Euro Cortado #13: Kvara-bunga!
Georgia shock Portugal and reach the knockouts; history repeats itself as Turkey beat Czechia, while Group E fizzles out despite three teams going through
That’s it, then - 36 matches down, just 15 remaining and we have only said goodbye to 33.3% of the teams.
The book closed on the UEFA Euro 2024 group stage with one of the biggest shocks in the tournament’s history, two familiar Euros foes going head-to-head in a fiery encounter and Group E doing its very best 1994 World Cup Group E impression.
Have yourself a mid-morning pit stop and refuel with Euro Cortado, and with no matches for two days, you will need all the footballing energy you can get!
Georgia’s saint slays doubters
“Quiet-skhelia” was how Georgia’s main man was being dubbed ahead of his side’s final group match against Portugal, but it took less than two minutes for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to put his doubters on mute.
Latching on to a perfectly weighted Georges Mikautadze pass on the counter attack, the Napoli man finally proved what all the fuss was about by rifling the ball low past Diogo Costa.
That set the tone of the match which saw Portugal grow increasingly frustrated with Georgia saving, blocking and thwarting everything the Portuguese threw at them.
But Georgia refused to park the bus, and though the contact was minimal, the VAR decision to award them a penalty was just reward for their attacking endeavours in the second half. Mikautadze converted once again to lead the golden boot race after the group stage!
In true giant-killing fashion, it was a real off day for Roberto Martínez’s big guns. But if you are to have an off day in a tournament, the final group match when you have already secured first place is the ideal time to do it. I had Portugal down to implode around the quarter-final stage, but with this significant yet inconsequential blip out of the way, maybe the only way is up from here?
Regardless, the night belonged to the tournament’s lowest ranked team, qualifying for the Round of 16 on debut, with the man they pinned so many of their hopes on providing the catalyst for realising an impossible dream.
A Cenk in the Czech armour
Let’s start a petition to have Turkey play Czechia on the final matchday of every European Championship group stage.
16 years on from Turkey’s stunning comeback in Geneva, the pair served up another enthralling encounter in Hamburg. After Antonín Barák was sent off for the Czechs in the first half, Hakan Çalhanoğlu broke the deadlock early the the second before his drilled opener was cancelled out by Tomáš Souček’s leveller.
Needing a win, the Czechs had to throw caution to the wind late on, and the 10 men were caught out in the 94th minute, when Cenk Tosun finished off a counter-attack to give Turkey the win before chaos ensued after the final whistle, with Tomáš Chorý shown a red card, too.
Amid all the madness, it was an impressive victory for Vincenzo Montella’s men just a few days on from their dreadful showing against Portugal. It was not exactly a composed performance, but they showed great togetherness and proved they can grind out a win, a key ingredient for teams wanting to do well in knockout stages and perhaps, like Portugal, they have already put their off day behind them?
Their meeting with Austria is the final Round of 16 tie and could well be the best of the bunch.
Group E grinds to a halt
It began with a bang on matchday one, set up a grandstand finish on matchday two… then ended with a whimper yesterday.
Group E, the hipster’s group, became uncool on matchday three as Slovakia drew 1-1 with Romania and Belgium drew 0-0 with Ukraine.
Slovakia and Romania could have had a biscotto, a “disgrace of Frankfurt”, but they actually attacked each other. Fair play! Meanwhile, in Stuttgart, Ukraine had to take the game to Belgium, but it was the only team for whom a point was not enough who looked to be settling for a goalless draw.
Belgium gave Ukraine plenty of opportunity to hurt them, as the Red Devils tried in vain to finally get Romelu Lukaku on the scoresheet, leaving space open at the back to be exploited, but a lacklustre Ukraine attack seldom came close to capitalising.
That meant all four teams finished on four points, with Ukraine becoming the first team to be knocked out in the group stage of a 24-team Euros with so many points on the board.
It must be said, it is a huge achievement for Ukraine to be at these finals, but with the amount of talent in their team, I was expecting more from them. There were surely nerves around their opener against Romania, and the pressure getting to them was ultimately their downfall.
With France, Netherlands and England the Round of 16 opponents for Belgium, Romania and Slovakia, respectively, the knockout road may not be long for any of the Group E sides, but it seems they are just happy to be there.
Tomorrow, I will look back on my group stage predictions and see where I went wrong and where I was (occasionally) correct, before my prediction for the whole knockout stage is released on Saturday.
In the meantime, let me know your thoughts; can Georgia spring any more surprises and can Turkey or any of the Group E teams go far in the competition?
Anthony Tomas is a football writer and commentator, who writes for Flashscore and World Soccer Magazine.