Earlier today, l'équipe de France played their second match of the Euro 2021. They had defeated traditional European powerhouse Germany in the first match, and were looking to effectively clinch a second round berth with a win against Hungary, the team that most feel are the weakest in the so called "Group of Death" that France belongs to, along with Germany and the defending Euro champions, Portugal, who defeated France in the Euro 2016 Final to take that title.
Les Bleus fell behind against Hungary after Attila Fiola scored two minutes into extra time in the first half, giving the underdogs the lead.
However, France did eventually answer with a Antoine Griezmann in the 68th minute, tying the game up.
After that, France was pressing, and had some decent scoring chances. However, they were unable to convert.
Other than that one slip in the first half, France's defense was very solid throughout the match, and prevented Hungary from adding to France's the early deficit.
Still, this is largely going to be regarded as a setback for Les Bleus. Next, they will play finish first round action against Portugal on June 23rd. They will clinch an appearance in the second round with a win or a tie, and can win the group outright should they win. However, a loss could still eliminate them from advancing.
We shall see what happens.
Allez les Bleus!
The outcome of the Portugal–Germany clash will determine what's at stake when the final games of the first round are played. As it now stands, I believe each team could, mathematically speaking, finish first, second, third or fourth. If Germany wins today – and no, I'm not suggesting that I'm rooting for that to happen – France would sit in first place despite the disappointing draw, since they'd have 4 points, followed by Portugal and Germany who would each have 3, and Hungary with 1. (A reminder that three points are awarded for a win, while a single point is awarded for a draw). If Portugal wins, they clinch a spot in the Round of 16, and the game against France would then likely be for first place in the group.
ReplyDeleteGetting back to this game, it was frustrating to watch. Hungary thoroughly dominated the first 10 minutes or so – not surprising, since it's common for underdogs, especially when they're at home, to try and overwhelm their opponents early in an attempt to rattle them by scoring a goal and getting the crowd into it. But then Les Bleus dominated the rest of the first half, until that uncharacteristic defensive breakdown right before halftime. I was encouraged when Griezmann made it 1-1, and was cautiously optimistic that they'd eventually score the winning goal. But the Hungarians to their credit defended very well, weathering the storm until the final whistle. This wasn't a disastrous result for the French team by any means, but it was a buzzkill regardless. Seeing as they sometimes have a tendency to play up or down to the level of their opponents, hopefully they'll deliver a far more compelling and successful performance against Portugal in four days.
By now I'm guessing you've heard the result of the other game in Group F. Crazy. Whereas the status quo held firm in the games that took place a few days ago, today the theme seemed to be "anything goes". It will be interesting to see how things play out on Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteYes, very strange day in the Euro yesterday. Heavily favored France had to come back just to muster a tie with Hungary. Heavily favored Spain had to settle for a tie against Poland (which I am not entirely unhappy about, and which Basia was fairly happy about). And Germany prevented Portugal from taking solid command of the group, and now look like they might be a threat to take the group. Now, it's a big showdown between France and Portugal. Should France win, they win the group outright. Portugal would advance with a win. If it is tied, then it will be interesting to see how the group shapes up, or if Hungary can manage to pull off a shocker against Germany. Let's see what happens.
DeleteI'm glad that Les Bleus control their destiny at least, as opposed to having to rely on external circumstances. In addition to obviously wanting to win that game for its own sake, I'm hoping that the prospect of getting a bit of payback for that loss to Portugal at the Euro final 5 years ago will provide a bit of added incentive. Particularly in light of the fact that a dubious free kick that never should have been awarded in the first place played a huge determining role.
ReplyDeleteI'm not surprised that Hungary is proving to be a tough team in its own right. They held Portugal to a scoreless draw until the 85th minute if I'm not mistaken, and had what might have been the winning goal taken away from them due to an offside. That's the thing with European soccer – unlike South America, where I'd say there's usually a fairly steep drop in talent and ability after Brazil and Argentina (even if other South American countries have had some impressive teams over the years), in Europe even a lot of teams that aren't expected to go far are still quite a handful.
Denmark leads Russia 2-1 as I type this. I hope they hold on and get the win. Nothing against the Russian team, but the Danes of course were rattled by the frightening loss of Christian Eriksen. They had to finish their opening game against Finland despite clearly having their minds elsewhere. Regardless of whether they advance or not, I'm glad to see Denmark get at least one positive result in this tournament.