The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 4
At last, a day of Euro 2016 without violence! Thank God, just how football should be. And thank God also that Germany weren’t playing again today, so we didn’t get another Joachim Low sex show. Holders Spain were in action first today, with Nike’s Iniesta and Ramos as well as Adidas’ Alba all involved.
It was an absolute annihilation by the Spaniards, who dominated the Czechs in both possession and chances. Morata proved to lack that clinical edge as he squandered a good chance. Alba also had a decent effort saved before Silva had a close-range shot blocked. The Czech Republic lacked attacking ambition and struggled to get close to their counterparts, but survived till the break.
Spain began the second-half in similar fashion, piling on the pressure. A Morata cross was deflected onto the post, and Cech pulled off multiple saves to keep his side level.
The Czech’s came closest to opening the scoring, when Selassie’s header was magnificently hooked off the line by Fabregas.
The deadlock was broken though, just three minutes until the 90. Iniesta delivered a perfect cross and Pique met it with a cushioned header into the corner of the net giving Spain the win, but not before Darida put his late volley straight down the throat of De Gea.
Iniesta was man of the match, so he gets a point for that and one for the performance. His assist brings his tally to three. Also for Nike, Ramos gets one point for his clean sheet, but none for his performance as he was rarely troubled throughout the game. Alba gets a point for the clean sheet and one also for a good performance, with his relentless runs down the wing causing all sorts of problems. That gives Adidas two points from this match.
The second game of the day was Ireland and Sweden. In a tough group consisting of Italy and Belgium, the loser of this one would most probably face elimination.
Ireland looked bright early on, the best of which was a great effort from distance by Hendrick which struck the bar.
The Irish took the lead early in the second-half, when nice work on the wing by Coleman resulted in a lofted cross. It came to Hoolahan at the back post, and the Norwich-man executed a wonderful half-volley, managing to keep it low as it flew into the corner.
Sweden then dominated as they pressed for an equaliser. Randolph pulled off a great save from a corner, parrying the ball out straight to Forsberg, who couldn’t hit the target.
Ibrahimovic came close with a shot which went just wide, before later breaking down the wing. He delivered a menacing ball across the face of the goal which could only be headed into his own net by Clark. Both teams pushed for a winner but in the end, a point a-piece was the outcome.
Ibrahimovic was the only player involved in the battle in this match, and he earnt two points for Nike with an assist and a good performance.
Italy later took on Belgium in arguably the tournament’s biggest game so far. Vermaelen started for Adidas, and De Bruyne started for Nike in an enthralling game.
Belgium were the better team initially, but were undone completely by a pass that rivalled Ozil’s assist last night. Bonucci supplied Giaccherini who beat the offside before slotting it home with a Thierry Henry-like finish. The Italians had numerous other chances to put them two up before the break, but they could not make them count.
Belgium’s second-half consisted of missing a number of golden chances, Lukaku being the first culprit. He was clean through, but could only chip his shot to the right of the post from a wide angle. Origi then missed a free header from a couple of yards out, before Courtois saved from Immobile.
Origi was guilty of wasting more opportunities, and in the end Belgium were punished. A swift counter-attack resulted in Candreva having space inside the box. He showed composure as he chipped the ball back across the penalty area, where Pelle was waiting to lash home a volley and secure the points for the 2006 World Champions.
Both Vermaelen and De Bruyne had quiet and unspectacular games, with the midfielder being especially disappointing. In the end, Addias lose two points for the goals conceded by Vermaelen.
Adidas
Alba +2
Vermaelen -2
Nike
Iniesta +3
Ramos +1
Ibrahimovic +2
De Bruyne 0
Overall score
Adidas 11-7 Nike
A bit of a comeback for Nike then, and their deficit may be further reduced as the best player In the tournament is on show, as we go into a sad day containing only two Euro 2016 matches.
Tomorrow’s Euro 2016 matches
Austria v Hungary
Portugal v Iceland
Players involved
Nike: Ronaldo
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