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 🟥

■ LAST 16

29-June	17:00	SWITZERLAND	2-0	ITALY	Berlin
BBC		Freuler 37, Vargas 46
29-June	20:00	GERMANY	2-0	DENMARK	Dortmund
ITV		Havertz 53pen, Musiala 68
30-June	17:00	ENGLAND	2-1	SLOVAKIA	Gelsenkirchen
ITV		Bellingham 90+5, Kane 91	aet	Schranz 25
30-June	20:00	SPAIN	4-1	GEORGIA	Cologne
ITV		Rodri 39, Fabian Ruiz 51 Williams 75, Olmo 83		Le Normand 18og
01-July	17:00	FRANCE	1-0	BELGIUM	Dusseldorf
ITV		Vertonghen 85og
01-July	20:00	PORTUGAL	0-0	SLOVENIA	Frankfurt
BBC		Portugal won 3-0 on penalties	aet
02-July	17:00	ROMANIA	0-3	NETHERLANDS	Munich
BBC				Gakpo 20, Malen 83, 90+3
02-July	20:00	AUSTRIA	1-2	TURKEY	Leipzig
ITV		Gregoritsch 66		Demiral 1, 59

■ QUARTER FINALS

05-July	17:00	SPAIN	2-1	GERMANY	Stuttgart
ITV		Olmo 51, Merino 119	aet	Wirtz 89
05-July	20:00	PORTUGAL	0-0	FRANCE	Hamburg
BBC			aet	France won 5-3 on penalties
06-July	17:00	ENGLAND	1-1	SWITZERLAND	Dusseldorf
BBC		Saka 80 England won 5-3 on penalties	aet	Embolo 75
06-July	20:00	NETHERLANDS	2-1	TURKEY	Berlin
ITV		De Vrij 70, Muldur 76og		Akaydin 35

■ SEMI FINALS

09-July	20:00	SPAIN	2-1	FRANCE
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-July	17:00	NETHERLANDS	1-2	ENGLAND
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

Soulless England frustrate as Scotland fail again

🟥 EURO 2024 GROUP STAGE 🟥

■ GROUP A	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) GERMANY	2	1	0	8	2	+6	7
(Q) SWITZERLAND	1	2	0	5	3	+2	5
HUNGARY	1	0	2	2	5	-3	3
SCOTLAND	0	1	2	2	7	-5	1

14-June	20:00	GERMANY	5-1	SCOTLAND	Munich
ITV		Wirtz 10, Musiala 19 Havertz 45+1pen Fullkrug 68, Can 90+3		Rudiger 87og
15-June	14:00	HUNGARY	1-3	SWITZERLAND	Cologne
ITV		Varga 66		Duah 12, Aebischer 45 Embolo 90+3
19-June	17:00	GERMANY	2-0	HUNGARY	Stuttgart
BBC		Musiala 22, Gundogan 67
19-June	20:00	SCOTLAND	1-1	SWITZERLAND	Cologne
BBC		McTominay 13		Shaqiri 26
23-June	20:00	SWITZERLAND	1-1	GERMANY	Frankfurt
BBC		Ndoye 29		Fullkrug 90+2
23-June	20:00	SCOTLAND	0-1	HUNGARY	Stuttgart
BBC				Csoboth 90+10

Scotland failed to get out of the group at a major tournament for a record-extending 12th time after a last-gasp defeat to Hungary consigned Steve Clarke's men to yet another bottom-placed finish in Group A. 

Germany, as expected, topped the section - though only after Niclas Fullkrug scored a late goal to equalise against Switzerland - and it was the Germans, of course, who started off this latest Scottish nightmare.

Julian Nagelsmann's Mannschaft were 2-0 up inside 20 minutes and 3-0 up at half time on their way to a 5-1 hammering of the Scots on the opening night of the tournament as Ryan Porteous received a red card for a nasty foul on Ilkay Gundogan.

Scotland consoled themselves that they could not have faced a tougher start against the revved-up hosts - but their failure to get anywhere near Germany at any point during the game was a definite cause for concern.

The Germans even seemed to take pity on their opponents as a late Antonio Rudiger own goal put the Scots on the scoresheet - and own goals, along with timidity from the two British teams, have been notable themes of Euro 2024 so far.

At least Scotland started better in their second match against Switzerland - and their early pressure was rewarded when Scott McTominay smashed a shot from the edge of the box into the net off Fabian Schar.

It could have easily gone down as another own goal - but the original effort was deemed to have been on target so the Manchester United midfielder was credited.

Nevertheless, the Swiss rarely roll over nowadays and the Nati were back level before the break through a cracking strike by Xherdan Shaqiri following a terribly loose back-pass by Scotland right-back Anthony Ralston.

Both teams had chances late on to take the three points as Grant Hanley headed against the post from a McTominay free-kick - but a draw was probably a fair result.

In the meantime, Germany eased their way past Hungary to reach the Last 16 with a game to spare with a straightforward 2-0 win in Stuttgart which left the Magyars without a point.

That was enough for Scotland to feel confident heading into the third group game against the Hungarians of breaching the first phase of a major tournament for the first time in history.

But, despite dominating the ball, Scotland failed to get a single shot on target - and their lack of ambition seemed to stem throughout the competition from the coaching staff.

Head coach Clarke declared beforehand that he would be happy to scrape through with four points - and, while it obviously meant Clarke could not be accused of delusion, it hardly reeked of Braveheart and arguably belied a lack of confidence in the ability of his squad.

Of course, there was the usual dose of bad luck as neither Argentine referee Fernando Rapallini or the video assistant referee (VAR) determined Stuart Armstrong had not been fouled even though the replays suggested otherwise.

Then, as the clock ticked into stoppage time, the Scots' biggest chance fell to centre-back Hanley - before, moments later, a neat passing move on the break from the clearance of a Scotland corner reached its crescendo when Kevin Csoboth struck the ball past goalkeeper Angus Gunn.

In that moment, any remaining Scottish hopes were shattered. However, the fact is that Scotland had just 17 shots in the Euro 2024 finals overall, with no team having had fewer efforts in a group stage since groups were introduced at Euro 1980.

Now, frustratingly for the long-suffering Tartan Army, this was nothing new - in 21 matches in World Cup and European Championship finals since 1986, the Scots have won just three, and the last of those came back in 1996.

Moreover, in that time, Scotland have scored a pitiful 12 goals in total. So much indeed for Scotland the Brave...

■ GROUP B	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) SPAIN	3	0	0	5	0	+5	9
(Q) ITALY	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
CROATIA	0	2	1	3	6	-3	2
ALBANIA	0	1	2	3	5	-2	1

15-June	17:00	SPAIN	3-0	CROATIA	Berlin
ITV		Morata 29, Fabian Ruiz 32 Carvajal 45+2
15-June	20:00	ITALY	2-1	ALBANIA	Dortmund
BBC		Bastoni 11, Barella 16		Bajrami 1
19-June	14:00	CROATIA	2-2	ALBANIA	Hamburg
ITV		Kramaric 74, Gjasula 76og		Laci 11, Gjasula 90+5
20-June	20:00	SPAIN	1-0	ITALY	Gelsenkirchen
ITV		Calafiori 55og
24-June	20:00	ALBANIA	0-1	SPAIN	Dusseldorf
BBC				Ferran Torres 13
24-June	20:00	CROATIA	1-1	ITALY	Leipzig
BBC		Modric 55		Zaccagni 90+8

Spain made light work of Group B as the only team in the competition to take maximum points by progressing with an unbreached defence against Croatia (3-0), Italy (1-0) and Albania (1-0). 

La Roja enjoyed an ideal start to their campaign, leading 3-0 against the Croatians at half time - before following it up with a far narrower success against the Italians in a tight affair settled by an unfortunate own goal off the knee of Riccardo Calafiori.

That was enough to seal top spot for Luis de la Fuente's side with a game to spare - and the head coach indulged in this freedom by making 10 changes to his starting line-up.

Ferran Torres hit an early goal to justify the shaken-up selection - but the Barcelona forward then missed a hatful of chances as Albania noticeably struggled for the first time in the tournament.

Until that point, the Red and Blacks had competed well - and, in fact, Nedim Bajrami now holds the record for the fastest goal in European Championship finals history.

Timed at 23 seconds, Bajrami intercepted a loose throw-in by Federico Dimarco before slamming a shot past the stunned Gianluigi Donnarumma.

However, the Albanians had a major weakness - they gave up a lead then fell behind in double-quick time against Italy and did exactly the same against Croatia.

At least in a chaotic encounter against Hrvatska, Albania were able to pick up only their fourth point in major tournament football as Klaus Gjasula kept his cool for a stoppage-time equaliser.

It was a case of redemption for Gjasula who had inadvertently scored in his own net less than 20 minutes earlier.

Nevertheless, Croatia v Italy always looked like the key tie in this section - and so it proved, although the first half was almost completely devoid of action.

Croatia - aware that a draw would be no good - showed their hand first and, following a series of attacks, the Azzurri eventually cracked as a clear handball by Davide Frattesi resulted in a penalty.

Up stepped 38-year-old Luka Modric - but Donnarumma made a fine save to his left and then made an even better stop from Ante Budimir in the very next attack.

Modric snaffled the rebound, however, to round off a crazy 33 seconds of football - and Croatia remained in control with the lead.

By contrast, Italy had to make-do with fleeting attacks and were not helped by the poverty of their set-plays - although, towards the end of the match, Alessandro Bastoni really should have done better with his header from a corner.

No matter. Winners always find a way - and, while Croatia maintained their remarkable all-time unbeaten record against Italy, Mattia Zaccagni's curling shot in the eighth minute of stoppage time ensured this one would be a draw.

It was virtually the last kick of the game - and a draw really was no good for Croatia.

Modric, standing helplessly on the sidelines having been substituted, cut a dejected figure as the final curtain fell on this special Croatian generation.

Holders Italy, though, march on - and, while Luciano Spalletti's charges have been far from convincing in any of their first three games, they will start their Last 16 tie against Switzerland as favourites.

■ GROUP C	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) ENGLAND	1	2	0	2	1	+1	5
(Q) DENMARK	0	3	0	2	2	0	3
(Q) SLOVENIA	0	3	0	2	2	0	3
SERBIA	0	2	1	1	2	-1	2

16-June	17:00	SLOVENIA	1-1	DENMARK	Stuttgart
ITV		Janza 77		Eriksen 17
16-June	20:00	SERBIA	0-1	ENGLAND	Gelsenkirchen
BBC				Bellingham 13
20-June	14:00	SLOVENIA	1-1	SERBIA	Munich
ITV		Karnicnik 69		Jovic 90+6
20-June	17:00	DENMARK	1-1	ENGLAND	Frankfurt
BBC		Hjulmand 34		Kane 18
25-June	20:00	ENGLAND	0-0	SLOVENIA	Cologne
ITV
25-June	20:00	DENMARK	0-0	SERBIA	Munich
ITV

England prevailed at the top of possibly the worst group ever played out at a major tournament with five of the six matches finishing as dull draws. 

In fairness, the Three Lions were the only team actually to win a match in a truly desperate section which featured three 1-1 results, two 0-0 stalemates, and only seven goals overall.

Jude Bellingham gave Gareth Southgate's men an ideal start to the campaign against Serbia, heading in a deflected cross from Bukayo Saka after just 13 minutes.

England quickly fashioned another chance down the right as Kyle Walker sent a teasing ball across the six-yard box - but, until Harry Kane clipped the bar with a late header, a much-vaunted attack showed little in the way of threat.

It was felt perhaps that England were just feeling their way into the competition - and any major criticism of the Three Lions was tempered by the three points on the board.

In the second match against Denmark, England took another relatively early lead as Kane stabbed home from close range following a couple of deflections on Walker's pull-back.

But the Danes are an all-round better team than Serbia and, by half time, were back level after Morten Hjulmand struck a long-range effort.

The results in the other matches - Slovenia v Denmark and Slovenia v Serbia, both 1-1 draws - made it possible for England to win Group C with a match to spare with a second victory.

If that was the ambition, though, the Three Lions showed little sign of fulfilling it, especially after the equaliser.

Remarkably, it was the 14th time in matches at major tournaments held since 2000 that England had taken the lead yet failed to win the match with most of the giveaways down to the adoption of the ultra-cautious approach bizarrely favoured by Southgate.

Ahead of the third match against Slovenia, results in other groups ensured England had qualified for the Last 16 - but the identity of the group winners remained unclear.

The runners-up knew they would face hosts Germany in the first knockout round, though, so there was still theoretically some level of pressure.

In practice, England infuriatingly produced yet more of the same slow, safety first football which has come to epitomise their campaign.

The balance of the team remained poor with Kieran Trippier and Phil Foden looking particularly uncomfortable down the left - although at least the experiment of playing Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield was thankfully ditched.

Still, though, there was no room in the starting line-up for either Cole Palmer or Anthony Gordon despite both players boasting double figures for both goals and assists in the 2023-24 Premier League season.

Palmer was eventually introduced in the 71st minute - while Gordon ridiculously kicked his heels until 88 minutes were on the clock.

Gordon, indeed, has spent many more minutes at Euro 2024 responding to questions from the media in interviews and press conferences than he has actually playing football.

Nevertheless, both made a positive impression against the Slovenians with a raking pass by Gordon finding fellow substitute Kobbie Mainoo whose flick to Kane set up Palmer in one of the very few moments of excitement across the 90 minutes.

All that was needed was a stoppage time Denmark winner in Munich to consign England to second place and a meeting with the Germans.

But the fact that it did not come - and the fact that Denmark and Slovenia were able to make it through without winning any of their games - rather summed up Group C quite neatly.

■ GROUP D	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) AUSTRIA	2	0	1	5	4	+1	6
(Q) FRANCE	1	2	0	2	1	+1	5
(Q) NETHERLANDS	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
POLAND	0	1	2	3	5	-2	1

16-June	14:00	POLAND	1-2	NETHERLANDS	Hamburg
BBC		Buksa 16		Gakpo 29, Weghorst 83
17-June	20:00	AUSTRIA	0-1	FRANCE	Dusseldorf
ITV				Wober 38og
21-June	17:00	POLAND	1-3	AUSTRIA	Berlin
ITV		Piatek 30		Trauner 9, Baumgartner 66 Arnautovic 78pen
21-June	20:00	NETHERLANDS	0-0	FRANCE	Leipzig
BBC
25-June	17:00	NETHERLANDS	2-3	AUSTRIA	Berlin
BBC		Gakpo 47, Depay 75		Malen 6og, Schmid 59 Sabitzer 80
25-June	17:00	FRANCE	1-1	POLAND	Dortmund
BBC		Mbappe 56pen		Lewandowski 79pen

Austria caused a huge shock in Group D after beating Netherlands to finish ahead of France and the Dutch at the top of the section. 

Coming into the third set of group games, there appeared to be little scope for drama with Netherlands and France already through, and Poland already eliminated.

Meanwhile, the Austrians merely had to get a point or, at worst, ensure their goal difference did not suffer too much damage.

Straightaway, though, Ralf Rangnick's men showed greater ambition than that - picking up where they left off in their fine 3-1 win against Poland by taking an early lead as Donyell Malen slid the ball past his own goalkeeper.

Ronald Koeman's Netherlands hit back immediately after half time as a quick break concluded with Cody Gakpo curling in his second goal of the tournament.

But Austria were not disturbed out of their rhythm by the equaliser - and, just as Kylian Mbappe was putting France in front against Poland in the other game in Dortmund, Romano Schmid restored the Austrian lead in Berlin with a diving header.

The Dutch - who had started the day top on goals scored from France - dropped to third place, but then briefly went back top as Memphis Depay found a second equaliser and, concurrently, Robert Lewandowski was levelling for Poland against the French.

It was all too brief for the Oranje though, as Marcel Sabitzer finished a lovely passing move to send Austria in front for a third time and back to the top of the group with the Dutch demoted back to third again.

France - aware that, by scoring, the Dutch would need two goals to topple them - tried in vain to get a winner, as Poland completed another underwhelming campaign having at least avoided losing all three group games for the first time ever. 

Les Bleus - while never in danger of falling to progress - have also disappointed and head into the knockout stages via an own goal and an Mbappe penalty.

By contrast, an enterprising Austrian outfit found the net six times in their last two matches. 

Now, the impact of the unexpected finishing order in Group D was immediately apparent with France taking on Belgium in the Last 16 and unexpectedly falling into the side of the knockout stage bracket which also features Germany, Spain and Portugal.

Netherlands will face Romania in the Last 16 - while Austria will look to continue their excellent form against Turkey.

■ GROUP E	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) ROMANIA	1	1	1	4	3	+1	4
(Q) BELGIUM	1	1	1	2	1	+1	4
(Q) SLOVAKIA	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
UKRAINE	1	1	1	2	4	-2	4

17-June	14:00	ROMANIA	3-0	UKRAINE	Munich
BBC		Stanciu 29, R Marin 53 Dragus 57
17-June	17:00	BELGIUM	0-1	SLOVAKIA	Frankfurt
ITV				Schranz 7
21-June	14:00	SLOVAKIA	1-2	UKRAINE	Dusseldorf
BBC		Schranz 17		Shaparenko 54, Yaremchuk 80
22-June	20:00	BELGIUM	2-0	ROMANIA	Cologne
ITV		Tielemans 2, De Bruyne 80
26-June	17:00	SLOVAKIA	1-1	ROMANIA	Frankfurt
BBC		Duda 24		R Marin 37pen
26-June	17:00	UKRAINE	0-0	BELGIUM	Stuttgart
BBC

None of the four teams in Group E could be easily separated as Romania, Belgium, Slovakia and Ukraine all finished on four points. 

Ultimately though, Ukraine lost out on goal difference following their heavy defeat to Romania in the first round of group games.

The Romanians won their first match at a major tournament since Phil Neville injudiciously brought down Viorel Moldovan and Ionel Ganea dispatched the resultant penalty as goals from Razvan Marin, Nicolae Stanciu and Denis Dragus earned a stylish victory.

On the same afternoon, there was something of a shock as Newcastle United goalkeeper Martin Dubravka kept a clean sheet despite a typically nervy performance.

Better still for the Slovakians, an early goal by Ivan Schranz gave them a wholly unexpected three points, albeit against an unsurprisingly underwhelming Belgium outfit.

Schranz scored again against Ukraine in the second round of group games - but, facing an early elimination, Serhiy Rebrov's men fought their way back through goals by Mykola Shaparenko and Roman Yaremchuk.

Yaremchuk's effort was outstanding as he took the ball down over his shoulder to finish, although he was helped by uncertain goalkeeping from Dubravka.

Meanwhile, Belgium recovered their form with goals from Youri Tielemans and Kevin De Bruyne at the start and end of the match enough to bring Romania back down to earth.

Those results left all four teams on three points with one win and one loss - and really should have set up a classic third round of matches.

Instead, the afternoon turned into something of a damp squib with both matches finishing in draws.

Slovakia and Romania traded first half goals through Ondrej Duda and Marin respectively - but thereafter seemed satisfied with the 1-1 score which guaranteed both teams went through.

And so, it was left to Ukraine to try to provide any drama - a win would have sent the Ukrainians through at the expense of the Belgians.

But a breakthrough by the Blue and Yellow never looked too likely - Belgium had the better chances - as yet another promising set of circumstances dissipated into a non-event.

Consequently Romania retained top spot while Belgium's less than serene progress has landed them a tie against tournament favourites France.

■ GROUP F	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) PORTUGAL	2	0	1	5	3	+2	6
(Q) TURKEY	2	0	1	5	5	0	6
(Q) GEORGIA	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
CZECH REPUBLIC	0	1	2	3	5	-2	1

18-June	17:00	TURKEY	3-1	GEORGIA	Dortmund
BBC		Muldur 25, Guler 65 Akturkoglu 90+7		Mikautadze 32
18-June	20:00	PORTUGAL	2-1	CZECH REPUBLIC	Leipzig
BBC		Hranac 69og, Conceicao 90+2		Provod 62
22-June	14:00	GEORGIA	1-1	CZECH REPUBLIC	Hamburg
BBC		Mikautadze 45+4pen		Schick 59
22-June	17:00	TURKEY	0-3	PORTUGAL	Dortmund
ITV				Bernardo Silva 21, Akaydin 28og Bruno Fernandes 55
26-June	20:00	GEORGIA	2-0	PORTUGAL	Gelsenkirchen
ITV		Kvaratskhelia 2 Mikautadze 57pen
26-June	20:00	CZECH REPUBLIC	1-2	TURKEY	Hamburg
ITV		Soucek 66		Calhanoglu 51, Tosun 90+4

Georgia will continue their wondrous adventure at Euro 2024 on their major tournament debut after sealing a landmark win over 2016 winners Portugal in Group F. 

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put the Crusaders ahead inside two minutes with a good low finish before, in the second half, Luka Lochoshvili had his tapped ankle tapped by Antonio Silva, and was awarded a penalty.

Metz striker Georges Mikautadze made no mistake from the spot to become the first, and so far only, player to hit three goals in the group stages.

Valencia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili was the Georgians' other big star and he protected the lead with an important save from Cristiano Ronaldo.

Overall, though, Georgia must be commended most of all for their team spirit which has been clear from the start of the competition.

Defeat against Turkey in their first game was tough take for Willy Sagnol's men given that they were right in the game at 2-1 down and pushing for an equaliser.

But, having brought Mamardashvili up for a corner deep in stoppage time, a rapid Turkish break concluded with Kerem Akturkoglu rolling the ball into an empty net for 3-1.

It was a great start for Turkey but the Crescent Stars were unable to build on it in their second match against Portugal who moved into a higher gear in an extremely comfortable 3-0 win which could have been at least a couple more.

Of course, Roberto Martinez's men were helped along the way by an embarrassing own goal by Samet Akaydin after he blindly rolled a backpass into his own net having failed to check the position of his goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.

The heavy defeat left Turkey vulnerable to being caught by Czech Republic - but another late Turkish goal on the break through former Everton and Crystal Palace striker Cenk Tosun meant it was the Czechs who bowed out early.

Ivan Hasek's Czechs finished with an extremely disappointing record of one point from nine - not that the Czechs could have really done much more to help themselves in that third game.

Reduced to 10 men after referee Istvan Kovacs made a rod for his back by booking Antonin Barak twice for a couple of fairly innocuous early fouls, large portions of the match denigrated into a nonsense.

Indeed, it finished in utter farce as the Romanian man in the middle ended up brandashing a European Championship record of 19 cards.

No doubt the Czechs will console themselves that the referee was a disaster and this may be merely a tough start for a squad with the youngest average in the tournament.

There is no place for them in the Last 16, though - and nor should there be for Kovacs. 

■ THIRD-PLACED TEAMS	Group	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
(Q) NETHERLANDS	[D]	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
(Q) GEORGIA	[F]	1	1	1	4	4	0	4
(Q) SLOVAKIA	[E]	1	1	1	3	3	0	4
(Q) SLOVENIA	[C]	0	3	0	2	2	0	3
HUNGARY	[A]	1	0	2	2	5	-3	3
CROATIA	[B]	0	2	1	3	6	-3	2

■ GOALSCORERS 81 goals in 36 matches (2.25 goals per game)
3 Georges Mikautadze (Georgia)
2 Jamal Musiala (Germany), Ivan Schranz (Slovakia), Niclas Fullkrug (Germany), Cody Gakpo (Netherlands), Razvan Marin (Romania)
1 Florian Wirtz (Germany), Kai Havertz (Germany), Emre Can (Germany), Kwadwo Duah (Switzerland), Michel Aebischer (Switzerland), Barnabas Varga (Hungary), Breel Embolo (Switzerland), Alvaro Morata (Spain), Fabian Ruiz (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), Jude Bellingham (England), 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), Harry Kane (England), 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)
7 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

■ RED CARDS
Ryan Porteous (Scotland) v Germany
Antonin Barak (Czech Republic) v Turkey
Tomas Chory (Czech Republic) v Turkey