France overcome Germany without showing full potential
Group E of Euro 2020 (aka the group of death) sparked into life yesterday and both games were highly entertaining. Despite being cited as the 'group of death', it's highly anticipated that the strongly fancied Portugal, Germany and France will advance to the round of 16 at the expense of Hungary. The Magyars however delivered a solid performance and managed to keep the Portuguese side at bay for 83 minutes in front of a packed house in Budapest. Once Portugal pierced their armour, however, the central European side found their brittleness exposed conceding three late goals.
CR 7 ...record breaker
I was impressed with Hungary who earlier in the second half had a goal chalked off for offside but their keeper Gulacsi was instrumental in keeping them in the game. He was unfortunate with the opening goal of the evening from Guerreiro taking a wicked deflection which left the stopper rooted to the spot as the ball trickled into the corner of the net. Shortly after, Portugal were awarded a penalty kick which was majestically desptached by Cristiano Ronaldo with the Juventus striker making history in becoming the top scorer in the history of the European Championship with 11 goals, beating the previous tally of 9 held by Michel Platini. This is also the player from Madeira's fifth appearance at the competition, another milestone for the veteran striker.
Big game in Munich
The late kick-off was reserved for the Germany-France clash a game which pitted both recent World Cup holders in a group F opener. The French team on paper are a worrying prospect for any rival coach with the likes of Griezmann, Benzema and Mbappé leading the forward line. Germany too are imposing with the famous eagle crest on the white shirt and their rich history enough to intimidate opposition sides. It was an intense affair as France slowly retreated into defensive mode after taking the lead in the 20th minute after an own goal from Hummels. 'Les Bleus' had two goals rules out for offside and Mbappé threatened with every breakaway. It's fair to say that France deserved the win but it was frustrating to see them play in this highly cautious manner.