Verney and Beezley are back later than usual after last week's technical glitch prevented the previous post from going live on the web.
It isn't the happiest return either after England's embarrassing Euro 2016 exit to minnows Iceland, which caused Roy Hodgson to quit his post as manager, but more on that later.
The tournament is now down to its final eight teams so let's look back at the round of 16 action and what Verney and Beezley think will happen next.
MOMENTS OF THE KNOCKOUT STAGES SO FAR
The tournament will have new winners this year as holders Spain, who had won the previous two European Championships, were knocked out in the round of 16 following a 2-0 defeat by Italy. Iceland and Wales kept their dreams alive by beating England and Northern Ireland respectively, while world Champions Germany, and Belgium, comprehensively beat Slovakia and Hungary. Host France needed a quick-fire double to come from behind to beat the Republic of Ireland, while Poland and Portugal also progressed. But what do Verney and Beezley think of the recent action?
JV: Whilst I was gutted to see England eliminated, the story of Iceland's journey is a wonderful one and fair play to them for still being in the tournament against the odds. Wales are left flying the flag for Great Britain and, although they fully deserve their place in the quarters, the fact we beat them and are no longer in it is all the more frustrating. Before the tournament began I predicted France to claim the title and, although they were far from convincing for large spells against Republic of Ireland, I'll stick to my guns with Les Bleus. However, Italy and Belgium have been more convincing than the French so far so we'll have to wait and see what happens. The moment that stands out for me above all others from the round of 16 came from Switzerland. Despite losing on penalties to Poland, the sublime overhead kick scored by Swiss midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri is easily one of the goals of the tournament.
RB: Italy 2 Spain 0... Whoops Spain, that didn't go to plan?! Italy, however, were my outsiders for the tournament. Whilst everyone was branding Spain, Germany and France I was stood at the back going “you forgot Italy?!” Chiellini and Pelle (Is that the Southampton guy?) for Italy. So yeah either way we get new champions! Iceland and Wales are flying the flag for the underdogs! Germany, Belgium, Italy or France could win it in my opinion! Verney stole my line about Shaqiri!
ENGLAND
Finishing second behind Wales in Group B meant a round of 16 tie against Iceland, who scored a dramatic late winner against Austria to finish as runners-up above Portugal in Group F. We took the lead after just four minutes through a Wayne Rooney penalty but fell 2-1 behind before the midway point of the first half following goals from Ragnar Sigurdsson and Kolbeinn Sigthorsson. There was still plenty time for England to muster a comeback but it wasn't meant to be for the Three Lions as another international tournament slipped through their grasp. So what were the verdicts of Verney and Beezley.
JV: When we found out we were going to be playing Iceland I felt cautiously optimistic. I knew if we could hit our true potential we could prove far too big match for Iceland, but we had to make sure we didn't underestimate the minnows despite the fact they were playing in just their first ever major international tournament. Unfortunately, I think we did underestimate them and were made to pay the price and far too many of the players underperformed. What summed it up for me was the fact that our best player on the night by far was Marcus Rashford, who was only actually on the field for a little over five minutes. What were the other players doing for 85 minutes? Team selection and tactics also left a lot to be desired. Whilst it can't be denied that Harry Kane had a superb season for Spurs in the Premier League, he didn't do much to impress at the Euros and I still don't understand why fellow striker Jamie Vardy only started one game. Vardy didn't enter the action against Iceland until the hour mark but why weren't him and Rashford introduced a lot sooner? I rate Kane as a striker but when things are not going your way why on earth didn't Hodgson make changes quicker, especially in a knockout game? Joe Hart's mistake for the second goal cannot be ignored either and I don't think too many of England's players impressed during the tournament. We had 10 more shots on goal compared to Iceland but just couldn't capitalise and that really is embarrassing. After France had looked below par for large spells against Republic of Ireland, I genuinely thought we could have matched them had we reached the quarters. This tournament could have been our best chance in years to win a tournament but we threw it all away. Iceland deserve huge credit for the number they did on us, but they are a side we should be beating so there's no excuses.
RB: Yeah I'm missing this part, I'm still embarassed about this and I believe Rooney should retire from international football, and Hart couldn't catch a cold! Well that's that... on the other side though Iceland fully deserved it! They outplayed us, showed more passion and more importantly scored more goals! The only shining light was Rashford for all of 5 minutes!
I think I covered the gist of it, leaving Beezley with the simple task of summarising. Top work!
QUARTER FINALS
It will be difficult to try and enjoy the Euros with the same enthusiasm following England's exit but there is no denying that there are some excellent ties coming up in the last eight, especially Germany Vs Italy. So what are Verney and Beezley's predictions for the quarters?
JV: Germany's clash with Italy is arguably the pick of the ties and one that is very hard to call. A lot of neutrals would no doubt be tempted to go for Germany but Italy, who had been given little chance by some before the tournament, cannot be written off. My head says Germany, but my heart says Italy, so I'll go with the Italians but I won't be surprised at whatever outcome this game ends up with. Although England are out and, despite the fact some Welshman enthusiastically celebrated our exit, I would genuinely like to see Wales to well. Belgium will provide difficult opposition after scoring eight goals in their last three games. I think it will go to extra-time and even penalties and I'll go for Wales simply to stay loyal to the home nations. On paper hosts France should beat Iceland but football isn't written on paper and you never know what surprises Iceland might spring next. France will need a fast start and to not leave it as late as they have in some of their previous games, but I think they'll still win. But before all those games is the first quarter final between Poland and Portugal. Portugal have had a poor Euros and didn't win any of their group games, so I hope Poland beat them, but Cristiano Ronaldo's men will be a tough nut to crack and I think they will win 3-1.
RB: Portugal Vs Poland- you have to say Portugal should convincingly win but look at the England game! Italy Vs Germany- far too close to call and I'm honestly not sure, but I'll take a shot... Italy! Wales Vs Belgium- On the form of Hazard alone I can't look past Belgium here! France Vs Iceland - I can't see past France.. Iceland beat us and deservedly so but I can't see France showing them such disrespect!
When we return next time eight will be down to four, the disappointment of England's exit will still be leaving us with a feeling of what might have been, and we'll be closer to knowing whether any of the surprise packages could yet win the Euros.
KEEP TAKING THE ROAD TO PARIS WITH US!
Wednesday, 29 June 2016
Tuesday, 14 June 2016
Euro 2016: The tournament so far
With big sporting occasions you always need top commentators and pundits to help dissect and analyse the goings on whether it be John Motson or Saint and Greavsie.
But for Euro 2016, being held in France, you will have to make do with the wit and expertise of the duo Joseph Verney and Rob Beezley. You can either stick with us with the loyalty of Paolo Maldini or just dip in and out at your leisure, but rest assured we will try stay clear of the Michael Owen stating the obvious kind of style.
With every team in the tournament now having played once we look back on what Euro 2016 has had to offer so far.
MOMENTS OF THE TOURNAMENT SO FAR
Four of the five Home Nations reaching the tournament, Iceland playing in the first ever major tournament and the normal big powerhouses in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and co on show. Yes, this had the makings of another great international tournament, but how has it been so far?
JV: This is the first tournament I can remember in a long while when I cannot easily recite every single group, who is playing in what order and the different possibilities for the knock-out stages. Maybe I wasn't as buzzing for a major international tournament as normal, but fast forward to day two and England's first game and I was soon listening to football songs and in a great mood ahead of the match. I have seen bits or all of most of the matches so far and Republic of Ireland and Italy have been the two sides to catch my eye so far. Luka Modric's goal for Croatia against Turkey was pure class and I hope we see plenty more wonder goals as the tournament goes on. The tournament is still in its early stages and there is plenty time for teams to stand up and be counted as places in the knock-out stages gradually begin to be finalised in the coming days.
RB: Having missed the first game of Euro 2016 my first viewing was Switzerland vs Albania and the battle of the Xhaka brothers in a game which ended 1-0 to Granit's Switzerland! Then came the Bale free-kick that Slovakia's keeper should have done better with! Then the final game of the day was of course England vs Russia and England getting agonisingly close to the three points, literally seconds!!! Sunday and Monday I didn't see much of any of the games due to work commitments but rest assured I've heard about "that" Modric worldy!! Onto Tuesday and Hungary beating Austria 2-0, Before the pin up boy appeared for Portugal in their game against Iceland, who did absolutely no harm to their reputation in a game that ended 1-1.
ENGLAND
Going into the tournament there appeared to be varying opinions on England's chances. On the one hand there was less pressure and hype as normal as some were unsure whether England had the calibre to improve on their performances in recent major tournaments. But with James Vardy and Harry Kane having superb seasons for their clubs and a lot of younger players coming through there was also something of an air of optimism about England, so it really was hard to really know how we would fair this time around. After the opening England game ended in a 1-1 draw with Russia, how do our chances look?
JV: After Eric Dier's delightful free-kick after 73 minutes in what had been a largely impressive performance, all the hard work was undone by an injury time leveller from Russia. In some ways the draw almost felt like a defeat such was the rather deflating feeling that followed Vasili Berezutski's stoppage time header. This now makes the next game against Wales even bigger than it already was as we must avoid a defeat if we want to realistically stay in the competition. Wales impressed in their win over Slovakia and will arguably go into the game as the more confident of the two sides and, for me, it will depend which England side turns up on the day. We are more than capable of beating Wales on our day but we could also lose badly so we must be careful. We need to show plenty of hunger and desire, give Vardy a run out and stop Kane from taking corners to give us the best possible chance.
RB: Now for my part on England and I'm going to start off with 2 VERY bad points that everyone has been thinking. Kane on corners and starting Sterling?! What's Roy thinking?! Now knowing my luck Kane will deliver a corner that Sterling will head in against Wales on Thursday!! Jokes aside though yes he's worth 50m at club level but what does Sterling do for England?! In my opinion the best chance we had was a 4-4-2 formation at the Euros and have Alli feeding Kane and Drinkwater who didn't go, feeding Vardy who didn't even make it onto the pitch against Russia! Now for the positives, Rooney had an incredible game in midfield and was a real general and Eric Dier scored a sublime free-kick! Going into the Wales game.. I'm confident but cautious!
ROUND TWO OF GROUP MATCHES
The second round of group games will go a long way to deciding the fates of many of the teams in this tournament, so what can we expect and what is there to look forward to next?
JV: Although this will sound very biased as an Englishman, the first fixture that really stands out to me from the second round of group matches is our clash with Wales. It will be really interesting to see how fellow home nation Northern Ireland do against Ukraine, while the other match in Group C between Germany and Poland could potentially be a great encounter. Czech Republic and Croatia could muster up a decent match, while the clash between Italy and Sweden has me intrigued. I am really looking forward to the Republic of Ireland's clash with Belgium and, although it would be good to see some great football from the Belgians, I'd love Martin O'Neill's men to beat them. All eyes were on global superstar Cristiano Ronaldo as Portugal took to the field for their opening game, but major tournament debutants Iceland held them to a very credible 1-1 draw.
RB: Well the second round of games is where the tournament starts to take shape and you start to see who will be going home and who will go through as the new rule third place team! You have to believe England need to beat Wales to stand a chance and it would be a shock to see any of Spain, Portugal, Germany, France or Italy go home but as already stated this is where the tournament takes shape! Here's to the second round of games!
TIPS TO WIN THE TOURNAMENT
Before the tournament kicked off hosts France were the favourites of many, while the likes of world champions Germany and Euro holders Spain are always dangerous, but whether any of them will claim the big prize of Euro 2016 glory is another story.
JV: France were my very early prediction to win it but after the first round of group matches it is still all to play for and I don't think any of the major teams have stood out. There isn't a team that I have seen yet and thought wow they are going to win the Euros, but let's see how the rest of it pans out. There is something though that is clearly apparent so far and that is write off Italy at your peril. In some of the build up of their opening match with Belgium, it sounded like many didn't fancy Italy's chances in the tournament, but they definitely impressed me and were more than deserving of their 2-0 win. I'm not saying they are going to lift the Euros but, if they play like that, they will give themselves a sniff of a chance at least.
RB: I've got to be honest when the tournament started I thought it was anybodies Euro's! You have your early favourites.. Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy and France! If I had to put money on it then I would say Germany to win the Euro's! As stated by Joseph no-one particularly stands out so here's to the rest of the Euro's and seeing a clear winner!
Hopefully, when you return for the next edition of Verney and Beezley, England will have boosted their chances of reaching the knock-out stages with a victory over Wales....well we are allowed to dream aren't we.
KEEP TAKING THE ROAD TO PARIS WITH US! COME ON ENGLAND!
But for Euro 2016, being held in France, you will have to make do with the wit and expertise of the duo Joseph Verney and Rob Beezley. You can either stick with us with the loyalty of Paolo Maldini or just dip in and out at your leisure, but rest assured we will try stay clear of the Michael Owen stating the obvious kind of style.
With every team in the tournament now having played once we look back on what Euro 2016 has had to offer so far.
MOMENTS OF THE TOURNAMENT SO FAR
Four of the five Home Nations reaching the tournament, Iceland playing in the first ever major tournament and the normal big powerhouses in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and co on show. Yes, this had the makings of another great international tournament, but how has it been so far?
JV: This is the first tournament I can remember in a long while when I cannot easily recite every single group, who is playing in what order and the different possibilities for the knock-out stages. Maybe I wasn't as buzzing for a major international tournament as normal, but fast forward to day two and England's first game and I was soon listening to football songs and in a great mood ahead of the match. I have seen bits or all of most of the matches so far and Republic of Ireland and Italy have been the two sides to catch my eye so far. Luka Modric's goal for Croatia against Turkey was pure class and I hope we see plenty more wonder goals as the tournament goes on. The tournament is still in its early stages and there is plenty time for teams to stand up and be counted as places in the knock-out stages gradually begin to be finalised in the coming days.
RB: Having missed the first game of Euro 2016 my first viewing was Switzerland vs Albania and the battle of the Xhaka brothers in a game which ended 1-0 to Granit's Switzerland! Then came the Bale free-kick that Slovakia's keeper should have done better with! Then the final game of the day was of course England vs Russia and England getting agonisingly close to the three points, literally seconds!!! Sunday and Monday I didn't see much of any of the games due to work commitments but rest assured I've heard about "that" Modric worldy!! Onto Tuesday and Hungary beating Austria 2-0, Before the pin up boy appeared for Portugal in their game against Iceland, who did absolutely no harm to their reputation in a game that ended 1-1.
ENGLAND
Going into the tournament there appeared to be varying opinions on England's chances. On the one hand there was less pressure and hype as normal as some were unsure whether England had the calibre to improve on their performances in recent major tournaments. But with James Vardy and Harry Kane having superb seasons for their clubs and a lot of younger players coming through there was also something of an air of optimism about England, so it really was hard to really know how we would fair this time around. After the opening England game ended in a 1-1 draw with Russia, how do our chances look?
JV: After Eric Dier's delightful free-kick after 73 minutes in what had been a largely impressive performance, all the hard work was undone by an injury time leveller from Russia. In some ways the draw almost felt like a defeat such was the rather deflating feeling that followed Vasili Berezutski's stoppage time header. This now makes the next game against Wales even bigger than it already was as we must avoid a defeat if we want to realistically stay in the competition. Wales impressed in their win over Slovakia and will arguably go into the game as the more confident of the two sides and, for me, it will depend which England side turns up on the day. We are more than capable of beating Wales on our day but we could also lose badly so we must be careful. We need to show plenty of hunger and desire, give Vardy a run out and stop Kane from taking corners to give us the best possible chance.
RB: Now for my part on England and I'm going to start off with 2 VERY bad points that everyone has been thinking. Kane on corners and starting Sterling?! What's Roy thinking?! Now knowing my luck Kane will deliver a corner that Sterling will head in against Wales on Thursday!! Jokes aside though yes he's worth 50m at club level but what does Sterling do for England?! In my opinion the best chance we had was a 4-4-2 formation at the Euros and have Alli feeding Kane and Drinkwater who didn't go, feeding Vardy who didn't even make it onto the pitch against Russia! Now for the positives, Rooney had an incredible game in midfield and was a real general and Eric Dier scored a sublime free-kick! Going into the Wales game.. I'm confident but cautious!
ROUND TWO OF GROUP MATCHES
The second round of group games will go a long way to deciding the fates of many of the teams in this tournament, so what can we expect and what is there to look forward to next?
JV: Although this will sound very biased as an Englishman, the first fixture that really stands out to me from the second round of group matches is our clash with Wales. It will be really interesting to see how fellow home nation Northern Ireland do against Ukraine, while the other match in Group C between Germany and Poland could potentially be a great encounter. Czech Republic and Croatia could muster up a decent match, while the clash between Italy and Sweden has me intrigued. I am really looking forward to the Republic of Ireland's clash with Belgium and, although it would be good to see some great football from the Belgians, I'd love Martin O'Neill's men to beat them. All eyes were on global superstar Cristiano Ronaldo as Portugal took to the field for their opening game, but major tournament debutants Iceland held them to a very credible 1-1 draw.
RB: Well the second round of games is where the tournament starts to take shape and you start to see who will be going home and who will go through as the new rule third place team! You have to believe England need to beat Wales to stand a chance and it would be a shock to see any of Spain, Portugal, Germany, France or Italy go home but as already stated this is where the tournament takes shape! Here's to the second round of games!
TIPS TO WIN THE TOURNAMENT
Before the tournament kicked off hosts France were the favourites of many, while the likes of world champions Germany and Euro holders Spain are always dangerous, but whether any of them will claim the big prize of Euro 2016 glory is another story.
JV: France were my very early prediction to win it but after the first round of group matches it is still all to play for and I don't think any of the major teams have stood out. There isn't a team that I have seen yet and thought wow they are going to win the Euros, but let's see how the rest of it pans out. There is something though that is clearly apparent so far and that is write off Italy at your peril. In some of the build up of their opening match with Belgium, it sounded like many didn't fancy Italy's chances in the tournament, but they definitely impressed me and were more than deserving of their 2-0 win. I'm not saying they are going to lift the Euros but, if they play like that, they will give themselves a sniff of a chance at least.
RB: I've got to be honest when the tournament started I thought it was anybodies Euro's! You have your early favourites.. Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy and France! If I had to put money on it then I would say Germany to win the Euro's! As stated by Joseph no-one particularly stands out so here's to the rest of the Euro's and seeing a clear winner!
Hopefully, when you return for the next edition of Verney and Beezley, England will have boosted their chances of reaching the knock-out stages with a victory over Wales....well we are allowed to dream aren't we.
KEEP TAKING THE ROAD TO PARIS WITH US! COME ON ENGLAND!
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