The matches of the 1/4 Championship UEFA EURO 2020™
begin ?The national teams of Switzerland and Spain will meet on one field, and Belgium and Italy will meet on the other.
Who will advance to the semifinals? ?#EURO2020 #ToBeautifulMoments #vivoSuperTime pic.twitter.com/FPFvqlwcPs
— #vivoSuperTime (@Vivomobile_SA) July 2, 2021
It feels like years… but it’s been three days… ??
The #Euro2020 quarter-finals are here! ??#SWI v #ESP#BEL v #ITA #bbceuro2020
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 2, 2021
Playing at the St. Petersburg Stadium, which I assume means there will be mordant humor on Russian expat twitter. Spain seems to be the favorite, but as ever, what do I know?
?? Spain’s stand-out performer at EURO 2020 so far? ?#EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/xnGikRUhcV
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) July 1, 2021
Omnes Omnibus
Switzerland and Belgium.
Gin & Tonic
@Omnes Omnibus: Bold.
Tony Jay
Home.
Couch.
Football.
This is the life.
Reckon Switzerland might do this. Spain have been free scoring recently but the Swiss don’t care, they’ll just score right back.
If Belgium play the way they can they’ll edge past Italy, but any of that drop-off we witnessed in earlier games and the Italians could run riot. I’d like this great Belgian side to progress, but my withers say Italy.
And with that Spain get lucky ducky.
L85NJGT
Jack Black and Kyle Gass bringing the Tenacious D.
raven
Cool I let it slip my feeble mind.
Amir Khalid
1-0 to Spain. I confess to a slight preference for Liverpool forward Xherdan Shaqiri’s team, Switzerland.
Tony Jay
@Amir Khalid:
The Power Cube contains within him
the capacity for sublime moments of skill. Fingers crossed he gets to prove that in this game.
burnspbesq
Swiss struggling to create opportunities from open play, but they look dangerous on corners.
Mo Salad
@Amir Khalid:
Especially when Spain keeps Thiago on the bench. What the shit, Spain? Don’t you like long, accurate, defense-busting passes? Oh, right, you’d rather complete 1,000 short passes.
Amir Khalid
@Tony Jay:
Side question: I don’t understand the hostility that Rafa Benitez is getting from some Evertonians. They’re getting a great manager, and a guy who really loves the city and people of Liverpool. Football people have crossed between red and blue before, why pick on him?
Lacuna Synecdoche
BBC Sport via Anne Laurie @ Top:
Isn’t that just another way of saying, “It feels like watching a soccer match”?
Tony Jay
@Amir Khalid:
They aren’t nicknamed ‘The Bitters’ for nothing. Rafa managed Liverpool, won the Champions League and almost won the Premier League (both things that Everton have yet to approach being near to being capable of getting close to thinking of doing at some hypothetical point in the future) and he once called them a small club.
That said, I give it a year and a successful FA Cup campaign and the same cacophony of stumpy-necked, eyebrowless waaaaaahstronauts who are loudest in opposing Rafa’s reign will be stamping their cloven feet and insisting that ‘the Redshite’ are just jealous that “Our Benny*” is so successful at The People’s Club.
Most Everton fans won’t give a shit though. They just want to compete, play good football and get into Europe. Rafa can offer them all that, and he’ll wear blue socks too.
*because they won’t want to call him ‘Rafa’.
Tony Jay
@Lacuna Synecdoche:
Don’t make me explain the problems with the modern offside rule, Ma’am. You wouldn’t like me when I explain the problems with the modern offside rule.
Tony Jay
Power Cube with the finish!!!!
Switzerland 1-1 Spai
That was a Spanish fuck-up, but the Swiss still needed a calm head to take advantage of it.
Lacuna Synecdoche
@Tony Jay:
Heh.
P.S.: I’m a Sir, not a Ma’am.
Amir Khalid
Shaqiri scores for Switzerland! 1-1!
Leto
@Tony Jay: The Swiss are effectively finding the lanes exposing Spain’s back line. They’re scrappy and committed.
Tony Jay
@Lacuna Synecdoche:
Yessir, while I am a meat popsicle!
burnspbesq
@Tony Jay:
Bingo. We have enough talent to be a Europa League side (and an absurd amount of talent coming up through the youth system), but have underachieved massively. Whoever can get us there will become a saint.
Leto
@Tony Jay: Leloo Multipass!
Spain looks good when they’re moving it quickly and with diagonal passes/runs. Those slashing runs are proving dangerous.
Leto
Red… oh man; studs up through the shins… ugh
Tony Jay
@Leto:
They just don’t give up. Defend in numbers and work, work, work.
The Spanish will flapping a bit now. Every time they miss a chance they’ll get a little more nervous.
Oh, but now the referee does his bit to help them out.
burnspbesq
Michael Oliver inserts himself into the proceedings, and Switzerland are well and truly rogered.
Tony Jay
@burnspbesq:
Zaktly. Rafa will be rubbing his pudgy little hands. Back in the ‘Pool with toys to play with and a bit of cash to flash.
Game on. Look forward to you finishing 2nd.
Amir Khalid
Damn. Red card for Remo Freuler. The Swiss are down to 10 players.
burnspbesq
Switzerland takes out any semblance of creativity. The strategy is clear.
Tony Jay
@Leto:
I foresee a looooong period of Spanish pressure and a mammoth Swiss defence leading (probably) to penalties.
burnspbesq
@Tony Jay:
Third. I don’t think we’re catching City or Chelsea any time soon.
burnspbesq
Some really sloppy play from Spain. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory is not out of the question.
Leto
@Tony Jay: I’m hoping; Swiss shouldn’t go out like this. But they’re still looking dangerous with 10.
Tony Jay
@burnspbesq:
And I surely didn’t foresee finishing behind United this season. It’s Football. Very odd things can happen.
Though I think 4th would be just fine. It was our ambition from March onwards, after all.
Tony Jay
@Leto:
Be hilarious if they nicked it at the death, but pens are more likely.
Amir Khalid
Shaqiri’s the last player I’d sub off in this situation, if I were Switzerland. they need his offensive threat.
Amir Khalid
Extra time.This is going to be close, I thinks.
Tony Jay
@Amir Khalid:
It is odd. You want someone on the pitch who can both see and deliver the killer pass out of defence. Shaq can do that, but not from the bench.
What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?
@burnspbesq: I dunno. Seemed like a legit red card to me if the play in the Sweden game warranted one. I confess to not being all that much of an expert in what warrants an immediate red card…I had my ankle badly sprained in a bang-bang play that was at least as egregious as either of the plays that got red cards in this game. I got to the ball first and booted it and while my kicking leg was still up in the air the guy from the other team going for the ball crashed into my planted leg and caused the ankle to roll over real bad. He never got a piece of the ball (both the Sweden player and the Swiss guy did) just more than a piece of me. The refs didn’t even call a foul much less give a card. That was in US high school soccer in the 1980s though…the refs were pretty clueless.
burnspbesq
@What Have the Romans Ever Done for Us?:
I have a defensive player’s mind-set. I wouldn’t have given either of those. The defensive player is (or should be) allowed to play the ball, and a certain amount of incidental contact is just part of the game.
Of course, I grew up playing basketball and lacrosse, which are unapologetically contact sports.
Leto
Swiss keep and defense are keeping them in this as their midfield/forwards have essentially disappeared. Hope they can keep doing this for the next 20 mins.
burnspbesq
HUGE save by Sommer.
burnspbesq
OTOH, running into the keeper like that, with no attempt to play the ball, should be a red all day every day.
Leto
(WaPo) Olivia Moultrie, 15, becomes NWSL’s youngest player after suing the league to play
Freddy Adu 2.0? Per the article, MLS doesn’t have a minimum age requirement but most of the rest of the leagues do. Personally I think it’s for good reason as the graveyard of “promising young person” is far and wide.
Leto
And PKs. Whelp, here it is.
Steeplejack
Damn, Switzerland got it to PKs. That’s at least a moral victory, playing a man down.
Tony Jay
Here we go. Pens
Busquets hits the post!
Leto
And Biscuits misses the first one trying to be cute. Jackass.
Roger Moore
@Lacuna Synecdoche:
You’re thinking of a cricket match.
Steeplejack
D’oh! Great start for Spain. ?
Tony Jay
1-1
Second Swiss pen saved!
Tony Jay
Spain miss again!
Leto
@Roger Moore: So many people will talk about how exciting a four hour, 1-0 baseball game was. I’m like, gtfo of here with how soccer is boring.
And the Swiss miss the second! And Sommers saves the third! OMG
Steeplejack
?
Tony Jay
Swiss miss!
Leto
OMG… STOP WITH THE RINKY DINK FUCKING CUTESY RUN UPS!
Steeplejack
Damn! I don’t think I’ve ever seen this many blocked PKs.
Tony Jay
Spain ahead
Leto
Spain score the fourth with it just going over Sommer’s hand; see? Power!
gratuitous
Switzerland’s goalkeeper has been unconscious. But Spain’s goalie is equal to the task. Nerve-wracking.
Leto
And Vargas has secured his NFL place kicker spot on the LV Raider’s roster….
Tony Jay
Good God what an awful Swiss pen.
Spain just need to score
And they do.
All that effort to get to pens with 10 men and then it’s wasted with that many misses.
Steeplejack
@Steeplejack:
Make that blocked and missed.
Leto
@Tony Jay: Italy 1994; and Spain put it away. Oh man. Pour a hot chocolate out tonight for the Swiss. GG lads.
Tony Jay
I don’t think either Belgium or Italy will be at all worried about meeting Spain.
TomatoQueen
Remarkable. And give me back my Rafa (TOON sobs hysterically) just as soon as he positions himself to take over a proper club again, once we’re sold, like.
Amir Khalid
Ah well. The Swiss are out on penalties, but for two hours they played like heroes.
Amir Khalid
@TomatoQueen:
It’s amazing that some Evertonians don’t want him just because he used to manage Liverpool.
billcinsd
@Leto: The MLs at least used to have a must have finished high school rule. Adu finished HS before he went to the MLS
JML
@Tony Jay: not if Spain plays like this. They got lucky in pens, played with little intent after the Swiss went down a man, and seemed to have very few ideas. Spain makes a lot of passes with little intent. If Spain walks away feeling anything other than sheer relief at escaping, then they’re going to get spanked in the next game.
TomatoQueen
@Amir Khalid:
Snickering at the notion of Evertonian disdain. They do pull their skirts in.
Morzer
@JML: What, tiki-taka is a pointless exercise in keeping the ball and doing nowt wi’it? Thou dost astound me!
Looks like an England-Italy final to me, but I’ve probably just guaranteed that Ukraine will lift the trophy by saying so….