The second round of the Euro 2020 kicked off yesterday, with four matches played so far, two on each day. The results of these matches have not come without some surprises, as even the current champions, who struggled to get to this state of the competition, have finally been shown the way out.
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The first match of this round was between Denmark and Wales. Both teams put up a really good fight, but Denmark wanted it more, and got an astounding 4-0 win over their rivals. the Danish team did not allow the absence of team player, Christian Eriksen to limit them, but imbibed team spirit more, justifying that they deserve a spot in the quarter finals.
Wales had a very good start in the match, but could not hold it for too long. This is surprising, because they have a limited number of top players. Gareth Bale, who is the man to look out for in the team, being a very good player, could not hit the target.
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Italy vs Austria was one match that many people did not see playing out as it did. You could have predicted a cheap win for the Italians, but the Austrians went all out for it. The breakthrough that could not be achieved in 90 minutes rather became a rain of goals in extra time. Two goals in the space of 10 minutes gave the Italians a pass into quarter final after Sasa Kalajdzic's 114th minute goal could not be followed up with an equalizer.
The battle between Netherlands and Czech Republic today, turned out to be a disappointing one for the Dutch team, who won all three matches in the group stage, and were expected to put up an outstanding show in today's game. The Czech team only managed to qualify for the knockout stages after finishing third in group D.
The Dutch team suffered a blow when Matthijs De Ligt was sent off in the 55th minute after VAR revealed that he, being the last defender denied Czech's Patrik Schick of a clear opportunity at a goal on the edge of the penalty area with an intentional hand ball. Czech knew well to take advantage of the deficient spot to their victory.
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In the second match of today, Belgium put up a strong force against reigning champions, Portugal, and was able to foil all the attempts from the Portuguese team. Thorgan Hazard's 42nd minute incredible strike was the only shot on goal that the Belgian team had, and it was good enough for the win. The shot slid past the goalkeeper and gave them an advantage, which they held till the final whistle.
Christiano Ronaldo was denied the privilege of scoring a goal to become the World's highest scoring international player of all time. His 27th minute free kick was brilliant, but Courtois was alert enough to push it away, and catch the follow-up header from Palhinha.
With the round of 16 already halfway, we await the second set of four matches, and watch out for more surprises, and more importantly, some brilliant football.
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