After waiting so long for Euro 2016 to start, we’re already a week into the competition – but what have we learned so far?
1. This tournament could be a slow-burner
WHILE THE WORLD Cup in Brazil two years ago got off to an explosive start, with Louis van Gaal’s Holland smashing five past holders Spain being among the standout results, Euro 2016 has so far been more intriguing than exciting.
The games have been tight, with the outcome of most matches not known until the closing stages, with much of this owing to the fact that a lot of teams have taken a cautious-first approach, with three teams qualifying from four of the six groups.
While the intensity of the group games in Brazil failed to resurface in the knockout stages, the opposite could be true in France, with teams gaining momentum as the tournament progresses.
2. It’s a competition of late goals
With matches remaining tight right until the very end, it has paved the way for plenty of late goals including a last-gasp winner for England against Wales, days after Russia pegged the English back late on in their opening game.
Also in the first week, Spain scored a late winner against Czech Republic as did France against Romania and Albania in their first two group matches. It could be a trend set to continue with 10 of the 34 goals scored so far coming after the 87th minute.
3. The minnows putting it up to the stronger nations
There was concern when Uefa decided to expand the European Championships to a 24-team competition, that it would dilute the quality of the tournament, but that sentiment has yet to be borne out.
Nearly half of the 53 teams that started the qualification process are in France, but as of yet no team has won by more than a two-goal margin, with debutants Slovakia, Wales and Northern Ireland picking up notable victories, as well as Iceland putting in a heroic performance against Portugal, much to Cristiano Ronaldo’s dismay.
4. Where are the world-class European strikers gone?
The winners of this year’s competition may have to go on and lift the trophy without a genuine world-class, out-and-out striker.
Both Spain and Portugal have shown in their opening games that a lack of a predatory instinct up front may yet prove costly, while Italy and Germany may have to rely on the goalscoring contributions of their attacking midfielders to take them deeper into the competition.
The same could also be said of hosts France, who have started Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud in their opening two matches, scoring once but missing a handul of chances in the process.
5. Age is no barrier for some players
At 40 years of age, Hungary goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly celebrated being the oldest-ever player to feature in the European Championships on Tuesday with a clean sheet against Austria.
But the tournament has already seen plenty of players, who some may deem past their prime, still taking pride in representing their country – namely, Gianluigi Buffon (38) of Italy, Ricardo Carvalho (38) from Portugal, Hungary’s Zoltan Gera (37) and Ukraine’s Vyacheslav Shevchuk (37) among the competitions oldest players to have played in the opening week.
6. The refereeing has been of a high standard
It’s a testament to the officials at Euro 2016, that there has been a lack of post-match discussion about their performances….well, maybe apart from Czech referee Pavel Kralovec who decided to take the Northern Ireland and Ukraine players off the pitch during a hail storm.
The referees have allowed the games to flow and play advantage where possible, while still getting the vast majority of decisions correct. Not forgetting to mention Mayo man Damien McGraith was the linesman as France took on Albania on Wednesday evening.
Let’s hope this high standard continues for the rest of the tournament.
7. There are a lot of encouraging signs for Ireland
Martin O’Neill’s side dominated the opening 50 minutes of their game against Sweden and will be cursing themselves that they didn’t take all three points.
The Boys in Green will take a lot of encouragement from Monday’s performance and will come into the match against Belgium knowing Marc Wilmots’ team can barely afford a slip-up against Ireland on Saturday.
If the Irish team can play on the Belgian’s vulnerabilities to heap more pressure on their opponents, Ireland could be looking forward to an extended stay in France.
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