The UEFA Euro 2016 boot battle: Day 21
The first semi-final saw Wales take on Portugal. Wales were without Aaron Ramsey, but had Bale in their team. Portugal had Ronaldo. It was going to be an epic battle of the Real forwards. It is those two who feature in the battle today. Ronaldo representing Nike and Bale starting for Adidas. It was another fantastic match as the knockout stages of this tournament really have impressed… Is something we would have liked to say.
In reality, though, the first half was dull, boring, and mundane. If we are being honest, truthful and candid with you, we are just using, putting in and implementing irrelevant words to try to make it seem like more is being said about an abysmal firs half which if nothing else had a lot of passion but no cutting-edge.
The only chance was a Ronaldo header that went over the crossbar. At last, however, in the 50th minute the game woke up from its metaphorical slumber. Portugal took the lead through, who else but, Ronaldo. As the ball came across, it looked to be metres above the rest. Luckily, the man has the capacity in those beautifully-toned legs of his to get that high. He did so, and rose incredibly to send a powerful header towards goal. There was no stopping it as it crashed into the roof of the net.
He barely had time to flex his muscles, flick his hair and wink at the camera before his side scored again. It was the superstar’s shot which deflected off old Manchester United- teammate Nani to fly into the net. It looked to have killed off Wales, who had been resilient up until that point.
Ten minutes later, Ronaldo had a free-kick that dipped viciously, but only landed on the roof of the net. Joao Mario later missed a glorious chance when he put his effort wide.
Danilo Pereira had a shot which was saved, before Bale’s shot from distance was well saved. The ex-Spurs player was valiant in trying to get his team back in it, but in all honesty, Wales struggled to create much.
Bale and Ronaldo may have been locked in battle on the pitch, but the two team’s star men embraced each other at the final whistle. Bale could not have predicted that he would meet his Real teammate in the semis of this competition.
Whether Wales ran out of steam towards the end of a great tournament, Portugal were too good or Ramsey was too badly missed, Wales just did not replicate their previous form at the Euros.
Ronaldo gets four points for a man of the match performance, his goal and his ‘assist’ for Nani, but loses one for his booking. Bale didn’t get a point for his performance on the night, but got one for the tournament as a whole, which was cancelled out by another booking.
Adidas
Bale 0
Nike
Ronaldo +3
Overall score
Adidas 24-13 Nike
Tomorrow’s Euro 2016 match
France v Germany
Players involved
Adidas: Neuer, Howedes, Ozil, Muller and Pogba.
Nike: Gotze, Evra, Koscielny and payet.
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]