Euro 2020 – Football fever to sweep the continent

Euro 2020 update: the final four are revealed

We are just three matches away from seeing who will be crowned European Champions, as Wembley Stadium hosts the action from here on in. The semi-finalists have been revealed, with Italy vs Spain on Tuesday night, followed by England vs Denmark on Wednesday. Let’s take a quick look at our final four.

Italy vs Spain

Luis Enrique’s side were the first through to the semis. A Denis Zakaria own goal put them ahead in Saint Petersburg, but overachievers Switzerland – who had previously knocked out France – managed to pull back a goal in the second half, through Xherdan Shaqiri. It remained honours even after the regulatory 90 minutes, and subsequent 30 minutes of extra time – with penalties the decider. A fairly shocking shootout in which more spot-kicks were saved than scored, Spain ran out 4-2 winners.

Italy have looked unstoppable so far, and their 32-match unbeaten run is a national record. After a slight hiccup in the last-16 over Austria, they found themselves cruising over Belgium – who are ranked number 1 in the world. Nicolò Barella opened the scoring, before Lorenzo Insigne added a second – in what is being tipped as one of the goals of the tournament. While Belgium pulled one back through Romelu Lukaku’s penalty, after Giovanni di Lorenzo brought down Jeremy Doku, the Azzurri held on.

Between them, Italy and Spain have won five World Cups and four European Championships – and the pair have met at the last three editions of the Euros. Their most recent encounter was in the last 16, in which Italy ran out 2-0 winners and given their form, discount them at your peril!

England vs Denmark

After a highly impressive win over Germany in the last-16, England continued their good form over Ukraine – although victory was never in any doubt. Despite overachieving to reach the quarter-final, Ukraine were hugely out of their depth in Rome, as England opened the scoring in just the 4^th minute. Harry Kane later went on to grab a brace, while Harry Maguire got on the scoresheet and Jordan Henderson landed his first international goal. The Three Lions duly delivered and this new-found confidence and abundance of goals will stand them in good stead into the semis.

Denmark, however, have had a rollercoaster ride in the tournament – and will be looking for their fairytale to continue. A two-goal lead against the Czech Republic, when Thomas Delaney and Kasper Dolberg put them ahead, was cut in the second half by Patrik Schick’s 5^th goal of the tournament. But that Nordic warrior spirit continues to live on and the Danes aren’t ready to give up on their European journey just yet.

After failing to qualify for Euro 2016, and given the shock that surrounded their opening match against Finland, Kasper Hjulmand can be truly proud of his side’s achievements. But will this be the end of the road?

After almost two weeks of rip-roaring football, the Euro 2020 group stage has now come to an end, and there was plenty of drama in the last round of fixtures. We now know the 16 teams who will battle it out in the knockout stage to try and get their hands on that trophy. But it’s worth taking a look back at how things worked out in the group stage.

Having contested the opening game of the tournament against Turkey and won 3-0, Italy were one of the standout teams from the first round of Euro 2020. Following that win over Turkey in Rome, they beat Switzerland 3-0 and Wales 1-0 to enjoy a perfect record, without even conceding a goal. Wales and Switzerland joined them in advancing from Group A.

There was a similarly comfortable passage to the knockout stage for Belgium in Group B. They won all three of their matches, leaving an almighty scrap for second place. In the end it was Denmark who claimed it, beating Russia 4-1 in the last round of fixtures.

Played three, won three was how the Netherlands’ group efforts finished as well. They survived a scare to beat Ukraine 3-2 in their opening game, but then enjoyed comfortable wins over Austria and North Macedonia. The Austrians and the Ukrainians also progressed to the last 16.

England finished top of Group D despite failing to find their top gear in the group stage. A 0-0 draw with Scotland was sandwiched between 1-0 victories over Croatia and the Czech Republic, with the latter two teams also doing enough to earn a place in the knockout stage.

Group E was expected to be dominated by Spain, but Luis Enrique’s side didn’t get going in their opening two matches, drawing with Sweden and Poland. The Swedes duly took advantage and topped the group following hard-fought wins over Slovakia and Poland, while Spain secured second with a resounding 5-0 win over the Slovaks in Seville.

With three quality sides in the shape of France, Germany and Portugal, along with plucky underdogs Hungary who had home advantage on their side, Group D was dubbed the group of death before the tournament. In the end it was France who emerged on top, beating Germany before drawing with Hungary and Portugal. The Germans and the Portuguese both progressed after a night of drama to cap the group off.

Attention now turns to the last 16, and with plenty of mouth-watering ties to look forward to, there’s no doubt that the best is yet to come at Euro 2020.

Round of 16 schedule

Saturday 26^th June
Wales v Denmark – Amsterdam
Italy v Austria – London

Sunday 27^th June
Netherlands v Czech Republic – Budapest
Belgium v Portugal – Seville

Monday 28^th June
Croatia v Spain – Copenhagen
France v Switzerland – Bucharest

Tuesday 29^th June
England v Germany – London
Sweden v Ukraine – Glasgow

The hosts

For the first time in the tournament’s history, it’s being pan-hosted. We’ve never seen more than two nations share the duties – it’s going to be a proper European tour! Where can you expect to see matches played?

• Wembley Stadium – London, England (capacity: 90,000)
• Stadio Olimpico – Rome, Italy (capacity: 70,634)
• Allianz Arena – Munich, Germany (capacity: 70,000)
• Olympic Stadium – Baku, Azerbaijan (capacity: 68,700)
• Krestovsky Stadium – Saint Petersburg, Russia (capacity: 68,134)
• Puskás Aréna – Budapest, Hungary (capacity: 67,215)
• La Cartuja – Seville, Spain (capacity: 60,000)
• Arena Națională – Bucharest, Romania (capacity: 55,600)
• Johan Cruyff Arena – Amsterdam, the Netherlands (capacity: 54,990)
• Hampden Park – Glasgow, Scotland (capacity: 51,866)
• Parken Stadium – Copenhagen, Denmark (capacity: 38,605)

Of course, with the current rules and regulations varying from country to country, it’s likely that no stadium will be at full capacity during the tournament. If you’re wondering how many fans will be allowed into the stadiums, the answer is that it is likely to be between 22-and-50%.
But as we have seen at other football matches and other sporting events, it’s great to have the fans back – even if they are in smaller numbers than usual. You can guarantee that patriotism will be in abundance, with fans waving flags and scarfs, wearing their team’s shirt with pride – and maybe even sporting a dab or two of face paint! Euro fever will sweep the continent once more!