Land of No Hope or Glory
15/07/24 04:13
Day 22 in the Footcall House...
This was it, the big one, THE FINAL! The culmination of 22 days of footie, some of it dreary, some of it scintillating but all of it Footcall. Here we are as England fans (apologies to those who are not) in the final just like four years ago but this time up against another old adversary; Spain. Were we ready to go the distance? Extra time? Penalties? Who knows?
The final match was held in Berlin, let’s hope it Takes My Breath Away...
Spain 2 v 1 England
The first half was a competent display from both sides with plenty of possession from both sides but very few opportunities. Both nations posses midfield and defence more solid than my grandad’s brick outhouse and this Spanish Morata was not going to breach our back line. Despite a great effort from Nico Williams as he burst into the box only to be thwarted by John “I’ve got the” Stones as he lunged in to protect his keeper. The only other goal mouth chance came England’s way when a free kick was flicked on to the outstretched leg of Phil Foden. He struck it well enough and it was definitely heading for goal but also it was going straight into the arms of keeper Simon.
After the break, it was what exactly we expected... The Spanish in-position! England knew they had to concentrate after their half time Um Bongo which was notorious for making them a bit drowsy. Manager G refrained from any early subs as per and no doubt showed em clips of England’s past glories like Geoff Hurst’s hat-trick, Michael owen’s wonder goal in 98 and Terry Butcher’s bloodied head. All he really needed to do was play them this clip of Kane, Bellingham and Foden dancing to World In Motion...
https://x.com/fullback03/status/1812471600283087125
Well whatever he said, it didn’t work. We were caught napping (I knew we should have switched to Moonshine or Fruit Shoots) and young Lamine Yamal cut in from the right hand side to set up Nico Williams who was in acres of space totally unmarked. The left winger side footed it perfectly into the bottom right corner of Pickford’s net. We’d only been playing two minutes since the restart and now we totally on the back foot. But hey; we’ve been here before and we’ve still got a good 40 minutes to right this ship. Suddenly it was all one way traffic and Spain were looking to kill this game off. They nearly doubled their lead when Danny Olmo had a shot that just went wide of the post. England were on the ropes and Nico also took a potshot that was just inches wide. Bellingham hit a belter that also failed to trouble the keeper. The Yamal did test the gloves of England’s man in yellow but Pickford did a great job stopping the net from bulging.
In the 73rd minute this, as Martine McCutcheon once said, Was Our Perfect Moment! Saka cut inside to Bellingham who teed up super sub Palmer and with the sweetest of left foots Ice Cole smashed it into the bottom left corner. What a goal! Sheer jubilation. This was the equaliser and Ol King Cole had got us back in the game!
In typical England style we failed to press home our momentum and seemed to sit back and soak up the pressure of Spain in possession. Ultimately this was our undoing as Sideshow Bob look-a-like, Marc Cucurella, crossed a low ball into the heart of our penalty box just as his compadre, Mikel Oyarzabal managed to beat the offside trap and Marc Guéhi’s lacklustre defending and he wrong footed Jordan to put Spain back in the lead. But now there was only four minutes left.
This was the jolt England needed and fired up they pushed for an equaliser and the hope of pushing this game into extra time. They say, in every game there is usually one chance that will come your way and it certainly did. In the dying moments of the match Palmer won a penalty and crossed it deep into the Spanish danger area. Declan Rice hit a power header but sadly straight at Simon’s gloves. The keeper could only parry it and it pinged out to Marc Guéhi who headed straight back at goal This was surely going to be Marc’s redemption moment for his earlier misdemeanour. Well it could have been had it not been for the head of Danny Olmo as he cleared the ball off the line saving the blushes of his keeper.
Seconds later the ref blew for full time, the Spanish fell to their knees in tears of joy, the English cried tears of sorrow. Once again so close, yet so far. Jude Bellingham vented his frustration as he kicked a water cool-box over and stormed off and sat in one of the subs seats. Gareth told the media this wasn’t the time to be talking about the future of his career and if it were to be his swan song, I know his trophy cabinet is bare but I for one would say he has done a damn fine job. “But if you are stepping down Gareth, can you put a word in for me with the FA before you leave?”
Spain were the victors and rightly so. They had been the form team throughout, winning every match and more often than not, looked convincing doing it. They had incredible players like Nico Williams and Rodri but most notably the star of the tournament with Lamine Yamal who celebrated his 17th birthday yesterday! And like Luke Littler, who is the same age (but not quite the same physique), it was an absolute joy to watch him boss his sport like a total legend! Well played young man, I doth my cap to you, and to your team; Viva Espana!
And so to the Footcall League...
Chris Sampson is the new Footcall Champion! Chris managed to hang on to the top spot with the eight points he bagged for correctly predicting Spain would win. Incredibly this is the second Footcall star Chris can sew on to his Footcall jersey as he won back in 2016 and he has rocketed into the top 5 on the Hall of Fame list.
Ben Kirchell manages to hang to the runner up spot but only by the number of red squares he won. Pretty good for his first Footcall effort. The eight points for the Spain victor saw plenty of moves up the board with that correct guess in fact every money spot in the top 16 was occupied by someone who predicted that final outcome. Craigs Wood and Martin were right up there along with Hall of Famer, Kevin Appleton. Mike Costello and Krishan Bindra, Alice Brown, Matt Clark and Les Herbert also claiming prize money. Let’s name check them all by including Tom Foster, Peter Maddigan, Kathryn Rowland, Jamie & Ian, James Parker and Nick Wyatt. I feel awful for the four other players also on 56 points who missed out by the separating criteria, hopefully we will see you all again in 2026.
I can tell you now that had England won this evening the Footcall table would have looked quite different and Jo Mackenzie would have leapfrogged the three players above her to claim her very first Footcall trophy. Tragically for her though she dropped to 27th, well out of the prize money. But if you are reading this Jo, I can offer you free entry to Footcall 2026 because you won the Cruyff Division, so every cloud eh?
So my player of the tournament has to go to Chris Sampson for his incredible run to the finishing tape and I am sure he will enjoy investing his £550 prize money back into the next 55 Footcalls! And it’s a double celebration for him as his partner Caroline managed to win the Yashin Division so she can come back for a free go in two years time.
I’d like make my player of the day, Jonathan Rowland who managed to win the Knockout League table with a perfect 32 point score. Jonathan didn’t drop a single point as he managed to beat Liz Knott who had plumped for England to win. For those of you that don’t know, Jonathan is the father of Angus who lost his fight to Leukemia and Blood Cancer UK is one of the charities we support...
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/angus-mailey-rowland
I am sure Angus would have loved playing Footcall and he’d probably be astonished to see his Dad be any good at this!
All the winners are listed on the Footcall home page and I shall be in touch with all the prize winners so we can meet under a bridge somewhere so I can hand over the proverbial brown envelope!
That’s it from me, signing off for another two years, I need 24 months off to recuperate! I hope you have enjoyed it, especially if this was your first Footcall, please do email back to let me know what you thought of it, the best quotes will get published on our Fanbase page...
https://www.footcall.co.uk/fanbase/
The beauty of our little game is that even if it’s sh!t, we all have something riding on it! Well maybe not all, I won’t name names but some Footcallers never got out the starting blocks and all I can do is encourage you to come back for another go next time, I know it will 2026 be your year.
It just leaves me to thank everyone who took part but special mentions must go to Mrs Footcall for allowing me to stay up late on many a school night and write my reports. Matt “Mr Big” Clark, Neil “YTee” White, Spencer “ChatGPT Sabotaged My Footcall” Collins, Iain “MC” Baker and finally Peter “The Cabmeister General” Mulvey all of whom contributed with reports, commentary and banter along the way!
How about we all reconvene two years from now and do it all again? Footcallers Assemble!
David
Ollie, Ollie, Ollie... Oi! Oi! Oi!
10/07/24 23:50
Day 21 in the Footcall House...
The second Semi Final saw the Dutch go up against England in what was billed “Europe...It’s the Final Countdown!” Who would prevail? Who’s up for a kick about against Spain on Sunday?
Netherlands 1 v 2 England
The fans were in fine voice with plenty of the Dutch fans wearing their traditional orange whereas Southgate’s Barmy Army wore a mixed bag of Stella soaked vintage shirts from every era and I swear I saw one that had Lofthouse emblazoned on the back of it! Well we needed to summon the spirit of the Lion of Vienna this evening and put on a performance like we did 28 years ago at Wembley - the problem with England is you’re never quite sure which one is gonna turn up. The game started well on the near saturated surface after a tidal wave had washed over the Dortmund stadium. This surface is always great for sliding tackles, we just don’t want any of those passes where the ball gets stuck in the middle of a giant puddle. Both sides seemed up for it and England definitely looked sharper than we did in any game so far. Despite plenty of possession Declan Rice made a howler in midfield and let Xavi Simons wriggled free to hit a screamer goal bound. The outstretched fingers of Jordan Pickford just weren’t long enough to prevent the ball fizzing into the net. Little Xavi could not be happier despite having one of those faces that always looks like he’s on the verge of tears. As he ran to his cheering fans, he clambered up on the advertising hoarding just so they could get a look at his smiling face. Let’s give credit wear it’s due, it was a well struck shot but maybe a bag of rice could have made a better job than Declan at stopping the attack happen.
Well not to worry, England have been here before and it could be argued an early goal against is often the kick up the backside we need to get the party started. That’s exactly what happened when Saka burst into the box and his blocked effort dropped for Kane to volley it towards the Dutch net. His effort went skyward and it looked like a chance squandered. However at the same time Kane made contact so did defender “Dumfries and Ball-away” out of danger. Contact was made with Harry’s foot and down he went writhing in agony. Nobody in comms seriously thought anything would come of it, I even thought it was a 50-50 challenge, but the ref was summoned to the VAR screen and he determined it was penalty and pointed at the spot! What a bit of luck to come England’s way, it’s not often we get decisions go our way like that. Despite being impaled, Harry recovered quickly enough from his “broken ankle” to take the penalty and duly slotted it in the bottom left corner beyond the stretch of Verbuggen’s reach. One all; game on!
Suddenly the boys in white had a spring in their step and Walker, Foden and Saka made a nuisance of themselves down the flanks. Moments later Phil went agonisingly close as he managed to squeeze between the legs of a defender and under the body of the keeper. Surely this was going to put us in front? But it was the extended leg of Denzel Dumfries who just about managed to stop the ball dead on the line and then hoof it clear. Goal line technology confirmed it hadn’t crossed the line but who knows, maybe a certain Russian linesman might have given it!
Denzel not only made amends for his penalty give away he very nearly put his team in front when his header struck the crossbar. The action packed first half concluded when Phil F-oh!-den clipped the outside of the upright with a curling left footer from 25 yards straight of the Lamine Yamal scrapbook. If it just had a bit more swazz on it the ball would have found the back of the net.
After the break, breaths were held in the anticipation of more of the same. Sadly though it seemed the storm had sucked the atmosphere out the arena. England failed to dominate like they did for the first 45 and Pickford had to be sharp as a tack to stop a Van Dijk shot from close quarters. In a game that had all the hallmarks of extra time on the horizon Bukayo Saka bobbed up in the box to put the ball in the net. Sadly though our friendly referee’s assistant must have been on smoko as the goal was ruled offside.
Time was running out and the prospect of playing another half an hour and the threat of penalties was something that strikes fear into any English fan’s heart. We’ve been here too many times before and the lack of texts coming through to my phone is a real indication that those watching were also starting to get nervous. Well never fear my friends as Oliver’s Army are on their way. In the final minute of normal time, super sub Cole Palmer passed it to superb sub Ollie Watkins deep in Dutch penalty area. Despite pressure from de Vrij, Ollie turned his man and instinctively hit the ball across the face of goal. Surely the angle was too adjacent? Surely it was going wide? Keeper Verbruggen dived for it but his efforts were in vain as the ball was just beyond his grasp and the ball managed to fire inside the far post into the Dutch net. WHAT. A. GOAL! And what timing as well. Just about all 22 England players ran on to the pitch swarming around jolly Ollie celebrating his moment of magic. This added two more minutes to extra time so all we had to do was hang until the bitter end. Full time cam and the ref exhaled into his whistle whilst the England fans exhaled into what was left of their pints!
England had done it, the first major final on foreign soil and Gareth and his team should be mighty proud of their achievement. Can they go one step further on Sunday? We shall have to wait and see!
And so to the Footcall League...
We have a new leader at the top of the Footcall table! Chris Sampson now heads the leaderboard by two points as Ben slips down to second. Chris won Footcall in 2016 so he must have a real knack of this prediction lark. Only Mick Mallion has won the trophy more than once so a victory for Chris on Sunday will see him right up the Hall of Fame with the big players.
With four points for guessing England would win tonight has boosted many players into the yellow money bracket with Jo Mackenzie, Craig Wood, Craig Martin, Mike Costello, Krishan Bindra, Les Herbert and Reece Unwin.
Just on the fringes of glory are Peter Short, Tom Foster and Elizabeth Knott who is still topping the Knockout Stages League with a perfect 100% record. You can check out her chart topping status the Knockout Stages league table right here...
https://www.footcall.co.uk/KOResults.php
I’d like to award my Player of the Day Award to Ross Wood who I know had to live in the shadow of his girlfriend, Katherine Beattie, throughout the Group Stages. But Ross is now up into 15th and Katherine is languishing in 158th! Ross is having a great first time Footcall and not only that he came runner up in the Favourite Team Name Award with “Jimmy Floyd Bottle Bank” so another 8 points on Sunday will make up for just missing out on that prize.
For those that haven’t seen the brand new Favourite Team Name Award league table here you go...
https://www.footcall.co.uk/FavouriteTeamName.php
That’s it for now, we have just enough time to get our breath back in time for the final chukka on Sunday night, I can’t wait. If it goes to penalties against Spain, maybe we can summon the spirit of Stuart Pearce in Euro 96...
https://youtu.be/Fq7j0llfaMk?si=evYSYQxe1BHzRUc6
...just look at his face!
David
Escargone!
09/07/24 23:30
Day 20 in the Footcall House...
This match saw the most attacking team in the competition (Spain) go up against the most defensive team (France). Up until now the French had not actually scored a single goal in open play so they really were going to have to lift their game. Captain Mbappe had dispensed with his mask which I am sure was offering at least one mile per hour drag so we were expecting him back to his Billy Whizz pace. As a viewer I think I speak for us all when I say we just want to see the quality and skill on display that we all know they can offer - not always been the case with every match we have seen so far. It was good to see Munich stadium not being drowned in a down pour and maybe all that rain Germany has had is now over the British Isles.
Spain 2 v 1 France
The game started lively enough with some slick free flowing football that is synonymous with both nations. Fabián Ruiz had a golden opportunity to put Spain in front from a delightfully delivered ball by the young Lamine Yamal but his header was too hight for the goal. It look like the Spanish had the rule of the opening few minutes but dramatically against the run of play Mbappe dinked in a lovely ball to the heart of the box just as Kolo Muani rose majestically like he was on a step ladder and he nutted it into the Spanish net. Eight minutes gone and now Spain were on the back foot. Well it didn’t take long before the scoresheet was back level as Lamine Yamal showed off his skills as he danced his way around the French defence and from all of 25 yards out he curled the ball absolutely beautifully into the top left corner. One of the goals of the tournament that left keeper Maignan flapping his arms in the wind with no chance of stopping it. At just 16 years and 362 days old Yamal is the youngest player to score at a Euro final and what a way to do it! Remember this day folks, we have just seen the birth of a new footballing superhero. I better put his name in to the dictionary on my computer as I think I will be writing about this lad for many years to come.
Suddenly the match was wide open and Spain were in the ascendancy. It took barely four minutes before Danni Olmo pulled off a moment of magic to rival his young compatriot, in the blink of an eye he managed to sidestep the French defence and he smashed it towards the goal. The goal pinged into the net off Jules Kounde. With the ball being goal bound VAR awarded the goal to Olmo putting at the top of the tree in line for the Golden Boot. The boys in red managed to keep their lead going into half time.
After the break, for the team in the lead it was all about slowing the game and keeping possession whilst they watched their opponents exhaust themselves as they tried desperately to get back in to the match. Nico Williams very nearly managed to beat the advancing Maignan but couldn’t quite lift the ball over him. France weren’t out of it by any means and chances did come their way with a header by Tchouaméni weren’t straight into the keeper’s hands. Theo Hernandez had a gift of chance but skied it into row Z. Mbappe pretty much did exactly the same thing which was very disappointing much like his performance throughout the whole tournament really.
Time was running out and young Yamal very nearly made it 3-1 with a carbon copy of his wonder goal but this time his effort was just too elevated to find the net. No matter, the whistle blew and Spain were the victors. Sadly the french failed to ignite the tournament at any stage and you only have to look at their stats to see how dismal they were. However they were defensively excellent and that is what got them this far. But the Spanish were devastating in all areas of the pitch, and for my money, an even better outfit than the dominating team they had in 2010. Who will they face in Sunday’s Final?
And so to the Footcall League...
Ben bagged a much needed four points this evening as did a ton of Footcallers. Had France won this evening I think we could have seen some dramatic shifts in the table. Sadly for Alan Church he tumbles down the list along with Patrick Ferguson, Matt Green, Paul Firmston. Poor old Reece Unwin has had unbroken run halted just as he was heading towards the top 16 yellow money bracket at the top of the table.
When it comes to the movers and shakers in the Knockout Stages League that includes Les “I remember winning the best team name” Herbert, Peter Maddigan, Charmaine “has anyone seen Chris and Nick” Stimson, Sue “if Janette could see me now!” Huke, Richard n Charlie Goodwin, Thomas Lillis, Sadie “come on Faversham” Colyer, Matt “see ya Reece” Unwin, Steve the Wagon Train and Alex Wheeler all of whom have scored an impressive 19 points.
Just two players are yet to drop any points in the Knockout Stages and they are Jonathan Rowland and Elizabeth Knott. That’s a perfect “score” (20 points) for both of them so far. Liz actually tops the KO League by stint of the fact that she acquired a greater number of red squares so she gets the honour of my player of the day.
Here is the link to the Knockout Stages league table...
https://www.footcall.co.uk/KOResults.php
Back tomorrow for the big showdown, England versus The Netherlands. Do we dare to dream of a repeat of our glorious Euro 96 performance, wouldn’t that be special! If you don’t know what I’m talking about then check out this lovely little bit of nostalgia...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFVnQ737COk
David
Xhaka Can’t – Saka Can!
06/07/24 23:12
Day 19 in the Footcall House...
The last of the Quarter Final matches were played out today and we are getting to the nitty gritty of Footcall 2024. Let’s get to it shall we?
England 1 v 1 Switzerland (England win 5-3 on penalties)
As is customary in these Quarter Final matches, the first half was a rather lifeless contest with almost identical possession and the exact same number of attempts on goal - a big fat zero! Whilst England looked way more energetic than their last game, ultimately it didn’t lead to anything whatsoever. Boring AF!
After the break it was pretty much looking like business as usual. That was until the 75th minute when a swift Swiss move led to Embolo tapping in from four yards out to put his nation in front. Just as last night when Spain scored suddenly it was game on and England had 15+ minutes to equalise and take it to extra time. Well fortunately we didn’t have to wait long as Bukayo Saka scored an absolute thumper from outside the area to curl it inside the bottom left corner. One all and England were back in it. There was no question England were playing with more purpose and direction than our game against Slovakia. Now I’m not talking about when we dismantled the Dutch in Euro 96 type England but it was decent enough. Full time came and the scoresheet was still level so extra time it was.
Keepers were tested at both ends, Declan Rice had a long range effort saved by Sommer and Shaqiri almost scored directly from a corner and Pickford was glad to see it ping off the crossbar. They kept going but neither team could actually stick it away so we all knew what that meant... Groundhog Day was here again!
Penalties are so much easier to watch when it isn’t your nation taking but now that we are here we have to endure them once again. It’s easy to say that England should be used to them by now but of course some of these players this is their first shoot-out, so who knows how they will handle the pressure and Harry Kane and Phil Foden were on the bench so they had been excused.
First up was England’s “Ice Cole” Palmer who dispatched the ball cooler than Telly Savalas sucking a lollipop! Akanji stepped up to take Switzerland’s first and would you believe he stuck it in the arms of Jordan Pickford. Missed! Now the Swiss were on the back foot. Bellingham scored easily and Swiss countered. Next up was Bukayo Saka who had heroically got us back in the game before but perhaps more memorably missed a crucial penalty in the shoot-out of the final four years ago. Clearly the occasion did not get to him this time and young lad slotted it perfectly into the bottom right corner. Stuart Pearce would have been proud! Shaqiri kept Swiss hopes alive and then Ivan Toney scored the most astonishing goal without even looking at the ball, sold the keeper his eyes and tucked it in the bottom left corner. If I’d done that I would have missed the ball entirely and ended up on my arse. After Amdouni scored again for the reds it was all down to Trent Alexander Arnold and his penalty was perhaps struck with more authority than any other. It flew into the top left and this sparking the celebrations for the obligatory team pile up in front of the baying England fans. Another penalty shoot-out ghost laid to rest giving Southgate a lovely semi!
Netherlands 2 v 1 Türkiye
The Turks had been the dark horses of Euro 24 and their win against Austria was resilient and determined. They would need all their guile to defeat the Dutch this evening. Well their dreams were answered when Akaydin and two of his mates queued up to head in a delightful cross from Güler. Once again the underdogs were leading and the goal really opened the game up. They hung on just as they know how to go into the break with their lead in tact.
In the second half Güler once again nearly extended the Turkish lead with a wicked free kick from well outside the area that just grazed the outside of the post. It was all Turkey at this point and the Dutch were rocking. But the quality is always there and Stefan de Vrij rose highest to head home a fantastic header and make the match all square. In the 76th minute Netherlands forged ahead with a scrappy goal that looked like it had been bundled in by Gakpo but VAR showed that it actually came off Muldur from point blank range. Now the boys in orange were in the ascendency and all they had to do was hold on until the final whistle. Some last ditch defending was necessary from the Dutch as Türkiye desperately tried to force the game into extra time and one of the stops of the tournament had to be pulled off by Verbruggen to save Netherlands blushes. And so it finished 2-1 to the Dutch and now they will go to-to-toe with England on Wednesday evening.
And so to the Footcall League...
OH MY WORD, Ben has been unable to capitalise on his leadership as he failed to claim any points today. Chris closes the gap and sneaking up there as he has done before is Alan Church. Patrick Ferguson bagged four points today and races into 7th with his daughter Alice just one place behind. Peter Short, Jo Mackenzie, Matt Green and Paul Firmston all collected four points today to push them into the top 16 money bracket. My congratulations to any other player who scored a perfect four today, and that does include Mrs Footcall who will be delighted to see her team climb off the bottom page.
>>> BREAKING NEWS >>>
We have a brand new Knockout Stages League Table for you.
“What fun!” I hear you cry.
This is a table based on the points just scored in the second phase of the competition.
Heading up this table are three players who so far have maintained a perfect 100% record! They are, Jonathan Rowland, Elizabeth Knott and Reece Unwin. All three have acquired 16 points but Reece tops the table as he scored more red squares in the Group Stages. Just like in the first half of the competition, the top 8 players will win a cash prize. Here is the full list for you to enjoy...
https://www.footcall.co.uk/KOResults.php
We have a couple of days off to recharge our batteries before we see Spain take on France in the first semi-final.
David
Coq Au Win!
05/07/24 23:30
Day 18 in the Footcall House...
I am back Footcall people! My special thanks to my Footcall chum, Neil White, for an outstanding report earlier in the week, very much appreciated. He did a terrific job and one of his comments afterwards was “I don’t know how you do it every night Dave?!” Well I’m not sure either but knowing you lot out there enjoy my ramblings keeps me motivated so I am back in the hot seat ready to go.
Spain 2 v 1 Germany (AET)
In what was the potential tie of the tournament would have perhaps been a fitting Final turned out to be a Quarter Final match between hotly tipped Spain and host nation Germany. Both teams topped their respective groups and might have hoped for a showdown that would see the winner lift the trophy as these were probably the two teams that had performed the best so far. To say that the first half was a cagey affair would be an understatement, it was so tepid I would not have been surprised if Luke Warm was playing left back for Germany. I think both sides tested the keeper once in a 45 minute show that was akin to the undercard at a boxing match that nobody is watching. Just who was going to get this party started?
After the break things changed. No more Spanish tiki-taka it was tapas time! Six minutes into the second half young hotshot Yamal spotted a delightful run of super sub Dani Olmo who was in acres of space to comfortably slot it into the left corner. This goal really ignited St Olmo’s Fire and suddenly both sides had removed their gloves and were sizing each other up and as Mike Tyson once said “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face!” The blue touch paper had been lit and now they were going for it, were you watching Italy? The Germans really pushed to get back in it and the end to end nature left plenty of opportunity for both sides to hit them on the break. Havertz tested the Spanish defence and Fullkrug even hit the post and with time running out it really looked as the hosts might well going home. But international football history tells us to write Germany off at our peril as it was in the closing minutes of normal time that Muller climbed well to get his head on a crossed ball which dropped nicely for Wirtz who pinged it in “der zwiebelsack” (the onion bag) off the post and keep his nation’s hopes alive. Full time came and the scoresheet was even stevens.
Extra Time was full of beans and both teams looked hungry for their chance of playing in another major Semi Final. There were plenty of chances for both sides and with each one spurned the prospect of penalties was looming. However in the second half of ET when Dani Boy Olmo floated another exquisite ball for Mikel Merino to rise up and power home a sublime header beyond Neuer’s reach. Spain were back in front and a huge chunk of Footcallers collectively exhaled! All they had to do was hold on for another 11 minutes. Fullkrug gave them a scare when he mimicked Merino’s header only to put it agonisingly wide of the Spanish post. The match descended into anarchy as the players tired and in the closing minute Carvajal pulled off a move on Musiala that might even be questionable in UFC and subsequently got himself sent off and out of the next game. Arguably though he did stop a run on goal that might have been disastrous so who’s to say his Hong Kong Phooey move wasn’t worth the risk? Soon after the whistle blew and the game was over. Spain the victors and Germany heading up the Autobahn without any silverware.
Portugal 0 v 0 France (France win 5-3 on penalties)
Much like the earlier game, the first half of this match was largely uneventful. Both teams cancelling each other out and both sides had few opportunities to test the opposing keepers. It was challenging to stay awake during this one let alone keep notes and I think Hernandez had the only shot that I can remember on target.
After the break it was much the same and this game desperately needed a goal to give the others the kick up the arse to fire back at them. Sadly though that never happened and even though Mbappe and Bruno Fernandes both had attempts on goal the keepers did a great job at preventing the scorekeepers from rousing from their slumber. Dembele made a significant impact when coming on and in the closing moments of the 90, France’s number 12, Kolo Muani had an unbelievable chance just miss by the smallest of margins and this was topped by Camavinga who was barely six yards out and only had to put it past the keeper but chose to stick it wide when it seemed easier to score.
And just like earlier we were heading into another 30 minutes of exhaustion. The pundits back in the studio make a good point to say that Extra Time is almost a pointless waste of energy and it would be preferable to go straight to penalties. Who knows if that’s a good idea or not, I’m just thankful we don’t have the Golden Goal any longer.
In Extra Time, Portugal were down but not out and Nuno Mendes showed a bit of class to dance his way around the French midfield which he followed up with a one two that left him on the on the edge of the area with a direct view of the goal. Tragically though his effort was tired and weak and punted straight into Maignan’s gloves and just typified the whole game really. ET was over and as much as we might have wanted to “Phone Home” now we had to endure the obligatory sudden death showdown.
I must say watching a penalty shoot-out is a hell of a lot easier when it’s not your home nation but I did have to remind myself that I had a vested interest in France winning purely for my Footcall status. Would Diogo Costa pull of the heroics he did the other night against Slovenia? Well sadly not, these spot kicks were a cut above what he faced in that game and it was clear that France had been practicing their penalties since losing the 2022 World Cup final to Argentina in this manner. Mbappe had been benched so he couldn’t take one but his colleagues did not let him down, scoring all their goals. Just poor old Joao Felix for Portugal was the only one to miss as his shot struck the post for and this left Theo Hernandez to seal the deal for Les Blues who were playing in white so maybe they should be Les Blancs this evening. He confidently poked it in the left side of the net and the celebrations could begin in earnest! That was it, France were through to play Spain in the Quarters and Portugal were on their way home. Seeing the two old boys, Pepe and Ronaldo crying as this might well be their last international match was a lasting sad memory.
And so to the Footcall League...
Ben is maintaining his position at the head of the table with Chris Sampson four points behind. Kevin Appleton has slipped to fourth and Jo’s great run has faltered slightly. Craig Wood has appeared out of nowhere to race into 12th and Leslie Slater also up in to the top 16 money bracket.
We are also running a Knockout Stages only league table where there is prize money for the top eight players who and at the moment is topped by four players on 12 points followed by a peloton of 32 players on eleven! I am sure this will separate out somewhat as we progress through the second phase of the competition. My players of the day award go to the players heading up this this list who are Reece Unwin, Elizabeth Knott, James Ridley and Jonathan Rowland. Well played to these Four Tops all of whom have bagged a perfect dozen points from the knockout games so far.
Back tomorrow for England’s showdown with the Swiss!
David
Goodnight Vienna!
02/07/24 23:55
Day 17 not far from the Footcall House...
Report by Neil “YTee” White
Mr. Footcall has taken a well-earned evening off and has passed his reporters notepad to me to bring you today's match reports.
Romania 0 v 3 Netherlands
The Transylvanian Euro express rolled into Munich today for the Romania Vs Netherlands match for another place in the quarter finals.
Remarkably, Netherlands qualified to the last 16 from 3rd place in their group, whereas Romania topped their group. They are not only very Vlad to get this far in the tournament, but the Romanians have played fangtastically. They are well and truly Stokered by those previous performances and will be hoping that their efforts today will not be in vein.
One end of the Munich stadium with the Romanian fans dressed in yellow and the other end with the Dutch fans in their orange shirts looking like a sea of Uncle Rogers - Haiya!
The Romanians were on top early-doors with most of the possession in the Dutch half, although sadly they couldn't take advantage of their dominance.
Ianis Hagi (Son of his Dad) took a nasty knock to the skull and the trainers were ushered on to nurse his bleeding head wound. It was at this point that the physio realised that he had mixed up the first aid kit with his wife's travel wash bag. Rummaging through hair straighteners, sun cream and nail clippers looking for a bandage, he finally managed to find some wet wipes and a hair net, which Hagi had to embarrassingly wear for the next 80 minutes.
In the 19th minute Holland found a good ball into midfield, Simons passed the Dutchie pon the left hand side, Cody Gakpo, who cut inside and faced the blue-rinsed Romanian defender, Ratiu. By the time the full-back had turned his hearing aid up and put the tin of Werther's Originals back in his pocket, Gakpo had danced passed him and slotted home at the near post. One nil to the Netherlands.
The goal spurred the Dutch on and they piled on the pressure during the rest of the first half with the Romanians doggedly defending their goal. Right at the end of half time Dragus almost equalised with a shot on target, but it was safely and easily saved by Verbruggen, the Dutch keeper.
The second half started much like the first had finished with the Netherlands pushing forward, winning corners and creating chances.
On 61 minutes Gakpo broke free from his own half to the Romanian penalty area. He struck his shot well, but the keeper made a great save to keep it one nil.
Just a minute later, Holland had a goal disallowed, offside by a VAR check; no controversy on this one.
The Netherlands continued to press and on 82 minutes the ref stopped the game to allow substitutions. The resulting throw-in from Micky van de Ven found Gakpo who went to, and dribbled down the by-line to then play a cute ball to Marlen in the box, who tapped it in. Netherlands 2-0.
A Romanian corner in the third minute of time added on saw Marlen break from his own penalty area and run the length of the pitch to slot it nicely past the Romanian keeper. 3-0 to the Netherlands and that's how it finished.
The Netherlands are certainly playing better and Cody Gakpo again remains their main threat up front, with a small slice of De Pay, but we should say the tournament has been better for Romania playing in it. Their dogged energy and lively fans have earned a lot of respect and friends. I'm hearing yellow is Da-nube black.
Austria 1 v 2 Turkey
Austria came into this game in Leipzig well fancied after a strong showing in the tournament so far, and a good run of form in prior matches and they even thrashed Turkey 6-1 in March earlier this year. The Young Turks (2nd youngest team in the Euros) are well fancied. The great Scottish team supporter with the cockney accent, Rod Stewart, wrote a song about them in 1981, long before any of them were even born. However, the Turks are coming into this game with 11 yellow cards in the squad following the afters that went on following their match with Czechia, as reported by David.
'The wow factor' is an overused phrase in my book, but the start of this game definitely had it. The kick-off whistle blew and the Turks were taking the play deep into the Austrian half. They won a corner. Up stepped wonder-kid Guller to deliver the perfect ball into the heart of the Austrian box. Three players, including the keeper tried to repel the ball from the goalmouth, but it eventually fell to Demiral who smashed it into the roof of the net. One nil to Turkey with barely a minute on the clock and the crowd chaos ensued.
Four minutes in and an Austrian corner provided a chance to recover, but the ball rolled agonisingly along the goal line and the Turks breathed a sigh of relief.
Austria settled into the match, but it was Turkey who looked the more threatening. After 30 minutes the Austrians were just about containing their opponents and I was wondering if the Turks can maintain this level of energy for the full 90. The pattern being Turkey sitting with five across the back and breaking fast when Austria failed to break them down.
Despite all the yellow cards carrying over this wasn't an ill-tempered match, but on 41 minutes Turkey fowl, Yuksek on Baumgartner. Half time comes without any further goals. 1-0 Turkey and Austria had to find a way to influence the game as they have done already in this tournament.
After the break Austria brought on two subs, Gregoritsch and Prass. The former being built like a rugby second row forward. I think I can guess what his role is. As the second half began, so did the rain in Leipzig.
On 50 minutes a chance fell to Arnautovic, but it was well smothered by the Turkish Keeper. Austria playing much better with their three forwards causing problems for the Turkish defence.
Turkey worked their way to their opponents end and forced a corner, Up steps the wonder-kid who was roundly pelted by cups from the Austrian supporters, containing what liquid, I wouldn't like to guess, but this didn't phase him and he delivered a sweet delivery into the six yard box. Once again there was Demiral to head in his second, and for Lee Dixon in commentary to say 'The Austrians have a mountain to climb now'.
Turkey then did what all teams seem to do with a lead, even England when they occasionally get one, they drop back and invite pressure leaving Austria on the offensive, trying to break the Turkey defence.
On 66 minutes Austria won their own corner. Sabitzer stepped up and delivered a good ball that was flicked on by Posch. At the same moment, substitute Gregoritsch was Viennese waltzing towards the far post to fire it past the keeper. Now it was 2-1 and the big question was, could Turkey hold on?
For the next 20 or so minutes, Turkey were playing with 7, and sometimes more across their back line throwing everything, including the giblets, at defending their lead. Austria tried desperately to get a goal and take this game into extra time. Deep deep into extra time, it came down to almost the last kick of the game when, in the final minute, a close-range header from Baumgartner looked destined for the net. However goalkeeper Gunok managed to fly across to his right and, at full stretch, prevented the ball from crossing the line. The TV pundits said it was as good as Gordon Banks' save against Pele in 1970, but I'm not so sure it was quite that good. Full time came and it was all over.
No hasta la vista for Arnie's boys, but Turkey will be bak-lava!
And so to the Footcall League...
The top 7 players all consolidated their positions, but some of those from 8th down have slipped out of the money bracket. I note that my Footcall buddy, Matt (Mr. Big) Clark has tumbled out of the aforementioned position of glory and been replaced by Joanna Mackenzie. She got an impressive 8 out of 8 so far and is now up into 8th overall - well done Jo!
I'd like to award my player of the day to Mr David Newton, who sits in mid-table mediocrity with 204 points and for no other reason that we learned he is a first-time Granddad. Welcome to the club and congratulations Perce.
So that’s the Round of 16 done and dusted, we now have a couple of days off before we return on Friday for the first two Quarter Final matches.
YTee
Portuguese Man In Goal!
01/07/24 23:34
Day 16 in the Footcall House...
The day after the night before, with England being saved by the Bell sometimes it’s hard to cope with the tension. Two more Round of 16 matches to see if we have predicted correctly
France 1 v 0 Belgium
Neither side had shown us their best so far and it was hard to believe that these are two of the highest ranked teams in the competition. To say that the first half was uneventful would be an understatement. France lacked the insightful move in the final third and Belgium looked like they were ready to head to the pool for an afternoon siesta. The best chance fell to Thuram who headed the ball well over the bar. Apart from that it was woeful and I don’t even think the Belgians had a single shot on goal.
After the break Belgium left their rubber rings, flip flops and sun tan cream in the dressing room and did start to make a game of it. However they lacked any control and constantly gave the ball to the French. Tchouaméni tested the reaction of Casteels in goal early in the second half. Koundé’s cross found the head of Thuram and once again he proceeded to nut it over the bar. For the love of God please get one on target Marcus! Mbappe or Mbatman as he might be known now for his black stealth like mask did very little throughout but did have a moment of magic as he danced through the statuesque Belgian defence only to skite it over the bar. This had all the hallmarks of a nil nil bore draw on the cards and the prospect of penalties looming. Belgium did have a go but Hernandez was up to the task of defending his area. Even Lukaku who had been residing in the “Where are they now file” bobbed up to test Maignan with what was probably his first attempt on goal deep into the second period. The Belgians were making strides to get back in it and I suspect Footcallers the world over who had picked France were getting a bit jittery. This was all in all quite a boring match but then suddenly something happened... France scored! A few clever one twos on the edge of the area saw Randal Kolo Muani’s shot pinged off the shin of Vertonghen wrong footing poor Casteels and into the net. Quite a soft goal really but if this was going to save us from another half hour of this turgidness the neutral fans in the audience didn’t care. With only five minutes to go the French held on to victory sending Tin Tin Out!
Portugal 0 v 0 Slovenia
After the dreary game earlier, surely this match couldn’t be as bad? Slovenia were the lowest rank team left in the tournament and hoping they could upset the form book. Everything that happens in the Portugal team is channelled through their captain Cristiano Ronaldo and had he got more than his eyebrows on a crossed ball who knows it might have gone in early doors. Palhinha clipped the outside of the post just like Declan Rice last night and Slovenia were definitely riding their luck as the first half ended 0-0.
After the break CR7 had a free kick that had to be parried away by Oblak the Slovenian keeper who did an amazing job all match. Against the run of play Benjamin Sesko managed to get the run on veteran defender, Pepe, who, for those that remember Thunderbirds, is a dead ringer for the villain, The Hood. The crafty old boy just managed to slow Sesko’s run enough to force him to stick it wide, what a shock that would have been. In the closing minutes Ronaldo could have sealed it when he was in on goal but his left footed shot went straight at the keeper and eventually full time came and it was still goalless.
Into extra time and thought of penalties was ever present. However a powerful run from Diogo Jota burst into the box only to be brought down when he was in on goal. Penalty! Maybe this game would be decided on just one single spot kick. The duty fell to Captain Ron kissed the ball and placed it down. He struck it well to the bottom right corner but Oblak read it beautifully and managed to get an outstretched hand on to it. Saved! Quite unbelievable. Ronnie’s world collapsed and the pressure was beginning to show. The end of the first half of ET came and Cristiano couldn’t take it any longer and started greetin’ like a little baby! With another 15 minutes to go he needed a hand on his shoulder and a stern talking to in order to pick himself up again.
The second half of ET it was Slovenia who nearly pulled the rug from under Portugal as Pepe’s mistake let Sesko in again. He was one on one with Diogo Costa but sadly he couldn’t convert and his shot struck the leg of the brilliant keeper. The rest of the half was uneventful and so this match was the first in Euro 2024 to be decided by penalties. First up was Iličić and once again the Portuguese man in the gloves saved their necks once again. Ronaldo’s go for his second spot kick of the match and this time there was no mistake as he dispatched it bottom left. Incredibly Costa saved the next penalty as well and the one after that as well with some of the best penalty saves you’ll ever see! This just left Bernardo Silva to convert his effort which he did and put his nation through to the Quarter Final. Sad to see the end of the road for Slovenia but Costa filled his loyalty card right up tonight for Portugal.
And so to the Footcall League...
More predictable results this evening means there is once again very little change in the Footcall league. All but Alex Church scored two points today on page one of the leader board. Just so I can show some love for some of the forgotten players at the other end of the table I shall pick my players of the day to be Lex Arbuckle and Roy Trute. Both receive my heartfelt congratulations for a perfect 6 points so far in the Knockout stages to lift them up to 318th and 314th respectively.
Final games in the Round of 16 tonight, enjoy the ride everyone.
David
Never In Doubt - Apart From The First 95 Minutes!
30/06/24 23:39
Day 15 in the Footcall House...
Two more matches to savour featuring two of the most impressive teams of this tournament, yes that’s Georgia in one game and Slovakia in the other, let’s see how they get on.
England 2 v 1 Slovakia
As is the way in every Footcall many of you lot start to think with your heart and patriotically plump for England to achieve something we have not done for 58 years and that is win a major international trophy. Of course, just like me getting one of my pictures into the Countryfile calendar, we have been mighty close but just not quite managed it yet and I am sure many of you have nailed your colours to the mast pinning our hopes on our boys bringing it home. Well if the first half of this match was anything to go by the only thing we would be bringing home was a giant Toblerone from Duty Free; it wasn’t good. With that said it certainly wasn’t as bad as our game against Slovenia but that was a dead rubber and in this game we needed to hook a rubber duck or it was gonna be home time. With different personnel on the pitch including young master Kobbie we were hoping for some dynamism. With just a handful of minutes on the clock Pickford had the fright of his life as the ball ping ponged about the six yard area and Guehi had to save the keeper’s blushes. Try as we might England just could not keep the ball long enough to do any decisive. Then things took a turn for the worse when Ivan Schranz burst into the box to punt it past Pickford and into the net. All of sudden we were one down and on the back foot. Half time came and the lack of possession and almost zero attempts on the Slovakian goal were a definite red flag.
After the break we were expecting wholesale changes but Southgate clearly had faith in our team getting back level. Our prayers were answered early in the second half when Trippier found Foden and he Philled his boots and stuck it in the onion bag. As we celebrated down by the corner flag an off pitch investigation from you know who determined the goal would not stand as new dad Foden was slightly offside when he struck the ball leaving all the Footcallers who have England to lift the trophy feeling sick again! Although we had more vigour in this half this nearly all went disastrously wrong when an absent minded pass found a blue shirt by the centre circle. The eagle eyed Slovak spotted Pickford off his line and went for goal from inside his own half. Fortunately for England it just went wide. Time was running out and Gareth seemed reluctant to bring on too many subs but he did take Trippier off in favour of Cole Palmer, surely his inspiration will unlock the door. We were getting the ball and Declan Rice struck the post with minutes to go, was this a sign that our luck was running out. On came Eze and Toney and just needed a moment of magic. Well with 95 minutes on the clock that moment came to young, Jude Bellingham showed the world why he is the superstar we have been waiting for. A terrific long throw by Walker was helped on by Guehi to met by the most sublimely timed bicycle kick from Master Jude. The keeper was like a statue as he watched the ball whizz into the bottom right corner. WHAT A GOAL! Absolutely sensational that got England’s world in motion! Just look at the celebration from the Talk Sport boys...
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1429560301092990
Seconds later the full time whistle went and we were into extra time. Please God, just let there be a goal I can’t face the thought of penalties again. Well no need to worry as it was Captain Kane who did the honours and headed home from six yards out to put us in the lead and hang on to it until the end of extra time. We had done it, what a turnaround, we really pulled a rabbit out the hat despite up until the 95th minute we couldn’t even pull a hare from our arse!
Spain 4 v 1 Georgia
We barely got our breath back from England’s success before the evening game kicked off and it left wondering if the earlier game gone to penalties would there have been an overlap? Anyway this one horse race was going to be a demolition derby as Spain were hotter and redder than their shirts to destroy Georgia. The first 15 minutes must have felt like 50 minutes for the underdogs as they barely touched the ball and this looked like the equivalent of the bigger boys stealing the ball whilst you’re having a kick about with your mates and then you can never get it back off them. The gulf in class was patently obvious and only a matter of time before Spain opened their account. Well would you believe it in the 18th minute Spain did score first but incredibly not in the opposition’s net but their own! An unbelievable break by Georgia saw Kakabadze out wide right and his cross was met by Robin Le Normand as the ball bounced off what appeared to be nether regions to wrong foot keeper Unai Simón and into his own net. Simón says, “You’re effing kidding me!” This was totally against the run of play and clearly Georgia who had more front than a Georgian mansion had not read the script. The lead didn’t last long mind as Rodri drew Spain level from the edge of the area with a well worked goal. Going into the break at one one was an incredible achievement for Georgia but the chances of them getting through the next 45 unscathed were unlikely.
After the break, the Spanish picked up where they left off bullying the little lads and Fabian Ruiz put them ahead with a great header in the 51st. One of my favourite players, Nico Williams, scored a delightful goal as he beat the offside trap, gave the keeper the eyes and the smashed it in the roof of the net. For all the quality Spain possess, the player of the match had to be young Lamine Yamal who was an absolute sensation down the right hand side. We shall enjoy watching him blossom over the next few international tournaments; he has plenty more ahead of him. Hard to believe he is just 16 years old... for Pete’s sake, my Oyster Card is older than him! Even with a healthy lead, the favourites weren’t done yet, as Dani Almo completed a well worked piece with a delicate first touch before he tucked it away in the bottom left corner. So it ended 4-1 and Spain have now set up a showdown with host nation Germany on Friday. As for tournament newbies, Georgia have been an entertaining merry-go-round of footie joy and we will all know next time to give them more credit.
And so to the Footcall League...
Despite England nearly destroying the hopes of many Footcallers, both results were very popular amongst us and so there is little change topside.
Alan Church crept up into the money bracket along with Stephen Bingham, Patrick Ferguson, Alice “on equal footing with Dad” Brown and Matt Clark all doing well. Luis Bello clearly gambled on England to slip up and he has now dropped to 12th. The prize money bracket actually extends to the top 16 places so we can include Jo “I love Footcall more than football” Mackenzie, Tom Fielding, Leslie Slater, Terence Tettey and Alan “no relation to Nico” Williams in the running for some cash.
You might notice that some players have the same total points as each other but are positioned lower in the league. In case you are wondering here is how the scoring criteria is calculated...
The overall Footcall Champion will be the player who finishes with the most points at the end of the tournament. If in the event there is a tie for points, the player with the most number of Red Squares THREE pointers in the Group Stages will win. If these statistics are the same, the player who accumulated the most points in the Knockout Stages will be the winner. If these again are the same, the player who amassed the most points in the Group Stages will be decisive. If ALL these criteria are identical, the prize money will be shared but the title will be decided by a name being drawn from a hat.
Still a long way to go and maybe Belgium or Slovenia might spoil the party later tonight.
David
Danepak Yer Bags!
29/06/24 23:23
Day 14 in the Footcall House...
We are back Footcall people! Did you miss me? I’m sure you didn’t miss the relentless amount of emails I sent out to get everyone to complete their Knockout Stages predictions. I make no apologies for that, every time I sent out a reminder I would get a load of players filling their forms in. Sadly there are always casualties at this stage of the game, which is infuriating for me as I devote so much time to this and some players can’t be bovvered cos their team ain’t done so well. It’s funny how it’s only the players lower down the table who don’t complete the second phase. Anyway I can only do so much and sending out a reminder every ten minutes in the final hour clearly wasn’t often enough for some.
Well here I am back at the Foot-coalface back on reporting duty for the first of the Round of 16 Knockout Stages. With so much on the line surely we shall see some sparkling entertainment and a true demonstration of the beautiful game. Well let’s get to it shall we?
Switzerland 2 v 0 Italy
The reigning Euro holders, Italy, were facing up against near neighbours, Switzerland. The Italians have failed to light up this tournament and now there is the threat of going out looming surely they would be lifting their game. Conversely the Swiss have sparkled at times and have proven they can be a handful for anyone. A slow start from the boys in blue meant Switzerland had plenty of the ball and when Embolo beat the offside trap it was clear the Italians were not at the races. Donnarumma was big enough and brave enough to stop it hitting the back of the net. Italy could barely keep the ball for any more than a few passes and the deadlock was broken when Remo Freuler latched on to a delightful pass by Ruben Vargas catching the Italian defence having a coffee.
After the break we were fully expecting the lack lustre Italians to pull their socks up but all that came crashing down when Ruben Var(cooking on)gas lofted a ball from the edge of the area into the top right corner of Donnarumma’s net. Even if he had Donna Summer in there helping him there was no stopping that ball finding the back of the net! The red team were two up, tails up and as confident fox tackling the bins outside number 42, whilst the Italians clearly had a case of the blues. At no stage did I see them threaten the opposition goal mouth but Credit Suisse they soaked up the pressure and with the likes of Granit Xhaka marshalling the play they ran out the match two nil proving themselves worthy winners; worthy of a headline slot at Worthy Farm! Arrivederci Italy; don’t forget to fetch the trophy off the team bus before you leave.
Germany 2 v 0 Denmark
The host nation had the headline slot in tonight’s concert let’s see if they advance to the last eight. This was a game that quite literally had DANE-GER written all over it and before the kickoff there was a weather warning of a thunder storm on the way. This prompted me to think back to 1987 when BBC meteorologist, Michael Fish famously once said, “Earlier on today a woman rung the BBC to say she had heard there was a hurricane on the way. Well if you’re watching, don’t worry there isn’t but having said that the weather might become very windy!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnxjZ-aFkjs
Well the storm in Dortmund was holding out at kickoff but a storm certainly kicked off on the field when the Germans had a good shout for a Schlotterbeck headed goal early doors only for the ref to get some external advice from Mr VAR and ruled it out for obstruction. This was a fast flowing game and Denmark were holding their own but it was obvious that the home team had more of the ball. After 34 minutes suddenly the heavens opened, this was it, play continued, then boom, a bolt of lightning was visible in the sky, moments later another and another. English ref Michael Oliver promptly shat himself and decided to run for cover telling the players if they wanted to carry on they would have to do it without him! The rain really lashed down and suddenly it looked like a scene from a film as the fans tried to find cover further up the covered stands. They all disappeared down the tunnel for a cheeky handful of Haribo then returned 20 minutes later. The pitch held out and the game was underway again. Keeper Schmeichal had to keep Denmark in the match from close range then Neuer returned the favour at the other end and the first ended goalless.
After the break it was the plucky Danes who snatched the lead as Joachim Andersen headed the red team in front. As the celebrations continued in front of the Danish fans referee Oliver was prompted to check the VAR for a potential offside. Thomas Delaney was ahead of the final defender by width of his boot laces and so the goal was disallowed. The play immediately went to the other end of the field and poor old Joachim found himself back defending his own goal area. A crossed ball stuck his outstretched hand to the cries of hand ball by the German fans. Once again VAR pulled a shift and recommendation, the referee concurred and a penalty was awarded. Kai Havertz stepped up and with a slightly stuttery run up managed to find the very bottom right corner of the goal and pinged it in off the post, Schmeichel had no chance of getting that; cue the obligatory massive knee slide on the sodden turf. What a turnaround in such a short passage of play. Denmark however didn’t lie down and pushed up and tested Neuer again. This did leave gaps in the Danish back line and Havertz hit them on the break but toe poked it agonisingly wide. Germany were rampant now and it really looked like they were going to add to their tally and that is exactly what they did when Musiala hit them on the break with a devastating run. His twinkle toes glided across the wet grass and he chipped the ball over the keeper’s flapping arms. Two nil and that is how it stayed, a confident performance in the end and clearly the host team will be a threat to whomever they meet going forward. Quick! Change channels and we can catch the end of Coldplay headlining at Glastonbury!
And so to the Footcall League...
Only slight movement in the table with just the one point for all the Round of 16 matches. If you had Italy or Denmark to go all the way sadly you have lost a shed load of points for your team and you will be reliant on the other results going your way.
Ben Kirchell stays top and with two correct results actually extends his lead. I got a very nice email from him celebrating his Group Stages success and it was great to know how much he was enjoying playing and beating his dad Andy. Whist the Italy Switzerland prediction appears to be evenly split, the Germany win was an obvious choice for most Footcallers.
Those that didn’t get their KO Stages complete before the deadline won’t score any further points and will be reliant on what they got in the Group Stages. You will see the culprits as you scroll down the league and there is a line of empty boxes against their team. This is most notable right at the foot of the table as in order to win the Vuvuzela you do need to complete the Knockout Stages.
Oh, I have one more announcement to make; Jack Goodwin has won the Favourite Team Name award with “Chicken Tikka Musiala”
I spoke to his father Richard earlier this evening and he informed me that Jack was taking part in an IronMan event. Hopefully news of his success will provide him with a bit more competitive adrenaline. Well done Jack, the prize money will be sorted out at the end of the competition.
Back tomorrow for the big match we have all been waiting for, Spain versus Georgia!
David
St Georgia’s Day!
26/06/24 23:56
Day 13 in the Footcall House...
Here we are thirteen days after the opening ceremony and on the final day of the Euro 2024 Group Stages. I hope you have been enjoying the intensity of the non-stop action and to all the Footcall newbies on the block I trust my little reports have kept you entertained even if your team has not performed quite how you anticipated. I know from some of the feedback I have received you enjoy the routine of waking up each day to read the non-sensical drivel I post out and it’s all part of the service. So let’s crack on with the final events of the Group Stages shall we?
Ukraine 0 v 0 Belgium
All the teams in Group E were sitting on three points so a win could see any one of them progress and maybe even top their pool. Every big tournament in the last ten years, Belgium have been a hotly tipped nation to go deep in any competition. Very rarely do we see them put in world class show that is etched in our footballing brains - and today was yet another below average performance. I could make some sort of quip about their Belgian chocolate coloured shorts which apparently are a tribute to Tin Tin; I’m not even joking! Well De Bruyne and Lukaku were the dominant forces in the Belgian attack and they tried numerous times to unpick the Ukrainian defence. Truth be told they lacked the imagination to make the difference and Lukaku squandered many an opportunity. Subsequently the first half finished with a goal drought.
After the break it much the same, plenty of flair in midfield but woeful ineptitude up front. Ukraine were equally as under par (I’ve never understood that expression as in golfing terms being under par is exactly what you are striving for) but watching Shevchenko anxiously sitting in the Directors box helplessly able to assist his team. It was clear that the Ukrainian legend was wishing he could rip his suit off and run on the field and drive all his men forward... and you just know he would have his footie kit on underneath! Neither side really looked like scoring although a corner by Malinovskyi’s corner nearly beat the Belgian keeper directly from the corner as it headed towards the near post and Casteels was just about alert enough to stop it crossing the line. Bakayoko ballsed up so many great runs from Tielemans and KDB and it was just a sorry mess up front for Belgium. Maybe the next best chance in the game also fell to Ukraine when Sudakov burst into the box with a great run only to see him kick it straight into the arms of Casteels, surely it was easier to score? The whistle blew, that was it, game over, zip all goals in another Group decider game.
Slovakia 1 v 1 Romania
Meanwhile the other Group E match was going on at the same time; surely this would be a better game? Well there certainly looked like more promise up front and Ondrej Duda headed a superb header from eight years out to put Slovakia in the lead. Quarter of an hour later Romania won a penalty at a crucial moment. Razvan Marin stepped up to take an un-saveable spot kick smashing it full power in the top left corner. Are you watching Mr Lewandowski? That sunshine, is how you take a penalty - and no funny run ups in sight. The first half ended with honours shared.
After the break the heavens opened and there was even thunder and lightning. However the thing that was frightening was the devastating pace both teams possess going forward. This was definitely the match to watch. Both the yellows and blue teams tested the gloves of the opposing keepers. The weather was so bad it was making visibility very difficult but both nations pushed for victory. Despite all the talent there were no further goals and so it finished one all but crucially in this nip and tuck group this result saw both teams qualify with Romania topping the group ahead of Belgium. Another tiny nation in Slovakia once again upsetting the form book to sneak under the radar with poor old Ukraine the first team to head home despite scoring four points. From Slovenia to Slovakia, England now have yet another daunting prospect ahead of them on Sunday.
Georgia 2 v 0 Portugal
Not one Footcaller gave Georgia a prayer in this match and all the money was being lumped on the Portuguese. Well the motto for this Euro championship should be “ never under estimate the little guys!” as it only took 90 seconds before a stray Portugal pass found Mikautadze who deftly slotted it on to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and one touch later side stepped it into the bottom right corner of the goal! What an incredible start. Immediately Portugal were up against it and Ronaldo’s free kick we admirably stopped by Mamardashvili in between the sticks. Despite Portuguese having more of the ball the first half ended one nil to the minnows.
After the break we were expecting the favourites to come right back into it but that never happened and it was always Georgia on my mind. Every time Ronaldo and his crew pushed forward the first time Euro boys not only found away of snuffing it out but also managed to turn defence into attack. It was a masterclass in footballing entertainment and win or lose their display was worth the admission fee. With each minute passing the Georgians’ confidence grew and they even won a penalty courtesy of VAR which Mikautadze dispatched to make it two nil. Portugal just couldn’t compete with the energy and dynamism of their opponents and had they not already been sitting at the top of the table they would have most definitely been bricking it! There only looked like one winner here and there was every chance they were going to extend their lead from the boot of Mikautadze. Well sadly we never got to see that and the ref blew up with Georgia two goals to the good and cue the celebrations! Yet another small nation going through to the Knockout Stages but the lowest ranked team have pulled off the mission impossible.
Czechia 1 v 2 Türkiye
With a lot to play for in this game it was fair to say it was heated affair with plenty of needle. An early double yellow card meant that Barak was sent from the field of play by the referee with plenty of barrack-ing from the offending player. the Czechs were down to ten and we were only 20 minutes in. All through the first half both teams were going at each other hammer and tongs and it was starting to resemble a Leeds home match from the early 70s! With all this bravado on show there ended up being more yellow cards than goals in the first half.
After the break it was the Turks who unpicked the Czechs as Hakan Calhanoglu absolutely buried it into the bottom corner with a pile driver of a shot. He must have a foot like a traction engine that boy! Czechia started to fight back, literally and some of their tackles were well naughty and the ref had to keep this match from getting out of hand. But Tomas Soucek did manage to get the Czechs level again in the 66th minute in a bizarre goal where the players seemed to bring the keeper down. The ref allowed it and both teams were back on level terms. With time running out it really looked like it was going to end one a piece. However it was Türkiye who had the last laugh in the 94th blooming minute with another powerful shot this time from Cenk Tosun. Full time arrived and the Turks danced for joy as they had qualified as runners up. The Czechs however were out and despite being graceful about it they decided to have it bit of afters. A big fight broke out in the middle of the field which saw just about all 22 players involved and even the Managers tried desperately to break it up. Long after the full time whistle, the referee brandished yet another red card, this time to Czech striker Tomas Chory just to add to the loser’s woes. All in all, there were a total of 18 yellows and two red cards! The Turks will now go up against Austria in what could be a real Knockout match!
And so to the Footcall League...
We are here at the final stage of the first half and we have a clear winner, Ben “this is my first Footcall and I love it!” Kirchell has managed to hang on to the top billing courtesy of yet another two red squares today. Well done Ben, you have pocketed a cool ninety quid for your efforts for winning the Group Stages - not bad for your first go! Your dad, Andy (languishing in 72nd) texted me earlier to say how proud is of his son and that he taught him all he knew about Footcall :-)
Chris Sampson has performed really well to claim second outright and Kevin has upset the Appleton cart by sneaking into third. That 94th minute goal by Türkiye robbed me of joint first place alongside Ben and I will have to settle for fourth as Toyah Wood is fifth, Jamie n’ Ian finish on identical points as Luis Bello in sixth. This just left Alan Church to claim the final money placement in eighth which I am sure he is absolutely delighted with that having missed out on Footcall 2022 because of an administrational error. I shall hang on to your money until the end as you might add to your prize fund come the end of the show.
Commiserations to Alice Brown and Matt Clark who finish just outside the money bracket but still have it all to play for in the second phase.
So that’s it for the Group Stages, we now move on to the Knockouts which is the game within the game as this is your chance to consolidate you position or indeed get right back into it. Not only is there a whopping 32 points available but also there are money prizes for the best performing players JUST in the Knockout Stages.
Believe me when I say you will want to take part in this phase of the competitions. Even if you have had a terrible Group Stages please do complete your Knockout Stages as it always disheartens me when I see people give up because they have lost interest.
As soon as we have rearranged the website and got things prepared for you then I will make an announcement hopefully later today so you can login and complete your predictions - REMEMBER: we only need the winning teams NOT the scores this time round. All will be explained in my next email to you.
Whilst Ben has taken the top spoils today I am going to give my Player of the Day to Mr Craig Amos who has managed to hang on and win the Max Woosnam Award. Craig scored an incredible 16 points without one single Red Square and he topped the table ahead of Simon Butler, Steve Tinsley, Dan Mackenzie and Michael Norris. Well done Craig, I know Chris will have been proud of you, even if you have only won a prize for being mediocre! Your efforts have won you FREE entry to Footcall 2026 and it will great to have you on board once again along with the rest of the Amos gang.
I would just like to give special thanks to my friend Spencer Collins who looks after the engine of Footcall below deck. Every year his help is invaluable and it’s his SQL knowledge that means that our little game works as well as it does. Footcall is a slick operation now, far better than his predictions I might add, as he won’t mind me telling you that he used ChatGPT to generate all the scores for his Groups Stages predictions. Where did this A.I. technology get him I hear you ask? 279th that’s where! Spence... I think you may as well go back to picking the scores yourself next time!
Here is a final run down of all the Footcall Group Stages prize money...
1st £90 - Game of Stones (Ben Kirchell)
2nd £50 - The Wurst by VAR (Chris Sampson)
3rd £45 - This Could Be The Last Time... (Kevin Appleton)
4th £40 - A.I. Wrote My Footcall Reports (David Jenner)
5th £35 - Pathetic Athletic (Toyah Wood)
6th £25 - Auf Wiedersehen Pep (Jamie Marshall & lan Pope)
6th £25 - La Raza (Luis Bello)
8th £10 - Old Fittonians (Alan Church)
MWA (Free Entry) - Maybe Baby (Craig Amos)
That’s it for the Group Stages, I shall be in touch later today with details about how to complete your Knockout Stages form.
WE WILL NEED THIS DONE BEFORE KICKOFF ON SATURDAY AT 5pm
David
This Is Spineless Pap!
25/06/24 23:10
Day 12 in the Footcall House...
We now hit the point in Footcall which is like the wall in a marathon, we’ve had 10 straight days of solid football and wordsmithery I am having to dig deep for my puns whilst nursing my writers’ cramp. Little known fact for you, before the Euros started, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin came to me and said, “Hey, Mr David, would you like to two days off before the Knockout Stages?” I nearly broke his arm off in acceptance thinking that I’d have the luxury to kick back and enjoy a couple of days off before hitting the Footcall coal face again. On the way out of the door, Alek said “That’s great, but you will have to write reports for four matches for two days!” Well I did agree after all so here we go...
France 1 v 1 Poland
Les Bleus welcomed back Mbappe since breaking his nose but having to sport a black mask that made him look like his Mum had dressed him as Zorro for Halloween. And what a difference the boy wonder makes, his pace certainly does Kyl-ian the opposition. Dembele went closest in the first half testing out the reflexes of keeper Skorupski with a superb save. Poland had a free header from Robert Lewandowski who was making his first start of the tournament. The game was free flowing with plenty of action in both goal areas but nevertheless the first half finished goalless.
After the break, the deadlock was broken as Dembele was bungled over on the edge of the area to award a penalty to France. The Lone Ranger stepped up and confidently powered it into the bottom right corner, one nil. It really looked as France would grab this by the scruff of the neck and finish this off and Mbappe who seems to be at centre of every move tested the keeper once again. However against the run of play it was the Poles who managed to successfully claim the second penalty of the game. Bobby L for Legend Lewandowski opted to take the spot kick and with the most ridiculous stuttering run up his pathetic attempt was saved by keeper Mike Maignan. However VAR stepped in and ruled that the goalie had come off his line and therefore it should be retaken. Now I must interject here, this really came about because Robert opted to have the run from the Ministry of Silly Walks and as such deliberately confused the keeper which led him to step forward. I personally think these stupid run ups should be outlawed OR if you do want to play silly buggers like that then the keeper can do what ever he likes... are you listening Alek? I want this new rule adopted! Anyway despite what I might think; the penalty was retaken, there was yet another stupid run up but this time Captain Bob managed to sneak it in off the inside of the left post. Incredibly it was one all. And that was how it was to end.
Netherlands 2 v 3 Austria
Whilst the French were doing battle elsewhere, Netherlands were taking on surprise package of the tournament, Austria. The game kicked off and within just six minutes the Austrians took an incredible early lead when a cross when Prass’ cross was met by the outstretched leg of Malen who toe poked it into his own net. With the boys in orange behind, this was set to be a classic! Both Sabitzer and Arnautović should have scored to put Austria even further ahead. This action packed game astonishingly ended the first half one nil.
After the break the Dutch managed to draw level with a delightful effort from Gakpo, he really is one to watch. Just 75 seconds in the second half. The Austrians however do not how to lie down and Schmid power headed a fabulous cross to them back in the lead. Now it was time for Netherlands to shine as Depay showed a little bit of individual class as he controlled it and put the ball away to make it all square once again. The Footcall table had never seen so much action this year. With all these goals we weren’t done yet as it was Austrians, dressed all in white proving to England you can play in white, managed to forge ahead yet again. This time from left boot of Marcel Sabitzer as he roasted it into the roof of the net. Baumgartner nearly made it four two but was ruled out for offiside. Then the final effort of the game came from the Dutch when Weghorst header we agonisingly over the bar. What a match, without doubt one of the best of Euro 24 so far and Austria’s victory saw them top Group D ahead of France leaving Netherlands to qualify as one of the third place teams.
England 0 v 0 Slovenia
Report by Iain Baker
On a sweltering evening, Group C or the Group of Dearth as I like to call it, was to be determined tonight. Fans of both teams were in excellent voice with a prematch rendition of ‘Hey Jude’ swirling around the England stand. Our boys in white owed us a performance and tonight’s Eau De Cologne had better be tears of joy from England emerging as group winners.
Standing in their way were a motivated Slovenia, who could still qualify. Based on the first two games they’re clearly no mugs. Setting up in a well drilled 4-4-2 formation, they challenged England to break them down.
The opening exchanges were slow and steady. Nothing to scare or excite the horses as both sides felt their way into proceedings. Slovenia had a sustained period of pressure which seemed to shake England into life a little more as they turned possession into pressure in the opposition half. England burst forward and a great team move brought a Saka goal that was promptly disallowed for off-side against.
Foden was livelier than we had seen in the first two group games with his free kick stinging the palms of Slovenian stopper Jan Oblak. But England highlights were few in the first half and the players in white looked frustrated at times.
Would the second half give us a goal? It certainly brought more England possession, corners and free kicks but Slovenia were as resolute as England were poor. Partway through the second half, the entertainment failed to sufficiently hold this reporter’s attention and he decided to tackle the ironing pile. I managed a couple of shirts, three t-shirts and one of the wife’s dresses. Watching England is never time wasted!
As the clock ticked down and I begin to wonder how we will ever manage against the likes of France, Germany or Spain. Hopefully the games ahead will be more open than what we’ve seen tonight. The likes of Cole Palmer and Anthony Gordon were introduced for their first appearances in the tournament and whilst they provided more of a spark, it wasn’t enough to merit a goal and so it ultimately finished nil nil. Thrills and spills have been hard to come by tonight so here’s hoping that ironing pile goes untouched on Sunday when we will no doubt have the agony of penalties to go through!
Denmark 0 v 0 Serbia
Knowing that Iain was looking after proceedings with the England game, I took it upon myself to watch the other half Group C fight it out. It was all to play for tonight as both sides were in a position to go through if they could just squeeze out a victory. Well what can I say about this match, oh I know, borrrrring! It seemed like every chance created was eventually spurned by some dreadful finishing in the final third and for my money it was the least entertaining of all the games we have had so far... I really drew the short straw tonight. I was imagining Iain watching an eight goal thriller on the other side but it turns out he was just as uninspired as I was and he had opted to tackle a bit of late night ironing!
I can’t even divide this match into two halves as it was a game of one half all of it pretty mediocre. So much so, I was quite tempted to give it the two word review that Spinal Tap received for their album Shark Sandwich...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWqKiqTfXuA
Well it eventually ended as it started with an untroubled scoreboard and the nil nil result meant that Denmark finished second in the group purely on the fewer amount of yellow cards they had received. It’s not often groups are determined by this criteria and had these stats also been identical it would have been decided by who could piss the highest! So England top the group, I’m not quite sure how, but more impressively was that the little nation of Slovenia with a population of just two million (the equivalent of Birmingham, Leeds and Plymouth combined) have also managed to qualify for the first time in their footballing history.
And so to the Footcall League...
Despite not scoring a single point today, Ben Kirchell hung to the top spot but Footcall 2016 Champion, Chris Sampson has snuck on the inside rail into second place. Alice Brown also bagged yet another red square and moves into fourth.
Other players who picked up three pointers today include Mike Davies, James Smith, David Blakeman, Wayne Oliver, Paul Wakefield, Les Herbert, Terence Tettey, and Gabriel Littrell.
For the first time in this Footcall we had not one but two matches where nobody predicted the exact score. Austria’s 3-2 win and England’s 0-0 draw did not affect the scoresheet in anyway and I would say that today was the lowest scoring day we have had to date.
My players of the day go to Dave Billington, Chris Sampson, Paul Griffin, Simon Field all of whom managed to scrape together four points from the four games.
Tomorrow we have the round up of all the Group Stages with the final games in Groups E and F. Not only will we know what teams will be advancing to the Knockout Stages but more importantly we will also know who will be topping the Footcall league table to win the halfway prize money...
1st £90
2nd £50
3rd £45
4th £40
5th £35
6th £30
7th £20
8th £10
That’s enough chat from me, my thanks to Iain for taking on the England Serbia report. Back same time, same place.
David
Italy Dubrovnik-ed It!
24/06/24 23:18
Day 11 in the Footcall House...
Group B came to a head this evening with that all important third place at stake.
Albania 0 v 1 Spain
Top boys Spain faced off against the plucky Albanians who have impressed at times throughout this tournament. This was always going to be a challenge for the Eagles who were dressed in their traditional red. With Spain decked out in a pale yellow second strip, this really was a game of Rhubarb versus Custard!
The gulf in quality was noticeable as Spain seem to have so much time and space on the ball and it didn’t take long for this to pay off as Merino forced a great save. Moments later Danny Olmo perfectly passed the ball to the advancing Ferran Torres who sweetly curled the ball into the bottom left corner from the outstretched fingertips of the keeper. It all looked so easy and for the rest of the half they dominated the possession. However no further goals so the first half finished one nil to the 2008 Champions.
After the break the team sporting this year’s new colour on the catwalk, what I like to call “Hint of Vanilla” carried on the keep ball they had in the first 45. Let’s not take anything away from Albania they did have their chances and Aslani tested the gloves of David Raya in the Spanish quarter. Going behind clearly motivated Albania and they had more than a few opportunities to draw level as they made sure of voiding the warranty on the gloves of the Spanish keeper. Despite the onslaught Spain never looked flustered and always threatened extending their lead. However full time came and it finished one nil so they topped the Group with an unblemished record and three clean sheets. As for Albania we had to head over to BBC1 to see how the other match was going down.
Croatia 1 v 1 Italy
This was a game that hung in the balance as a win for either team might see them finish runners up leaving the other hoping for a UEFA to have a game of Dip Dip Dip, My Little Ship to decide third place. The first half was poor for Italy, not my words, but the words of that well known football pundit, Wayne “Alexa: Subtitles On” Rooney. Truth is, there were chances at both ends and the keepers were tested several times but forty five minutes came and went the scoresheet markers were yet to lift their pencils.
After the break Croatia had more of a sense of urgency and in the 52nd minute they rewarded with a penalty when VAR adjudged Davide Frattesi as having handled the ball in the penalty area. When you watch it back it seemed harsh as it did look like ball to hand but who am I to argue. The talisman for Croatia, Luka “please don’t mention my age” Modric stepped up to take it. Mr M will be the first say it wasn’t his Monday best strike and Donnarumma made a good job of leaping to his left to prevent the net from bulging just like he did against England in Euro 2020. Modric was miserable and we all Luka the despair on his face! Well it didn’t take long for him to turn that frown upside down when the old boy did extremely well to latch on to a loose ball in the area and bang it in the roof of the net - now we can mention his age! At 38 years, 289 days, Modric is the oldest goal scorer in Euro Championship history, one hell of an achievement - all those miles he must have run and he’s still got a great engine! This slender lead really put Croatia in a commanding position as they were now going finish runner up in their group. Sadly for Modric however his race was over, he was subbed and had to watch agonisingly from the touch line. Agony turned to despair when in the 98th minute, Italy’s number 20, Mattia Zaccagni scored a cracking goal in the top right corner to draw an equaliser for the reigning champions. Immediately the whistle blew and it concluded with a one all draw and just like last night that last touch of the game proved decisive. Oh the joy and the agony of international football, you just can’t write this sh*t, although I do try!
And so to the Footcall League...
Ben Kirchell enforced his lead at the top with yet another four points and is now two points clear of Kevin “Mick cannot believe he’s up there again” Appleton! I have slipped to third and I was quite distraught as the last minute goals from last night and tonight denied me two red squares - but I am sure every Footcaller has tales of woe like that.
The league situation is getting tense now as Alan Church and Mark Mandry, Tom Foster, Alex Church, Matt Clark, Paul Firmston, John Egan and David Wootton were a few on page one all collecting four points from today. In fact a ton of you scored red squares today and if you managed to bag your first one today you have my hearty congratulations, I am looking at you Stuart Taylor!!
But my players of the day must go to the perfect sixers of the night and they are Alice “can you believe this Dad I’m in 10th place” Brown, Aaron Sutcliffe, James Rowland and Roger Bailey. Well played all four of you.
Spare a thought for the other Footcallers who are suffering at the moment, we have 13 players yet to claim their first three pointer and the pressure must be like watching England trying to defend a lead. As is the way in every Footcall, The Max Woosnam Award list is ever decreasing but this is still topped by Craig Amos with an unbelievable 15 points but no red squares yet!
Excluding the two players at the bottom of the list who are deliberately chasing the Vuvuzela Award the other 11 are all trying to score. This includes Mrs Footcall who is also now rooted to the bottom of the overall league table with a show that has eclipsed our first ever Footcall in 2000 where she finished last out of the field of 24. Please keep the faith, I know you will have a blinding Knockout Stages and you will get yourself out of the 300s - I can say all this as we are virtually bookending the league and I know I will pay for this comment!
I’m signing off now, back tomorrow for the conclusion of Groups C and D.
David
Scotland Not Hungary Enough
23/06/24 23:22
Day 10 in the Footcall House...
I am back Footcall people! 24 hours and 44,000 steps around London from Midday Saturday to Midday Sunday is not for the faint hearted and is more of an endurance exercise than a photo event! But it was great fun meeting up with lots of old friends and capturing a few shots along the way. I was back in time to watch the games last night but sadly didn’t have the energy to write the report. A few hours sleep later and now my feet are starting to feel a little more normal again I’m raring to go. Firstly let me thank my good friend Matt Clark for deputising on report duty for the Saturday matches, you were brilliant (maybe even a bit too good ;-) and I’m truly thankful for the Footcall community stepping in to assist, you are my fourth official to my on field refereeing. As is the tradition of any major football event the final games of the Group Stages are played at exactly the same time so as to avoid any underhand shenanigans and tactical match play. It also prevents teams from knowing the situation in their Group and thus fielding a weaker second eleven. Of course this does mean I have to watch one match whilst keeping an eye on the other. Let’s get back to business shall we?
Switzerland 1 v 1 Germany
The top two teams in Group A faced off knowing that a win for either team would have seen them top the table and a comfortable passage into the Knockout stages. A loss for the Swiss might have had
implications dependent on the result of the other Group A match which was going on at the same time. The game started lively enough and Germany had an early shot by Robert Andrich who would do rather well in a young Jimmy Hill lookalike competition, managed to squeeze under the arms of keeper Yann Sommer. However this was ruled out by the ref after he went to check the VAR monitor and noticed a foul by Musiala. Good to see the technology working and but for the Germans it was back to nil nil. Just to rub salt in the wound, their opponents opened their Swiss bank account with a superb touch from an outstretched leg by Dan Ndoye. With Switzerland one up they were topping the table. Ndoye had a shot that went right across the German goal mouth but just snuck past the far post. Vargas even managed to double their lead with a great finish but once again VAR stepped in to show whilst 98% of his body was onside his kneecap was clearly ahead of the last defender and his celebrations were cut short.
After the break it was clear that Germany needed to lift their game and they were clearly lacking the ruthlessness that we were accustomed to seeing from them. I guess they knew they would still go through as runners up even if they lost the match tonight. They brought some subs on chances started to come. Havertz went close but it was Switzerland’s Xhaka (or Frère to his friends) tested the gloves of Manuel Neuer with a belter of a 30 yarder. With time running out there was an air of desperation about Germany’s play but seasoned Footcaller know better than to write them off as it was in the 92nd minute that Niclas Fullkrug headed a superb cross from Raum to catch poor Sommer wrong footed. Into the bottom left corner it went sparing German blushes and the whistle blew soon after. The draw saw Germany back up top with the Swiss guaranteed second.
Scotland 0 v 1 Hungary
This was always going to a tense affair as both nations knew that they were realistically fighting for a third place playoff place. A draw was no good to Hungary but could have helped the Scots. The statisticians amongst us were wondering what the permutations were and it was always going to be easier if Scotland could just win it. The first half was pretty uneventful and keeper Gunn had to make a good save from a Bolla shot. Orban went close with a header and should have tested the Scottish keeper. With all the chances going to Hungary, it was obvious that Scotland were feeling the pressure but the first half did end nil nil so if the Scottish fans and their harmonious chanting were anything to go by this was still all to play for.
After the break Scotland did manage their first shot on goal although it was a speculative one from the boot of Adams that sailed over the bar. Midway through the second half an incident happened that we never want to see in football as Angus Gunn went in to punch clear a ball in the Scottish penalty area, at the same time Barnabas Varga collided with the keeper’s chest leaving him in a heap on the floor for over seven agonising minutes. Whilst the cameras cut away from these scenes you can always tell how bad they are from the look on their colleagues faces. Szoboszlai was clearly shaken up by it all and we were all thinking back to when Denmark’s Eriksen collapsed four years ago. Varga was stretchered off and the game did carry on, the question was whether this was going to sap Hungary of their energy. Well maybe not as some effective subs came on such as big Martin Wolfie Adam which meant for a brief period we had Adams players on both sides. Szoboszlai had a shot saved, Csoboth hit the post and Scotland’s Hanley had a chance saved but all these efforts left the game goalless. Then we had the controversy! Very late in the game Stuart Armstrong was brought down in the box for what appeared to be stone wall penalty. The referee waved play on as if he was confident that there was no infringement. However if he had only stopped the game and checked the monitor he would have seen Orban knee the back of Armstrong’s thigh. WHAT THE VAR?! Scotland protested but to no avail. Maybe a draw might just be good enough to see them hang on to third place? Well clearly Hungary had other ideas as deep deep into stoppage time, Hungary hit the advancing Scots on the break. Moments later a great cross from Sallai saw Csoboth divert it into the bottom left corner instantly breaking Scottish hearts. Because of the delay for Varga this was ten minutes past the 90 so I wonder if this it the latest ever goal scored in normal time play? Now there’s late and there’s 100th minute late! This was to be the last kick of the game and the Hungarian celebrations were joyful although tinged with sadness for their comrade were written all across their faces.
And so to the Footcall League...
We have a new leader... Ben “look at me Andy up top” Kirchell is now clear in first. Alan Williams is up in to third and a bad day for Matt Green sees him drop to 4th. Toyah Wood and Kevin Appleton have ominously moved closer topside.
Btw, you have to scroll down to page 8 of the league table now to see the scoring for the latest games.
My players of the day are the Footcall 7 who scored a perfect 6 out of 6 and they are Neil Williams, Mark Mandry, Jonathan Hodgson, George Relf, Leslie Slater, Toby Silk and James Ridley all of whom make great strides up the leaderboard.
That’s it from me until tonight when we see team orders in Group B decided.
David
The answer to the last quiz question...
“Other than Portugal, which other country does Cristiano Ronaldo qualify to represent?” is Cape Verde. He qualifies for the former Portuguese colony via his great-grandmother.
Portugal Roast Turkey!
22/06/24 23:40
Day 9 in the Footcall House...
Today we see the second round of group games completed, leaving teams knowing exactly what they need from their final group stage games.
Georgia 1 v 1 Czechia
Grab your popcorn, because this first-half rollercoaster had more twists than a pretzel factory! Czechia, still recovering from their last-minute heartbreak against Portugal, faced Georgia, who suffered a similar loss to Turkey. A defeat for either will be fatal for their chances of qualifying, and a draw would mean Scotland could qualify from their group with just 2 points! First half got off to a flier with the 6'6" Georgian goalkeeper Mamardashvili producing three excellent saves in the first few minutes, stopping Czech shots like a bouncer at an exclusive nightclub. Penalty claims for each side were ruled out in the 10th minute by the referee dismissing their pleas faster than a cat swatting a laser pointer. Despite the dominance of the Czechs, the game was shaping up to be a potential classic! Hlozek had a goal denied by VAR halfway through the first half for high-fiving the ball into the net, and whilst everybody was applauding an amazing save by Stanek in the dying minutes of the first half, the referee's VAR indicator lit up like a Christmas Tree. The video assistant's subscription to "Handball Weekly" meant they were the only ones to spot an infringement in the area, and Mikautadze's cool and calculated penalty put the tournament's lowest ranked side one up. Mamardashvili, Georgia's skyscraper in goal pulled off another save in the dying minutes of the first half.
After the break the match picked up where the first half left off, fast-paced and end-to-end. Georgia had clearly decided to play with counter-attacking mentality in the second half and for a while every passage of play seemed to start with a Czech corner. In the 59th minute Lingr flicked on a corner for Schick to poke it in literally on the goal-line. 1-1. Georgia's keeper, Sir Save-a-Lot, was called into action to deal with a barrage of long shots and high crosses as the tension was tighter than a violin string. Czechia, pushing for a second goal suffered a blow when their goalscorer limped off injured. Georgia barely touched the ball in the second half, but in the 96th minute they found themselves 3 on 1. It was easier to score than to miss, but substitute Lobzhanidze skied it. The final whistle went immediately after, and he had to be consoled like he had missed the final penalty in a shoot-out. So they marked their card with a point a piece.
Turkey 0 v 3 Portugal
Both teams seeking to secure top spot in Group F and more importantly guaranteed qualification to the KO Stages. First half, Turkey started strongly and had a great chance early on when Akturkoglu got on the end of a cross in the six yard area, but opted to put himself into the net instead of the ball. At the other end of the pitch in the 21st minute, a similar cross from Mendes was toed behind the oncoming Ronaldo by Kokcu, but eventually fell to Silva 10 yards out from goal to hammer home the opener. A little over 5 minutes later the strangest goal of the tournament so far was witnessed. Joao Cancelo played a nice one-two with a colleague on the halfway line to put him in a fantastic position to set Ronaldo up for a 1-on-1 with the keeper. He mis-read the run and played it in the wrong direction much to Ronaldo's disgust, and the ball was played back to the keeper. The inevitable Cristiano tantrum was so spectacular, the Turks stopped playing to watch him stamp his feet and swing his arms, and as a result, completely forgot about the ball which trickled into the net before Celik could track back. Akturkoglu danced his way into the area for another effort just before half time, but the Portuguese keeper had his near post covered.
After the break Yacizi tested the Portugal keeper again with a long range effort which forced a save that looked more uncomfortable than a middle seat on a budget airline. Shortly after, Ronaldo latched onto the end of a perfect through ball and squared it to Bruno Fernandes who tapped it home unchallenged to make it 3-0. Martinez channeled his inner Michael Van Gerwen by celebrating with a double fist-pump. Portugal could have made it 4 with another defensive error near the end, but had to settle for just the 3 goals in the end.
Belgium 2 v 0 Romania
Many Footcallers predicted that these sides would come into their second game after contrasting results from their opener. Few however expected it would be Romania leading Group E looking to seal a last 16 spot. It only took 2 minutes for Doku and Lukaku to combine and lay up a bullet shot for Tielemans to fire through the Romanian defence and put the Belgians in front. Romania immediately threatened the Belgian goal with a wicked in-swinging cross, Casteels tipping the ball over the bar from a point-blank range header from Dragusin on the back post. Lukaku had a good chance soon after to open his account, using his weight advantage to get into a shooting position and toe-poking it wide. De Bruyne went on a mazy run, cutting the Romanian team in half before setting up a curling shot from Lukebakio from just inside the box which was pushed wide.
After the break the Belgians were hungry. So, De Bruyne served up a through ball to Lukaku who buried it in the bottom corner. Cue the squad celebration – Lukaku’s redemption dance after those pesky offside disallowed goals in the first game. But wait! VAR had other plans. Just as the Belgians were popping the champagne, it swooped in with another offside decision. With just 10 minutes to go, a route one tactic from the Belgians saw De Bruyne latched onto a free kick taken from his own penalty area and slid in to guide it under the oncoming keeper to make it 2-0. Romanian substitute tried to mimic the feat at the other end in the closing moments, he beat the keeper but it was cleared off the line. And so, all teams in Group E now stand at 3 points. As for VAR? Well, it’s the real MVP – Most Vexing Party-pooper.
And so to the Footcall League...
5 Players in the top 10 today scored 7 out of 9 points. Toyah Wood and Bethany McPeake are joint 9th, Ben Kirchell moves up to joint 3rd, Jamie Marshall & Ian Pope (Joint owners of Auf Wiedersehen Pep) move into 2nd and Matt Green heads the table with 30 points. 12 games to go and all to play for.
Just leaves me with a unique opportunity to thank David for all his hard work this year so far, and wish him the best of luck in his 24hr photography competition today and tonight. A win this year would make it three in a row, and you can check out his work at https://www.davidjenner.co.uk/
Matt Clark
The answer to the yesterday’s quiz question...
Q. This evening we saw Netherlands play France and tonight we have both Portugal and Belgium in action. Which of these four teams scored six goals in a single Euro match?
A. Netherlands. They thrashed Yugoslavia 6-1 in front of a home crowd in Rotterdam at Euro 2000.
Next Question...
Q. Other than Portugal, which other country does Cristiano Ronaldo qualify to represent?
Poles Axed!
21/06/24 23:14
Day 8 in the Footcall House...
Groups D and E second matches today and a second loss will mean curtains for their nation.
Slovakia 1 v 2 Ukraine
Both teams had a lot to fight for here especially Ukraine who lacked a lot of fire power up front and a loss against Slovakia would be sending them home. The determination from Slovakia from the outset was on full display and after the calamities of keeper Lunin against Romania had him dropped to the bench. His replacement Anatolii Trubin made three crucial saves in the first half to justify his call up. However he did run out of rope eventually when Ivan Schranz put the blues of Slovakia in the lead with a strong header to the bottom left corner. Ukraine were feeling the pressure to get back in it and they had a lovely shot finger tipped onto the post to deny them the equaliser. The Slovaks managed to hang on to their lead until half time.
After the break it was clear the situation had been spelt out to the Ukrainians in the dressing room that you better lift your game or we are on the bus. Well lift their game they did and in the 54th minute their new found confidence paid off when Shaparenko side footed the ball into the bottom left corner to make the scoresheet even. Slovakia didn’t let their heads drop and just like their counterparts they were also keen for three points; if only England played like this.... aaah dream on Jenner! It was the boys in yellow who were to make the decisive blow when Yaremchuk pulled off a moment of magic that had us all up out of our seats. With a speculative ball over the top, it dropped down near the six yard area as the striker deftly cushioned the ball with his first touch and with the sweetest of follow ups he redirected it to the side of the oncoming keeper much akin to Dennis Bergkamp in World Cup 94. What a goal... a little bit of magic from the former Dynamo Kyiv player! The Ukrainians managed to play out the final ten minutes plus stoppage to seal a remarkable victory and keep their dreams of promotion alive.
Poland 1 v 3 Austria
Just like Ukraine earlier, both teams really needed a win her to give them a chance of going through. Austria were decent in their first match but failed to take anything from their game against France. It was clear they had the bit between their teeth today and in just the 9th minute Trauner scored a delightful headed goal. Twenty minutes later Austria made a bit of a hash in defence and allowed the Poles to draw level. The energy in this match was phenomenal and Austria were strong, organised and passionate. The first half finished all square so we had to see if Poland had been given the hairdryer treatment.
After the break it was the Austrian team in red shirts who were carrying the baton all marshalled by number 19 Christophe Baumgartner who scored a dream goal in the 66th to put them back in front where they deserved. Even the introduction of Robert Lewandowski didn’t make a difference as it was Austria who sealed the match when Sabitzer was one on one with the keeper Szczęsny and he was cynically brought down and awarded a penalty. Szczęsny got booked and was lucky to stay on the field. However he couldn’t stop Arnautović burying the spot kick in the bottom right corner. That was it, all over, 3-1 to Austria, sealing the fate of the Poland.
Netherlands 0 v 0 France
With all the talent on the field, we were expecting a goal fest in the evening game. Having broken his nose previously, talisman Mbappe was on the bench. Griezmann should be more than talented enough to carry his nation. The golden opportunity fell to Rabiot who chose to pass it across the six yard line rather than go for goal himself. Between them they made a total Horlicks of it and the ball never made it into the net. Despite the millions of pounds on display tonight they just seemed to cancel each other out and the first half finished goalless.
After the break we were fully expecitng Didier to bring on the boy wonder but he refrained and maybe he was expecting a result with who was on. Well against the run of play it was the Nethjerlands who managed to sneak ahead with a sweet strike from Xavi Simons. As the Dutch fans went mental setting off orange flares like a gang of Stop The Oil protesters only to see the referee call for a VAR goal check. It took several agonising minutes to decide that the goal should NOT stand as Denzel Dumfries was not only standing in an offside position but also preventing the keeper from making a dive for the ball. It looked for all the world as if Xavi was going to cry when he was told the goal would not stand. Moments later he was subbed so he could go and weep gently in the dressing room. From there on in it seemed like neither team were prepared to risk losing the point and I am sure I saw Koeman pass a message to Deschamps that said “Shall we go Dutch and share the points?” And that is exactly what happened and this ended as the first match in this Euro without a goal.
And so to the Footcall League...
Loads of you had 2-1 to Ukraine (what a surprise) and I am sorry if you scored your first red square and I don’t name check you here.
Incredibly only two players had Austria to beat Poland 3-1 and my hat is well and truly tipped towards Mark Brown and Jack Kipling but your efforts were surpassed today by one man and that happens to be long time Footcaller, Mr Will “take a bow” Relf, the ONLY player to guess that France v Netherlands was to end nil nil. Well done Will.
ANNOUNCEMENT
For the less fortunate Footcallers amongst us we have a special league table dedicated to all the players who are yet to score a Red Square 3 Pointer...
The Max Woosnam Award
For those of you that don’t know, this is named after the greatest sportsman who ever lived. You can also a link to this table on the League page of the Footcall website along with a link to a video which outlines all his incredible sporting accomplishments.
That’s it from me this evening and tomorrow I am spending the day (and night) up in London doing photography so I am handing over my reporting reins to fellow Footcaller, Matt Clark. Just like his beloved Fulham’s Marek Roadák, he’s a safe pair of hands!
David
The answer to the yesterday’s quiz question...
Which of the two goalkeepers from England (Pickford) and Denmark (Schmeichel) has the most senior caps for their country?
62-102 respectively
Next Question...
This evening we saw Netherlands play France and tonight we have both Portugal and Belgium in action. Which of these four teams scored six goals in a single Euro match?England: Three Kittens On A Shirt!
20/06/24 23:39
Day 7 in the Footcall House...
Another three matches to contend with today including the return of England. Let’s get cracking shall we?
Slovenia 1 v 1 Serbia
As both teams had lost their openers, this was one of those make or break matches that could determine their chances of qualification into the knockouts. The “iks” vs the “ics” it was going to be a commentators’ nightmare keeping up with play. The first half was frantic with Slovenia having the lion’s share of the ball and Elsnik thumped the post. Serbia had their chances mind but the Slovenian keeper denied them on more than one occasion. Try as they might the first half ended goalless.
After the break it was Karnicnik who broke the deadlock as he ran the length of the field and latched on to a low crossed ball in from four yards out. If they could just hold on for another 20 minutes Slovenia would be in good standing in Group C and Serbia would be on their way home. Well the Serbs clearly had other ideas as not for the first time, a late goal was to change the situation. And boy was this late, the 95th minute ticked over and with the last open play of the game Luka Jovic nutted in the perfect corner into the bottom left corner. Serbia believed and their number 9 delivered right at the death! Another slice of drama in what has been an unbelievable tournament so far.
Denmark 1 v 1 England
Despite winning their first game, questions were being asked about the aptitude of the England team to go deep in this Euro. It’s hard to believe that we are joint favourites with France before the competition started. Never mind that, a good performance today will shut the critics up. Once again we started well, looked good in possession and were creating chances with the width we had on the pitch. Our tenacity paid off in the 18th minute as Captain Kane was in the right place at the right time to tuck away a fumbled ball to put England one up. Now was the time to push up and press home the advantage. Sadly though in classic England style we sat back and invited the Danes to have a go. It didn’t take long before Morten Hjulmand hit a barnstormer of a shot from all of 25 yards to beat Pickford for pace and fire in off the inside of the left post. What a goal, but where, we have to ask ourselves were the defenders closing him down. Not to worry, still plenty of time to retrieve the situation. Half time arrived and it remained one a piece, back to the studio for a bank of former England players to mull over what they had just witnessed.
After the break it was the same old, same old and whenever England had the ball they seemed intent on playing sideways or back to the keeper. Phil Foden seemed to find space often enough to get some shots away and he even managed to strike the upright. Denmark looked comfortable on the ball and had numerous chances to pinch it with one of many efforts by Højbjerg. Let’s face it, England were found wanting and seemed bereft of any imagination – then the fatigue set in and we were desperately hanging on for a draw. Well we did make it to full time without conceding anymore and so it ended one all. back to the studio for more in depth analysis. Whilst it was frustrating to watch these ex England players pulling apart our lack of tactical awareness, I seem to remember that’s exactly what us fans were saying about them 15 years ago when they were playing! Let’s end on a positive note, England got a point and they are in a good position to qualify and surely Serbia couldn’t upset the party, could they?
Spain 1 v 0 Italy
After the earlier frustrations of the day we were then rewarded with a fine match up between two Euro football heavyweights in current holders, Italy and 2008 Champions, Spain. Both nations had won their first game although the Italians had to come back from that freak Albanian goal in just 23 seconds. The quality on the ball with both sides was noticeable but Nico Williams ran the Italian defenders ragged with some superb bursts of acceleration and skilful ball control. Time and again Italian keeper Donnarumma had to be on his game to keep them in it. Spain look comfortable on the ball and a constant threat from anywhere inside 30 yards. With that said they just could not make the Italian net bulge in the first half and it ended with a blank scoresheet. We were still waiting to have a nil nil final result in this tournament.
After the break Spain picked up where they left off and this constant attrition proved decisive when that man Williams, who has the engine of a Williams F1 car, sold his man marker the dummy to get a tantalising cross in. Alvaro Morata got the faintest of heads on it whilst the diving Donnarumma pushed it right on to the knee of Italy’s number 5 Calafiori who tapped it into his own net. The Spanish pressure paid off and they had the lead they so richly deserved. Moments later young Lamine Yamal nearly doubled their lead with a sensational long range effort that was just inches wide. Nico Williams then had his own go from the other side of the pitch only to see it ping off the top of the crossbar. Italy were all at sea and just had no answer for this onslaught. Perez very nearly made it two nil in the closing minutes but once again the Italian keeper denied him his chance to add his name to the scoresheet. Eventually the whistle did blow and Spain had secured the victory, their second win of the tournament and automatic qualification to the knockouts. As for Italy they will need they really need a draw at least against Croatia next week.
And so to the Footcall League...
We have a new leader in the Footcall league, little ol me! I am riding high (for the moment) alongside John Egan; so we are going to enjoy our moment in the sun before we plummet like a stone down the rankings! Before you all shout “Rigged!” or “Fixed!” all I can do is assure you that I would never abuse my position as the head of Footcall. Long time players may remember me doing well before only to see me blow up later. It still hurts me now recalling how the Greeks denied my moment of glory when they unbelievably beat Portugal in Euro 2004 final. Had the result been the other way I would have won Footcall 2004. But if you are still sceptical you can view all my Group Stages predictions by clicking the grey button on the Reports page.
The 1-1 result in the Slovenia Serbia game was incredibly popular with 117 players picking up three points. England’s one all was quite accurately predicted with 45 bagging a red square. Finally Spain’s victory was only correctly guessed by 19 players. We all know how important those red squares are and how they make all the difference to your league position.
Just a few players picked up 7 out of 9 points today and I shall pick Martin Stobitzer as my player of the day. I know how much Martin and his wife Birgit enjoy Footcall and I am sure they will be overjoyed that I have selected him for this honour especially with the tournament being held in their homeland. Well done!
David
PS. The quiz question I set yesterday went down very well and now we have the Footcall Questionsetters come up with another one for to think about over the next 24 hours...
Which of today's two goalkeepers from England (Pickford) and Denmark (Schmeichel) has the most senior caps for their country?
Scotch Guard Against Defeat
19/06/24 23:38
Day 6 in the Footcall House...
Now that we are starting lap two of the Group Stages we were getting to see the teams for a second time. Back to three games today, how on earth would they stack up against yesterday’s performances, let’s see shall we?
Croatia 2 v 2 Albania
After Croatia took a spanking from the Spainkillers last Saturday they knew they really needed some sort of result from this game against the Albanian underdogs. Well clearly Albania had not read the memo to “roll over and have their tummy tickled” as they were off to a rip roaring start and had the Croats on the back foot right from the off. Their pressure paid off in the 11th minute when Qazim Laci redirected a sweetly crossed ball with a superb header. For some reason Croatia were just not at the races in the first half and Albania had a few chances to go further ahead. They manage to head into the dressing room for what I can only imagine was a severe dressing down from the big boss man.
After the break the roles were reversed and the boys in red squares seemed determined to get some red squares for a few Footcallers urging them on. This is what Footcall does to us, it has us cheering for these nations to overcome adversity just so Mr Jenner can reward you with a little red square. And in the 74th minute Croatia’s cashed in on their new found dominance when Kramaric as he nutmegged the outstretched leg of the Albania defender. Two minutes later Croatia forged ahead with a healthy slice of luck as poor old sub Klaus Gjasula knocked the ball into his own net along with the hopes of his nation to qualify. This game had really turned on its head as Croatia had gone awol in the first half and now look at them. But just as the fat lady was warming up her vocal chords that man Gjasula had one more chapter to write. In the 95th minute (do you remember the days when only used to have two minutes of stoppage time) the Albanian number 8 pushed up into the Croatian penalty area and with almost the last kick of the game he managed to side step the ball under the outstretched defender’s leg and beat the keep to draw Albania level. Albaniaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! From conceding a goal at one end, Santa Klaus delivered on at the other to keep his country’s dreams alive. So it finished two-a-piece for yet another dramatic conclusion.
Germany 2 v 0 Hungary
The host nation were in a comfortable position in Group A after their demolition job last Friday and it would take a monumental effort from Hungary to topple them. Dressed in a very fetching pink and purple gradient they looked the Aurora Borealis sky we had last month! The star player Jamal Musiala once again spearheaded the German attack and in the 22nd minute it all paid off with a haphazard goal that saw the Hungarian defence at sixes and sevens. One nil and surely they would be in Kroos control from here to the final whistle and indeed that is how the first half ended.
After the break, Hungary proved they are no Puskas-overs and they managed to test keeper Manuel Neuer several times even putting the ball in the back of the net only to see it ruled out for off-side. That semi-automation is incredible, I swear it can spot if the geezers boot laces are ahead of the last man! Try as they might the Hungary were just not hungry enough and when their tired legs were hit on the break, Ilkay Gundogan doubled his teams lead with a lovely bit of German precision. Hungary brought on their substitute, Martin Adam who had all the hallmarks of Wayne Rooney with a false beard and was clearly no stranger to a fish supper. The big fella looked like he might be right at home flipping tyres and lifting Atlas stones in his spare time. Whilst he made his presence felt, the hosts controlled the game keeping the visitors at arms length until full time came and it concluded two zip.
Scotland 1 v 1 Switzerland
The final game of the day saw return of Scotland as they took on the Swiss. The Scots had to be brave tonight as they needed at least a point from this game to keep their hopes of qualification alive. Once again the support for Scotland in Cologne was staggering and every time they surged forward it felt the roof was going to come off. Well that’s exactly what happened come the 13th minute Scott McTominay’s shot deflected of Schär’s outstretched toe to beat the keeper and put Scotland in the lead! The referee gave Scott the benefit of the doubt and put his name on the scoresheet and not award it as an OG maybe so he join the pantheon of Macs who have scored in the Euro Championships. Quiz time, can you name all six players who have achieved that accolade (scroll down for the answer). With this lead all they had to do was hang for another 77 minutes! Sadly their lead barely lasted a quarter of an hour when Enter Shaqiri stage right has pelted the ball from outside the area with a pearler of a left peg leaving keeper Gunn flapping in the wake of this wonder strike. With finishing like that, Xherdan must have gone to a Swiss Finishing School! One all now and the Swiss were right back in it.
After the break both teams pushed and pulled (shirts) to get the upper hand. Ndoye went mighty close as he put his shot wide when one on one with the keeper. Vargas who seemed to be everywhere throughout the game also gave it a good go but it was Scotland who had the gilt edged chance as Grant Hanley nutted the ball goal bound only for it to be thwarted by the upright. Still the chances came and went at both ends but try as they might, neither team could break the deadlock and so it finished one one. Maybe, just maybe, this might be enough for Scotland and they really could do with a victory against Hungary to secure their passage into the knockouts.
And so to the Footcall League...
The two nil victory for Germany was a popular prediction with an incredible 85 players guessing that one correctly. Unbelievably the Scotland result of one all was even more popular with 92 players bagging red squares for that scoreline. So we have a new leader, Lewis Alderman who has a two point buffer ahead of Nick Rowland, Ricky Yates, Scott Buchan and Alex Church. I’m sure Lewis is sitting at home quite smug that he put in all those countless hours of research to determine what the scores were going to be. Enjoy your time in the sun Lewis it may not last that long.
However the 2-2 score for Croatia v Albania separated the pack and only four players picked up a red square for that match. They were Sara Wood, Gary Thorp, John Trent and Slater Kingsley so you are all my players of the day.
A little look at the other end of the table sees my brother Simon, who is a seasoned expert at coming last, rooted to the bottom along with the mysterious Tommy Clark both with a solitary one point for the Belgium Slovakia result going the wrong way.
Don’t forget to scroll down the league table to page 15 and beyond to view the 12 mini Divisions we have created just to add a little extra interest for you all.
David
Quiz Answer:
The Six Macs Scottish Euro Goal Scorers: Brian McClair, Paul McStay, Ally McCoist, Gary McAllister, Callum McGregor and Scott McTominay.
I’ve heard a rumour that Paul McCartney might change his nationality so he can try and get in the 2028 squad!
Rainy Night in Georgia!
18/06/24 23:34
Day 5 in the Footcall House...
Just the two games today and boy were we in for a treat.
Türkiye 3 v 1 Georgia
The Georgians were making their Euro Championship debut this afternoon as they took on Türkiye who we know can ruffle a few feathers when they hit form. Of course this was one those unknowns when it came to predictions and I suspect most of you went with one-nil or two-one as is the norm for just about every game. And it was always going to be a tough call as we really didn’t know how good Georgia might be. The downpour Dortmund was subjected to this evening were nothing short of biblical. The scenes of the ground staff sweeping huge puddles of rain from the sidelines was incredible and it just didn’t let up throughout the match. Anyway the Turks were wearing the all red Liverpool kit from 1980 started well and when Ayhan smacked the ball against the base of the Georgian post to send shockwaves around the Dortmund stadium. Georgia however were not overawed as they had their own chance at the other end forcing a great save. It was the Turks who unlocked the door with one of the goals of the tourney, an audacious volley by Mert Muldur, it will take something special to beat that. Seven minutes later Georgia somehow managed to draw level with a delightful redirection of a cross ball which left the Turkish keeping feeling cross. The action was frenetic yet skillful and both keepers were continually tested but it did stay one all at the break.
On their return we witnessed the birth of a superstar! Türkiye’s number eight, teenager Arda Guler, scored an even better goal than his colleague’s earlier on. From all of 22 yards the young lad curled it with his left foot directly into the top left corner of the Georgian net. “Onu seç!” he said to the keeper “Pick that one out” in Turkish. Real Madrid’s value of the boy just went through the roof and at 19 years and 114 days, he became the youngest player to score on his debut in the competition, since a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. With this spectacular goal and the lead you would have been forgiven for thinking that Georgia would roll over. Well not a bit of it! They seemed more determined than ever to get back on level terms. But Günok for Türkiye and Mamardashvili for Georgia had the games of their lives. It reminded me of a match I played in for Ditton School back in 1982. We lost the game 10-1 but the man of the match was our keeper Jon Gibbons – you can imagine what the score could have been! Save after save at both ends kept this match really exciting and the rain was so torrential by this point I thought a low level of mist had descended on the pitch. As it was looking like Türkiye were going to close it out two-one in the 97th minute they managed to catch all 11 Georgians in the Turkish half and they hit on them the break. Aktürkoğlu just had to keep his composure and run the ball towards Georgia’s empty net. Despite the defenders tracking back he kept his head and tucked it away to finish the game 3-1 breaking Footcaller’s hearts all over the world!
Portugal 2 v 1 Czechia
The evening game in Leipzig saw the return of two Portuguese legends; the 41 year old Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo who marked his appearance at a record sixth Euro Championship. Let’s see if these old boys do the full 90. The game started with plenty of possession for Portugal but the Czech keeper prevented Ronaldo from scoring on two occasions. After the earlier game this lacked the effervescence of what we saw in Dortmund and what this match really needed was a goal like the one Patrik Schick scored from just inside the halfway line against Scotland in Euro 2020. Sadly that never happened and the first half ended goalless.
On the return, the fans were rewarded with the moment of magic we had been craving. Not from Portugal mind it was from the boot of Lukas Provod to score yet another goal from outside of the area! We have been treated to ten goals from such distances and more than a few have been spectacular worldies! Against the run of play Czechia were in front but for how long we asked ourselves. Well it was just about seven minutes when the Czechs scored again but sadly it was off the shin of Hranáč into his own net. This own goal put Portugal back in the race and their tails were right up now! Moments later Diogo Jota put Portugal in front from point blank range only to see it ruled out for an offside from Ronaldo. I must say the semi automated VAR in these games has been impressive and there is no argument when it comes up on the screen in the stadium to the despair of the denied fans. The Portuguese kept pressing and their endeavours paid off when Francisco Conceicao, who had only been on for two minutes playing his debut, slid the ball under keeper Staněk’s body and put his nation in the lead. This time the goal stood and with it being the 92nd minute all they had to do was hold on for another two exhausting minutes of stoppage time. Well they did and it finished 2-1 much to the delight of all the Footcallers who guessed that scoreline.
And so to the Footcall League...
We have a new leader, Lewis Alderman, take a bow you are clear top on 17 points with Rachel (she likes a 2-1) Rowland, snapping at his heels on 16.
The 3-1 result earlier was more popular than I thought and eight players guessed that scoreline including Birgit Hoffstadt, Billy Davis,Matt Clark, Elaine (this is my first Footcall and I really love it!) Tunbridge, James Roberts and Mike Costello.
Now you know I keep banging on about the popularity of the 2-1 result; every time it happens the league table lights up with red squares up and down the board. And that late goal by Conceicao meant that a whopping 71 players bagged a three pointer. I’m not going to name them all as I have a bed to go to, but congratulations to anyone who nabbed their first one today. Let me also extend my sympathies to all those Footcallers who have been cruelly robbed by a late goal in the dying minutes of matches – I feel your pain, keep the faith!
My players of the day must go to Alex (Footcall stalwart) Church and Ryan Thomas as these guys were the ONLY two to get both results exactly right today. A brace of red squares, a rare sight, especially for Alex! Well done lads, you are racing up the league.
That’s it from me, tomorrow sees the return of Scotland the brave; let’s see how they get on against the Swiss.
Don’t forget to scroll down the league table to page 15 and beyond to view the 12 mini Divisions we have created just to add a little extra interest for you all.
David
Do The Shake And Slovak!
17/06/24 23:24
Day 4 in the Footcall House...
Here we go again with another fine trio of matches.
Romania 3 v 0 Ukraine
The Ukrainians were odds on favourites to bag the three points for their nation this afternoon. But what have I told you about form and stats in these tournaments... they are not to be trusted. Well they did start well and had plenty of the ball but just as commentator Steve Wilson was singing the praises of Andriy Lunin and his form for Real Madrid only for Nicolae Stanciu to roast one in from 20+ yards out for one of the goals of the tournament, if you haven’t seen it then I urge you to do so. Suddenly the Romanians were one up totally against the run of play. They also managed to hang on to this lead until the break.
In the second half things only got worse Ukraine when Marin’s shot from distance found its way under the body of Lunin – he really was having a shocker! Four minutes later Romania made it three zip with a close range tap in. Despite efforts to get back in it Ukraine were found left wanting and the final result saw Romania win their first Euro match since the very first Footcall back in 2000.
Slovakia 1 v 0 Belgium
The Belgians always flatter to deceive in these competitions and they often come in as one of the hotly tipped units to go deep. As for Slovakia I can’t tell you of their ambitions but I suspect if they came away with a point today they might well be satisfied with that. The writing was possibly on the wall when Romelu Lukaku went ominously close for Belgium in the opening minutes. Well that writing was only chalk as it was the Slovaks who broke the deadlock moments later Ivan Schranz slotted the ball in to open mouths of the Belgian fans. Chances to draw level came and went and the first half finished one nil.
Surely Belgium would manage to at least get an equaliser in the second half and they dominated the possession whilst Slovakia hung on. Eventually the attrition paid off and Lukaku did manage to find the back of the net but celebrations were cut short when Mr VAR deemed him offside and it was disallowed. With the clock ticking that man Romelu popped up again to smash how an equaliser, surely this one would stand? Well no actually, a video replay showed that Openda allowed the ball to graze his hand before crossing it and the laws say you can’t be doing that in this day and age and the goal would not stand. Double denial for poor old Luka and now Belgium really need a result against Romania on Saturday night.
Austria 0 v 1 France
France are the favourites to win Euro 24 and surely the 2018 World Champions were not going to slip up against Austria? Well they nearly had egg on their face when Baumgartner very nearly put the reds in front if only had got a better contact on it. The game was lively with end to end action and Austria were definitely holding their own. However this all collapsed when Mbappe got to the Austrian touch line to cut it back only for defender Max Wober went a bit wobbly and headed it into his own net. The half time whistle went and we cut back to Messrs Neville and Keane to slate the poor defending.
In the second half Austria refused to roll over and all the time they could keep one goal in it there was a chance they might sneak an equaliser. Things however did get a bit more physical and Griezmann took a shove that saw him nut the Visit Qatar advertising hoarding that saw him pouring blood from his temple. The French first aid guy bandaged him up like Terry Butcher when he took a nasty clump on the head when England played Sweden in 1989, maybe we should call him Tierry Boucher. The blood wasn’t too bad for Antoine and he soon abandoned the bandage. However it wasn’t long before Kylian Mbappe also took a knock on the noggin when he collided with an Austrian defender’s shoulder. It looked for all the world as if he had broken it and had to be escorted off. He then took it upon himself to come back on the pitch before the referee allowed him and was subsequently booked then subbed for being a naughty boy! Enough of those injuries back to the game, plenty of chances happened in both penalty areas and super sub, Olivier Giroud at the age of 37 came on and nearly extended their lead although he well and truly fluffed his lines with a swing and a miss. And so it finished one nil, the French got their result on Les Bleu Lundi but Austria should be motivated to get stuck into Poland on Friday.
And so to the Footcall League...
Katherine and Lewis are hanging on to position one but sneaking up there is Tom Fielding into 3rd, David Wootton 5th and James Rowland 10th all courtesy of red squares this evening. In fact, quite a number of you had France to win 1-0 and you all earned a red square off the back of it including... Richard Goodwin, Henry McKillop, James Vallender, Charmaine Stimson, Oliver Pieterson, Emma Wakefield, Reece Unwin, Jason Shillito, lan Gallagher and Damien Burch.
However my players of the day go to Callum Burrows for predicting Romania to win 3-0 and Jasmine Tapper for correctly guessing Slovakia would win 1-0. Both players were out standing in their field as they were the ONLY players to get these games correct. Well done you two, red squares in matches like this leapfrog you right up the table. I’m not sure if Jasmine was aware of the situation and if she was watching the match, seeing Lukaku’s two goals disallowed must have brought a smile to her face.
Same time, same place tomorrow!
David
The Meidas Dutch!
16/06/24 23:24
Day 3 in the Footcall House...
Another three games to get our teeth into today all culminating in the opening match for England, let’s see how it goes.
Poland 1 v 2 Netherlands
There is one thing in football you cannot fault and that is the commitment by the Dutch fans to wear something orange. They turned out in full force on the streets of Hamburg and sight within the stadium was incredible. The game started well for Netherlands with lots of slick passing but against the run of play Adam Buska (known as Bab to his friends) rose the highest to head the Poles in front on the 16th minute. Just like when Italy went behind, the Dutch had to gird themselves to get back in it. And get back they did when star of the show Cody Gakpo scored the equaliser with a lucky deflection. The rest of first half was dominated by Dutch possession as they pushed for a second.
In the second it was much of the same as Aké, Gakpo and Memphis Depay, or Memphis Deheadband as we now call him, really dominated the game. But this game was really all about two substitutes, Robert Lewandowski for Poland who never saw any action and Depay’s replacement, Wout Weghorst who had only been on for a couple of minutes and he tucked the ball away to double Dutch delight. They managed to hang on to their 2-1 lead and rightfully so I’d say.
Slovenia 1 v 1 Denmark
Eleven hundred days ago Danish midfielder, Christian Eriksen, collapsed with a cardiac arrest in their opening game of Euro 2020. Fortunately the geezer survived, fought back, was fitted with an ICD and made a miraculous recovery to play for his country again today in the Euro Championships. What a difference it was today as he marked his return with a goal on the 17th minute to really cement his name in Euro history. The Danes had to dig deep and protect their lead into half time.
In the second half the Slovenian keeper kept their nation in it with an incredible save from four yards out. Denmark seemed more intent on protecting their lead than extending it and Slovenian number 11, Benjamin Sesko, who was sporting a Fabrizio Ravanelli grey hairstyle, absolutely belted the ball against the upright. The Slovenians were all over the Danes like a cheap coat and their possession paid off in the 77th minute when Erik Janza’s shot took a wicked deflection to find the Danish net and make it all square. And that is how the game stayed and the spoils were shared.
Serbia 0 v 1 England
The final game of the day saw the entrance of England as they took on Serbia. Now it is fair to say that England have not fared well in the opening games as we have only one game in the last 9 tournaments and that was against Croatia in 2020. This was our 39th game at the Euros, the highest number by any nation that hasn't won it. England are joint favourite with some bookmakers to win the whole competition but our performance against Iceland last week must have put some doubt in the minds of the fans. Well we started lively enough with Saka terrorising the right wing and a sublime cross from him was powerfully met by the head of golden boy Jude Bellingham. England flying high within 13 minutes. The rest of the first half was efficiently handled by the boys in white.
However in the second 45 there was a sense that the old England was starting to rear its ugly head. We were starting to sit deeper and deeper just inviting the Serbs to come and have a go if they think they’re hard enough. This is classic England trait and players who don’t normally play so negatively for their club side suddenly want to play silly buggers in their own half. Die hard England fans have seen this time and time again and the sense of inevitability was palpable. Serbia looked strong and composed and started to test Pickford who was desperately trying to equal Peter Shilton's record of 10 clean sheets in major tournaments. Nevertheless we kept going, rode our luck, Southgate brought Bowen on who’s cross met the head of Harry Kane and forced a great save from the Serbian keeper. The final whistle could not come soon enough and we did enough to escape with victory. If we are serious about winning this competition we will have to show more composure over the 90 minutes against Denmark and Slovenia.
And so to the Footcall League...
I think we probably set a Red Square record with an incredible 193 of them dished out today.
For almost every match 2-1 is the most common prediction and when the Dutch got their second goal 109 of you bagged three points. I won’t mention em all but if you click the link at the top you can scroll down the list.
The Denmark match ending one all saw 49 Footcallers claim a red square so it was a very rewarding day in the league.
I was astonished to see that if England’s game had finished goalless absolutely nobody would have scored a three pointer. But Bellingham’s goal saw 35 players get rewarded with a red square.
On such a rewarding day, it’s quite tricky for me to pick a player of the day and I know plenty of you claimed 7 out of 9 points. However I will award it to Katherine Beattie and Lewis Alderman who have managed to climb to the top of the tree – enjoy the view from up there.
Back tomorrow for more fun and games.
David
Spain Reigns In Pain For Croatia
15/06/24 23:12
Day 2 in the Footcall House...
We woke this morning to some very sad news that Millwall and Montenegro goalkeeper Matija Sarkic had tragically died aged just 26 years old. Later that morning we learned that former Arsenal, Everton and Nottingham Forest striker Kevin Campbell had died aged 54. And of course many of us are thinking about Liverpool legend Alan Hansen who is seriously ill at this time. All reminders that some things are much bigger than football.
With just the opening match to report on last night I had three games to watch today and sharpen my pencil for. First up...
Hungary 1 v 3 Switzerland
There are quite a few clashes in any tournament where there is an obvious dominant team. Then you get games like this where it can be a little harder to predict. The Swiss definitely were favourites on paper but we all know the value of that don’t we? Well it only took a dozen minutes when Kwadwo Duah beat the offside trap to tuck away the first goal. Mr VAR had to verify it but once that was done the Swiss were one up. They continued to play with great verve and were rewarded for their efforts on the stroke of half time with a lovely goal by Aebischer and just like their national flag, this was a big plus.
In the second half, Hungary were showing their appetite for the game and managed to sneak one with a deft little header by Varga from a beautifully weighted ball. At this point you’d be forgiven for thinking the Swiss would close up shop and play out their slender one goal lead but not a bit of it, they showed incredible tenacity to push for a third. They were duly rewarded in the 93rd minute when Embolo chested down and lobbed the keeper to make it three one; game over!
Spain 3 v 0 Croatia
Maybe this tie could be a potential banana skin for the Spaniards as the Croats had a reputation for giant killing. Old man Modric lined up for the 176th time for his country (suck on that Peter Shilton) but Spain had Lamine Yamal who was 22 years younger than him Luka. At 16 years and 338 days, not only was Yamal the youngest player to play for Spain but he was the youngest to ever play in Euro finals; I have got t-shirts older than this kid! A lively start that took just about half an hour before Morata sweetly put it in the Croatian net to break the deadlock. Less than three minutes later Ruiz doubled the Spanish delight as he tripped the light fantastic through the Croatian defence. The boys in red and white checks still saw plenty of the ball but failed to capitalise and in the first half injury time Carvajal cemented their woes as he made it three nil to Spain.
In the second half the Spaniards held fast and looked like they were in cruise control heading for the tape. However they did manage to dodge a few bullets, the most notable of which was when Croatia won a penalty from a blatant dive by Majer. Petkovic took the spot kick but the keeper saved only to see it fall to Simon who crossed it back to Petkovic who managed to tuck it away. This feint glimmer of hope was quickly snuffed out when Mr VAR stepped in to say there had been some attacking encroachment and so the goal was denied. The full time whistle blew soon after and Spain were victors.
Italy 2 v 1 Albania
The Italians who are the defending champions are quite a different team from the one that defeated England at Wembley in 2021 but needless to say they weren’t going to have any trouble against the Albanians were they? Just as I was settling down, the ink was barely dry from my 0-0 initial score sheet entry before the unthinkable happened. A bizarre throw in from Dimarco right into his own goal area saw Bajrami catch the Italian defence napping and he belted it into the roof of their net. Just 23 seconds were on the clock and this was the fastest goal ever scored in the Euro finals, the previous record was 67 seconds so this was almost three times quicker! The stunned Italians had to pick themselves up off the canvas amongst all this Albania-mania! Well that happened pretty quickly when they drew level just ten minutes later from the head of Bastoni. Five minutes after that Italy forged ahead with another B player, I forget his name, err, hmm, um–Barella... that’s it! A peach of a shot from the edge of the area. What a game, three goals in 16 minutes. Two more opportunities to the boys in blue could have put this game out of sight.
In the second half more pressure from Italy really looked like dominating but time and again Albania managed to ride their luck. In the dying minutes Rey Manaj latched on to the pass of the night to just touch it delicately goal bound. The advancing Donnarumma somehow managed spread himself Peter Schmeichel style to get the faintest of touches and deflect the ball from going in the net. Soon after the full time blew the fortunate Italians were home and hosed two one.
And so to the Footcall League...
An impressive four players had the Swiss to win 3-1 including three Footcall newcomers; Terence Tettey, Lee Wakenell and Arthur Dobson.
Whilst in the Spain match an incredible seven players has a 3-0 victory including; James Smith, Patrick Ferguson, Alex Wheeler, Lee Harris, Katherine Beattie and Ellis Parsons.
And a whole heap of you had Italy to win 2-1 which is always a very common prediction including... Nick Wyatt, James Bradford, Rachel Rowland, Jack Goodwin, James Rowland, Tyler Nilsen, Thomas Lillis, Sadie Colyer, Lewis Alderman, Joe Murphy, Elizabeth Knott, Joanna Mackenzie, John Dawson, Nathan Brown, Jade Amos, Martin Stobitzer, Jamie Marshall with Ian Pope, Nick Rowland, Jamie Nice, Katherine Beattie, James Ellis, Nick Cosgrove and Sean Briscall (who is playing his first Footcall since 2006).
But player of the day must go to none other than Mr Dan “I freakin’ love Footcall” Schroeck for his incredible seven point haul from the three games today. His two red squares and a one see him race into the lead and I bet he was mighty thankful that Croatian goal was denied!
Let’s see if he’ll stay there.
Next up... ENGLAND!
David
There’s a Musiala Loose Aboot This Hoose!
14/06/24 23:32
Day 1 in the Footcall House...
Here we go again with the 14th edition of our little competition and OH MY WORD, we are back baby; back with a bang! We have had an incredible chart busting 334 entries; can you believe it?!
When I think back 24 years to the year 2000 we had a mere 24 runners, nine of which have been in every Footcall since, it is bonkers to think how it has grown to 14 times the size like some sort Leylandii growing out of control in your neighbour’s garden! Collectively we have toppled the previous record of 275 set in 2020 so this year is going to involve a lot of scrolling up and down our league table!
Let me give a big shout out to all the seasoned campaigners having yet another go, you are the gold lustre to the Footcall trophy. Now let me offer a very warm welcome to all the Footcall noobs here for the very first time, I shall endeavour to inform and entertain you all with all the shenanigans on and off the pitch.
As many campaigners will tell you, these rambling reports are the backbone of this competition and for the next 30 days I will type my jolly little fingers off to make you smile once in a while. Please read em, it means the world to me when someone recognises my cheeky observations and I welcome you all to provide me with feedback and helpful words of support. Why not head over and join our Facebook group where you can rub shoulders with other Footcallers who may or may not be having a worse run than you. Oh hey, if you have any awesome one liners about the matches of the day then please do send them my way and I will chuck them in my report and claim them as my own.
Let me start by commending (most of) you on your inspirational team names, special shout outs go to all you dedicated individuals who thought long and hard about the punniest and most witty name you could muster, my hat is well and truly doffed! As for all you lot who picked one from an online search of “funny euro 2024 team names” it really must have taken it out of you!
Don’t forget after the Group Stages I will be asking you to vote for your favourite team name – I know for some of you this is the highlight of the tournament. For those of you who are interested I have compiled a list of all the former winners of the FTN Award on the Hall of Fame page.
So that's enough chit chat from me, let's get this show on the road and may your Footcall path be paved with red squares!
Germany 5 v 1 Scotland
After the obligatory opening ceremony which had all the razzamataz of a Eurovision after party, they cleared the field in double quick time to see host nation Germany take on the mighty Scots. As the national anthems were played I was witness to a fair helping of patriotic passion from Mrs Footcall as she ‘gie it laldy’ with her rendition of Flower Of Scotland. If there was a prize for dedicated fans in Munich tonight then the 150,000 travelling Scots deserve something for their efforts. I must say, what a stadium the Fußball Arena when it’s packed to full capacity.
Scotland must have known this match was going to be a challenge, Germany are a much stronger side and maybe a cagey goalless draw might have suited the visitors. Well all that went out the window when young Florian scored the opening goal inside ten minutes, this really was the Wirtz start for Scotland. Barely ten minutes later the Germans doubled their lead when the incredible Musiala smashed it in the roof of the net. Things were looking ominous for the Scots as they had no answer for the host’s incisive passing through the middle. All this came to a head when Scottish defender, Porteous (wasn’t he one of the Three Musketeers?) went steaming in with a two footed tackle in his own six yard area. Despite the Scot rolling around himself like he was the one injured, the referee (who is a dead ringer for Detective Charles Boyle in Brooklyn 99) consulted VAR and not only awarded a penalty but sent poor Porteous off. Scotland down to 10 and seconds later were three goals down courtesy of a stuttery run penalty from Havertz.
The first half ended and we headed back to the three glum faces of Wright, Souness and Keane in the studio. Graeme clearly wanted to get down that dressing room and give em a proper Shankly shakedown but his ITV ankle monitor meant he couldn’t leave the desk and the look on his face said it all.
The second half saw the home boys pick up where they left off when Fullkrug went full steam with an absolute bullet in the top right corner leaving the keeper nowhere. Four nil and cruising and Fullkrug nearly made five only for it to be disallowed for offside. With all this one way traffic it was really looking grim but then came a moment of celebration for the Scots as a free kick into the German box was tipped over the keepers hands into the net! The replay showed it was actually a Rudiger own goal so I guess technically the Germans had scored all the goals in the match. Nevertheless Scotland had something to celebrate even if it was short lived as Emre Can, who wasn’t in the German squad a few days ago, popped up and slotted it in the bottom right corner to make it 5-1 at the final whistle.
A totally one sided match, German classically efficient with Scotland left with a Munro to climb if they want to qualify for the Knockouts. Back to the studio this time to see Roy Keane get handed the baton to give em a good bashing!
And so to the Footcall League...
One game done and we have our first league table, hoorah!
It is fair to say that a German victory was a very very very common prediction tonight with 316 of you picking them to win. Nobody picked a 5-1 tonight but rewind to when it was 4-1 and there were in fact six of you inline for a red square only to see Mr Can rob you of your first three pointer. The Footcall Six who were found not guilty were... Kathryn Rowland, Chris Griffin, David Kilbey, Brad Tucker, Tony Mehmet and Dennis Mayes.
But my player of the day has to go to a special chap and Footcall legend, Chris Amos. Sadly I learned that Chris had died of Cancer and he is greatly missed in the Footcall world as he was instrumental in introducing our little game to so many players.
He was never that tech-savvy and I remember years ago when he used to turn up at my office clutching numerous sheets of paper (some of which were beer stained) all containing the predictions of his pub mates and family members he had roped into playing. Many of the Amos family still play today and I would like to extend my sympathies to all those that remember Chris and they know how much he loved it when it was Footcall time again. I would have laid good money on him picking this match to end 5-1.
Stay tuned for more fun and frolics in day two as I have the arduous task of compiling the mini divisions for us all.
Good luck everyone!
David