The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 13
Last day of the group stages, and what a day it was. You would have lost a lot of respect, but you would have been understood if up until now you’d chosen to watch a bit of Eastenders instead of one of the matches at this tournament. Actually, no. It is never acceptable to miss a match for Eastenders, but anyway. It has not really got into fifth gear… That is until now. Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal played Hungary in a game which could see the Portuguese go out.
Zoltan Gera gave the Hungarians a surprise lead after a fantastic distance strike. Nani equalised though, just before half-time, when the winger collected a pass from Ronaldo and lashed the ball into the corner.
Just after the restart, Balazs Dzsudzsak had a free kick deflected, which deceived Rui Patricio in the Portuguese goal and giving the Hungarians the lead again. Ronaldo, just minutes later then decided to turn up to the tournament. Joao Mario put a ball in the box, and the Real man flicked the ball home with a great back-heel to equalise.
Dzsudzsak, in the 55th minute, then restored his side’s lead after shooting from the edge of the box taking another deflection and going in. But just past the hour mark, Ricardo Quaresma’s ball found Ronaldo, who rose high to head home well and peg Hungary back for a third time.
An unbelievable match, the match of the tournament without a doubt, ended 3-3 and ensured that both sides went through. Ronaldo restored some of Nike’s pride and definitely reduced their deficit to Adidas, banking six points for two goals, an assist, man of the match performance and a bonus point for his leap for his second goal.
The other game in the group was Austria versus Iceland. Austria needed to win to progress, and no players were involved in the battle.
Iceland took a shock lead early on when a flick on found its way to Jon Bodvarsson who slid the ball in the net.
They gave away a penalty though, when David Alaba was pulled back in the area. But the subsequent penalty was fired off the post by Aleksandar Dragovic.
Austria did eventually equalise though after an hour, when Alessandro Schopf ran into the box and finished nicely into the corner.
They pushed on late for the win, but that vital three points eluded them when Elmar Bjarnason broke down the wing and crossed to Arnor Traustason, who calmly found the net sending the Iceland fans into delirium.
The other group saw Ireland take on Italy. The Irish pulled off an incredible win which was deserved, with Robbie Brady heading in the winner late on to see them go through to play hosts France.
In the other game, Belgium beat Sweden with another late goal. A deflected Radja Nainggolan effort was enough to give them the three points in Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s final ever international match. Kevin De Bruyne and Ibrahimovic didn’t get any points, but Thomas Vermaelen receives one for the clean sheet.
Adidas
Vermaelen +1
Nike
De Bruyne 0
Ibrahimovic 0
Ronaldo +6
Overall score
Adidas 25-14 Nike
Last 16 matches in Euro 2016
Saturday
Switzerland v Poland
Wales v Northern Ireland
Croatia v Portugal
Sunday
France v Ireland
Germany v Slovakia
Hungary v Belgium
Monday
Italy v Spain
England v Iceland
The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 12
Oh my word PANIC. There were four matches at Euro 2016 today… Four! We just do not think we are ready for this. But it was a huge day of football. The first match involved a lot of battle players in the Germany side who faced Northern Ireland, who still had a realistic chance of going through, even if they were to lose. Michael McGovern saved early when Thomas Muller went through on goal. He then ...[Read More]
The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 11
Today was the day which home nations Wales and England would decide their Euro 2016 fate. England faced Slovakia knowing that they were all but mathematically through to the last 16, with Wales playing Russia. What more motivation did the two need to win today than knowing that wins would send those Russian muppets home? Roy Hodgson changed his side majorly from the team which beat Wales in the pr...[Read More]
The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 10
Business time! Two matches played simultaneously. Obviously we can’t be in two places at once, and don’t have the dedication or will-power to record one game and watch it after, so we only watched the most important game. Seeing as though the tournament is being held in France, and the fact you could probably count the number of Romanian and Albanian players on a paraplegic’s hand, we chose to wat...[Read More]
The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 9
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The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 8
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The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 7
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The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 6
The Russian fans took time out of their MMA schedules to show up to their nation’s game against Slovakia. But they needn’t have bothered. Their team, much like their reputation over the past week, got battered. Marek Hamsik was the star for the Slovaks, and his early volley went just past the post in the opening 15 minutes. The breakthrough came after 32 minutes though, when Hamsik again switched ...[Read More]
The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 5
Fifth day of the tournament, and we’ve named it Pepe Day in honour of one of football’s biggest d****. His Portugal side faced minnows Iceland. In the same group, Hungary faced Austria. Sad news, there were only two games today. Good news, those two games produced more drama than the rest of Euro 2016 put together. And while we’re talking about bad news, on an unrelated topic, we...[Read More]
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 an...[Read More]
The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 3
Anyone else wake up this morning with an overwhelming sense of disappointment and a banging headache (as a result of trying to deal with that disappointment)? Me too. Kane on corners… No Vardy… We think this may be the beginning of the end for Roy. So expect Hart on all free-kicks and Rashford starting holding mid for the Wales game. But oh well, let’s not reminisce of the past. Today was another ...[Read More]
The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 2
Second day of the 2016 Euros, and two of the home nations were involved. But before that, it was Switzerland’s turn to open their campaign against Albania. Fabian Schaer heading in after five minutes following a keeping misjudgement, putting the Swiss 1-0 up. Lorik Cana received two first-half bookings, firstly for a rash challenge and the second one for a humorous and blatant handball follo...[Read More]
The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 1
Despite Payet’s incredible display in last night’s opening match which saw France defeat Romania 2-1, the two teams are tied. Koscielny looked uncomfortable at times paired with Rami, but in the end avoided losing points for a bad performance by being more solid in the second half. Evra however, had a shocker topped off with him conceding the penalty, meaning both defenders loose points for the go...[Read More]