are fans and pundits on the England side so downbeat,disappointed and so critical of the England performance.England are joint top of the group with the likelihood that they will go through to the next stage.Also we all know England can and probably will play better against the Czech Republic.
Scotland played their cup final.They raised their game against England,played well and got a goalless draw.
It probably will not be enough to see them through as they will need to beat Croatia,probably by a few goals to nil.
Yet they sit bottom of the group,with a negative goal difference and also yet to score in the tournament.But they are the ones crowing and acting like they have won the tournament.
Don’t get me wrong,I am not particularly happy with the performance.But as I said earlier,England are capable of better.I for one was not happy with the squad that has been put together.In a post last week,I did say that I did not think England would get past the group stage.I think I over estimated Croatia.
However,England have a chance of progressing and proving many doubters wrong.Unfortunately,we have been here before.

I refuse to criticise either Gareth Southgate or the players.They got a result against an organised and determined side.Maybe they were lucky,but all teams need luck from time to time.You could use the same argument the other way as well.England did have a couple of chances didn’t they?
I think the England set-up will be judged by the overall outcome,rather than one isolated result.
In any case,pundits always say about tournament sport.’It is the result that is more important than the performance’.So in this case England are doing okay.

My final point on this,why as a nation do we raise our expectations of our sports stars and teams.We laud them as though they are invincible,then drop them from a great height when they do not perform as well as we expected?
I cannot see the sense in this,as we all know,expectation and actual achievement are two different things.
Nothing would make me more happy than to see England win a major tournament.At least I have seen them win a rugby World Cup and some cricket trophies,but a Euros success or a World Cup would be awesome.
Unfortunately we have a scenario in this country where whatever happens,England can never win.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I think they'll be wondering what could've of been now!

But that's sport isn't it? Matters are often decided by fine margins. Had Stones scored early on as he should have done the game might have taken the course that most people probably expected before it began.

I take the point that after the match Scotland would be thinking "what if?" but they did have some half-chances to score that they spurned so to that extent they must blame themselves.

The matter is almost certainly still in their own hands. If they beat Croatia (not the team they were when they reached the 2018 World Cup Final) they will have four points, probably enough to see them through to the last 16 as one of the best third placed teams. In fact, if they beat Croatia, and England lose to the Czech Republic, Scotland could go through in second place with England looking at a third place qualification.

Where teams finish equal on points at the end of the group stage UEFA don't use the simple overall goal difference as the first determinator. Instead they look at the performances in the head-to-head match or matches (the latter if more than two teams are equal on points). If Scotland and England finish with four points each the match points and goal difference in the head-to-head match will be the same as the game was drawn. The next determinator would then be used which is the performance(s) against the other teams in the group. If that cannot separate the teams on equal points then the overall goal difference is applied.

If England beat the Czech Republic leaving the latter on four points alongside a Scotland with four points if they beat Croatia then the Czech Republic would be deemed to have finished above Scotland because they won the head-to-head match. If Scotland and England finish on four points a piece then the other criteria apply the detail of which is currently unknown as the last round of matches are yet to be played.

 

[jfy1999]

Two surprising results in the “Group of Death” including the best game of the tournament so far - Germany defeating Portugal 4-2

 

[Kevin Farnell]

Watching the Spain v Poland game tonight, Spain were awarded a penalty when one of the Polish players stood on the for of a Spanish player even though the Spanish player already kicked the ball away. In an extremely similar incident in the England v Scotland game, England were denied a penalty. There have been many other similar incidents outside the penalty areas where free kicks are awarded.

Kevin

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Watching the Spain v Poland game tonight, Spain were awarded a penalty when one of the Polish players stood on the for of a Spanish player even though the Spanish player already kicked the ball away. In an extremely similar incident in the England v Scotland game, England were denied a penalty. There have been many other similar incidents outside the penalty areas where free kicks are awarded.

Kevin

Ironically a number of commentators and pundits have been saying how well the VAR system has been working compared with the Premier League but there have been two controversial penalty kicks awarded after VAR consultation: the one last night in the Spain v Poland game and another in the Croatia v Czech Republic match earlier in the week conceded by Dejan Lovren, Croatia's former Liverpool player.

Tinkering with the laws of the game such as those relating to handball and offside has only served to create greater controversy and argument when it comes to making decisions whether by the referee in real time or after VAR. I think the offside interpretation has been altered again for this competition taking the line across the shoulder instead of across a finger or toe. Whether it will be an improvement only time will tell. Some of the ridiculous VAR decisions in the Premier League where goals have been ruled out for offside because the goalscorer's hand was beyond the last but one defender amounted to high farce, especially as a goal cannot be scored legally with the hand. I don't blame the referees - they are only acting under the law makers' edict.

Thus far it seems to be generally believed that the refereeing in EURO 2020 has been very good. Without wanting to set them up for a fall, I think that the English referees Michael Oliver and Anthony Taylor have done well in the matches I've watched, with the latter in charge of the Denmark v Finland match that involved the dreadful situation with Christian Eriksen. Whenever I see these two officiating in the Premier League they always seem to be quietly efficient without wanting to be the centre of attention, unlike for example the flamboyant Mike Dean.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Speaking of Mike Dean, here he is in his other role as a Tranmere Rovers fan.

Mike Dean celebrates Tranmere's play-off win!

Premier League referee Mike Dean passionately celebrates Tranmeres play-off semi final victory over Forest Green Rovers amongst fellow fans.

www.skysports.com

 

[JENNYJET]

I prefer it when one does not notice the referee, the Silent One. Makes for a good tempered game with no dissent or diva players.

 

[Kevin Farnell]

M

I prefer it when one does not notice the referee, the Silent One. Makes for a good tempered game with no dissent or diva players.

My Nan used to say that she liked to watch the man dressed in black running around the pitch (obviously back in the days that the Ref always wore black).

Kevin

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Well done Wales for reaching the last 16 stage, and deservedly so.

After finishing runners-up in their group they will play the runners-up from group B in Amsterdam, probably Russia or Denmark either of which are beatable. The winner of group B will almost certainly be Belgium, a different proposition altogether.

 

[jfy1999]

Wales will play Denmark in Amsterdam after a stunning turnaround in group B. It should be an exciting game given what we’ve seen from both teams so far. But it‘s extremely disappointing that we won‘t see the “Red Wall” for the game - no Welsh fans will be allowed into Netherlands.

Euro 2020: Wales fans 'won't be allowed in' to Netherlands

Fans are told not to travel to Amsterdam for Wales' Euro 2020 last 16 tie with Denmark.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[TheLocalYokel]

Wales will play Denmark in Amsterdam after a stunning turnaround in group B. It should be an exciting game given what we’ve seen from both teams so far. But it‘s extremely disappointing that we won‘t see the “Red Wall” for the game - no Welsh fans will be allowed into Netherlands.

Euro 2020: Wales fans 'won't be allowed in' to Netherlands

Fans are told not to travel to Amsterdam for Wales' Euro 2020 last 16 tie with Denmark.

www.bbc.co.uk

According to the Dutch government website (see link below) Denmark, like the UK, is not on the Dutch government's list of safe countries with a low Covid-19 risk. People from such countries don't need a negative virus test before entering the Netherlands, nor do they need to quarantine once they have arrived. All countries not on the list are regarded as High Risk. Neither the UK nor Denmark is on the Low Risk list which suggests that Danish fans will be in the same position as Welsh fans when it comes to entering the Netherlands.

COVID-19 and visiting the Netherlands

The Government of the Netherlands has decided to lift all travel restrictions related to coronavirus.

www.government.nl

Incidentally, tonight's results guarantee England a place in the last 16 even if they lose to the Czech Republic. England already have four points whereas two third-placed countries in groups already completed - Finland in group B and Ukraine in group C - only have three.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

There will be many people like me puzzling over the fact that two members of the England squad (Mount and Chilwell) who had a conversation with their Scottish Chelsea club mate Gilmour after the England v Scotland match now have to self-isolate and will miss tonight's game against the Czech Republic and possibly England's lat 16 stage match, depending when it is played. Training for that will be disrupted in the lead-up to that match whatever the date.

Gilmour tested positive for Covid after the match and yet his Scotland team mates are all allowed to play in tonight's game against Croatia. His team mates would have been in close contact with him for far longer than Chilwell and Mount. Had Scotland scored a goal the entire team would have been rolling on the ground hugging and kissing each other in sheer ecstasy. Would they still have been allowed to play in tonight's match I wonder.