The round of 16 live their last hours and only in this round have there been several surprises. Some of the favorite teams to win the trophy have been eliminated, some against inferior rivals, as is the case of France , world champion and runner-up in Europe , who was knocked out of Euro 2020 against a humble and epic Switzerland.
The first surprise came last Sunday when the Netherlands and the Czech Republic met at Ferenc Puskas in Budapest in the round of 16. La Oranje , who had had an exceptional group stage, lost 2-0 to the Czechs in a match in which Matthijs de Ligt was sent off. Furthermore, this elimination has led to the resignation of Frank de Boer , who has failed to live up to expectations.
Another of the great teams that are already on vacation is Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal . The current champion of the Eurocup was eliminated, but this time against one of the favorites: Belgium . A goal from Thorgan Hazard at La Cartuja sent the team coached by Fernando Santos home, preventing them from achieving the milestone of winning two consecutive Euro Cups.
The big surprise came this Monday in Bucharest . The France of Mbappé, Griezmann, Benzema, Pogba and company, current world champion, succumbed in the penalty shootout against Switzerland . Les Bleus beat 3-1 in the final minutes and the Swiss were able to equalize the contest and win the tie on penalties.
World runner-up Croatia has also said goodbye to the quintessential tournament in European national team football. Dalic’s men fought and forced an extension in the Copenhagen Parken against Spain , but finally it was the Spaniards who got the ticket to Saint Petersburg by winning 5-3 in a sensational match by Luis Enrique .
Finally, the always almighty Germany have already started their holidays after losing at Wembley 2-0 to England. Sterling and Kane condemned the Germans, who were living their last major tournament with Joachim Löw as coach. Die Mannschaft thus ends a cycle that has already begun to show deficiencies in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
