Euro 2016 Semifinals

Portugal 2, Wales 0
Goals: Cristiano Ronaldo (POR) 50’, Nani (POR) 53’

General Thoughts:
I didn’t get to see this game on the 6th, when it happened, so I watched it the afternoon of the 8th.  I successfully avoided all news and information of the match – that is, until I started the on-demand replay of it on Watch ESPN.  The replay opened with a commercial that could not be skipped – and it was a commercial advertising the broadcast of the Final, complete with who was playing in it!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME, ESPN?!?????  You know who is most likely to watch a replay of the game?  Someone who hasn’t seen the game yet, and most of those people have avoided all news of the match because they want to be surprised.  And ESPN blew it with their mind-boggling decision to air a commercial for the final right before it.

• Wales blew several golden scoring opportunities around the 20-minute mark.
• When will Cristiano Ronaldo realize that demonstrative, theatrical protests of referee decisions won’t get him anywhere?
• The cross from Rafael in the 50th minute was gorgeous, and Ronaldo’s header to score the goal was textbook-perfect. That goal was his ninth career goal in Euro tournaments, which tied French legend Michel Platini for the most all-time.[1] [2]
• Three minutes later, Ronaldo sent a grounded centering pass to Nani, who was right next to the penalty spot. Nani’s shot went past the diving keeper to make the score 2-0.[3]
• Wales was completely outmatched in this game, but they have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. This was quite a run.
• I have been very critical of Portugal’s play in the tournament up to this point. This game demonstrated why I’ve been so critical of and frustrated with Portugal.  Look what they’re capable of.  They dominated and shut out a very good Welsh team that had been raining goals onto their opponents all tournament.  This team is one of the elite teams in Europe when they play well and up to their full potential.

July 8, 2016, 1:35 pm MST

France 2, Germany 0
Goals: Antoine Griezmann (FRA) 45+2’ (PK), 72’

General Thoughts:
I also did not get to see this game until the 8th, even though it happened on the 7th.

• Germany dominated the first 35 minutes of the game, and then France started to click. But Germany still looked to be in control until the very end of the first half, during stoppage time, when France was awarded a penalty kick.  It turns out that veteran German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger had jumped for a header with his arms spread out in an unnatural playing position, hitting the ball with his arm as a result.  France’s Antoine Griezmann buried the penalty kick to give the French a 1-0 lead that they never relinquished.  Schweinsteiger’s unbelievable, silly mistake was the turning point of the game.
• Germany still looked dominant for most of the second half but couldn’t score. A big reason for this was that German forward Mario Gomez’s injury left Germany without their most effective scorer.  That certainly had a huge impact on this game, especially after France scored their first goal, because the Germans couldn’t sit back on defense and try to get the game to penalty kicks.
• This game was the first time since the 1966 World Cup Final[4] that Germany played the host country in the knockout phase of a major tournament and failed to knock them out. Between the ’66 Final and this game, Germany had knocked the host out of a tournament seven times.[5]
• This should be a great final between France and Portugal. Some trivial observations:
  • The last two times that France hosted a major tournament, they won it (1984 Euro, 1998 World Cup).
  • France’s current manager – Didier Deschamps – captained the 1998 championship squad.
  • France defeated a Portuguese-speaking side – Brazil –in the 1998 World Cup Final.
  • In the final of Euro ’84, France defeated an Iberian country (Spain).  In this final, France will play the other Iberian country.
  • In the 1998 final, France’s opponent had a player named Ronaldo.  In this one, France’s opponent has a player with the last name of Ronaldo.
  • I’d add more, but this is getting ridiculous.

July 8, 2016, 8:05 pm MST

[1] I am not in any way trying to diminish Ronaldo’s accomplishments, but it should be mentioned that all nine of Platini’s goals came in Euro ’84, which was also in France.  That blows my mind.  He scored nine goals in a single tournament.  Furthermore, France only played in five games en route to their championship, whereas the two finalists in this year’s tournament will have played in seven.

[2] Wait – one more thing about Platini’s unbelievable 1984 tournament performance.  He scored a hat trick in two of France’s games, and scored a goal each in their other three.

[3] That was Portugal’s first two-goal lead of the entire tournament.

[4] This was the famous game in the old Wembley Stadium where England won 4-2 in extra time.  Geoff Hurst scored a hat trick for the English.  The go-ahead goal – a ball that bounced near the goal line and was ruled to have barely crossed the line – was wildly controversial.  German fans still to this day claim that the ball never crossed the line, and a shot that is incorrectly ruled as a goal is called a “Wembley Tor” in German.  (Tor is the German word for goal.)

[5] The seven games: 1972 Euro semifinal (2-1 over Belgium), 1976 Euro semifinal (4-2 over Yugoslavia after extra time), 1986 World Cup quarterfinal (over Mexico in a penalty shootout), 1992 Euro semifinal (3-2 over Sweden), 1996 Euro semifinal (over England in a penalty shootout), 2002 World Cup semifinal (1-0 over South Korea), and the 2014 World Cup semifinal (7-1 over Brazil).