EURO 2000 still stands out as one of the best major tournaments in recent years. It had everything. Great individual players. Great teams. Great matches. Even though we’re not halfway through the group stages yet, Euro 2024 is staking a claim to being up there with any major tournaments that have gone before.
Of course, the trajectory of any major finals can shift very quickly. Many World Cups and European Championships have begun in similar vein only to crash and burn into a sea of conservatism once the knock-out stages kick in.
With only eight out of 24 eliminated at the end of the group stages, teams can perhaps afford to play with the shackles off – chase that early win, get points in the bag and conserve some energy for other, sterner tests deeper in the competition.
While we’ve been treated to some great games in the early throes of these Germany finals, great players and great teams have been rationed over time as the game has made way to the collective and systems of play.
It’s perhaps a sign of the coaching times where there are no secrets in the game anymore, everyone is practising off the same template and, consequently, the space where playmakers and dribblers once occupied in teams is being squeezed.
Nevertheless, the narratives currently unfolding at Euro 2024 have been entertaining and heartwarming.
Underdogs Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Albania, Georgia and Scotland have already experienced some dramatic highs in these finals that will endure in their nation’s collective psyche.
A developing trend has also been the success rate of long-range shooting in this tournament. The stats are quite staggering.
In Euro 2020, 19 goals were scored from outside the box. Euro 2024 is already on the way to beating that figure, currently 13, with a handful of nations still to play their second game in the competition.
So why have we been treated to a series of wonder strikes?
The official Euro 2024 football, grandly named FUSSBALLLIEBE, is made of more sustainable bio-based materials that include corn fibres, sugar cane, wood pulp and rubber.
England striker Harry Kane noted that the ball moves fast, while Danish ‘keeper Kasper Schmeichel commented: “Any footballs for these tournaments aren’t exactly made with goalkeepers in mind.
“It’s a pleasure to strike. You can get good distance. They are certainly not made for the grip for a goalkeeper.”
Another consideration for the success of long-range shooting at Euro 2024 is simply tactical: so many teams now play with three central defenders and therefore it has become more difficult to score from cross balls because the defensive systems are more proficient than ever at cutting out danger from wide areas.
Stephen Kenny’s Ireland team was criticised for conceding goals from long distances but when he opted to play two centre backs, instead of three, they immediately conceded from cross balls at home to Greece in a Euro 2024 qualifier.
In Paris, France slung in a steady stream of crosses against the Irish early in the game which yielded little before they opted to shoot from distance and also shifted to a ground assault with a series of pulled back crosses.
Penalty boxes are more crowded places in the modern game and therefore teams must find other ways to score.
Portugal, one of the hotly tipped teams, struggled in their opener. Maybe it was because a lot of their attacking strategy centred around servicing Cristiano Ronaldo with cross balls.
At 39, Ronaldo is inclined to spend most of his time in and around the penalty box.
They just about got over the line thanks largely to some defensive errors from the Czech Republic.
One aspect of the game that hasn’t changed significantly - especially in tournament football - is the importance of keeping the ball.
Up until Thursday - day seven - retaining possession better than your opponents has yielded results.
Only three teams have won games with less possession than their opponents - Spain beat Croatia in Berlin with 46.7 per cent of the ball; France claimed a narrow win over Austria in their opener with 48.1 per cent and Romania scored a famous 3-0 win over Ukraine with just 28.7 per cent of possession.
The team that triumphs at these championships on July 14 will need several things: luck, high fitness levels, squad depth and, crucially, an ability to keep the ball.
This is not good news for England, one of the pre-tournament favourites.
In the second half against Serbia, they looked leggy, and they probably have too many question marks in different areas of the pitch - primarily left back and central midfield holding positions.
Sometimes teams drop off when they’re protecting a lead, as England did against Serbia, but what was more concerning for them was their inability to keep the ball.
In the remaining 25 minutes, Jordan Pickford opted to go long with his last 10 possessions - all sent in the general direction of lone striker Harry Kane and in doing so turning their best goal-scorer into a dogsbody.
The England goalkeeper, the defence and central midfield resisted all attempts to build from the back and retain possession.
Each time Pickford launched the ball forward, England kissed goodbye to possession.
Against Denmark, it was more of the same from England. And probably worse.
They’re a team that can’t control games to consider themselves realistic contenders for Euro 2024.
In tournament football, retaining possession is as much an energy saver as anything else. England look like a team that is running on empty.
And maybe James McClean was onto something when he delivered a damning verdict of Declan Rice’s inability to control games from midfield.
When you treat the ball like an imposter, you simply have no chance of tournament success.
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Reds rally behind children of Palestine
CLIFONVILLE’S 2017 boys’ team have teamed up with Medical Aid Palestine [MAP] to help raise awareness of the ongoing crisis in war-torn Gaza.
The MAP emblem will adorn the sleeve of the 2017s Cliftonville jersey for the new season in an act of solidarity with the children of Palestine.
Zahra Yassine, Community Events Manager at MAP, said: “From everyone at MAP we would like to say a big thank you to the Cliftonville 2017s football team for raising awareness of our work and for your solidarity with children in Gaza.
“We are touched by the support for MAP and Palestinians living under Israel’s indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza.
“Your support is essential to help us to continue to provide medical aid and life-saving care to Palestinians in Gaza that have been facing immense suffering. From the bottom of all our hearts – thank you.”
