2024 European Championship Group Stage Round 1

 Written by: Danny Albers 

The second biggest national tournament in soccer (first being the world cup), the European Championship is kicking off. The hosts Germany look to rebound from back-to-back rough showings in the last European Championship and the World Cup. Italy looks to repeat as champions with England, Spain, Switzerland, and Belgium posing as top contenders. There were a couple teams who got off to some rocky starts in their openers. Let’s break down the action from Round 1.  

Group A 

1. Germany VS Scotland

Result: Germany wins 5-1 (Germany: 1-0-0, 3 Points; Scotland: 0-1-0, 0 Points) 

Scotland had 1 shot on goal. They only had possession for 27% of the time. Germany, the host country, dominated this from start to finish in front of a wild home crowd. They had 20 shots on goal, 21 if you include the own goal in the 87th minute that gave Scotland their only goal. Florian Wirtz scored in the 10th minute for Germany to go up 1-0, and 9 minutes later, Jamal Muisala scored. Germany led 2-0. They weren’t done in the first half. Kai Havertz picked up a penalty shot in stoppage time which he converted, giving Germany a 3-0 lead at halftime. The second half was the same story. Niclas Füllkrug scored in the 68th minute, and Emre Can scored in the 93rd minute to cap off a German 5-1 victory. It gets worse for Scotland as Ryan Porteous picked up a red card and will miss the next game. 

2. Hungary VS Switzerland

 

Result: Switzerland wins 3-1 (Switzerland: 1-0-0, 3 Points; Hungary: 0-1-0, 0 Points) 

Switzerland jumped out all over Hungary in their opening match of the 2024 European Championship. Although the possession distribution was nearly 50-50, Switzerland did the most with their time. They had 6 corners and 15 shots with 7 of those shots being on target. Kwado Duah scored in the 12th minute, nearly jumping offsides to connect on a perfect pass. A stat was reported that there were 22 passes in the build up to that opening goal, which is the 3rd longest in Euro Cup history. In the 45th minute, Michel Aebischer scored to give Switzerland some distance, but Hungary would have a resurgence and fight back into the game. Barnabás Varga scored for Hungary in the 66th minute making it 2-1. Hungary would threaten the Swiss defense a couple times, but Switzerland held on until Breel Embolo found the back of the net 3 minutes into stoppage time. Switzerland went on to finish the game 3-1. Switzerland has now lost just once in their last 15 games. 

Group B 

1. Spain VS Croatia 

Result: Spain wins 3-0 (Spain: 1-0-0, 3 Points; Croatia: 0-1-0, 0 Points) 

Spain took advantage of their opportunities in this game, scoring 3 goals in the first half. Álvaro Morata scored in the 29th minute to go up 1-0. Only 3 minutes later, Fabián Ruiz scored to create separation. The half would end with Dani Carvajal scoring 2 minutes into stoppage time. Besides winning by 3 goals, Croatia stayed on the offensive. They out shot Spain 16-11, and won the possession battle 54%-46%. It only gets harder with Albania and Italy, but let's hope the underlying stats to this game call for a Croatian rebound. 

2. Italy VS Albania

 

Result: Italy wins 2-1 (Italy: 1-0-0, 3 Points; Albania: 0-1-0, 0 Points) 

A botched throw in on the 1st minute by Italy allowed Albanian midfielder Nedim Barjarami who stole the ball and tucked it past Italian goalie Gianluigi Donnarumma. The Albanian fans erupted, and drowned out the noise of the defending champions crowd. It’s rare that Italian soccer fans are silenced. But Italy proved why they are champions. They outshot Albania 17-8, and had possession 69% of the time. The Italians tied it up when they tapped a soft corner to Luca Pellegrini who crossed it to Alessandro Bastoni who put it away in the corner in the 11th minute. Italy got control of this game when off a rebound Nicolo Barella tapped in a goal in the 16th minute. Despite the loss to the defending champion, Albania has nothing to hang their heads on. I thought they played their hearts out to a wild fan base. 

Group C 

1. Serbia VS England 

Result: England wins 1-0 (England: 1-0-0, 3 Points; Serbia: 0-1-0, 0 Points) 

This probably isn’t the way English fans wanted to start the European Championship, but England still pulled out a tough win. There were only 11 shots on goal from both teams. Both teams' offenses died hard after Jude Bellingham scored the only goal of the game in the 13th minute. These types of slow inactive starts to games have become all too common for England in big national tournaments.  

2. Slovenia VS Denmark 

Result: Draw 1-1 (Denmark: 0-0-1, 1 Point; Slovenia: 0-0-1, 1 Point)

Slovenia pulled off some late game magic to steal a point and a win away from Denmark. Denmark star Christian Eriksen scored in the 17th minute. They spent the rest of the game trying to capitalize on rushes, but only getting 4 shots on target. This would allow Erik Janza to score in the 77th minute and send the Slovenian crowd into a frenzy. 

Group D 

1. Poland VS Netherlands

Result: Netherlands wins 2-1 (Netherlands: 1-0-0, 3 Points; Poland: 0-1-0, 0 Points)

Poland blew an excellent opportunity to get a point in a tough opening game with Netherlands. They’re in potentially the hardest group in the field. Adam Buksa scored in the 16th minute, giving Poland an early 1-0 lead. But on a botched clearing by the Polish defense, Cody Gakpo would get a great look on goal and he would score in the 29th minute to tie the game 1-1. The Dutch star power can generate offense fast, but even though they had 21 shots on goal they couldn’t create separation. It wasn’t until the 83rd minute when Wout Weghorst scored in the 83rd minute that Netherland took their first lead of the game 2-1. With France and Austria still on tap for Poland, this game will haunt them if they aren’t to get points in the next two games. 

2. Austria VS France

Result: France wins 1-0 (France: 1-0-0, 3 Points; Austria: 0-1-0, 0 Points) 

Kylian Mbappé broke his nose in the 85th minute after a foul by Konrad Laimer and exited the game. The Laimer foul led to a free kick which Kylian went for the header and fell right into the shoulder of an Austrian player. The French captain was immediately a bloody mess. France struggled in this game as Austria led the possession control. France attacked willingly with 14 shots on goal, and when it mattered their defense showed up. Despite Austria's possession percentage, they only had 6 shots on goal. France won this game on a deflection off Austrian defender Maximillian Wöber in the 38th minute. Kylian Mbappé still has yet to score in a European Championship game.   

Group E 

1. Romania VS Ukraine

Result: Romania wins 3-0 (Romania: 1-0-0, 3 Points; Ukraine: 0-1-0, 0 Points)

A dream start for the Romanians as they blew out Ukraine in front of a favorable crowd. Nicolae Stanciu started the action for Romania with a goal in the 29th minute giving Romania a 1-0 lead. In the second half, Romania turned up the pressure. Rãzvan Marin scored in the 53rd minute, and Denis Drǎguș scored in the 57th minute. Ukraine had possession for 72% and had 591 passes and 13 shots on goal. Romania just took advantage of their opportunities. 

2. Belgium VS Slovakia

Result: Slovakia wins 1-0 (Slovakia: 1-0-0, 3 Points; Belgium: 0-1-0, 0 Points) 

“The biggest upset in European Championship History!” Belgium is ranked 3rd in the Fifa Rankings as of today and Slovakia is ranked 48th. To Slovakia’s credit, they came out and punched Belgium in the mouth with a goal in the 7th minute. But they fought off Belgium’s attempts. Belgium scored twice in the 2nd half from Romelu Lukaku, but both goals were reversed when they were called off-sides. Belgium was on the attack for almost the entire game. But they failed to convert while staying on sides, and now need to beat Romania or Ukraine. They will be heavily favored in both those games. 

 

Group F 

1. Turkey VS Georgia

Result: Turkey wins 3-1 (Turkey: 1-0-0, 3 Points; Georgia: 0-1-0, 0 Points) 

This was an exciting game that saw a lot of shots on goal. Turkey’s pressure was incredible with 22 shots on goal, although their defense was a little weak. Mert Müldür kicked the scoring off for Turkey in the 25th minute by sending a rebound deflected off the Georgian defense right past the goaltender for a goal. Georgia would answer back 8 minutes later, scoring in the 32nd minute on a Georges Mikautadze goal. The second half would belong to Turkey. Arda Güler scored in the 65th minute, and Muhammed Kerem Aktükoğlu picked off a deflection for a break away 7 minutes into stoppage time and put the nail in the coffin for Turkey who jump out to a great start to the 2024 European Championship

2. Portugal VS Czechia 

Result: Portugal wins 2-1 (Portugal: 1-0-0, 3 Points; Czechia: 0-1-0, 0 Points)

The final game of round 1 of the group stage. Portugal got off to a slow star. They were clearly the more dominant team but failed to convert on opportunities. They out shot Czechia 19-5 and possessed the ball for 74% of the time. But when Czechia scored in the 62nd minute by a goal from Lukaš Provod. The crowd erupted, but 7 minutes later, Robin Hranáč would make a mistake leading to an own goal, and tying the game 1-1. It was until 2 minutes into stoppage time when Francisco Conceição would score the first official goal for Portugal and get them 3 points.