FOOTBALL – The rescheduled Euro 2020 tournament is already underway and continues until the semi-finals and final due to be played at Wembley Stadium on July 11.
Euro 2020 is finally taking place after being postponed due the corona pandemic. Had the tournament gone ahead last year, it would have marked the 60th anniversary of the event. As such, UEFA decided to keep the 2020 date for the competition. Also different this year, is that there is no host nation. Therefore, the 51 matches involving 24 teams will be played across 11 countries and 12 different stadia.
The group stages will be played at 12 different stadia.
- Stadio Olimpico, Rome
- Olympic Stadium, Baku
- St Petersburg Stadium, Saint Petersburg
- Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
- Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam
- National Arena, Bucharest
- Wembley Stadium, London
- Hampden Park, Glasgow
- Estadio La Cartuja, Seville
- Allianz Arena Munchen, Munich
- Puskas Arena, Budapest
Euro 2020 Groups
- Italy, Turkey, Wales, Switzerland – GROUP A
- Belguim, Denmark, Finland, Russia – GROUP B
- Austria, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Ukraine – GROUP C
- Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Scotland – GROUP D
- Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden – GROUP E
- France, Germany, Hungary, Portugal – GROUP F
Group Stages
The group stages of Euro 2020 kicked off on Friday evening with a fantastic 3-0 victory for Italy over Turkey.
The game started full of action and promise for both teams, however no-one seemed able to find the net. Italy seemed to have the upper hand, but the Turkish defence prevented any goals. Turkey very nearly scored the first goal of the match just a minute before half time.
Lucky for some 13
The second half began 0-0 and continued that way until 53 minutes in when the ball hit off Demiral´s chest and scored an own goal putting the Italian side ahead. Then 13 minutes later, Immobile scored and a further 13 minutes after that, in the 79th minute, Insigne scored. The game ended with Italy claiming all 3 points and first to hit the top of group A table.
This is the first time in European Championship football that Italy have scored 3 goals in a match.
Wales v Switzerland
Today (Saturday), the first match of the day was Wales v Switzerland. In the opening minutes Wales start very strong until Switzerland claimed their first penalty. But the delivery is lacking and allows Wales an attempt at a counter attack. At the 15-minute mark, Moore of Wales has his first real chance at goal. However, it was saved magnificently by Sommer. Two minutes later in another clash, Moore has to be taken off the pitch for treatment to a head injury. Once bandaged, he returned to the game. The first half ended with Switzerland seeming to have the upper hand. Just into the second half, Embolo had an attempt on goal. This resulted in a corner. The corner was taken by Shaqiri, crossed to Embolo who scored in the 49th minute putting Switzerland in the lead. Switzerland again seemed to be the stronger team with Embolo involved in much of the action. Likewise, James for Wales seems to be everywhere. However after 74 minutes, Moore saw his chance and sent a header over Sommer and into the bottom corner of the net. The game ended 1-1 and was very much corners and counter attacks.
At the end of the game, the Group A table remains with Italy top on 3 points.
Denmark v Finland
Last night´s game was abandoned just before half time after Denmark´s Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch. The 29-year-old midfielder received the ball and then appeared to just fall face first onto the turf. The stadium went silent with players and fans visibly upset.
The medical team were quick to respond, but prior to that, very quickly the captain, Simon Kjaer checked for a pulse and made sure his tongue was not blocking his airway. When the medics arrived, they applied chest compressions and continued to treat him on the pitch before he was stretchered off and moved to hospital.
As he was being moved, both sets of crowds joined in chanting his name. The Finnish fans chanted Christian, with the Danish crowd following with Eriksen. The game was suspended, and later the remaining minutes of the first half were played and after a 5-minute break, the second half commenced. Finland won 1-0.
The official EUFA report is Eriksen has been stabilised.
Belgium v Russia
The Russian team were absent for most of the game with Belgium having control. Goals game for Belgium in the 10th, 34th and 88th minutes of the game. Lukaku scored twice and the other goal came from Meunier.
Belguim and Finland are joint top of the table for group B after the first round of matches.
Today it is the turn of;
- England v Croatia
- Austria v North Macedonia
- Netherlands v Ukraine
Then on Monday
- Scotland v Czech Republic
- Poland v Slovakia
- Spain v Sweden
The last of the initial matches in the group stages take place on Tuesday
- Hungary v Portugal
- France v Germany
