Euro 2016 Group F Wrapup

Matchday 1

Hungary 2, Austria 0
Goals: Ádám Szalai (HUN) 62’, Zoltán Stieber (HUN) 87’

General thoughts:

• Austria came into this game as the leading “dark horse” candidate of the tournament.[1]
• Austria vs. Hungary is the second-most played international match of all time.  Only Argentina and Uruguay have met more times.
• Austria has some raw talent, but they do not seem to play together well as a team.  There were several arguments in this game.
• Having said that, Austria still had several great scoring chances.  I can see why they were frustrated, since 40-year-old Hungarian goalkeeper Gábor Király looked like a lion pouncing on its prey on several Austrian shots that seemed destined for the back of the net.
• What the heck was Aleksandar Dragović thinking with that ridiculous sliding tackle from behind in their area?  Not only did his action nullify a goal, but it turned the game around.  And if he didn’t already have a yellow card when he did that, he very easily could have been shown a straight red.
• I have to tip my hat to Hungary.  Their last major tournament was the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, and they came into this game as heavy underdogs.  Not only were they up to the task, but they figuratively punched Austria right in the chin.
• Austria made so many mental mistakes that I’d say that they shot themselves in the foot, but that would take away from the effort Hungary made.
• Király is the oldest player ever to appear in a Euro tournament.  He certainly didn’t show his age on the aforementioned acrobatic saves.  He did show his wisdom when he prevented five Hungarian players – at the same time, mind you – when they wanted to strangle two of the Austrians after Dragović’s aforementioned stupidity.
• Austria’s backs are against the wall.  If they don’t beat Portugal, they’re in serious trouble.
• Some have said that Austria “couldn’t handle the bright lights,” and I may have to agree, seeing all of their mental mistakes in this game.
• Hungary played as well as anyone has in this tournament thus far.  Their composure could take them far.  Their team could certainly make some waves as this tournament continues.

June 14, 2016, 11:07 am MST

Portugal 1, Iceland 1
Goals: Nani (POR) 31’, Birkir Bjarnason (ISL) 50’

General thoughts:

• This is the very first game for Iceland in a major tournament.
• They are the smallest country ever to qualify for a Euro.  Their population of 332,529 is between the populations of Santa Ana, California and Corpus Christi, Texas.[2]
• Around 33,000 Icelandic supporters came to France for the tournament.  That’s roughly 10% of the entire country.  As ESPN announcer Ian Darke stated before the game, that would be like 30 million Americans going to support the United States at a tournament.  Absolutely mindblowing.
• One criticism that “The Star-Spangled Banner” has is how difficult it can be to sing, due to its wide vocal range.  Well…Iceland’s is tougher.  It’s still a pretty song, though.
• What an effort by Iceland!  To keep the always dangerous Cristiano Ronaldo off of the scoresheet…and hold a team with as many weapons as Portugal to only one goal…wow.  They certainly earned this tie and, at times, looked like they deserved to win.  Yes, they parked the bus after tying the game, but, again, Portugal had enough weapons to score several goals despite the Icelandic defensive strategy.
• Every memory I have of Portuguese defender Pepe is either of him giving someone a cheap shot, getting whistled for a clear foul and then arguing with the referee, or jawing at an opponent.[3]  I’m glad to see that he behaved in this game.
• Cristiano Ronaldo had a very frustrating game for Portugal.  I think he may have been trying too hard to become the first player ever to score in four different Euros.[4]  He shot the ball 10 times, and only one was on target.  Wow.
• Iceland is GOOD, and many people do not realize this.  They BARELY missed qualifying for the 2014 World Cup, and they beat the Dutch – a European powerhouse – twice to keep the Dutch out of the tournament.  Their qualifying group consisted of the Czech Republic, Turkey, the Netherlands, Kazakhstan, and Latvia.  Not exactly an easy group.  They should advance pretty far in this tournament, and they may upset a team or two in the process.

June 14, 2016, 2:22 pm MST

Matchday 2

Hungary 1, Iceland 1
Goals: Gylfi Sigurðsson (ISL) 40’ (PK), Birkir Már Sævarsson (ISL) 88’ (Own Goal)

General thoughts:

• Hungary dominated general play in the game, but Iceland ended up with more high-quality chances.  Their strategy of “use the ball wisely when you have it” has been a successful one for them.
• The referee’s decision to award the penalty was 100% correct.
• Poor Birkir Már Sævarsson.  Two minutes away from an Icelandic victory, Hungary was building pressure from the left side.  Hungarian winger Nemanja Nikolić sent a low cross into the area that Sævarsson slid to knock away, and he ended up accidentally redirecting the ball into his own net.
• What an ending!  Iceland had a free kick from a dangerous position just outside the Hungarian penalty area in the last seconds of the game.  Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurðsson – who converted the penalty kick earlier – sent a low free kick that the wall blocked.  The rebound caromed right to Icelandic forward Eiður Guðjohnsen, who blasted a shot that barely sailed wide.  The referee then ended the match.
• This was a stomach-punch tie[5] for Iceland and its fans.  Both teams, however, have to feel good about their chances going into the final day of match play.

June 18, 2016, 11:07 am MST

Austria 0, Portugal 0
Goals: None

General thoughts:

• Pre-tournament, pundits were saying that this game would be one of the greatest of the tournament.  Two offensive powerhouses with first place in the group on the line…and what we got was a scoreless tie.
• Both teams had great chances to score, but their shooters had absolutely no accuracy.
• It has really been fun watching how frustrated Cristiano Ronaldo has been getting.  His grimaces are hilarious.
• Did anyone else laugh hysterically when Ronaldo’s penalty kick clanged off the post?  I laughed even harder when his teammate – André Gomes – reached the juicy rebound first with a golden opportunity to score…only to boot it into the stands behind the goal.
• In the last few minutes of the game, Ronaldo stopped trusting his teammates and tried to do everything himself.  That formula rarely works in soccer, and this time was no exception.
• Please.  Send.  Both.  Of.  These.  Teams.  Home.  Now.

June 18, 2016, 2:02 pm MST

Matchday 3

Note:  I did not get to watch these games until June 27th, and I successfully managed to avoid all information about these games before watching them.

Hungary 3, Portugal 3
Goals: Zoltán Gera (HUN) 19’, Nani (POR) 42’, Balázs Dzsudzsák (HUN) 46’, Cristiano Ronaldo (POR) 50’, Dzsudzsák (HUN) 55’, Ronaldo (POR) 62’

General thoughts:

• Going into this game, I was thinking that Hungary would probably win or tie.  They look like they’re one of the two best teams in the group.
• Portugal had been pretty toothless coming into this game.  It looked like either they were relying too much on Cristiano Ronaldo to carry them, or that he was trying to play Hero Ball way too much, but either way, they just hadn’t been very good.
• After a decent corner – one that wasn’t cleared very well by the Portuguese defense – Hungary’s Zoltán Gera blasted a well-placed shot from just outside the area for a goal.  Portugal looked very disorganized, and then they started arguing.  It did not look good for the Portuguese.
• Nani saved Portugal’s hopes to advance in the 43rd minute with a nice goal after a great pass from Ronaldo.
• And then Hungary’s Balázs Dzsudzsák dashed Portuguese hopes again in the 46th minute with a great free kick…
• …only for Cristiano Ronaldo to give Portugal hope again in the 50th minute with a lovely goal.[6]
• GREAT second goal by Dzsudzsák in response for Hungary in the 55th minute…
• …and then Ronaldo headed home an outstanding cross from midfielder Quaresma – who had just entered the match – in the 62nd minute to tie the game yet again.
• This match was very exciting and fun to watch.  Portugal ended the game knowing that they were through to the next round.  They were going to finish second, unless, somehow, Iceland scored in the waning moments to beat Austria.

June 27, 2016, 11:28 pm MST

Iceland 2, Austria 1
Goals: Jón Daði Böðvarsson (ISL) 18’, Alessandro Schöpf (AUT) 60’, Arnór Ingvi Traustason (ISL) 90+4’

General thoughts:

• Going into this game, I predicted that Iceland would win.  I’ve said it before – the two worst teams at the Euro have been Russia and Austria.
• That set piece Iceland executed on the long throw was great.  Austria’s defending was pathetic, but Icelandic forward Jón Daði Böðvarsson did well to finish the play and score the goal in the 18th minute.
• I know Iceland was upset about the penalty that was awarded in the 36th minute, but I can’t argue with the call.  Grabbing an opponent’s arm while he’s trying to perform a jumping header is a clear foul.
• Austria’s tournament was summed up with the subsequent penalty kick that clanged off the post.
• Austria looked to have hope in the 60th minute when Alessandro Schöpf scored a wonderful goal.
• I honestly thought that this game would end in a 1-1 tie, but Iceland broke loose on a 3-on-2 break that ended with a beautiful ground cross from substitute forward Elmar Bjarnason that the substitute forward on the opposite side – Arnór Ingvi Traustason – sent home with a sliding toe-poke.  After the subsequent kickoff, the match ended, and Iceland went crazy with euphoria.  I read that some Icelanders want to make June 22nd a national holiday.
• Why the heck were people from ESPN claiming that no one thought Iceland would advance?!???  There were several reputable sources predicting this.

June 27, 2016, 11:28 pm MST

[1] When I heard this, I laughed and asked why.  Austria hasn’t won a game in a major tournament since they defeated the United States 2-1 at the 1990 World Cup in Italy.  Sure, they finished first in their group during the qualifying campaign for this tournament, but, good grief, their group was easy.  (Russia, Sweden, Montenegro, Liechtenstein, and Moldova) Yes, Russia and Sweden qualified for this tournament, but we saw how mediocre each one of them looked in their first game.

[2] I’m talking about the cities proper, not their respective metro areas.

[3] His red card against Germany in the 2014 World Cup was disgraceful as well as downright stupid.  Look it up on YouTube sometime.

[4] He scored two in Euro 2004 in his home country at the age of 19, one against the Czech Republic in Euro 2008 (hosted jointly by Austria and Switzerland), and two at Euro 2012 (hosted jointly by Poland and Ukraine).

[5] For those who haven’t heard this term yet, it’s a tie that felt like a loss for one team because they lost the lead very late in the game, usually due to a fluky play or costly mistake.

[6] This goal made him the first player ever to score in four different Euro tournaments.