Euro 2016 Group D Wrapup

Matchday 1

Croatia 1, Turkey 0
Goal: Luka Modrić (CRO) 41’

General thoughts:

• I honestly remember very little about this game, even though I watched it.  I don’t know if it’s because I fell asleep or because very few events occurred that caught my eye.  I don’t remember.  Either one is in play.
• I know this has little to do with the play on the field, but Turkey’s dark uniforms are the best in the tournament.  Seriously – they look sharp.  I wouldn’t mind having one.
• Typically, all I remember about Croatia in any major tournament is talented players that underachieve and extremely poor sportsmanship – both from players and fans.[1]  Thankfully, neither happened today.
• Turkey played hard and put up a very valiant effort, but Croatia was just a little bit better.
• Spain is overwhelmingly favored in this group, but Croatia could give them some problems.  This is a very good Croatian side that could make a deep run in the tournament.

June 12, 2016, 07:12 am MST

Spain 1, Czech Republic 0
Goal: Gerard Piqué (ESP) 87’

General thoughts:

• Spain is such a frustrating team to watch.  Their “tiki-taka” style[2] is tedious and boring.  I liken it to soccer’s version of Chinese Water Torture.  In this game, it looked like Spain was mostly passing for passing’s sake instead of passing to set up an offense.  They looked like a cat playing with its prey before finally killing it and eating it.  Yes, the Czech Republic is a fairly good side, but Spain is a more talented team, and had they actually TRIED to score, they easily could have won this game by two or three goals.
• To add to the previous point, when Spain actually tried to score, the Czechs had no chance.
• Spain looks to have the most talent in their group, followed by Croatia.  The Czechs and the Turks look to be about even to me.
• I absolutely hated this game.  Let’s move on.

June 13, 2016, 07:02 am MST

Matchday 2

Croatia 2, Czech Republic 2
Goals: Ivan Perišić (CRO) 37’, Ivan Rakitić (CRO) 59’, Milan Škoda (CZE) 76’, Tomáš Necid (CZE) 89’ (PK)

General thoughts:

• Croatian captain Darijo Srna played this game with a heavy heart.  While he was playing in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Turkey, his father – Uzeir Srna – passed away.  Darijo heard the sad news after the game.  On Monday, he flew home to Croatia for the funeral, and he returned to France to play in this game.  Some people asked why he returned so quickly – he did so because Uzeir’s last wish was for Darijo to play for Croatia with all his heart.  Srna visibly wept during the Croatian anthem before the game.
• Croatia looked great for most of the game.  They showed that they are one of the top teams in this tournament.
• Croatia’s two goals were made in different styles.  Perišić’s goal was a beautifully struck cannon blast into the lower left corner after dribbling into the box, while Rakitić’s goal was a finessed chip over Czech keeper Petr Čech.[3]
• The Czechs dug deep to produce the goal in the 76th minute that cut the lead in half.  Team captain Tomáš Rosický – the right midfielder – crossed a ball into the box that reserve forward Milan Škoda blasted into the top right corner with his head.
• Croatia looked to be closing out a solid 2-1 victory when, in the 86th minute, some Croatian hooligans disrupted the match by throwing lit flares onto the corner of the pitch in front of their section.  The game stopped as order was restored.  One sight that really upset me happened when one of the French stewards bent over to pick up a flare that had just been tossed in front of him.  As he picked it up, the flare exploded right by his head, knocking him down.  As I saw it on TV, I thought I had just witnessed a death.  It turns out that the steward – both thankfully and amazingly – was okay.  Another lit flare nearly hit Ivan Perišić in the head.  As this madness continued, several Croatian players stood in front of the section where this occurred and pleaded for these psychopaths to stop.[4]  As security tried to restore order, several people in the Croatian section began to brawl with each other.[5]
• After the disruption, the complexion of the Croatian team changed completely – understandably so.  It was clear that they were distracted – and the distraction cost them a win.  In the 88th minute, a Czech cross was looped high into the box.  As Croatian center back Domagoj Vida jumped to head the cross away, he (seemingly inexplicably) had his hands up above his head.  The ball struck one of his hands, leaving the referee no choice but to award a penalty to the Czechs.  Tomáš Necid calmly buried the penalty kick to tie the game.
• That was a brave comeback by the Czechs, but Croatia gave this game away.  This was the second stomach-punch-tie of the tournament, and this one occurred partly due to the unruly behavior in the stands.

June 17, 2016, 11:02 am MST

Spain 3, Turkey 0
Goals: Álvaro Morata (ESP) 34’, Nolito (ESP) 37’, Álvaro Morata (ESP) 48’

General thoughts:

• Now that’s more like it, Spain!  See what happens when you actually…oh, I don’t know…ATTACK THE GOAL?  With the talent you have, you should be able to do this during every game and have a good chance to win.
• Turkey played valiantly, but once again, their opponent was just plain better.  Furthermore, a team cannot lose their focus against Spain – they will almost always make you pay.  That happened here today.
• This result is unfortunate for the Turks, because their team is better than their record indicates – they just had to play the two best teams in the group in their first two games.  They should be able to hang with the Czechs in their third game.
• Spanish center forward Álvaro Morata is having a great tournament thus far.  Not only did he score two goals in this game, but he assisted on Spain’s third goal with a great set-up pass to left winger Nolito.
• With the victory, the Spanish are guaranteed a spot in the Round of 16.  In order to win the group, they must defeat or tie with Croatia.  This will be no easy task – Croatia has a good squad, despite their stomach-punch-tie from earlier today.

June 17, 2016, 2:07 pm MST

Matchday 3

Note:  I did not get to see these games until Monday, June 27th, after having avoided all news about what happened.

Croatia 2, Spain 1
Goals: Álvaro Morata (ESP) 7’, Nikola Kalinić (CRO) 45’, Ivan Perišić (CRO) 87’

General thoughts:

• This was a very important game, as the winner was going to win the group.  Finishing second would have been a death sentence, as the runner-up faced Italy next, and then possibly Germany and then possibly France.  Yikes.  The winner started off with a third-place team, and then the winner of Switzerland and Poland.  Yeah.  I’d rather have that path, too.
• Speaking of “yikes,” the Croatian Football Association notified the tournament authorities that they had heard of a plot to disrupt this game.  The gatekeepers at the stadium checked entering fans very thoroughly and intercepted some contraband.  I was glad to hear that, yet I was nervous that another scene like the one late in the Czech game would occur.
• Spain scored very early yet again, this time when Spanis midfielder Cesc Fàbregas lofted a great pass into the box that center forward Álvaro Morata blasted home.  It’s nice to see them use their talent and attack early for two games in a row.
• Spain almost put a second one in shortly after their first.  It’s like the Spanish coaching staff read my write-up of Matchday 1.  Regardless, this is far more fun to watch than the first game was.
• How lucky was Spain/unlucky was Croatia that Ivan Rakitić’s howitzer in the 14^th minute barely failed to cross the line?  That goal would have been amazing.
• By the 30th minute, I began to think that Croatia was playing better than Spain, and that it was only a matter of time before they scored.
• In the 45th minute, Croatia did score with a gorgeous jumping back-heel shot by Nikola Kalinić.  Wow!  That was fun to watch.
• That was the first goal that Spain allowed in a Euro match in 832 minutes of game time.  Amazing.
• In the 56th minute I thought I would see a beautiful goal when Croatian uncorked that bicycle kick, but it went just wide.  Croatia looked hungrier to win than Spain did at this point.  They were attacking the Spanish goal like a swarm of angry bees.
• How in the world was it not a penalty in the 63rd minute when the Croatian attacker got tripped in the box?
• I have to vehemently disagree with the decision to give Spain a penalty in the 70th minute.  Iniesta embellished the contact heavily.  I don’t blame Croatian captain Darijo Srna for getting so upset.  Then Croatian goalie Danijel Subašić made a sensational save on the penalty kick.
• WHAT A GOAL THAT WAS BY IVAN PERIŠIĆ TO GIVE CROATIA THE LEAD IN THE 87TH MINUTE!!!!!
• What a great, exciting, and fun game that was!  VERY impressive win by Croatia.  We fans get treated to a potential classic in the Round of 16, with Spain facing Italy in a rematch of the 2012 Euro Final.
• If Spain is going to win a 3rd straight Euro, they will have to run a gauntlet to do so.
• Thank God that this match wasn’t ruined by any hooligans.

June 27, 2016, 01:02 pm MST

Turkey 2, Czech Republic 0
Goals: Burak Yılmaz (TUR) 10’, Ozan Tufan (TUR) 65’

General thoughts:

• Turkey has some fun, vocal fans.  This is a great atmosphere.  Having said that, they also have some idiots attending this game.  It is concerning that I heard a firecracker go off during the Czech anthem, and then heard one go off in the Turkish section in the 39th minute.  And then in the second half, some lunatic lit a flare.
• Turkey’s first goal – in the tenth minute, no less, by center forward Burak Yılmaz – was great.  After that, the roof just about came off.  It started to sound like a Turkish home match.
• That collision in the box during the 50th minute was the ugliest I’ve seen that wasn’t (and shouldn’t have been) a foul.  Poor Gökhan Gönül’s face was a bloodied mess.  The Turkish training staff did well to patch him up.
• When that incorrect offside was given against Turkey in the 65th minute, I thought they were very unlucky to fall victim to an officiating mistake.  Then, thankfully, Scottish referee Willie Collum overruled it and gave Turkey an indirect free kick.  It was superbly taken, and then Turkish midfielder Ozan Tufan headed it home.  After that, some psychos in the Turkish section threw several lit flares onto the field.  That is a shame.
• Impressive win by Turkey.  They’re still alive to get through as one of the four best third-place teams.

June 27, 2016, 01:02 pm MST

[1] A prime example is Josip Šimunić, a talented player who was known for misbehavior.  He received yellow cards regularly, and was banned from Croatia’s World Cup team in 2014 because he gave a Fascist salute and led some Croatian fans in a Fascist chant after the home leg of their playoff match against Iceland.

[2] My explanation of tiki-taka is playing keep-away from the opponent by passing the ball (mainly with short passes) loads of times before trying very late in the game to score.  In essence, they try to win 1-0 by playing keep away all game to tire out and frustrate their opponents and then attacking the goal very late after their opponents are either super-tired or super-frustrated.

[3] Yes, Petr Čech’s last name and his nationality are pronounced exactly the same.  Cool, huh?

[4] I refuse to call these hoodlums “fans.”  They weren’t there to support Croatia – they were there to cause problems.

[5] It turns out that the match organizers had been tipped off before the game that a disturbance in the Croatian seating section was planned for the 85th minute of the game.  The natural question here is why they would do this.  In Croatia, there are a few groups (with a few hundred followers) who have felt alienated from their national soccer team due to corruption within the Croatian Football Federation.  The organization’s vice-president – Zdravko Mamić – has been charged with embezzling money from Dinamo Zagreb while he was the manager of the team.  The federation’s executive director has also been charged as an accomplice in the case.  As a result, these groups have set out to embarrass the Croatian Football Federation at every opportunity.  I have to ask, though – why do it like this?  The only people who are getting punished are the players – who, by the way, had nothing to do with the alleged embezzlement.