The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 17
Oooh it is getting real. Quarter-finals time! Portugal faced Poland today, with both sides competing to be the first into the last four. Maybe the best in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, obviously started for Nike and Portugal. From best in the world we go to the other end of the spectrum, with a little side note. Roy Hodgson, has finally left his position as England manager, just in case you needed cheering up today.
Back to real footballers though. This game started quickly, and disappointment Robert Lewandowski gave Poland a perfect start. He collected a pass inside the area and finished nicely into the corner. Just after the half-hour mark, Renato Sanches equalised for Portugal. His shot from the edge of the box was deflected and Lukasz Fabianski could do nothing about the effort.
After the break, Ronaldo missed a great chance when Nani played him in, but his shot went just wide. Alves Cedric had a long-range shot shortly after but it went just wide also. The game lacked intensity as neither team created many significant chances, and it ended 1-1.
Extra-time was again rather pointless and produced zero entertainment, so it was penalties time! Poland saw off opponents in the last 16, Switzerland via a penalty shootout. All of their five penalties were executed to perfection.
The two big boys of the game converted theirs, with both Lewandowski and Ronaldo taking first for their teams. Hot prospect for the future, Sanches showed composure by putting his kick into the top left corner. Poland’s Arkadiusz Milik made it 2-2 with a confident pen into the bottom left.
Joao Moutinho, Kamil Glik and Nani all dispatched their penalties well, making it 4-4 with one each left to take.
Jakub Blaszczykowski then stepped up for Poland and unleashed a powerful shot to the right corner. Rui Patricio, however, pulled off an incredible save to deny them from taking the lead.
Then, up stepped veteran Ricardo Quaresma, who has so far been the most successful substitute at Euro 2016. He kept cool to blast it into the roof of the net and give Portugal a 5-4 win in the shootout.
Ronaldo gets a point for the spot-kick and a point for a good performance. He will lead his side into the semi-finals where they will play the winners of the Wales v Belgium match.
Adidas
No points
Nike
Ronaldo +2
Overall score
Adidas 25-10 Nike
Tomorrow’s Euro 2016 match
Wales v Belgium
Players involved in battle
Adidas: Vermaelen, Bale
Nike: De Bruyne
So, Ronaldo helps to slightly diminish the deficit for Nike. However, they still trail Adidas by 13 points. Portugal progressing ensures that Ronaldo will play at least one more match for them, thus could score some more points, but he will need to put a shift in if Nike are going to win this battle.
Tomorrow will prove to be interesting, with players from both sides appearing. A loss for Belgium would result in Nike losing a valuable asset in de Bruyne, whereas a Welsh loss would mean Adidas’ star Bale would be going home.
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
Day 9 of Euro 2016 was the final day of the tournament where group matches will not be played simultaneously. What does this mean? It effectively means that we are getting down to the juicy, meaty, business end of the tournament. The part where teams can no longer sit back and rely on gaining a point through solid defensive play. No. Teams will have to all-out go for it with the kitchen sink, dish...[Read More]
The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 8
Today hosted another three matches in this glorious Championships. No team has taken the initiative and the tournament by the balls and really put in an impressive performance. On show on day 8, were three teams who were fancied to do well at Euro 2016; Croatia, Spain and Italy. Italy were up first, and after never really emulating their famous 2006 World Cup success, they had a real chance to com...[Read More]
The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 7
Day 7 at Euro 2016, and it was a big one. We’re going to do something a little different with this one. There may have been three matches, but only one stood out like a Zinidine Zidane headbutt to an Italian. England v Wales, so we will concentrate mostly on that battle. Firstly, though, Northern Ireland faced Ukraine in a match that they could do with winning after their opening-game defeat...[Read More]
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]