The Big Guns are all Blazing

The Big Guns are finally Blazing in the Knockout Stage.

Portugal, Germany & Belgium have come to the party.


While the Portuguese scarped thru against Croatia 1-0, Germany & Belgium won by huge margins 3-0 & 4-0 respectively & more importantly their key players have shined.

Kroos was brilliant for Germany while the irreplaceable Eden Hazard showed his class much to the delight of Belgian & Chelsea.

The Germans finally played with a Proper no. 9 in form of Mario Gomes which gave them the rewards.

The Belgians meanwhile cannot do anything wrong after the 1st game loss to Italy.

The Big Guns are shooting & it is certainly not blanks.  

The Hits & Flops after the Group Stage of the Euro’s

With the group stages of the Euro's getting over, there were a lots of Hits & a few Flops.

Here is a look at some of them.

The Flops.

Let us consider  a few flops of the group stage.

          

            Harry Kane

A lot was expected from the Spurs & England striker, But Kane looked as if the long season at White Hart Lane has taken its toll on him. Also what was baffling was the fact that Kane took most of the corners against Russia, when he hardly used to take any corners for Spurs.

It seems as coach Roy Hodgson’s tactics & strategy also did not suit Kane. But we hope that Kane shines in the knock out stage.

Ronaldo

It may feel strange to some that Ronaldo flopped in the Group Stage as he scored 2 games in the final game against Hungary. But lets face it only 2 goals scored with more than 25 shots at goal (including a crucial penalty miss) is not exactly a good show especially for   player of Ronaldo's talent & stature.

The fate of his country totally depends on his performance & unfortunately, Ronaldo is aware of this. In the First two games he was trying to win the games for Portugal all by himself & his post match  jibe against Iceland was certainly not one of his finest moments.

False Number 9 strategy of Germany.

Playing without a proper striker & winning games & Trophies........

Sounds familiar?

Yes we think about False No. 9 & we think of Spain.

Well, Germany is no Spain,

Loew surprised one & all by playing Mario Gotze as the false No. 9. The strategy has back fired & how. Only 3 goals in 3 games by the World Champions which includes a goal less draw & a last minute goal is not exactly Cup winning form. 

The faster Loew understands this & changes his False No.9 policy the better it will be for the Germans if they hope the emmulate France & Spain by winning the Euro after the World Cup.

Zaltan Ibrahimovic

In world football if there is one player who has a bigger ego than Ronaldo, it is Zaltan Ibrahimovic. And if there is one player who flopped more than Ronaldo, it is the Swede.

So much was expected from Ibra in his last appearance for Sweden, but he failed miserably & so did Sweden.

Hits 

Now let us take a look at some of the Hits of the group stage which set the stage ablaze.

Dimitri Payet

The French play maker is a late starter for his country, but at the age of 29 he is making up for the lost time.

As if scoring two late winners was not enough, he was the Orchestrator who pulled all the strings of the French attack. That Payet is the Heart Beat of this French side was quite evident in the last game against the Swiss were Payet was rested & was brought on as a late substitute. Th game was a dour draw.

Gareth Bale 

"Wales is not a one-man team" - Gareth Bale

Bale said that their is much more than himself in his Wales team. While that may be true, he was certainly the most important Cog in Wales's wheel.

This is quite evident by the three goals Bale scored to help his country top Group B.

Maybe Ronaldo should learn some team spirit from his Club team mate.

Croatia

How good is this Croatia team? 

Well Spain will reply to it.

Always expected to be finishing group at second position, this Dark Horse certainly stirred a few feathers & raised few eye brows with its performance against the defending champions.

To defeat Spain is not easy, to do so after going behind by a goal is admirable, but to do if with out Luka Modric is unthinkable.

This is how good this Croatian team can be.

Minnows

Who are the biggest hits of Euro 2016 group stage??

Unanimously, football fans around the world will say just one word "Minnows".

When UEFA decided to increase the participants from 16 to 24 it was for the so called lesser teams to be a success. And Success they are.

Right from Albania winning for the first time, to the two Irish teams going through to the next stage of the Hungarian defeating Austria to top the group, the minnows have  made Headlines.

But the biggest Healiner has to be ICELAND.

A country of 330000 population clashing & winning against the best teams of Europe is like a dream.........

A dream which Iceland is living. A gritty performance against the Portuguese and  a good display against Hungary was followed by a brilliant team effort against Austria which was rewarded duly by a win.

Iceland & the other minnows were certainly the biggest hits of the Euros till date. And their performance is certainly bring smile on the lips of a one Certain Monsieur Michel Platini. 

No Minnows in Euro 2016

With the First Round of Euro 2016 over tonight after the Portugal - Iceland game it seems that there are no Minnows in Euro 2016.

When UEFA has increased the number of teams from 16 to 24 for Euro 2016 many feared that the competitive nature of the Euro's will be lessened, as unlike the FIFA World Cup generally Euro's tended to have very tight games & no weak teams.

The First round of Group stage has proved all the critics wrong.

Right from the opener between France v Romania, where it was excepted that the Romanians will play defensive,to the Germany- Ukraine game were the World Champions were given a run for their money. Though Germany won 2-0 that scoreline does not tell the story.

Even the First timers Albania played well against the Swiss.

But the biggest news has to be Portugal drawing 1-1 to Iceland. No one in their wildest dreams expected the island nation of a population of 330,000 to score against the Portuguese. Infact most of the pundits predicated a massacre by Ronaldo, Nani & Co.

But the so called minnow or weak teams who are lacking superstars are showing discipline, fitness, team spirit & tactical astuteness.

We already had a minor upset with Hungary beating Austria 2-0, but we can surely expect a major upset or two in the remaining group stage games. 

Payet the Orchestrator

In the opening game of the Euro 2016, Pogba was suppose to be the new leader for France. It was expected that the Juventus midfielder will take place of the Legendary Zidane.

Instead it was Dimitri Payet who took charge. Through the game it was Payet who pulled the strings of all the attacks. Infact it was Payet the Orchestrator who was pivotal in each & every attack by the French. It was his assist to Giroud which was the opener.

So influential was the Palace Mid fielder that the French Coach Dider Deschamp substituted Pogba rather than Payet. And his faith was paid off as Payet scored an absolute stunner to give France the win.

A late starter in the Les Blues team Payet - 29 is certainly the man to look out in the French team as he is bound to pull the strings for France in the Euro & increase his value as a player.