As the first round of group stage fixtures draws to a close, and with the second round fixtures following quickly after, here is your round-up of all the results and match reports from the fixtures specifically involving Leeds United representatives at Euro 2020.
Results:
Saturday 12th June Group A: Wales 1-1 Switzerland
Sunday 13th June Group D: England 1-0 Croatia Group C: Austria 3-1 North Macedonia
Monday 14th June Group D: Scotland 0-2 Czech Republic Group E: Poland 1-2 Slovakia Group E: Spain 0-0 Sweden
Tuesday 15th June Group F: France 1-0 Germany
Match Reports
Wales 1-1 Switzerland
Wales began their Euro 2020 campaign with a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Switzerland in Baku on Saturday afternoon. Robert Page's side staged a late comeback, with Kieffer Moore's 75th minute header cancelling out Breel Embolo's opener, to give both sides a share of the points.
Leeds United's Tyler Roberts was an unused substitute in Azerbaijan, with Moore getting the nod as the central striker in a front three containing added width provided by Daniel James and skipper Gareth Bale. Page's preference of Moore in the group opener, alongside a fairly positive result and decisive performance from the Cardiff City striker, would likely indicate Roberts has a fight on his hands to force his way into the starting eleven.
Wales started brightly, but were soon on the back foot as Switzerland quickly grew into the game after an uncertain opening five minutes. In a cagey first half, the games' first sighting of goal saw Moore forcing an exquisite save out of Borussia Monchengladbach's Yann Sommer with a powerful header.
Switzerland posed a threat from set-piece's throughout the opening period, particularly from corner's, with Leicester City goalkeeper Danny Ward forced to keep out a sneaky backheeled attempt from Newcastle United defender Fabian Schar.
Haris Seferovic missed a good chance to put the Swiss ahead on the stroke of half-time, blasting over from close range. But, the side listed 13th in the FIFA World Ranking's were looking much the better side heading into the break.
The Swiss took the lead five minutes into the second half, as Embolo nodded in from Xherdan Shaqiri's inswinging corner from close range. Gladbach forward Embolo had brought another acrobatic save from Ward in the build-up, meandering through Wales' defence before seeing his 20-yard shot parried out for a corner. From the resultant corner, poor Welsh marking saw Embolo outjump Connor Roberts to head Vladimir Petkovic's side in front.
Wales did respond positively to go behind, but not without inciting further trepidation with their handling of the on-song Embolo on the counter-attack. Tottenham Hotspur's Ben Davies had a powerful drive diverted over the crossbar via a deflection, either side of stunning contributions from the Swiss goalscorer, initially creating an opportunity for VfL Wolfsburg's Kevin Mbabu with a fine solo run, before bending a shot narrowly wide of Ward's far post from inside the area.
And, the lead was pegged back moments later, via a well-worked corner routine resulted in Moore glancing in Joe Morrell's cross with a near-post header beyond Sommer.
Wales did continue to offer a threat going forward, mostly through the pace of Bale and James, with the latter producing a wicked ball across the face of goal, which Aaron Ramsey was just inches away from turning in.
Switzerland thought they'd snatched all three points when Mario Gavranovic volleyed past Ward from close range with only four minutes to go, only for VAR to intervene deeming the Dinamo Zagreb striker offside from Embolo's flick-on.
Ward made one final telling contribution, denying Embolo from a similar scenario from which the goal was scored, tipping his header behind to complete a man-of-the-match performance from Wales' number one.
That draw leaves Wales tied for 2nd in Group A with their opponent's Switzerland, two points behind leaders Italy, who cruised to a 3-0 win over Turkey in the showpiece opener on Friday evening in Rome.
Wales are back in action on Wednesday 16th June, once again in Baku, as they face another tough tie against Turkey. With Italy facing Switzerland in the evening kick off, Wales have the chance to temporarily take top spot with a victory. Another draw wouldn't be a terrible result for Page's men, especially in the event Italy were to take maximum points off the Swiss. Meanwhile, anything but a win for Turkey would likely leave them needing all three points in their final group game.
England 1-0 Croatia
Kalvin Phillips starred for England, as the Three Lions got off to an ideal start with a 1-0 win over Croatia on Sunday. Raheem Sterling's goal secured a vital, early three points for Gareth Southgate's side, as they avenged their World Cup 2018 semi-final defeat.
Phillips was the outstanding performer for England, providing the assist for Sterling's 58th minute winner, as well as dominating throughout in an advanced midfield role, on his internation tournament debut.
Phil Foden almost got England off to a flying start, hitting the post with a sweet left-footed strike from inside the box after only six minutes. Phillips then tested Dominik Livakovic with a powerful volley from outside the box, with the Dinamo Zagreb goalkeeper parrying away to keep the score level.
England controlled large parts of the opening half an hour, but, despite taking their time, Croatia did eventually seem to grow into the game. Ivan Perisic wasted the Croat's first clear sighting of goal, blasting over the bar after being found unmarked inside the area by Sime Vrsaljko's right-wing cross.
After going in to the break goalless, Zlatko Dalic's side picked up where they left off prior to half-time, starting the second half brightly. Captain Luka Modric tested Jordan Pickford with an effort distance, but Everton's goalkeeper collected at the second attempt.
And, before Croatia could build any momentum England snatched the lead. Kyle Walker found the marauding run of Phillips, who sailed past Josko Gvardiol and Duje Caleta-Car before threading in Sterling to finish first time past Livakovic.
The Three Lions continued to threaten after going in front, and could have doubled their lead through Harry Kane, when the England captain couldn't divert Mason Mount's tantalising ball across the face of goal, before colliding with the post.
A Mount free-kick did beat Livakovic, but also the crossbar, as the Chelsea midfielder looked to seal the three points from the edge of 'D'. And, Sterling probably should've doubled his tally, smashing a skewed effort high and wide on his weaker foot after Tyrone Mings nodded down Keiran Trippier's free kick to find the Manchester City man unmarked twelve yards from goal.
Croatia did stage some form of a late onslaught, with both Ante Rebic and substitute Mario Pasalic wasting good opportunities, but England held on for a first ever win on the opening day of a European Championship's.
Naturally our focus, and in fairness, that of most of the country was on Phillips' performance. An incredible first-half display saw the Leeds midfielder complete the most dribbles, most accurate passes and was the most fouled player of either side.
Grabbing an assist, playing in a more advanced role than we're perhaps used to seeing at Elland Road, Phillips certainly showed impressive variation to his game and hopefully silenced some critics.
Interviewed after the game, Phillips focused on the aspects of his performance that he felt proved that himself and Declan Rice can play together and compliment each other, rather than competing for one position.
Phillips influential tournament debut has certainly given Southgate a selection headache ahead of Jordan Henderson's return to full fitness. One would imagine the Yorkshire Pirlo's display has made him undroppable for the visit of Scotland to Wembley on Friday 18th June.
England's win leaves them in 2nd place, behind Czech Republic only on goal difference, needing one more win to confirm their qualification for the Round of 16 with a game to spare. A draw would also likely be enough to end Scotland's Euro's at the earliest opportunity.
Austria 3-1 North Macedonia
North Macedonia's Euro 2020 campaign began with defeat to Austria in Bucharest on Sunday. Leeds United winger Ezgjan Alioski completed the full ninety minutes, as the lowest ranked side in the competition were beaten 3-1, courtesy of goals from Stefan Lainer, Michael Gregoritsch and Marko Arnautovic.
Lainer opened the scoring after 18 minutes, losing Alioski to meet Marcel Sabitzer's glorious far-post cross with a deft volley past Stole Dimitrievski, before paying a touching tribute to stricken Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen with his celebration.
The Austrian's could've doubled their lead only minutes later, as Sasa Kalajdzic flicked on Andreas Ulmer's cross, only to be denied by Dimitrievski. And, Franco Foda's side were made to pay moments later, as Goran Pandev scored North Macedonia's first ever goal at a major final's to draw level.
Alioski's misplaced pass caused a mix-up in the Austrian defence, leaving Aleksandar Trajkovski one-on-one with Watford keeper Daniel Bachmann, who beat Trajkovski to the ball but spilled into the path of Pandev, leaving North Macedonia's all-time record goalscorer with an open net to tap in the equaliser.
Igor Angelovski's side were level at half-time through skipper Pandev's leveller, but couldn't hold on for the draw, with Austrian substitutes Gregoritsch and Arnautovic scoring twice in the final twelve minutes to seal victory.
But, North Macedonia did have their own chances to take the lead early on in the second half. Boban Nikolov was denied at close range by Bachmann, after getting on the end of a great through ball from Enis Bardhi, before Pandev fired over on the rebound.
Dimitrievski pulled off a world-class save to deny a Gregoritsch header midway through the second period, but it was FC Augsburg striker Gregoritsch that broke North Macedonian hearts as he nipped in front of Dimitrevski to tap in David Alaba's cross, restoring Austria's lead with twelve minutes remaining.
And, Arnautovic sealed the victory in the final minute of normal time with a fine solo effort, rounding the goalkeeper and slotting home after latching onto Konrad Laimer's flick round the corner.
As a result, Franco Foda's men top Group C on goal difference heading into the second group games, with Alioski and co. sitting bottom of group following the Netherlands 3-2 win over Ukraine. North Macedonia are back in action on Thursday 17th June, as they face a crucial tie against Ukraine, again in Bucharest. A win is a must, with group favourites the Netherlands still to play in the final group game. A draw or a defeat would likely signal a premature end to their first major tournament.
Scotland 0-2 Czech Republic
Steve Clarke's Scotland got off to the worst possible start to Euro 2020, with a 2-0 defeat to Czech Republic in Glasgow on Monday. Patrik Schick's two goals either side of half-time was enough to send the Czech's top of Group D at a very sombre Hampden Park.
Jaroslav Silhavy's side took control of the game in its infancy, with Schick misplacing a header wide and forcing a reaction save out of David Marshall from Jakub Jankto cross inside the opening quarter of an hour.
Scotland did create some chances of their own, predominantly down the left-wing through captain Andrew Robertson, who was himself denied by Tomas Vaclik after seeing Lyndon Dykes turn his cross wide.
Leeds United skipper Liam Cooper played the full ninety minutes for Scotland, but was beaten in the air by Schick for the opener. Climbing highest between Cooper and Grant Hanley, Schick rose to meet a Vladimir Coufal cross, putting the Czech's ahead three minutes before the break.
Both sides had early chances in the second half, with Marshall forced into a double save from Schick and Vladimir Darida, before Jack Hendry saw his long-range effort cannon back off the bar, as Scotland went in search of an equaliser.
But, Cooper and co could only watch on in amazement as Bayer Leverkusen striker Schick grabbed his second with a sensational 50-yard lob over Marshall. With the Czech's defending a Scotland corner, Schick pounced as the ball broke from Hendry's blocked shot, and spotting Marshall off his line, stroked a miraculous effort bending and dipping beyond the stranded Derby County goalkeeper.
Schick's brace was a hammer blow, visibly deflating Scotland. And, it could've been worse, with Darida bending a shot narrowly wide, before Schick spurned the chance to complete the hat-trick by firing straight at Marshall.
There were chances for Stuart Armstrong, whose deflected effort sailed narrowly over the bar with Vaclik stranded, and Dykes, who saw the Sevilla stopper deny his instictive goal-bound effort. Meanwhile, substitute James Forrest was denied by a last ditch block, after jinking through two defenders.
But, they were to no avail. Czech Republic ran out deserved winners, and as a result top Group D on goal difference.
Meanwhile, Scotland need some form of result against England to give them any hope of qualifying for the knockout phase heading into their final group fixture against Croatia.
Poland 1-2 Slovakia
Poland got off to a surprisingly underwhelming start with a shock 2-1 defeat to Slovakia in Saint Petersburg on Monday. A Wojciech Szczęsny own goal and Gregorz Krychowiak's sending off were compounded when Milan Skriniar's 70th minute winner ruled out Karol Linetty's equaliser, leaving Paulo Sousa with plenty of work to do to qualify for the knockout phase.
Onderj Duda's early sighter finding the side netting from the edge of the area was a warning not heeded by the Pole's. Robert Mak got Slovakia off to a dream start when his direct run and shot, in almost identical fashion to Duda's earlier effort, cut in off the left flank to fire a shot which Szczesny could only palm in off his near post.
Juraj Kucka threatened to doubled Slovakia's lead twice; first with a long-range effort, which dipped marginally over Szczesny's crossbar, before planting a tame header straight at the Juventus keeper, after Krychowiak received the first of his two needless booking's.
Poland created little noteworthy in the opening period, with Krychowiak's blast from distance, which sailed high and wide, the closest Sousa's side came to testing Martin Dubravka.
Leeds United midfielder Mateusz Klich completed 85 minutes playing in behind captain Robert Lewandowski, and looked encouragingly energetic and creative, playing his part in creating Poland's equaliser inside the opening minute of the second half.
A fine passing move culminated with Klich sending Maciej Rybus sprinting away towards the byline to cut back for an unmarked Linetty on the edge of the six-yard box. Linetty's strike bought the scoreline level and handed the impetus back to Poland, albeit only temporarily.
After clawing back the initiative, with Klich creating a further chance for Linetty, tamely fired at Dubravka, Poland grew into their status as favourites with Lewandowski, Kamil Glik and Piotr Zielinski all wasting half-decent chances before Krychowiak was shown a second yellow for a foul on Jakub Hromada.
It took only seven minutes for Slovakia to punish ten-man Poland, with Skriniar smashing home the winner after Marek Hamsik flicked on Mak's outswinging corner.
Slovakia's win leaves them top of Group E, and with Spain up next for Poland, Klich's involvement in the tournament is in danger of ending prematurely. The Pole's will be earmarking their final group game versus Sweden as a must-win regardless, but will be desperate to take anything from Spain in Seville on Saturday.
Spain 0-0 Sweden
Spain began their Euro 2020 with an underwhelming 0-0 draw against Sweden in Seville on Monday. Leeds United defender Diego Llorente watched on as an unused substitute as Luis Enrique's side dominated possession, but failed to take a number of chances to claim what would've been a thoroughly deserved three points.
Las Rojas dominated proceedings, wasting a number of high-quality chances. Robin Olsen made a number of important saves for Sweden, firstly from a Dani Olmo header on sixteen minutes.
Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke flashed a series of shots off target before half-time, slicing wide, before running onto Olmo's cross to volley high over the bar.
Alvaro Morata was gifted the clearest sight of Olsen's goal when Marcus Danielson's failure to clear left the former Chelsea striker one-on-one with the Everton loanee keeper. But, somehow Morata spurned the chance of the match, sending his shot wide of the post to keep the score level.
After a one-sided forty-five minutes, Sweden almost took the lead in first half stoppage time, as Alexander Isak beat Unai Simon, only for Marcos Llorente's to divert his effort onto a post and back into the grateful grasp of Simon.
Spain continued to pepper Olsen in the second half, with Olmo testing the Roma man from distance, before Morata sent another tame effort wide.
Despite Sweden's back's-to-the-wall job, Isak did provide a rare threat when foraying forward, and created a glorious opportunty for a Marcus Berg back-post tap in. But, the Krasnodar fluffed his lines from six yards out as Janne Andersson's side struggled to capitalise on the few moments they created.
Resolute defending from Danielson in particular continually frustrated the likes of Olmo and Morata, before substitute Gerard Moreno saw a point-blank header snuffed out by Olsen, as Sweden held out for a valuable point.
That result leaves Group E wide open, and strangely with the two pre-tournament favourites struggling at the wrong end of the table. Poland sit bottom ahead of their match with Spain, who are only a point better off. With Slovakia facing Sweden, both Poland and Spain will be hoping Sweden can do everyone a favour and beat Slovakia to make sure there's still plenty to play for on the final day in Group E.
France 1-0 Germany
Die Mannschaft kickstarted their Euro 2020 campaign facing the difficult prospect of hosting World Champions France in Munich on Tuesday evening.
Leeds United defender Robin Koch was an unused substitute, as Joachim Lowe's side were narrowly beaten courtesy of a first half own goal by Mats Hummels. The French saw two second half goals ruled out for offside, whilst putting on a defensive masterclass to hold off a second-half German onslaught, closing out a crucial 1-0 victory.
Kylian Mbappe was in red hot form as the French began the evening on the front foot, testing Manuel Neuer with a fierce right-footed shot inside the opening quarter of an hour.
France were handed the lead on twenty minutes when Hummels diverted Lucas Hernandez's cross beyond Neuer. Hernandez had been picked out by a delightful, world-class chipped pass from Paul Pogba, before attempting to square for Mbappe, only for Hummels to put through his own net to make it 1-0.
The German's almost responded immediately with Thomas Muller glancing a header narrowly wide of Hugo Lloris' far post, from a Matthias Ginter cross. And, Ilkay Gundogan also sliced a shot wide of the post, as France shut up shop in order to reach half-time 1-0 up
If Germany had looked the more threatening in first half, then one could argue they dominated the second, camping in France's half and limiting Didier Deschamps side to counter-chances. But, as ever with the pace of Mbappe, those counter-attack's were deadly.
Adrien Rabiot struck a post, when he perhaps should've squared for Antoine Griezmann, as the Juventus midfielder was the first to get in behind an incredibly high German backline. And, henceforth Mbappe began his second-half torturous tormenting of Hummels.
Germany did create a number of chances themselves, most notably Serge Gnabry's downward volley which bounced awkwardly beyond an outstretched Hugo Lloris, but landed disappointingly on the roof of the net.
France thought Mbappe had doubled their lead with an exquisite finish, after another near-perfect through ball from Pogba found the PSG striker unmarked on the edge of the penalty area. Mbappe's tricky feet created the necessary half a yard to bend a delicious shot around Joshua Kimmich, and in off the post, but only for a late offside flag to dampen premature French jubilations.
And, the returning Karim Benzema later fell ill of the same fate, on this occasion via VAR. Another Pogba through ball was delayed just half a second too long, before setting Mbappe racing through to provide Benzema with a tap in.
France held on throughout a German onslaught pursued for a full eight minutes of stoppage time, and closed out a solid victory.
That defeat leaves Germany second from bottom in Group F, but with hope heading into games against Portugal and Hungary knowing that 3rd spot may be enough to secure qualification for the knockout phase dependant on how many points they can secure in their upcoming group fixtures.
So, there's your review of this game weeks results at the Euro's. Check back at the end of the next round of fixtures to see how the boys got on in our Euro 2020 Review, and keep an eye out for our weekly preview of the next round of fixtures.
We've got your Euro 2020 covered on AllLeedsTV.
Comments