(ESP-ENG) La contundencia de los favoritos - Euro 2024!

Hello friends, good vibes to all.

Fuente!

Since the beginning of the European Championship we have not had the opportunity to talk about everything that has happened so far, Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands and England have played. From this group of 4 teams I would say that the two favorites are undoubtedly the Germans and the Spaniards, not so much because of what they did in their respective matches but because it was already a thought or idea since the qualifiers due to the way they had been performing. The opening matches are usually the most complicated because you go out with certain doubts or nerves of wanting to do well and even more knowing that you are considered one of the favorites to win the cup.

On Thursday, the Teutons faced Scotland and it had to be said that it was a bath with all the rules by the team led by Nagelsmann, what we saw was a compact, quality team with a high level of defensive solidity. We are talking about a ball possession of almost 75% for Germany with more than 10 shots on goal against none of the Scots. For the tranquility of the Bavarians, Scotland was never a worthy opponent for them, they never proposed anything which allowed the quality of certain players to unfold, such as Kroos who had 100% effectiveness in passes, Jamal Musiala who is a spectacle of a player in the creation of play and Florian Wirtz who reaffirmed the magnificent present he has.

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The other team that scored and also seems to have convinced its fans was Spain, who won 3-0 against a dull Croatia and with a lack of effectiveness and important lack of forcefulness. This group B, being considered the group of death, the teams should not afford the luxury of losing like this because the possibility of finding one of the two best third places will become more complex. Honestly I expected much more from Croatia, a very physical and well worked team was dominated by an orderly Spain but above all effective when it came to scoring goals. Lamine Yamal proved again that he is not smoke, that despite his 16 years old he is a reality in soccer because of his ability to unbalance and skill.

If anything could worry the Iberians are the "injuries" of Rodri and Morata, which I would say are more due to overload than anything else. With goals of a certain quality Spain overcame the Croatians without much fuss, perhaps in the second half they lowered their marking and intensity a bit but they were still able to keep a clean sheet thanks in part to Unai Simon who saved a penalty. I would say that this is a very coerced team which could go far if they keep their focus, De La Fuente's work has been quite good and there is no reason to think that La Roja could not be considered as one of the favorites.

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What to say about the current champions of the tournament who also come with high expectations due to the fact that they want to defend their crown as well as possible. Personally for me the Azzurri are not favorites, well neither were they 4 years ago, but it is true that the Italian national team in recent years has suffered a lot from the lack of good results starting with their absence in the last two World Cups, say Russia and Qatar, so the need to appear in this tournament for them is a sporting and even moral obligation. Knowing this, their first match was against Albania, a more than accessible and ideal team to start off on the right foot.

In fact, they did just that as they won 2-1 with a pair of goals scored in a five-minute period after having started losing in the first 30 seconds as a result of a defensive lapses. Italy was a steamroller in the first half, the entire offensive saga was at its best, Chiesa, Scamacca, Frattesi and Nico Barella; all of them looking for goals and opportunities. Those 45 minutes were an Italian monologue. But, was it the same in the second half? - Nothing to see. Italy had a hard time generating play, Albania did not generate any resistance either, but Spalletti's team worried me because it was a very passive and lackluster side. They came out cheap because the opponent was the one they were, but with a higher level, I think it would have been a different story.

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I close with England who had the same performance as Italy, very good first half but the second half was a total bore, zero play and showiness. Serbia with more heart and desire looked for the equalizer, they came very close on several occasions, but it was not enough. Playing like yesterday I don't see the English getting far or being protagonists, many things to correct, Bellingham and Saka were the only ones who pushed the cart because the rest was little to nothing. For the moment Germany is the only one that I really see very solid, followed by Spain. There is still a lot of Euro to come, France, Belgium and Portugal are still to debut so we will see what these teams bring us in terms of favoritism.

Well my people that's all for today, I hope you liked it.
¡Hugs to all, see you next time!