Sweden vs. Slovakia:
In today’s only Group E match, at the Krestovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg, Russia, Sweden would beat Slovakia 1-0 off of an Emil Forsberg penalty. It would be a pretty even game in terms of stats, but Sweden was producing better chances throughout of the game. Swedish striker Alexander Isak was, in my opinion, the man of the match for Sweden as he created multiple chances for them to take the lead if it weren’t for fact that Slovak keeper Martin Dúbravka played such an impressive game. Sweden would eventually take the lead in the 77th minute when Forsberg slotted a penalty passed the keeper.
Croatia vs. Czech Republic:
In the first Group D match of the day at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland, Croatia would tie Czech Republic 1-1, after a controversial penalty was given to the Czechs. In the 37th minute of the game a penalty was called after Czech striker Patrik Schick caught an elbow to the face when jumping to head the incoming corner kick. The penalty was controversial because the rule is that if the accused player is in a normal position then it is usually not considered a foul, as the player is allowed his space. After further VAR (Video Assistant Replay) review, the ref thought that the Croatian defender was not in a normal position and gave the penalty. Schick would convert and give the Czechs the lead going into halftime.
Croatia would tie thinks up again two minutes into the second half, as striker Ivan Perišić, would fire a shot from just inside the right side of the box, and into the upper left-hand side of the goal. Although the game would end as a draw, it was important for Croatia, as it keeps their hopes of making it to the knockout round alive.
England vs. Scotland:
In the last Euro match of the day at Wembley Stadium in London, England, Scotland would tie with England 0-0. The first real chance would come from English defender John Stones in the 10th minute as he would end up heading the ball onto the post. Scotland would respond with a chance of their own in the 29th minute as Stephen O’Donnell would have a volley in the box that required a good reaction-save from English keeper Jordan Pickford. The game would then be played in the middle of the field for the rest of the game as the only other real chance for either team would come in the last few minutes of the game in which the ball would bobble around in the box until referee Lahoz would whistle for a foul in Scotland’s favor.
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Things to note (Eriksen and Yesterday’s Matchups):
- Christian Eriksen was released from the hosptial today after a successful implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) operation.
- Kevin De Bruyne would play an instrumental role, having a goal and an assist, in Belgium’s 2-1 comeback against Denmark.
- Ukraine would win a tough 2-1 game against North Macedonia
- Along with Belgium, the Netherlands would qualify for the Round of 16 as they won a comfortable 2-0 match against Austria
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Group B, C, and D standing after matchday 2 of 3:
| Group B | pts. | Group C | pts. | Group D | pts. |
| 1. Belguim* 2. Russia 3. Finland 4. Denmark | 6 3 3 0 | 1. Netherlands* 2. Ukraine 3. Austria 4. North Macedonia | 6 3 3 0 | 1. Czech Republic 2. England 3. Croatia 4. Scotland | 4 4 1 1 |
*qualified for Round of 16
Photo: Emil Forsberg, Wikipedia, Creative Commons
