Showing posts with label gareth southgate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gareth southgate. Show all posts

Sunday, 14 July 2024

Euro 2024 Final: Still waiting, still hurting

🟥 EURO 2024 FINAL ðŸŸ¥

SPAIN
2
Williams 47, Oyarzabal 86
ENGLAND 1 Palmer 73

Spain Unai Simon, Carvajal, Le Normand (Nacho 83), Laporte, Cucurella, Rodri (Zubimendi 46), Olmo, Fabian Ruiz, Morata, Williams, Yamal (Merino 89) Booked Olmo
England Pickford, Walker, Stones, Guehi, Saka, Mainoo (Palmer 70), Rice, Shaw, Foden (Toney 89), Bellingham, Kane (Watkins 61) Booked Kane, Stones
Attendance 65,600 at the Olympiastadion, Berlin Referee  Francois Letexier (France)
Kick-off 8pm BST. Live on BBC and ITV.

SPAIN crushed England dreams of a first major trophy in 58 years as Mikel Oyarzabal struck with only four minutes left in Berlin to win the Euro 2024 Final.

Substitute Oyarzabal converted a cross from the left by Chelsea full-back Marc Cucurella as La Roja lifted the European Championship trophy for a record fourth time, following previous triumphs in 1964, 2008 and 2012.

But, for England, the wait to add a second title to the 1966 World Cup goes on, despite Fate teasing the Three Lions at the end that they could bring the match level for a second time.

Semi final hero Ollie Watkins mis-controlled a sharp ball by Jude Bellingham into his feet in the box - before an excellent delivery off a corner by Cole Palmer found Declan Rice rising to bring a point-blank save from Unai Simon.

The ball rebounded to Marc Guehi who did everything he could to get his header on target, only for Dani Olmo to clear off the line. Rice then sent a third header harmlessly over the bar.

For once in this tournament then, after the recoveries in previous knockout rounds against Slovakia and Switzerland - and the late winner in the semi final against Netherlands - there was no dividend paid out to England for their attempted comeback. 

Yet, prior to Oyarzabal's goal, it looked as if Gareth Southgate's men just might be about to pull off something special.

Of course, to begin with, the match took on a predictable pattern. Spain dominated possession and threatened to open up England on several occasions - but the Three Lions kept their shape and, for the most part, looked pretty comfortable.

England even threw a few of their own punches - and both teams will have walked down the tunnel at the interval satisfied with the state of play.

Within seconds of the restart, though, everything changed.

Teenager Lamine Yamal cut in from the right, shrugging off Luke Shaw to leave several England players in his wake on the edge of the box.

A simple ball to his left found the unmarked Nico Williams with space and time to pick his spot - and the winger made absolutely no mistake with his finish.

At least it was a familiar position for England in this tournament - against Slovakia in the Last 16, Bellingham rescued a draw in the 95th minute before Harry Kane's header at the start of extra time.

Against Switzerland in the quarter finals, Bukayo Saka struck an 80th-minute equaliser only minutes after England had fallen behind - before the Three Lions progressed with a perfect set of spot-kicks.

Then, against Netherlands in the semi final, Watkins prevented another torturous extra time period with a wonderful turn-and-shot in the 90th minute.

But Spain were another proposition altogether - and La Roja had chances to put the match out of England's reach through Olmo, who unusually missed the target, and Yamal who brought the best out of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

At 1-0 down, though, England knew they were still in with a chance - and, in a rare foray deep into Spanish territory, Saka strode down the right and found Bellingham in the box.

The Real Madrid man's well-paced lay-off allowed Chelsea's impressive youngster Palmer to drive through the ball first-time into the bottom corner for a wonderful equaliser.

Game on - but, in truth, the pattern of the match did not change, with England seemingly happy enough to coast with the scores level towards extra time.

By contrast, Spain continued to look for gaps - and, with time running out before an extension to the match, Oyarzabal succeeded in cracking open the lock on the treasure chest.

For sure, those late chances for Watkins, Rice and Guehi made this feel like a cruel defeat for England in a match in which they never looked completely outclassed.

Equally, though, Southgate's side were clearly second-best in this Final - and, while it hurts right now to admit it, that is not something of which to be ashamed in the face of this delightful Spain team.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri was awarded player of the tournament - but the excellent Olmo can count himself particularly unlucky not to have taken that prize after his three goals in three separate knockout stage games, and that goal-line clearance.

Down the left, Athletic Bilbao winger Williams provided a constant threat - while, on the other flank, the Spanish unveiled their latest diamond.

There is nothing rough about Yamal, though - and, though Shaw generally kept the 17-year-old relatively subdued, the Barcelona teenager has already demonstrated enough to make it clear that he is a star in the making.

Indeed, Olmo, Williams, Yamal and Fabian Ruiz all compensated for their misfiring skipper Alvaro Morata by using space down the wings and swarming the box.

By contrast, from an attacking perspective, England had an extremely limited tactical approach which left them too reliant on moments of fortune and individual pieces of football genius.

Thankfully, there were actually quite a few of both of those - and, notably without the latter, this campaign would have finished in a woeful defeat to Slovakia.

All the way through this tournament though, England were unable to construct attacks in a consistent and structured fashion.

Kane infuriatingly kept dropping far too deep, Phil Foden and Bellingham failed to pick up the slack when he did, while the likes of Palmer, Eberechi Eze and Anthony Gordon in particular needed to be given far more opportunity than they were.

In his post-match interview, head coach Southgate insisted now "is not the time" to make a decision on his future - but, by the end of Tuesday morning, he had resigned.

Southgate moves on with his head held high, having enhanced his CV after overseeing runs to the 2018 World Cup semi finals, the Euro 2020+1 Final, and now the Euro 2024 Final.

Even the 2022 World Cup concluded with a creditable defeat to defending champions and eventual runners-up France at the quarter final stage.

England have literally never seen such a sustained period of being thereabouts in successive tournaments, though sadly they never made it there.

Certainly, it is a far cry from the mess which Southgate inherited in 2016 when, less than six months after the humiliating defeat to Iceland, he followed on from the grubby Sam Allardyce misadventure.

On that note, Southgate represented his position well, respecting his opponents and addressing the issue of racism on social media and in the stands in a calm and rational manner.

In this way at least, he did not shy away from his responsibilities as an England representative.

Meanwhile, on the pitch, the 53-year-old led England through as many knockout stage progressions - nine - as all of his predecessors combined.

Under Southgate, the Three Lions also topped their group in major tournaments on successive occasions for the first time ever - and, in fact, have done it three times in a row since Euro 2020+1.

So, for all the talk of favourable draws in the knockout stages, England have helped themselves with an uncharacteristic knack of making qualifying and group stages look easy.

Eight years is a long enough period to be in charge, though - and Southgate's stubborn selection choices and refusal even to consider altering his defensive tactical approach led to an increasingly fractious relationship with the Three Lions fanbase.

Atomic Kitten and all that seems a long time ago now - and, starved of any major trophy success since 1966, England fans are desperate for a trophy-winning manager, rather than a well-spoken diplomat who, upon his promotion from Under-21 coach, merely happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Nevertheless, any new coach will still face the same issue which has troubled England for decades and which Southgate, for all his group wins and knockout stage progressions, did not get any closer to solving.

Since Euro 2000, England have only beaten three teams ranked in the top 10 in the world in major tournament finals - Germany in 2000, Argentina in 2002 via a David Beckham penalty and Denmark in extra time in 2021.

Surely, though, a fresh broom is the only way to get the best out of a supremely talented squad who often succeeded in matches at this tournament despite the coach - and not because of him. 

🟥 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP ROLL OF HONOUR ðŸŸ¥

YearChampionsRunner-upEngland performanceEngland coach
1960SOVIET UNIONYugoslaviaDid not enterWalter Winterbottom
1964SPAINSoviet UnionPreliminary roundSir Alf Ramsey
1968ITALYYugoslaviaSemi finals (third)Sir Alf Ramsey
1972

WEST GERMANY

Soviet Union

Quarter finals*
*not part of finals tournament
Sir Alf Ramey

1976CZECHOSLOVAKIAWest GermanyDid not qualifyDon Revie
1980WEST GERMANYBelgiumGroup stageRon Greenwood
1984FRANCESpainDid not qualifySir Bobby Robson
1988NETHERLANDSSoviet UnionGroup stageSir Bobby Robson
1992DENMARKGermanyGroup stageGraham Taylor
1996GERMANYCzech RepublicSemi finalsTerry Venables
2000FRANCEItalyGroup stageKevin Keegan
2004GREECEPortugalQuarter finalsSven-Goran Eriksson
2008SPAINGermanyDid not qualifySteve McClaren
2012SPAINItalyQuarter finalsRoy Hodgson
2016PORTUGALFranceLast 16Roy Hodgson
2020+1ITALYEnglandRunners-upGareth Southgate
2024SPAINEnglandRunners-upGareth Southgate

🟥 EURO 2024 GROUP STAGE ðŸŸ¥

GROUP AWDLFAGDPts
(Q) GERMANY21082+67
(Q) SWITZERLAND
12053+25
HUNGARY
10225-33
SCOTLAND01227-51

14-June
20:00GERMANY5-1SCOTLANDMunich
ITV



Wirtz 10, Musiala 19
Havertz 45+1pen
Fullkrug 68, Can 90+3

Rudiger 87og



15-June14:00HUNGARY1-3SWITZERLANDCologne
ITV


Varga 66


Duah 12, Aebischer 45
Embolo 90+3

19-June17:00GERMANY2-0HUNGARYStuttgart
BBC

Musiala 22, Gundogan 67


19-June20:00SCOTLAND1-1SWITZERLANDCologne
BBC

McTominay 13
Shaqiri 26
23-June20:00SWITZERLAND1-1GERMANYFrankfurt
BBC

Ndoye 29
Fullkrug 90+2
23-June20:00SCOTLAND0-1HUNGARYStuttgart
BBC



Csoboth 90+10

■ GROUP BWDLFAGDPts
(Q) SPAIN30050+59
(Q) ITALY
1113304
CROATIA02136-32
ALBANIA01235-21

15-June17:00SPAIN3-0CROATIABerlin
ITV


Morata 29, Fabian Ruiz 32
Carvajal 45+2



15-June20:00ITALY2-1ALBANIADortmund
BBC
Bastoni 11, Barella 16
Bajrami 1
19-June14:00CROATIA2-2ALBANIAHamburg
ITV
Kramaric 74, Gjasula 76og
Laci 11, Gjasula 90+5
20-June20:00SPAIN1-0ITALYGelsenkirchen
ITV
Calafiori 55og


24-June20:00ALBANIA0-1SPAINDusseldorf
BBC


Ferran Torres 13
24-June20:00CROATIA1-1ITALYLeipzig
BBC
Modric 55
Zaccagni 90+8

 GROUP CWDLFAGDPts
(Q) ENGLAND
12021+15
(Q) DENMARK
0302203
(Q) SLOVENIA
0302203
SERBIA
02112-12

16-June17:00SLOVENIA1-1DENMARK
Stuttgart
ITV
Janza 77
Eriksen 17
16-June20:00SERBIA0-1ENGLANDGelsenkirchen
BBC

Bellingham 13
20-June14:00SLOVENIA1-1SERBIA
Munich
ITV
Karnicnik 69 
Jovic 90+6
20-June17:00DENMARK1-1ENGLANDFrankfurt
BBC
Hjulmand 34
Kane 18
25-June20:00ENGLAND
0-0SLOVENIA
Cologne
ITV




25-June20:00DENMARK0-0SERBIAMunich
ITV





■ GROUP DWDLFAGDPts
(Q) AUSTRIA20154+16
(Q) FRANCE12021+15
(Q) NETHERLANDS1114404
POLAND01235-21

16-June14:00POLAND1-2NETHERLANDSHamburg
BBC
Buksa 16
Gakpo 29, Weghorst 83
17-June20:00AUSTRIA0-1FRANCE
Dusseldorf
ITV


Wober 38og
21-June17:00POLAND1-3AUSTRIABerlin
ITV


Piatek 30


Trauner 9, Baumgartner 66
Arnautovic 78pen

21-June20:00NETHERLANDS0-0FRANCELeipzig
BBC




25-June17:00NETHERLANDS2-3AUSTRIABerlin
BBC


Gakpo 47, Depay 75


Malen 6og, Schmid 59
Sabitzer 80

25-June17:00FRANCE1-1POLANDDortmund
BBC
Mbappe 56pen
Lewandowski 79pen

■ GROUP EWDLFAGDPts
(Q) ROMANIA
11143+14
(Q) BELGIUM11121+14
(Q) SLOVAKIA
1113304
UKRAINE11124-24

17-June14:00ROMANIA3-0UKRAINEMunich
BBC


Stanciu 29, R Marin 53
Dragus 57



17-June17:00BELGIUM0-1SLOVAKIAFrankfurt
ITV


Schranz 7
21-June14:00SLOVAKIA1-2UKRAINEDusseldorf
BBC
Schranz 17
Shaparenko 54, Yaremchuk 80
22-June20:00BELGIUM2-0ROMANIACologne
ITV
Tielemans 2, De Bruyne 80


26-June17:00SLOVAKIA1-1ROMANIAFrankfurt
BBC
Duda 24
R Marin 37pen
26-June17:00UKRAINE0-0BELGIUMStuttgart
BBC






■ GROUP FWDLFAGDPts
(Q) PORTUGAL20153+26
(Q) TURKEY2015506
(Q) GEORGIA1114404
CZECH REPUBLIC01235-21

18-June17:00TURKEY3-1GEORGIADortmund
BBC


Muldur 25, Guler 65
Akturkoglu 90+7

Mikautadze 32


18-June20:00PORTUGAL2-1CZECH REPUBLICLeipzig
BBC
Hranac 69og, Conceicao 90+2
Provod 62
22-June14:00GEORGIA1-1CZECH REPUBLICHamburg
BBC
Mikautadze 45+4pen
Schick 59
22-June17:00TURKEY0-3PORTUGALDortmund
ITV


Bernardo Silva 21, Akaydin 28og
Bruno Fernandes 55

26-June20:00GEORGIA2-0PORTUGALGelsenkirchen
ITV


Kvaratskhelia 2
Mikautadze 57pen




26-June20:00CZECH REPUBLIC1-2TURKEYHamburg
ITV
Soucek 66
Calhanoglu 51, Tosun 90+4

 THIRD-PLACED TEAMSGroup
WDLFAGDPts
(Q) NETHERLANDS[D]1114404
(Q) GEORGIA[F]1114404
(Q) SLOVAKIA[E]1113304
(Q) SLOVENIA
[C]0302203
HUNGARY[A]10225-33
CROATIA
[B]02136-32

🟥 EURO 2024 KNOCKOUT STAGE ðŸŸ¥
 LAST 16
29-June17:00SWITZERLAND2-0ITALYBerlin
BBC
Freuler 37, Vargas 46


29-June20:00GERMANY2-0DENMARKDortmund
ITV
Havertz 53pen, Musiala 68
30-June17:00ENGLAND2-1SLOVAKIAGelsenkirchen
ITV
Bellingham 90+5, Kane 91aetSchranz 25
30-June20:00SPAIN4-1GEORGIACologne
ITV


Rodri 39, Fabian Ruiz 51
Williams 75, Olmo 83

Le Normand 18og


01-July17:00FRANCE1-0BELGIUMDusseldorf
ITV
Vertonghen 85og


01-July20:00PORTUGAL0-0SLOVENIAFrankfurt
BBC
Portugal won 3-0 on penaltiesaet

02-July17:00ROMANIA0-3NETHERLANDSMunich
BBC


Gakpo 20, Malen 83, 90+3
02-July20:00AUSTRIA1-2TURKEYLeipzig
ITVGregoritsch 66Demiral 1, 59

 QUARTER FINALS
05-July17:00SPAIN2-1GERMANYStuttgart
ITV
Olmo 51, Merino 119aetWirtz 89
05-July20:00PORTUGAL0-0FRANCEHamburg
BBC

aetFrance won 5-3 on penalties
06-July17:00ENGLAND1-1SWITZERLANDDusseldorf
BBC


Saka 80
England won 5-3 on penalties
aet

Embolo 75


06-July20:00 NETHERLANDS2-1TURKEYBerlin
ITV
De Vrij 70, Muldur 76og 
Akaydin 35

 SEMI FINALS
09-July20:00SPAIN2-1FRANCE
BBC
Yamal 21, Olmo 25
Kolo Muani 9

Spain Unai Simon; Jesus Navas (Vivian 58), Nacho, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Yamal (Torres 90+3), Olmo (Merino 76), Williams (Zubimendi 90+4); Morata (Oyarzabal 76) Booked Jesus Navas, Yamal
France Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Hernandez T; Kante (Griezmann 62), Tchoumeni, Rabiot (Camavinga 62); Dembele (Giroud 79), Koli Muani (Barcola 63), Mbappe Booked Tchoumeni
Attendance 62,042 at the Allianz Arena in Munich Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)


05-July17:00NETHERLANDS1-2ENGLAND
ITV
Simons 7
Kane 18pen, Watkins 90

Netherlands Verbruggen; Dumfries (Zirkzee 90+3), De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake; Schouten, Reijnders; Malen (Weghorst 46), Simons (Brobbey 90+3), Gakpo; Depay (Veerman 35) Booked Dumfries, Van Dijk, Simons
England Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi; Saka (Konsa 90+3), Mainoo (Gallagher 90+3), Rice, Trippier (Shaw 46); Foden (Palmer 80), Bellingham; Kane (Watkins 81) Booked Bellingham, Saka
Attendance 60,926 at the Westfalenstadion, Dortmund Referee Felix Zwayer (Germany)


 GOALSCORERS 117 goals in 51 matches (2.29 goals per game)
3 Georges Mikautadze (Georgia), Jamal Musiala (Germany), Ivan Schranz (Slovakia), Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Dani Olmo (Spain), Harry Kane (England)
2 Niclas Fullkrug (Germany), Razvan Marin (Romania), Kai Havertz (Germany), Jude Bellingham (England), Fabian Ruiz (Spain), Donyell Malen (Netherlands), Merih Demiral (Turkey), Florian Wirtz (Germany), Breel Embolo (Switzerland), Nico Williams (Spain)
1 Emre Can (Germany), Kwadwo Duah (Switzerland), Michel Aebischer (Switzerland), Barnabas Varga (Hungary), Alvaro Morata (Spain), Dani Carvajal (Spain), Nedim Bajrami (Albania), Alessandro Bastani (Italy), Nicolo Barella (Italy), Adam Buksa (Poland), Wout Weghorst (Netherlands), Christian Eriksen (Denmark), Erik Janza (Slovenia), Nicolae Stanciu (Romania), Denis Dragus (Romania), Mert Muldur (Turkey), Arda Guler (Turkey), Kerem Akturkoglu (Turkey), Lukas Provod (Czech Republic), Francisco Conceicao (Portugal), Qazim Laci (Albania), Andrej Kramaric (Croatia), Klaus Gjasula (Albania), Ilkay Gundogan (Germany), Scott McTominay (Scotland), Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland), Zan Karnicnik (Slovenia), Luka Jovic (Serbia), Morten Hjulmand (Denmark), Mykola Shaparenko (Ukraine), Roman Yaremchuk (Ukraine), Gernot Trauner (Austria), Krzysztof Piatek (Poland), Christoph Baumgartner (Austria), Marko Arnautovic (Austria), Patrik Schick (Czech Republic), Bernardo Silva (Portugal), Bruno Fernandes (Portugal), Youri Tielemans (Belgium), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium), Dan Ndoye (Switzerland), Kevin Csoboth (Hungary), Ferran Torres (Spain), Luka Modric (Croatia), Mattia Zaccagni (Italy), Kylian Mbappe (France), Romano Schmid (Austria), Memphis Depay (Netherlands), Robert Lewandowski (Poland), Marcel Sabitzer (Austria), Ondrej Duda (Slovakia), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia), Hakan Calhanoglu (Turkey), Tomas Soucek (Czech Republic), Cenk Tosun (Turkey), Remo Freuler (Switzerland), Ruben Vargas (Switzerland), Rodri (Spain), Michael Gregoritsch (Austria), Mikel Merino (Spain), Bukayo Saka (England), Samet Akaydin (Turkey), Stefan De Vrij (Netherlands), Kolo Muani (France), Lamine Yamal (Spain), Xavi Simons (Netherlands), Ollie Watkins (England), Cole Palmer (England), Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain)
10 own goals Antonio Rudiger (Germany) for Scotland, Maximilian Wober (Austria) for France, Robin Hranac (Czech Republic) for Portugal, Klaus Gjasula (Albania) for Croatia, Riccardo Calafiori (Italy) for Spain, Samet Akaydin (Turkey) for Portugal, Donyell Malen (Netherlands) for Austria, Robin Le Normand (Spain) for Georgia, Jan Vertonghen (Belgium) for France, Mert Muldur (Turkey) for Netherlands

 RED CARDS
Ryan Porteous (Scotland)
 v Germany
Antonin Barak (Czech Republic) v Turkey
Tomas Chory (Czech Republic) v Turkey
Dani Carvajal (Spain) v Germany
Bertug Yildirim (Turkey) v Netherlands

Saturday, 13 July 2024

Southgate's comeback kings get a shot at redemption


OLLIE WATKINS scored the biggest goal of his career in the dying seconds of the semi final against Netherlands to give England the chance to make amends for their painful home defeat in the Euro 2020+1 Final three years ago.

The Three Lions produced a much-improved performance against the Dutch and staged yet another comeback to make it all the way to the showpiece event for a second successive European Championship.

Once again then, Gareth Southgate stands potentially just 90 minutes away from becoming only the second boss of the England men's senior team to win a trophy after Sir Alf Ramsey's home World Cup triumph in 1966.

Yet, for much of Euro 2024, it has not looked like getting anywhere near to coming home.

England were unbeaten and topped Group C but that said as much about the failings of their opponents Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia than anything else.

Indeed, right up until the last kick of the third group game, a Danish goal against Serbia would have sent England to Dortmund for a meeting with Germany in the Last 16 - but it never came.

Nevertheless, Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen seemed tricky enough and the Slovakians took a deserved lead after 25 minutes when Ivan Schranz took advantage of a wide-open defence to score his third goal of the tournament.

Southgate had been criticised during the opening matches for being slow to make attack-minded substitutions - although the Three Lions at least were never behind at any stage of any of the group games.

Now, England were chasing - and yet, infuriatingly, Southgate continued to stand idly on the sidelines deeper and deeper into the second half.

It took until 66 minutes for Cole Palmer to make it off the bench - while Eberechi Eze had to wait until the 84th minute to be introduced.

That left Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon kicking his heels - and, even now, the 23-year-old has had just a handful minutes of action across the whole competition.

Still, nothing changed - and, as the game moved into stoppage time, an inglorious conclusion to the eight-year Southgate era awaited.

But, if you cannot be good, be lucky - and, after a Kyle Walker throw-in was nodded on by Marc Guehi, the ball fell behind where Jude Bellingham was positioned.

No matter - the Real Madrid man produced a truly spectacular overhead kick to score a brilliant equaliser; England were level and the whole complexion of the tie had changed in the blink of an eye.

With the wind in their sails, the Three Lions went straight on the attack at the start of extra time.

This time, a Palmer free-kick on the right was only half-cleared to Eze whose ball was headed on by another late substitute Ivan Toney to Harry Kane unmarked in the six-yard box.

Now with the lead, England bemusingly reverted to a defensive approach despite the increased attacking talent which they had on the pitch.

That almost proved costly and the relief at the full time whistle was palpable as the team marched on to a quarter finals against Switzerland.

This was a handy Swiss team who had easily accounted for holders Italy in their own Last 16 tie - but, in classic knockout tournament style, the encounter against England resembled a chess match.

Again, the Three Lions had plenty of the ball without any cutting edge - and it took until midway through the second half for either of the teams to take control.

Frustratingly, that team was Switzerland - and, from a ball across by Dan Ndoye via a mis-step by John Stones, Breet Embolo was left with a simple tap-in to give a lead to the Swiss with just 15 minutes remaining.

Reactive rather than proactive as ever, Southgate predictably only rang the changes while trailing - although this time the substitutes had little to do with the rapid-fire equaliser.

Instead, it was another piece of individual inspiration as Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka struck a peach of a shot in-off the post cutting in the right on the edge of the box.

Remarkably, it was England's first shot on target of the match and it meant Southgate's men had scored with each of their previous three efforts on goal across two matches. It was a frankly unsustainable approach.

After the excitement of two goals in five minutes, both teams settled the match down in the remainder of normal time and throughout extra time to the extent that penalties felt inevitable.

At least, one thing that can be said under Southgate is that England's record at penalties has improved - even if the big failure in the Euro 2020+1 Final still sticks in the throat.

In Palmer, Bellingham, Saka, Toney, and Trent Alexander-Arnold, England fielded probably their most promising line-up of takers since Alan Shearer, David Platt, Stuart Pearce, Paul Gascoigne and Teddy Sheringham stepped up at Euro 1996. 

That certainly looked the case as the current vintage all kept their cool while Jordan Pickford saved Manuel Akanji's weak opening effort for Switzerland - and so England progressed again with a perfect set of spot-kicks.

Fast improvement was needed, though, against a Netherlands side which had scored nine goals across the tournament in making it through to the last four.

Just seven minutes into the semi final, that became 10 as Xavi Simons unleashed a wonderful shot from just outside the box and England fell behind for a third successive match.

Perhaps it was because the Dutch had scored so soon - but, whatever the reason and without any changes being required from Southgate, England responded with their most convincing half of the the tournament.

On 11 minutes, Saka made a good run towards the heart of the Oranje defence and, after his blocked shot fell to Kane, the Bayern Munich blazed over.

However, the video assistant officials deemed Kane to have been impeded on the shot by Denzel Dumfries's trailing leg - and on-field referee awarded a penalty which Kane happily despatched into the bottom corner.

For once, England did not simply stop and admire their good work - and, through the previously completely anonymous Phil Foden, threatened a second goal.

First, Foden had his shot from a narrow angle cleared off the line by Dumfries then the Manchester City man smacked a thumping shot off the face of the post from 25 yards.

Nevertheless, the Dutch themselves remained a threat - and, between Foden's efforts, the all-action Dumfries clipped the bar with his header from a corner.

The pace of the tie slowed somewhat in the second half - but still there were chances as Pickford saved well from Virgil Van Dijk before Saka had a goal chalked off for a needless offside by Walker who had delivered the pull-back.

As the match headed into stoppage time, yet another bout of extra time looked to be on the cards - but England again played right to the very end as Southgate's subs made another critical intervention.

Palmer, operating on the right, played a useful ball into Aston Villa striker Watkins on the half turn.

Showing strength to hold off his marker Stefan de Vrij and simultaneously great dexterity to retain control of the ball on the turn, Watkins was able to unleash a fierce shot across the goal - and into the bottom corner of the net.

England were ahead - and, with hardly any time for the Dutch to launch a response of their own, the Three Lions are in the Final again. 

Now, Spain stand in the way - and, having scored the most goals in Euro 2024 with 13 in six wins out of six, they have been undoubtedly the best team in the competition to watch.

Indeed, if titles were decided on artistic merit, the Spanish would be walking away with the trophy already with Lamine Yamal at the forefront.

In the semi final against France, Barcelona teenager Yamal added another record to his ever-growing list of accomplishments by becoming the youngest scorer in European Championship history at the age of 16 years and 362 days.

Not only that - Yamal's equaliser was an absolute beauty, a curling shot in-off the post from 25 yards as French goalkeeper Mike Maignan conceded from a non-penalty goal for the first time in the tournament.

Four minutes later, Maignan was picking the ball out of his net again as Dani Olmo took down a loose ball and made a yard of space before a low strike on the half-volley.

It was Olmo's third goal of the tournament - all three of them coming in separate knockout stage games - as

Spain had responded brilliantly to an early French blow. For, after just nine minutes of play, Les Bleus scored their first goal from open play at Euro 2024 through Kolo Muani who headed in Kylian Mbappe's pinpoint cross.

Despite that, though, the Spanish were much the better side for most of the first hour of play, deservedly got level then ahead, and really should have extended their lead before the inevitable late French push.

But, beyond a couple of mis-timed headers by Aurelien Tchouameni and Dayot Upamecano, and a wayward shot by Theo Hernandez from the edge of the box, Spain were able to keep Les Bleus at arm's length.

Mbappe, playing without a face mask for the first time since breaking his nose at the start of the tournament, only once got down his favoured inside-left channel - but he finished his run by blazing high over the bar.

It was an effort which summed up the tournament for Mbappe and France as a whole, as Spain deservedly sealed a fifth appearance in a European Championship Final with a fair degree of comfort.

Certainly, La Roja have enjoyed a really rich vein of form throughout, from their 3-0 beating of Croatia in their opening match via further group stage victories against Italy and Albania.

In the Last 16, the Spanish ended Georgia's journey with a 4-1 win - but, while that was a favourable draw against the lowest ranked team at the tournament, Luis de la Fuente's outfit next had to take on hosts Germany in the quarter finals.

Following a cautious first half from both teams, Spain lit the touchpaper early in the second half after Olmo stroked Yamal's perfectly-timed pass across the box into the bottom corner.

Germany responded well, forcing Unai Simon into a good save from Robert Andrich while Niclas Fullkrug slid the ball against the face of the post and Kai Havertz chipped just over.

Eventually, in the 89th minute, the pressure told, as a good header down by Joshua Kimmich from a deep cross by Maximilian Mittlestadt found Florian Wirtz to supply the finish.

The action did not stop there and, in an entertaining extra time period, Mikel Oyarzabal and Wirtz sent efforts agonisingly wide as both teams went for it ahead of one final Spanish attack.

Crossing from the left, Olmo found former on-loan Newcastle midfielder Mikel Merino - and, having drifted off his marker, the Real Sociedad player made no mistake with his planted header from eight yards.

Even then, the Germans had one final chance to force penalties as Fullkrug placed his header inches wide of the post - and defeat for the Mannschaft still means no host nation has won a Euros since France triumphed back in 1984.

Now, despite an unblemished record in the group stage, Spain are not without their vulnerabilities at the back.

La Roja will welcome back Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand from suspension into the starting line-up for the Final - but the fact that both were suspended in the first place suggests this Spanish team can be stretched.

Germany, in the quarter final, and France, in the semi final, got more joy in periods when they took the game to Spain, rather than sitting back and attempting to play solely on the break.

After all, while Southgate favours cautious tactics, this Spain team is simply to good on the ball and playing too well to be allowed to dictate the pace of the match.

Instead, to stand any chance of not having to chase yet another game, the Three Lions must show the same intensity as they displayed in the semi final against Netherlands.

Ultimately, at least it can be said that England have given themselves a chance of redemption - and, at this stage, that is all you can ask. 

🟥 EURO 2024 KNOCKOUT STAGE ðŸŸ¥

 LAST 16
29-June17:00SWITZERLAND2-0ITALYBerlin
BBC
Freuler 37, Vargas 46


29-June20:00GERMANY2-0DENMARKDortmund
ITV
Havertz 53pen, Musiala 68
30-June17:00ENGLAND2-1SLOVAKIAGelsenkirchen
ITV
Bellingham 90+5, Kane 91aetSchranz 25
30-June20:00SPAIN4-1GEORGIACologne
ITV


Rodri 39, Fabian Ruiz 51
Williams 75, Olmo 83

Le Normand 18og


01-July17:00FRANCE1-0BELGIUMDusseldorf
ITV
Vertonghen 85og


01-July20:00PORTUGAL0-0SLOVENIAFrankfurt
BBC
Portugal won 3-0 on penaltiesaet

02-July17:00ROMANIA0-3NETHERLANDSMunich
BBC


Gakpo 20, Malen 83, 90+3
02-July20:00AUSTRIA1-2TURKEYLeipzig
ITVGregoritsch 66Demiral 1, 59

 QUARTER FINALS
05-July17:00SPAIN2-1GERMANYStuttgart
ITV
Olmo 51, Merino 119aetWirtz 89
05-July20:00PORTUGAL0-0FRANCEHamburg
BBC

aetFrance won 5-3 on penalties
06-July17:00ENGLAND1-1SWITZERLANDDusseldorf
BBC


Saka 80
England won 5-3 on penalties
aet

Embolo 75


06-July20:00 NETHERLANDS2-1TURKEYBerlin
ITV
De Vrij 70, Muldur 76og 
Akaydin 35

 SEMI FINALS
09-July20:00SPAIN2-1FRANCE
BBC
Yamal 21, Olmo 25
Kolo Muani 9

Spain Unai Simon; Jesus Navas (Vivian 58), Nacho, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Yamal (Torres 90+3), Olmo (Merino 76), Williams (Zubimendi 90+4); Morata (Oyarzabal 76) Booked Jesus Navas, Yamal
France Maignan; Kounde, Upamecano, Saliba, Hernandez T; Kante (Griezmann 62), Tchoumeni, Rabiot (Camavinga 62); Dembele (Giroud 79), Koli Muani (Barcola 63), Mbappe Booked Tchoumeni
Attendance 62,042 at the Allianz Arena in Munich Referee Slavko Vincic (Slovenia)


05-July17:00NETHERLANDS1-2ENGLAND
ITV
Simons 7
Kane 18pen, Watkins 90

Netherlands Verbruggen; Dumfries (Zirkzee 90+3), De Vrij, Van Dijk, Ake; Schouten, Reijnders; Malen (Weghorst 46), Simons (Brobbey 90+3), Gakpo; Depay (Veerman 35) Booked Dumfries, Van Dijk, Simons
England Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi; Saka (Konsa 90+3), Mainoo (Gallagher 90+3), Rice, Trippier (Shaw 46); Foden (Palmer 80), Bellingham; Kane (Watkins 81) Booked Bellingham, Saka
Attendance 60,926 at the Westfalenstadion, Dortmund Referee Felix Zwayer (Germany)


 GOALSCORERS 114 goals in 50 matches (2.28 goals per game)
3 Georges Mikautadze (Georgia), Jamal Musiala (Germany), Ivan Schranz (Slovakia), Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Dani Olmo (Spain), Harry Kane (England)
2 Niclas Fullkrug (Germany), Razvan Marin (Romania), Kai Havertz (Germany), Jude Bellingham (England), Fabian Ruiz (Spain), Donyell Malen (Netherlands), Merih Demiral (Turkey), Florian Wirtz (Germany), Breel Embolo (Switzerland)
1 Emre Can (Germany), Kwadwo Duah (Switzerland), Michel Aebischer (Switzerland), Barnabas Varga (Hungary), Alvaro Morata (Spain), Dani Carvajal (Spain), Nedim Bajrami (Albania), Alessandro Bastani (Italy), Nicolo Barella (Italy), Adam Buksa (Poland), Wout Weghorst (Netherlands), Christian Eriksen (Denmark), Erik Janza (Slovenia), Nicolae Stanciu (Romania), Denis Dragus (Romania), Mert Muldur (Turkey), Arda Guler (Turkey), Kerem Akturkoglu (Turkey), Lukas Provod (Czech Republic), Francisco Conceicao (Portugal), Qazim Laci (Albania), Andrej Kramaric (Croatia), Klaus Gjasula (Albania), Ilkay Gundogan (Germany), Scott McTominay (Scotland), Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland), Zan Karnicnik (Slovenia), Luka Jovic (Serbia), Morten Hjulmand (Denmark), Mykola Shaparenko (Ukraine), Roman Yaremchuk (Ukraine), Gernot Trauner (Austria), Krzysztof Piatek (Poland), Christoph Baumgartner (Austria), Marko Arnautovic (Austria), Patrik Schick (Czech Republic), Bernardo Silva (Portugal), Bruno Fernandes (Portugal), Youri Tielemans (Belgium), Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium), Dan Ndoye (Switzerland), Kevin Csoboth (Hungary), Ferran Torres (Spain), Luka Modric (Croatia), Mattia Zaccagni (Italy), Kylian Mbappe (France), Romano Schmid (Austria), Memphis Depay (Netherlands), Robert Lewandowski (Poland), Marcel Sabitzer (Austria), Ondrej Duda (Slovakia), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia), Hakan Calhanoglu (Turkey), Tomas Soucek (Czech Republic), Cenk Tosun (Turkey), Remo Freuler (Switzerland), Ruben Vargas (Switzerland), Rodri (Spain), Nico Williams (Spain), Michael Gregoritsch (Austria), Mikel Merino (Spain), Bukayo Saka (England), Samet Akaydin (Turkey), Stefan De Vrij (Netherlands), Kolo Muani (France), Lamine Yamal (Spain), Xavi Simons (Netherlands), Ollie Watkins (England) 
10 own goals Antonio Rudiger (Germany) for Scotland, Maximilian Wober (Austria) for France, Robin Hranac (Czech Republic) for Portugal, Klaus Gjasula (Albania) for Croatia, Riccardo Calafiori (Italy) for Spain, Samet Akaydin (Turkey) for Portugal, Donyell Malen (Netherlands) for Austria, Robin Le Normand (Spain) for Georgia, Jan Vertonghen (Belgium) for France, Mert Muldur (Turkey) for Netherlands

 RED CARDS
Ryan Porteous (Scotland)
 v Germany
Antonin Barak (Czech Republic) v Turkey
Tomas Chory (Czech Republic) v Turkey
Dani Carvajal (Spain) v Germany
Bertug Yildirim (Turkey) v Netherlands

Friday, 31 December 2021

Index 2021

 


FOOTBALL

• Season 2020/21
23.04 Super League coup attempt leaves nasty scar
06.06 For the record: Tuchel guides Chelsea to European glory
• Euro 2020+1
11.06 The Guide: Better late than never
26.06 Southgate seeks to banish the ghosts of Euro 96
10.07 And Final-ly...
13.07 Not this time, maybe never
• Season 2021/22
27.08 Premier League preview: Ronaldo returns after Man City miss out on Kane
19.11 Goal glut for Kane as England qualify for World Cup

OLYMPICS
• Tokyo 2020+1
24.07 The unwanted Olympics
31.07 Proud Daley achieves his dream at last
10.08 Kennys keep their Golden Touch

FORMULA ONE
• 2021 season
28.03 Verstappen closes in on record-chasing Hamilton
19.07 Hamilton revives title challenge after dramatic day at Silverstone
23.11 Tetchy title race goes to the wire

CRICKET
• Ashes series 2021/22
07.12 Overshadowed, uncertain Ashes series steps out of the shade
29.12 Ducking hell
• Earlier series
05.02 Root seeks a jewel in the crown

OTHER SPORT
• Snooker
18.04 Trump targets second World Snooker title
03.05 Obdurate Selby grinds down doughty Murphy
• Tennis
19.09 Raducanu makes the grade in New York
• Golf
27.09 Windswept Europe battered by Americans in Wisconsin
• Ice Hockey
22.05 Free hit for Team GB in ice hockey finals

POLITICS
• Local elections
09.05 Labour holds London but loses in Hartlepool and heartlands

INDEX 2021 
• Previous years 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

Saturday, 30 November 2019

Euro 2020: England and Wales avoid Group of Death

EURO 2020 FINALS DRAW
12 June 2020 - 12 July 2020
 

GROUP A 
Rome
Baku


GROUP B
Copenhagen
St Petersburg


GROUP C 
Amsterdam
Bucharest


GROUP D
London
Glasgow



[A1]TURKEY  [B1]DENMARK  [C1]NETHERLANDS  [D1]ENGLAND

[A2]ITALY  [B2]FINLAND  [C2]UKRAINE  [D2]CROATIA

[A3]WALES  [B3]BELGIUM  [C3]AUSTRIA  [D3]PLAYOFF [C]

[A4]SWITZERLAND  [B4]RUSSIA  [C4]PLAYOFF [D]  [D4]CZECH REP














GROUP E 
Bilbao
Dublin


GROUP F
Munich
Budapest







  [E1]SPAIN  [F1]PLAYOFF [A]





  [E2]SWEDEN  [F2]PORTUGAL





  [E3]POLAND  [F3]FRANCE





  [E4]PLAYOFF [B]  [F4]GERMANY


SEEDING POTS
Teams were seeded based upon their performance during the Euro 2020 qualifiers

Pot (1) Belgium, Italy, England, Germany, Spain, Ukraine
Pot (2) France, Poland, Switzerland, Croatia, Netherlands, Russia
Pot (3) Portugal, Turkey, Denmark, Austria, Sweden, Czech Republic
Pot (4) Wales, Finland, four playoff winners


ENGLAND and Wales were both given seemingly manageable tasks at the Euro 2020 finals next summer after the draw was made in Bucharest last night.

The Three Lions will meet some familiar foes in Group D, most notably a Croatia outfit who they lost against in the 2018 World Cup semi finals but then beat last year in group stage of the inaugural Nations League competition.

Gareth Southgate's men will also face the Czech Republic - who they played twice in qualifying with mixed results - and the winner of Playoff Path [C] which could set up a Battle of Britain clash against Scotland.

England are one of 12 tournament hosts - spread across the width of the continent - with groups having already been allocated to each host nation.

That means if the Scots make it through the playoffs at the expense of Israel and either Norway or Serbia away in late-March, the Tartan Army would also get to watch their own team in two of their three games at Hampden Park in Glasgow.

But, having qualified directly rather than through the playoffs, England will have home advantage in any match between the pair.

Reacting to the draw, Three Lions head coach Southgate said: "I'm never sure whether it's a good draw. We have played two of the teams before and for us to play at Wembley is something special. We are looking forward to the tournament.

"We have to accept that expectations have changed from where we were. We are very critical of ourselves. We would rather be a team that are fancied than a team with no chance."

Wales - who, memorably, reached the last four at Euro 2016 in France - were drawn into Group A, which is headlined by Italy, with matches in the section to be held in Rome as well as Baku in Azerbaijan.

Along with the resurgent Azzurri, the Welsh will also come up against Switzerland and Turkey, neither of whom could exactly be considered as giants on the world stage.

Both did win their qualifying groups, though - and Turkey impressively finished above France - but it could have easily been worse for Ryan Giggs and his fledgling Dragons.

Giggs said: "Logistically looking at it, it's Baku, Baku, Rome, rather than having Rome in the middle - so for the fans it's much better.

"Switzerland are a good team, talented. Turkey were in a group with France and Iceland so have done well to come through that - and Italy have won every game so that will be tough.

"I'll get around and watch the players as much as I can. You hope that, come June, you have a group of healthy players to choose from and if we have that, we're a match for anyone.

"We want to take our chance, just like in 2016."

Of course, Northern Ireland were also in the finals four years ago - and reached the Last 16 before being beaten by the Welsh.

This time, Northern Ireland - like Scotland - will have to navigate their way through the playoffs if they are going to make it into the finals.

Playoff Path [B] firstly takes the Northern Irish to Bosnia-Herzegovina - although, if they win in Sarajevo, they will have home advantage for the final against Slovakia or Ireland.

Meanwhile, Ireland - as one of the host nations - have the additional motivation of knowing they will play two Group E finals games in Dublin if they make it through themselves.

Three-time champions Spain head that section with Sweden and Poland rounding it off.

Elsewhere, the intricacies of the tournament resulted in Group B having been almost completely decided ahead of the draw.

Hosts Denmark and Russia qualified directly and were automatically assigned to the group, of course - while Belgium, as one of only two top seeds without hosting rights, also had no option other than to join them.

That is because Ukraine were the only other non-host among the top seeds - and, for political reasons, the Ukrainians cannot be put into the same section as Russia.

Facing two away games is not something with which the world number one-ranked Belgians were particularly happy - and midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has not been shy about expressing his feelings on the matter.

“It’s a disgrace," he told HLN Sport in Belgium. "For me this feels like competition distortion, a fake competition.

"Football is not really football any more, it's becoming a business."

Nevertheless, the allocation of major finals debutants Finland to the same group will surely go some way to softening the blow suffered by the Belgians.

Meanwhile, Ukraine were instead allocated to Group C - alongside the Netherlands, Austria, and the winner of the lowest-ranked playoff route.

Playoff Path [D] features Georgia versus Belarus and North Macedonia versus Kosovo - with one of those four going on to make it to a finals tournament for the first time.

It would be fair to suggest that the group as a whole does not look like the toughest exercise for the Dutch.

However, the same cannot be said of Group F - and, after much concern that England could get both the current world champions France from pot two and defending European champions Portugal from pot three, the pair were perhaps inevitably drawn together.

Instead, though, they landed in the section headed by Germany in what can only be termed a Group of Death.

At least it would have been in past championships - but, as in Euro 2016, four third-placed teams join the top two from each group in the Last 16 of the competition for the start of the knockout stages.

Therefore, it seems more likely that the Germans, French and Portuguese will all make it through in some shape or form, rather than any of them heading for an early exit.

Rather bizarrely, the foibles of this mis-shapen tournament do not end with the group stage draw - as the path into the latter stages has already been mapped out.

The winners of Group D involving England will take on the runners-up from that top-heavy Group F in Dublin for a place in the quarter finals.

Could it be better then to finish runners-up in Group D and instead run into the runners-up of Group E, most likely Sweden or Poland in Copenhagen?

Either way, if England progress through the group stage, they will head off to neutral territory for the Last 16 - while the hosts of the quarter finals will be Munich, Saint Petersburg, Rome, and Baku.

Of course, both semi finals and the Final itself on 12 July will be hosted back at Wembley - but let us not get too far ahead of ourselves.

After all, not even the full line-up of teams has yet to be decided.

GROUP A
12-June(8pm)TURKEY v ITALYRome
13-June(2pm)WALES v SWITZERLANDBaku
17-June(5pm)TURKEY v WALESBaku
17-June(8pm)ITALY v SWITZERLANDRome
21-June(5pm)SWITZERLAND v TURKEYBaku
21-June(5pm)  ITALY v WALESRome

GROUP B
13-June(5pm)DENMARK v FINLANDCopenhagen
13-June(8pm)BELGIUM v RUSSIASaint Petersburg
17-June(2pm)FINLAND v RUSSIASaint Petersburg
18-June(5pm)DENMARK v BELGIUMCopenhagen
22-June(8pm)RUSSIA v DENMARKCopenhagen
22-June(8pm)  FINLAND v BELGIUMSaint Petersburg

GROUP C
14-June(5pm)AUSTRIA v PLAYOFF [D]Bucharest
14-June(8pm)NETHERLANDS v UKRAINEAmsterdam
18-June(2pm)UKRAINE v PLAYOFF [D]Bucharest
18-June(8pm)NETHERLANDS v AUSTRIAAmsterdam
22-June(5pm)PLAYOFF [D] v NETHERLANDSAmsterdam
22-June(5pm)  UKRAINE v AUSTRIABucharest

GROUP D
14-June(2pm)ENGLAND v CROATIALondon
15-June(2pm)PLAYOFF [C] v CZECH REPUBLICGlasgow
19-June(5pm)CROATIA v CZECH REPUBLICGlasgow
19-June(8pm)ENGLAND v PLAYOFF [C]London
23-June(8pm)CROATIA v PLAYOFF [C]Glasgow
23-June(8pm)  CZECH REPUBLIC v ENGLANDLondon

GROUP E
15-June(5pm)POLAND v PLAYOFF [B]Dublin
15-June(8pm)SPAIN v SWEDENBilbao
19-June(2pm)SWEDEN v PLAYOFF [B]Dublin
20-June(8pm)SPAIN v POLANDBilbao
24-June(5pm)PLAYOFF [B] v SPAINBilbao
24-June(5pm)SWEDEN v POLANDDublin

GROUP F
16-June(5pm)PLAYOFF [A] v PORTUGALBudapest
16-June(8pm)FRANCE v GERMANYMunich
20-June(2pm)PLAYOFF [A] v FRANCEBudapest
20-June(5pm)PORTUGAL v GERMANYMunich
24-June(8pm)PORTUGAL v FRANCEBudapest
24-June(8pm)GERMANY v PLAYOFF [A]Munich

LAST 16
27-June(5pm)[38]  RUNNER-UP A v RUNNER-UP BAmsterdam
27-June(8pm)[37]  WINNER A v RUNNER-UP CLondon
28-June(5pm)[40]  WINNER C v THIRD PLACE D/E/FBudapest
28-June(8pm)[39]  WINNER B v THIRD PLACE A/D/E/FBilbao
29-June(5pm)[42]  RUNNER-UP D v RUNNER-UP ECopenhagen
29-June(8pm) [41]  WINNER F v THIRD PLACE A/B/CBucharest
30-June(5pm)[44]  WINNER D v RUNNER-UP FDublin
30-June(8pm)  [43]  WINNER E v THIRD PLACE A/B/C/DGlasgow

QUARTER FINALS
03-July(5pm)(45)  WINNER [41] v WINNER [42]Saint Petersburg
03-July(8pm)(46)  WINNER [39] v WINNER [37]Munich
04-July(5pm)(47)  WINNER [40] v WINNER [38]Baku
04-July(8pm)  (48)  WINNER [43] v WINNER [44]Rome

SEMI FINALS
07-July(8pm)WINNER (46) v WINNER (45)London
08-July(8pm)  WINNER (48) v WINNER (47)London

PLAYOFF DRAW
The home team in each of the one-off semi finals was decided on the basis of the respective teams' Nations League ranking. The venues of the four one-off finals in each Path were determined by a draw held on 22 November.
Path

[A]






Semi finals
ICELAND v ROMANIA
BULGARIA v HUNGARY


Final
BULGARIA or HUNGARY v ICELAND or ROMANIA

Group F
[B]






Semi finals
BOSNIA-HERZ v N IRELAND
SLOVAKIA v IRELAND

Final
BOSNIA-HERZ or N IRELAND v SLOVAKIA or IRELAND

Group E
[C]






Semi finals
SCOTLAND v ISRAEL
NORWAY v SERBIA

Final
NORWAY or SERBIA v SCOTLAND or ISRAEL

Group D
[D]





Semi finals
GEORGIA v BELARUS
N MACEDONIA v KOSOVO

Final
GEORGIA or BELARUS v N MACEDONIA or KOSOVO
Group C