— Is there any excitement before the Euros? — I was asked this question several times before this tournament, and in fact, it was a completely justified question. I felt the big game was coming just moments before the tournament started, and the first matches of the group stage made me happy. And that will be it. First, the Poles were the first to go home, and then the “bully torture” festival began. It wasn’t that bad for long.
After two rounds of the group stage at Euro 2024, it has unfortunately turned into an easy product to digest. Just look at the last round and the battle to advance to the 1/8 finals. 12 matches, only two of which saw more than two goals scored. The national teams unexpectedly came to the rescue, without which a large part of the fans would have chosen the series instead of the matches of the June and July evenings long ago.
Who should be highlighted? The great history was written by the Georgians who managed to qualify for the knockout stage. Everyone was surprised by the Austrians who took advantage of the terrible performance of the giants and won the group. Turkey also looks great, led by young stars, who first beat Portugal 3-0, then proved that this was no coincidence, and will also want to surprise the Dutch and play in the semi-finals. The problem is that this is where the positives end.
Above all, the ones we counted on are the ones who failed the most. Out of a large group of teams that were candidates for the tournament, the only ones that can be distinguished are the Germans and the Spanish, who did really well. And the deeper you go into the jungle, the worse it gets. English? They play terribly, and Jude Bellingham had to save them from extra time against Slovakia at the last minute. French? Two own goals, a penalty and… they are through to the semi-finals. And when you look at the game of the biggest stars, it doesn’t get any better.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored over 20 goals in the tournament, even missed a penalty, and only the fans behind the goal can be intimidated by his attempts. Kylian Mbappé has scored twice… once from the penalty spot and once with his nose in the opponent’s shoulder and that’s it. Harry Kane? It’s hard to remember anything beyond his two goals. No wonder the tournament’s top scorers are Cody Gakpo, George Mikautadze, Jamal Musiala and Evan Schranz, with just three goals each. And they all still lead with an own goal, which is the hallmark of this tournament.
In recent days, we have been regularly watching matches of poor quality football that lack emotion. There’s plenty of extra time that Gary Lineker and Rio Ferdinand would like to say goodbye to.. And no wonder, because it usually means an extra 30 hours of doing everything to avoid making a mistake. And we must remember that a very difficult season is behind us. The players’ calendars were full of matches, the break before the tournament was short, and we can see its effects on the pitch. Instead of wondering which giant we admire will become the champion, we can analyze who will be the best at taking penalties. Or who will score the goal faster and keep the result positive.
With Cristiano Ronaldo likely to leave the stage in this manner, and Toni Kroos returning to the national team to end his career in front of his home fans after the quarter-finals, we can no longer rely on romantic stories in this tournament. The legends are gone, so I guess we just have to keep our fingers crossed for those who are written off. Only the national teams of Switzerland or Turkey can provide the brilliance of Euro 2024. If not, perhaps the final should be decided by a coin toss? After all, it is difficult to remember such a poor tournament. Fortunately, there is still a chance to improve that impression.
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