The Red Devils will pay extra attention to the four games that are still on the program on Wednesday. The results determine which opponent they will face in their 1/8th final. After the results of Tuesday’s matches in group D, the chance has increased that it will be the best third in group E, today that is Spain. But the dreaded scenario – with the best third from the Group of Death with France, Germany and Portugal – is still a possibility.
Imagine: 1/8th final against Portugal or Germany, quarter-final against Italy, semi-final against France and the final against the Netherlands. It is a scenario that is still possible today.
We already know that the Red Devils have to play in Seville on Sunday. You can also be sure that there will be a whole week of whining about the extreme heat and the poorly mowed turf. But to know who the Devils will have to face in Spain, it will have to wait until Wednesday evening around 11 pm, when all group matches have been called off.
Finland
We’ll spare you the technical details, but today, according to the UEFA model that determines which best third parties we can play against, there are only four possible combinations left. In the three most likely scenarios – in which Finland does not join the top thirds – there are two in which Belgium comes out against the best third in group E. Spain is currently third in that group, but Slovakia and Sweden can also come in third. Poland may also continue in that group, but cannot come in third under any circumstances.
Only if that group E does not deliver the best third and group F does, will the Red Devils meet the best third of that last group – so perhaps Portugal, Germany or France.
Finally, a 1/8th final against Switzerland is also an option, but that is only possible if the third from group E and that from group F do worse than Finland, which has three points and a goal difference of -2.
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