Results
Poland def. Switzerland 1-1 (5-4 Pen)
Wales def. Northern Ireland 1-0
Portugal def. Croatia 1-0 (A.E.T.)
France def. Ireland 2-1
Germany def. Slovakia 3-0
Belgium def. Hungary 4-0
Italy def. Spain 2-0
Iceland def. England 2-1
Switzerland v Poland
Surprisingly, only one match in the Round of 16 required penalties to determine the victor. This was that match. Poland scored a goal through Jakub Blaszczykowski in the first half, and seemed to be running away with it, until the 82nd minute when Xherdan Shaqiri scored the goal of the tournament and equalized the match with a bicycle kick. From then on, it was all Switzerland. The Swiss made attack after attack on the Polish goal, but could not get one in the back of the net. But in penalty shootout, Poland made all 5 shots, while Switzerland only made 4, as Granit Xhaka missed the goal completely. Poland must now face Portugal, who beat Croatia in their Round of 16 match. The Swiss go home after a decent tournament, but they will feel as though they could have won this match.
Wales v Northern Ireland
Everyone expected Wales to win by more. They topped their group, while Northern Ireland was arguably the weakest team in the knockout stages, who advanced as a 3rd place team because they were able to win against Ukraine in the group stage. But this match was close enough. Wales had 7 shots compared to Northern Ireland's 5. Wales only had 56% of the possession. The key for Northern Ireland was to hold Gareth Bale in check. With Bale marked, Wales did not have the same playmaking ability going into each attack. In fact, the one time Bale broke free, Wales scored its goal. Bale made a run down the wing and crossed the ball into the center, and the ball deflected off Northern Irish defender Gareth McAuley before going into the net. Belgium should perhaps do a better job of stopping Bale, as they have many more talented defenders than Northern Ireland.
Croatia v Portugal
Croatia could not get the ball in the back of the net, despite dominating the match. They had 59% of the possession, out-passed the Portuguese 580-371, and out-shot them 19-6. Croatia kept the pressure on through extra time creating chance after chance that barely missed the net each time. But after Ivan Perisic hit the post for Croatia, Portugal made a quick counter-attack with numbers, which lead to Ricardo Quaresma scoring a tap-in into an open-net to win the match in the 117th minute. So Croatia, who won their group and defeated Spain, was eliminated by a 3rd place team, Portugal, who did not win a single match in the group stage. Croatia will be extremely disappointed with this end to the cup, and will hopefully rebound for the World Cup in Russia. Portugal now has a meeting with Poland for a spot in the semifinals.
France v Ireland
Ireland scored a penalty in the second minute to get an early lead, and they managed to hold onto that lead for almost an hour. But Antoine Griezmann came to life in the 58th minute, scoring 2 goals in 3 minutes to give the French a 2-1 lead. From then on, France just played defense and kept the Irish out of the game. France continues rolling on home soil, and now they are through to the quarterfinals, where they will face Iceland, who upset England in the Round of 16. Ireland has not had the best cup, but they will be happy with what they have achieved, given that they made it to the knockout round.
Germany v Slovakia
Exactly as we all expected, this match was a blowout. The Germans routed Slovakia, who were 3rd place in Group B. Germany dominated the Slovakians in possession 61-39, in passes 512-320, and shots 21-7. The Slovakians had a good run and outplayed their expectations, but they won't be happy that their cup ended on such a rout. As for Germany, they will face Italy in the quarterfinals, in a matchup of the 2 best teams in the cup.
Hungary v Belgium
This match was also a blowout. Belgium continues to play well, and won its 3rd straight shutout victory. Belgium scored in the 10th minute, and the score was locked at 1-0 for 68 minutes. But then in the 78th minute, Belgium's offense exploded, scoring 3 goals in the final 12 minutes of the match. Among the 4 goals, Eden Hazard scored his first goal at a major international tournament for Belgium. Hungary will be extremely upset with this result, because they went undefeated in the group stage and topped Group F only to get smashed in the Round of 16. On the other hand, Belgium will face Wales next for a spot in the semifinals.
Italy v Spain
Italy is the real deal. The Italians had a resounding 2-0 victory over the defending Euro Champs Spain, and the margin of victory could have easily been 5 or 6 if not for countless spectacular saves from Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea. Italy kept the pressure on the Spanish net, logging 10 shots on target over 90 minutes. Spain's loss against Croatia in the group stage proved to be crucial. If Spain had won that match, they would have played Portugal and would likely be in the quarterfinals. Instead, however, they choked against Croatia and had to face a tough Italian side, who sent them home earlier than they would have liked. Next up for Italy: a quarterfinal match against Germany.
England v Iceland
The magical run continues. Iceland, the tiniest nation in the cup (with only 330,000 people in the whole country), got an incredible victory over perennial soccer giants England to advance to the quarterfinals. England was absolutely terrible in this match, as both Icelandic goals could have easily been kept out by decent defending. Instead, England's poor defense just stood around as Iceland took the lead and sent England home. The last time England won a knockout round match in an international tournament was back in 2006, at the Germany World Cup. Roy Hodgson officially quit as England's manager following the embarrassing defeat, as the England team seems to have fallen into disrepair. As for Iceland, they have a chance to continue their amazing run in the quarterfinals against France, and if they win, they will advance to the semis.
New Matches (QuarterFinals)
Poland v Portugal (Thursday, June 30 @ 3 PM ET)
Wales v Belgium (Friday, July 1 @ 3 PM ET)
Germany v Italy (Saturday, July 2 @ 3 PM ET)
France v Iceland (Sunday, July 3 @ 3 PM ET)
New Bracket (image from wikipedia.org)
Poland def. Switzerland 1-1 (5-4 Pen)
Wales def. Northern Ireland 1-0
Portugal def. Croatia 1-0 (A.E.T.)
France def. Ireland 2-1
Germany def. Slovakia 3-0
Belgium def. Hungary 4-0
Italy def. Spain 2-0
Iceland def. England 2-1
Switzerland v Poland
Surprisingly, only one match in the Round of 16 required penalties to determine the victor. This was that match. Poland scored a goal through Jakub Blaszczykowski in the first half, and seemed to be running away with it, until the 82nd minute when Xherdan Shaqiri scored the goal of the tournament and equalized the match with a bicycle kick. From then on, it was all Switzerland. The Swiss made attack after attack on the Polish goal, but could not get one in the back of the net. But in penalty shootout, Poland made all 5 shots, while Switzerland only made 4, as Granit Xhaka missed the goal completely. Poland must now face Portugal, who beat Croatia in their Round of 16 match. The Swiss go home after a decent tournament, but they will feel as though they could have won this match.
Wales v Northern Ireland
Everyone expected Wales to win by more. They topped their group, while Northern Ireland was arguably the weakest team in the knockout stages, who advanced as a 3rd place team because they were able to win against Ukraine in the group stage. But this match was close enough. Wales had 7 shots compared to Northern Ireland's 5. Wales only had 56% of the possession. The key for Northern Ireland was to hold Gareth Bale in check. With Bale marked, Wales did not have the same playmaking ability going into each attack. In fact, the one time Bale broke free, Wales scored its goal. Bale made a run down the wing and crossed the ball into the center, and the ball deflected off Northern Irish defender Gareth McAuley before going into the net. Belgium should perhaps do a better job of stopping Bale, as they have many more talented defenders than Northern Ireland.
Croatia v Portugal
Croatia could not get the ball in the back of the net, despite dominating the match. They had 59% of the possession, out-passed the Portuguese 580-371, and out-shot them 19-6. Croatia kept the pressure on through extra time creating chance after chance that barely missed the net each time. But after Ivan Perisic hit the post for Croatia, Portugal made a quick counter-attack with numbers, which lead to Ricardo Quaresma scoring a tap-in into an open-net to win the match in the 117th minute. So Croatia, who won their group and defeated Spain, was eliminated by a 3rd place team, Portugal, who did not win a single match in the group stage. Croatia will be extremely disappointed with this end to the cup, and will hopefully rebound for the World Cup in Russia. Portugal now has a meeting with Poland for a spot in the semifinals.
France v Ireland
Ireland scored a penalty in the second minute to get an early lead, and they managed to hold onto that lead for almost an hour. But Antoine Griezmann came to life in the 58th minute, scoring 2 goals in 3 minutes to give the French a 2-1 lead. From then on, France just played defense and kept the Irish out of the game. France continues rolling on home soil, and now they are through to the quarterfinals, where they will face Iceland, who upset England in the Round of 16. Ireland has not had the best cup, but they will be happy with what they have achieved, given that they made it to the knockout round.
Germany v Slovakia
Exactly as we all expected, this match was a blowout. The Germans routed Slovakia, who were 3rd place in Group B. Germany dominated the Slovakians in possession 61-39, in passes 512-320, and shots 21-7. The Slovakians had a good run and outplayed their expectations, but they won't be happy that their cup ended on such a rout. As for Germany, they will face Italy in the quarterfinals, in a matchup of the 2 best teams in the cup.
Hungary v Belgium
This match was also a blowout. Belgium continues to play well, and won its 3rd straight shutout victory. Belgium scored in the 10th minute, and the score was locked at 1-0 for 68 minutes. But then in the 78th minute, Belgium's offense exploded, scoring 3 goals in the final 12 minutes of the match. Among the 4 goals, Eden Hazard scored his first goal at a major international tournament for Belgium. Hungary will be extremely upset with this result, because they went undefeated in the group stage and topped Group F only to get smashed in the Round of 16. On the other hand, Belgium will face Wales next for a spot in the semifinals.
Italy v Spain
Italy is the real deal. The Italians had a resounding 2-0 victory over the defending Euro Champs Spain, and the margin of victory could have easily been 5 or 6 if not for countless spectacular saves from Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea. Italy kept the pressure on the Spanish net, logging 10 shots on target over 90 minutes. Spain's loss against Croatia in the group stage proved to be crucial. If Spain had won that match, they would have played Portugal and would likely be in the quarterfinals. Instead, however, they choked against Croatia and had to face a tough Italian side, who sent them home earlier than they would have liked. Next up for Italy: a quarterfinal match against Germany.
England v Iceland
The magical run continues. Iceland, the tiniest nation in the cup (with only 330,000 people in the whole country), got an incredible victory over perennial soccer giants England to advance to the quarterfinals. England was absolutely terrible in this match, as both Icelandic goals could have easily been kept out by decent defending. Instead, England's poor defense just stood around as Iceland took the lead and sent England home. The last time England won a knockout round match in an international tournament was back in 2006, at the Germany World Cup. Roy Hodgson officially quit as England's manager following the embarrassing defeat, as the England team seems to have fallen into disrepair. As for Iceland, they have a chance to continue their amazing run in the quarterfinals against France, and if they win, they will advance to the semis.
New Matches (QuarterFinals)
Poland v Portugal (Thursday, June 30 @ 3 PM ET)
Wales v Belgium (Friday, July 1 @ 3 PM ET)
Germany v Italy (Saturday, July 2 @ 3 PM ET)
France v Iceland (Sunday, July 3 @ 3 PM ET)
New Bracket (image from wikipedia.org)
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