With the round of 16 in the books for Euro 2016, 8 teams now remain as the quarterfinals begin today and go through Sunday. From soccer super powers to plucky underdogs each team has a shot at European supremacy.
Here is how the quarterfinals will unfold and who we will see advance to the semi-finals with a well earned victory.
Poland vs Portugal
Two countries looking to bring home their first international championship will clash in Marseilles as Poland takes on Portugal. Both teams are coming off nail-biting victories and have shown they’re not afraid to get their hands dirty to come out with a win.
After finishing second in group A Poland squared off against Switzerland in a match that went the distance to decide a winner. Jakub Blaszczykowski had Polish fans everywhere out of their seats with his goal in the 39th minute. But the Swiss would strike as Xherdan Shaqiri scored a beautiful bicycle kick to even the score late in the 82nd minute. Extra time was needed to break the tie and Poland showed that the late goal they allowed didn’t get to them. Both teams fought hard and after 120 minutes the match would be decided by penalty kicks. Poland would prove to be the most cool under pressure as they came out on top 5-4 in penalty kicks. The victory would make Euro 2016 the most successful Euro tournament in Polish soccer history.
Portugal also had a tough road to the quarterfinals. After finishing third in group F with three ties they went up against a red hot Croatia team looking to shock France as tournament favourites. Both teams exchanged chances in the first 90 minutes but the couldn’t break the 0-0 deadlock. Extra time was needed and in the late stages of the match Portugal managed to break the hearts of Croatian fans everywhere, Ricardo Quaresma scored the game winning goal in the 117th minute to give Portugal the 1-0 win. Portugal look to make it to the semi-finals for the second straight year and the fourth time in the past 5 Euros.
While Portugal has one of the best players in the world in Cristiano Ronaldo, A Selecção tend to disappoint their Portuguese fans in the knock out stages of international tournaments. Despite not scoring against Croatia, Ronaldo will need to carry the load once again for his country. Poland are playing with house money since this is now their most successful Euro appearance in their history. they have a slightly deeper team and striker Robert Lewandowski is still looking to break out of a goal slump. While defensively they’ve only allowed one goal in the entire tournament.
The previous two matches between the two countries ended in draws so expect another tight match, but in the end Poland should pull out a hard fought win. WINNER: Poland
Wales vs Belgium
Wales and Belgium look to rewrite their soccer history books when they face-off on Friday.
It’s been 58 years since Wales last entered an international tournament in the 1958 World Cup and have been making up for lost time in their first Euro appearance. They made it to the quarterfinals by winning group B instead of U.K. rivals England and in the round of 16 took on another U.K. rival in Northern Ireland. The Dragons have shown quite a lot of fire power in Euro 2016 but this time only one goal was needed to knock off the Irish. In the 75th minute Wales star Gareth Bale forced the Irish to concede an own goal after his cross was knocked in by Gareth McAuley giving Wales the 1-0 victory.
Belgium meanwhile are on a mission to show that they are on the rise and are ready to take their place among Europe’s elite teams. They came in second in group E and put everyone on notice with their drumming of group F winners Hungary in the round of 16. Belgium scored early and often as they cruised to a 4-0 victory with goals coming from Toby Alderweireld, Michy Batshuayi, Eden Hazard, and Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco. It was a victory worth of a top contender for the European championship. The Red Devils look to once again establish themselves as a threat in Europe after finishing third place in Euro 1972 and second in Euro 1980.
The Welsh have one of the world’s top players in Gareth Bale who can score and generate offense at will, The Belgians simply have a bigger arsenal at their disposal and are figuring out how to use it a the right time in the tournament. Expect The Red Devils to slay The Dragons and move on to the semi-finals. WINNER: Belgium
Germany vs Italy
Italy will play their second straight soccer super power in the quarterfinals as they take on the reigning World Cup champion Germans in Bordeaux on Saturday.
The Azzurri enter this matchup as the group E winners and as the team who defeated Spain, the reigning two-time European champions. Italy’s strong defensive tactics under manager Antonio Conte has worked wonders in bringing Italy back to their world class form. He has left his mark on this squad that should last long after he steps down as manager at the end of the tournament. In their match against Spain the Italians proved to be too much as Giorgio Chiellini put his team up 1-0 in the 33rd minute. After that Italy kept a stranglehold on their lead and in the 91st minute they put the game away when Graziano Pelle scored to make the final score 2-0. Italy looks to make it all the way back to the Euro finals after finishing second in 2012.
The Germans enter the match as the winners of group C and as a team that has yet to be scored against in Euro 2016. Joachim Löw has his team in top form and it was on full display in their round of 16 match against Slovakia. Germany dominated the Slovakians with 61 per cent of possession and scored early and often coming away with a 3-0 win thanks to goals from Jerome Boateng, Mario Gómez, and Julian Draxler. The Germans are on a mission to become the second team since Spain to win a World Cup and European championship in back-to-back tournaments.
There is no love lost between these two countries when it comes to soccer. Of the quarterfinal matches this by far has the most history behind it. Both teams have eight World Cups (Italy 4, Germany, 4) and 4 European championships (Italy 1, Germany 3) between them. Most recently Italy defeated Germany in the semi-finals in Euro 2012 and lead the all-time series with 15 wins 10 draws and 8 losses. However, it will be the Germans who will get their revenge from Euro 2012 as they are simply playing on a higher level than the Italians are with a much younger squad. Germany will come away with the victory in this clash of champions. WINNER: Germany
France vs Iceland
Despite the star power of Italy vs Germany, all eyes will be on Sunday’s match between France and Iceland. It’s classic David and Goliath story as the plucky underdogs in Iceland take on the home team in France. The atmosphere will be electric at the Stade de France in Paris when these two teams take the pitch.
France made it to the quarterfinals by winning group A and by taking care of the Republic of Ireland in the round of 16. Things didn’t go France’s way at the beginning of their match against the Irish after going down 1-0 in the second minute thanks to an Irish penalty kick. But thanks to Antoine Griezmann France came roaring back in the second half as he scored two goals in the 57th and 61st minute to lead Les Bleus to the 2-1 victory. France is determined to win the European championship on home soil just like they won the 1998 World Cup on home soil.
Iceland has been the feel good story of Euro 2016. No matter which team you support (unless your England) it has been an amazing ride watching the country of 323,002 people shock the continent with their strong play. It started as they came in second in group F but it was their match against England that stamped their legitimacy as the tournament dark horse. After Wayne Rooney put England ahead 1-0 early in the 4th minute, Iceland tied the match before the English could finish celebrating thanks to Ragnard Sigurdsson in the 6th minute. Then as England tried to recover Iceland struck again in the 18th thanks to Kolbeinn Sigthorsson. By then Iceland had all the momentum and would hang to their historical 2-1 victory.
While it would be unprecedented to see Iceland beat France on their home soil to advance to the semi-finals, the clock will strike 12 on Iceland in Sunday’s match. France simply has the better team in this matchup in terms of depth and skill. However, this match will be closer than people will expect and Iceland won’t go down without a fight, capping off one of the best stories of 2016. WINNER: France