The knockout round is set! Let’s take a look at some of the games that got us there.
Group A
Finland vs. Switzerland (1-1)
Switzerland only needed a draw to advance to the knockout rounds and going into the match it felt like they had the momentum to do it. Something I’ve liked about this Swiss team is that they’ve come out swinging in every match. Against Finland they had more momentum, shots taken, and non-penalty xG but they were trying to be too cute with it. There were a couple of chances where it felt like if they had toned it down on the flair they may have scored. Unfortunately these opportunities passed them by and late in the second half they gave up an obvious penalty which Natalia Kuikka converted. It was feeling like Switzerland had fumbled the bag until Géraldine Reuteler found the substitute Riola Xhemaili for the equalizer. They maintained the draw for the last few minutes of stoppage time, and with that goal the Swiss made history securing their place in the knockout round of a Euros for the first time. Great vibes around the host nation.
Group B
Italy vs. Spain (1-3)
Spain heavily rotated their squad to go up against Italy in their last group stage match. It felt like maybe that was a mistake when Italy opened the scoring in the 10th minute. They quickly regained control of the game, equalizing only a few minutes later. After that it felt like Italy couldn’t get their footing in the game and weren’t able to get into their attacking third. Goals from Patri Guijarro and Esther González in the second half and stoppage time, respectively, put this game fully out of Italy’s reach.
Group C
Sweden vs. Germany (4-1)
This match was giving serious After Dark energy. The two powerhouses faced each other on the final day of the group stage to see who would claim the top spot. Sweden only needed a draw to maintain first place, while Germany needed to win.
Germany seemed off to a promising start when Jule Brand scored in the 7th minute, assisted by Carlotta Wamser. However, the theme of the first 30 minutes of this game seemed to be both teams saying “who needs defense?” but the real answer was both of them did. The game was extremely open with both teams tracking runners poorly, giving up balls in the midfield, leaving acres of space; it was end-to-end action. Sweden’s Stina Blackstenius equalized in the 12th minute, and Smilla Holmberg scored a strange goal in the 25th. The tides of the game changed drastically when Wamser suddenly decided she was playing volleyball instead of football, and batted a Swedish player’s shot away with both hands. This Denial Of a Goal-Scoring Opportunity resulted in her being sent off with a red card and a penalty for Sweden. Fridolina Rolfö converted Sweden’s third goal before the half.
Down to 10 players for the rest of the game, Germany had to sit back and defend. Save for a couple of moments, they weren’t able to get forward. Substitute Lina Hurtig notched another goal for Sweden in the 80th, propelling them comfortably to their first win over Germany in a Euros, and handing Germany their most significant loss in a Euros.
Poland vs. Denmark (3-2)
I didn’t watch this match, but I wanted to take a moment to recognize Poland. They were debutants in this tournament and in their final game they scored three goals and earned three points. Natalia Padilla scored Poland’s first ever goal in a Euros and earned the assist on the other two goals. Ewa Pajor scored the second and it only feels right that their top goal scorer and advocate for the growth of the game in Poland leave her own mark on the tournament.
Group D
Netherlands vs. France (2-5)
I watched the replay of this game, so admittedly I wasn’t paying quite as much attention as when I’m watching a game unfold live. I was standing in line at a book signing watching the goals roll in on FotMob when the first half was originally airing, and I felt profound disbelief that France might get grouped by the Netherlands. However, by the time I popped out on the other end of the line and checked again I could only laugh when I saw that France had completely turned things around. Watching it back, it was pretty back and forth through the first half. The own goal given up by Selma Bacha was unfortunate. In the second half, it was all France. Delphine Cascarino’s first goal was just…
I don’t know if anything else really needs to be said.
Outside of their opening victory against Wales, the Dutch have been a bit disappointing. They’re a squad that’s been struggling to find its footing and keep their best players healthy all at the same time. Even in this tournament, both Danielle van de Donk and Vivianne Miedema were unavailable at times after the first match. This was the last match for Head Coach Andries Jonker, who players seemed to be openly criticizing in the media, so hopefully the incoming coach can set the Dutch on the right path.
With that the group stage comes to a close! This week the top two teams from each group will be moving on to the knockout round.
Despite not topping the group, England appears to be in a good position to make it to the finals as long as they can get past Sweden. The other half of the bracket is tough. Sweden vs. England and France vs. Germany will be the spiciest quarterfinal matchups, but I don’t think that an Italy victory over Norway is out of the realm of possibility. Honestly, I hope for that. We’ll just have to wait and see!