European Cup: Germany, France, Spain and Portugal are in the same half of the favorites

6/26/2024 6:43:38 PM

The last round of the European Cup group stage continues. With Mbappe and Lewandowski's penalty shots, France tied Poland 1:1 and qualified as the second in the group.


The Netherlands lost to Austria 2:3, which qualified as the first in the group. The Netherlands scored 4 points and qualified as the third in the group with the best four results.


In Group C, although England tied Slovenia 0:0, it still locked the top spot in the group. Denmark tied Serbia 0:0 and qualified as the second in the group after 3 consecutive draws.


Group C England 0:0 Slovenia
England had the advantage in this game. In the 20th minute, Saka scored a goal, but because Foden, who assisted, was offside, the goal was invalid. In the 30th minute, Kane's long shot outside the penalty area was confiscated. In the 75th minute, Rice's volley was slightly off the goal. In the end, England had to accept the result of a 0:0 draw, but they still won the first place in the group.
In the group stage, England's form was far from ideal, with 1 win and 2 draws in three games, 2 goals scored and 1 goal conceded. As the team with the highest value in this European Cup, England had only 10 shots on target in three games, which was even lower than the Albania team that had been eliminated in Group B.


Group C Denmark 0:0 Serbia
Another match in Group C also ended in a dull draw. In the 21st minute, Eriksson's long shot outside the penalty area was very threatening, but was bravely saved by Serbian goalkeeper Rajkovic. In the 23rd minute, Denmark's Winder scored from a corner kick, but the referee indicated that the ball had been out of bounds before and the goal was invalid.


Serbia then stepped up its attack. In the 53rd minute, Jovic made an own goal with a cross pass, but the goal was invalid because of offside. In the end, the two sides drew 0:0.


As a result, Denmark and Slovenia in Group C both qualified for the group with three consecutive draws. Both sides scored 2 goals and conceded 2 goals. They drew 1:1 in direct confrontation, and even received 6 yellow cards.


What is more coincidental is that the two sides were in the same group in the European Cup qualifying stage, with 22 points each, but Denmark won 1 and tied 1 in the two rounds, so it ranked second in the group and advanced with the advantage of mutual record, and Slovenia ranked third. According to the competition system, Denmark will play against the host Germany after qualifying.


Group D Netherlands 2:3 Austria
The Netherlands had a bad start in this game. In the 6th minute, Malen scored an own goal in front of the goal. After the change of sides, in the 47th minute, Gakpo scored a quick equalizer. In the 59th minute, Schmidt of the Austrian team scored a header and surpassed the score again.
In the 75th minute, Depay scored a goal in front of the goal, and the Netherlands equalized the score again. In the 80th minute, Sabitzer scored a goal with a small angle shot, and Austria surpassed the score and finally defeated the Netherlands 3:2.
Austria ranked first in the group with 2 wins and 1 loss. The Netherlands ranked third in the group with 4 points and advanced as the third of the four best results.


Group D France 1:1 Poland
In the 10th minute, Dembele made a cross pass after breaking through, and Theo followed up with a shot from the back post, which was saved by the opponent's goalkeeper. In the 20th minute, Kante rushed forward with the ball, and Dembele shot after getting the ball, but it was saved. In the 38th minute, Kante knocked it across the penalty area, and Chuameni's volley was saved.
The French team, which continued to attack, finally broke the deadlock in the 56th minute. Dembele created a penalty kick, and Mbappe easily scored, scoring his first goal in the European Cup in his career.


However, in the 79th minute, French center back Upamecano also sent a penalty, and Lewandowski's shot was saved. Because Maignan moved in advance, the penalty kick needed to be retaken. Lewandowski scored the second penalty kick and helped Poland equalize the score. In the end, the two sides tied 1:1.


In 3 group matches, the French team won 1 and drew 2, scored 2 goals and conceded 1 goal, and qualified as the second in the group. This is the first time since the 2012 European Cup that they have not qualified as the group leader.
As a result, the "upper half of death" in the knockout stage of this European Cup has been formed, and there are currently four favorites to win the championship: Spain, Germany, Portugal and France.