Match Day 1

Twelve matches in five days to complete Match Day 1 of the European Championship.  Certainly the biggest story was Christian Erikson's collapse and revival.  You can see he was getting CPR less than two minutes after he collapsed on the field.  I'm not an EMT or a physician (nor do I play one on TV) but that seems like an excellent response time.  Maybe Erikson was lucky.  Or maybe he was saved by technology and trained personnel who knew how to use it.  Following protocols set by medical professionals can save lives?  Imagine that (snark intended).

Hard to say there were any stunning upsets in the first tranche of games.  Maybe Slovakia's 2-1 win over short handed Poland counts.  Newcastle's Martin Dubravka was between the sticks for Slovakia and for him it had to be reminiscent of tending goal for the Magpies - you know, outpossessed, outshot, relying on a few counterattacks, needing an own goal (Syzygy Szczesny, the former Arsenal keeper) and an opponents red card to scrape out a win.  Makes that group (Sweden and Poland are the other two) very interesting.

Best match so far would be Netherlands 3-2 thriller over Ukraine.  The Dutch were cruising comfortably at 2-0 until Ukraine scored twice in quick succession (75th and 79th minutes).  Denzel Dumfries rescued all three points for Netherlands with his goal in the 85th minute.

How Many of the Countries in This Country Are in the Tournament?

Three.  Northern Ireland didn't make it.  England got off to a good start with a 1-0 win over 2018 World Cup Finalist Croatia.  Not that they played all that well.  Good enough to get the win obviously and probably won't have trouble getting to the knockout rounds.  But the Three Lions won't last long without stepping up their game.  Put in Grealish for cryin' out loud.

Wales look considerably worse than Switzerland on the stat sheet but still came away with an important point, drawing 1-1 on a late goal from Kieffer Moore.  I remember feeling like the Welsh deserved this result but couldn't tell you why now.  Wait, now I remember thinking that Jose Mourinho must have been managing the Swiss.  They fashioned a 1-0 with good pressure, then pulled back and Wales made them pay for going conservative.

And Scotland, well, not so good, as you'll read below.

If I Were the NY Post Headline Writer

Italians Gobble Up Turkey

Not traditional Italian fare but it was the only thing on the menu.  They went back for seconds and thirds.  This was the first time in Euro history that Italy scored three goals.  The 3-0 final might actually be an understatement.

Fifty-yard Goal Spells Czech Mate for Scotland

Not that Scotland looked like they were going to come back from 0-1 down to the Czech Republic but Patrik Schick sealed their fate with an incredible bomb from just inside the center line.  Check it out here as this week's YouTubeableMoment.  Not that the Scots weren't trying hard, they just didn't seem very good and with matches still to go against England and Croatia, well, 

Possession May Be 9/10 of the Law But It Doesn't Guarantee Goals

At one point against Spain, the Swedes were in single digit possession percentage.  They ended at a lopsided 15% possession, even worse than anything Newcastle ever did.  However, as many note, the point is to score and neither did.  Robin Olsen, who backs up Jordan Pickford in goal at Everton, was deserved Player of the Match for some fine saves but part of the issue was the Spaniards not making the most of their opportunities.  We have seen this before.

Portugal Nearly Left Budapest Hungry

Portugal struggled for 83 minutes and the Hungarians looked like they might slip away with a 0-0 draw.  Then the Portuguese poured in three between 84 and 91 minutes.  They did dominate but the scoreline is deceiving.

France Get Maginot Line Right This Time

For those not well-versed in history, the Maginot Line was not three forwards from the French national team in the 1920s but rather a series of fortifications designed to stop German invasion.  Yeah, how did that work out?  For the much anticipated opening round match-up with Germany, they did way better this time, winning 1-0, confirming their status as tournament favorites.  Germany did have 62% possession and 10 shots but only one was on target and obviously, none went in.  France weren't exactly an offensive dynamo, managing just four shots overall and one on target.  And that one on target, wasn't even the goal.  No, that came off the foot of German defender Mats Hummels.  But as with many own goals, the French put the ball in a dangerous position and if Hummels hadn't intervened, it probably would have been deposited in the back of the net by a Frenchman.  France also had one called back, correctly for offside.  The 1-0 final looks right to me.  Also, love him or hate him, Paul Pogba was a force in the match.

VAR Done Right

Kudos to the organizers and referees for judicious and efficient use of VAR.  A few calls have been correctly overturned but with a minimum of disruption.  They must be following BFS guidelines - if it takes more than 15 seconds to decide, it can't be a clear and obvious error.

Hope to be back Sunday with review of Matchday 2.