Euro 2024

[DJChameleon]

The 16 yo player is on the Spain team right?

Excellent job to Spain

[Saulaac]

The 16 yo player is on the Spain team right?

Excellent job to Spain

Yes, that's right. He scored their first goal with a brilliant left foot curling shot.

[Trollheart]

Today's match and result

Semi-final #2

England 2 - Netherlands 1

Once again, both teams went for it, knowing what was at stake. Netherlands scored first, within the first six minutes, but England played much better than they have up to now, probably their best performance in the tournament. Their reward was a penalty in the 18th minute. Debate rages over whether it was or wasn't, but Kane put it away and then Foden almost put England ahead, the ball just barely cleared off the line and proven not to have crossed the line. 1-1 it remained at the break.

The second half seemed to be a much cagier effort, but if there was one team who looked more likely it was England. Netherlands had a few efforts but their final ball broke down each time, and as we headed towards extra time once again Ollie Watkins came up with the winning goal to send England through to only their third ever Euros final. You'd have to say they deserve it.

The Final
Sunday
England v Spain: Expected Outcome? Despite a far improved performance tonight, Spain have never lost once in the entire tournament and they'll be up for it. Maybe there'll be an upset but I still reckon we'll see the Spanish lift the cup for the fourth time in their history.

[jimmy jazz]

Bloody hell 🥹

[jimmy jazz]

I wasn't sure if the team could pull it off three years ago, today I am full of belief that they will.

What a crazy tournament it's been, giving me my greatest England memories. Hopefully there is one more tonight.

Pork pie > Paella
Elton > Enrique
Birmingham > Bilbao

We'll be dancing from the Toon to the Thames if it happens. Do it for John Lennon, for Jelly Babies and for Jay Slater.





Simple as!

[Marie Monday]

Best of luck and I hope it'll be a good game!

[jimmy jazz]

Oh well.

Better team won.

☹️

[Trollheart]

Hey don't be too despondent. At least you scored. Spain have been rolling over teams for fun, and yet you held them almost to extra time. Something to be proud of.

Lineker says he believes it's only a matter of time now.

[Trollheart]

However I would just like to note:

MY TEAM WON!

Sorry.

but I have to do it...

My final report later...

[jimmy jazz]

Yeah I'm glad I got a goal to cheer.

Been a great tournament.

[DJChameleon]

Argentina vs Colombia is tonight.

Who are you guys favoring out of the two?

[jimmy jazz]

Argentina vs Colombia is tonight.

Who are you guys favoring out of the two?

Argentina. I know Colombia are strong and on a long unbeaten run but Argentina should have too much. I might have it on the radio. It's too late for me to watch it.

[Trollheart]

Wassat? Copa America?

[Trollheart]

The Final

England 1 - Spain 2

This, then, was it. Two very different goals (excuse the pun): for Spain, the chance to make history as the only country ever to win the cup four times (they were already the record holders at three wins) and for England, of course, the long-awaited and long-hoped-for "end to 58 years of hurt", the chance to finally make it through and win only the second final they have been in. English pubs must have been crowded, and I doubt you'd find a single TV set, tablet, smartphone or streaming service that wasn't tuned to the match. Spain, naturally, were favourites, having breezed through the tournament, demolishing all opposition without even one loss, while England, to be fair to them, stood up when it counted. After a pretty poor and overall you'd have to say lucky passage through to the knockout stages, they had made it to the final and hopes were riding high. Would this be the year?

They would have known they were going to be in for a fight though. Spain were not likely to make it easy for them, and they have a great side balanced by older, experienced players and young guns coming up who will surely end up being icons in time. England has its young players but many of its older ones have looked a little past it, and you could not call it a match of equals. Still, football is rarely predictable and really, it only takes a slip, a mistake, a bad decision, VAR looking the other way or the dreaded penalty shootout to flip everything over, and occasionally, form can count for little. Nevertheless, you bring your A game or you're asking for trouble.

Spain brought their A-game, and though it took them till the beginning of the second half to score, they were ahead, and almost added another moments later. Things went from bad to worse for England as Spain continued to press them, another shot barely missing, and they could have been up 3-0 by now. But they weren't, and they were to rue those missed chances as Cole Palmer scored for England in the 73rd minute to give England hope, and maybe push it once again to extra time. With four minutes to go though Spain netted again and only the most amazing save by the Spanish keeper stopped Declan Rice, then cleared off the line on the rebound as the clock wound down to the ninetieth minute. England almost level, almost forcing extra time, Spain living on their nerves, but they held on to take the final and break English hearts once again.

Great credit though must be given to England (and I say this as an Irishman) for not giving up and almost, almost equalising at the death. Had that gone in, who knows? The momentum would definitely have been with England and we could have been looking at a different result altogether. But England have nothing to reproach themselves for: they were not hammered, they were always in it and really, it could have gone either way.

[Trollheart]

So that's it. Another Euro tournament comes to an end. Thanks for reading my little match reports and comments, those of you who did, and for those who are or were not too familiar with the teams competing this year, I hope my little sketches of them helped. If not, sod ya. We'll do it all again in two years, but first we got the World Cup coming up. And before that we have the UEFA Nations Cup. Oh, and before you know it, the Premier League will be back! All together now...

"You're shit, and you know you are.... You're gettin' sacked in the morning...One nil, one nil, one nil... You're not singing, you're not singing, you're not singing anymore!" etc.