The curtain has come down on the 16th European Championship (Euro 2020), which was held in exceptional circumstances. Due to the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, and on multiple stadiums, Italy witnessed the return of Italy to sit on the throne of the old continent for the second time in its history and after 53 years of absence.
This crowning reinforced the legend of the "Azzurri", the great contender and expert in the World Cup, which he crowned on 4 occasions, the last of which was in 2006 at the expense of France, but he was facing bad luck in the continental championship, where he was able, so far, to impose his dominance only once. Alone in 1968, which he hosted.
The Italian national team has so far raised its tally to 6 major titles, the first international title since it was crowned on German soil with the World Cup title 15 years ago.
And this coronation would not have been achieved without a realistic management from outside the lines, its veteran hero, Roberto Mancini, who knew how to employ the potential of his available players, and bring out the best in it, to provide Italy in the end this performance that everyone agreed on his splendor, and that the owners of the blue shirt are more worthy of the title, Looking at their performance in the tournament.
Under the leadership of Mancini, Italy's performance became more beautiful and daring in attack, although it did not abandon the strong defensive performance "katinacho" that was characterized in the past, to pass through the bottleneck and the lackluster image in the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, and 2014 in Brazil, in addition to getting out of the The quarter-finals of the last Euro in France in 2016.
But the Euro title has restored Italian football's prestige, to become one of the most prominent teams that will be highlighted in the competition for the biggest date, which is the World Cup in Qatar next year, and why not the crowning of a fifth title with which Brazil is next to the throne of the world teams.
Spain:
Despite being knocked out of the semi-finals by Italy on penalties, the Spanish national team came out with many benefits from the euro, as it entered the tournament in a completely different way from the one it was in a few years ago during the period of the “golden generation” that dominated everything from the beginning of the euro title In 2008, passing through the most prominent coronation in its history in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, the end of the Euro title in 2012.
Despite the disappointing start of "La Roja" with two consecutive draws in the group stage against Sweden (0-0), then Poland (1-1), the performance began to rise, starting with facing Slovakia at the end of the group, then Croatia in the final price (5-). 3), and Switzerland in the quarter-finals on penalties, even falling to the "Azzurri" in the semi-finals on penalties as well.
Luis Enrique was able to be an ambitious team that promised a lot with the advent of the Qatar World Cup, to finally get out of the dark tunnel after many failures in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, then the European date in 2016, and finally the World Cup in Russia 3 years ago.
Denmark, Ukraine, Switzerland and Austria:
The recent Euro Championship witnessed a number of surprises, whether with regard to the scorers, or the teams that emerged from the mantle of honorable representation, until they had the exceptional championship role.
This happened specifically in the case of the Denmark team, which overcame the shocking start not only by losing to Finland in the opening match, but also by the accident that almost killed its most prominent star Christian Eriksen inside the green rectangle, to finally reserve a seat in the Big Four, and even be very close to Repeating the saga of the 1992 version, but in the end he fell hard at the hands of the host and runner-up of the tournament, the England team.
The Swiss team also appeared wonderfully, especially at the collective level, as the battalion of veteran coach Vladimir Petkovic appeared as a strong friend to its competitors in the tournament, which is evident in its exclusion of the first candidate for the title, France in the final price on penalties, and then its hard-fought exit against Spain in the role eight in the same way.
The Swiss team completed the good image it appeared in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, after its players gained greater experiences, thanks to which the team was on the brink of success.
The same applies to the teams of Ukraine and Austria, who exceeded all expectations. Although they benefited from the new format of the tournament and qualified among the best third-placed teams, they achieved an achievement to be reckoned with.
The Austrian team succeeded in reaching the round of 16 for the first time in its history, and it was not the right bite in the mouth of the Italians, who had to wait until the extra time to decide the qualification for the quarter-finals.
While the young coach Andrei Shevchenko's battalion did not manage to go so far before, with clear ideas, and as a team not to be underestimated, their saga stopped at the England station in the quarter-finals, after the overthrow of Sweden in the final price.
Frustration of the death group:
France and Portugal, the defending champions, and Germany were the source of the biggest frustration in the Euro. The three teams fell into a group called the "Group of Death", and all managed to qualify for the next round, but everyone was surprised by their early exit from the title race.
The world champion was the biggest loser in the tournament, despite the big names that coach Didier Deschamps' team includes, especially in the offensive side, to which a great value was added by the size of Karim Benzema, but the coach failed to raise the word of collective spirit on the team, so the individual tendency that led in The end to the exit to oblivion.
Players the size of Kylian Mbappe or Antoine Griezmann did not provide what was expected of them, so that the inevitable result in the end would be exit, which happened in the final price at the hands of Switzerland on penalties after a match that was within the reach of the French who were ahead of the score (3-1) until The last minutes of the match, after which the internal problems between the players came to light, an atmosphere that of course does not help success.
Portugal, led by star Cristiano Ronaldo, was also not on time, and the campaign to defend its title was quickly abandoned from the round of 16 at the hands of Belgium, and veteran coach Fernando Santos did not succeed in completing the march of success.
It was no different for Germany, which closed the curtain on coach Joachim Loew's era with a new failure, as it appeared completely far from what it was 7 years ago when it sat on the throne of the world with the World Cup title in Brazil, and also bid farewell to the tournament in the round of 16 against Germany.
Holland stumbles
The current version of the Euro is nothing new for the Netherlands, as coach Ronald de Boer's squad, dismissed from his post after the end of the Euro campaign, was another disappointment in the tournament.
Despite her good level in the qualifying stage, things got out of hand in the tournament that she entered as one of the contenders for the title, to end up with a shocking exit at the hands of the Czechs in the round of 16.
Belgium and a new disappointment in the middle of the road
The Belgian national team returned to stumble in the middle of the road in a major tournament, and time began to raid its golden generation, which may not be repeated, to achieve an achievement for the "Red Devils".
Despite the clear transformation in the performance of Belgium under the leadership of the Spaniard Roberto Martinez, he has not yet succeeded in exploding the potential that he possesses, which is by the way the best in the history of Belgium so far, and as happened in Euro 2016 in France, the Belgian team did not succeed in overcoming the obstacle of the quarter-finals with a loss on The hand of the champion, the Italian national team, (2-1).
The best achievement for Belgium under the leadership of Martinez is to occupy the third place in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but it is not enough compared to the individual and collective capabilities that he possesses, and the World Cup in Qatar may be his last chance.
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