Sports – Soccer/Football

World Cup 2022 Preview: Group B

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

Interesting to note that the draw for the nations in each group took place just as three nations were yet to be decided! On April 1st, the draw for the groups had just as a European berth and two intercontinental berths were not yet decided! They all eventually be decided by the end of June. I state this here because the team of that undecided European berth is in this very group.

Group B is widely considered to be this Cup’s “Group Of Death.” All four are jam-packed with talent and are currently ranked in FIFA’s Top 20. In addition, some anticipate this group will have the most politically heated matches as Iran has strained relationships with the UK and the United States. It will all be determined in Qatar. So here’s the rundown:

GROUP B

-England (5): This is quite the time for the English national team. Ever since Gareth Southgate was made coach of the England national team after Euro 2016, the team has been playing like a team unit not seen for decades. At the last World Cup, they made it to the semifinals. At Euro 2020, they made it to the final for the first time ever! However the final exposed a common weakness England still has: penalty kicks!

The Three Lions lineup for the World Cup has the return of veterans Harry Kane, Jordan Henderson and Raheem Sterling. It includes young rising talents too like Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham. All but three players are Premier League players. Since Euro 2020, they’ve had a mixed bag of results. They’ve won against Albania, Switzerland and the Ivory Coast. They’ve drawn in both their games against Germany. They’ve also had a draw and a loss to Italy. They’ve also lost to Hungary twice. Qatar will put England again to the challenge.

-Iran (20): This is Iran’s sixth World Cup and they’re still seeking their first trip to the knockout round! Iran almost had the chance at the last World Cup (where they were also in Group B) but their results of a win, a draw and a loss couldn’t stack up against Spain and Portugal. Here in Qatar, you can bet Team Melli will do what they can to break new ground.

The team is coached by Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz. He has coached the team to both the 2014 and 2018 World Cups. After the 2019 Asian Cup where Iran made the semifinals, the team went through two more European coaches before returning to Queiroz this September. Most of the team plays for clubs in the Persian Gulf Pro League. In the last year and a half, their wins have come against United Arab Emirates and Uruguay, they drew to Senegal and they’ve lost to South Korea and Algeria. Qatar just might be their best World Cup showing ever. They just have to make it happen.

-United States of America (16): The 20th Century had the US team looking like a joke in football. Then in the 21st Century, the US were showing how far they progressed by advancing to three knockout stages out of four World Cups. Then disaster struck before 2018 as they failed to qualify. Things changed for the US as they named Gregg Berhalter as their head coach and acquired former US team members Earnie Stewart as Sporting Director and Brian McBride as General Manager.

The squad for the World Cup has not officially been determined as of press time. The US team has a mix of players from the MLS and from various European Leagues. It’s highly likely the team will consist of their big names like DeAndre Yedlin, Kelly Acosta and Christian Pulisic. They’ve had recent notable wins against Mexico and Morocco, notable draws against Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, and losses to Costa Rica and Japan. 2022 looks to be the arena for redemption and a new chapter for the American team.

-Wales (19): Of all teams that are returning to the World Cup here in Qatar, none have had a longer wait than Wales. They only played in one previous World Cup back in 1958, where they made the quarterfinals. Since then, Wales have failed to qualify. It almost appeared Gareth Bale would be one of the best players ever never to compete in a World Cup. Then The Dragons qualified in the European playoffs of qualifying, won their semifinal against Austria and then won their final against Ukraine!

Wales is not a one-man team. Besides Bale, Wales also has star defender Chris Gunter and goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey. The squad mostly play in clubs with the Premier League and have been coached by Welshman Rob Page for two years. Their recent results put their status in question. Before qualifying, they’ve had wins against Belarus and Austria, and draws against Belgium and Czechia. Since qualifying, they had a draw and a loss against Belgium and additional losses to the Netherlands and Poland. It may sound tough, but all that will matter will be their play in Qatar.

My Prediction: It is a bit crazy having to make a prediction in what people call the “Group Of Death.” Nevertheless, I have a feeling that the qualifiers from this group will be England and the United States. Frankly any combination of teams would make sense at this point.

And there you go! My thoughts and predictions for Group B. Whatever the outcome is, I anticipate this will have the closest football of the whole tournament.

World Cup 2022 Preview: Group A

Jon The Blogcentric2 Comments

For those wondering with the World Cup happening, will I be doing reviews of the groups as I normally do? Yes, I will. Will I be doing reviews of the stadiums and issues involving Qatar as the host? No I won’t. I mostly want to stick to reviewing the groups. Escpe4cially since that’s what mostly gets attention to my group blogs.

I will only talk a limited amount about Qatar hosting. I know it’s a surprise selection and that a lot of people have opinions about it. Many people are crying foul about it. The most I will say is it is a surprise to see a nation of just over 4,000 square miles (just slightly bigger than the island of Jamaica) and not even 3,000,000 people hosting. I would have figured is there would be one country in the Arabic world that would host the World Cup, it would be either Morocco or Algeria. Plus a nation that small having eight stadiums. I hope most of those stadiums have temporary seating because Qatar can’t afford to have the stadiums as white elephants. Only the future will tell of the after-use.

In the meantime, I will begin my World Cup focus on Group A. Group A is always the group with the host nation and it’s in the hopes that the host nation qualifies to the knockout stage. So far only once — South Africa back in 2010 — has the host nation not advanced past the opening stage of a World Cup. So let’s get to it! Also a reminder that FIFA ranking for October 2022 is in brackets:

GROUP A

-Qatar (50): Isn’t it something that there’s only a single nation making its World Cup debut and it’s the host nation? Qatar is considered to be an underdog by many. However the team called ‘The Maroon’ know with them hosting the World Cup this year, they will want to put on a good show and have the home country proud of them. They hired a Spanish coach named Felix Sanchez to coach the national team starting with the under-20 team in 2013, then the under-23 team in 2017 and then the main national team in 2020. They have delivered surprise results in the last four years like winning the 2019 Asian Cup and finishing third as a guest nation at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Interesting to note that all members of Qatar’s team play for clubs inside Qatar. Qatar has attempted to prove its mettle in the last year and a half against both national teams and renowned clubs. They’ve had victories over Ghana, United Arab Emirates and Italian team Udinese. They’ve had recent draws against Jamaica, Morocco and Chile. They’ve also had notable defeats to Serbia, Canada and Algeria. For their Group A opponents, the only team they ever played against was Ecuador and their record against them is a win, a loss and a draw. This World Cup is the scene for Qatar to prove itself to the world and they might just pull a surprise or two.

-Ecuador(44): This will be Ecuador’s fourth World Cup. Ecuador is a team looking for it’s first major break. At the World Cup, the best they ever did was the Round of 16. At the Copa America, the most they ever got was fourth. Le Tricolor is coach by a full team of Argentinean coaches in hopes of making their dent on the world football field. The Ecuadorean under-20 team finished third in the 2019 U20 World Cup.

The team has players that play in a wide variety of clubs in Europe, the US’s MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX. The goalkeepers all play for teams with Ecuador’s Serie A. They’ve had recent noteworthy wins against Mexico, Chile and Nigeria. They’ve had notable draws against Argentina, Japan and Brazil. They’ve also had losses to Venezuela and Paraguay. 2022 is another chance for Ecuador to prove itself on the World Cup stage and anything can happen.

-Senegal (18): The 2018 World Cup was the first World Cup since 1982 that an African team didn’t qualify for the knockout phase. Of the five teams, Senegal appeared to be the team most likely to. However at the end of their group, they had a win, a loss and a draw, just like Japan. They had the same goal differential as Japan, but what made the difference was Japan had less yellow cards than Senegal. That made all the difference between qualifying or not. The Lions of Teranga are back this year with the highest rank of all the African teams.

The national team has players that play in various European clubs; most play for either English or French teams. Coach Allou Cisse is the same coach they had since 2015. The team has had recent notable wins against Bolivia and Egypt, notable draws against Iran and Togo, and only two losses in the last year and a half. Senegal looks to improve as a team in 2022 and the stadiums of Qatar are another chance for them to move forward.

-Netherlands (8): The excitement of the Oranje almost always seems to be a given during a World Cup or a Euro. But after the 2014 World Cup where they finished third, they ran into trouble. They failed to qualify for the 2016 Euro and the 2018 World Cup. Turns out after they dropped Louis van Gaal as head coach just after World Cup 2014, they dealt with seven head coaches since. Van Gaal has returned as head coach after their Round of 16 elimination at Euro 2020.

For the national team for this World Cup, most of the players either play for German leagues or Netherlands’ Eridivisie. The team features a wide variety of veterans and young players. Since Euro 2020, the Netherlands team has not had a single loss. They’ve scored big wins against Belgium, Wales and Denmark. They’ve also had noteworthy draws against Germany and Poland. 2022 looks to be a big year of redemption for the Netherlands and I’m sure they’ll prove a lot here in Qatar.

MY PREDICTION: And now for my thoughts on Group A. It’s hard to predict as some teams have proved a lot while others have more to prove. I predict the two teams to qualify to the knockout phase will be the Netherlands and Senegal.

And there you have it! The first of my reviews of the groups for the 2022 World Cup. As we get closer and closer to the start, you will be seeing more reviews and more predictions.

UEFA Euro 2020: My Prediction For The Final

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
Will Italy win for the second time? Or England for the first?

Fifty matches, 140 goals, eleven venues and eleven countries. And an event format current UEFA president Aleksandar Cerefin says is too troubling and won’t happen again. I didn’t have a problem with it. Despite it, now the field is narrowed down to the two for the Cup: Italy and England. For Italy, this will be their fourth time playing for the Cup. Their one win came in 1968 and it came after two hugely controversial semifinals. For England, this is their first time ever qualifying for the final! Yes, I find it hard to believe too. Ever since 1996, they’ve been singing ‘It’s Coming Home’ in hopes they win whatever big trophy they’re chasing and now is more chance than ever! For this, I will do my review of Italy vs. England and make my prediction.

Head-To-Head Stats:

Italy vs. England isn’t normally one of the bigger rivalries in football. Italy’s more legendary rivalries are with Germany, Brazil, eastern neighbors Croatia, Spain and France in recent years. England has bigger rivalries with Germany, Argentina and northern neighbors Scotland. Italy and England have played each other 27 times. Italy has won ten times while England has won eight. The last time Italy played England, it was a March 2018 friendly and it ended in a 1-1 draw.

Team Breakdown:

ITALY: It’s hard to believe a team with one of the biggest football legacies of four World Cups has only won a single Euro. It was all the way back in 1968, and after both semifinals consisted of major controversies. In fact Italy’s case was they played a scoreless draw against the Soviet and there wasn’t a penalty kick system like we have now. So a coin-toss was used to decide Italy’s win! Since 1968, they have made it to the final twice: in 2000 and 2012. The Forza Azzurri have always been one of the most dazzling teams in the world, but they can also end up being one of the most unpredictable teams too. There have been many times in tournaments when even if they didn’t win, they would go further than expected. However there are times when Italy has delivered below pre-event expectations. That has especially been the case after they won the World Cup in 2006. However it was right after their failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup that it was aware there had to be changes not only in the team, but the Italian football system.

Since their World Cup failure, they have a new head of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) Gabriele Gravina and a new coach in Roberto Mancini. Ever since Mancini took hold of the Italian team, the Azzurri have only lost two games with the last loss being in September 2018. They capped hugely successful, 2019 with straight wins. 2021 was also hugely successful with straight wins until the Euro semifinal where they drew 1-1 against Spain. Their win on penalty kicks is a victory for them as Italy is one of the weaker teams at penalty kick rounds. Italy came to this Euro with a lot to prove and prove they did. The final is another opportunity for them to prove themselves. They showed they can score well and that they have good defense. However even coach Mancini admits that England is a stronger team. He even warned his team to be cautious of players like Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling. That could be their one glitch as they may not be able to fend off England’s star strikers. Another is Emerson Palmieri as the replacement goalkeeper. He plays in the Premier League with Chelsea and some England players may be familiar with his weaknesses. Nevertheless, Italy can rise to the challenge and possibly win their second Euro over in Wembley Stadium.

ENGLAND: Hard to believe this is the first-ever Euro final England has made it to! It’s just as surprising as their one World Cup, which was won in 1966 in old Wembley Stadium. Euro 2020 would be poetic if they won their first Euro in the new Wembley Stadium. Yes, it does seem like England’s win of the 1966 World Cup has made them a one-hit-wonder in football. England has almost always fielded the national team with the most talent and the most skill combined. However its inability to go far on the international stage has almost always seems to be the team not being able to come together and play as a team unit. That often seems to be the case. Ever since their World Cup win, the best England has done at the World Cup was two fourth places. Also the best they ever did at Euro was a third place.

2016 appears to be the turning point. This was after England came off possibly its most dreadful performance as a national team with Roy Hodgson. It involved an out in the Group Stage at World Cup 2014 and an out in the Round of 16 at Euro 2016. After Euro 2016, the English team hired Gareth Southgate as the manager. A former national team player himself, Southgate was coach of the national under-21 team at the time. It turned out to be the best move for England. Southgate’s England squad made it to the semifinals of World Cup 2018: the first time since 1990 and only the third time even England make the Top 4 at the World Cup.

Then Euro came. The current English team consists of some of the best veterans and many top rising talents. All but three play for Premier League teams with one playing for Atletico Madrid and two playing for Germany’s Bundesliga teams. England and Southgate had a lot to prove to the eyes of the world here at the Euro 2020 and boy have they been proving it. It the Group Stage, their only non-win was a scoreless draw against Scotland, but their other two matches were wins of 1-0. In the Round of 16, they beat their common rival Germany 2-0. They would show dominance in their quarterfinal against Ukraine by winning 4-0. The semifinal was the first Euro 2020 where England conceded a single goal. Despite it, England was able to recover and win the semi 2-1 in added extra time to qualify for their first-ever Euro final!

England overcame a lot of ‘team demons’ in order to get where they are now. Back at the 2018 World Cup, they won their Round of 16 game against Colombia on penalty kicks. That was the first time ever in four tries that England won a World Cup match on penalty kicks. Even here in Euro 2020, winning over Germany, a team they commonly lose to in major tournaments, shows how much team chemistry between England has improved over Southgate. However England does have their imperfections. You can look at their semifinal win, for starter. The controversy of a fan flashing a laser pointer to the eyes of Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel as Harry Kane was about to make his penalty kick has given their win a tarnish. The English team has been fined by UEFA for this. Another case, as far as play goes, is that Italy has been noticed to have better midfielders than England. That could hurt England during some key moments. Whatever the situation, Wembley Stadium tonight is their chance to tell the world ‘It’s Coming Home’ instead of ‘It’s Coming To Rome.’

My Final Verdict:

This is a tough call and this is a game that could end up as a draw even at the end of added extra time. However I feel I will have to predict England to win this 2-1.

And there you go! That is my focus on the Euro 2020 final and my prediction. You can bet there will be a ton of excitement over in Wembley Stadium and lots to look forward to. Can excitement and national pride repeat itself 55 years later? Only time will tell!

Copa America 2021: My Prediction For The Final

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
This year’s Copa America final is the classic battle of Brazil vs. Argentina.

I’ve been so focused on the Euro 2020, I completely forgot that the CONMEBOL’s Cop America was happening this year! And the final is the very night before the final of the Euro! Interesting that both major tournaments are taking place around the same time. Nevertheless they’re both worth predicting to winner for. Before I give you my Euro pick, I will give my prediction for the Copa America final.

Copa America Summary

It seems like there hasn’t been a major event in the world that hasn’t been affected by COVID. Copa America is one of those events affected too. It was supposed to be held from June to July of 2020 in Argentina and Colombia. COVID caused its eventual cancellation and rescheduling to 2021. The twelve-month wait also led to the Copa being rebooked to another nation in May 2021. Colombia went through political unrest with protests against the president and Argentina had issues with the severity of its COVID situation. This led the Copa to be rebooked to Brazil: five venues in four cities.

For the tournament, it was originally scheduled to be twelve teams competing: the ten CONMEBOL nations, special guests Australia, and 2022 World Cup host nation Qatar. The pandemic is what caused the limit of nations to be just the ten CONMEBOL nations. The pandemic is also the reason why all matches have been contested behind closed doors. The preliminary matches were contested under five groups of two. The two groups were decided under the ‘South Zone’ or the ‘North Zone.’ In Group A, Argentina topped with Uruguay second. In Group B, Brazil topped with Peru second. For the knockout rounds, Brazil qualified with 1-0 scores against Chile and Peru. Argentina qualified with a 3-0 win over Ecuador in the quarterfinals and a penalty kick shootout against Colombia in the semis.

This is the eleventh time the Copa America final is Argentina vs. Brazil. Messi leads Argentina while Neymar leads Brazil.

Now that I did my brief summary, here’s my summary of the two teams and my prediction for the win for the Copa America:

Team By Team Analysis:

Argentina: The South American team with the second-biggest legacy in football is undoubtedly Argentina. We’re talking about a nation that has won the World Cup twice, made the World Cup finals a total of five times, and won the Copa America fourteen times. A notion that has had their share of legends on the international scene like Guillermo Stabile, Daniel Passarella, Mario Kempes, Diego Maradona, Gabriel Batistuta, Claudio Cannigia, and the latest being Lionel Messi. Messi is often seen as the tour-de-force of the Albiceleste, but playing football is not a one-man job. In fact even at this tournament, Argentina has had other top scorers like Lautaro Martinez and Alejandro Gomez.

The Argentine team has underperformed in tournaments in the past. The most recent World Cup, they bowed out at the Round of 16. The previous Copa America, in 2019, they finished third. Their last Copa America win was back in 1993. And to think Messi has not won either a World Cup or a Copa America. This is not just a burden for Messi but the whole team as I sure they would want some big international glory too. In fact their losses in the 2015 and 2016 Copa America finals to Chile were to penalty kicks. The team however have been playing very well. Their last loss was to Brazil in the 2019 Copa semifinals. Since then they’ve had seven wins and five draws before this Copa, including a 1-0 win against Brazil back in November 2019. Here at the Copa, they showed moderate but strong play against their rivals. Even in their draws, Argentina always scored first. However in their semifinal against Colombia, they drew 1-1 and it had to come down to penalty kicks. Argentina will definitely have to be on and in control if they want to take the Copa this year.

Brazil: And now onto the nation with not just the biggest football legacy of South American teams but of all teams worldwide! Brazil has won the World Cup five times in the seven finals they’ve played in and have won nine Copas. If you started a list of the legendary Brazilian players in history, you’ll end up writing forever. However Brazil is not perfect. In fact the last fifteen years have been very good at exploiting Brazil’s weaknesses. Three of the past four World Cups, they’ve been out in the quarterfinals and talk about the humiliating semifinal against Germany at the 2014 World Cup which they hosted. And if there are any teams that are best at exploiting Brazil’s weaknesses, it’s the South American teams. In fact their 2019 win was their first Copa win since 2007. In between, there were three Copas and they were out either in the quarterfinal or group play.

Brazil is currently coached by Tite, who has coached many Brazilian clubs before heading the national team in 2016. Neymar is not the captain, but Thiago Silva is. The team has some good veterans, but they also have a wealth of new young talent. In the 28 matches Brazil has played since their quarterfinal ouster at the 2018 World Cup, they have won 21 of them and only lost three. Their last loss was to Argentina back in November 2019. Here at the Copa, their one game they didn’t win was a 1-1 draw against Ecuador. They won their other three preliminary matches well. However in the knockout rounds, all their wins were 1-0. Brazil will have to contend well against Argentina if they want to take their tenth Copa.

Final Verdict: This is tough one. Especially since this is one of football’s fiercest rivalries. Argentina is the team Brazil has played the most and Brazil Argentina has played the second-most (they’ve only played Uruguay more). Brazil and Argentina have played each other 107 times. 43 of those times, Brazil won. 39 of those times, Argentina won. The last head-to-head match, as I mentioned previously, Argentina won 1-0. I predict this game will go to a 1-1 draw with Argentina taking it on penalties.

And there you go! That’s my prediction for the final of the 2021 Copa America. Good to see a tournament to take our eyes off the Euro for a bit. And for a lot of good reasons!

UEFA EURO 2020: Semifinal Predictions

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
Four teams left. Who will be the finalists for Sunday?

Hard to believe it took 135 goals in the 48 matches in 11 stadiums in 11 nations to decide the four semifinalists. Anyways the four semifinalists have all been decided: Denmark, England, Italy and Spain. All semifinals and the final for the Cup will be held in London’s Wembley Stadium. You can expect a lot of chants of ‘It’s Coming Home’ to echo. In the meantime, here’s my focus and predictions on the two Euro 2020 semi-finals:

SEMIFINAL #1: ITALY vs. SPAIN

Head-to-Head Stuff: Spain and Italy have played each other 33 times. Nine times they drew. The other 26 times, the results have been split! Their last head-to-head match was in September 2017 during World Cup qualifying which Spain won 3-0. Spain has won five of the last ten meetings including the 2012 Euro final for the Cup. Italy’s only won two of the last ten but their last win over Spain was a Euro 2016 rematch in the Round of 16 where they won 2-0!

Team By Team Analysis:

ITALY: Italy is a team that went from a national embarrassment to success in most recent years. We’re talking about a nation with one of the world’s biggest football legacies with three World Cup and winning Euro 1968. However recent years after their most recent World Cup win in 2006 would soon expose some of Italy’s weaknesses. They failed to win a game at the 2010 which they were defending World Cup champions and found themselves out in the Group Stage. Another out in the Group Stage happened at the 2014 World Cup. 2016 failed to redeem them as they were out in the quarterfinals of the Euro that year. And them World Cup qualifying. Italy was in Group G which was won by Spain. With Italy being second in the group, they were given a playoff chance where they were drawn against Sweden. The first game, that was played in Sweden, the Swedes won 1-0. The second game was to be in Italy, which seemed to assure they would take it. The whole game went scoreless and Sweden was the team going to the World Cup. World Cup 2018 was only the third World Cup without the Italian team present!

What happened after worked in their favor. There would be a new lead of the Italian Football Federation and the team would be managed under Roberto Mancini. The team also showed promise as they would finish third at the under-20 World Cup and fourth at the 2019 under-20 World Cup, showing a lot of potential for young talent to rise. The results turned out to be very winning. Italy’s last loss was to Portugal in September 2018. Italy went through straight wins in 2019. 2020 was a case where they won five of their eight matches and 2021 has been another case of nothing but wins so far. At Euro 2020, they won all three of their Group Stage matches without conceding a single goal. Italy would go on to win their Round of 16 match against Austria and their quarterfinal against Belgium.

Italy find themselves in the semifinal against Spain. Every Euro game, they’ve been showing their renewed strength and reminding people why Italy is a football superpower. However the Spaniards are an experienced team and they might lose out to them. Also if it becomes a case for penalty kicks, it can be a losing battle for Italy as penalty kicks are one of their weaknesses. It will all be decided Tuesday.

SPAIN: Spain is a team that for a long time has been commonly known as ‘football’s greatest underachievers.’ They have always been a team loaded with talent, but couldn’t seem to deliver during the biggest events. Then something changed around the late-2000’s. Spain won their second Euro in 2008. Could it be that Spain could win the World Cup in the near future? The World Cup in 2010 answered that with a big “Yes!” It started off with a loss on their first game, but game after game was win after win up to winning the Cup. Spain continued their success with a win of the 2012 Euro and runners-up at the 2013 Confederations Cup. Then the downfall. At the 2014 World Cup, Spain became the latest defending champion to be out in the Group Stage. Further humiliation came when Spain was out in the Round of 16 at Euro 2016 and the Round Of 16 at the 2018 World Cup.

Things have changed ever since Luis Enrique, who himself represent Spain at three World Cups and Euro 1996. The team began to regroup and reorganize itself better. Of the 35 matches Spain has played since the 2018 World Cup before Euro 2020, they have only lost three matches and won eighteen. Here at the Euro, they started out slowly with drawing the first two games, which is common for Spain, and then let out its best team traits by first winning 5-0 to Slovakia. This then led to a Round of 16 win against Croatia 5-3 in added extra time and a penalty kick win over Switzerland in the quarterfinals. Spain has what it takes to win the semifinal and even the Euro.

They know how to deliver. They just need to do all the right moves in order to make it happen. We should remember that Spain’s 3-3 tie against Croatia after regulation was because of an own-goal. They’re just as capable of losing to Italy as they are winning over Italy. They can’t afford any more bad mistakes or slack play as they’re getting closer to the final.

My Final Verdict:

Fourth straight Euro Italy and Spain cross paths. First was 2008 in the quarterfinals, then 2012 was group play and the final for the Cup, 2016 was the Round of 16, now this semifinal! This is a tough one considering both the head-to-head statistics and the way the two teams have played here in Euro 2020. I anticipate it will end up a 2-2 draw after added extra time that will go to penalty kicks, which Spain will win.

SEMIFINAL #2: ENGLAND vs. DENMARK

Head-To-Head Stuff: England and Denmark have faced each other 21 times. England won 12 of those games. Five have been draws. Denmark has won four. Three of those Denmark victories have been in the last six meet-ups. The most recent being a 1-0 victory over England in October 2020.

Team By Team Analysis:

ENGLAND: England has always been known to have a wealth of talent. And rightly so. Its Premier League showcases the best English football talent has to offer. However the difficulty always comes when trying to get a national team together. So many players who play great for their clubs, and they bring it to the national team. However the national team almost always falls short. Like the team players can’t function properly as a unified team unit. England did win one World Cup all the way back in 1966, but it’s been a struggle since with the most being two fourth-place finishes. England is the only team in the semifinals who never won a Euro; their best result being third-places in 1968 and 1996. However it was 2104 when England appeared to really hit rock bottom when they were out in the Group Stage of World Cup 2014 without a win. Being ousted in the Round of 16 at Euro 2016 didn’t help much either.

Then things changed when they introduced Gareth Southgate, a former Team England player himself, as head manager. Things really improved as the team started to show improvements in their play together. The 2018 World Cup was a case where they finished fourth, but they showed a remarkable improvement in their play and even won their first ever World Cup match on penalty kicks against Colombia! England has since shown impressive play since them. Before Euro 2020, they’ve only lost five of the 30 games they’ve played since and won 21 games. Since Euro began, they haven’t been like Italy and had straight wins, but they do have a tournament milestone that they have not conceded a single goal in the tournament so far. They appear to be getting better every game. For their Round of 16 match against Germany, they won on home soil: 2-0. And to think during Euro 1996, Southgate, who was a player for England at the time, was the one who delivered the missed penalty in the semifinal which got England out! Their 4-0 win over Ukraine was dazzling to watch.

England has the luxury of a talented team that performs better than ever as a team unit. Not to mention the home advantage with the semis and final in Wembley stadium. However it could fall apart right there. Plus that 1-0 loss to Denmark was back in October 2020, so not all that recent. England will have to keep on playing as well as they have in recent games if they want to reach the final for the Cup.

DENMARK: Normally you don’t think of Denmark as a football superpower. I mean they only competed in their first World Cup in 1986 and their best World Cup finish has been the quarterfinals all the way back in 1998. However Euro tells of bigger success. This is Denmark’s fourth time ever in the Top 4. Past success includes a third-place in 1984 and a win in 1992. Denmark did have a downturn in their success as they failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Euro. Things changed after they were taken on by Norwegian manager Age Hareide. In qualifying for the World Cup, Denmark finished second in their group against Poland, was pitted against the Republic of Ireland in their playoff matches and won 5-1. Denmark would then go on to finish in the Round of 16. After that was the switch to a Danish manager, Kasper Hjulmand, who has helped make the improvements in the team.

The Danes played their first game in Copenhagen expecting to show the world what they’re made of. Instead the first half of their first game against Finland had a shocker of a moment when midfielder Christian Eriksen suddenly collapsed. The whole stadium was in shock. The whole Danish team was distraught and his wife was heartbroken. The game was ordered to stop. Over time, it became apparent that Eriksen was alive and conscious. Eventually he was taken to a nearby hospital where his condition was diagnosed as cardiac arrest. A bombshell would come the following day that he was deceased for five minutes!

Once it was clear Eriksen was alive and being hospitalized UEFA gave the go-ahead to resume the game more than an hour after it stopped. Many did not like the idea. In the end, Finland won 1-0. Denmark has not fully recovered from the shock when they were to play Belgium. They lost 2-1. Over time, the Danish team overcame the shock. Eriksen recovered well enough to visit his team mates. For their last game against Russia, they really showed what they were made of by winning 4-1. Their Round of 16 match was against Wales which they won 4-0, and then their quarterfinal over the Czech Republic which they won 2-1. As has happened in the past, Denmark has delivered the unexpected. They can deliver the unexpected again in Wembley. However it could easily be the end for them if they don’t play as well as they have in recent games. It can be just as much Denmark’s as it can be England’s on Wednesday. It’s about which team delivers the most.

CHRISTIAN ERIKSEN Update: For those wondering what happened to Christian Eriksen since his cardiac arrest, he has been released from the hospital and has met with teammates in Helsingor, but more importantly, he did undergo a successful operation beforehand on June 18 and he’s since returned to be with is family. No word if he’ll play professional football again. Most leagues won’t allow a footballer to play again after they suffer cardiac arrest.

My Final Verdict: This is a tough prediction, especially since the last England vs. Denmark match was a Danish victory, but I think the win will be England 2-1.

And there you have it. My predictions for the two semifinals of Euro 2020. Hard to believe the final for the Cup is coming so soon. Hard to believe we all had to wait forever for it! Anyways, stay toond!

UEFA EURO 2020 Revised Quarterfinal Predictions

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment
The field has been narrowed from 24 to eight. For most, like myself, not the eight we expected!

Normally I don’t concoct a blog of quarterfinal predictions of a major football tournament if it has a Round of 16. Normally I predict the winners of the Round of 16 matches, then make quarterfinal predictions based on my picks of Round of 16 winners and leave it at that. However those that read my blog of my Round of 16 guesses are undoubtedly laughing at how I only got three right. That explains my rewritten predictions for the quarterfinals. I feel they deserve a redo. So here goes my predictions:

Switzerland vs. Spain – Here is the big irony. Switzerland beat out reigning World Cup holders France on penalty kicks to qualify, and Spain beat out World Cup 2018 finalists Croatia in added extra time to qualify! Additional irony is both teams here had Round of 16 matches that ended with 3-3 after regulation time! Interesting!

This is Switzerland’s first-ever win of a knockout game at a Euro ever, and their first in a major tournament since the 1938 World Cup. For Spain, they’re in familiar territory as they’ve won three Euros and a World Cup in the past. Also in the 22 times the two countries played each other, Switzerland has only won once. Switzerland could come alive in soring prowess like they did against France, but I will predict Spain to win here.

Belgium vs. Italy – Two different teams. One is the result of years of teamwork and perfecting that has taken them to the rank of #1 in FIFA’s World rankings. The other is a fresh team with a history of a legacy that’s making a comeback after failing to qualify for the most recent World Cup. Both teams have one thing in common. They both all have straight wins in this Euro tournament.

This is the one quarterfinal lineup I predicted correctly! Hard to choose. The goal scored by Austrian Sasa Kalajdzic was the first goal Italy conceded not just in Euro 2020 but since their match against the Netherlands in October! Belgium only conceded one goal in Euro 2020 in their group game against Denmark. It’s tough to pick a winner in a quarterfinal of two teams with straight wins in this Euro. I know Italy has beaten Belgium more often in head-to-head matches but I pick Belgium because they are the powerhouse of the moment and this Italian team is a rising power.

Czech Republic vs. Denmark – Another quarterfinal of teams that surprised in their Round of 16 match. Most people would have touted the Netherlands over the Czech Republic. However the Czechs delivered a surprise win of two goals. Also many would have predicted Wales to beat Denmark as they have the more lauded players. Denmark surprised them with four goals!

It’s interesting in these past two games, Denmark scored four goals each game. Their group match against Russia was do or die for them to qualify and it became a case where the Danish Dynamite finally exploded! The Czechs are also a team that appear to be showing their best traits in only their most recent games. For this match, I will predict Denmark because they’re best at pulling surprises. Also if this is a possible draw, which is quite likely with the head-to-head record, I think the Danes will take it in penalty kicks.

England vs. Ukraine – Tuesday was a case where the eventual winners were not the favorites going into their Round of 16 matches. England has been known in recent decades of losing to Germany. How easy we forgot they beat Germany to win the 1966 World Cup. And in the old Wembley Stadium. However it was a case of one of the best English teams ever against a struggling German team and it resulted in a 2-0 win! And in the new Wembley Stadium. Their first win of a knockout game since Euro 1996, which England hosted! And current coach Garreth Southgate was a player for the team back then!

For Ukraine, Sweden had the bigger expectations to win considering they topped their group with two wins and a draw, while Ukraine squeaked in with just a win and two losses. Anything can happen in a match. The game drew 1-1 after regulation and then in the stoppage time of added extra time, Ukraine’s Artem Dovbyk scored the winning goal!

England have not yet conceded a goal during the Euro 2020 tournament. Ukraine have lost games during Euro 2020, but have also delivered some surprise moments. In football, anything can happen. England have won four of the seven head-to-head matches while Ukraine has only won once. I will have to go with England on this. Even though they won’t be in their home country for this quarterfinal, it won’t rob them of their luck.

And there you have it. My revised predictions of the Euro 2020 quarterfinals. Interesting that the quarterfinals is the last round that will have the teams play in alternating cities and countries. The semis and finals will all be held in Wembley. Stay tuned for some exciting play!

UEFA Euro 2020: Knockout Round Predictions

Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Well the Group Play has just been conducted. There were a lot of surprises and there were a lot of expected results. Whatever the situation, the sixteen qualifiers have all been decided. And after their two days of rest, the Round of 16 starts the knockout part of the Euro en route to deciding the winner of the Cup. So in the meantime, here are my predictions on how I think the games will go:

ROUND OF 16

First off the Round of 16. This is only the second Euro ever to have such a round. One good thing that time around is there isn’t as much huge traveling around from place to place. And here are my predictions with my picks for the winner in bold.

Wales (Group A 2nd) vs. Denmark (Group B 2nd): Wales showed their strength with a win against Turkey and a draw against Switzerland. Their 1-0 loss to Italy showed they are able to rival the best. Denmark is a team that was visibly shaken after the cardiac arrest of Christian Eriksen. However it was in their last group game against Russia that they finally came out of their shell and won. For this match, I predict Wales as they’ve been more consistent in team unity and delivery.

Belgium (Group B Winner) vs. Portugal (Wildcard: A/E/F): Belgium finished third at the 2018 World Cup. Portugal is defending Euro champions. Belgium have shown their dominance since the start of the tournament. Portugal’s biggest success in Euro 2020 play is their 3-0 win against Hungary. However Cristiano Ronaldo keeps on breaking Euro scoring records! This is a tough one. Belgium’s team prowess against Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring. I will have to go with Belgium to win.

England (Winner Group D) vs. Germany (Group F 2nd): A classic rivalry with landmark moments and moments of infamy such as in both the 1966 and 2010 World Cup. And to make it a bonus, it’s right in Wembley Stadium! This is the only Round of 16 match which has a home team playing!

England has been performing very well as a team and only suffered a scoreless draw against Scotland. Germany show great scoring ability in their games, but their team unity which normally is what takes them far in World Cups and Euros is missing here. Also England is in one of its best eras of team play ever, but their two wins were 1-0: both times scored by Raheem Sterling. A tough one but I’ll go with England in added extra time.

Italy (Winner Group A) vs. Austria (Group C 2nd): Italy came to Euro 2020 with redemption and the chance to show a new Azzurri in mind and they have been excellent. They’ve one all three of their group games scoring seven goals and not conceding one. Actually the last game Italy conceded a goal was against the Netherland way back in October! Austria have reason to celebrate as they achieved their first-ever qualification to the Euro knockout round: one of two Group C teams to make it their first ever. However this is where Austria is going to be brought to an end here. Italy are practically unanimous favorites here, and my pick too.

Netherlands (Winner Group C) vs. Czech Republic (Wildcard: D/F): Like Italy, Netherlands is another powerhouse that failed to qualify for World Cup 2018 and looked to Euro 2020 as a shot of redemption. And like Italy, they won all three of their games. They scored eight goals and conceded only two against Ukraine. The Czechs have also played very well too with Patrik Schick scoring all three of the team’s goals. I’ll predict the Netherlands and their team play.

France (Winner Group F) vs.  Switzerland (Wildcard A/C): France comes out of a tough Group F with two draws and a win that came thanks to a German own-goal. Switzerland has had mixed results but has done a good job in play and scoring. In fact they did a good job scoring in their match against Turkey. France has still shown the better team unity. I predict France to win this match.

Sweden (Winner Group E) vs. Ukraine (Wildcard B/C/D): This marke Sweden’s first time to the knockout round since 2004 and Ukraine’s first time to the knockout round ever! Sweden appeared conservative at first with just having draws but performed very well in their win against Poland. Ukraine is a team that’s unpredictable. It won against North Macedonia. However their 3-2 loss to the Netherlands showed they can contend with the best. Ukraine is a team that can do the unexpected. I predict the win to go to Sweden in added extra time.

Croatia (Group D 2nd) vs. Spain (Group E 2nd): This is a case of both teams playing substandardly their first two games and then pouring it on in their final games. Spain drew against Sweden and Poland, but was spectacular against Slovakia. Croatia first lost to England and then drew to the Czechs, but was brilliant against Scotland. Their win against them here during the Euro is their first victory over the Scots ever! This is a tough one and could be the one Round of 16 match that could be decided on penalty kicks. I’ll go with Croatia.

QUARTERFINALS:

Unlike group play and the England vs. Germany match of the Round of 16, none of the games will have a home team. Here’s my bonus quarterfinal predictions. For each quarterfinal, I assume each prediction I make for the Round of 16 is true, though you know it won’t always be the case. Whatever the situation, here goes:

Belgium vs. Italy – Should this match-up result, it would be interesting. Two teams who won all three of their group games. One team has a reputation for consistency, the other is making a comeback. The Round of 16 games they play in could tell more about them. For now, I think this could go into a draw in which Belgium would win on penalty kicks.

France vs. Croatia – This would be a rematch of the World Cup final. However both teams are not playing as the teams they’re reputed to be. Croatia struggled at first and finally came active in their last group game. France topped Group F, but not without three tough bouts. One important statistic. Croatia has never beaten France in the eight times they’ve played each other. So I’m picking France to win.

Sweden vs. England – This would be exactly like it was during the 2018 World Cup quarterfinals. England have been playing well, but conservatively while Sweden has been delivering better than expected. Despite it, I anticipate that England will take this.

Netherlands vs. Wales – Both teams are unpredictable. Remember that Wales made the semifinals at the last Euro. Netherlands however just qualified for their first Euro knockout stage since 2008. The Dutch have shown their dominance so far and that’s why I think the Netherlands will win this, should this quarterfinal result.

And there are my predictions for the first two knockout rounds. It’s not an easy job as things can change from the Group Stage to the knockout rounds. It should all result in a lot of excitement. And I’ll see you all again in the semis.

UEFA EURO 2020: Group Stage With One Game To Go

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

To be among the 16 to qualify, it takes two wins to guarantee. The only way it could ever be possible for a team with two wins not qualifying is if all six groups had three teams with two wins and a loss. And that’s extremely unlikely. Whatever the situation, all four teams of each of the six groups have played two games and there are a lot of telling stats. Three have qualified already while twenty others still have the last game as one last chance, and only one is officially out. Here’s how the groups look so far. Those who have already qualified are bolded:

GROUP A:

Italy came to Euro 2020 with the hope of redeeming their reputation in the football world. They delivered 3-0 wins against Turkey and Switzerland to guarantee themselves qualification for the Round of 16. Wales’ 2-0 win over Turkey and 1-1 draw against Switzerland put them in very good chances of qualifying.

For the next game, Italy could lose to Wales and they’d still qualify, but I’m sure they’d want to win or at least draw so that they can keep their #1 status. Wales’ chances of qualifying are healthy, but they would have to win to take the lead in Group A, draw to guarantee 2nd place, or rely on their game stats and goal differentials if they were to lose to Italy. Switzerland will have to win over Turkey if they want to qualify. A draw won’t cut it as game stats and goal differentials decide the four third-placers that qualify. And Turkey will need nothing less than a win for them to have a chance. They’ve lost to Italy and Wales. Only a win against Switzerland will do if they are to have any chance of qualifying.

GROUP B

Many touted Belgium as the team most likely to win Group B based on their third-place finish at the 2018 World Cup. With two wins, they’ve already guaranteed a qualification no matter how bad their game against Finland goes. They haven’t completely guaranteed the #1 spot. If Finland beats Belgium they will be the #1 team as a result of head-to-head play.

With Russia and Finland having a win under their belts, drawing can guarantee a 2nd place for Russia and a 3rd-place for Finland which would have to rely on their wildcard stats to qualify. However I’m sure Neither of the teams simply want to draw in their last matches on Monday. Denmark is in the uncomfortable position that they will need to win against Russia if they are to have any chance to qualify. It would not surprise me if the Danish team has been shaken since the collapse of Christian Eriksen. That’s a shocker he was dead for five minutes. It’s very good fortune that the first aid on the field did all the right stuff to resuscitate him and have him taken to a hospital. Actually since Eriksen’s cardiac arrest, it’s a reminder to us all that living is more important than winning.

GROUP C

Most groups would normally have a simple qualifier if they have two wins by now. Group C has an official first-place with the Netherlands! It was their two wins and big goal differential that did it! And I doubt if they will want to lose to North Macedonia in their last game!

The game of Ukraine vs. Austria will be the game for second-place in the group. If there’s a draw, Ukraine will have the advantage because of bigger scoring. Austria could qualify due to the combination of game results and goal differentials. If both qualify for the Round of 16, or either one, it will be their first time ever at the Euro that they do. As for North Macedonia, they have the misfortune of being the first team eliminated. Even if they win against the Netherlands and by a big margin, it won’t matter because of their head-to-head losses to Ukraine and Austria.

GROUP D

Interesting that Groups A to C already have a qualifier guaranteed while Groups D to F don’t have anything decided and it will take Matchday 3 to not just decide it all but decide anything. If if any team in those groups is guaranteed a Top 3 finish, that still doesn’t completely guarantee them qualification. Focusing on Group D, Both first-matches for the group’s teams resulted in wins, but both second-matches on Friday resulted in draws. That means with two teams having a win and a draw and two teams with a loss and a draw, none of the four have secured qualification and all four still have a chance in their third-matches on Tuesday.

In the match of the Czech Republic vs. England, the winner will naturally claim the #1 spot of Group D. If there’s a draw, the Czech Republic has the advantage with better goal differentials. However I’m sure both teams want to win. Croatia and Scotland both have a win and a draw. Croatia leads because of goal differentials and a draw would solidify Croatia to finish in third place, but that most likely won’t be enough to qualify. The six third-place teams will be ranked by game stats and goal differentials. Only the top four will qualify for the Round of 16, and two draws and a loss will most likely make Croatia one of the two third-place packing sooner than they hoped. So either Croatia or Scotland will have to win and nothing less if they want to secure qualification.

GROUP E

Like Group D, Group E has the difficulty of two draws causing the statistics to remain completely undecided for who will qualify. One thing that is certain is that all four still have chances to qualify and it’s up to Matchday 3 to decide it. Sweden has the best luck so far with a 1-0 win over Slovakia despite their scoreless draw against Spain. Despite the loss, Slovakia is second in ranks thanks to their 2-1 win over Poland. Spain, normally a powerhouse, has just two draws while Poland looks like their still waiting to deliver. They’re lucky they saved themselves against Spain 1-1.

Sweden has the luxury that they can qualify simply by drawing, but I doubt if they want a simple draw. Especially since Poland will be hungry for the win. The winner of Slovakia vs Spain will definitely qualify, but Slovakia will have better qualifying chances if they lose because of their win over Poland. You can be sure Spain want to win this. Attempting to qualify on a wildcard with three draws is pushing it. Possible, but pushing it. Also Poland requires nothing less than a win if they want to qualify. Two draws and a loss has very low chances of cutting it. Plus they’d have the added bonus that is they win over Sweden, they’d overtake Sweden in standings because of the head-to-head result!

GROUP F

Group F looked to be the Group Of Death. However a lot of lopsided play has turned a lot of things around unexpectedly. France is one team that has underperformed. One would usually expect a lot of big play from the team that are the reigning World Cup holders. However their 1-0 win over Germany came thanks to an own-goal from Germany’s Hummels and they drew 1-1 to Hungary. Drawing against Portugal will guarantee them qualification, but they will have to win if they want to prove themselves a worthy winner. Isn’t that something? A rematch of the Euro 2016 final happening in group play?

Germany has had it most interesting. They got a loss to France because of an own-goal, but a 4-2 win over Portugal thanks to two own-goals from the Portuguese! A draw against Hungary will guarantee them qualification, but Hungary won’t make it easy as they will want to win. Despite the loss, Portugal are still in good contention after their 3-0 win over Hungary. They can still qualify if they lose to France, but they would have to rely on goal differentials to see if their stats are good enough for the wildcard berth. Finally Hungary proved themselves strong players by drawing 1-1 against France, but they need nothing less than a win against Germany if they want to qualify. That’s how it is for them with just a loss and a draw.

And there you go. This is how things look right now with the teams of Euro 2020 with only one game to go. Matchday Three will finalize everything to decide the thirteen others who will advance and the seven others who will be packing for home sooner than they hoped. Looking forward to it!

UEFA EURO 2020: Group E and Group F Review

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

Interesting to note for this year’s qualifying teams, there are only two new teams competing this year: Finland and North Macedonia. Also this year are nine of the ten countries that have one at least one Euro title. Greece is the only former winner that didn’t qualify. The funny thing about football is that any team can win the Euro. There have been surprise victories before when the underdog came out the winner like Denmark in 1992 and Greece in 2004. It’s very possible a country that has never won a Euro before can win here.

Continuing on with my group reviews, I focus on Group E and Group F today.

GROUP E

For this group, this looks to be the most unpredictable. This group consists of two teams that are known for great play, but frequently fall short. It also has two teams that can go further than most people expect them to.

Spain (6) – La Furia Roja are an enigma. For so long they had been known as football’s greatest underachievers. However that all changed around the time of the late-noughts, early-2010’s. During that time, Spain won two straight Euros (2008 and 2012) and finally clinched the World Cup in 2010. After that, Spain lost their winning edge. They were stopped in the Group Stage of the 2014 World Cup and since then it’s been the Round of 16 at both Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.

Spain have been in a struggle to get their winning ways back. The current team has an all-Spanish team of coaches. Most of the players play for La Liga with six playing in England’s Premier League teams. Since the start of 2020, they’ve only had a single loss, to Ukraine. They would also beat Ukraine in that time as well as Germany, Switzerland and Lithuania. They also had draws against Greece and Portugal. Chances are Euro 2020 could be the domain for Spain to redeem itself.

Sweden (18) – One thing about football is never underestimate the Blågult. After a disappointing Group Stage ouster at Euro 2016, they came back with a World Cup qualifying surprise against Italy in the playoff round and would then go on to finish in the quarterfinals of the Cup. And this is after superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic retired from the national team!

You can thank coach Janne Andersson for the turnaround. Team Sweden’s players play for various leagues around Europe. They arrive at the Euro competition with a set of mixed results since the beginning of 2020. They’ve had losses to France, Portugal and Denmark, but they’ve also had wins against Russia, Croatia and Denmark. Whatever Sweden does here in Euro 2020, they have what it takes to deliver the unexpected.

Poland (21) – Making it to the quarterfinals of Euro 2016 has been Poland’s biggest Euro success ever. This is a team that has finished as high as third at two World Cups and three Olympic medals including gold in 1972. Unfortunately Poland didn’t get the breakthrough they were hoping for at the 2018 World Cup as they were out in the Group Stage. Robert Lewandowski didn’t even score a goal.

The current Polish team consists of players who mostly belong to teams in England’s Premier League and Italy’s Serie A. Poland has had mixed results in its play since the beginning of 2020. They’ve won against Bosnia, Finland and Ukraine, both also lost to England, Italy and the Netherlands. The Euro 2020 arena will be another chance for Poland to prove itself and what it’s made of.

Slovakia (36) – Slovakia is a team that is constantly under low expectations, but will surprise many of their naysayers. They’ve only qualified for a single World Cup back in 2010 and their first-ever Euro was the Euro 2016. In both cases, they progressed past the Group Stage into the Round of 16.

Here in Euro 2020, The Falcons hope to do much better. Their coaching staff is completely of Slovakian coaches and the players play for a wide variety of leagues throughout Europe. Slovakia have had a mixed set of results since the beginning of 2020. They’ve won over Russia, Scotland and Northern Ireland, drawn against Cyprus and R. O. Ireland, and lost to Israel and the Czech Republic. Anything can happen in Euro 2020 and the Slovaks have what it takes to pull a surprise.

My Prediction: For this group, I anticipate that Spain will top it and Sweden will come in second. I have a feeling Poland will come in third but may not have enough to earn the wildcard qualifying berth.

GROUP F

Of all the groups in Euro, this is the group most deserving of the title the Group Of Death. Two of them have won the World Cup in the past ten years, one is the defending Euro champion and the other is a former great looking to reclaim its greatness.

Hungary (37) – The Magyars have been hoping to regain the success their team used to have from the 1930’s to the 1960’s that carried them to two World Cup finals and three Olympic gold medals. For those that don’t know, the Euro began in 1960 and Hungary’s best-ever result is a third back in 1964. For a long time it seemed like their era was long over. However Euro 2016 showed signs of a comeback as the team qualified for the first time since 1972 and made the Round of 16.

The head coach is Italian Marco Rossi whose been hired since the 2018 World Cup. A majority of the players play for teams in the Hungarian league. Since 2020, they’ve only had a single loss to Russia, a single draw to Poland, and wins against Iceland, Serbia and Turkey. Not much is expected of Hungary here but they have what it takes to pull an upset in Euro 2020.

Portugal (5) – Portugal comes to Euro 2020 as the defending champions. They started the Group Stage with straight draws but came on in the knockout round winning all their games en route to the win. Unfortunately, they followed it up at the 2018 World Cup with an ouster in the Round of 16.

Fernando Santos, who coached them at Euro 2016 is still their head coach. Cristiano Ronaldo is their captain, but they also have a lot of other greats with the team like Pepe, Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio. Since the start of 2020, they’ve only had a single loss, to France. They’ve had draws to Spain and Serbia, and wins against Croatia, Sweden and Israel. Portugal has made it as far as the semi-finals in four of the last five Euros. It’s highly likely the magic of the Navigators will be back in Euro 2020.

France (2) – France is a case of a success story that rose over time. They started after humiliation at the 2010 World Cup. Then became slow-and-steady progression with a quarterfinal finish at the 2014 World Cup to becoming runners-up at Euro 2016 to winning the World Cup in 2018.

Les Bleus is still coached by Didier DesChamps who has coached them since the 2012 Euro. Ironically there are more players on France’s team that play for Spain’s La Liga and England’s Premier League than in France’s Ligue 1! Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who is the team captain, plays for Tottenham Hotspur! For play, France has only had a single loss since the beginning of 2020, to Finland. They’ve won against Croatia, Sweden and Wales, but also had both a win and a draw against both Portugal and Ukraine. Euro 2020 could be the stage where France can claim their third title.

Germany (12) – The Mannschaft have always been known as a top contender in football, whether it be the World Cup or the Euro. Their win at the 2014 World Cup kept their reputation of consistency alive. However their reputation took a severe beating at the 2018 World Cup when they were ousted in the Group Stage. That made it the first World Cup in 80 years Germany failed to progress past the opening round. Some say it was because of a team that wasn’t together. Some even say it’s the ‘curse’ of the defending World Cup champion. Germany’s disappointment would continue as they struggled during the first year of the UEFA Nation’s League.

Despite the setbacks, Joachim Low is still the national coach. The current team features some of the 2014 World Cup alumni but mostly consists of a lot of new younger players. A majority of players play for Germany’s Bundesliga. Since the beginning of 2020, Germany have only had two losses: to Spain and North Macedonia. They’ve also drawn against Spain as well as Switzerland and Denmark and they’ve achieved wins over Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Iceland. A recent 7-1 win over Latvia shows the Mannschaft have something to prove. Euro 2020 could prove to be the domain for Germany to redeem themselves.

My Prediction: This is a tough one as even the best teams have shown some visible weaknesses. I predict Spain to top the group with Portugal second and Germany third, but with enough game stats to qualify as a wildcard.

And there you have it. That’s the last of my predictions for Euro 2020. Sure, a lot could be told. However we should remember that lots have changed since the pandemic and that could also mean the prowess of some teams. Those expected to fare well might now here. That’s why whenever I make my predictions, I tell people not to use them for gambling bets! Anyways this should be an exciting month with a lot of exciting play.

UEFA EURO 2020: Group C and Group D Review

Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

Some people are surprised to see me do two Euro 2020 groups in a single post. I admit it’s a break from my usual tradition of doing a single blog per group. I’ve been busy with courses and getting used to new work at my job. Nevertheless it won’t stop me from doing my traditional football blogging. Euro 2020 is an event worth looking forward to. This time I will be blogging about groups C and D

GROUP C

Interesting this is the one group full of teams that failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Hard to believe that the 2022 World Cup is just a year away. Hard to believe qualifying matches have already been played and Euro hasn’t even started!

Netherlands (14) – All too often in a World Cup, there’s a semi-finalist that usually struggles to qualify for the next World Cup. Netherlands finished 3rd at the 2014, but the team had been lackluster since. For qualifying for Euro 2016, they fell prey to the Czechs, Turks and Icelandics. For World Cup qualification, they were shut out by France and Sweden.

Since their demise in 2018, they’ve hired a new coach Ronald Koeman, They’ve brought in a lot of new young talent to the team. Most of the players are from Dutch clubs. They’ve been successful in qualifying for this Euro. They’ve however had a mixed bag of results. They’ve won against Germany and Poland, drawn against Spain and Scotland, and lost to Italy, Mexico and Turkey. Whatever the situation, Euro 2020 will be a chance for the Netherlands to showcase their new team. A brand new Oranje!

Ukraine (24) – Ukraine is a team that struggles to define itself. It amazed the world when it got as far as the quarterfinals at the 2006 World Cup. However that’s been its only World Cup appearance. As far as Euros go, out in the Group Stage the two previous times. Their only win was against Sweden on home soil in 2012. 2016 was a disaster with losing all three of their matches.

Since 2016, the team has been coached by the legendary Andriy Shevchenko. Most of the players play for team sin the Ukrainian Premier League with four members playing with Belgian teams and two playing with teams in England’s Premier League. They were successful in qualifying for Euro, but their games since have shown them struggle. They’ve had wins against Switzerland and Northern Ireland, draws against Finland and France, and losses to Spain, France and Germany. They’ve been without a loss in 2020. Anything can happen in Euro 2020 for Ukraine.

Austria (23) – Austria is one team that used to do well in decades past, but struggles now. Their third-place at the 1954 World Cup is just a memory now. Actually the last World Cup they competed in was 1998. They came to Euro 2016 hoping to do better than the showing they did in Euro 2018 when they hosted, but they failed to muster a win there.

The current team hope to finally achieve their first-ever Euro win, and hopefully take it even further. Nineteen players play in Germany’s Bundesliga. Austria has an impressive record since the start of 2020. They’ve won against Norway, Greece, Northern Ireland and Romania, but they’ve also had a loss to Romania as well as losses to Denmark and England. Euro 2020 is another chance for Austria to show the football world what they’re capable of.

North Macedonia (62) – Just being at Euro 2020 should be enough to excite the fans of North Macedonia. This is the first time North Macedonia ever qualified for a major football tournament. The new format of the Euro qualifying which would allow for teams of smaller-populated countries to contend added to North Macedonia’s boost and allowed them to qualify. for those curious, their nickname is ‘Lavovi’ (The Lions).

North Macedonia’s players are in various clubs in Europe with most in Croatia, Italy, Spain and Cyprus. Since the start of 2020, they’ve had losses to Armenia and Romania, draws against Georgia, Estonia and Slovenia, and wins against Kazakhstan and Germany. Euro 2020 can be the ideal arena for North Macedonia to be the Cinderella team of the tournament.

My Prediction: I predict the Netherlands to top it with Austria in second and North Macedonia to come in third and advance as a wildcard.

GROUP D

The four teams of Group D really make for a lot of variety in terms of playing style and in terms of past achievements. Two of them even met during a World Cup semi-final! I’m saving the term the ‘group of death’ for another Euro group, but here It’s possible any two or three of the teams can qualify and go far.

England (4) – Team unity has normally been England’s biggest weakness. The Three Lions did the smart thing after Euro 2016 by ditching Roy Hodgson as coach and hiring Gareth Southgate. In two short years, England went to becoming a new team at the 2018 World Cup where they went as far as the semi-finals, had the best goal scorer with Harry Kane, and even won a World Cup match on penalty kicks for the first time ever!

England is hoping this success will continue on into Euro 2020. since the beginning of the year 2020 they’ve had a lot of excellent wins to Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Poland and Belgium, but they also had a loss to Belgium and lost to Denmark too. The furthest England has even gone in a Euro is the semifinals and England is hoping to make this their best Euro ever. This could very well be it.

Croatia (14) – Croatia come to this Euro looking to shed the bad memories of the fan disturbances during Euro 2016. They also come after their brilliant performance at the 2018 World Cup where Vatreni surprised everyone by making it to the World Cup final! They became the first nation with a population of under 5,000,000 to qualify for the World Cup final since 1950.

Zlatko Dalic is still coach of The Blazers. Since the start of 2020, they’ve struggled in play. They’ve had wins against Sweden and Switzerland and a draw against Turkey, but they’ve also had losses to Portugal, France and Belgium. One thing Croatia hopes to do at the very least during Euro is win their first-ever knockout match. Whatever the situation, Euro 2020 is the ideal arena for Vatreni to pull another surprise.

Scotland (44) – Euro 2020 marks the first time since 1996 Scotland qualified for the Euro. Scotland have been known to be a sentimental favorite that just can’t seem to edge itself out of group play, whether it be either the World Cup or the Euro. With the recent creation of the UEFA’s Nation’s League, Scotland got a boost when the upgraded themselves from the Division C to Division B with brilliant play.

Most of the players play for either England’s Premier League or the Scottish Premiership. Since the start of 2020, they’ve won against Slovakia and the Czech Republic twice. However they’ve had draws against Serbia and Austria and had three draws and a loss to Israel. Euro 2020 can be the chance for Scotland to finally prove to its naysayers, that they have finally arrived.

Czech Republic (40) – Ever since Czechoslovakia split up in 1992, the Czech Republic has struggled to prove its football greatness. The team would always have great stellar players, but they would frequently struggle as a team. They’ve qualified for every Euro since 1996 and even made it into the semifinal round twice, but only qualified for one World Cup and only got as far as the Group Stage.

Most of the players play for teams in the Czech First League. Since 2020, the Czechs have had a mixed bag of play. They’ve won against, Slovakia, Israel and Estonia, and drawn against Belgium, but lost to Germany, Italy and twice to Scotland. Euro 2020 is another proving point for the Czech team and they just could prove themselves to be a better team than most people first estimated.

My Prediction: I will pick Croatia to lead the group with England second and Scotland third with enough game cred to qualify as a wildcard.

And there you have it! Those are my predictions for Group C and Group D of Euro 2020. Hard to believe it just starts in two days. Yes, we’ve all waited long enough for this!