Euro 2020

With a one year delay, it was time for another European Championship, the EURO 2020. And it was a special one for many reasons, not only because it started one year later.

A special tournament

One of the reasons was that the Euro was held in different countries all over Europe. The opening match took place in Rome, where Italy awaited Turkey. The first half was rather boring. However, the second one was one for the history books. For the first time in a Euro, the first goal of the tournament was an own goal. This could have been a rather dishonorable win for Italy. But they scored two more goals and it became a fair win.

For the first time, not all matches were shown on tv in my country. The first "victim" was the match Switzerland vs. Wales taking place in Baku. I would have preferred it over Denmark vs. Finland (at least, until I found out what happened in the match) Again, the first half remained goalless, even though Switzerland had some good chances to score. Shortly after the beginning of the second half, the Swiss went ahead. But they lost their lead 25 minutes later. They could have got it back, but the goal was ruled out for offside. The draw remained. Not an ideal result for both teams, but at least they wouldn't leave empty-handed.

Finland played their first Euro-match ever in Copenhagen, and it was one they wouldn't forget. First, some Finnish players had to be given medical treatment. The shock followed in the last minutes of the first half: a Danish player collapsed and had to be reanimated. The match was rightfully suspended, the Danes were understandably shocked and not able to continue. After relieving news, both teams agreed to play on. But the Danes probably regret it, as they hadn't recovered yet and had to deal with the next shock: Finland taking the lead. They got a penalty, but weren't in the right state of mind to score. Finland ended up winning the game surprisingly. Not the result I hoped for.

Because it was a bad starting position for Russia. I knew they wouldn't win against Belgium from the start, I just hoped for a rather small goal difference. In the first half, substitutions already had to be made when a Belgian and Russian player collided. By halftime, Belgium already lead by two goals and it looked like it would be the final result. I wished that Russia would at least score one goal, but the best chance ended up right in the arms of the goalkeeper. The shot looked nice, though. Shortly before the final whistle, Belgium scored another goal. Both Turkey and Russia got three goals against, and the latter now had a difficult time to reach the third place.

The fifth match was a rematch of the World Cup semi final between England and Croatia. Could England get revenge? They used their home advantage and scored which was enough to secure their win. It was also the first time ever they won their opening match in the Euro, while for Croatia it was the reversed case.

I didn't really care about group C, it just wasn't interesting enough. The two outsiders kicked off the group, it was probably the match with the least interest. Austria took the lead first, but North Macedonia equalised ten minutes later. For a long time, it seemed like the draw would stand, but Austria scored two more and got their first win ever in a Euro match.

The next match was played by the alleged favourites of the group, the Netherlands and Ukraine. Since the Netherlands is by far my least favourite team, I rooted for the Ukraine, especially since their goalkeeper reminded us of someone. Like in some of the previous matches, the first half was goalless. The second half, however, got very exciting. Within six minutes, the Dutch scored two goals. Things looked bad for Ukraine. But they fought back and needed four minutes to equalize, which was celebrated by us. The Dutch were visibly surprised by this, but they recovered quickly. They ruined Ukraine's comeback and got their lead back by scoring a third goal, much to our dismay. It was the match with the most goals so far.

The match Scotland vs. Czech Republic was the second one that was not shown on tv. However, it delivered us an early candidate (and later winner) for the goal of the tournament. Czech Republic's second goal was scored from almost midfield. What a beauty! It matched the name of the goalscorer which is pronounced as chic. The Scottish goalkeeper was so shocked that he fell into the net and almost got tangled in it.

Slovakia's win against Poland, also thanks to an own goal, was a surprise. The own goal by the goalkeeper was the first in history of the Euros.
The match between Spain and Sweden was the first real disappointment. My sister and me, who had chosen Spain as our favourite team 13 years ago, were once again reminded that they just aren't what they used to be, causing painful memories. The Swedish defense was simply impenetrable and so it was the first match that ended goalless. That was rather unexpected.

The group of death was the last one to play. It kicked off with Portugal and Hungary in Budapest. The full stadium caused some anxiety attacks. All goals were scored in the last ten minutes. Since I didn't see the third goal, I thought the match ended 2-0. Hungary, Russia and Turkey were in good company as they had all conceded three goals.

The battle of the last two world champions was anxiously awaited. My sister and me didn't root for our country though, but for France, who we discovered during the last Euro. Since the last World Cup, we started cheering for France more than Spain. However, I felt that it wouldn't be an easy match, and I was right. France took the lead thanks to an own goal – which was scored by the player who caused their elimination in the 2014 World Cup. For once I felt pity for Germany. The match was overshadowed by two heavy fouls, but they remained ineffective. A weird scene caused some confusion. France scored two more goals – at least almost, because both were ruled out for offside. The last one was initially counted but then taken back since the assist giver was offside. I would have preferred a 2-0 as in the previous Euro. In the end, it was an unlucky win for the reigning World Champions and a match that didn't meet the expectations.

I looked nervously at the next match, but it wasn't shown on tv. My hope was that both teams would go into the match with zero points, but after Finland's surprising win against Denmark – which probably only happened because of the dramatic circumstances – it wasn't the case. Russia was in trouble and needed to win this match. In stoppage time, Russia took the lead and it was almost doubled moments later, but it wasn't over yet. They missed several chances, but it still was enough. Everything could still happen in group B, the third match day would decide.

To my surprise, Wales won against Turkey who were still without a goal. Towards the end of the match the players started attacking each other.
Italy became the first team to book their ticket to the round of 16. Once again, a goal was ruled out after it was initially given, this time for the use of hand. It was scored moments after my sister asked for a goal. The last match would be decisive for Switzerland and Turkey.

Denmark had a wild start against Belgium. After 100 seconds they already scored a goal. That escalated quickly. They stopped playing for a minute and applauded Eriksen, who collapsed in the match against Finland and was watching from the hospital. Nice gesture! In the second half, however, Belgium took off and turned the game around, like the round of 16 match in the World Cup. Denmark hadn't won yet, but they were still in with a chance to make the knockout round. Belgium was the second team making the round of 16 after Italy.

The eighth day of the tournament wasn't that interesting to me. While the first match wasn't shown on tv, I didn't follow the second one. The last match of the day was the British Derby between England and Scotland during rain, but neither of the two teams managed to score. While they both earned one point each, the Scottish celebrated like they had won.

The ninth day however was very exciting! The reigning World champions, my country against the defending European champions and our former favourite team Spain. Our new favourite team France was the first – and the match was very nerve-wrecking. Not only did the French miss some good chances, they conceded a goal in stoppage time. The defense didn't pay attention there. I screamed like crazy and was close to a heart attack, I even hoped the goal would be offside. It was the top goalscorer of the previous Euro who equalized and scored France a point. I haven't celebrated a goal this much at this Euro before.

I couldn't believe my eyes during the next match. At first, Germany took the lead, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Ten minutes later it was Portugal that scored. Then Germany equalized and seemingly scored another, but both were own goals by the Portuguese. I haven't seen two own goals by one team before and felt sorry for them, that was harsh. With the match ending 2:4, it became the match with the most goals, but without the own goals it would have been a draw.

The last match of this exciting day was Spain against Poland. The Spanish number 7, like other players with this shirt number on this day, scored a goal and brought Spain the lead, which we celebrated. But in the second half time, Poland equalized much to our dismay. Spain were awarded a penalty, but missed it. The draw stood, and it was already the second for Spain. All in all, the results were not what I hoped for, I expected the day to end differently. Especially France's result annoyed me a lot.

Switzerland defeated Turkey and kept their hopes to reach the round of 16 alive. Turkey was overestimated prior to the tournament, but at least they didn't leave goalless. The Swiss didn't have to wait long – the next day it was clear that they would make it to the knockout round.

And that day started with a surprise. Austria defeated Ukraine and reached the knockout round for the first time! I didn't expect that. Ukraine was in danger of elimination.
I knew that Denmark would win against Russia, but I hoped for a closer win. Also, I thought that Russia would be higher than Finland due to defeating them, but I was wrong. Goal difference mattered more. The last place hurt, but at least Finland had next to no chances of making it out of the group. That consoled me a little, and every team had at least three points so no one left empty-handed. We celebrated Belgium's first goal too early as it was ruled out minutes later. But in the end they still won – also thanks to an own goal of the Finnish goalkeeper. It was also confirmed that all third-place teams with four points, including Switzerland, would advance to the next round, as well as all teams with that exact amount of points qualifying.

Two of those teams played the next day. Between England and Czech Republic the group winner was decided. Croatia defeated Scottland and pushed Czech Republic from the second place. They were all qualified for the next round anyway.
The last day of group stage was pure madness! Spain against Slovakia was one-sided, the build-up to the first goal was a bit confusing though. It was the weirdest own goal by a goalkeeper. Just what was he thinking there? After that, Spain was in a rush and got their highest win in Euro history. Among them was a beautiful backheel goal and another own goal. Slovakia had no chance of advancing because of their goal difference and shared a questionable record with Portugal.

I would have liked to watch the rematch of the previous Euro final, but of course they showed the German match. Hungary took the lead early, but I wasn't really bothered by it. My sister however screamed like I did when they scored against France. It was different when Portugal went ahead though. I thought I wouldn't mind it that much, but I did since it was possible that France would finish third which I didn't want at all after the results of group E. In stoppage time, they equalized and doubled their lead in the first minutes of the second half. The situation in the group of death seemed to change every minute. Germany went from being eliminated to advancing when they scored the equalizer. The joy didn't last long though as Hungary took their lead back just two minutes later. Shortly after, Portugal equalized and I wasn't unhappy about it. I had hoped for the match to end in a draw in hopes that France would finish on second place. But without a German win it remained just wishful thinking. Hungary winning and France losing was too risky, so a German win was the safer option even though I secretely wanted them to finish third. For this to happen, the only possibility would have been a draw against Hungary and a Portuguese win, but the head-to-head between Germany and France wasn't safe enough. When Germany evened the score, my mum and sister screamed like crazy while I remained calm. Actually, I would've preferred a German win since France would be second of the group instead and have an easier path as a result. Therefore, I wasn't happy with the outcome. Especially when I realised what the quarter final could look like.

The round of 16 was opened by Wales and Denmark. It was a one-sided match with an obvious win. The match Italy and Austria was far more exciting. Austria did surprisingly well. A sensation almost happened when they took the lead. But only almost, since the goal was ruled out. No other goal could be scored in regular time so it was the first match to go to extra time. Italy then achieved a two-goal lead, but Austria scored too. However, the goal came too late and the winner was expected in the end. Austria fought well though, and if it wasn't for offside, they would have caused an upset.

The winner between the Netherlands and Czech Republic seemed obvious. You think! First a Dutch player was given a red card, then they conceded a goal. The second goal sealed the elimination of the favourite. A third placed team beat a group winner!
Belgium against Portugal wasn't the top match everyone expected. Only one goal was scored by Belgium. The defending champions were out, but Belgium would face a tough opponent with Italy.

The 2014 trauma – when the Euro turned into a nightmare

The next day was a rollercoaster ride. First Spain fell behind because of a weird own goal, then they lead by two before Croatia could equalize within a few minutes. My sister and me were shocked to see that. The match had to go to extra time. But Spain scored two more goals and secured the quarterfinal for the first time since their last tournament win. I hadn't seen eight goals in a match before. It looked like a score after a penalty shootout.

Speaking of... What started so well, ended in a nightmare. It went exactly like the previous match: first they conceded, then they scored three goals, and then equalization shortly before the end of the match. Therefore, it went to extra time but I didn't dare to watch. Extra time didn't go as in the previous match though and so the match went to penalties – in a match I didn't want it to happen. I expected the worst and had a bad feeling, especially since a crucial penalty scorer had been subbed off. That took place before the equalization and might have been a terrible mistake. The last penalty was decisive – and I didn't like it at all. I couldn't believe it and was shocked. In the semi finals, they would have likely lost anyway, but they didn't deserve to be eliminated in the round of 16. The last time I was this sad was when Spain was eliminated in the group stage of the World Cup seven years ago. France really just should have won the last Euro! The only silver lining of this was that Spain wouldn't face France and therefore I didn't have to be torn between them. But that could hardly console me. If only they had finished second in group stage (or Wales had been 3rd)...

At least I was compensated for it the next day. The last thing I wanted was Germany to go further than France, but I didn't believe in it since the opposite of what I hope always happened. The game seemed to last an eternity and felt like two hours when in reality it ended in regular time. England scored two goals and caused Germany's elimination which I celebrated. Finally what I wanted actually happened for once. It was a relief since I immediately felt better, it was like weight was lifted from me. In the end, it was a small consolation and some kind of justice.

The Euro of the underdogs continued in the last round of 16 match. Ukraine took the lead, but Sweden managed to equalize. The second half time proved ineffective so the match went to extra time. And it was full of fouls after the match had started pretty fair. Almost every second a player went down, and one was injured so badly he couldn't go on and caused Sweden a red card. It reminded me of the World Cup final 2010. When all signs were on penalty shootout, Ukraine saved themselves and reached their first quarter final in a Euro. That meant that a third placed team had beaten a group winner for the third time. Besides France, only four of seven unbeaten teams remained. And those were also the favourites against the underdogs.

The first quarterfinal wasn't France against Spain as I had feared. I didn't know if I should laugh or cry about it. On the one hand, I was relieved that I didn't have to pick sides now, but on the other hand, I was still upset because of France and would really miss them. At least they hadn't lost any of their matches though as a penalty shootout counts as draw. Switzerland also had a longer break than France, giving them an unfair advantage. For the third time in a row, an own goal was scored in a match with Spain, this time in their favor. An hour later according to minutes played Switzerland equalized. After a disputed red card they were down one man. Extra time was uneventful so it went to dreaded penalties – once again in a match we didn't want it to happen. The first player, the only remaining world champion, hit the post. But nothing was lost yet. My sister was sceptical towards the Spanish goalkeeper. He could convince though and saved two penalties. Another one flew over the goal, so the next penalty could bring the early decision. He scored and Spain went to the semi final for the first time since nine years. At least a Swiss player could grace me with his presence which compensated me for the upset in the round of 16. What would I have done if it had been France instead?

All the action between Italy and Belgium took place in the first half. After a disallowed offside-goal Italy scored two goals, but Belgium pulled one back with a controversial penalty. How they could miss two good chances to equalize I don't understand. After just four minutes, a Belgian player had to be subbed off again. He topped the Ukrainian player who had to leave injured after being subbed on ten minutes before. The Italians also had to deal with a loss. Nothing changed so Italy would meet Spain for the fourth consecutive time in a Euro.

Early goals – that's how you could describe the second day of quarterfinals. The Danes took the lead thanks to a corner that shouldn't have been given. They could even double the lead in the first halftime. Czech Republic came back but it wasn't enough. Denmark reached the semifinal. Without the irregular corner kick it might have been different though.

Next was favourite vs. underdog, or England vs. Ukraine. The former lead the way with an early goal. But only in the second half time they gained momentum and scored three more goals. England still hadn't conceded. The Ukrainians could still be proud of themselves since they got further than other, bigger nations. Now I wasn't sure anymore if finishing second would have been better for France. Maybe Wales should have finished third instead of Switzerland. Or France should have played in white. Because all teams that wore white made the semi final. In the round of 16 all white jerseys won as well. Lucky color?

The rematch of the Euro final 2012 was next. If the streak continued, Spain would win in white. But first, I celebrated the return of the little car bringing in the ball. That's just too funny! The first halftime ended goalless, and it would remain this way, I thought. But then Italy took the lead. Was it the end? No, because Spain equalized 20 minutes later. Extra time ended up unsuccessful and so it went to the penalties for a third time just as I had suspected before the match – once again in a match where we didn't want it. The first two penalties were a fail, so everything was still open. Spain's new topscorer of the Euros, who had also equalized, decided the match. But I wasn't disappointed. Semi final was a good result, no one expected them to go that far after the first two matches. And, like France, they were unbeaten.

The second semi final was by far more scandalous. In the first halftime, Denmark took the lead with the first (and last) direct freekick goal of the tournament, and England conceded for the first time. An own goal by the Danish hero of the Euro leveled the score. No goals were scored in the second halftime, so the match had to go to extra time. And those 30 minutes turned out to be controversial as England were awarded a questionable penalty. The Danish goalkeeper was blinded by lasers, which reminded me of a similar incident in the World Cup 2014. He saved the penalty anyway, unlike the rebound shot. Therefore England reaching the final left a bitter note. Coincidentally, I had predicted the final correctly a few weeks earlier.

Italy could win their second, England even their first Euro. The latter made history with the fastest goal in a Euro final. That really came out of nowhere! Was the sensation near? For more than an hour, it looked like it. But then Italy equalized with a not so fair goal. Extra time was ineffective. This way, alongside Spain and France, both teams would be unbeaten. But for England it was probably the nightmare: penalty shootout. When the first Italian player was denied, all hopes were still alive. But then two English players in a row missed. The next penalty could have been the last one, but it was saved. It was on England to decide, but the pressure was too high. After the World Cup 2006, Italy once again won on penalties. It's kind of boring that they won since it was way too obvious, a surprise team would have been more interesting. It would have been the fitting ending for the Euro of the underdogs.