SO far, so entertaining.
Football fans who have been sacrificing their snooze time to diligently tune in live to the on-going Euro 2024 tournament have been rewarded with plenty of high-quality football.
The games have generally been hugely entertaining with the emphasis on goals and attacking football with nary a hint of a nil-nil in sight.
That trend continued with the latest round of fixtures as teams began second round of group fixtures. The pressure is certainly ramped up for sides that lost their openers, knowing that another defeat would most likely spell the end of their tournament.
Both Croatia and Albania fell into that category. Both approached the tie with attacking intent and served up a treat. Albania took a shock lead against their more illustrious opponents via Qazim Laci in the 11th minute.
To their immense credit, Croatia did not panic and trusted the process with slow patient build-up play resulting in two quick fire goals in the 74th and 76th minutes.
Having thought they had secured maximum points, Croatia was stunned with a last minute equaliser which was the least the plucky Albanians deserved. The draw sets up the final round of games for this group very nicely.
Host nation Germany eased past Hungary with a routine 2-0 win courtesy of goals from Jama Musiala and Ilkay Gundogan. The former is showing the kind of form where the Euro 2024 could be the platform he announces himself on the world stage.
Although the game was finely poised at 1-0 for prolonged periods, Hungary never really threatened save for a few half chances which went begging.
An over reliance on captain Dominic Szoboslai also meant Hungarian play was predictable allowing the Germans to snuff out any potential danger by blanketing the Liverpool midfielder.
While goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was called into action on a couple of occasions, the result was never really in doubt as Germany displayed a composure that earmarks them as early tournament favourites. It would be a foolish punter who bets against them.
Meanwhile, Scotland were looking to bounce back from the opening day 5-1 thumping suffered at the hands of Germany.
They started with a vigour that was clearly missing in the opening game and were rewarded with an early goal from Scott McTominay in the 13th minute but the Swiss equalized with a superbly struck goal from talisman Xherdan Shaqiri.
In another highly entertaining encounter, both sides went for the jugular with VAR chalking off a Swiss goal for offside.
The draw leaves Scotland with an outside chance of advancing to the knock out stages but Germany and Switzerland underlined their qualities to be in the group’s top two spots. – June 20, 2024
Upcoming fixtures:
Slovenia v Serbia – 9pm (June 20)
Denmark v England – 12am (June 21)
Spain v Italy – 3am (June 21)
Slovakia v Ukraine – 9pm (June 21)
Main pic credit: AP
