Was this the worst, least entertaining group in the history of international football? Just seven goals and one result out of the six games that wasn’t a draw. The cherry on top of the dull, bland, vanilla sponge cake was that the final two group games, with everything on the line and all teams battling it out for crucial Last 16 spots, ended 0-0. More on that later.
Elsewhere, there was a five-goal thriller in the Austria-Netherlands game and France struggled to see off a resilient Poland side. Here is what happened in today’s action at Euro 2024 in our quest to find the best football boots – Adidas or Nike.
Mbappe Goal Not Enough to Top Group
Poland came out fighting despite their journey home already confirmed, intent on not leaving the tournament pointless. It was the French who had the first chance though, with the ball running through to Theo Hernandez. His first-time, low effort was saved well by keeper Łukasz Skorupski.
Robert Lewandowski had a free header deflected just wide, but Skorupski was by far the busier keeper. He saved well from an Mbappe poke at goal from close range to keep his team level going into the break. It seemed a disjointed France side though, who struggled to break down Poland and were guilty of many misplaced passes.
Tale of Two (Three) Pens
Mbappe continued to test Skorupski going into the second half. Cutting inside, his effort from the edge of the box stung the keeper’s palms. Later Ousmane Dembélé showed great pace to race away down the right wing. As he entered the area, he was recklessly taken out by Jakub Kiwior. Penalty to France. Up stepped Mbappe. The poor fella has had to deal with Ninja-Turtle comparisons his whole career and now he’s forced to wear a mask. Is this some kind of sick joke?!
Mbappe or teenaged mutant ninja turtle?
He slotted the penalty home without fuss and quickly withdrew his mask to celebrate. Many thought France would run away with it at this point, but that wasn’t the case.
Poland made them pay for several missed chances with ten minutes remaining. Karol Świderski was fouled in the box. It wasn’t given but good old VAR overturned the referee. Up stepped Robert Lewandowski – and by stepped, we really do mean stepped. He took at least 35 stutters before finally reaching the ball. Once he did get there, he must have been too tired because his shot was weak and well saved by Mike Maignan. However, VAR intervened once more and ordered a retake for the keeper being off his line. On the retake, Lewandowski learned nothing, partaking in the same Irish-jig style runup. This time, though, he got it past Maignan, firing into the bottom-left corner.
France pushed but they couldn’t find that late winner that would have seen them top the group.
Adidas
Skorupski (MOTM): 4
Nike
Mbappe (Goal): 2
Lewandowski (Goal): 2
Running Total: Adidas 153 – Nike 161
Awesome Austria Top the Group
What a game we had in this clash between Netherlands and Austria. The latter have arguably been one of the best teams at the tournament so far, while the Dutch are always contenders.
It started off at blistering speed, with Austria coming out the traps in typical fast fashion. It paid off, as after just six minutes, Donyell Malen slid to intercept a cross but could only turn it into his own net. Death, taxes, own goals at Euro 2024.
Malen missed a chance to redeem himself shortly after. He was played through but could only drag his effort wide. Marko Arnautović at the other end failed to make a solid connection inside the box, in what looked like a fantastic opportunity to add to his side’s lead.
Goals Galore in Second Half
Just two minutes into the second half, the tone was set as Xavi Simons fed Cody Gakpo. The Liverpool forward cut inside and curled beautifully into the top-right corner. The scores weren’t level for long though, as Romano Schmid’s diving header couldn’t be kept out by either defender nor keeper, re-establishing the Austrian lead.
On 75 minutes, a ball into the box was headed down to Memphis Depay. His impressive acrobatic finish nestled into the top corner to once again equal the scoring. However, a mere five minutes later, Marcel Sabitzer smashed into the roof of the net from a tight angle to retake the lead once more. The rampant Austrians thought they had a fourth that few could argue they deserved, but the offside flag quelled their celebrations.
They held on for the win which saw them top their group. Netherlands could likely now face England in the next round, depending on tomorrow’s results.
Adidas
Schmid (Goal): 3
Malen (Own Goal): -2
Nike
Sabitzer (Goal): 3, (MOTM): 4
Running Total: Adidas 154 – Nike 168
Boring, Boring England
From a great game to one that made us wish we had the luxury of watching paint dry. Here’s what happened in England’s draw with Slovenia.
First Half
The referee blew the whistle for kick off. The referee blew the whistle for half time.
Into the second half, England showed a little more intensity. Slovenia were well drilled and were happy to let England have the ball. Kobbie Mainoo and Cole Palmer were second-half substitutes and certainly livened the attack up a little. But the best chance came in the final moments of the match. Those two linked up nicely and Palmer released a vicious shot, but Jan Oblak made a decent save at his near post.
Somehow, England still managed to top the group. Slovenia got through to the Last 16 for the first time in their history, having drawn every game so far.
Adidas
Trippier (Clean Sheet): 2
Janza (Clean Sheet): 2
Bijol (Clean Sheet): 2
Karnicnik (Clean Sheet): 2
Gnezda Cerin (MOTM): 4
Nike
Stones (Clean Sheet): 2
Guéhi (Clean Sheet): 2
Drkušić (Clean Sheet): 2
Running Total: Adidas 166 – Nike 172
Denmark Send Serbs Home
It was Denmark who showed the urgency early on in a game they knew they might have to win to progress, depending on other results. Serbia, on the other hand, knew a win was needed, but they lacked quality and had just one effort in the first half.
Denmark were on top but despite a flurry of efforts from distance and a number of corners, couldn’t add to the scoreline.
Shortly after the break, Serbia thought they’d grabbed a goal. A scrappy incident ended with Joachim Andersen putting it into his own net. It was rightfully ruled out for offside, though. Half chances were the theme of the day and neither side could land a telling offensive punch. Serbia pushed on more late on but couldn’t break the deadlock.
They go out and Denmark stumble through to the Last 16 after three draws.
Adidas
Christensen (Clean Sheet): 2
Vestergaard (Clean Sheet): 2
Schmeichel (Clean Sheet): 3
Nike
Veljkovic (Clean Sheet): 2
Eriksen (MOTM): 4
Running Total: Adidas 173 – Nike 178
Boot Battle Standings (Adidas 173 – Nike 178) – Matchday 12:
It was a great day from 17:00 – 20:00. Austria put on a show against Netherlands and Poland made a game of it against France. We won’t say anything more about the late games. All-in-all, it was a good day for Team Adidas, with them digging away at Nike’s lead. It’s gone from eight to five points.
Tomorrow is the last matches of the group stages, with Belgium left with a job to do and Portugal facing Georgia.
