Once the football actually got under way, it was a decent first day for Euro 2016 – but God save us from opening ceremonies full of interpretive dance and blokes playing records pretending to be musicians.
By Dave Bowler
France 2 Romania 1 (Group A)
Hosts France beat Romania and just about deserved their slender 2-1 victory, but the real justice came in the shape of the match winner, Payet.
In the end, France just about deserved their slender 2-1 victory over Romania, but the real justice came in the shape of the match winner, Payet head and shoulders above anyone else on the field and finally proving the difference between the two sides with a wonderful last minute strike that curled across goal from 25 yards out and into the top corner, a candidate for goal of the tournament already.
It ended an evening of frustration for the hosts, one which might, on another occasion, have ended in catastrophic defeat. For the French were edgy at the start of each half and should have conceded in both, Lloris to the rescue in the opening minutes, then Stancu missing dreadfully after beating the offside trap just after the break.
Both opportunities laid bare a French defence that might be found wanting by better opponents later in the tournament. That back line looks to be the most likely source of France’s Achilles heel as they go in search of the title.
Chances Go Begging
That said, creative as they were at the other end, their profligacy in front of goal will also be cause for concern when they sit back and really analyse the game tomorrow morning. In the first half alone, four highly presentable chances went begging, two apiece for the front men. Griezmann, who looks so absurdly youthful that I’ve seen older looking pregnancy scans, came closest, striking the post from an acute angle, before putting a first time shot wide later in the half.
Then there were two headers from Giroud that should gave caused consternation in the Romanian defence rather than relief as they sailed off target. Whenever he misses a chance, Giroud sticks out his tongue to its full extent and appears to start grooming his lustrous beard with it, a bit like a cat. We can only hope this trick doesn’t extend to all of his anatomy.
Scare
After the early second half scare, France gradually got back in the groove and started to dominate. Within a minute, Tatarusanu was both hero and villain, making a fine save from Pogba before woefully missing a Payet cross allowing Giroud to nod in in the 57th minute.
From there, it looked as if France might run away with the game but a sprightly Romanian side showed good character and Stancu made amends for his earlier miss by converting a penalty that Lloris should perhaps have saved eight minutes later.
France fans might well be concerned that it took their side plenty of time to respond to that reverse, only really threatening again in the last ten minutes, Payet making them wait to the death before finding the winner that he at least deserved.
Ultimately, it was the result, if not the game, most expected, one from which both sides can take heart. Romania showed enough to suggest that second place in this group is not beyond them while France have got past that inevitably nervy opener and are on their way. A good night was had by all…
Wales 2 Slovakia 1 (Group B)
It was Bale who gave Wales the lead after 10 minutes with a free-kick from distance. In that sense, it looked spectacular but in truth, it was anything but. Yes, he got the ball up and down but having first built his wall, Kozacik then decided he didn’t trust it, stepped across to stand behind it and left a gaping hole into which Bale could shoot. It wasn’t in the postage stamp, and would have been a routine save had the keeper stood his ground, but as it was, Bale had scored Wales’ first tournament goal since 1958.
From there to the break and beyond, Wales controlled the game and should have had a penalty after Skrtel elbowed Williams in the face, the fifth official, or whatever these see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil dummies are called, somehow contriving to miss the offence from no more than two yards away. How pleasing it was in the end to see the thuggish Skrtel distraught in defeat come the final whistle.
It could have been different, for the Slovaks, who should have opened the scoring but for a great clearance by Davies, gradually worked their way back into the game and were level through Duda just beyond the hour.
Wales looked like they might buckle but Coleman’s substitutions were intelligent and game changing, Ledley threading a fine ball to Ramsey – who’d have thought a man on his money would need to wear that haircut to win a bet? – who, despite stumbling, helped the ball on to Robson-Kanu who scuffed in the winner.
The post-match narrative inevitably surrounded Bale but the Real Madrid man was less influential than the hype would suggest, a paradoxically good sign for the Welsh whose victory was won largely through good organisation, hard work and a great team ethic rather than a star player. They’ll perhaps rue the fact they play England rather than Russia next because had the fixtures been the other way round, they’d have fancied their chances of booking their passage two games in.
They may well still do that, for after England’s draw with Russia, Wales sit clear at the top of the group and a draw would do them fine.
England 1 Russia 1 (Group B)
Oddly though, England looked the best team we’ve seen thus far, albeit that the Russians looked the most chaotic. England started the game with a real pace and intensity, essential for them if they are to succeed given the nature of their players.
Crucially though, they failed to turn territory and chances into goals in the first 45 minutes when they were so utterly on top that they should have put Russia away and put the rest of the tournament on alert because, up until the final ball or effort, there was much to admire in England’s play.
In fairness, for a change, they remained patient and ultimately got the goal that had been coming, Dier curling in a free-kick when the otherwise impeccable Akinfeev copied Kozacik’s error and went behind his wall, albeit that Dier’s free-kick was better than Bale’s.
But one goal always leaves a game on a knife edge and with the game deep in injury time, a long ball, the kind that English defenders deal with a dozen times every Saturday, defeated them and Berezutski looped a header across goal and in.
The pundits immediately complained about a lack of experience in the game management late on but frankly that’s nonsense. If you dominate the ball, create openings and yet score just once, and that from a set play, it’s your forwards who should be answering the questions, not the defenders.
Albania 0 Switzerland 1 (Group A)
Some of the best news for the Group B sides came in the day’s first game when the Swiss struggled past Albania, reduced to ten men in the first half, by a single goal. That victory goes very close to guaranteeing the Swiss passage to the next round, even if it be as the third placed side in Group A, which is where it gets interesting for England and co, because the winners of Group B could face the third placed side from A.
Assuming France come through the group as winners, any of the other three sides might sneak through as one if the four best sides in third position and on the evidence thus far, none of the three have anything with which to frighten any opposition.
Although the Swiss collected the victory, it was gifted to them by a second horrific goalkeeping error in two games, Berisha missing a corner to allow Scher to score in Giroud fashion early on. Albania wilted for 20 minutes thereafter, before coming back strong and looking to get on top before Cana was sent off for a second yellow card.
The expected Swiss avalanche of goals did not materialise after the break, Gashi missing a golden chance to level late on, though credit has to go to Sommer for a decent save, not that he should have had the chance. Sadiku, the man Gashi had just replaced, earlier spurned two great chances of his own following sumptuous passes from Hysaj, while Berisha atoned in part for his early mistake by keeping Seferovic at bay.
Both sides carved out chances but neither outfit inspired any confidence that they might ever take one of them. Should either – or both – get through, you can only see them as last 16 cannon fodder, an argument that perhaps 24 sides is too many for a European Championship after all?
Turkey 0 Croatia 1 (Group D)
The Croatia – Turkey game was all but a carbon copy of the England game of the previous evening, except Croatia avoided the concession of a late goal to emerge 1-0 winners. But just as England had the night before, they took the game far closer to the wire than they should have done because, if anything, they were even more dominant but proved just as incapable of finding the goals that should have closed things out long before the finish.
Just as Rooney had impressed in a playmaking role for England, Modric was even better for Croatia, seemingly omnipotent throughout the game and grabbing the winning goal with a beautiful volley from distance though, once again, the assist came from a grim piece of goalkeeping.
Croatia
Croatia looked a side that can go a very long way through this competition, competitive from back to front, dogged and determined as personified by Corluka’s refusal to bow to a gaping head wound, physically strong but still blessed with the impressive technique and quality that Croatian sides have long been famed for.
But also like England, they were up against moderate opposition in a very disappointing Turkey yet could only find one goal and, for the lack of a prolific goal scorer, their ambitions might yet be thwarted. Perisic, for instance, has a map of Croatia shaved into his head. He might do better to have a map of the goal put on there instead after missing a string of great chances to make the game safe, but he was not alone in his profligacy. It’s an issue they will somehow have to resolve once they make their way into the knock-out phase of the competition.
Poland 1 N Ireland 0 (Group C)
And then it was déjà vu all over again in the game between Poland and Northern Ireland, where the Poles had all the play and all the chances but in the end could again only find one goal, that coming from Milik’s crisp finish early in the second half, the legendary Boniek in the crowd looking like Roy Hodgson’s used car salesman younger brother as he celebrated the goal.
Perhaps this game played out rather more predictably than the ones involving England and Croatia for the Northern Irish side were always going to be short of possession and concentrating purely on keeping a clean sheet in their tournament opener, following their standard modus operandi against the bigger nations.
The work, concentration and organisation shown by Northern Ireland could not be faulted, but if you end up having to play virtually the whole game in your own half, it is exhausting. Their use of the ball up to Lafferty left a bit to be desired, meaning they could rarely get any respite, and the absence through injury of Brunt rendered their set pieces largely impotent, but that said, they deserve huge credit for keeping one of the competition’s most dangerous attacking sides largely at bay.
Poland showed real quality at times but again, their inability to put the ball in the back of the net, and particularly the way that Lewandowski looked out of sorts, will be a source of some concern. The way things are shaping up in front if goal at the moment, when we get to the knock-out stage, we are going to be watching an awful lot of penalty shootouts.
Germany 2 Ukraine 0 (Group C)
But then there’s Germany. The ultimate masters of the spot kicks, they are the one side thus far who look as if they might not need them, albeit that it took until injury time before they finally made it 2-0 against Ukraine, a scoreline representative of their superiority over a game which they won without really breaking sweat, save for a 15 minute spell just before the interval when Ukraine offered a genuine threat.
They will face far sterner tests than Ukraine offered but already the world champions are looking ominously good, the midfield axis of Kroos and Ozil looking capable of destroying all comers, each setting up a goal with the sublime use of the ball that is their trademark. Kroos created the opener with a delightful free-kick that was planted goalwards by the head of Mustafi after 19 minutes, Ozil finishing the job on a swift counterattack with a perfectly weighted cross which Schweinsteiger finished beautifully on the half volley.
There were moments when they were grateful for the brilliance of Neuer and the athleticism of Boateng who contrived a remarkable goal line clearance, but Germany looked like a team with another gear or two in hand should they need it. For much of the game, they simply toyed with Ukraine by virtue of brilliant possession play worthy of Spain in their prime.
Early days yet, but Germany look a strong bet to emulate the tiki-taka men by holding both World Cup and European Championship at the same time. They are going to take some stopping.
Spain 1 Czech Rep 0 (Group D)
Returning to matters on the field, the day’s opener produced the result expected and, perhaps, in the manner anticipated, Spain eventually wearing the Czech Republic down with their metronomic passing and getting the only goal of the game late on, Pique’s 87th minute goal proving crucial.
This was much more like the Spain of old, Iniesta the conductor in the middle of it all, their ability to move the ball around and to probe for space ultimately proving exhausting and successful. Joining Croatia at the top of the group with three points, both look set to qualify with something to spare.
Rep of Ireland 1 Sweden 1 (Group E)
Belgium’s fate is more questionable and both Sweden and Ireland will fancy their chances against them now, the two having played out a 1-1 draw in their opener. It’s the Irish who will be the more disappointed after playing supremely well for an hour against an overly rigid Swedish 4-4-2.
The Irish diamond shape gave them better angles and options and they could and probably should have been two goals to the good instead of going in at the break 0-0.
That was remedied by a brilliant finish on the half volley by Hoolahan straight after the restart, but gradually, Ireland’s impressive exertions took their toll and Sweden, inspired, inevitably, by Ibrahimovic, slowly woke from their slumber and started to take the game to them.
Their resilience was impressive but it was somehow inevitable that Zlatan would ultimately find a way to break down their resistance, skipping away from O’Shea to get to the byline and arrow in a devastating cross which left Clark with no option but to try to head clear, only succeeding in putting the ball in his own net.
The draw was unsatisfactory for both nations given the strength of their upcoming opponents but after watching tonight’s game, Ireland will be relishing the opportunity to take on Belgium on Saturday and to perhaps even dump them out of the competition they were among the favourites to win.
Belgium 0 Italy 2 (Group E)
n our preview of the competition, we downplayed Italy’s chances while saying they could yet 1-0 themselves to glory. They went one better against Belgium, albeit that the second goal came deep in injury time, but they were full value for the victory with a brilliantly controlled team performance.
Italy were a unit, each man knowing his responsibility to the other ten. Belgium showed no such grasp of the game, playing as unfocused, egotistic individuals, each trying to do the job on his own without thought or interest in the collective, the Donald Trump of football.
Improved Italians
Italy were comfortably the better side through a first half in which they scored a fine goal, Bonucci’s raking pass over 50 yards perfectly picking out Giaccherini to net past Courtois, the Belgian goalie keeping his side in the game with a string of fine saves. In contrast, at the other end, Buffon had a comfortable evening as his Juventus defence worked like clockwork and the rest of the side worked themselves into the ground.
Conte’s Italy have the look of Conte’s Juve about them, in terms of their play, their approach and, most important, their togetherness. The way they celebrated after Pelle smashed in the second on the counterattack, team, staff, subs, all together, suggests that they fancy themselves to do something special in this competition.
Topping the group is theirs for the taking now, and though that looks set to pit them against Croatia or Spain, they are not a group to bet against – unless they are ravaged by suspensions as could prove the case after a string of bookings.