New Delhi: As the dust settles on the group stages of UEFA Euro 2024, the last 16 await us to provide football enthusiasts worldwide with another set of exciting fixtures as we now head towards the business end of the tournament. Over the years, we’ve seen many exciting clashes occur in this round, which involves some major giant killings at such an early stage.
At UEFA Euro 2020 alone we saw footballing giants like Germany, France, Portugal and the Netherlands, all get eliminated in the pre-quarters whereas, at UEFA Euro 2016, Spain and England were the top teams that exited the tournament at this stage. The last 16 of the UEFA European Championship never fails to amaze us in terms of quality, excitement and entertainment and this year seems no different.
With all eight matches having been decided, there’s one headline fixture where two big names go head-to-head against one another and plenty of other intriguing match-ups that are sure to make the fans buzzing. Let’s find out the exciting clashes we’ll witness in the pre-quarters starting Saturday, June 29, 2024.
1) Battle of the Heavyweights
The headline clash of the last 16 as European heavyweights face each other (Credits: Getty Images)
Starting with the headline fixture of the round, France face off against Belgium in a mouth-watering clash in the first round of the knockout stages. Both teams come into this fixture on the back of disappointing group-stage campaigns where both of them failed to top their group as it was expected of them and now find themselves facing one another.
Both France and Belgium face similar problems and have similar advantages. Their attack looks lethal on paper but has failed to deliver as both teams scored just two goals in the group stages. Belgium scored in just one of their three games whereas none of the French players scored from open play in the tournament as one of their goals was an own-goal while the other was a penalty.
While the attack has disappointed the heavyweights, their defence has shone. The defence for either side looks rock solid as Belgium haven’t conceded since the seventh minute of their opening game while France haven’t conceded a goal from open play in the tournament. While France seem the more likely side to go through, they look to be much more evenly matched than they look at first glance and the game is sure to be a treat for the fans.
2) A Tussle Between the Dark Horses
Dark horses go head-to-head in this knockout clash (Credits: Getty Images)
In the most intriguing clash amongst all the matches of the last 16, Austria battle with Turkey to determine which of the two dark horses will come out on top. Austria finished top of a group that contained France and Netherlands and will be high on confidence after such a morale-boosting group stage campaign.
Meanwhile, spirits will be high in the Turkish camp as well after making it to the knockout stages after 16 years, last reaching the knockouts in 2008. Turkey finished level on points with the winners of their group and only finished second on goal difference. Turkey and Austria are evenly matched and both teams have a good blend of experience and youth in their set-up and that will be crucial to their progression in the knockout stages.
Their games have been high octane, end to end and full of goals as between them, the two teams scored 11 goals in the group stages. We can expect another fast-paced goal-fest from both these sides when they meet each other in Leipzig.
3) Alpine Showdown in Berlin
European neighbours face off in the knockout rounds opener. (Credits: Getty Images)
The defending champions Italy face a tough challenge as they face their neighbours Switzerland as they get the knockout stages underway in the first clash of the last 16. Switzerland were incredibly unlucky to miss out on the top spot in their group and have a tough task ahead of them.
However, they will find solace in the fact that they knocked out the finalists of UEFA Euro 2016 in their last 16 clash in UEFA Euro 2020 as they look to knock out the finalists of the previous edition this time around as well. Italy on the other hand had a mixed showing in their group stages and would be low on confidence after barely scraping through as runners-up of their group.
This fixture will kickstart the knockout stages of the tournament and another interesting clash seems to be on the cards as Italy look to defend their crown while Switzerland will want to create a reputation as the king of upsets.
4) Another giant killing on the cards?
Will Netherlands go through or will Romania cause an upset? (Credits: Getty Images)
The surprise package of this year’s edition, Romania take on the Netherlands at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Romania have had somewhat of a dream run in this tournament after being written off by everyone before the tournament started. They started their campaign with a surprising 3-0 victory over Ukraine and that proved to be pivotal in helping them finish top of the group.
Conversely, everyone expected the Netherlands to finish in the top two of their group but a defeat to Austria on the final matchday saw them slip to third in their group and Ronald Koeman’s men will look to redeem themselves against Romania. The Dutch side has had a torrid time in this tournament recently as they failed to make it out of the group in 2012, failed to qualify for the tournament in 2016 and got knocked out in the last 16 in 2021. Surely, they would want to avoid a repeat of that.
On paper, the Netherlands look far superior to Romania but the Eastern European nation have already beaten a good Ukrainian side and gave a good fight to Belgium, establishing that they’re capable of going toe-to-toe with the biggest sides and that’s what makes this a huge clash to look forward to.
With the group stages now behind us, the excitement of knockout football begins as the teams gear up for the last 16 stage of the tournament. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
