ClapWe’re officially one week into UEFA Euro 2020 and that means a whole lot has gone down already as we dive deep into another international tournament. From surprise results to unbelievable goals and just about everything you can imagine, there’s a whole lot to unpack.
Today, we’re going to run through five storylines that really stand out to us as being the primary talking points as we look ahead to week two.
England & France – calm & composed
When it comes to the favourites in this year’s tournament, England and France have been leading the way with the bookmakers for quite some time now. As such, there was a whole lot of intrigue behind what they can achieve and how they’re going to do it.
Both sides opened up the Euros with a win that didn’t exactly blow anyone away, but did accomplish the end goal of getting three points. The Three Lions saw off the challenge of Croatia 1-0 and Les Bleus seemed to be in cruise control against Germany with a 1-0 success of their own.
The COVID differences
In Budapest, stadiums are allowed to be at full capacity with fans enjoying themselves as much as they possibly can within the realms of the law. In places like London and Rome, ongoing COVID restrictions mean that we see a reduced capacity.
The idea of having the Euros take place across the continent was always going to be a logistical nightmare before the pandemic kicked in but now, it raises a whole lot of moral questions about the direction the beautiful game is heading in.
Italy on fire
The Azzurri is on fire right now and there’s really no other way of putting it. They came into the tournament with bucket loads of momentum and wins over Turkey and Switzerland have only assisted in proving what they’re capable of.
A few months prior to the Euros it was unthinkable that they could go all the way but now, the Italians are really starting to feel themselves and they stand a decent chance in the race to reach the final – and perhaps even win it all.
Dutch excitement
Frank de Boer is hardly the type of manager to inspire a generation but what he can do is put his best foot forward with the options he has around him. The end result of that, up to this point, has been two wins on the board for the Netherlands.
They haven’t been overly convincing and some worry they could falter in the knockout stage, but the fact that they’ve already qualified goes to show you the sort of team we’re dealing with.
The love for Eriksen
During Denmark’s opening game against Finland, Danish star Chrisitan Eriksen went into cardiac arrest and had to receive CPR treatment on the pitch.
It was one of the most terrifying moments in the recent history of international football but thankfully, he managed to pull through, with the entire sport getting behind him.
We’re all thinking of you, Christian – get well soon.
