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Tactical Analysis: Sweden vs. Slovakia
As the camera panned to Swedish fans on the 40th minute, they were seen enjoying a couple of beers in the stadium in the manner of which one watches a cricket game, a stop-start sport attended more for its ´day out feel rather than the games themselves, well at least the fans were having a…
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Eric Cantona’s Trials and Tribulations at Montpellier
Eric Cantona was an enigma. He was one of the few footballers who embraced the essence of being ‘crazy’ and revelled in his image of being a ‘rebel’. Because of his actions, Cantona acquired the tag of being a ‘journeyman’ who changed clubs as a result of his longing for a place which he could…
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Tactical Analysis: Netherlands vs. Austria
Between Austria’s 11 starters for their match at the Johan Cruyff Arena, they had just 23 league goals between them. The Netherlands meanwhile, had 42 goals between Memphis Depay and Wout Weghorst alone. This stat is perhaps the best summary of Thursday evening’s game in group B. Though Franco Foda’s Austrian side pressed high…
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Tactical Analysis: Denmark vs. Belgium
As the Parken Stadium roared on its Danish heroes at the sound of the national anthem, the events in Copenhagen were marked by the overwhelming train of events that occurred over their talisman Christian Eriksen. A huge choreograph of the Danish shirt commemorating the Nerazzurri midfielder was on show and the adrenaline and sense of…
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Tactical Analysis: Ukraine vs. North Macedonia
With both teams fresh off tasting defeat in their first game of Euro 2020, there was much to play for in this encounter in Group C. Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk became the first ever duo to both score in each of their side’s opening two matches at a single European Championship, having both found…
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Canada’s Mission Octagon
John Herdman’s men are laser-focused on their mission: “take us to the octagon” as the Canucks “host” Haiti in Chicago for the final leg of the second round. Canada’s pursuit of a World Cup berth continues when they take on 83rd-ranked Haiti, the 11th strongest team in CONCACAF. The two sides squared off in…
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Tactical Analysis: Finland vs. Russia
Zenit’s Krestovsky Stadium bore witness to one of Europe’s many “Rye Bread Derbies”, this time, a showdown with historical precedent, Finland vs Russia. Despite Finland being the ones with momentum on their side, the consensus was that this 90 minutes would follow the dynamics of the Winter War of 1939-1940, where a superior Russia would…
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Tactical Analysis: Italy vs. Switzerland
Before a ball had been kicked, EURO 2020 looked like it could be a tournament for the dark horses. Yet, on a day when a heavily-tipped Turkish side were seemingly written off for good, it was another of the more serious outsiders who really underlined their evermore genuine aspirations to go on and win the…
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Tactical Analysis: Turkey vs. Wales
Within 15 minutes of the first matchup between Turkey and Wales since 1997, the tone had been set. Burak Yilmaz eagerly pressed the Welsh defence, only to see his teammates fail to join him. His scream of fury summarised Turkey perfectly; promising, but incoherent. Wales were on top of their opponents throughout the opening…
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Tactical Analysis: Hungary vs. Portugal
A rare sight in these recent Covid times, the Ferenc Pukas stadium in Budapest saw over 60,000 vociferous Hungarians in attendance, the only venue to be allowed at full capacity during the tournament. However, Portugal grabbed a vital win with three goals in the final ten minutes as Cristiano Ronaldo became the European Championships all-time…









