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2024 European Cup – introduction and short comments of 4 games
The 2024 European Cup has entered the knockout rounds of the top 16. What are the past records of each pairing and their performance in this tournament? What kind of formation will be used to play this key game? The following is a summary of the 4 games.
Italy VS Switzerland
The first game of the top 16 is the defending champion Italy versus Switzerland. The results of the two teams in the group stage are 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss for Italy. With Zakani’s goal in the third round, the tie was Flat Croesia, second in the group advanced.
Switzerland had an undefeated record of 1 win and 2 draws, and almost defeated host Germany in the last round. Unfortunately, it was tied at the last moment and fell to second place in the group.
Italy, which mainly plays 4-2-3-1, will encounter Switzerland, which plays 3-4-2-1. Calafio, who has performed well in Italy, has accumulated yellow cards and is suspended, which will be a variable. The left-footed Buongior Novo is expected to make his European Cup debut, and Italy may also play in a 3-back formation.
On the Swiss side, Albishe, who plays as a midfielder in the club, is the team’s most active player. In coach Yakin’s 3-back formation, Albishe will drop back to become a defender when defending, and become a full midfielder when attacking, or even Move more centrally to become an attacking midfielder, increasing the numerical advantage in the middle.
The two geographically adjacent teams can be said to be old rivals. They have played 60 games in the past. Italy has an absolute advantage with 29 wins, 24 draws and 7 losses. In the first game of the last European Cup group stage, Italy was 3-3. 0 defeated Switzerland and started his journey to win the championship.
Of course, in the two subsequent World Cup qualifying matches, the two teams ended up tied, and Italy was pushed to second place in the group by Switzerland and had to play in the play-offs. As a result, Italy missed two consecutive World Cups. Jorginho, who failed to score two 12-yard shots in the game, will have to face Swiss goalkeeper Sommer again. What will be the outcome of this duel? It is predicted that the game will go into an overtime.
Germany VS Denmark
The host Germany started aggressively. After beating Scotland 5-1, they defeated Hungary 2-0. They got the ticket to advance in two games. However, in the last game, Phil Kruger scored a goal at the last moment to tie the opponent. 1 Drawing 1-1 with Switzerland, they barely managed to stay first in the group. The Swiss team also proved that Germany, which looked super strong in the first two games, is not impossible to defeat.
Denmark, on the other hand, had a draw all the way through the group stage. It had three consecutive draws and only had 3 points to finish second in the group. Ukraine, which scored 4 points but was eliminated, must have been very uncomfortable. However, Denmark’s performance in the three games was not bad. Basically, the offense was dominant. In the game against England, the time of possession and the number of shots on target were higher. They just lost an unlucky goal.
Germany, which plays 4-2-3-1, has the same lineup in the three games. However, some people hope that Phil Kruger, who has a high scoring efficiency, can replace Havertz as the starter. However, the two have different roles. Phil Kruger plays the role of center, and Havertz is the player who will drop back in the midfield to provide support. Judging from Nagelsmann’s tactics, Havertz may be more suitable to start, and the other is Leverkusen’s central defender. Due to a yellow card suspension, Dortmund’s young center back Schloterbeck may be replaced. Will this bring some changes to the game?
Denmark’s 3-4-1-2 formation has not changed much in the lineup. However, the main midfielder in this game, Jurmand, who played a world-famous game against England, accumulated yellow cards and was suspended. This will affect the original stability of the midfielder. Sexuality will have some impact. In this battle against the powerful enemy Germany, they will definitely use a 5-3-2 formation to compress the Nagelsmann-style Germany who likes to focus on the center.
Germany had a record of 15 wins, 5 draws and 8 losses against Denmark in the past, but recently they have mostly played friendly matches. The closest competition was the 2012 European Cup, when Germany defeated Denmark 2-1 in the group stage, but after all, it was already 12 What happened years ago is not of high reference value.
England VS Slovakia
England, the favorite to win the championship with the highest value, seemed to play an ugly game as the fans expected. In the match against Serbia, Denmark and Slovenia, England’s game content was so drowsy that the director captured the third group game. During the game, England fans were sound asleep on the sidelines, but even so, England, the favorite to win the championship, had an undefeated record of 1 win and 2 draws in the group stage. The first place in the group gave them an excellent draw.
The four teams in Group E where Slovakia is located all have 4 points. This is an unprecedented situation. They scored first in all three games in the group stage. They defeated Belgium 1-0 in the first game. Unfortunately, they were defeated by Belgium in the second game. Ukraine turned around and scored first against Romania in the third game, but was tied due to a penalty kick. However, they only needed a draw to advance in this game, and they did not need to compete with Romania to win or lose.
Southgate, who can only play 4-2-3-1, will definitely use this formation in this game. There is almost no change in the starting lineup in the three group stage games. Only in the third game, Arnold was replaced in the midfield. Gallagher played, but the content of the game was equally bad. In the second half, Menu, Palmer and Gordon came in and the effect was good, especially Palmer, who is the second-leading scorer in the Premier League and deserves more playing time. It depends on whether Southgate has the courage to take down Foden or Bellingham.
A bit like Southgate, Slovak head coach Calzona, who studied under Sarri, is used to playing 4-3-3 and rarely changes formations. The three main midfielders are Lobotka, Duda and Kuczka. It is almost certain that he will start the game first. Lobotka is the engine of the team’s offense and is responsible for organizing the backcourt. He will also rush forward to attack when necessary. England must be careful about Slovakia’s counterattack. The two central defenders may face it at any time. The opponent’s frontcourt was outflanked by three players.
In terms of match record, the two teams have not played against each other many times in history. There have only been 6 games. England has an absolute advantage, with 5 wins and 1 draw without a defeat. The most recent meeting was in the 2017 World Cup qualifying match. England finally won 2-1. However, England this time Despite their poor form, Slovakia may still have a chance to push the battle line into a playoff.
Spain VS Georgia
Spain showed strong strength in this tournament. They defeated Croatia and Italy in Group B consecutively. The scores of 3-0 and 1-0 secured the first place in the group early. In the third game, they faced Albania and rotated 10 players. Players, Spain still won 1-0, becoming the only team in this European Cup to win all three group games and the only team that did not concede a goal.
On Georgia’s side, the pre-match analysis said that although it was the lowest ranked team in the world among the 24 participating teams, Georgia had a certain level of strength and its offensive power in the frontcourt was not bad. It’s been a very good season and Georgia should be picking up points. As a result, although they lost to Turkey in the first game, they scored the first point in team history against the Czech Republic in the second game. In the third game, they faced the rotating Portugal and won 2-0 to advance to the knockout rounds.
De la Fuente plays 4-3-3 in Spain. The forward’s scoring efficiency is still a problem. Although the scene against Italy was absolutely suppressed, the goal was actually a lucky own goal. This Spain is surprising. What’s more, midfielder Fabian Ruiz is in excellent condition, better than at the club. His long shots, organization, and threatening passes make Spain’s offense more layered.
Georgia is expected to use the 5-3-2 formation they faced Portugal. They can only play defensive counterattacks, hoping to create mistakes by their opponents to score goals. In addition to the well-known Kvarac Helija, the current goal scorer in the tournament Micottadze has scored in 3 consecutive games. He has excellent dribbling ability and is also very threatening in counterattacks.
The two teams have met in the past 7 times, with Spain having an absolute advantage of 6 wins and 1 loss. The two teams were placed in the same group in the qualifying round. Spain beat Georgia twice, winning 3 to 1 in one game and 7 to 1 in the other. Morata scored, Yamal, and Nico scored. It is estimated that the gap in strength between the two teams this time will make it difficult for Georgia to pass.
