There have been a lot of interesting matches so far in the European Championship in football, but to be honest, the best day of the tournament so far was June 28th, the third day of Best of 16 stage in the tournament.
It is interesting, because I didn't have big expectations to the day, but then it all turned out to be fantastic. And it all started with the match between Spain and Croatia.
Spain vs Croatia
Croatia hasn't been playing very well so far in the tournament. Spain started poorly, but then they really got back on track in their final group stage match against Slovakia. That is why I expected this match to end up with a Spanish victory, quite easily. But, it still started with a goal for Croatia. But, after that, the white team (Spain) took over the match, and it didn't take a long time for the Spanish team to lead with 3-1. That is when I thought the fun was over, but suddenly Croatia scored two goals and the result was 3-3 as the ordinary time came to an end.
At that time, I was kind of hoping for a penalty shootout... but Spain seemed to strong, especially as they scored their second goal in the first extra time. After that, Croatia lost hope and the match ended with a 5-3 victory for Spain. No matter what, it was a magnificent match!
Then came Switzerland vs France
I expected this match to end with a quite convenient victory for Spain. Switzerland surprisingly scored the first goal, but I still expected France to hit back. That didn't happen quickly, and when Switzerland got a penalty in the second half, I thought the match might get very interesting. It did, but only because Rodriguez missed the penalty, and Benzema quickly scored two goals within the first 3 minutes after the penalty. This was followed by a beautiful shot from Pogba, and the result was 3-1 for France.
At this time, I didn't think this match had much more to offer... But, Switzerland wanted it differently. They played very well, they owned the ball, and they got two goals - making the score 3-3 by the end of the second half. Once again, we were ready for extra time.
In the extra time, it could be seen that both teams were extremely tired, and even more surprising, Switzerland seemed to have more energy than France. But, neither of the teams actually managed to score, and thus it was time for a penalty shootout.
Considering that Switzerland had lost a penalty earlier in the match, I thought it might make it harder for them in the actual shootout. But, they were solid, and all penalties were shot very well... until the fifth French penalty that was to be shot by Mbappe. To be honest, I had a feeling he would miss. He hadn't scored a goal in the tournament before then, and it hasn't been his tournament at all. As a result, this was just finalizing this tournament as a lack of success for him.
And what a victory for Switzerland...
French came as a country with stars without unity!
Somehow, I feel as if France had a great team, but they lacked the unity seen in Switzerland and several other teams. Paul Pogba was constantly out there working as a uniting force in the team, but besides him, it felt more like a group of individuals just playing together, than a team working together.
All in all, June 28th was a fantastic day in the European Championship. Can we see action in the same way tonight as Sweden plays against Ukraine and England against Germany? I have my doubts!