By Kehinde Okeowo
Euro 2020 soccer fiesta is living up to its billings as the competition gears towards quarterfinal stage. The football completion among European countries which ought to have been played in 2020 was delayed till June, 2021 because of the outbreak of the Covid- 19 pandemic. The round of 16 which produced the last 8 teams who made it to the next stage ended on Tuesday, June 29, 2021 and quarterfinal is expected to commence tomorrow, Friday, July 2, 2021.
The 8 teams which qualified for the next round in no particular order are Azzurri of Italy, Danish Dynamites of Denmark, Red Devils’ of Belgium , The Three Lions of England, Zbirna of Ukraine, Schweizer Nati of Switzerland, Spanish La Furia Roja of Spain and Lokomotiva of Czechs Republic. Italians defeated Austria after extra time to qualify, Denmark who won just a single game at the group stage trashed Wales 4-0 to advance, Belgium won the current champion, Portugal, in a keenly contested game and Spain won the World cup runner-up, Croatia, after extra time.
English players broke a 55 year old jinx when they beat old adversary, Germany, whom they have not beaten at the knock out stage of any senior competition since they defeated them in the final of 1966 world cup. Some upsets were recorded at the round of 16 as some perceived minnows beat their more illustrious opponents. Czechs Republic increased their winning tally over Netherlands to 6 when they beat them 2-0 in the round of 16, the world cup holder, France, also suffered a shocking defeat at the hands of Switzerland who won on penalties. Sweden, who was expected to defeat Ukraine lost 2-1 after extra time.
The stage is now set for quarterfinal where four games will be played in two days. On Friday, July 2, 2021, Switzerland, the conqueror of the World Champion, will face Spain at Saint Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg, Russia, immediately after the game, a heavy weight clash between two of the tournament favorites, is expected to be played between Belgium and Italy at Football Arena Munich, Munich, Germany. The next day, Czech Republic will lock horns with Denmark at Baku Olympic Stadium, Baku, Azerbaijan. The final game will be played between Ukraine and England at Olympico in Rome, Italy.
Spain began the tournament slowly, but after scoring 10 goals in two games, they are now the highest-scoring team in the Euro with 11 goals, they are followed by Italy and Denmark who have 9 goals each. Jordan Pickford, the English goalkeeper is leading the race for the golden glove as he is yet to concede any goal in the completion. Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal remained the tournament’s highest goal scorer with 5 goals despite the fact that his team has been knocked out of the competition. He is closely followed by Patrik Schick of the Czech Republic and Emil Forsberg of Sweden who has 4 goals each. Going by the euphoria the competition has generated so far, one can say football lovers are in for more thrilling moments as the quarter beckons.