[ABHI_1512]

England just got out of jail somehow. They almost followed Italy but for that last minute brilliance from the one and only Bellingham. An insipid display by England but they still managed to go through to the quarters where the Swiss are waiting for them and which should be an interesting match. Going by what the Swiss are playing, the match should be an interesting one.

Now, probably the best match of the round of sixteen is about to begin. Spain and Georgia should be a cracker of a match, only thing is, Monday just stepped in as well !!

Edit- Georgia leads !!

[Chetan_Rao]

Spain are electric!

Yamal hasn't quite got the end product to his game yet - could've had a hat-trick with better finishing - but he's still just 16 and the cross for Ruiz for Spain's second was inch-perfect! Williams on the other wing is everything you'd want from a left-sided forward; quick, direct, controlled, with a fantastic shot on him.

What a contrast to England. Even with all the heavyweights on the other side of the draw, they're unlikely to be anyone's favorite (except the BBC, of course).

The minnows have been fantastic so far this tournament. Slovakia were better than England on the night but came up just short, fearless Georgia did themselves proud, even though they ultimately got steamrolled.

I'm looking forward to Romania taking on the Netherlands.

[NomadSK]

What a dramatic fast paced game between Germany and Spain, all 120 minutes were spend at the edge of the seat with heart stopping moments in between.

Watching Spain play football reminds me of Brazilian artistry.

Spain substitute Mikel Merino condemned host nation Germany to an agonising Euro 2024 quarter-final exit with the last-gasp winner in a dramatic 2-1 victory in Stuttgart for the three-time European champions.

Merino popped up in the 119th minute to power a header into Germany's net from a lovely cross from Dani Olmo, who had fired Spain ahead on 51 minutes when he slammed a superb Lamine Yamal pass into the net.

Germany to be blamed for missing out on so many chances !!

And in other game, Portugal exits on penalties, felt a boring game after Germany’s clash.

Looking ahead for Turkey’s game next. They are playing some interesting fast paced football.

[benbsb29]

Spain vs Germany

What a match! I had the scarf out to support and the match delivered thrilling, edge of the seat action. Right from Germany’s equaliser in the 89th minute to Spain’s winning goal in the 119th minute, this was an awesome game to watch.

Portugal vs France

This one turned out to be boring and imho Portugal were the better team. France got through on penalties, cruel as it is. Let’s not forget a team that scored only 1 goal on their own, that too off a penalty and were gifted other goals via own goals is now in the Euro Cup semis. Not fair, imho.

[IndieGooner]

Spain vs Germany - Cracking game! Although Germans gave everything and could have flipped the script with better finishing, I would say Spain were deserved winners at the end. Spain are favourites against France in the semi but they are going to miss suspended Carvajal as whoever replaces him at RB has the small matter of facing Mbappe.

Bit of a rant about Sony Liv now as I don't know where else to put it. I have stopped watching their highlights videos as there is an obscene amount of ads - like 2-3 minutes of ad for a <10 minute video? Even worse, if you turn on the live game after it has started, these morons show at least an ad before showing you the game! All this after charging an annual subscription for a platform which offers barely little else to watch.

[ABHI_1512]

The Spain- Germany game gave me the feels of the famous Argentina- Cameroon game of Italia 90 World Cup. The game started with so many fouls that if the referee wanted he could have easily pulled out yellow cards at will. Germany was back to playing the physical game that they were once known for. Kroos was shown such leniency that it was a miracle that he got to complete the match with only one yellow card !

Germany did create chances and they almost pulled it off but it was fitting that Spain came out winners. This Spanish team is special and the amount of talent this possesses is just phenomenal. Pedri going out due to injury was a disaster and it remains to be seen whether he makes it in time for the semis or not. Yamal and Nico are two superstars in the making.

France for all reasons, is not the same team that was blazing away even few years back. Add to the fact that Deschamps doesn’t like to play attractive football and is content with winning at any cost philosophy is stopping some very good players from performing their natural game I would think. I am gunning for a Spain- Holland final, let’s see if that one materialises or not although as much as I like Holland, they are not really playing as a team and are going for individual glory !

[volkman10]

The Spain Vs Germany game was like the Euro final.

IIMO this will be etched as the best game of the UEFA EURO 2024.

[kavensri]

I saw this match as 'two halves'. Till Spain scored their first goal, they dominated the mid field and missed few chances. Germany had nothing much to show. But as soon as Spain scored their first goal, it was a mistake from their coach to withdraw Yamal and Nico, and Germany came roaring back into the game. Except for their second goal, Spain was playing kind of second fiddle to Germany till the end.
Havertz should have done better with the lob and then Oyarzabal, Wirtz and Fullkrug missed their chances to win the game.
Also, Germany was unlucky not to get the penalty.
Overall, the best match of the tournament.

[ex-innova-guy]

Originally Posted by IndieGooner

Bit of a rant about Sony Liv now as I don't know where else to put it. I have stopped watching their highlights videos as there is an obscene amount of ads - like 2-3 minutes of ad for a <10 minute video?

For highlights, watch from browsers like Brave, where there are zilch ads.

[nova.19_exe]

Originally Posted by IndieGooner

Bit of a rant about Sony Liv now as I don't know where else to put it. I have stopped watching their highlights videos as there is an obscene amount of ads - like 2-3 minutes of ad for a <10 minute video? Even worse, if you turn on the live game after it has started, these morons show at least an ad before showing you the game! All this after charging an annual subscription for a platform which offers barely little else to watch.

Airtel Xstream Play streams the matches on their site. They have tie-ups with a few OTTs - Zee5, SonyLIV - to name a few.

If you are an Airtel Black member or so, Airtel Xstream Play comes included in your plan. You just claim it and get to watching

[benbsb29]

England through to the semis, undeservingly, IMHO. The Swiss were the better team and it was a poorly taken penalty by Akanji in the end that stood between them and their place in the semis. Oh well, if France made it then England just seem to have hopped on the same bus.

Netherlands vs Türkiye was definitely all it was expected to be. Türkiye promised to bring raw grit and determination to the fore and they did, but no match for the Dutch team that brought experience and composure to take home the laurels. Coming from behind to score 2 goals in the span of 6 minutes and hold on against the Turks, delight for those looking to enjoy a great game of football. Heads up, Türkiye… you did well.

The Dutch against England in the semis should make for some fireworks.

[benbsb29]

Spain vs France

What a cracker of a match already! France takes the lead in 8 minutes, only for Spain to score twice and we are only 25 minutes in!

[ABHI_1512]

We are probably seeing the start of an era where Spain is going to dominate world football for considerable time. As I mentioned before in this thread, this Spain team is special. Hope they realise their true potential and not fizz out like the supposedly dream generation of Belgium !!

[DigitalOne]

Originally Posted by IndieGooner

Spain vs Germany - Cracking game!

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

We are probably seeing the start of an era where Spain is going to dominate world football for considerable time. As I mentioned before in this thread, this Spain team is special.

I was a huge fan of Spain (and Barcelona) when the likes of Iniesta, Xavi, Puyol et al were playing. Then I kind of lost interest except for the World Cup. These few posts over the last week have rekindled my interest in football in general and Spain in particular. Let us hope this side recreates the glory of 2008-2012 Spanish national team starting with this Euro. Spain vs England, another team I used to follow closely, would be a perfect final.

Meanwhile here is a nice vignette from today's TOI:

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by DigitalOne

I was a huge fan of Spain (and Barcelona) when the likes of Iniesta, Xavi, Puyol et al were playing. Then I kind of lost interest except for the World Cup. These few posts over the last week have rekindled my interest in football in general and Spain in particular. Let us hope this side recreates the glory of 2008-2012 Spanish national team starting with this Euro.

There was a time when I was an admirer of Emilio Butragueno and his play and he was one of the prime reasons for me to watch Spanish football. Although he could not achieve much with the national team but his play was exemplary. Then came the era of players like Fernando Hiero, Raul, Morientes and Luis Enrique. They also never realised their true potential for the national team although they were players par excellence. And finally the golden generation of players like Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and all.

Fun part, most of the players were from the Barcelona Academy. This is where the importance of Barcelona to Spanish and World football at large stands out. This Euro is also the same and the effect of Barca academy is all too obvious. The likes of Yamal and what they have achieved is phenomenal. Let’s enjoy the show for now.

And for those who are interested, this link is an apt description of the effect of Barcelona Academy.

https://www.sport.es/en/news/barca/n...anish-89099179

And who can forget that Barcelona Academy gave us the most precious of all- Lionel Messi !