Spain and Germany show power and reinforce their favoritism in the EURO

MADRID, 27 Jun. (EUROPA PRESS) –

Spain and Germany have shown to be at a high level during the first phase of the Euro Cup in which the big favorites, France and England, have left many doubts with a poor performance, and in which there have not been any big surprises in the face of the round of 16 that starts this Saturday, except for the presence of debutant Georgia.

The Spanish team has increased the expectations it generated before the start of Euro 2024. Luis de la Fuente’s team, with a young team and without any big stars, appeared in Germany in a second step among the favorites. However, his performance in the group stage has turned that thought around, unleashing excitement and euphoria among the fans.

Spain needed only the first match against Croatia to dispel in one fell swoop all the doubts that might exist about them. A resounding victory against the third-ranked team from the last World Cup (3-0), accompanied by a great game, was enough for this. Great sensations that were confirmed especially against the current European champion, Italy, whom ‘La Roja’ passed despite achieving victory only by an own goal.

In addition, the Nations League champion completed its perfect group stage – full of victories and zero goals conceded – with a narrow victory with the ‘b unit’ against Albania, something that has not been able to be replicated by any of the other 23 teams present.

And if Spain is the only team that has achieved full victories, Germany has been the only favorite that has met expectations. The host started off with fear with what has been the biggest win of the Euro Cup so far, the 5-1 win over Scotland.

In the second match, Julian Nagelsmann’s team delivered again, this time with fewer flourishes, against Hungary (2-0), but suffered more than expected against Switzerland to save a leadership that looms with a goal from Niclas Füllkrug in the 92nd minute. a possible duel in the quarterfinals against Luis de la Fuente’s team.

Much worse has been the level shown by England and France in the first phase of the tournament. The French and English appeared at the EURO boasting of being the two best teams in the tournament, however, they have not been able to demonstrate it with the ball in play.

Its performance has been practically traced. Both have achieved one victory and two draws in the group stage, although in the case of the ‘Three Lions’ those five points have meant first position in the group, while ‘les bleus’ have had to settle for second place. .

Another detail that France and England have agreed on is showing a poor game, ineffective in attack – two goals each in three games – and that has not managed to make its stars shine. Although Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappé, who caused a scare with his nasal fracture in the first duel, have managed to break their scoring record in the EURO, they have not reached the level of play they showed with their club, something that has also happened with big names like Phil Foden, Harry Kane or Antoine Griezmann.

For their part, teams that started out as aspiring to shine, such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Portugal, have completed a very irregular first phase and all have passed with a defeat under their belt, the least damaging for the 2016 European champions, who have already They were ranked first.

On the other hand, the first three needed the last day to certify their place in the round of 16, with the Italians needing a goal in added time to do so. Therefore, despite moments of brilliance such as the debut of the Dutch, the victories of Belgium and Portugal against Romania and Turkey, respectively, or the comeback of the ‘Azzurra’ in the debut against Albania, they will need to improve in the round of 16 if they do not They want to say goodbye early.

GEORGIA, SLOVAKIA, SLOVENIA AND ROMANIA SHINE

On a positive note, Romania, Georgia, Slovenia and Slovakia have been the big surprises of the tournament. Especially meritorious is that of the Romanians, who finished first in a very competitive group in which they surpassed, a priori, better rivals such as Belgium and Ukraine.

For its part, Georgia, in its first major international tournament, entrusted Kvaratskhelia and Mikautadze – top scorer of the tournament so far with three goals – to make the ‘match’ of beating Portugal on the last group day and reach the round of 16 as one of the best third parties in their debut in a European Championship.

In the case of the Slovaks, they made good of their surprising victory against Belgium in the debut with a draw against Romania on the last day, while Slovenia surpassed a group stage for the first time in its history after showing its high degree of competitiveness by remaining undefeated in a group with England, Denmark and Serbia, against whom they added three draws with two goals scored in a poor quality group where a total of seven were seen in six games, with two goalless draws on the last day.

Finally, Croatia and Ukraine have given the group stage a negative note. Both were destined to be two teams that could challenge the big favorites, giving them the occasional upset. However, they have been knocked out of the tournament at the first opportunity, with a certain amount of bad luck on the Balkan side that lost victories against Albania and Italy in added time.

Combined like the Pole, who arrived at the last matchday with no chance of qualifying, the Scotsman, beaten by Germany on the first matchday and unable to add a win, or the Czech Republic, quarterfinalist in the last edition and eliminated at the first opportunity and as fourth in their group, they have left a poorer image than was expected of them in the tournament.

2024-06-27 15:55:52
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