I shed a brief tear today at the realisation that today was in fact, the final day we’d have over two Euro 2024 games in a day. Our Adidas v Nike Boot Battle has been intense so far, but as the knockout stages near, it’s about to get a whole lot more dramatic. Here is what happened on Day 13.
Slovakia and Romania Both Progress
Now I’m not accusing anyone of match-fixing (or more likely playing it out for a draw), but with both teams knowing a point apiece would send them through, a draw looked highly possible. Before the game, the odds made it nearly even money for that result to come in, so you could believe my shock when this one finished, wait for it… A DRAW!
It was Slovakia who took the lead, though. Both teams went close before after 24 minutes, Juraj Kucka whipped in a scrumptious ball that was headed powerfully home by Ondrej Duda.
Dodgy Penalty Hands Romania Equaliser
Just 13 minutes later, Dávid Hancko, or more accurately the referee, handed Romania a chance to equalise. Hancko ‘fouled’ Ianis Hagi. The ref initially gave a free-kick, but there looked to be little contact. VAR checked it and deemed it actually to be a penalty, somewhat of a baffling decision. Răzvan Marin stepped up and fired it home to equalise for Romania.
Into the second half, both teams did have chances to score. But both keepers stayed strong and Slovakia and Romania held out for a draw that saw them both in party mood at the full-time whistle.
Adidas
Duda (Goal): 3
Nike
Marin (Goal): 3
Lobotka (MOTM): 4
Running Total: Adidas 176 – Nike 185
Belgium Boo Their Way to Last 16
Our good friend Romelu Lukaku had the game’s first chance. Kevin De Bruyne went on a scintillating run before playing an equally delicious through ball to the striker. But he could barely make a connection and his weak effort was comfortably saved by Anatoliy Trubin. After that, De Bruyne tried a cheeky free kick. From 30 yards near the touch line, he whipped the ball right footed towards the keeper’s near post, but it could only rustle the side netting.
Ukraine Push on in Second Half
Ukraine, knowing as the group stood, pushed on in the second half and threatened Belgium’s goal with much more frequency. Artem Dovbyk fired into the side netting and Ruslan Malinovskyi had a corner that nearly caught out Koen Casteels. The keeper managed to fumble the ball away from on his own goal line.
But they couldn’t find the breakthrough and were cruelly sent home with four points – but finishing bottom of their group thanks to a weak goal difference. The Belgians finished second in their group but were booed off the pitch when they went to applaud their fans after the game. As a result of not topping their winnable group, they now face France in the Last 16.
Adidas
Castagne (Clean Sheet): 2
Faes (Clean Sheet): 2
Tymchyk (Clean Sheet): 2
Nike
Casteels (Clean Sheet): 3
Vertonghen (Clean Sheet): 2
Zabarnyi (Clean Sheet): 2
Matviyenko (Clean Sheet): 2
De Bruyne (MOTM): 4
Running Total: Adidas 182 – Nike 198
Georgia Shock Portugal to Progress
Georgia HAD to beat an impressive Portugal side if they wanted to remain in the tournament, but few people gave them much chance – even with Bruno Fernandes not in the side.
Those doubters were quietened after just two minutes. Georgia broke away at pace, a feature of their play on the day. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia raced away and fed Georges Mikautadze. The forward finished hard and low into the bottom-right corner to give his side a shock lead. The Portuguese response was swift. Cristiano Ronaldo, still yet to score this Championships, struck a fierce free kick from over 30 yards on goal. It was too central though, and could only sting the palms of Giorgi Mamardashvili.
Later, Ronaldo went down in the box after claiming his shirt was pulled. Replays did in fact confirm his shirt was practically being ripped off, but VAR was too busy doing VAR things and inexcusably didn’t overturn it. Too add salt to the wounds, Ronaldo was subsequently booked for his protestations.
Georgia Resolute in Second Half
It was much of the same after the break, with Portugal dominating the game and Georgia counter attacking effectively. Kvaratskhelia had a great chance to double Georgia’s lead. It came from a now-trademark counter attack. The ball was cut back and Kvaratskhelia found himself with space inside the box – but his effort was take and didn’t threaten Diogo Costa.
Portugal couldn’t deal with the work ethic of Georgia, and this paid dividends around the hour mark. Luka Lochoshvili refused to give up and capitalised on some slack defending to dispossess Portugal on the edge of their box. As he meandered into the box, he went down under a challenge from Antonio Silva. Initially, the ref wasn’t interested but VAR deemed there was enough contact to award the penalty. It seemed harsh. Contact there was, but enough for him to go down as if he’d been shot, absolutely not.
Mikautadze stepped up and finished confidently to become the tournament’s top goalscorer (3). A frustrated Portugal side, who picked up 11 corners in the game, continued to push for a goal, but honestly they could have played for seven years and not scored past a solid-looking Georgia side. They face Spain in the next round, while Portugal’s reward for winning the group is a tie against Slovenia.
Adidas
Kvaratskhelia (Goal): 2, (MOTM): 4
Kashia (Clean Sheet): 2
Gvelesiani (Clean Sheet): 2
Nike
Mikautadze (Goal): 2
Dvali (Clean Sheet): 2
Lochoshvili (Clean Sheet): 2
kakabadze (Clean Sheet): 2
Mamardashvili (Clean Sheet): 3
Running Total: Adidas 192 – Nike 209
Battle of Hamburg Sees Czechs Out
BAN THAT OFFICAL NOW. The referee handed out more cards than any other Euros game in history, so that alone tells you just how bananas this match was. He 100% bet over 4.5 cards on his acca and wanted to make sure it came in.
Lukáš Provod had the first chance of the match. His powerful shot was deflected with venom and well parried by Mert Günok. But after just 20 minutes, the ref decided to make it all about him. He gave Antonín Barák a second yellow card for what seemed like an innocent tackle. He nicked the ball away before standing on the foot of his opponent. It was so harsh, but set the tone for a crazy game.
They still looked well-drilled though and could have taken the lead when David Jurásek raced through. Günok came off his line quickly though to block his effort and keep the scores in tact going into the break.
13 Yellows, 1 Red
A total of 13 yellows and one red were shown in a remarkable second half. It’s a wonder we had anytime for football to actually be played.
Jindřich Staněk was in fine form in the Czech net. He pulled off an impressive save from a close-range Kenan Yıldız effort, but seconds later the ball found its way to Hakan Çalhanoğlu. The Turkey captain lashed it into the bottom corner first time, to give his side the perfect start to the half.
Czech Republic utilised long throws well and in the 66th minute, one of those had an end payoff. Günok didn’t cover himself in glory as he dropped the ball under little pressure. The Turkish defence couldn’t clear the ball and Tomáš Souček rifled it in from a few yards out.
Turkey were in a precarious position. The group was so finely poised that a draw would have been good enough, but any changes in the Portugal game, or a second for the Czechs would send them home. In the final minutes, Cenk Tosun drifted into the box. Despite calls from his teammates to head for the corner, he lashed it towards the goal and scored a winner for the Turks that finally crushed the Czech’s brave resistance.
What followed after the whistle blew was chaos, with a near 21-man brawl ensuing. This was music to the ref’s ears as he wasted no time in dishing out more cards – including one more red. Czech Republic can feel hard done by as they crash out, while Turkey face Austria in a tricky Last 16 tie.
Adidas
Souček (Goal): 3, (MOTM): 4
Nike
Tosun (Goal): 2
Çalhanoğlu (Goal): 3
Running Total: Adidas 199 – Nike 214
Boot Battle Standings (Adidas 199 – Nike 214) – Matchday 13:
Another busy day at the Euros sees Team Nike maintain their lead against Team Adidas. A fiery affair between Czech Republic and Turkey heavily juxtaposed a meek display from Belgium against Ukraine. Elsewhere, Georgia stunned Portugal and Slovakia and Romania both progress. Here is how the Last 16 matchups look.
Switzerland
Italy
Germany
Denmark
England
Slovakia
Spain
Georgia
France
Belgium
Portugal
Slovenia17:00
Romania
Netherlands
Austria
Turkey
