Euro 24 Update As Quarterfinals Are Set: Moments of Individual Brilliance Put England Through; Portugal Keeper Costa Saves Ronaldo and Pepe; Valiant Underdogs Exit; Clash of Titans as Spain Faces Germany and France Takes On Portugal Friday

The quarterfinal matchups are set and the action resumes Friday after a brief two day pause in the frenetic European Championships.

England returns to the fray on Saturday after nearly reliving the humiliation of its infamous Euro 2016 Round of 16 exit at the hands of  Iceland. England, guilty of yet another sluggish performance, trailed against Slovakia before a bicycle kick by Jude Bellingham in the fifth minute of stoppage time equalized the Round of 16 match. Just moments into extra time, Harry Kane scored to give The Three Lions the lead and the 2-1 margin held up to put the tame Lions into the quarterfinal. Substitutes were key to England’s victory. Cole Palmer injected his usual energy when making his now customary second half appearance. Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze also provided some much-needed pace with his 84th minute substitution. Perhaps making the greatest difference, however, was the seemingly desperate insertion of Brentford striker Ivan Toney in the 94th minute of play. Toney’s run helped clear space for the bicycling heroics of Bellingham just a minute later. The Brentford man would then assist Kane’s header for the winner early in extra time. Normally stodgy England Manager Gareth Southgate pulled out all the stops to breathe late life into his team and get England’s dramatic victory. A particularly bold and effective move was moving Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka from right wing to left back on Palmer’s 66th minute introduction. Toney had not even played in this tournament before jumping into the frantic fight for survival last Sunday. Sadly, only the extreme pressure of pending elimination forced Southgate’s hand to shake things up. Whether the true potential of this squad will be unleashed in this tournament remains unknown, its talent evidenced only in flashes. Fortunately, two of those flashes came on Sunday when Bellingham, La Liga’s Player of the Year, dramatically brought England back into the match and Kane, the Bundesliga leading scorer, sent The Three Lions into the quarterfinals.

Stunning from Jude Bellingham 🤸😲@AlipayPlus | #EUROGOTT pic.twitter.com/0CAWvwhO2W

— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024) June 30, 2024

Former Arsenal star Granit Xhaka and Switzerland will face England after the Swiss eliminated defending champion Italy 2-0 last Saturday. Italy rarely worried a Swiss backline which includes center backs Fabian Schar of Newcastle and Manuel Akanje of Manchester City. The well-organized Swiss came into the match with Italy having played to a 1-1 draw with host country Germany in its final group stage match. England will thus be facing a new level of challenge as Southgate ponders decisions across his lineup and supporters hope for a full 90 minutes of energized play from their heroes. A new headache for Southgate is center back Marc Guehi’s suspension for accumulated yellow cards with Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa anticipated to deputize absent some creative reshuffling by Southgate.

The other quarterfinal on England’s side of the bracket will pit the Netherlands against Türkiye. The Dutch made easy work of overmatched Romania in a 3-0 walkover to advance. Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo scored the opener for the Dutch and then assisted on one of two goals by substitute Donyell Malen who plays his club football for Borussia Dortmund. Romania were one of five unexpected upstarts who were eliminated in the Round of 16 after an impressive run though the group stage. Türkiye will face the Netherlands after eliminating another one of those surprising sides in Austria. The Turks prevailed 2-1 over an overachieving Austrian club guided by former Manchester United Manager Ralf Rangnick. The Austrians were stunned by a Turkish goal in the first minute of play, the quickest goal in Euro knockout stage history, but showed resilience by pressing the Turks throughout the balance of the match, firing 21 shots and controlling 60% of the possession. Unfortunately, only five of the Austrian shots were on target. The scorer of the early shock goal for Türkiye, Meriah Demiral, added a second in the 59th minute which proved to be the winner as Austria reduced the margin to a single goal seven minutes later. Turkish goalkeeper Mert Gunok ensured his side would move on to the quarterfinal with an exceptional save in the 95th minute.

A goalkeeper was the star in Portugal’s victory over a stubborn Slovenia side in penalty kicks. Slovenia had played England to a goalless draw in their final group game and the 57th ranked side held the Portuguese scoreless through 90 minutes and extra time. Atletico Madrid Goalkeeper Jan Oblak stopped a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty kick in extra time to create the shootout scenario. Portuguese goalkeeper Diogo Costa would stop Slovenia’s first attempt. Ronaldo, with his frustration building throughout this tournament, then buried his second spot kick opportunity of the match against Oblak. Costa stopped Slovenia’s second try. Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes converted Portugal’s second attempt. The 24-year-old Costa proved invincible as he made yet another save on Slovenia’s third try. Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva then clinched Portugal’s with his side’s third successive conversion. Costa’s three saves in penalties capped an outstanding performance which also saw Costa stop a breakaway shot by Slovenia’s Benjamin Sesko after 41-year-old Portuguese defender Pepe gave the ball away in the final minutes of extra time. Ronaldo and Pepe both owe extra kudos to their young goalkeeper.

Up next for Portugal is France on Friday in one of the two matches featuring tournament favorites on the power side of the bracket. France squeezed by Belgium in the Round of 16 on an 85th minute own goal by Belgian and former Tottenham Hotspur defender Jan Vertonghen. France has advanced to these quarterfinals with just two own goals and a penalty kick representing the entirety of its production. Kylian Mbappe, expected to be a Golden Boot contender, has France’s penalty kick but his contributions have been limited by a broken nose. Line mate Antoine Griezmann is so far missing in action for the French. Criticism for the underwhelming performance of the French side has been raining upon Manager Didier Deschamps much as England Manager Gareth Southgate has been pilloried in the English press.

The other quarterfinal on the power side of the bracket Friday has host country Germany facing Spain in a clash of the tournament’s highest scoring teams to date. Germany advanced with a 2-0 defeat of Denmark last Saturday. Arsenal’s Kai Havertz put Germany ahead with a penalty kick after Crystal Palace and Denmark defender Joachim Anderson was whistled for a handball in the box. The luckless Andersen had just moments earlier had a goal disallowed on an offside call. Jamal Musiala would score Germany’s second goal of the match as the Bayern Munich man became the joint Golden Boot leader with his third goal of the tournament. Germany has ten goals to date as a team. Their Saturday opponent, Spain, has nine goals after a 4-1 demolition of Georgia. The Georgians joined Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria, and Romania in the group of surprising upstarts eliminated in the initial knockout stage. Spain, meanwhile, remains perfect with four wins in four matches. The Spaniards can be electrifying with young wingers Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal terrifying defenders with their speed. Commanding the midfield for the Spaniards is Manchester City’s Rodri while his teammate with the Citizens, center back Aymeric Laporte, is part of a back line that includes Chelsea left back Marc Cucarella.

Spain, Germany, France and Portugal will be trying to avoid being one of the two tournament favorites who will be eliminated on the power side of the bracket on Friday. As for the fate of England Saturday on the junior side of the bracket… who knows?