Netherlands, France, and Germany were among the favorites to win Euro 2020, but the three former winners have suffered elimination after an exhilarating round of 16 fixtures. The defending champions Portugal, too, were knocked out from the tournament.
Qualified Teams
Denmark eased past Wales to make it to the last eight of a major competition for the first time since 2004. Kasper Dolberg grabbed a brace, while Joakim Maehle and Martin Braithwaite struck a goal each. In the second game, Italy pipped Austria 2-1 at Wembley Stadium. The match, 0-0 after 90 minutes, went into the extra time, and Federico Chiesa and Matteo Pessina scored in the first half. Austria pulled one back through Sasa Kalajdzic, but Italy held on to their lead till the final whistle.
The Netherlands became the first big casualty in the Euro 2020. Goals from Tomas Holes and Patrik Schick helped the Czech Republic eliminate the Oranje, who saw defender Matthijs de Ligt receive a red card for an intentional handball early in the second half. A stellar Thorgan Hazard goal made the difference in the Belgium-Portugal clash. Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal couldn’t find an equalizer and suffered a second straight exit from a major competition in the round of 16.
Spain and Croatia played out an eight-goal thriller in the fifth fixture of the last 16. The three-time champions came back from a goal down to lead 1-3, courtesy goals from Pablo Sarabia, Cesar Azpilicueta, and Ferran Torres, in the 77th minute. However, Mislav Orsic and Mario Pasalic scored in the space of seven minutes to force an extra time. Alvaro Morata and Mikel Oyarzabal found the net in the first half, and La Roja sealed their place in the last eight with a 3-5 win.
France suffered heartbreak in the penalty shoot-out against Switzerland. The world champions, trailing by a goal at half-time, got ahead 3-1 at one stage thanks to Karim Benzema’s brace and a wonder strike from Paul Pogba. But goals from Haris Seferovic and Mario Gavranovic leveled the game. The match went to penalties after a goalless extra time. Yann Sommer saved Kylian Mbappe’s spot-kick, and it triggered wild celebrations at the National Arena in Bucharest.
England blanked Germany 2-0 to register their first win over the 2014 world champions in a major competition since 1966. Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane were on the scoresheet as the Three Lions kept their fourth successive clean sheet in Euro 2020. Andriy Shevchenko’s Ukraine scored in the final minute of the extra time to reach the quarter-finals for the first time. It was Artem Dovbyk who headed home the winner. Emil Forsberg had canceled out Oleksandr Zinchenko’s goal in the regulation time.
Quarter-finalists: Denmark, Italy, Czech Republic, Belgium, Spain, Switzerland, England, & Ukraine
Quarter-finals Schedule
| Date |
Match |
Timing (IST) |
| July 2 |
Switzerland vs Spain |
9:30 PM |
| July 3 |
Belgium vs Italy |
12:30 AM |
| July 3 |
Czech Republic vs Denmark |
9:30 PM |
| July 4 |
Ukraine vs England |
12:30 AM |
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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