Euro 2020: The game so far

                          
Euro 2020 officially started on the 11th of June, 2021. The delay was caused due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic which caused setback to many global events such as the Olympics and Expo 2020.

The first game took place between dark horses Italy and Turkey at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome which ended in a 3-0 win for Mancini’s men with goals from Insigne, Immbolie and an own goal from Turkish and Juventus centre back Merih Demiral.

After an exciting start to the competition, it was time to watch 2016’s underdogs, Wales, in action against a developed Swiss side. The game ended in a draw with each side scoring a goal.

The third game of the competition was played between Denmark and Finland. This game stood out from the others for a very peculiar reason, the reason being, Denmark's most experienced player, Christian Eriksen, collapsed to the ground while running in the 43rd minute causing widespread tension within the stadium and around the world. Medics rushed on to the scene and defibrillators were used. It was later confirmed that Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest and was ‘gone’ before they bought him back to life. The game was suspended but later resumed on the request of both the teams. Finland won the game 1-0.

Later that night Belgium played Russia in the Gazprom Arena. Belgium did not start their best XI benching Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne. The Red Devils ended up winning the game 3-0 with 2 goals from star striker Romelu Lukaku and one goal from Thomas Meunier.

England played on the 13th of June looking to settle the score against Croatia for what happened in the semi finals of the 2018 World Cup. Raheem Sterling bagged his first ever goal for England in a major tournament and sealed a 1-0 win for the Englishmen.

Austria faced North Macedonia later that day and secured a comfortable 3-1 win. The most entertaining match of the Euros so far came on the night of 13th June when the Dutch went up against the Ukrainians. What seemed like it was going to be a one sided match ended up being a thriller. The Ukrainians came back from 2 goals down to level the score until a late winner was scored by Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries to seal the game.

The Euro 2020 end on the 11th of July with France being the favourites to lift the cup this year after losing the finals last time out, but one can not rule out the possibility of a young England side shocking everyone and taking the cup home for the first time.

   ( The writer is a student based in Oman)