blue disillusion, offensive festivals and threats

• On display : England-Germany and Sweden-Ukraine

In 1990 there was the semi-final of the World Cup won by the Mannschaft on penalties. That evening, the tears of the Englishman Paul Gascoigne could have filled a bowl, and the reaction of his compatriot Gary Lineker has passed into posterity (“Football is a sport that is played eleven against eleven, and in the end, Germany wins”). In 1996, Lineker’s adage was confirmed after another penalty shootout, but not in 2000. Finally, how can we forget the goal that had been unfairly forgotten to Frank Lampard in 2010 ? England-Germany is a classic in selection football.

Opposed to Croatia (1-0), Scotland (0-0) and the Czech Republic (1-0), the English finished unbeaten in Group D. The Germans, for their part, snatched their qualification in the last minutes of the match against Hungary (2-2) on Matchday 3 of Group F, after a defeat against France (0-1) and a victory against Portugal (4-2).

The last poster of the knockout stages of the Euro is certainly the most unexpected. Qualified narrowly among the best thirds, Ukraine came with only one victory in the group stage and little certainty. After an inaugural defeat against the Netherlands (3-2), Andreï Shevchenko’s men offered North Macedonia (2-1) before losing to Austria (0-1).

For the first confrontation between the two teams since 2012, Sweden is the favorite. She dominated her group by hanging on Spain (0-0), before beating Slovakia (1-0) and affording Lewandowski’s Poland (3-2). In Glasgow, the strong Swedish defensive block will however have to be wary of the attacking duo Yarmolenko-Yaremchuk.

• Euro Star: Alexander Isak

Called the “new Zlatan”, the center-forward represents the future of Sweden. Youngest scorer in the history of Blagult (17 years and 3 months), the Real Sociedad player has not yet released his counter in this Euro. But its impact is no longer to be demonstrated. He found the post against Spain in the first match (0-0) and his deflection of the header led to the decisive penalty against Slovakia (1-0).

Author of 17 goals this season, Isak is courted by major teams, including FC Barcelona. Even if he says he wants to stay in Sociedad, it will be difficult to retain the Swedish jewel, especially if he chooses the knockout phase to bring the Blagults to European heights.

Croatia-Spain (3-5). Goals festival at Parken stadium in Copenhagen between Croatia and Spain. At the end of extra time and a completely crazy scenario, Luis Enrique’s men defeated catchy Vatreni and again led by two goals with five minutes of regulation time. But Morata and then Oyarzabal carried the blow and offered La Roja the right to challenge Switzerland on Friday evening in the quarter-finals in Saint Petersburg.

France-Switzerland (3-3, 4-5 on penalties). After a disastrous first half and a header from Haris Seferovic, the Blues came back with another face in the second half. Karim Benzema offered himself a brace, before the 3-1 goal, scored by Paul Pogba with a superb curling shot. But the French retreated and Seferovic took the opportunity to put the Nati back in the game. At the very end of the match, Mario Gavranovic eliminated Presnel Kimpembe and deceived Hugo Lloris with a strike from outside the area. After a tense extension, no shot on goal was missed … until that of Kylian Mbappé, stopped by Yann Sommer. A huge disappointment for the reigning world champions, who dreamed of a double.

• Meanwhile…: a threatening banner against Rafael Benitez

Merseyside Police are investigating a banner which appears to make threats towards Rafa Benitez. Reports suggest he… https://t.co/DEueIBIJok

– HeartNWNews (@North West News)

“We know where you live, don’t sign. “ Announced to Everton by the English media, Rafael Benitez, former Liverpool coach between 2004 and 2010, received threats through a banner hung near his house.

Merseyside Police said they were investigating. Some supporters of Everton, rival club of the Liverpool Reds, are against the possible nomination of the one who won a Champions League, a UEFA Super Cup and an FA Cup during his six years at Liverpool .

[⚽️ VIDÉO BUT] ? #CROESP ?? OHHHH Unai Simon’s Dumpling of the Year! ? Pedri makes a back pass to his ga… https://t.co/ec5gJCkdQO

– beinsports_FR (@beIN SPORTS)

Double blow Monday for Spain. Victorious of the Croatian selection in the round of 16, the Roja, finally bleeding, also stood out for the title of the most beautiful goal against his side of the Euro. At the 28^e One minute, Spanish midfielder Pedri – the youngest holder (18) in a Euro knockout match – made a back pass to his goalkeeper, Unai Simon, who obviously forgot to control the ball. Result: a “CSC” of 45 meters, the most distant in the history of the Euro. A masterpiece, fortunately without consequence for Luis Enrique and his players.

• Volley catch: Varane downed

“It’s obviously a huge disappointment. We had a reaction tonight. We mismanaged the strong times and the weak times. When hot, it’s difficult to have the lucidity to analyze, but we lacked everything ”

Coming to speak after the elimination of the France team against Switzerland in the round of 16, Raphaël Varane reacted to the microphone of TF1, summarizing the mistakes of the Blues during this meeting.

• Covidometer: 300 positive Finnish fans returning from Russia

Finland came away from the Euro with a victory, two defeats and a lot of cases of Covid-19 in the suitcases. Nearly 300 returning supporters have tested positive after attending Saint Petersburg – where cases of contamination due to the Delta variant are on the rise – in matches against Russia and then Belgium, Finnish health authorities announced on Monday. . “There are so many infections (…), the situation is clearly different from what it was a week ago ”, the mayor of Helsinki, Jan Vapaavuori, expressed alarm on Monday.