Men's Football UEFA European Championship 2020

[Monzanator 4,769]

12 minutes ago, dcro said:

Well, that was... Meh.

I believe Croatia has simply gotten old. Not enough youngsters breaking trough - unlike England. Vrsaljko is basically Trippier's backup at Atletico? 2018 WC was your high-water mark for this generation IMO.

[heywoodu 16,004]

6 minutes ago, Vektor said:

But does that even count as an EURO2020 match?  I am joking and both teams have earned their place here, but  v  might be the least interesting matchup in the history of this tournament. 

It does feel a bit...meh, beforehand, yes  

 

Taking a look at last time, it gives me the same feeling as, say, Austria - Hungary or Northern Ireland - Ukraine. Also taking a look at last time: apparently Euro 2016 already had 24 teams, I thought this was the first time  Huh, back under my rock I go, apparently.

[Vektor 3,326]

23 minutes ago, dcro said:

Well, that was... Meh.

This is all the matches so far in a nutshell. I wonder if UEFA will ever make some chances, because having a group stage with 24 teams where 16 of them qualifies to the next round is just awful. There isn't any sense of urgency from many teams because they know they will most likely make it to the next round no matter what. And all of this is because 24 is a terrible number for this kind of a football tournament. 

 

The solution to this will probably be that UEFA will expand the EUROs to 32 teams in the future. 

[Rafoo 231]

And we have the most arrogant country of euro,congrats England

[Monzanator 4,769]

1 minute ago, Vektor said:

This is all the matches so far in a nutshell. I wonder if UEFA will ever make some chances, because having a group stage with 24 teams where 16 of them qualifies to the next round is just awful. There isn't any sense of urgency from many teams because they know they will most likely make it to the next round no matter what. And all of this is because 24 is a terrible number for this kind of a football tournament. 

 

The solution to this will probably be that UEFA will expand the EUROs to 32 teams in the future. 

This threatens we'll have 8 groups with two clear favorites and 3/4 of the matches in group stage will be one-sided nonsense if we get for instance England, Portugal, Albania & N.Macedonia. And that won't trigger any "urgency" either so we're back to square one.

[dcro 10,210]

3 minutes ago, Vektor said:

This is all the matches so far in a nutshell. I wonder if UEFA will ever make some chances, because having a group stage with 24 teams where 16 of them qualifies to the next round is just awful. There isn't any sense of urgency from many teams because they know they will most likely make it to the next round no matter what. And all of this is because 24 is a terrible number for this kind of a football tournament. 

 

The solution to this will probably be that UEFA will expand the EUROs to 32 teams in the future. 

At which point they should just abolish all qualifying rounds.

[dcro 10,210]

20 minutes ago, Monzanator said:

I believe Croatia has simply gotten old. Not enough youngsters breaking trough - unlike England. Vrsaljko is basically Trippier's backup at Atletico? 2018 WC was your high-water mark for this generation IMO.

2018 WC euphoria makes it now tougher than ever before in terms of pressure and expectations.

 

It was much easier at the 2000 Euro, when we simply didn't qualify.

 

[prso1000 724]

Our problem is the coach. 2018 he Had his great moment. Just perfect timing, great team , all was in our favor. 
 

but his knowledge is limited. He is putting the team based on old merits and the players don’t play their natural position. 
Rebic and Kramaric today, two wasted players. It is time to leave for himand start building a new team, which will be painful and could mean missing one or two large events. 

[Vektor 3,326]

16 minutes ago, Monzanator said:

This threatens we'll have 8 groups with two clear favorites and 3/4 of the matches in group stage will be one-sided nonsense if we get for instance England, Portugal, Albania & N.Macedonia. And that won't trigger any "urgency" either so we're back to square one.

It would still ensure that a team almost certainly can't advance to the next round with 3 draws. The top teams are already in an easy position, with only 2 teams advancing from a group at least they can't get away with not beating any of their second/third tier opponents, unlike Portugal in 2016. 

[Monzanator 4,769]

3 minutes ago, Vektor said:

It would still ensure that a team almost certainly can't advance to the next round without winning at least one match. The top teams are already in an easy position, with only 2 teams advancing from a group at least they can't away with not beating any of their second/third tier opponents, unlike Portugal in 2016. 

Italy didn't win a game in group stage in 1982 World Cup and still won the title Expansion to 32 teams will make the group stage even more boring IMO.