Arn Does Euro 2024 Day 4 

 

I had no time between days so here’s a bumper double day wrap up.  

 

TURKEY 3 GEORGIA 1 

This was bananas, baby. I loved every single minute of it. Both teams over two on the xG, 22 shots for Turkey, 15 for Georgia. Both teams constantly attacking. End to end. Just brilliant football.  

 

On top of that a couple of absolute bangers from Turkey. Muldur’s looked sensational. A controlled volley from outside the box. Arda Guler’s goal though…oh my god. What a fucking banger. A curling effort from outside the box. Right in top bins.  

 

Georgia played tremendous football for underdogs. Especially in wide areas. Kvaratskhelia often took multiple players out of the game, allowing joy in other areas of the attack. Banging game. Great to watch.  

 

PORTUGAL 2 CZECHIA 1 

From that elite game of football to whatever this was. Portugal looked ok on the ball. Vitinha was particularly good. The end product just wasn’t there though. It showed how desperate Portugal were getting as Leao got booked for diving. I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating, and that’s Ronaldo ruins the concept of a team. He was better than usual here. Little lay offs and whatnot but only because he wanted to score. What’s he doing taking free kicks still too? Get a grip, you old bitch.  

 

Portugal won in spite of the likes of Ronaldo, Bruno and Pepe. Portugal having the bench they have means Martinez can pull a result out of his ass. Czechia were ok on the ball but toothless in attack. In particular Schick, who had a dreadful game.  

 

Onto the next day then… 

 

CROATIA 2 ALBANIA 2 

Another outstanding game of football here. End to end. Both teams wanting to win. Neither content with a draw. Albania grabbing a dramatic late equaliser after several dramatic misses from them right beforehand. Albania was better defensively this time out, until the dramatic conclusion.  

 

Croatia were good on the ball and dominated possession but, as per usual, looked weak in front of goal until the latter stages and at 70’ they looked to be losing the game. Modric was a little careless, by his high standards, but was still one of the best players on the field.  

 

Albania will be happy to take a point but not winning here is potentially a tournament ender for both. I can’t see Albania getting anything from Spain and Croatia need to beat Italy.  

 

GERMANY 2 HUNGARY 0 

While this wasn’t the most convincing of performances from Germany, it was good enough. Wirtz and Havertz both had far less impact than against Scotland. Both taken off early in the second half. Gundogan was outstanding. His movement, his passing and his finishing were all superb. Musiala was, once again, excellent. That front four remains the key for Germany to progress deep into the tournament.  

 

They look far less convincing when having to defend. Tah turned his back on the player he was marking, which almost cost them a goal. Neuer was a disaster zone. The mistake he made near the end almost cost them a clean sheet. Leroy Sane was infuriating off the bench, as was Fuhrich.  

 

For Hungary, it was more of the same. They looked effective going forwards and not good defensively. Dardai and Fiola both had stinkers. I’m not sold on them having a back three. When you pick a back three it means either a) you haven’t got good full backs or b) your central defenders are too shit for just two of them to play. On the bright side, I thought Szoboszlai was much more ‘on it’ than against Switzerland. They now must beat Scotland in MD3.  

 

SCOTLAND 1 SWITZERLAND 1 

Scotland were much, much better here. Mainly because of including Billy Gilmour in central midfield. He made a huge difference. Scotland also fought better and were more competitive in all areas. There are still problems. A couple of players underperformed massively. McGinn, Robertson and Adams in particular.  

 

Switzerland could have won it a few times. Ndoye was clean through and Amdouni missed an easy header late on. Scotland were not without their own opportunities to take all three points and a draw is probably a fair result. The worst news for Scotland is the injury to Kieren Tierney, who had been excellent up until that point.  

 

TOPS 

Arda Guler (Turkey). I mean, it shouldn’t be a shocker that he’s great, he plays for Real Madrid…but scoring a sensational winner is a fine way to introduce yourself to a wider audience. Being a star on the International stage puts you on a higher plateau than any club sport. Even in Madrid. Excellent goal, excellent performance. 

 

Vitinha (Portugal). Portugal’s ability to move the ball around midfield and probe the back line is nothing new but Vitinha is the latest midfield maestro to come from the Iberian nation.  

 

Croatia and Albania. I just really enjoyed the match, lads. Cheers. Turkey vs Georgia too tbf.  

 

Ilkay Gundogan (Germany). Brilliant. Great movement, passing and finishing. All the tools you need as a #10. Killed the game off with the second goal. He was great against Scotland too but had end product with it here.  

 

Scott McTominay (Scotland). Scored a goal and made a huge difference in attacking areas. He really needed a forward player he could play off and Adams didn’t help him out at all. He made a lot of his own luck and could have won the game a few times.  

 

FLOPS 

Patrick Schick (Czechia). He’s normally a classy footballer but he was shit against Portugal. Even when he tried to tackle back, he gave away a free kick in a dangerous area. Hooked after an hour. His replacement, Mojmir Chytil, was arguably even worse.  

 

Raphael Leao (Portugal). Strongly hyped after a good year with Milan, he found Coufal almost impossible to get by. Compounded his own misery by getting booked for diving.  

 

Attila Fiola (Hungary). Why is he playing? Does he have nude photos of Marco Rossi? Surely Hungary have a better defender than this guy.  

 

John McGinn (Scotland). He’s gone missing for two games now. Nowhere near the standard he performs at for Aston Villa. If you’re playing in midfield you just can’t disappear for 15-20 minutes at a time.  

 

NEXT UP 

 

SLOVENIA vs. SERBIA 

It’s crunch time in Group C. Slovenia had a great second half against Denmark but another draw here isn’t going to be enough. This is the one they need to win. Serbia are also in a position where anything other than a win is likely curtains. A draw might result in a salvageable position against Denmark, but time will tell. Ideally, both teams will be gunning for three points.  

 

Serbia’s strength lies in big bulky defenders while Slovenia is all about pace on the counter. Both sets of forward players are likely to get more joy here than against more pragmatic western sides in England and Denmark. I’m hoping for another Croatia vs. Albania here with lots of end to end attacking play. Prediction: 2-2  

 

DENMARK vs. ENGLAND  

This is the opposite of the other game in Group C. Both teams play bland, uninteresting football unless given space by the opposition. I don’t expect either team to give any space. The likes of Bellingham and Eriksen will find it even harder to create than they did against Serbia and Slovenia.  

 

The last they faced each other, in the Euro 2020 semi three years ago, England just about edged it but it was a close, tense affair. More worryingly, for fans of exciting football, they managed just one goal between them across two games in the Nations League back in 2020. This is the style of these two countries and managers. Prediction: 1-1 (although, if it ends 0-0, I would not be even remotely surprised) 

 

SPAIN vs. ITALY 

The kind of free-flowing, exciting football Spain produced in their group opener was a shock to the system, as it came against a team, in Croatia, that’s normally organised and efficient. Blowing Croatia away was very impressive. If Spain can do the same to Italy, who would bet against them taking the trophy home next month?  

 

That said, Italy are the kind of team who will ‘do enough’ and a draw here would probably see them through to the knockout rounds. The last three games between the two nations have ended 2-1. It’s likely to be tense, close and hard to predict. It could go either way. My feeling with this particular set of Italian players is that while good, they aren’t at the same level as they were three years ago. Lacking a defensive base, outside of the excellent Bastoni, they might struggle against elite teams. Spain are elite. Prediction: 2-1  

 

There is a nagging doubt here, because the last time Italy beat Spain it was at the Euros. That was a team built on the backs of two incredible central defenders though in Chiellini and Bonucci. While Bastoni should have enough to subdue Morata, can the defence cope with the wing play of Spain?  

 

Team of the Tournament (Match Day 1) 

 

GK: Maignan  

RB: Carvajal  

LB: Ake  

CB: Upamecano 

CB: Bastoni  

MF: Ruiz  

MF: Bellingham  

MF: Barella  

LW: Musiala (cheated a bit here but hey) 

RW: Guler  

ST: Mbappe 

 

Team of the Tournament (Match Day 2)  

GK: Livakovic  

RB: Kimmich  

LB: Mittelstadt  

CB: Rudiger  

CB: Tierney  

MF: Kroos  

MF: Gundogan  

MF: Modric  

LW: Shaqiri  

RW: Musiala 

ST: Ndoye