UEFA Euro 2024

The Game Room
1

Looking forward to this tournament.

Germany are the hosts and are weirdly dark horses for their own tournament. I think they have a great team and will be hard to stop.

France have the pedigree and an array of incredible talent.

England have perhaps the best attacking players but their defence is untested and is a genuine weakness.

Portugal are filled with fantastic players and know how to win by whatever means possible. They also have a really nice draw so may have an easier ride to the latter stages.

Spain are the other favourites but like England may have a question mark over their defence. But with Rodri shielding them won’t exactly ship a lot of goals.

24 teams start the group stages with 16 going through so the group stages offer less jeopardy than in previous editions.

Group A: Germany, Scotland, Hungary, Switzerland

Group B: Spain, Croatia, Italy, Albania

Group C: Slovenia, Denmark, Serbia, England

Group D: Poland, Netherlands, Austria, France

Group E: Belgium, Slovakia, Romania, Ukraine

Group F: Turkey, Georgia, Portugal, Czech Republic

As usual there’s a super computer and it is saying the folliwing:

It NEVER pans out like the predictions.

2

This Scottish support is incredible. Apparently 4% of the Scottish population has travelled to Germany!

3

I’m shocked that France aren’t fairly large favorites. Mbappe is clearly the best player in the world, Griezmann has been great this year, central midfield just won the CL and their defense is as stacked as anyone in a decade.

4

So, I’ve finished work for this week, let’s see how my new favorite teams is fari… 0 - 2 already? Sheesh.

5

I think it might be because they have a fairly difficult route to the final. The analysis is not the same as “which is the best team”.

6

Yes, that’s fair. I haven’t looked at groups or likely knock out rounds.

Also, I said the central midfield just won the CL, but RM’s best midfield is German so that gives them more credit than deserved.

7

IMO that’s an illegal penalty kick; Havertz stopped.

Been walking a thin line on that for years, but I think he crossed it.

8

Robert Lewandowski has done this all the 387 times or so he shot a penalty, and never was called on it.

9

Coming off the line never used to be called either. Take a look at the 2005 (?) UCL final where dudek is halfway to the spot before the ball is kicked. This just seemed worse than normal.

10

But this has changed with VAR. It has been called much more often since its installation.

11

From the rules (the pertinent point is the final one but thought I’d post the whole section):

If, before the ball is in play, one of the following occurs:

  • the player taking the penalty kick or a team-mate offends:
    • if the ball enters the goal, the kick is retaken
    • if the ball does not enter the goal, the referee stops play and restarts with an indirect free kick
      except for the following when play will be stopped and restarted with an indirect free kick, regardless of whether or not a goal is scored:
    • a penalty kick is kicked backwards
    • a team-mate of the identified kicker takes the kick; the referee cautions the player who took the kick
    • feinting to kick the ball once the kicker has completed the run-up (feinting in the run-up is permitted); the referee cautions the kicker
12

You know, I may have misunderstood the rule. Huh. I thought you couldn’t stutter at all, not just the end.

I think that still happens, just not in this case.

13

I’ve got a feeling they changed the rule, but not sure.

Scotland couldn’t play though Germany’s press and high intensity in the first half. The German’s have backed off a little now as the game is won, but can see another couple being scored here.

14

Yeah, and Füllkrug scores. With that, four German forwards have scored, now it’s Sané’s turn.

15

Dude have some mercy on the poor Scots!

16

Fuck’s sake.

I cannot explain the extent of the purblind optimism that has gripped us as a nation over the last week. A constant barrage of one-eyed, blithely gallus anticipation that paid no mind to the facts that a) this is Germany were playing and b) ever since we qualified we’ve been defensively shonky.

A level of unrealism that evidently put a ludicrous level of expectation on the players, above and beyond playing the hosts in the opening match, in response to which they have, quite understandably, shat it.

…

That said, the comeback starts here.

…

Fuck’s sake

17

A short Google search seems to show that “continual forward motion” has suggested belief, but not sure where it came from.

18

Shades of Brazil 2014…

19

The most promising opening game in a tournament for Germany since 2006 (4-2 over Costa Rica). Sommermärchen revisited? At least it’s important for further support, after three disastrous tournaments in a row and many more embarrassing defeats, the relationship between the fans/general public and the national team had suffered a lot.

20

Germany’s recent struggles have been hard to explain for me because the talent has been there. Maybe not at the “tournament favorite” level, but as contenders.