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The torrential, thundering rains that poured down could not stop the surging electricity in Germany as Euro 2024 continued with another two exciting games.
Group F kicked off as a sleeper squad Turkey faced first-timers Georgia. To start off, Mert Muldur struck a thunderbolt of a ball that came from a stray Turkey cross, which curled and spun into the top right corner. Two goals of the tournament contenders in two days? Insane, but that’s the Euros. The atmosphere thickened as fans lit flares from the upper section of the Signal Iduna Park. Georgia struck back minutes later through Georges Mikautadze, who neatly tapped in a Giorgi Kochorashvili cutback to even the match up.
Turkey retook the lead through Arda Güler in the 65th, who curved an amazing, bending shot past keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili. Güler’s technique throughout the match invited comparisons to another brilliant midfielder of Turkish origin.
Although Georgia surged back, creating chance after chance, several shots that pinged the post and cleared the crossbar were the best they got. They called up Mamardashvili to the front in an attempt for one last chance to even the game, but Turkey cleared the ball to an eager Kerem Aktürkoğlu, who dribbled the ball into an open net. What a game.
“Turkey played a fantastic match, Georgia also played a fantastic match,” Georgia coach Willy Sagnol told the Guardian. “That match and the atmosphere fit. I don’t know if the atmosphere made the match or the match made the atmosphere but it was a great moment.”
One of the tournament favorites in Portugal took on Czechia in the other Group F fixture. The game mainly concerned the Selecao attempting to break down Czechia’s sturdy low block and warding off frequent counterattack attempts. Czechia keeper Jindrich Stanek registered seven saves through the night and was the biggest factor in forcing the only scoreless first half of the tournament so far.
Czechia scored first coming off one of their characteristic counter-attacks. Winger David Doudera sent a cross into the box, which was collected by Vladimir Coufal. Coufal laid the ball off to Slavia Prague’s Lukas Provod at the top of the box, who sent his shot neatly into the bottom left corner. Another upset?
Portugal surged back seven minutes later when Vitinha sent in a cross towards Nuno Mendes at the back post. Mendes’ attempt required a reaching save from Stanek, but his stop unluckily landed at the shins of Robin Hranac and rolled into the goal. Own goal.
After Diogo Jota’s 87th-minute goal was overruled for offsides — seemingly the last significant event in the game — Portugal found their winner in Francisco Conceicao. The super-sub got on the receiving end of Pedro Neto’s incisive pass that the Czechs couldn’t clear and stabbed his shot past Stanek. Beers spill, fans yell, and the stadium shudders as the crowd attempts to understand the mania of Portugal’s comeback. Conceicao’s shirt goes flying off, which earns him a yellow card. Worth it.
Euro 2024 continues with a three-game schedule and the beginning of matchday two. Croatia faces Albania in Group B at 9 AM EST, with both in dire need of a win after opening game losses. A loss from either team will all but eliminate them from the knockout rounds. Jacqui Oatley and Warren Barton will call the game on FS1.
Germany and Hungary play at noon. Germany is on top of the world with a monster 5-1 victory over Scotland, while Hungary seems lost and divided after a catastrophic 3-1 loss to Switzerland. Derek Rae joins Robert Green to commentate the match on FS1.
Finally, Scotland attempts to redeem itself after a historically bad opening game loss with a 3 PM clash with the Swiss. The Scots, underdogs to take points from the match, desperately need a positive result to stand a chance of progressing in the tournament. Darren Fletcher and Owen Hargreaves will commentate the game on FOX.
Croatia’s front line needs to be more accurate.
Croatia had an unenjoyable time during their 3-0 loss to Spain. They were thoroughly outplayed by a persistent Spain squad, and the rare positive moment — a Petković goal in the later stages of the game — was overruled by VAR. Tough misses from Ante Budimir, Lovro Majer, and Petković highlighted the match.
To avoid a high-profile exit in Germany, Croatia needs consistency in its attack. It’s unclear whether manager Zlatko Dalić needs to make a switch in the starting eleven, as Ivan Perisic, Petkovic, and Luka Ivanusec started on the bench against Spain. But, it’s clear that this attack needs a boost, whether it comes from a change on the bench or a change in mentality. Look forward to the Croatian attack likely improving as they face Albania.
Hungary needs a full reset going into Wednesday.
Hungary manager Marco Rossi seems dissatisfied, morose even, with the way his Mighty Magyars played against Switzerland. Their 3-1 loss saw Hungary utterly dismantled — both tactically and technically. It seemed like Hungary was never in control of their match, and despite the occasional bright moment, everything else was dreariness and gloom.
Hungary needs a hard reset as they look to avoid an early exit on Wednesday. Although the odds are slim against a dominant German side, Szoboszlai and Hungary can still play their blitzing style of play and lean on their lethality in transition. Communication will be key for a Hungary side likely to find themselves on the back foot for several minutes at a time.
Is this really the Scotland we saw in qualifying?
Scotland’s 5-1 loss to Germany was gruesome. The cold-blooded, calm collectedness of Wirtz and crew dismembered a Scottish side tipped to give teams trouble. Their opening match looked nothing like the Scotland side that gave Spain trouble en route to a 5-2-1 record in qualifying. The qualifying Scotland side that was composed, well-drilled, and defensively solid has turned into a disorganized, frail shell of itself.
Scotland’s best chance to avoid another group stage exit is their matchup against the tactically adept Switzerland, led by Granit Xhaka and Manuel Akanji. This Scotland side needs to remember that upsets are common and to play bigger than itself. Look forward to a more aggressive Scotland side that should show how it beat Spain and Norway en route to making it to the big stage.
Scotland skipper Andy Robertson said that he and his Tartan Army need to play fearlessly in their pivotal match against Switzerland on Wednesday. The Scots lost 5-1 to hosts Germany on opening night, as Scotland looked divided and helpless.
“You’ve seen a team [in qualification] that was full of belief and ready to fight for each other and ready to go for every single ball and maybe on Friday we played a wee bit with fear, which we didn’t want,” Robertson urged, speaking to media. “We need to be at our best again to try and get anything off Switzerland. And if we do that, we believe we can try and get a result, but they’ll also be full of belief, and confidence, and rightly so after what they did on Saturday.”
Croatia midfielder Nikola Vlasic, who has won 56 caps, will leave Croatia’s training camp due to an injury suffered in training. The Torino midfielder did not play in Croatia’s 3-0 loss to Spain but figured to be a semi-important player going into their Euro 2024 campaign.
Hungary manager Marco Rossi told press that Germany was ‘top-class’ and the ‘toughest team to play against‘ as they prepare for their Monday matchup with the hosts. After their loss to Switzerland, Hungary will likely need a point against Germany to stave off elimination, but, with the quality of the Germans, it seems tough.
“We will do our very best. We know the German team is better than us, and we can say this and nobody needs to take offense. It can motivate us,” Rossi shrugged. “We can give it our best shot. Hopefully, we can grasp a point and that will give us a chance to qualify for the next round. Everyone has to give 100%.”
Rossi also wants striker Martin Ádám to score against Germany to silence the jokes made about his large frame. Fans have posted frequently about his 190-pound build. Despite Ádám previously shrugging the comments off, Rossi said the comments were ‘disrespectful’.
“When on blogs people offend the players, well that’s unacceptable. That’s disrespectful,” Rossi said. “So it’s very unpleasant what happened to him. His body and build is what it is since his birth, so I truly hope he will score at this European Championship. That would be very rewarding and satisfying for him.”
France star Kylian Mbappé will likely miss Friday’s matchup against the Netherlands after suffering a broken nose against Austria. Mbappé smashed his face on defender Kevin Danso’s shoulder after attempting to head in a cross, causing him to bleed profusely. He’s a question mark for the rest of the group stage and some knockout games, and he will likely play the rest of the tournament with a mask on.
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