At Least There Was Drama

Though goals and real moments of quality were still in short supply, the Euro Quarterfinals at least delivered some drama.  Three of four matches went to extra time and two went to a penalty shoot out.  

Spain - Germany featured some crunching tackles, including one that knocked Pedri out of the match.  Germany leveled the match in the 89th minute but Spain got the game winner at 119 minutes.  The big flap though was the non-call against Marc Cucurella (see below) in extra time.   Netherlands rallied from an 0-1 deficit to take a 2-1 win after scoring at 70 and 76 minutes.  The game winner was an own goal, giving Ogee 10 for the tournament.  

England - Switzerland did not exactly sizzle but it was a tight contest.  The English have provided about three minutes of quality football so far but there they are in the semis after beating the Swiss on PKs.  One of those quality minutes is Saka's goal from the right side of the box that leveled the match in the 80th minute.  The quality and context make this week's YouTubeableMoment.  After a scoreless (and drab?) extra 30 minutes, England were clinical in the shootout, with five well-taken penalties.

Then we have France, who do not have a goal from the run of play by anyone on their roster (a PK and two own goals).  This time they dueled Portugal to a 0-0 draw over 120 minutes.  Les Bleus were also a perfect 5 of 5 in the shootout and they advanced to the semis.  Portugal were shut out for the third straight match; without factoring in injury time, they went the last 364 minutes of the tournament without scoring.  Probably a good thing that France and England don't face each other in the semis.

Handling Again

Where is he supposed to put his arm?

So German fans are up in arms (pun intended) because Anthony Taylor declined to call Marc Cucurella for handling in extra time of the 1-2 loss to Spain. Surprisingly I couldn't find good video of the play but here are some visuals to help.  Real time I did not think it was a handball.  Neither did Anthony Taylor or his VAR Stuart Atwell.  Neither did Mark Clattenburg who provided his opinion on the Fox telecast.  Further, pre-tournament advice given to the referees specifically referenced this type of play:

In his pre-tournament briefing, Roberto Rosetti, UEFA's head of referees, gave specific examples of handball penalties -- for and against. Rosetti showed a clip of the ball hitting a defender's arm from a shot on goal. The arm was in a vertical position, close to the body.

Rosetti said: "Not every touch of arm, hand is a penalty. We want to consider the movement of the players. Biomechanical movements. You know, this is a clear situation. This is never a penalty."

Yes, his arm is not glued to his side.  But he had been shuffling laterally to get to that spot.  Plus he was moving his arm back, away from the shot.  And, you have the proximity issue.  My last point on this is that Alexi Lalas asked how was that not a handball?  I rest my case.

Not A Coin Flip But Easier Than A Free Throw

Speaking of Lalas, in the interlude between extra time and penalty kicks, he never fails to remind us that this is not a coin flip and penalty kicks are a skill that players prepare for.  He has a point but I wonder what he would say if the NBA played five extra minutes of overtime, then went to free throws to decide the game.  Well, there is the defensive part of it.  True, but the NBA average for free throw shooting last season was 78.4% while the EPL converted PKs at a 89.6% rate.  That was a really high number so I looked at the four year average, which was 81.9%,

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place and Did

Dennis: Why is the Swiss coach leaving Xhaka in for the penalty shootout?

Steve: Because no one would dare take a PK for Granit

Conversation That Could Have Taken Place But Didn't

Michael B: Who's got more support - England or Switzerland?

Steve: Well, you know the neutrals will be for Switzerland

Signs of Life at Subaru Park

Though not much.  There were about 20 minutes in each half where the Union found some ideas on offense and generated decent chances.  These were matched with periods in which the defense played like this was their first match together.  The excuses about injuries and personnel shortages fall flat when the problem is the back line of Wagner, Lowe, Elliott, Glesnes and Harriel, which has been together for several years now.  It's like they're not sure who's supposed to do what so we end up with uncovered runs and dangerous scoring chances.

At least they salvaged a point in the 0-0 with the Red Bulls but with the defensive breakdowns, they could have easily lost this one 2-0.  NY had the better xG at 2.8 - 2.5 but it felt much more lopsided in favor of the visitors; they had some wide open chances that they failed to put on frame and Union keeper Rick came up with some critical saves.  They remain in 14th place, though a playoff spot is only three points away.  Very interested in what happens in the upcoming transfer window.

An Exercise In Shithousery

When BFS Goalkeeping Expert Graham R picked me up for the Union match, he did point out that we could avoid the 90+ degree heat and high humidity at Subaru Park and watch some Copa American action.  Tempting but you gotta support the team.  I was interested enough in Brazil - Uruguay to dvr it for Sunday morning.  Should have known better.  Between the 41 fouls (26 for Uruguary), four yellows and one red, if there was any actual football, I missed it.  What a joke that was.  Uruguay won the penalty shoot out after a 0-0 draw and will take on Colombia in the semis.  Argentina and Canada, who also both advanced on penalties, is the other semi.

Football Widow

BFS Artistic Director Laura O has noted that between the Euros and Copa America, it has been hard to get my attention.  She sends this video along to show exactly how tough it has been.

So we have Spain - France at 3 pm Tuesday and England - Netherlands at 3 pm Wednesday.  After the last experience I have my doubts about Copa America but they have Argentina - Canada at 8 pm Tuesday and Uruguay - Colombia at 8 pm on Wednesday.  

EPL kicks off in a little more than five weeks.