Euro 2016: previews of the last-16 ties

theguardian.com ^ | 25 June 2016 | Martin Laurence

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Have Northern Ireland met their match in Wales? Will Italy thwart Spain? Will Portugal pick up their first win? And will England slip up against Iceland?

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Group A

Country	W	D	L	GD	Pts
FRA	2	1	0	3	7
SWI	1	2	0	1	5
ALB	1	0	2	-2	3
ROM	0	1	2	-2	1

France 2-1 Romania
Albania 0-1 Switzerland
Romania 1-1 Switzerland
France 2-0 Albania
Switzerland 0-0 France
Romania 0-1 Albania

Group B

Country	W	D	L	GD	Pts
WAL	2	0	1	3	6
ENG	1	2	0	1	5
SVK	1	1	1	0	4
RUS	0	1	2	-4	1

Wales 2-1 Slovakia
England 1-1 Russia
Russia 1-2 Slovakia
England 2-1 Wales
Russia 0-3 Wales
Slovakia 0-0 England

Group C

Country	W	D	L	GD	Pts
GER	2	1	0	3	7
POL	2	1	0	2	7
NI	1	0	2	0	3
UKR	0	0	3	-5	0

Poland 1-0 N.Ireland
Germany 2-0 Ukraine
Ukraine 0-2 N.Ireland
Germany 0-0 Poland
N.Ireland 0-1 Germany
Ukraine 0-1 Poland

Group D

Country	W	D	L	GD	Pts
CRO	2	1	0	2	7
SPA	2	0	1	3	6
TUR	1	0	2	-2	3
CZE	0	1	2	-3	1

Turkey 0-1 Croatia
Spain 1-0 Czech Republic
Czech Republic 2-2 Croatia
Spain 3-0 Turkey
Czech Republic 0-2 Turkey
Croatia 2-1 Spain

Group E

Country	W	D	L	GD	Pts
ITA	2	0	1	2	6
BEL	2	0	1	2	6
IRE	1	1	1	-2	4
SWE	0	1	2	-2	1

Ireland 1-1 Sweden
Belgium 0-2 Italy
Italy 1-0 Sweden
Belgium 3-0 Ireland
Italy 0-1 Ireland

Group F

Country	W	D	L	GD	Pts
HUN	1	2	0	2	5
ICE	1	2	0	1	5
POR	0	3	0	0	3
AUT	0	1	2	-3	1

Austria 0-2 Hungary
Portugal 1-1 Iceland
Iceland 1-1 Hungary
Portugal 0-0 Austria
Iceland 2-1 Austria
Hungary 3-3 Portugal

Qualified for Round of 16: Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Wales

Best third placed teams to qualify: Northern Ireland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia

Eliminated: Albania, Austria, Czech Republic, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine

Round of 16

Saturday, June 25
Switzerland vs. Poland -- Saint-Etienne (3 p.m. CET/9 a.m. ET, ESPN)
Wales vs. Northern Ireland -- Paris (6 p.m. CET/12 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Croatia vs. Portugal -- Lens (9 p.m. CET/3 p.m. ET, ESPN)

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Sunday, June 26
France vs. Ireland -- Lyon (3 p.m. CET/9 a.m. ET, ESPN)
Germany vs. Slovakia -- Lille (6 p.m. CET/12 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Hungary vs. Belgium -- Toulouse (9 p.m. CET/3 p.m. ET, ESPN)

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Monday, June 27
Italy vs. Spain -- Saint-Denis (6 p.m. CET/12 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
England vs. Iceland -- Nice (9 p.m. CET/3 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

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Quarterfinals

Thursday, June 30 - Match 45
Switzerland/Poland vs. Croatia/Portugal -- Marseille (9 p.m. CET/3 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

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Friday, July 1 - Match 46
Wales/Northern Ireland vs. Hungary/Belgium -- Lille (9 p.m. CET/3 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

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Saturday, July 2 - Match 47
Germany/Slovakia vs. Italy/Spain -- Bordeaux (9 p.m. CET/3 p.m. ET, ESPN2)

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Sunday, July 3 - Match 48
France/Ireland vs. England/Iceland -- Saint-Denis (9 p.m. CET/3 p.m. ET, ESPN)

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Semifinals

Wednesday, July 6
W45 vs. W46 -- Lyon (9 p.m. CET/3 p.m. ET, ESPN)

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Thursday, July 7
W47 vs. W48 -- Marseille (9 p.m. CET/3 p.m. ET, ESPN)

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Final

Sunday, July 10
W49 vs. W50 -- Saint-Denis (9 p.m. CET/3 p.m. ET, ESPN)

UEFA.com
UEFA Euro 2016 - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

#EURO2016

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David Guetta ft. Zara Larsson - This One's For You (Official Audio) (UEFA EURO 2016™ Official Song)

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South America football chief challenges
Euro 2016 winners to face Copa America champions

[Enchante]

soccer is so boring

jk jk

well, actually, it is

where is all the scoring???

[Berlin_Freeper]

It's unchartered territory for Switzerland and Poland, who have both reached the knockout stage of a European Championship finals for the first time. In fact, prior to Euro 2016 Poland had never even won a game at the tournament. Now they both find themselves in the so-called "right half of the draw" and one of them will be the first country into the quarter-finals.

...The two countries' attacking statistics may not be impressive to date but defensively they have both been resolute. Poland have been dogged at the back and are yet to concede, while Switzerland have conceded only once - from a penalty. It promises to be a cagey encounter.

[1rudeboy]

It happens when you go to the bathroom. Prostrate problems are not something to joke about, however. I suggest you watch NFL football.

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Lewandowski can finish Euro 2016 without a goal to his name as long as the team keep grinding out results starting with Saturday's last-16 clash against Switzerland, coach Nawalka said on Friday.

"We have no problem with the fact that Lewandowski hasn't scored yet because he is doing a great job for us," Nawalka told a news conference.

"He has adapted to a new role very well as we are a team whose players understand each other perfectly and we are very happy to have him in our side."

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11 of the Swiss squad having plied their trade in Germany's top flight last season

[steve8714]

Who cares? It’s soccer. At least it’s not lesbian basketball.

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French ground staff working frantically to repair pitches for crucial Euro 2016 games
Some pitches at the tournament have come in for criticism from both players and fans.

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First you need to show who cares what you care.

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The world's most expensive player, Gareth Bale of Wales, will face an ageing goalkeeper looking for a club in Saturday's intriguing all-British showdown against fellow debutants Northern Ireland for a place in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016.

Bale, who has scored a goal in each game so far to help Wales top their group ahead of England, was expected to shine on the pitches of France.

It is a different story for Michael McGovern, whose heroics in the Northern Ireland goal have earned him a comparison to the great Pat Jennings by coach Martin O'Neill.

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N.Ireland ready to take on ‘game of their lives’ against Wales, says coach
an English referee

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Bale: For the children.

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Croatia v Portugal

"We could have done with easier opposition than Portugal in the last 16 but if we play like we did in the group stage, we have a great chance of progressing. We are one of the best teams here and if our midfield wins the battle in the centre of the pitch, we should win," he said.

"This is the present generation's chance of a lifetime and we will only be remembered if we do something big here," the Fiorentina forward added.

[Rummyfan]

Croatia and Wales are playing very well. But can’t count out Germany (always a threat), France (host country), Italy (always sneak up when they’ve been ignored or counted out), or the quadrennial underachiever, England. Looking forward to the games!

[Rummyfan]

~Who cares? It’s soccer. At least it’s not lesbian basketball

Well, there is that! But sitting through a 90-minute scoreless tie.... Ugh. Now that we've reached the elimination stage, ties won't be good enough. Which brings me to another complaint: ending games with a shootout is like ending a baseball game with a home-run hitting contest. Play on till someone scores. (They do it in the Stanley Cup playoffs...)

[Berlin_Freeper]

Portugal depend too much on star forward and captain Cristiano Ronaldo and that could cost them in Saturday's round-of-16 match against Croatia, according to Argentina legend Diego Maradona.

"Portugal are too dependent on Ronaldo," the 1986 World Cup winner wrote. "He was brilliant against Hungary, but they are half the force if he doesn't click and the tactically astute Croats will ensure he is low on supply.

"He may have to move around for space and chances of Portugal's success hinge on how well he does that. They also have to plug holes in midfield and defence, because these are areas where mistakes may lead to elimination. Croatia start favourites."

"The Croats are a feisty lot as they showed against Spain. They drew after going 2-0 up in the previous game [against the Czech Republic] and conceded early against the defending champs. It could have broken them. But the way Croatia came back to win without stars [Luka] Modric and [Mario] Mandzukic was a testament of steel, resolve and ability," Maradona said.

"The Croats are tactically sound like most European teams, who give nothing away in defence. The specialty of this bunch seems to be the ability to launch counterattacks at great pace with few touches.

"It could be a different experience against Portugal, if Ronaldo's team chooses to play a defensive game and waits to hit on the counter. Croatia have to look to create space in this case and unveil Plan B. With Modric and [Ivan] Rakitic in midfield, expect them to that.

"This lot is perhaps low on flair than the one that won World Cup bronze in 1998, but scores high on tactical discipline, team work and determination. Experience tells me these are valuable traits in knockout games."

[Berlin_Freeper]

The drama starts now as the tournament goes to sudden death