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…

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…

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…

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…

France have entered EURO 2020 as overwhelming favorites for the trophy, and if Tuesday was an appetizer for what’s to come from them, expect to be served the grandest of main courses in approximately a month. They, alongside Germany, Portugal and Hungary make up what most have been quick to label the Group of Death,…

In a tepid tie between two sides that began the match with an average age of 25.1 for Spain and 29.6 for Sweden, it was players aged 18 and 21 that shone by far brightest for their respective sides. For Spain it was the next in a long line of midfield maestros, Pedri, and for…

Four days into the tournament is all it took to wrap up the goal of the tournament award. It’s a safe bet to assume no strike is topping Patrik Schick’s second goal in Czech Republic’s 2-0 victory over Scotland.    The Scots were the brighter team from the off, creating a number of chances primarily…

“The look on Polish faces tells the story,” ITV Sport commentator Sam Matterface remarked at full-time in St. Petersburg. “They lost the first game of their World Cup campaign three years ago and it set the tone for what would be a very difficult tournament for them. They hoped to avoid that disappointment this time…

As the Dutch national anthem rang out in front of the 16,000 fans packed inside the iconic Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam for the Onsoranje first match of Euro 2020, both Ronald De Boer’s men and Ukrainian legend Andriy Shevchenko’s Ukraine side did not disappoint in a 5 goal thriller. The action started right from…