European Championship has offered plenty of action and a few talking points. As the biggest stars of the competition take a break ahead of the knockout stage, we look back at the 12 days of Euro 2020 we’ve witnessed so far.On only the second day of the competition, we’ve been shocked by one of the most chilling moments in football history. Shortly after the kick-off of Denmark’s Group B opener against Finland, Christian Eriksen collapsed onto the pitch after suffering a cardiac arrest. What followed was a battle for life. And thanks to the medical staff at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Christian claimed the biggest win of the competition – he survived.Great news: Eriksen discharged from hospital after successful operationWe’ve seen some dominant displays on the pitches around Europe, a few unfortunate defeats for the underdogs, and a couple of bitter disappointments. Let’s take a look.Ruthless and faultlessOnly three teams qualified for the stage of 16 by winning all three of their group stage matches. Belgium destroyed Russia, they came back from behind to win against Denmark before breaking down plucky Finland in their last match. As it was expected, Romelu Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne starred for the Red Devils. Next up for them is a potentially spectacular encounter with trophy holders Portugal.The Red Devils turn the game around thanks to genius Kevin De BruyneThe Netherlands scored the most goals in their three games – eight. After their entertaining 3-2 win over Ukraine, they went from strength to strength and dispatched Austria and Macedonia easily whilst keeping clean sheets. New Barcelona signing Memphis Depay, captain Gini Wijanldum and flying full-back Denzel Dumfries are driving Oranje forward as a last 16 clash with the Czech Republic beckons.He was named after the Hollywood star – and he plays like a Hollywood starNo goals conceded, seven goals scored, three wins in three games – that’s a summary of Italy’s tournament so far. Gli Azzurri may not have been considered one of the best teams before the tournament started, but they have been the most impressive so far. They demonstrated solid defence, industrious midfield and lethal attack. Austria will have their work cut out when these two teams meet at Wembley Stadium.Locked in on success: Italian midfield maestro making the world take noticeGood enoughSpain have been utterly frustrating in their first two games. Playing in their backyard in Seville, they were held to a goalless draw by Sweden, and they made their fans shake their heads in disbelief as they only drew 1-1 with awful Poland. Still, they made it to the knockout stage and got the feel-good factor back with a thumping 5-0 success over Slovakia in the last group game on Wednesday. They will have to improve their finishing if they are to stand any chance against Croatia. Speaking of them, Luka Modric and friends started slowly as they only got a single point in their first two games, but they overcame Scotland in a physically gruelling encounter at Hampden Park.🇪🇸 Spain have scored 5 goals in a EURO final match for the 1st time 💪#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/vvbW4QuwnJ— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 23, 2021 England weren’t spectacular and didn’t get many pulses going, but 1-0 wins over Croatia and Czech Republic were enough to see them through. In both of those matches, it was Raheem Sterling who scored the winning goals. No goals conceded is fine, but scoring just two goals in three games is simply too few. The Three Lions need their forward players, mainly Harry Kane, to step up and start producing because Germany awaits in their next game. Talking about Germany, it’s been a somewhat odd tournament for them so far. They began with a narrow defeat against France but got back on track with a flowing display and a confident 4-2 win over Portugal. However, they were sweating over qualifying for the knockout stage as they had to come back twice against Hungary in their last game. It was hardly encouraging for the 2014 World Cup winners – especially considering that they played all three of their matches at home.Kal’s beloved Granny Val is smiling down on him from HeavenFrance are the ruling World champions, plus they’ve got the classy Karim Benzema back in the team. On paper, they seem unbeatable. But the game is not played on the paper but on the pitch – by humans. And humans don’t always work so well. The biggest talking point among the French was the alleged dispute between Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe. Everyone from Les Bleus camp says that it was nothing to worry about, but the fans are not convinced. The 1-0 win over Germany and two draws were enough to see them qualify as the “Group of Death” winners.Trouble in paradise? Mbappe furious afer Giroud post match commentsPortugal, meanwhile, have finished third in the group – just like they did in 2016, the year they won the tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota, Pepe and the rest of Os Navegadores will be hoping that history will repeat itself. If they manage to overcome Belgium in their next match – then anything is possible.🇵🇹 Cristiano Ronaldo: 5️⃣🇨🇿 Patrik Schick: 3️⃣🇸🇪 Emil Forsberg: 3️⃣🇧🇪 Romelu Lukaku: 3️⃣🇵🇱 Robert Lewandowski: 3️⃣🇳🇱 Gini Wijnaldum: 3️⃣Cristiano Ronaldo is the top goalscorer after the #EURO2020 group stages 🥇 pic.twitter.com/RAupggzEUN— Goal (@goal) June 23, 2021 Why did they even bother?!Or dear. Turkey. OK, let’s be honest – nobody ever expected them to go all the way, but they’ve got some quality players with big seasons behind them. Hakan Calhanoglu, Burak Yilmaz, Merih Demiral, Caglar Soyuncu, Zeki Celik and the others could have at least reached the knockout stage. Instead, they lost all three of their group games and scored just one goal. The Turks might as well stayed at home.Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup and did reasonably well. This was supposed to be another good tournament for the vast county and their team. But once again, they proved too inconsistent. They won against Finland but had no chance against Belgium and Denmark. They finished bottom of their group.Robert Lewandowski’s Poland are down and out (©AFP)Poland go into every big tournament with optimism. How can you not feel good about your chances with the mighty Robert Lewandowski leading your attack? And, that said, it’s not like they haven’t got more good players across the team. They simply fold in every tournament. Drawing against Spain was alright, but defeats against Slovakia and Sweden were just dire. They finished bottom with Lewandowski scoring three of their four goals. It turns out that he cannot do it by himself after all.Get your snacks and drinks readyThere are 16 teams left in the tournament. For each one of them, the throne is four wins away. With the fans in the stands and the nature of the Euro, you can’t rule anyone out easily.Will Kane find his shooting boots when England beat their old rivals Germany? Can Cristiano Ronaldo become the best-ever goalscorer in international football? Will Kai Havertz and Timo Werner add the European Championship glory to the Champions League win? Are Spain, France, and Portugal going to improve in time? Are there any shocks in store?🇦🇹🇧🇪🇭🇷🇨🇿🇩🇰🏴🇫🇷🇩🇪🇮🇹🇳🇱🇵🇹🇪🇸🇸🇪🇨🇭🇺🇦🏴🤩 EURO 2020 round of 16 set! List the 3 most impressive teams so far 👇#EURO2020— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) June 23, 2021 There is all to play for, and we at Mozzart Sport Kenya will be there to bring you closer to the action until the big final.EURO 2020Round of 16Saturday, 26 June19.00: Wales – Denmark22.00: Italy – AustriaSunday, 27 June19.00: Netherlands – Czech Republic22.00: Belgium – PortugalMonday, 28 June19.00: Croatia – Spain22.00: France – SwitzerlandTuesday, 29 June19.00: England – Germany22.00: Sweden – Ukraine
