Kickoff chronicles

Croatia vs Albania

The first game to kick off round 2 in the 2024 Euros was staged in Hamburg with Croatia taking on Albania in Group B. Albania shocked the world once again when they found the lead inside 12 minutes. Jasir Asania floated in a ball from the right wing where Qazim Laci met the cross perfectly with a glancing header. Albania then continued to dominate the rest of the half, forcing multiple strong saves from Croatian keeper Dominik Livakovic. At the interval, the score was 1-0 with Albania hoping to hold out for a historic win.

Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic must have said something to motivate his players for the second period because they looked a very different side. After dominating most of the possession and chances, they finally broke through the resilient Albanian defence in the 74th minute. Mario Pasalic received the ball inside the penalty area before he passed it on to Andrej Kramaric. Kramaric took a touch inside, dropping his shoulder and fooling the Albanian defenders before he placed the ball into the near corner. Croatia then completed the turnaround in under 2 minutes as they scored to make it 2-1. Pasalic was again involved, dribbling down the left wing before cutting the ball back to another substitute in Luka Sucic. Sucic’s shot was initially blocked by an Albanian defender but unfortunately for Kuqezinjtë, it pinballed off the knee of Klaus Gjasula before finding the back of the net in scrapy fashion. With the score now 2-1 Croatia, Albania knew it was a now or never situation if they were to rescue their Euro 2024 campaign. The man to rescue them was substitute Gjasula, who had just scored the own goal. A cut back from the left side of the penalty caught a deflection taking the ball right into the path of the Albanian. Gjasula then drilled the ball into the bottom left corner, rescuing a point for Albania. The tie finished 2-2 leaving Albania in 3rd and Croatia in 4th respectively in Group B. Both teams know that they have to go out and win their next tie if they have any chance of qualifying for the Rd of 16.

Germany vs Hungary

The second game of round 2 and first in Group A was to be played at the Stuttgart Arena with hosts Germany taking on Hungary. The Germans found an opener inside 25 minutes when captain Ilkay Gundogan chased down a loose pass from Jamal Musiala. It resulted in him winning the ball inside the Hungary 6 yard box and cutting it back to Musiala. The Bayern Munich wonderkid took a touch before smashing the ball into the roof of the Hungary net, with no defender able to stop his rocket of a shot. Hungary then slowly started to find their feet in the match, coming so close to scoring in the 25th minute when Dominik Szobzlais’s free kick effort was parried away from the top corner by German shot stopper, Manuel Neuer. The half finished 1-0 with the hosts hoping for back-to-back wins to guarantee a Rd of 16 place.

Germany came out of the blocks strongly for the second period, hoping for the all important 2nd goal that would all but confirm 3 points on the board. Finally, in the 66th minute, they found that goal when the skipper, Gundogan, scored. Maximilian Mittelstadt received the ball on the left side of the penalty area after Musiala found him with an intelligent pass. The full back then drilled the ball across the penalty area where Gundogan hit it first time, watching his effort nestle into the bottom right corner. In the end, Germany were just too strong for Hungary as they saw out the game to win 2-0 and qualify for the round of 16. It is not all over yet for Hungary but it may be out of their hands. If they are to progress, winning against Scotland in 4 days time is a must.

Scotland vs Switzerland

The final game of day 5 was staged at the Cologne Stadium with Scotland taking on Switzerland. The Tartan army were keen to redeem themselves after their 5-1 pasting against Germany while Switzerland were hoping to get a win to confirm their Rd of 16 place. Scotland took a shock lead in the 13th minute when Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay put them in front. He received the cut back from Callum McGregor and drilled the ball at the Swiss goal. Unfortunately for Switzerland, it took a huge deflection bamboozling keeper Yann Somer and ricocheting into the roof of the net, sending the Scottish end into a state of ecstasy. It only took the Swiss 13 minutes to strike back when a careless pass back to his keeper from Tony Ralston proved a perfect through ball for Xherdan Shaqiri. The big game player ran onto it and hit the ball first time, watching his effort from outside the area find the top left corner superbly. Switzerland then thought they had completed a first half turn around inside 6 minutes of equalising when Dan Ndoye found the back of the Scottish net. A corner was not cleared properly and was headed back into the danger zone by Manuel Akanji. Ndoye took it on his chest before rounding Scottish keeper Angus Gunn and prodding it in. Unfortunately for the young talent, it was disallowed for offside. The half finished 1-1 with Switzerland looking the most likely to find an eventual winner.

Both teams went on to miss big chances in the second half with Ndoye missing from point blank range for Switzerland and Grant Hanley hitting the woodwork with a header for the Tartan army. The Swiss then thought they had kicked it at the death when Ruben Vargas played a brilliant through ball to Breel Embolo who was left one-on-one with Scottish keeper Gunn. He lifted the ball over Gunn perfectly, watching his shot bounce before crossing the line. When he turned to wheel away in celebration, he was met with the assistant referee and his raised flag, as he was offside when Vargas played him through. The end-to-end fixture finished 1-1 with both teams disappointed they couldn’t snatch all 3 points to strengthen their position in the group. Switzerland sit 2nd on 4 points and Scotland jump to 3rd with 1.

Written by Ollie Wade