Tag Archives: EURO2016

Portugal won Euro 2016

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Portugal

The final of the European Football Championship in 2016 was played between the host nation France and Portugal. Portugal defeated Wales in the semi-finals while France knocked out reigning world champions Germany. France was slightly favorites for the win, thanks to the strong game against the Germans.

Cristiano Ronaldo injured

Expectations were high on Portugal’s big star, Cristiano Ronaldo. Already after approximately 20 minutes played, however, he got hit by a hard tackle to the knee. Ronaldo tried to play on, but had to leave the game, and the setback was a fact. If France were favorites before the game, they were even bigger favorites now. Portugal could not possibly  win the European Championship without their big star!

A tight game over 90 minutes

The game was fairly even. Both teams were disciplined in their defenses and quick in their passes France might have a certain advantage, but had difficulties to create to any clear scoring chances. The best chance they had was a shot that hit the inside of the post just before full-time. Had the ball been a few centimeters to the right, France had been the European champion today. That was not the case though.

Éder scored the deciding goal

The match went into extra time. The first quarter of was goalless. Five minutes into the second quarter Portugal’s substitute Éder got the ball outside the French penalty box. He shot a low right screw hard enough to find the net behind France’s goalkeeper. 1-0 Portugal, which was the end result: Portugal was the European Champions! A redemptive victory for a nation that used to have a golden generation that failed to go all the way in the major championships.

We summarize: Euro 2016

The European Championships 2016 has not offered the most beautiful gameplay we have seen: in fact, Portugal only won a single match after 90 minutes of play. However, there has been a championship where we have enjoyed smaller nations overachieving. Especially Iceland’s success when they reached the quarter-finals by knocking out England but also Wales advancement to the semifinal. Of course we Swedes are not satisfied with our national team not scoring a single goal (besides the own goal against Ireland) in the three group matches, but at the same time, we look forward to what the new generation of internationals can cause in qualifying for the World Cup in 2018 where we set against nations like the Netherlands and France. Before that, however, a football tournament is played during the Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil. The Football summer of 2016 is far from over!

Euro 2016: semifinals

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Soon, it is time to decide the winner of the European Football Championship in 2016. Four teams are still participating in the tournament though, and they will be reduced to two that will play in the final at Stade de France in Paris.

Wednesday, July 6: Portugal – Wales

Portugal has not won a match in the European Championships at full-time. The only game they have won by a deciding goal was the round of 16 against Croatia, through a late goal in the second overtime half. In the quarterfinal they got the worst possible start against Poland when the Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski scored 1-0 early. Portugal managed to score the equalizer though and the match went to penalties, where Ronaldo and his teammates managed to win. In the semifinal of the European Championship, Portugal will face Wales who eliminated Belgium with a 3-1 victory. Unexpectedly, according to many, but we think that Belgium has been the tournament’s most overrated team with a lot of individual talent but where it appeared early that they will not get the full effect of their squad. The question is if Wales can overcome the Portuguese defenses in the same way?

Thursday, July 7th: Germany – France

Germany played a defensive battle against Italy, owning much of the ball possession. Many of us thought that the game was decided when Mesut Ozil threw himself forward and put 1-0 to the Germans in the second half. However, penalties would be required even in this game. Italy got the 1-1 goal on a penalty shot. The penalty was preceded by a hand situation in the German defense area that looked a little funny. Looking at the situation again we see that the defender Jerome Boateng was in a struggle with an Italian attacker that fell. Then, Boateng raises his arms in the air to show that he had not done something against the rules, after which the ball hits one arm. During the shootout, many of the players missed. Finally, Germany could move on to the semifinals. There, the host nation France awaits after putting an end to Iceland’s success story in the 2016 European Championships. The French owned the game from start to finish and had a comfortable 4-0 lead after the first half. The match eventually ended 5-2 and we are impressed by Iceland’s efforts in the qualifiers, group stage and playoffs. Coach Lars Lagerbäck has managed to get the maximum out of his men and was hailed by the people’s cheers and one last giant volcano when they landed home on the island.

Who will win the semi-final then? We predict 2-1 Germany!

Brexit!

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The 2016 European Football Championships goes on. We have enjoyed some mixed action in the round of 16 and look forward to the quarterfinals. In this post you can read about the dates for the quarterfinals as well as summaries from the round of 16. If you want to read more Iceland’s success against England, scroll down!

Euro 2016 quarterfinals

June 30: Poland – Portugal

Poland had not let in a single goal during the group stage. They got the early lead against Switzerland in the first round of the knockout stage. However, The Swiss came back with an equalized and the game had to be decided by penalties were Poland came out on top.

Portugal played a tight defensive battle without many scoring chances against Croatia. This game could have gone to penalties as well, but Ricardo Quaresma blessed Cristiano Ronaldo and his team mates with a goal in the 117th minute.

July 1: Wales – Belgium

Wales did their duty against Northern Ireland. They managed to win 1-0 in what afterwards was described as the most boring game in the Euro 2016. Well, a victory is a victory, no matter how the entertainment was.

Belgium showed class late in the knockout game against Hungary, finally winning 3-0. They have a lot of talent in their squad but so far Belgium has delivered mixed performances.

July 2: Germany – Italy

Germany easily dismissed a pale Slovakian team 3-0. They are one of the favorites for winning the gold in the Euro 2016. The biggest obstacle might actually come already in the quarter final: Italy.

Italy managed to beat the current champions, Spain, 2-0. They keep playing a disciplined defensive game with lots of counterattacks. This match-up might actually be the “real” final between the two best teams among the eight that is still left in the tournament.

July 3: France – Iceland

France trailed for a long time against Ireland who got the early 1-0 lead in the first knockout round. However, Antoine Griezzmann once again stepped up when France needed him and scored two goals in the second half, sending the host nation to the next round.

The Fairy tale of this tournament is about an island. Not the British one though. Iceland is a small nation with 330 000 inhabitants. They have about 20 000 football players. In the round of 16 they were drawn against another island, with 53 million inhabitants, and over 40 000 registered football clubs: England, who claims they invented the sport! England got the best possible start of the game, with Wayne Rooney scoring on the penalty kick after just a few minutes of play. Now, many of us thought that Iceland’s journey in the Euro 2016 was over. After all, the small island managed to both qualify to the tournament and go through from the preliminary round.

The game was not more than 5 minutes old when Gylfi Sigurðsson scored the equalizer. But Iceland was not yet content. In the 18th minute of the first half, Kolbeinn Sigthorsson gave them the lead. 2-1 and England was clearly shaken. However, the game was still young.  Surely, England would come back from this? Iceland played as they have done the whole time under Swedish coach Lars Lagerbäck: A tight defensive game, and lots of running. They wore their opponents out, sometimes by playing rough. England failed to create any clear chances and the time went on. First half went into the second. Thirty minutes left became twenty. The Lions, although desperate looked more scared than fierce. The last minute of overtime was dramatic, with a last English corner kick for the tie. But they did not convert on it. Iceland won the game fair, 2-1, which has to be said to be one of the most sensational results of the European Championships ever.

English coach Roy Hodgson resigned immediately after the game. As a British newspaper stated, he should become the new prime minister since apparently he is an expert of guiding England out of Europe.

Euro 2016: Round of 16

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The group stage is over and some teams, including Sweden, have been eliminated from the European Football Championship. The tournament goes on however, and the play offs are starting this weekend. In this post are dates and schedule/fixtures for the Round of 16. The two branches of the play off tree is interesting to watch, with teams like Spain, Germany and Italy on the right. The left branch is considered a more easier journey to the final (left branch = four first matches below). However, if the group stage has taught us anything, it is that any team can beat anyone on a good day.

Schedule, Round of 16 of the European Football Championship 2016


June 25: Switzerland – Poland

Comment: Poland did not allow a single goal against in the group stage. The question is how Switzerland can penetrate the Polish defenses? Maybe this match will be decided on penalties?

June 25: Wales – Northern Ireland

Comment: British derby where Wales feels like the strongest candidate to reach the quarter-finals. They did an excellent group stage except for the last few minutes against the big brother of England.

June 25: Croatia – Portugal

Comment: Portugal barely made it to the playoffs. Croatia managed to beat the current European Champions Spain in the last match of the group. That makes the Croatians the favorite in this match-up.

June 26: France – Ireland

Comment: The host nation meets Ireland, who managed to beat Italy in the last match. Ireland’s game with high pressure can create trouble for the French. A sensational victory for the Greens?

June 26: Germany – Slovakia

Comment: Reigning world champions Germany should be able to outmaneuver Slovakia.

June 26: Hungary – Belgium

Comment: Belgium has not really came up to normal standard yet. Hungary scored three goals in Portugal in the last group match. Hard to predict a winner here, although Belgium is the better team on the paper.

June 27: Italy – Spain

Comment: A heavyweight match up early in the play offs. Neither team is particularly happy about getting such a tough opponents this early. Can Spain wear out the Italian defenses with their short passing and high ball possession?

June 27: England – Iceland

Comment: Lars Lagerbäck has never lost against England as a coach. Iceland has showed an incredible ability to survive the qualifiers and the group stage. Now they have everything to win against an England that has everything to lose. Will the Lions fall by penalties once again?

Euro 2016: Results from the group stage, round 1

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The UEFA European Football Championships are running and the first round of the group stage is finished. We have enjoyed some great football for a week and this post summarizes some of the highlights.

France 2-1 Romania

Comment: The opening match was a tight history. Olivier Giroud gave France the lead in the 57th minute just to see it be tied after a penalty shot 10 minutes later. However, Dimitri Payet blessed the host nation with a late goal and thereby securing the win for France.

Albania 0-1 Switzerland

Comment: Beforehand, much about this match-up were about the brothers, Granit Xhaka of Switzerland and Taulant Xhaka of Albania. After 90 minutes of play, we learnt that Granit was the harder one.

England 1-1 Russia

Comment: England control this match from the start. In minute 73 the Lions took the 1-0 lead and everything seemed to go as planned for Roy Hodgson’s men. However, at 90+2 minutes Russia tied the match unexpectedly.

Germany 2-0 Ukraine

Comment: 2014 FIFA World Cup champions Germany is one of the favourites for winning the Euro as well. They managed to get the win in the first game against Ukraine, but the score was 1-0 for a long time and Ukraine was close to tying it. Sebastian Schweinsteiger made a late appearance and made a brilliant goal, despite a troubled season in Manchester United.

Republic of Ireland 1-1 Sweden

Comment: The opening match was very important for both teams. In order to secure a spot as one of the best third placed teams, both Ireland and Sweden needed a win here since it was the easiest match in the group. The first half was pretty much a disaster from Sweden’s side, with unorganized and horrible play. Ireland had the best chances but did not manage to convert. In the second half they got the lead though. In fact, Ireland scored both goals in this match: Ciaran Clark scored an own goal with a brilliant header on a pass from Zlatan Ibrahimovic. 1-1 became the end result, and neither of the teams were particularly happy about it.

Belgium 0-2 Italy

Comment: Italy came to this tournament as underdogs and many had great expectations on Belgium. However, it was Italy who played the most creative game and they also got the fair win. They should be able to go far in this tournament and it will be interesting to see how Sweden are going to play against them in the next round.

Portugal 1-1 Iceland

Comment: Swedish coach Lars Lagerbäck’s Iceland did it again: they denied Cristiano Ronaldo any scoring! Although Portugal owned much of this game, Iceland still managed to tie the game by a goal from Birkir Bjarnasson in the 50th minute. Nani gave Portugal the lead twenty minutes before the equalizer.

Other matches:

Wales 2-1 Slovakia

Turkey 0-1 Croatia

Poland 1-0 Northern Ireland

Spain 1-0 Czech Republic

Austria 0-2 Hungary

What team will win Euro 2016?

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Fotbolls-EM

This post was written before the 2016 European Football Championships. Portugal won the tournament by defeating France in the final.

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Who will win the 2016 UEFA European Championships? In this you find groups and predictions. Many hold the host nation France as favourites to winning the tournament. Traditionally, the host nation usually go far in football / soccer tournaments. However, we think there are a number of nations that have more talented squads than France right now. FIFA World Cup 2014 winners Germany is a good bet. Spain and England are strong, but might be a bit more uncertain, especially when looking at their poor performances in the World Cup. If we are to pick an outsider as a winner, it would be Austria. They made an excellent qualifier, clearly winning their group before Sweden and Russia.

Groups in Euro 2016

The group stage is decided June 10 – 22. After that, the first and second placed teams together with the four best third placed teams are going through to the knockout phase which starts with round of 16 June 25 – 27. The winners advances to the quarterfinals which are decided June 30 – July 3. Semifinals are played July 6-7 and the final, July 10.


Group A:

France
Romania
Albania
Switzerland

Comment: From this group we believe that France and Switzerland will advance.

Group B:

England
Russia
Wales
Slovakia

Comment: England and Russia will be at the top of the group, while Slovakia gets some important points against Wales that will ensure they get a spot in the Round of 16.

Group C:

Germany
Ukraine
Poland
Northern Ireland

Comment: Germany will annect Poland, and together they will advance to the play offs.

Group D:

Spain
Czech Republic
Turkey
Croatia

Comment: Tough group where Spain should be on top. We also think Croatia will go through from group D.

Group E:

Belgium
Italy
Ireland
Sweden

Comment: Italy and Belgium will be Sweden’s toughest opponents. Hopefully we will manage to win against Ireland and reach the round of 16.

Group F:

Portugal
Iceland
Austria
Hungary

Comment: Portugal and Austria should be able to pull through. Although you never know with coach Lars Lagerbäcks Iceland. They eliminated Netherlands from the qualifiers, so anything can happen!

We look forward to the (super)sports year 2016

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In an earlier post we summarized the sports year 2015. I this post we look forward to the biggest events of 2016. Immediately we can sort out a top three list with European football championships in France, Summer Olympics in Brazil and World Cup of Hockey in Canada. On top of that, all the usual yearly events will entertain us between the major happenings.

Tour de Ski

Tour de Ski is the first milestone of 2016. January 1-10 the best skiers of the world will battle for gold and glory in a series of events which ends with a climb up a downhill slope. In the nordic skiing events so far this season, the Norwegian skiers have dominated the tracks. However, in Sweden we hope that Charlotte Kalla will be able to challenge Therese Johaug, Heidi Weng and the other competitors.

Längdskidor

More info: FIS Ski

IIHF World Championships in Russia

The World Championships of Hockey are always fun to watch. It gets even more interesting when the tournament is set in a big hockey nation. Last year, Canada won by defeating Russia in the final. This year, the Russians want to use the home field advantage to retake the throne and win the gold. We hope for a high quality tournament in which many players want to show their best skills in order to gain a spot in the World Cup in september-october. The IIHF World Championships 2016 are played May 6-22.

Tre Kronor2

UEFA Euro 2016 in France

June 10 – July 10 the biggest football event of the year is held in France. 24 European nations are battling for going all the way to the final. After exciting qualifiers we look forward to a tournament of good quality. Sweden managed to reach the Euro 2016 by defeating Denmark in the play offs. Team captain Zlatan Ibrahimoivc must now find ways to score against tougher opposition, in the group phase they are drawn against Belgium, Ireland and Italy.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

More info: UEFA

Summer Olympics in Brazil

The summer olympics are always a special event. This year they are held in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. We look forward to seeing more duels like the ones in the 2015 IIAF World Champions in Beijing 2015. Will Mo Farah and Usain Bolt continue to dominate or is it time for a new generation of athletes to challenge the masters? August 5-21 over 10500 athletes from more than 200 countries will fight for the medals.

More info: Official homepage

World Cup of Hockey in Canada

The biggest hockey event of the year is held in Canada September 17 – October 1. The World Cup of Hockey 2016 might be one of the greatest international competition in modern time. The last time it was held was in 2004 and 1996. Before then, the tournament was known as Canada Cup. The World Cup is held early in the season and all the best players will participate. Also, two wildcard teams, consisting of young, North American players and a mix of European players from the “lesser” hockey nations, will challenge the established “big six”.

World Cup of Hockey 2016

More info: NHL.com

World Juniors in Canada

The finale of the sports- and hockey year 2016 is held in Canada when the World Juniors 2017 begins. It is aways fun to watch a hockey tournament held in the home land of the sport, although Canada always make sure they gain every possible advantage at home. However, the 2015-16 edition of the tournament in Finland is still underway and we will follow the play offs as the world’s best junior hockey players are battling for the gold. Later, we will post the schedule for the 2017 World Juniors.

World Juniors

Stay tuned and follow us as we progress through the super sports year 2016!

Euro 2016: groups, schedule and predictions

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UEFA

The 2016 UEFA European Championships in France are decided June 10 – July 10. In this post you will find the group draw with comments, match schedule and odds + predictions. The two best placed teams from every group together with the four best third placed teams goes through to the playoffs.

Groups:

Group A:

France
Romania
Albania
Switzerland

Comment: Home Nation France received a favorable draw. They will win the group and bring Switzerland with them to the playoffs!

Group B:

England
Russia
Wales
Slovakia

Comment: We are looking forward watching the derby between England and Wales. Perhaps two British teams are heading for the playoffs?

Group C:

Germany
Ukraine
Poland
Northern Ireland

Comment: World Cup 2014 winners Germany will win group C and Poland grabs the second place.

Group D:

Spain
Czech Republic
Turkey
Croatia

Comment: Spain failed in the World Cup 2014 and their dynasty was roughed in its edges. In the Euro 2016 they will probably do better. However, group D is a tight history with four good teams. Any team from this group can reach the playoffs.

Group E:

Belgium
Italy
Ireland
Sweden

Comment: Sweden got a quite ok draw. The toughest teams like Spain and Germany were avoided from seeding group one. However, Italy from seeding group two will be a hard nut to crack for coach Erik Hamrén. We still remember Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s goal against Italy in the 2004 Euro. 2-2 against Belgium and the spaghettis are out? 🙂

Group F:

Portugal
Iceland
Austria
Hungary

Comment: In group F we look forward to following Lars Lagerbäck and Iceland. Some would write Cristian Ronaldo’s Portugal as favourites here, but we will raise a warning for both Iceland and Austria.

Schedule:

June 10 – June 22: Group stage

June 25 – 27: Round of 16
June 30 – July 3: Quarterfinals
July 6 – 7: Semifinals
July 10: Final

Betting tips:

  • As we mentioned above, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on Austria. It was no coincidence that they won their qualifying group with a large margin.
  • Many great nations (England, Spain, Holland) has not reached normal capacity the last two years. It opens for other teams. Especially in the group “of death” D.
  • More nations are starting to get championship experience. Switzerland and Belgium among others.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic retired Denmark

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic

The battle between nordic rivals Sweden and Denmark in the Euro 2016 qualifiers playoffs was judged to be a tough fight beforehand. Much of the talk in media was about Swedish superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic and if he still had what it takes to be the decisive force in important matches. After two matches were played, Zlatan had done three goals.

 

Zlatan retired Denmark

Time for retirement, a Danish newspaper wrote beforehand. “I retired the entire Danish team”, Zlatan answered after the playoffs were over. Sweden qualified to the 2016 European Championships in France next summer. In the first match at home, Sweden were dominating the field for a long time. After 50 minutes of play, they had a 2-0 lead after goals by Emil Forsberg and Zlatan Ibrahimovic (penalty shot). Denmark came back though and scored the important 1-2 away goal.

In the return meeting, Denmark had an overall 60-40 advantage in ball possession the entire match, but failed to create much in their offense. Sweden at the other hand, had Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Denmark failed to convert on 7 attempts, Sweden just needed 1, on a corner. Zlatan broke free from his defender and scored 1-0 with an elegant wrister. 2-0 came in the second half. It was a free kick of superior quality and perfection. Zlatan one again silenced the opposition and Sweden get to enjoy another warm summer with a football championship.

24 teams in the 2016 European Championships

In the other playoffs, Ukraine eliminated Slovenia, Ireland Bosnia-Hercegovina and Hungary Norway. That gives us the following teams in the 2016 European Championships:

France (host)
Albania
Belgium
England
Ireland
Iceland
Italy
Croatia
Northern Ireland
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Switzerland
Slovakia
Spain
Sweden
Czech Republic
Turkey
Germany
Ukraine
Hungary
Wales
Austria

The group draw will take place in France, December 12. We will return with a full report of the groups with odds and predictions.

Euro 2016 playoffs: Sweden got the odd goal win against Denmark

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The first leg of the playoffs for Euro 2016 in France has been played. The Nordic battle between Sweden and Denmark was played at Friends Arena, Stockholm. The players wore black armbands in order to honor the victims of the cowardly terror attacks in Paris last night. Both teams started the match in a good phase and we got to see some offensive football. After 15 minutes of play, Denmark had 63% ball possession against Sweden’s 37% but they never created any clear scoring chances. Instead, Sweden got a number of good shots. Marcus Berg missed three attempts the first 30 minutes. The ball possession evened out as the first half progressed. Zlatan Ibrahimovic almost gave Sweden the go ahead goal after a quick counter-attack, but just missed the net.

Forsberg scored the first goal

Slightly before the first half ended, Emil Forsberg scored 1-0 Sweden after some nice plays by Jimmy Durmaz and Mikael Lustig. The first half ended with a free kick by Ibrahimovic that Kasper Smeichel, son of former Danish goalkeeper Peter Smeichel, managed to save.

Sweden got a dream start of the second half. After a few minutes of play Emil Forsberg were one again a part of the action. This time he got tripped in the penalty area and the referees decision was a penalty kick. Ibrahimovic made no mistake from the penalty spot and the score was 2-0 Sweden after about 50 minutes of play. However, now Denmark began to play with higher pressure. Sweden lost their offensive play and had to focus on defense. In fact, the larger part of the second half was dominated by Denmark. In the 80th minutes Nicolai Jörgensen scored 1-2 after a corner kick. That might be a very important goal for Denmark. If they win by 1-0 in the second leg, November 17th at Parken, Copenhagen, they will advance to the 2016 European Championships in France. This battle is still open for grabs…

Results, playoffs Euro 2016

Norway 0-1 Hungary
Ukraine 2-0 Slovenia
Ireland 1-1 Bosnia-Hercegovina
Sweden 2-1 Denmark

A tough result for Norway who was to go down to Hungary and score two goals. Ukraine should be able to qualify to the Euro 2016 while the other two games are as open as they get…