We’re now over a week into the Euros and I am thoroughly invested. If you speak to my girlfriend, she’d even claim I’m addicted, glued to the sofa day after day until that gorgeous 2pm kick off comes and eight straight hours of watching football commences.
We’ve seen some stunning goals, plenty of own goals and one major VAR scandal, and Matchday 9 didn’t disappoint either. Here’s how it impacted our Euro 2024 Adidas v Nike Boot Battle.
Another Georgian Thriller
I DIDN’T LEARN! After seeing Georgia v Turkey on the agenda in the group’s first matchday, I don’t think I was alone in being underwhelmed at the fixture. Would I watch it? Of course. But it wasn’t going to be a ‘lean forward, no phone kind of game.’ How wrong was I? It proved to be one of the games of the tournament, so you’d think I’d be more excited when Georgia v Czech Republic popped up as the day’s opener, but I naively wasn’t.
It was an end-to-end affair, which looked to have seen its first goal midway through the half when Adam Hlozek bundled it home after his shot was saved and rebounded off his head. It was ruled out, though, for an offside and the game continued even. The Czechs were on top and had the better chances, but despite not having a shot on target, Georgia looked threatening on the counter attack too. That changed just before half time, when Robin Hranáč handled in the area. The penalty was converted by Georges Mikautadze, and as things stood at the time, the Czechs would remain pointless.
Georgia Let Czechs Off the Hook
They got their equaliser in the 59th minute. Ondřej Lingr headed onto the post from a corner and it rebounded, hitting Patrik Schick’s chest and trickling over the line. They continued to push for a winner which left them susceptible to a counter attack. In the last action of the game, Georgia broke away and found themselves three on one. Saba Lobjanidze was played in but could only blaze over in a dramatic final moment.
Both teams now sit on one point, needing a win in their finals games to progress. For Georgia, they may prove tricky as they face a strong Portugal side. The Czechs play Turkey in what could be a winner-takes-all clash.
Adidas
Mikautadze (Goal): 2
Nike
Schick (Goal): 2
Mamardashvili (MOTM): 4
Running Total: Adidas 112 – Nike 115
Portugal Cruise to Last 16
Turkey started brightly and after an impressive win in their first game against the Czechs, it looked like they could put up stiff opposition. However, things changed after 21 minutes. Some bright work down the left-hand side ended up with Portugal working the ball into the box. The ball fell to Bernando Silva inside the box and he made no mistake to put his team 1-0 up.
The Turkey fans were still in fine voice, but they were silenced seven minutes later thanks to what will surely be the craziest goal of the Euros. We’ve said it before – DEATH, TAXES AND OWN GOALS AT EURO 2024… Cristiano Ronaldo was left frustrated as João Cancelo failed to slip him through on goal. He, like the rest of us (including the camera man), turned away in disgust, only for the next moment to see Portuguese players celebrating in somewhat bemused fashion. Samet Akaydin even checked his shoulder before playing it back to his keeper, but he wasn’t there. He was standing to the left of his goal and the ball desperately trickled over the line.
Dead Second Half
The second half was a non-contest. Ronaldo raced through early on, beating an ill-conceived offside trap. He was in absolute acres with only him, the keeper and Bruno Fernandes for company. He unselfishly squared it to the Man United skipper who couldn’t miss and Portugal cruised to a 3-0 lead. They continued to push and could have added more, as Turkey seemed content to keep the socreline down and threatened little. Portugal through, Turkey may need something from their final game against Czech Republic.
Adidas
B. Silva (Goal): 3, (MOTM): 4
Pepe (Clean Sheet): 2
Mendes (Clean Sheet): 2
Diogo Costa (Clean Sheet): 3
Nike
Fernandes (Goal): 3
Dias (Clean Sheet): 2
Cancelo (Clean Sheet): 2
Running Total: Adidas 126 – Nike 122
Lukaku Denied Again as Belgium Clinch Crucial Win
Belgium started well, really well in what they knew was a must-win game. After just two minutes, the ball was set back to Youri Tielemans who drilled it low into the back of the net. The urgency and attacking prowess that they lacked in their opening game was clear to see this time around. Romania simply couldn’t match the impressive levels they showed against Ukraine.
It wasn’t just one way traffic though. Radu Drăgușin had a powerful header pushed over the bar by Koen Casteels. At the other end, Florin Niță made a string of class saves during the game, including a parry of Dodi Lukebakio’s shot, with the right forward cutting inside after some incredible build-up play from Kevin De Bruyne.
Lukaku Suffers More VAR Dispair
Midway through the second half, Belgium thought they’d doubled their lead, as Romelu Lukaku was played through and calmly finished past Niță. In a cruel twist of fait, VAR rightfully ruled it out for offside – and when we say offside, we mean literally Lukaku’s big toe was off. He had two goals over-ruled in the last match that contributed us awarding him Donkey of the Day (more for his celebrations), but even we had to admit we were starting to feel a little bad for the striker.
He had another chance later on, but after cleverly making space for himself he could only fire it straight at Niță. Meanwhile, Dennis Man capitalised on a dodgy back-header and raced through one on one. Casteels stood strong though, and denied the Romanians what looked to be a sure equaliser. The Belgian keeper played an instrumental role when his side finally got their second to kill off the game. A goal kick wasn’t dealt with and ended up bouncing through to De Bruyne. He held off his man and slid the ball home to finally seal the three points.
Belgium might still need a result against Ukraine in their last group game, with all four teams in their group sitting on three points.
Adidas
Castagne (Clean Sheet): 2
Faes (Clean Sheet): 2
Nike
Casteels (Clean Sheet): 3
Vertonghen (Clean Sheet): 2
De Bruyne (Goal): 3, (MOTM): 4
Tielemans (Goal): 3
Running Total: Adidas 130 – Nike 137
Boot Battle Standings (Adidas 130 Nike 137) – Matchday 9:
Our Boot Battle: Adidas v Nike, took further twists and turns as we completed matchday 9 of Euro 2024. Nike retook the lead after the Georgia game, only for the impressive Portugal display to put Adidas back in the lead. This was largely down to Silva’s performance in which he grabbed a goal and MOTM award. De Bruyne equalled that fete in the final game of the day to put Nike back in the ascendancy.
Tomorrow sees Scotland fight for their tournament lives in a game they likely need to win against a beatable Hungary side. Meanwhile, Germany face Switzerland. Despite the hosts already guaranteeing their passage to the next stage with two wins, defeat would see them finish second in the group, which could mean a potential heavyweight clash in the Last 16.
