Euro 2024: 10 takeaways from the opening round of games
Germany impress, Mbappé breaks his nose and Portugal and England win unconvincingly in a cracking first round of games at Euro 2024.
\\ Germany early clubhouse leader
Germany’s demolition of Scotland on opening night was a very early marker for the tournament contenders, and as the rest of the round one games transpired they probably came out on top as the most impressive team. Everything clicked, but most importantly of all will have been the performances of their core youth duo of Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz, who both notched their debut goals. They looked well prepared and extremely dangerous heading into the rest of the tournament.
\\ Sorry Scotland
On the other side of the opening night coin, Scotland were thoroughly disappointing. Their night gave unwelcome reminders of Ireland’s Euro 2012 opener against Croatia, where they were absolutely dismantled but a large and proud crowd provided a vocal backdrop to the annihilation that was occurring on the field. Lots of things went wrong and the Germans were able to pick them apart with tease. How they bounce back against Switzerland on Wednesday night, who can seal progression with a win, will be interesting, because they are surely better than the display against Germany.
\\ What is England’s plan?
England got the win against Serbia thanks to Jude Bellingham’s early goal, but it wasn’t a particularly good performance. They totally conceded control to Serbia in the second half and looked completely void of ideas. For a team packed with such talent, they sure make things look difficult, not to mention a bit boring. It may have been opening night jitters and I do expect them to blitz their way into the knockout rounds, but better teams may not have much to fear if England fail to click in their transitions and ability to make better use of possession. It’s also a bit worrying that Gareth Southgate may not know his best team yet, or at least not know how best to set them up.
\\ Trent Conundrum
One of the biggest talking points of the opening round was Trent Alexander Arnold’s performance for England. The Liverpool man got the nod in a starting midfield role, away from his usual right back spot, and, as usual for Trent, his performance drew a lot of debate both positively and negatively. He is undeniably a fantastic footballer and a world class passer, but he’s not an experienced midfielder and did, at times, contribute to that lack of control England ceded. I wonder if Southgate will turn back to the more tried and tested Conor Gallagher, which would be seen as a fairly boring and regressive move, or perhaps try young Adam Wharton who could emerge as the best focal point next to Declan Rice.
\\ Romania produce the shock of the round
Romania were outstanding against Ukraine, in a sort of role reversal after Ukraine were tipped by many as a dark horse for the tournament. Beating them 3-0, and deservingly so, was undoubtedly the shock of the opening round of games and now Romania, one of the least favoured coming into the tournament, are in prime position for the knockout stages.
\\ Belgium are in big trouble
The Belgians, the perennial “golden generation”, have flopped spectacularly under that moniker, and this summer may be a short lived one and the final nail in this era’s coffin after a really poor result and performance against Slovakia, losing 1-0 and putting them in huge danger in Group E. Romania are clearly no pushovers and will have no fears facing them in the next round.
\\ Turkey 3-1 Georgia will be the game of the tournament
Tuesday evening’s barnstormer between these two was great enjoyment. Georgia were excellent, the crowd were absolutely booming and Turkey may finally, finally be the dark horses they are so often tipped to be. There were goal of the competition contenders, agonizing misses and helter skelter madness, including the Georgian ‘keeper coming up in extra time to try and find a late equaliser, only to concede at the other end. The heavens had opened early in Dortmund and it may have been home to the game of the tournament, it’ll certainly be tough to beat.
\\ Can France perform without Mbappé?
Kylian Mbappé broke his nose in France’s opener against Austria. It was a nasty one, and he’ll miss the next game against the Netherlands. How France react without their talisman will be interesting to note, as he’s their main threat and the options around him, the likes of Ousmane Dembele and Randal Kolo Muani, aren’t exactly shooting out the lights. A defeat to the Netherlands will have the French a little bit sweaty in Group D.
\\ No one is talking about Spain
I said in my pre-tournament guide that Spain will score a lot of goals in the group stage, and they got off to a flyer against Croatia, beating them 3-0. But it still feels like they’re being a bit overlooked, despite a fairly impressive demolition of Luka Modric and team. The meeting with Italy will tell us more, but I look at the odds and see Spain, who seem to be able to extract goals from nearly every corner of the pitch, a tempting price.
\\ Question marks over Portugal
Francisco Conceição produced late heroics in injury time to overcome a 1-nil deficit against Czechia and steal Portugal a first round win. But Portugal came away with probably more questions than answers after a pretty unconvincing performance for a side many had tipped as tournament contenders. Cristiano Ronaldo, all 39 years age of him, was their main attacking outlet and did OK, he looked threatening, but you’d wonder is he the right answer for 90 minutes while the likes of Diogo Jota look on from the bench. The win should see them through but the sheen has been taken off them somewhat after that first round game.