Euros 2024 is off to an electric start; just three days and eight games in and there are already so many moments for the books. Records are already being set and broken and it’s just day three. On top of the excitement of the competition itself, the fact that this will most likely be the last Euros for many legends of the game adds extra significance and a healthy dash of emotion to the competition. For Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller, Pepe, and many other legends of the game, this will be their last Euros. In this article, we recap everything that has happened so far in the competition. Come along.
DAY ONE
Germany vs Scotland (5-1)
On the opening day of the competition, in the first game of the competition, hosts Germany demolished Scotland 5-1. A powerful statement from the hosts to send a clear message to all the other countries; Germany is playing to win and they have the tools to do so. German players scored all the goals in the game as Scotland’s only goal was an own goal by Rudiger who mistakenly headed the ball past Neuer. Germany put up a dominant performance in both attack and defense but especially in attack; they had five different goal scorers. Bayer Leverkusen talent Florian Wirtz opened the scoring in the 10th minute of the game and the goals just kept pouring in from then on. Nine minutes later, Jamal Musiala scored to put Germany 2-0 up. At the stroke of halftime, Scotland defender Ryan Porteous gave away a penalty and was sent off after kicking Gundogan in the penalty area. Kai Havertz deftly converted the penalty and the Germans were 3-0 up at the end of the first half.
Fullkrug added on a fourth goal in the 68th minute of the game and they maintained the score 4-0 till the 87th minute when Rudiger scored an own goal off a messy Scotland freekick. The game was already done but Emre Can scored in stoppage time (90+3) for Germany to go 5-1 up. It was an insane performance from the German players especially Florian Wirtz who made his Euros debut and Jamal Musiala who was later named Man of the Match.
Germany now sits at the top of Group A with three points while Scotland is at the bottom. Germany’s next match will be played against Hungary on Wednesday.
DAY TWO
Switzerland vs Hungary (3-1)
Switzerland squared off against Hungary at the RheinEnergie Stadium on Saturday. The Swiss took all three points as they beat the Hungarians 3-1. Switzerland dominated in the first half with Kwadwo Duah getting the first goal in the 12th minute. The player only made his International debut for Switzerland 11 days prior to the match. Bolognia’s Michel Aebischer doubled the lead with a curling effort at the stroke of half-time. The Hungarians grew into the game in the second half and in the 66th minute, they managed to pull one back as Barnabas Vargas latched onto Dominic Szoboslai’s cross. The game continued 2-1 until stoppage time when Embolo scored Switzerland’s third and final goal to claim the three points and kill any dream of a comeback by the Hungarians. The Swiss are now second in Group A while the Hungarians are in third position.
Spain vs Croatia (3-0)
Two of the strongest teams in the competition faced off as Spain took on Croatia in the second game on Saturday. The Spaniard put up a dominant performance and beat the Croatians 3-0. Alvaro Morata opened the scoring in the 29th minute and Fabian Ruiz added a second goal in the 32nd minute. He received the ball at the edge of Croatia’s penalty box and beat two defenders before hitting it into the bottom left corner of the post. For Spain’s final goal, 16-year-old Lamine Yamal played a beautiful cross into the box that found the foot of Dani Carvajal. Carvajal put the ball past the Croatian goalkeeper for Spain’s third and final goal all before halftime. The second half was goalless as all efforts by the Croatians to get back into the game proved abortive.
Spain is now at the top of Group B while Croatia sits at the bottom at the end of the day after Italy defeated Albania 2-1.
Italy vs Albania (2-1)
Nedim Bajrami scores the fastest goal in the Euros history
For the third match of the competition on Saturday, Italy faced Albania and won 2-1. Albania scored the fastest goal ever in the history of the Euros as Sassuolo’s Nedim Bajrami put one past Donnarumma within 22 seconds of the game. Italy responded swiftly in the first half as they scored two goals in five minutes to equalize and take the lead.
Alessandro Bastoni
Alessandro Bastoni got the equalizer as headed a corner past the Albanian goalkeeper in the 11th minute while Nicole Barella got Italy the lead with a blistering shot from the edge of the box in the 16th minute. The scoreline would remain the same till the end of the match despite attempts by both teams to score. Italy is now second in Group B below Spain while Albania is third.
Nicolo Barella
How do you think they’ll perform in their next matches?