The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Euro 2016

  • Why Euro 2016 has no third-place match

    Why Euro 2016 has no third-place match

    Euro 2016 viewers waiting for a Wales-Germany match the day before the final have waited in vain. The UEFA European Championship, in fact, has no match for third place.

    No one loves a third-place playoff. It may be nicer for a team to take home a bronze medal than nothing at all, but that’s little consolation for losing a semi-final match. Teams often rest stars and play with lesser effort in these matches, as the stakes are much lower than in the final, lower even than in the semifinal they lost. Still, soccer fans appreciate that they get an extra day to watch the beautiful game. It makes a nice full weekend of championship play. If the team you support lost in the semifinals, at least you have the chance to watch them end the tournament with a victory. Most major international tournaments feature a bronze medal game. The recent Copa América saw Colombia defeat the United States 1-0 for that prize. The Africa Cup of Nations and the AFC Asian Cup also hold a third-place playoff, as does the World Cup.

    So what happened to third place?

    While the Euros regularly held this match starting from the first tournament in 1960, UEFA abolished the fixture after its 1980 edition. In that tournament, Czechoslovakia beat Italy for the bronze in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw. That match’s poor stadium attendance and TV viewership led the Union of European Football Associations to abandon the traditional consolation game for Euro 1984, as well as each tournament since, according to FOX Sports.

    What if?

    While a third-place trophy would have hardly consoled the Germans, who entered the tournament looking to build a dynasty upon their 2014 World Cup win, it would’ve meant quite a bit to the Welsh, who were playing in their very first European Championship. With the return of Aaron Ramsey from yellow-card suspension, Wales might have extended its historic run at Euro 2016 by upsetting Germany. The Dragons sorely missed his creativity and work rate in their midfield during their semifinal loss to Portugal.

    HAS THERE BEEN A THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF AT THE EUROS?

    Yes, the third place playoff was a regular fixture at the Euros from the first tournament in 1960 through to 1980.

    Germany’s defender Jonas Hector reacts after losing the Euro 2016 semi-final.

    Germany’s defender Jonas Hector reacts after losing the Euro 2016 semi-final.Source: AFP

    WHY IS THERE NO THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF NOW?

    After dwindling attendances and television viewership for the fixture at the 1980 competition in Italy, UEFA decided to abolish the fixture.

    In 1980, the tournament expanded to eight teams as opposed to four, with two groups of four teams. The winners of each group went straight to the final and the runners-up fought for third place.

    It saw one of the few third place matches that has been decided be a penalty shootout, with Czechoslovakia beating hosts Italy 9-8 after a 1-1 draw.

    For the next tournament in 1984, UEFA implemented a new format with 15 matches and semi-finals. That format was used until Euro 1996 when the competition was expanded to include 16 teams and 31 matches.

    That setup was used in four subsequent tournaments before it was expanded for Euro 2016 to 24 teams.

    DO OTHER TOURNAMENTS HAVE THIRD PLACE PLAYOFFS?

    The Euros are the only tournament without a third place playoff.

    The World Cup, Copa America and African Cup of Nations all include the fixture – usually the day before the final.

    It’s usually considered a much lower-priority match to organisers and is played in a smaller stadium.

  • Euro 2016: Griezmann wins best player award

    Euro 2016: Griezmann wins best player award

    France forward Antoine Griezmann has won the award for Euro 2016 Player of the Tournament.

    UEFA has announced that the 25-year-old has been voted as player of the tournament by its team of 13 technical observers, which included Sir Alex Ferguson and David Moyes, Goal reports.

    Griezmann, who signed a new long-term deal at Atletico Madrid in June, was also named in the team of the tournament after scoring six goals to win the competition’s Golden Boot.

    He did not score in Sunday’s final, though, as hosts France went down to a surprise 0-1 defeat to Portugal thanks to substitute Eder’s extra-time winner.

    UEFA’s chief technical officer, Ioan Lupescu said: “Antoine Griezmann was a threat in every game he played.

    “He worked hard for his team and had technique, vision and quality finishing. The technical observers were in unanimous agreement that he was the tournament’s outstanding player.”

    Portugal midfielder Renato Sanches was named the tournament’s best young player.

  • Portugal win Euro 2016 Cup

    Portugal win Euro 2016 Cup

    Portugal last night won the first major trophy in their history trouncing host France 1-0 in the final of the Euro 2016 Cup .

    The match went into extra time after a goaless 90 minutes, but Eder proved to be the hero with a 109th-minute winner to stun the host at the Stade de France.

    The first sight of goal went the way of Portugal after just five minutes when Nani raced on to a ball over the top, but he lifted his effort over the crossbar.

    Paul Pogba spurned their first shooting opportunity with a wild strike over the top from the edge of the box, but the first clear opening fell the way of Antoine Griezmann when the striker sliced an effort wide from a tight angle.

    Portugal talisman and captain Cristiano Ronaldo, who was bidding to become the highest scorer in European Championships history, was caught by a heavy challenge from Dimitri Payet earlier in the match, and although the 31-year-old tried to continue he was ultimately forced to leave the pitch on a stretcher.

    The Real Madrid man was in tears as his Euros dream ended, and his departure seemed to take some of the buzz out of the game too as the two teams began to cancel each other out.

    Moussa Sissoko was the one player who looked as though he could make a difference, and midway through the half he made a powerful run forward before lashing a deflected effort over the crossbar.

    The Newcastle United midfielder then span away from his man in the penalty area to create shooting space, only to fire his effort straight at Rui Patricio.

    Chances continued to be at a premium in the second half too, with Pogba being forced to resort to trying a 35-yard volley before Griezmann sent a tame effort into the arms of Rui Patricio.

    It was Griezmann who had the biggest chance of the contest shortly after the hour mark too, escaping his marker to latch on to a cross from Kingsley Coman, only to glance his header over.

    Hugo Lloris was finally called into action for the first time with 10 minutes remaining, with the France skipper almost being caught out by Nani’s mis-hit cross.

    Lloris could only claw the cross as far as Ricardo Quaresma, but the keeper recovered in time to keep out the winger’s acrobatic follow-up effort.

    It was France who were asking most of the questions in the closing stages, though, and Sissoko almost found the breakthrough with a piledriver from range that Rui Patricio needed to push away.

    The hosts were inches away from winning the match right at the death when Andre-Pierre Gignac turned his man inside the area, but the striker scuffed his finish against the upright and the rebound eluded Griezmann.

    There was to be no breakthrough inside the 90 minutes, though, as the match went all the way to extra time, and Portugal came closest to scoring in the first period of the added 30 when Eder climbed highest in the box to steer a header towards goal, but it was too close to Lloris.

    Fernando Santos’s side came even closer after the interval when Raphael Guerreiro curled a free kick against the crossbar, but France failed to heed the warning signs and Portugal wouldn’t have to wait much longer before finally breaking the deadlock.

    It was Eder who wrote himself into the history books with the winner, cutting inside before picking out the bottom corner with a low 25-yard strike that Lloris couldn’t get to.

  • Euro 2016: Shaqiri scores ‘goal of the tournament’

    Euro 2016: Shaqiri scores ‘goal of the tournament’

    •As Switzerland lose to Poland on penalties

    XHERDAN Shaqiri scored what could be the goal of the tournament as Switzerland faced up against Poland in the first last-16 fixture of the weekend.

    After falling behind to a first half goal from Jakub Blaszczykowski, Swizterland looked to be heading home as the game approached the final ten minutes.

    After the ball was cleared by the Poland defence following a cross from the left, Shaqiri stepped up to the mark with a moment of pure magic.

    Positioned on the edge of the box, Shaqiri pulled off a stunning overhead scissor kick in the 82nd minute to send the ball flying into the lower right-hand corner of the net.

    The goal pulled Switzerland level at 1-1 and sent the game into extra-time. After both sides failed to break the dead-lock, Poland eventually went on secure their spot in the quarter-finals after winning 5-4 on penalities.

    The 24-year-old, who plays for Stoke in the Premier League, scored his first goal for his country in more than a year as his most recent effort before Saturday’s match came against Lithuania in Euro 2016 qualifying on 15 June 2015

    Granit Xhaka’s woeful penalty proved decisive as Poland beat Switzerland 5-4 in a shooutout to render redundant Xherdan Shaqiri’s sublime goal in a 1-1 draw after extra time.

  • Euro 2016: Russia summons French ambassador after violence

    The French ambassador to Moscow has been summoned to the Russian foreign ministry after sharp criticism of policing at the Euro 2016 tournament.

    “Further stoking of anti-Russian sentiments could significantly aggravate the atmosphere in Russian-French relations,” the ministry said.

    Russia’s foreign minister singled out the detention of 43 fans on a bus, the BBC reports.

    France’s embassy insisted that the arrest of Russia fans was “absolutely according to the law.”

    Meanwhile, four Russians arrested in the French city of Lille are to be deported, but a match there between Russia and Slovakia on Wednesday passed off peacefully.

    France’s crackdown on hooliganism among supporters relates to incidents outside the stadiums.

    UEFA, football’s European governing body, earlier fined Russia and gave it a suspended disqualification following fan violence inside the stadium in Marseille where Russia played England on Saturday.

    The Russian foreign ministry summoned Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert soon after a speech by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the lower house of the Russian parliament in Moscow.

    Mr. Lavrov suggested Russian fans had been provoked and criticised the way French police officers were subjecting them to security checks.

     

  • ‘Frenchman planned Euro 2016 attacks’

    Ukraine’s SBU security agency has said that a Frenchman detained last month with a large cache of arms was planning mass attacks on the Euro 2016 football tournament, which begins on Friday.

    The man, identified by French media as Gregoire M, 25, was arrested on the Ukrainian border with Poland, the BBC reports.

    SBU chief Vasyl Hrytsak said the man had been planning 15 attacks and was driven by ultra-nationalist views.

    He had amassed guns, detonators and 125kg of TNT, Mr. Hrytsak said.

    News of the man’s arrest first emerged in a report by French TV network M6.

    The suspect was described as a worker at a farming co-operative from the Lorraine area of eastern France. He had no previous criminal record, reports said.

    The SBU said it had been watching the suspect since December last year and that he had picked up five Kalashnikovs, two anti-tank grenade launchers, some 5,000 rounds of ammunition, 100 detonators, as well as a large quantity of explosive.

  • Euro 2016: Rashford, Sturridge in England 23-man squad

    Euro 2016: Rashford, Sturridge in England 23-man squad

    Manchester United’s teenage striker, Marcus Rashford, has been named in Roy Hodgson’s 23-man England squad for the 2016 European Championship in France.

    Rashford, 18, scored on his international debut in the 2-1 friendly victory over Australia on Friday.

    Liverpool striker, Daniel Sturridge is also included, but Newcastle United’s Andros Townsend and Leicester City’s Danny Drinkwater both missed out, the BBC reports.

    England faces Portugal in the team last Euro 2016 warm-up match on Thursday.

    Hodgson’s side begin its campaign in France by playing Russia on June 11, before meeting Wales on June 16 and Slovakia on June 20.

    Rashford, who signed a new four-year contract with Manchester United on Monday, only made his first-team debut on February 25, but scored eight goals in 18 club games to earn an international call-up.

    Sturridge, 26, missed England’s last two friendly matches but did take part in a training session on Monday.

    He also trained at Watford’s training ground on Tuesday, along with Liverpool team-mate Jordan Henderson and Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere, with all three considered fully fit.

    The squad:

    Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Fraser Forster (Southampton), Tom Heaton (Burnley).

    Defenders: Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Everton), Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur), Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool).

    Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Everton), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).

    Strikers: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).

  • Senderos, Inler dropped from Swiss Euro squad

    Senderos, Inler dropped from Swiss Euro squad

    Switzerland coach, Vladimir Petkovic, on Monday dropped experienced defender, Philippe Senderos, from his 23-man squad for the European championships starting on June 10.

    Senderos, who is no longer a regular fixture for Switzerland, is now plying his trade for Grasshopper Zurich after many seasons with Arsenal and AC Milan, supersport.com reports.

    Along with Senderos, other players that missed out on Petkovic’s final cut included Udinese defender Silvan Widmer, Basle midfielder Luca Zuffi and Young Boys goalkeeper Yvon Mvogo.

    There was also no place for former captain, Gokhan Inler, who was left out of the provisional 28-man Euro 2016 squad, the latest disappointment for the Leicester City midfielder who saw limited minutes in the club’s fairytale run to the English Premier League title.

    Switzerland begins its Euro 2016 campaign against Albania in Lens on June 11, before Group A matches against Romania and hosts France.

     

    The full squad:

     

    Goalkeepers: Yann Sommer (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER), Roman Burki (Borussia Dortmund/GER), Marwin Hitz (Augsburg/GER)

    Defenders: Johan Djourou (Hamburg/GER), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Moenchengladbach/GER), Michael Lang (Basle), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus/ITA), Francois Moubandje (Toulouse/FRA), Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg/GER), Fabian Schar (Hoffenheim/GER), Steve von Bergen (Young Boys Bern)

    Midfielders: Valon Behrami (Watford/ENG), Blerim Dzemaili (Genoa/ITA), Gelson Fernandes (Rennes/FRA), Fabian Frei (Mainz/GER), Granit Xhaka (Arsenal/ENG), Denis Zakaria (Young Boys Bern)

    Strikers: Eren Derdiyok (Kasimpasa Istanbul/TUR), Breel Embolo (Basle), Admir Mehmedi (Bayer Leverkusen/GER), Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City/ENG), Haris Seferovic (Eintracht Frankfurt/GER), Shani Tarashaj (Everton/ENG).

  • Italy’s Verratti ruled out of Euro 2016

    Italy’s Verratti ruled out of Euro 2016

    Italy midfielder Marco Verratti will undergo surgery on a groin injury that will rule him out of Euro 2016, his French club, Paris Saint-Germain, confirmed on Friday.

    “In agreement with Paris Saint-Germain, Marco Verratti has decided to undergo surgery to heal the groin problem that has he has been suffering from for several weeks.

    “The operation will take place in Doha on May 16 at the Aspetar Centre – the club’s official medical partner. The midfielder, who recently extended his contract with the capital club until 2020, is expected to be sidelined for eight weeks.

    “As a result, Marco Verratti will play no part in Paris Saint-Germain’s final matches of the season, or Euro 2016, to be held in France between June 10 and July 10. Paris Saint-Germain wishes the player a speedy recovery and hopes he will soon be fully fit and back to his best for both club and country,” Goal quoted PSG as saying in a statement.

     

  • 70th Precinct secures Euro 2016 public viewing rights

    To heighten the forthcoming EURO 2016 experience, 70th Precinct Limited, a digital agency, has secured the exclusive screening licence for Nigeria territory for UEFA EURO 2016 Public Screening.

    The licence gives 70th Precinct the exclusive rights to market and organise in Nigeria the Euro 2016 public screening. 70th Precinct intends to organise a massive fan park in the Lagos metropolis during the entire one month of the competition.

    On the development, 70th Precinct CEO, Mr. Osamede Umweni, said: “Nigerians are very passionate about the game of football and we told ourselves that we needed to create a unique experience for football fans not only to watch the game, but also have an atmosphere of conviviality and several engagement platforms we would put in place for the fans.

    “A huge numbers of Nigerians want to watch football games in a communal like setting, we have that understanding and that is why we are putting together the Fan Park.

    “The Fan Park would attract over 5,000 football fans daily and all the matches would be shown on a 60sqm screen, which is the biggest in the country. It would also feature series of exciting games and events for all categories of football fans. The Fan Park would definitely be an advertiser and sponsor’s delight.”