Euros update: The round of 16 is set!

Remember how disappointing the overall gameplay was at the 2022 World Cup? That has been anything but the case at these Euros, which have delivered on every level in what is shaping up to be the most exciting international tournament in recent memory.

The group stage wrapped up yesterday, leaving us with 16 teams in the single-elimination stage of the tournament, which starts on Saturday with Switzerland facing Italy.

Here’s everything you might have missed from the group stage and some storylines to keep an eye out for in the round of 16.

Group A: Germany impress on home soil

After hammering Scotland 5-1 in the tournament opener, there was little doubt that Germany would emerge as victors of group A. That’s exactly what the hosts did, following up their drubbing of the Scots with a comfortable 2-0 win over Hungary to secure their place in the next round before rescuing a 1-1 draw with Switzerland late in stoppage time. They’ll face Denmark in the next round.

On the other end of the group is lowly Scotland, who were the first team to exit the tournament after finishing with a -5 goal differential. The worst part about the disappointing performance for Scotland – whose last win at the Euros was in 1996 – is that they actually could have advanced to the round of 16 with a draw against Hungary, who scored a 100th-minute winner to beat the Scots. 😔 

Group B: Spain dominate, heartbreak for Croatia

Spain have surprisingly looked like the best team at the tournament thus far, having won each of their three group stage games while failing to concede a single goal. La Roja’s group stage performances have demonstrated their worthy title credentials, and with a favorable matchup against Georgia in the round of 16 they’re quickly becoming the favorites to win it all.

The other big news out of Group B was Tuesday’s match between Italy and Croatia, where Mattia Zaccagni scored with the last kick of the ball to send the Azzurri through to the round of 16.

Croatia’s heartbreaking exit also means the likely end to the international career of Luka Modric, who put his country a goal up in the 55th minute after his penalty kick was denied by Gianluigi Donnarumma, who’s having an exceptional tournament. Modric was awarded the saddest Man of the Match award ever for his performance.

Group C: The Group of Death (for spectators)

Group C was more boring than watching paint dry, and that’s coming from someone who took so many mushrooms last weekend they literally watched paint dry for two hours.

This was the lowest scoring group in Euros history, tallying only seven goals combined – fewer than Germany alone (8).

England winning this group with only five points says it all. Being an Arsenal supporter and card-carrying member of the Jude Bellingham REAL MADRID 4Ever 🤍 Facebook group, I was super hyped about England’s chances headed into this tournament. That excitement has completely disappeared after watching 270 minutes of Southgate ball.

England looked less clinical than a drunk surgeon against both Denmark and Slovenia, scoring just once from their 24 combined shot attempts in the two games. Fortunately for the Three Lions, a favorable draw awaits against Slovakia in the round of 16. If they win that they’ll face either Italy or Switzerland in the semi-finals.

Group D: Austria win after dramatic last day

The biggest story in this group was Kylian Mbappé breaking his nose in France’s opener against Austria, but that quickly became old news after a dramatic final match-day on Tuesday that featured more twists and turns than an M. Night Shyamalan film.

The Netherlands headed into the day as group leaders, but were upset by Austria thanks to a late goal from Marcel Sabitzer, who booked Das Team’s place in the round of 16 as group winners. He even hit the Cole Palmer celebration.

Austria will face Turkey in the round of 16, and the Dutch have a date with Romania after qualifying as one of the top-four third place teams.

France, who looked like they were going to win the group after Mbappé scored his first-ever goal at the Euros in the second half, drew 1-1 with Poland after conceding a late penalty to Robert Lewandowski. The odds are stacked against Les Bleus to make a deep run; Didier Deschamps’ side face Belgium in the round of 16 followed by a likely quarterfinal matchup with Portugal, then a probable semi-final matchup with either Germany or Spain.

Group E: Romania top evenly-matched group

Raise your hand if you had Romania winning this group. 🙋 

Now put your hand down, liar!

The 47th-ranked team in the world clinched first place and punched their ticket to the round of 16 in a cagey 1-1 draw with Slovakia yesterday. The hard-earned point plus a 3-0 win over Ukraine in Romania’s group stage opener was enough for them to qualify for the knockout rounds for the first time since 2008. They’ll face the Netherlands on Tuesday.

Second place goes to Belgium, whose progression to the next round is both impressive and worrying based on their failure to capitalize on quality chances (looking at you, Lukaku).

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The Red Devils played Ukraine to a scoreless draw yesterday to secure a spot in the next round.

Speaking of Ukraine, they got the short end of the stick in this group, with all teams finishing on four points with the same exact record. The Blue and Yellow were eliminated from the tournament based on goal differential, despite finishing with more points than round of 16 qualifiers Denmark and Slovenia. This was the first time in tournament history that a team who finished the group stage with four points did not progress to the knockout stage. 🪦 

Group F: Georgia shock the world after Portugal wrap-up early

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal secured an early spot in the next round after winning their first two games, but Georgia’s incredible underdog run is what captured headlines coming out of Group F.

The lowest ranked side at this tournament (74) shocked the world yesterday, beating Portugal 2-0 to qualify for the round of 16. Napoli star Khvicha Kvaratskhelia relished the opportunity to play against Portugal’s second-string defense, scoring inside two minutes thanks to an errant back-pass from António Silva.

Portugal were unlucky to not receive a chance to equalize with a penalty kick when Ronaldo was pulled down in the box. Georgia were on the favorable end a whistle shortly thereafter, with Georges Mikautadze converting from the spot to double the Crusaders’ lead.

It briefly looked like Georgia could finish second in the group, but Turkey scored late to get a 2-1 win over Czechia and score a date with Austria.

Georgia will face Spain in the round of 16 while Portugal will clash with Slovenia.