Kickoff chronicles

Slovenia vs Serbia

The first game of round 2 in Group C saw Slovenia take on Serbia at the Munich Football Arena. The first half was ultimately goalless but still entertaining. The biggest chance of the first 45 minutes occurred when Slovenia’s Timi Elsnik rattled the woodwork. He attempted to pass the ball to a teammate inside the Serbian penalty area but it was blocked, resulting in the ball firing straight back into his path. Elsnik then progressed into the box, dribbling around the Serbian defence before cracking a shot, watching it hit the post and bouncing back into play. His teammate Benjamin Sesko was then unable to sort his feet out watching his effort soar over the crossbar. The half finished 0-0 with Group C really in the balance now.

After keeping Serbia at bay in the first 20 minutes of the second period, thanks to some brilliant saves by their keeper, Jan Oblak, Slovenia then looked to hit Serbia on the break. Full back Zan Karnicnik progressed through the middle of the park before spreading the ball wide to Elsnik. Elsnik dribbled down the left wing before drilling a ball across the 6 yard area. On the end of the pass was the man who started it all, Karnicnik, who tapped it in to give Slovenia the lead. This proved to be the wake up call Serbia needed, coming so close to scoring almost instantly afterwards when their star man and captain, Aleksander Mitrovic, rattled the upright in the 71st minute. They left it late but finally, in the last minute of stoppage time, Serbia equalised. 2nd half substitute, Luka Jovic was the man to make the difference, heading in the corner which was the last kick of the game. The dramatic tie finished 1-1 leaving Group C with everything to play for in the final round. Serbia are only on 1 point but know if they go out and beat Denmark, it leaves them with a good chance of qualifying for the next round. Slovenia has the tougher task of beating England, but even a draw could be enough to finish 3rd in the Group, and one of the four 3rd placed teams to advance to the Rd of 16.

Denmark vs England

The 2nd game of day 7 kicked off in The Frankfurt Arena with Denmark hoping to get revenge against the team that knocked them out of the semi finals of Euro 2020 in England. After dominating the opening quarter of an hour, England finally found the breakthrough in the 18th minute. Jude Bellingham attempted to release Bukayo Saka down the right wing but the pass had too much on it and it looked as though Denmark had won back possession. Luckily for England, right back Kyle Walker had not given up and dispossessed Danish full back Victor Kristiansen before he dribbled down the right and progressed into the penalty area. Walker then looked up and attempted to play the ball to the main man up top, Harry Kane. On its way, it took a few deflections but the ball eventually fell into Kane’s pass where the experienced no.9 tucked it away nicely with his weaker foot. Denmark then started to press at England as the Three Lions had taken their foot off the pedal. It was only a matter of time before the Danes equalised and in the 34th minute, they found their 2nd goal of the tournament in spectacular fashion. Morten Hjulmand received the ball almost 30 yards away from the English goal before he fired a shot, watching it hit the left post and nestle into the back of the net, leaving Three Lions keeper Jordan Pickford with no chance of preventing the wonder goal. The half finished 1-1 with the game up for grabs at the interval. 

The second half was much less entertaining, with both teams seeming happy to play out for a draw. The best chance of the game occurred when the Premier League player of the season, Phil Foden, almost replicated what he had been doing for Man.City all year. In the 55th minute, he received the ball from Saka before setting himself up. He then cracked a shot at Danish keeper Kasper Schmeichel, watching it fizz across the turf before smashing the post and firing out of play. The fixture finished 1-1 with England fans all around the world left frustrated at this drab England performance. Denmark will feel disappointed as well, missing out on a chance to potentially knick a win against this poor England side and claim 1st place in the group. After the first 2 rounds, Group C is really panning out with all sides left with a strong chance of qualifying. England top with 4 points, Denmark 2nd with 2, Slovenia 3rd with 2, Serbia 4th with 1.

Spain vs Italy

In what was arguably the most anticipated tie of the group stage, The Arena AufSchalke saw two European giants in Spain and Italy go at it for 90 minutes. Spain dominated for the first half and came so close on multiple occasions. Their best chance of the half happened when Fabian Ruiz’s effort from 25 yards forced an acrobatic save from Gianluigi Donnarumma to prevent the spectacular strike from finding the top corner. The half finished 0-0 with Italy lucky to still be level with La Roja.

Spain came so close in the first 5 minutes of the second period when Marc Cucurella made a promising run and cut back from the left wing. Pedri, who had already had a big chance saved in the first half, received the pass from Cucurella and made a total mess of his shot, putting the ball wide from point blank range. Spain then found a deserved opener 5 minutes later when Nico Williams crossed the ball in from the left. Unsure of who was coming in to meet the cross, Italian keeper Donnarumma palmed the ball away from his goal. Unfortunately for the Azzurri, the ball then hit centre back Riccardo Calafiori’s knee and found the back of the net, giving Spain a 1-0 lead. Spain dominated the rest of the game and were unlucky not to find a 2nd and all important goal. Donnarumma was having an outstanding game for Italy between the sticks but unfortunately for him he could not say the same about his teammates upfront. The game finished 1-0 with Spain qualifying for the Rd of 16 and all but confirming 1st place in Group B, only needing a point against Albania. Italy sit 2nd in Group B on 3 points and will still need to go out and beat Croatia if they are to qualify for the Rd of 16 in 2nd place.

Written by Ollie Wade