Euro 2024, day eight
Some decent games, one not so decent
Hi, and welcome to another one of these. Admittedly, this is a little shorter and rougher as I become more and more sleep deprived writing about three games a day. But Saturday is the last day on that schedule, and I should finally be able to sleep properly over the weekend, so there’s that to look forward to. Let’s jump in.
Slovakia 1-2 Ukraine
Ok, another early kick off that’s hardly a glamour tie and that I’ve forgotten half of by the end of the day.
Slovakia really dominated this one in the early periods. They were pretty aggressive in going for it, and it paid off. Stanislav Lobotka probably isn’t the most complete player in the world, but this tournament, with such poor pressing from most sides, has been perfect for a passing midfielder like him. I know some very smart football nerds have been banging the Lobotka drum for a long time, and we’ve seen why at this tournament.
But from there, this was the Ukraine show. As you can see, Slovakia created most of their xG at 0-0. If the chart started after 18 minutes, it would look like Ukraine just steamrolled them. This was exactly the side people who follow Ukrainian football more closely than me said to expect.
That said, since we’re here, I still don’t like Mykhailo Mudryk. He was doing a lot of stuff in this game, offering a lot of direct running and dribbles, and I’m still not seeing much of it help his team win football matches. He would’ve probably improved England against Denmark, honestly. But for glimpses, I just don’t see him ever becoming a top end player good enough for what Chelsea need. At least he’ll be happy with the result.
Poland 1-3 Austria
Ralf’s at the wheel, man. He’s doing his thing.
The first goal is really well worked. Throwing the ball into a dangerous zone doesn’t often gives the ball away, but it gets you into an area where chaos can happen. Poland’s equaliser was just as messy. In this “dumb” version of football, crosses and causing chaos in the box are as effective a way as any to score a goal. All while an incredibly uninspiring Labour Party is likely to win a landslide in the UK general election. The 1990s are truly back.