Sadly, the European Championships were not just about football any longer, if they ever were. Because of events off the field at Euro 2016, Russia and England were both labouring under the threat of expulsion from the tournament, “supporters” of both sides having behaved horrendously over recent days.
Expulsion Threat detracts from on-field action
The Russians were in particular trouble for the appalling behaviour of their fans. In the stadium itself, they chased across the stands to attack England supporters in a mixed zone. It was a chilling echo of the way in which hooligans used to charge opposition fans 20 or 30 years prior. The Russian hooligans were clearly well prepared and looking for a fight. There was no question about what they were there to do.
For Russia there was also a wider question to be answered here than just their participation in the next few weeks of this competition. While UEFA might take action, FIFA must surely be thinking of taking a stand too over the next World Cup.
The rise of the Oaf
Further misbehaviour by their fans over the next seven days and their hosting of the World Cup would be in jeopardy.
England were in similar trouble, for all that this was a different kind of England support to the past. In the rampaging days of the 1980s, their hooligan element was every bit as well organised and spoiling for a fight as the current Russian lot are.
There is far less of that now, but that has been replaced by an obnoxious laddishness. Oafishness if you prefer, featuring fans who are only too quick to get too tanked up with booze, rip their shirts off, swear, sing offensive songs, leer at the local women, and generally irritate people with their boorishness. They may not always actively seek trouble, but there is a large element there that attracts it and is then happy to join in.
Of course, in both cases, it is important to stress that we are talking about minorities rather than the vast bulk of the support. Sadly, those minorities are in danger of becoming too much for football to tolerate.
Austria 0 Hungary 2 (Group F)
Why were Austria so well fancied by so many to do so well in this tournament? In this fairly dreadful game, Austria were comfortably the poorer side. They were not helped by going down to ten men. Dragovic was not only sent off but, in doing so, denied his side an equaliser with a pointless foul in the build-up to their “goal”.
Austria reached their peak 28 seconds in when Alaba hit the post. From there, they were comfortably stifled by the Hungarians who gradually grew in confidence and attacking intent. Szalai completed a neat move in the 62nd minute. The three points were secured late on by Steiber with a crisp lobbed finish on the counterattack.
In its way, it was a game not dissimilar to the Italy – Belgium fixture of the night before. In that case a focused, disciplined, intelligent team beat a collection of more gifted individuals who simply failed to operate as a unit and paid the price for that failing,
Portugal 1 Iceland 1 (Group F)
In the first half, Portugal offered a real threat without managing to turn that threat into the goals they needed to put the game to bed. Once Nani had given them that first-half lead, they should have gone on to win convincingly. Instead, they opened the second half by conceding a dreadfully defended equaliser to Bjarnason. Tbey could not find a way through thereafter, becoming increasingly ponderous as the game wore on.
In the end, as always, and as he wants, everything became focused on Ronaldo. This time, he could not deliver against an Icelandic side that worked themselves into the ground. they ultimately deserved their point from a far better second-half display where they might have even snatched a win.
Russia 1 Slovakia 2 (Group B)
There was a three-way battle going on to see just who could get Russia out of Euro 2016 quickest – their fans, UEFA, or their players. England swept them to one side for great swathes of the first game. In this game, Slovakia were far too good for the Russians. They constructed a two-goal lead, inspired by some terrific play from Hamsik.
It was Hamsik’s clever pass that set Weiss away to open the scoring after 32 minutes. He needed no help just before the break when he stepped inside to smash in a shot into the top corner. It was every bit as good as the goal scored by Payet against Romania.
Slovakia looked comfortable through much of the second period until Russia found a goal with ten minutes to go. The nerves appeared, and it was a real struggle. They desperately needed a win after losing to Wales. In the end, scoring that second goal when they were so convincingly on top proved crucial.
Romania 1 Switzerland 1 (Group A)
Romania were under pressure against Switzerland after losing the opener to the French. They were sprightly enough in the first half and got off to the perfect start. Stancu knocked in his second penalty of the competition just 18 minutes in.
The game had a pleasing ebb and flow to it as the Swiss looked to get back into things. A resolute Romania held them off until we saw another fine finish. This time it was from Mehmedi. He drove in a bouncing ball from 12 yards to level just before the hour.
Both sides went looking for the win, though the Swiss were more convincing about it. Romania were wilting like a boxer on the ropes in the latter stages. They were totally out of gas, hanging on grimly, yet still capable of slinging the odd punch from memory. Subsequently, the draw was fair reward for both, enough to all but book the Swiss passage. Romania would need to beat Albania to get through.
France 2 Albania 0 (Group A)
Sometimes we wonder if home advantage is all that it’s cracked up to be. In the case of Euro 2016, it was. Thus far, the French had underlined the fact that, in the right circumstances, it can be priceless. It was surely the ultimate difference between them and Albania in this game. The visitors were limited in quality, but limitless in heart throughout until in the last seconds. They cracked as the French crowd, inside and outside the stadium, willed the ball into their net.
France had changed to a 4-2-3-1 system at the start. In a misfiring first half, it rendered them largely impotent. In such cases, so I’m told, you reach for the little blue tablet. At the break, Deschamps went for the blue-clad Pogba, and the invigorating effects were immediate. France became both more energetic and, if you’ll pardon the phrase, penetrative.
Even then, it took them to the final seconds before the orgasmic moment – I’m going to labour this analogy to death, don’t worry – arrived. Griezmann, also back on the field after being benched at the start, produced a cute little header to find the far corner and put his side in front, just as Payet had done in the previous fixture.
France advance
The West Ham man wasn’t to be denied either though. With Albania on the attack in injury time, Pogba found an extraordinary 80-yard crossfield ball to turn defence into attack in a second. Payet was able to drift in from the left and shape a shot across goal and inside the far post.
So appropriately enough, France had become the first side to qualify for the knock-out stages. In doing so, they had suddenly grown in stature. Whether it was a psychological master stroke from Deschamps or not is up to your personal choice. The Pogba that took to the field after the break was the Pogba that had dominated Serie A for the last six months. He was back to his very best. In that mood, could he go on to dominate the tournament?
England 2 Wales 1 (Group B)
One of the more pleasing aspects of the first week of Euro 2016 has been that, by and large, positive football has tended to come out on top. It was a trend that continued with England’s victory over Wales when bold half-time changes produced a comeback that did not owe a huge amount to finesse but plenty to a willingness to get forward in numbers and simply force something to happen.
England found themselves in another fine mess as they got booed off at the break. They were trailing the Welsh by a single goal. Bale knocked in his second free-kick of the competition, this one from about 35 yards. He received even more help from the goalkeeper than he did in scoring against Slovakia. Hart made a complete shambles of his attempted save and can think himself lucky that Butland missed the Euros through injury.
Vardy on song against Wales
With Sterling and Kane disappointing again, Vardy and Sturridge were summoned from the bench. Within minutes, their renewed sense of adventure paid dividends. Welsh defender Williams got the last touch to therefore play Vardy onside and, from a couple of yards out, he simply couldn’t miss.
To their credit, England carried on going from there. In the end, their momentum found another of the late goals that Euro 2016 is specialising in. Sturridge stabbed past Hennessey at the near post. It was another moment when a goalkeeper didn’t cover himself in glory.
Germany 0 Poland 0 (Group C)
In a drab 0-0 with the Poles, Germany were every bit as poor as they were impressive in the first game. It was a strangely lacklustre affair. Very much against the grain of the competition so far. Neither side really wanted to risk much, a side effect of the small group format. Both nations were well aware that having won their first game, avoiding defeat in the second would all but guarantee a place in the knock-outs. Effective it may have been, but you wouldn’t want to watch that very often…
Ukraine 0 N Ireland 2 (Group C)
Northern Ireland had also given themselves a chance of making it into the knock-out stages following a fine win over Ukraine. That was due reward for a much more ambitious display than they put in against Poland in their first fixture. This time, they went on the hunt right from the kick-off. They put their opponents on the back foot. Ukraine never really looked comfortable in the game. The German defeat seemingly knocked the stuffing out of them.
It took until early in the second half for Northern Ireland to break the deadlock. McAuley took full advantage of some confused defending to get himself free at the back post. He powered in a fine header and, from there, though Ukraine improved a little, there never seemed any real danger of them getting back on terms. Not even a temporary halt in proceedings for a violent hailstorm could throw Northern Ireland off their stride. Six minutes into added time, they deservedly made the game safe. McGinn picked up the scraps in the penalty area and drilled a shot into the net.
Italy 1 Sweden 0 (Group E)
The Italian win over Sweden conformed to type on both fronts. The goal came in the 88th minute and involved Zaza, who had come on as sub on the hour mark. It gave just about the right result. After a poor first half, Italy were much brighter in the second period. Sweden continued to be the Nordic version of Wales – if not Ibrahimovic (Bale) then who?
Again, Italy’s three central defenders worked with Buffon organising from behind. They looked very strong, and another clean sheet underlined how hard they were going to be to beat. Given the manager’s roots, it’s inevitable that the Buffon, Barzagli, Chiellini, and Bonucci axis was pivotal to the side. But going forward, even if the personnel was different, this Italy still reeked of Conte’s Juventus.
During his three years in Turin, they had an indomitable belief. No matter how long it took, in the end, they would win. He charged his current, rather more limited squad, with that same belief. Able to rest players in the final game – vital with the threat of suspension hanging over a few – they were emerging as a real threat.
Czech Rep 2 Croatia 2 (Group D)
Croatia threw away a 2-0 lead to draw with the Czech Republic on a day which promised so much. It ended with a sour taste for reasons on and off the field. The Croatians were utterly dominant and cantering to the win when they went 2-0 up just shy of the hour.
They were in such control they were even able to raise a smile when Modric went off with a slight injury three minutes later. But such is the way that he orchestrates a game that almost immediately, the balance of power started to subtly shift. Though it was still a surprise when Skoda drove his header in past some more dodgy goalkeeping. It was game on.
Croatia fans in more trouble
It threatened to be game off for Croatia because there was trouble among their fans again. The reasons are more complex than the simple hooliganism we’ve seen elsewhere, but the impact is the same. A dozen flares were hurled onto the pitch, then fighting broke out among the Croatian fans, the inevitable UEFA investigation to follow, but the consequences were more immediate. The distress amongst the Croatian players was plain to see. A Czech equaliser through a penalty wasn’t long in coming. Had the game gone on five minutes more, they might well have won it.
Croatia would need to get something from Spain to ensure automatic qualification. In this mood, and apparently without the injured Modric, that might be tough.
Spain 3 Turkey 0 (Group D)
Spain, meanwhile, albeit against a dismal Turkish team, were looking much more like the side that had won the last two Euros. All the more so with Morata now emerging as an international goalscorer.
With Iniesta the heartbeat of it all, once they got in front, they played some beautiful football. They tormented the Turks, who gave it up all too easily. With confidence growing and the football flowing, they, like Italy, were putting down a real marker.
