Round Ball Australia 
Euro 2024 Matchday One. Design: Round Ball Australia
The first matchday at Euro 2024 – as for any major tournament – lays the groundwork and context for the matches to follow, as permutations are drawn up as the qualification image starts to become clearer.
Just the one draw between Denmark and Slovenia opens the door for just a single win and three points to be enough for some to qualify to the next phase as a lucky loser, meaning most teams (if not the ones with poor goal difference) will still be in the race in the final matchday.
But as the exact equations are still unknown, teams will set out to answer one of a pair of questions in matchday two.
Can we back up the result from the first game and secure out spot? Or can we prove to the world that we can be better?
Group A
The tournament’s opening game saw hosts Germany make an emphatic statement as they ran riot in a 5-1 win at the expense of Scotland.
The talented trio of Kai Havertz, Jamal Musiala, and Florian Wirtz all registered a goal in a free-flowing attacking performance, dictated by the out-going Toni Kroos in midfield who completed an astounding 101 out of his 102 passes.
Even factoring the red card on the stroke of half-time to Ryan Porteous for a shocking challenge to concede a penalty, the Scots failed to show up in what is now an uphill battle to qualify for the knockouts with an unfavourable goal difference.
In the other game, Switzerland once again proved why they should never be counted out in major tournaments, beating a nation in Hungary that many consider a dark horse.
Bologna midfielder Michel Aebischer translated his good form from Italy to the national team to register a sublime curling effort and an assist beforehand to guide the Swiss to a perfect start.
All the attention was around Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboslai and his influential impact, yet despite adding an assist, it was evident that the squad lacked creativity and cohesion around the 23-year-old star.
A bottom-of-the-table clash in the second matchday between Hungary and Scotland is the last chance to keep their slim hopes of survival alive.
Meanwhile, three-time European champions Germany will aim to secure their passage in the round of 16 against a confident Switzerland outfit.
Matchday Two Fixtures (AEST):
- Germany v Hungary – Thursday 2am, Stuttgart
- Scotland v Switzerland – Thursday 5am, Cologne
Christian Montegan
Group B
What was originally built up as the most enticing encounter of matchday one soon ended up becoming a disappointment to frame it lightly, as the Spanish capitalised on a three-goal first-half blitz to take down Croatia 3-0.
The biggest question mark surrounding Spain was the lack of an out-and-out number nine to consistently contribute on the scoresheet, but Alvaro Morata showed why he can still be relied upon to notch his seventh Euros goal in three editions.
All streaks must come to an end and the 2010 world champions experienced just that as their record of 136 consecutive matches holding the most possession since the Euro 2008 final was torn apart with 46 percent.
Perhaps Croatia’s golden generation is aging to a point where this tournament was one step too far. The midfield of Luka Modrić, Mateo Kovacić, and Marcelo Brozović have arguably lost a step in a system that is revolving around the new generation of young talent.
Another piece of history was made in the other fixture when Albania shocked the Italians to score the fastest goal in European Championship finals history after 23 seconds, sending a sea of fans in red and black in raptures.
The defending champions, to their credit, were not fazed one bit – producing moments of attacking flair and exciting build-up patterns that had Luciano Spaletti’s fingerprints all over it, helped by an Alessandro Bastoni header and a Nicolo Barella screamer to hand the Azzurri an impressive come from behind 2-1 victory.
22-year-old centre-back Riccardo Calafiori made headlines thanks to an impressive performance at the back in what was only his third senior cap.
It is expected that Spaletti will revert to a back three against Spain later this week in an attempt to flood the midfield and wrestle a grip hold of proceedings, a clash in which Italy has won the last two major tournaments at Euro 2020 and Euro 2016.
Croatia and Albania will hope to claim their first result in Germany to keep in touching distance of the top two places.
Matchday Two Fixtures (AEST):
- Croatia v Albania – Wednesday 19th, 11pm, Hamburg
- Spain v Italy – Friday 21st, 5am, Gelsenkirchen
Christian Montegan
Group C
After 58 years of pain and suffering, is it finally coming home? The evidence provided in the opening game against Serbia revealed more questions than answers as England scrapped a 1-0 win.
In the form of his life at only 20 years of age, Jude Bellingham found himself in the right place at the right time to head home after 10 minutes in what was otherwise a lacklustre match with one massive opportuntiy squandered from each nation.
The main concerns from an English perspective included the presence of Trent-Alexander Arnold in midfield who looked to take one too many touches and was lost at times, on top of Phil Foden’s inexistence for much of the game, ineffective and strayed too many passes.
Starting out with a makeshift defence and new faces, Gareth Southgate will be pleased to take the three points and hope to grow into the tournament.
As far as fairytale stories go, it doesn’t get more inspiring than Christian Eriksen’s journey. The opening game for Denmark at Euro 2020 saw the Danish star collapse due to a heart-attack, but three years on, the 32-year-old defied all odds to score the opener against Slovenia.
To the Slovenians’ credit, they displayed terrific defensive discipline and fight thereafter to snatch a valuable point that could be the difference between staying and going home.
Denmark will be seeking revenge for their semi-final exit in Wembley three years ago against England in a match that could decide top spot. Meanwhile, Serbia and Slovenia is one of the toughest to call.
Matchday Two Fixtures (AEST):
- Slovenia v Serbia – Thursday 20th, 11pm, Munich
- Denmark v England – Friday 21st, 2am, Frankfurt
Christian Montegan
Group D
It was a tale of wasted chances as Group D kicked off in Hamburg, with the Netherlands eventually finding a way back into their match against Poland to emerge 2-1 winners.
The Dutch applied pressure early to no avail, which allowed Poland to take the lead through Adam Buksa who climbed highest and headed home from a corner to give the favourites a scare early on.
Missing their talisman Robert Lewandowski, Poland looked content with sitting off and defending their lead, ending the match with only one third of possession overall.
Allowing a flair-filled Dutch side to create freely would cost them eventually, as Cody Gakpo rode his luck to squeeze home a deflected equaliser on the half-hour mark.
Xavi Simons, Memphis Depay and Cody Gakpo all looked sublime until it was time for the final product, where they spurned chance after chance and ended the game with just four of their 21 shots on target.
The no-nonsense target man Wout Weghorst was the saviour for the Dutch, burying his first shot after making a late substitute appearance and planting a seed of doubt in Ronald Koeman’s mind over the starting striker position.
France and Austria faced each other in the second match of the group, with France eking out a 1-0 victory against an Austria side that took many by surprise with their brave performance.
Ralf Rangnick’s high-octane pressing unit tested France throughout the encounter, who had Mike Maignan to thank after he produced an incredible one-on-one save to deny Christoph Baumgartner the opener.
France’s only goal came in fortunate circumstances, when Max Wober headed into his own net from a Kylian Mbappe cross.
France may have to adjust to life without their captain and star striker in the next few matches, after a nasty mid-air collision led to a broken nose, a hospital visit and a question mark over the date of his return.
With the two favourites in the group performing below par, this group may not be as clear cut as it initially seemed with plenty left to play for heading into matchday two.
Matchday Two Fixtures (AEST):
- Poland v Australia – Saturday 22nd, 2am, Berlin
- Netherlands v France – Saturday 22nd, 5am, Leipzig
Will Booth
Group E
The upset of the first matchday undoubtedly came from this group, as Slovakia emerged victorious over Belgium.
Much like the Italians, an early defensive error from the Red Devils granted their opposition the advantage in the early stages of the game, however the Slovaks should be given credit for their press however, resulting in Ivan Schranz tucking home the opener.
Unlike the Azzurri however, Belgium couldn’t mount a comeback. Although, they came about as close to one as you can do, without putting anything on the scoreboard. As much as this game was played against Slovakia, it also appeared that the Belgians were taking on the technology as well.
The ball went into the back of the net early in the second half off the boot of Romelu Lukaku, however he had strayed into an offside position. Johan Bakayoko also had a chance blocked on the goal line.
The most astounding of them all came as late as the 86th minute, as there could be no doubt that Lukaku had scored from a legitimate position.
The problem came in build-up, as the in-ball technology – whose primary purpose is for offside decisions – popped up on the VAR screen in a snicko-like fashion, the sound waves identifying a faint, but clear handball from Lois Openda to deny Belgium another equaliser.
Both decisions, whilst correct, must feel crushing for Belgian fans, as Slovakia emerged from Frankfurt with a piece of famous history.
Elsewhere, Romania clinched their first Euros win in 24 years, as they produced a long-range shooting clinic over Ukraine.
World-class rockets from both Nicolae Stanciu and Marin Razvan sent the Romanians into a whirlpool of hysteria, as a third from Denis Dragus within the first hour put them without reach of the Ukrainians.
It’s not the end of the world for Ukraine. They were dominant, particularly in the first half, and to conceded two goals of such quality, whilst a bitter pill to swallow, shouldn’t happen with any regularity.
But, now having to face up against the upbeat Slovakia, they face a tough task to re-establish themselves in the group.
Their overall performance will still give Belgium the confidence they need when they come up against Romania, but any further slip ups in results may prove too costly to provide any assurances of a deep run in the knockout stages.
Matchday Two Fixtures (AEST):
- Slovakia v Ukraine – Friday 21st, 11pm, DĂĽsseldorf
- Belgium v Romania – Sunday 23rd, 5am, Cologne
Lachlan Avil
Group F
The first matchday of Group F belonged to the next generation. Coming up clutch in the moments that mattered, Arda Guler and Francisco Conceicao put their respective nations on their youthful backs and produced a pair of magical moments.
For Guler, Mert Muldur’s incredible early volley for Turkey had been levelled up by Georgia’s first ever goal at a major tournament through Georges Mikautadze.
The ball fell to Guler in transition, he skipped into the open space and unleased his left foot from nearly 30 yards, a curling effort that whipped around Giorgi Mamardashvili and across the side netting. Simply outrageous from the 19-year-old.
Turkey had to withstand quite the barrage to withstand Georgia in the latter stages of the game. A shot off the bar and a headed block to deny what would’ve been a certain goal in the 96th minute added to the heroics of what was a famous win.
Conceicao’s own decisive moment similarly came to break a 1-1 deadlock, after a Czechia own goal squared the ledger after a long-range curler from Lukas Provod.
Diogo Jota thought he was the Portuguese hero, but was denied as the initial header from Cristiano Ronaldo was from an offside position.
On the pitch for mere minutes, Conceicao was in the right place at the right time to tuck home the winner from within the six-yard box in injury time.
His goal, whilst not quite at the standard of Guler’s, was just as significant. They will meet up against each other in the second matchday, as they both look to take a stranglehold of their group, and almost certainly secure qualification with a win.
Matchday Two Fixtures (AEST):
- Georgia v Czech Republic – Saturday 22nd, 11pm, Hamburg
- Turkey v Portugal – Sunday 23rd, 2am, Dortmund
Lachlan Avil