Well this was a rather strange day in the Euros. Germany won but struggled and Croatia pulled off a massive upset on one of the favorites to win the group.
1) Biggest winner: Croatia
For obvious reasons. Croatia beat Spain and thus won Group D in a shocking 2-1 win. That sets up Croatia into a far easier half of the bracket, leaving Spain to face Italy.
2) Standout performer: Michael McGovern (Northern Ireland)
With eight saves and allowing a goal that he would’ve likely saved if not for a deflection, Northern Ireland’s Michael McGovern was outstanding. And while they were unable to get a result on Germany, McGovern kept Northern Ireland in the entire game and still won a knockout stage spot.
3) Biggest loser: David de Gea (Spain)
David de Gea didn’t have a great game. On the first goal, De Gea was left unbalanced and Nikola Kalinic scored. Then he let the near post open and Ivan Perisic got through to get Croatia the lead.
4) Best tweet
https://twitter.com/NutmegRadio/status/745339815227461634
5) Biggest surprise: Germany
Germany was dominant against Northern Ireland (79/21 possession, 30-2 shots, 647-110 passes and we can go on and on). By only winning 1-0, despite Germany winning 1-0 and the group, it was a poor performance that could be a concern entering the knockout stage.
6) Worst moment: Flares at Turkey/Czech Republic game
When Turkey scored their second goal, fans lit flares throughout the stadium in another display of people being able to bring in flares when security was supposed to be tight. Doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon and it seems like UEFA isn’t planning to do anything about it.
7) Best goal: Ivan Perisic (Croatia)
8) Wednesday’s games
Group E and F are tomorrow which will round out the Euro 2016 group stage. Iceland/Austria and Hungary/Portugal play at noon ET in Group F with Portugal needing to draw in order to go to the knockout stage. Italy/Ireland and Sweden/Belgium are at 3:00 PM ET and could possibly be Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s final game as a Sweden player as he announced his international retirement today.
