“They walk into Wembley as the sporting god’s intended it. Spirit lifting frenzy, stomach churning fear. Thrill competes with jeopardy – beyond this for England or Denmark, the ultimate game or nothing. A semifinal underpinned by a gripping narrative with an energizing edge.”   An introduction worth its weight in gold and fit for any…

Gareth Southgate stood in awe of the excellence that was on show in Rome for the quarter-final tie against Ukraine. The culmination of steel and flair was on show for all to see in the Italian capital, and the English ascendancy was dominant throughout the match.   It took less than 5 minutes for England…

First off, it would be appropriate to finally bury the common narrative that this Danish team has made it this far into the Euros as a response to the Eriksen situation. Apart from being almost cynical in nature, that argument does Kasper Hjulmand’s side a huge disservice. Denmark are very, very good.   They overcame…

Now that’s what I call tournament football. Apologies at a risk of sounding like the cheesy advert of the NOW! Series in the UK that compiles chart music, but I am still recovering from that high-octane thriller that was Belgium-Italy.   We have been completely and utterly spoilt with the rambunctious, nutty football this tournament…

In the early hours of the evening in St Petersburg, the Spanish and last 16 shocks of the tournament Switzerland faced off at the Krestovsky stadium for the quarter-final, in another action-packed match of Euro 2020. This fixture, already played 2 within the last year, were both cagey affairs, and both started off and remained…

It’s coming home!  Probably.  Maybe.  England will at least be final bound, right?    Who knows. But what we do know is that England finally have beaten Germany in a knockout stage of a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup, failing to do so four times since then (1970, 1990, 1996, 2010). The first…

Just nine years ago, in June 2012, Ukraine played their first-ever game at a European Championships. Today, against the same opposition, Andriy Shevchenko’s men played only their tenth. Remarkably, of those ten games, Ukraine have won just three, with two of those coming against Sweden. Yet, Tuesday’s dramatic extra-time triumph over their favourite Scandinavian opponents, coupled…

Unai Simón’s redemption following a horrific goalkeeping error, ‘game over’ gloats turn gulps of fear in the wake of an extraordinary comeback, Álvaro Morata muting the doubters when it mattered and Dani Olmo being the difference against the country where he broke through. Spain may have won this game, but even in celebration, they will…

“Football, bloody hell.” It seems the most appropriate quote to apply to a game that manipulated with narratives, endings, villains and heroes all within 2 hours of football. The beginnings of a fairytale, the overpowered antagonists coming into the fray but back comes the plucky underdogs to win it all. An Oscar-winning motion picture was…

“He knows why he is here and this is the most important thing,” Netherlands head coach Frank de Boer said of Denzel Dumfries ahead of his nation’s last sixteen clash against the Czech Republic. “He will read about it; he will hear about it but I’m not scared he will do strange things because of…