AFTER THE FIRST ROUND OF THE 2024 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP:
GROUP A | Germany (3), Switzerland (3), Hungary (1), Scotland (0)
GROUP B | Spain (3), Italy (3), Albania (0), Croatia (0)
GROUP C | England (3), Denmark (1), Slovenia (1), Serbia (0)
GROUP D | Netherlands (3), France (3), Poland (0), Austria (0)
GROUP E | Romania (3), Slovakia (3), Belgium (0), Ukraine (0)
GROUP F | Turkiye (3), Portugal (3), Czechia (0), Georgia (0)
Apart from Group C, where England was the only team to pick up the maximum points with a win, the rest of the groups in Euro 2024 ended the first round of games with an even split of two winners and two losers.
The host nation, Germany, achieved the biggest winning margin, defeating Scotland by 4 goals.
No player scored more than one goal.
The only upset was Belgium’s defeat to Slovakia.
Friday, June 14, 2024
EURO 2024 kicked off: 🇩🇪 Germany is the host nation, 🇮🇹 Italy has a title to defend, and high expectations for 🇫🇷 France and for 🏴 England.
🇩🇪 Germany ( 5 ) – ( 1 ) 🏴 Scotland
The opening match of the 2024 European Championship saw the host nation come out with a 5-1 win. The first half ended with Germany holding a 3-0 lead and having a numerical advantage. Ryan Porteous’s reckless tackle in the penalty box saw him pick up a red card in the 44th minute to leave Scotland with 10 men. The resulting penalty allowed Kai Havertz to score Germany’s third goal, adding to the goals that Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala had scored for Germany in the opening 20 minutes.
Granted that their form in recent years has not been great, the Germans have a decent expectation from their team to grab the Euro title for the fourth time and set a new record.
Saturday, June 15, 2024
🇭🇺 Hungary ( 1 ) – ( 3 ) 🇨🇭 Switzerland
It should be an open game where either side should fancy their chance of a win.
Barnabas Varga scored for Hungary in the 66th minute to halve Switzerland’s lead from the first half, but they couldn’t get the equalizing goal. Breel Embolo entered the game in the 74th minute and scored in added time to restore Switzerland’s two-goal lead, resulting in a 3-1 win over Hungary.
🇪🇸 Spain ( 3 ) – ( 0 ) 🇭🇷 Croatia
Spain remains the only nation to successfully retain the title, having picked it up again in 2012 after winning it in 2008. They kicked off the tournament with a win over a Croatia side that is considered a dark horse in this tournament. All the goals came in the opening half, as Spain picked up a 3-0 win over Croatia. It was arguably a flattering result for Spain, as the balance of play didn’t necessarily suggest that Croatia deserved such a decisive defeat.
🇮🇹 Italy ( 2 ) – ( 1 ) 🇦🇱 Albania
Albania qualified as group winners, Italy didn’t.
Nedim Bajrami scored the fastest goal in Euro history when he opened the scoring for Albania against defending champions Italy just 23 seconds after kickoff. The lead only lasted about 10 minutes before Alessandro Bastoni headed in Italy’s equalizer. Nicolo Barella then scored the game-winning goal in the 16th minute, allowing Italy to kick off their campaign with a 2-1 win over Albania.
Pre-tournament expectations for Italy weren’t high, but as defending champions, this tournament hands them an opportunity to join Spain as a nation that has successfully defended the Euro title, an achievement that would also allow Italy to equal the record for most titles won (4), with Spain and Germany.
Sunday, June 16, 2024
🇵🇱 Poland ( 1 ) – ( 2 ) 🇳🇱 Netherlands
The Netherlands was the only past winning nation playing on this day and they came out with a narrow win over Poland. Wout Weghorst came off the bench in the 81st minute to score the game-winning goal in the 83rd minute, allowing the Netherlands to complete a comeback and win 2-1 against Poland.
🇷🇸 Serbia ( 0 ) – ( 1 ) 🏴 England
England, one of the pre-tournament favorites got a winning start to their tournament against Serbia, but not an impressive win as they would’ve possibly liked to have. Jude Bellingham scored the only goal of the match in the 13th minute, getting England off to a winning start by beating Serbia 1-0.
🇸🇮 Slovenia ( 1 ) – ( 1 ) 🇩🇰 Denmark
Denmark couldn’t build on the lead Christian Eriksen had given them in the 17th minute and eventually lost it when Erik Janza scored the equalizing goal for Slovenia in the 77th minute, resulting in a 1-1 draw.
Monday, June 17, 2024
🇦🇹 Austria ( 0 ) – ( 1 ) 🇫🇷 France
As a pre-tournament favorite, a lot more was expected from France than a 1-0 win against Austria, but at the end of the day, it is still a valuable victory. Maximilian Wöber’s own goal was the difference-maker in this fixture.
🇷🇴 Romania ( 3 ) – ( 0 ) 🇺🇦 Ukraine
Nicolae Stanciu opened the scoring with a stunning strike in the 29th minute to get Romania on track, kicking off their tournament with a healthy 3-0 win over Ukraine.
🇧🇪 Belgium ( 0 ) – ( 1 ) 🇸🇰 Slovakia
Belgium, considered one of the dark horses of the tournament, was not clinical on the day and fell 1-0 to Slovakia. Ivan Schranz scored the only goal of the game in the 7th minute for Slovakia, after Belgium had already failed to convert two goal-scoring chances.
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
🇹🇷 Turkiye ( 3 ) – ( 1 ) 🇬🇪 Georgia
The first half ended in a 1-1 draw after Georges Mikautadze scored in the 32nd minute for Georgia to cancel the lead that Mert Muldur had given Turkiye in the 25th minute. Georgia’s tournament debut ended in a 3-1 defeat to Turkiye, with the winning goal coming from a spectacular curling strike by Arda Guler in the 65th minute.
🇵🇹 Portugal ( 2 ) – ( 1 ) 🇨🇿 Czechia
Portugal got off to a winning start, but barely. An own goal in the 69th minute from Robin Hranac allowed Portugal to level the score after going down a goal in the 62nd minute. Chico Conceicao came into the game in the 90th minute and scored the game-winning goal in the 2nd minute of added time, granting Portugal a 2-1 win over Czechia to start their Euro campaign.
