Wales against Denmark
Wales qualified from Group A after drawing 1-1 with Switzerland and then beating Turkey 2-0. They lost to Italy 0-1.
Moving forward, manager Rob Page needs his players to gel. The connection between Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale is key to Wales’ chances.
Denmark’s Euros started with the collapse of Christian Eriksen. They lost the opener to Finland 1-0, then lost to Belgium 2-1. Finally, they hammered Russia 4-1 to go through third-placed in Group B.
Recently, Denmark has also lost Yussuf Poulsen. Will adversity help Kaspar Hjulmand’s team, or will they suffer from a lack of class going forward?
Italy versus Austria
Italy cruised through Group A with wins over Turkey (3-0), Switzerland (3-0), and Wales (1-0).
Boss Roberto Mancini will hope Ciro Immobile continues his good form upfront and Jorginho continues to boss the tempo from midfield.
Franco Foda’s Austria qualified from Group C with wins over North Macedonia (3-1) and Ukraine (1-0) However, The Netherlands beat them 2-0.
David Alaba is Austria’s best player, but Marcel Sabitzer and Christoph Baumgartner are dynamic midfielders who can supply Marko Arnautovic and also score themselves.
Netherlands against Czech Republic
The Netherlands beat Ukraine (3-2), Austria (2-0), and North Macedonia (3-0), to win Group C.
All The Netherlands group games were played at home, so boss Frank de Boer will hope his star players like Memphis Depay can replicate their form when they have to travel.
The Czech Republic finished third in Group D. They beat Scotland 2-0 and drew 1-1 with Croatia. They lost the final game 0-1 to England.
Jaroslav Silhavy’s players to watch are Bayer Leverkusen’s Patrik Schik and West Ham’s Tomas Soucek.
Belgium versus Portugal
Belgium had no problem with Group B. They dispatched Russia 3-0, then beat Denmark 2-1 and Finland 2-0, to top the group.
Boss Roberto Martinez will be hoping for more of the same from players like Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.
Portugal qualified from Group F, finishing third. They beat Hungary 3-0 and drew with France 2-2. However, they lost 2-4 to Germany.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos has enough attacking talent in Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota and Bruno Fernandes to cause any team problems.
Crotia will compete with Spain
Group D for Zlatko Dalic’s Croatia began with a loss against England (0-1). The Croats then qualified with a 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic and a 3-1 win over Scotland.
Luka Modric reminded everyone how good he is during the win over Scotland. Other teams will have to beware of him and Ivan Perisic in the next round.
Spain started slowly with two draws (0-0 v Sweden and 1-1 v Poland), but thrashed a poor Slovakia to win 5-0 and ensure they finished second in Group E.
Going forward, boss Luis Enrique will need to take the momentum of the second half against Slovakia with the team into their last 16 games. Pedri is one to watch.
France versus Switzerland
France topped Group F with a decent 1-0 win against Germany, a laborious 1-1 against Hungary, and a difficult 2-2 with Portugal.
Didier Deschamps’ France hasn’t really got out of first gear in this year’s Euros. The French have a team to fear if they can click.
The Swiss qualified from Group A after drawing with Wales 1-1, losing to Italy 0-3, and beating Turkey 3-1.
For Switzerland, Vladimir Petkovic’s main men have been disappointed so far. Xherdan Shaqiri scored twice against Turkey but otherwise was poor. Granit Xhaka also needs to make a bigger impression in midfield.
England will face Germany
England beat Croatia and the Czech Republic 1-0 and drew 0-0 with Scotland, to top Group D.
Gareth Southgate’s men need to be sharper in front of goal. So far only Raheem Sterling has netted for England. Harry Kane needs to stand up.
Germany qualified from Group F after grabbing a late equalizer against Hungary in their last match. Previously, they lost 0-1 to France but beat Portugal 4-2.
Manager Joachim Low will now be seeking consistency. It’s his job to get the best from Joshua Kimmich. Low has arguably played him out of position so far and may need to rethink this.
Sweden against Ukraine
Janne Andersson’s Sweden side held Spain 0-0 in their Group E opener, then followed that up with victories over Slovakia (1-0) and Poland (3-2). They finished top of the group.
Going into the next game, Sweden will be hoping for goals from the otherwise impressive Alexander Isak to go with Emil Forsberg’s 3 in 3 games.
Ukraine lost their opener to The Netherlands 2-3. After that, Andriy Shevchenko’s men secured qualification from Group C with wins over North Macedonia (2-1) and Austria (1-0).
Ukraine’s options up front are dangerous, with Yarmolenko linking well with Yaremchuk and Malinovsky. However, they must improve their defense.
