By Pete Jaison
With France
booking the last available seat in the semi-finals, the host nation has joined
the tournament virgin Wales, the perennial dark horse Portugal and World
Champions Germany and in the process throwing up 2 unbelievable semifinal
fixtures. Seasonal Magazine takes a dispassionate look into the respective
journeys of each of the semi-finalists and their chances of making the final
cut.
WALES:
Perhaps the most inspiring tale in this year’s tournament is that of the Gareth
Bale inspired Wales side. Placed in a group with England, Slovakia and Russia,
only a few would have predicted the progression of the Wales team. However by
scoring 10 goals on the road, they have eliminated every iota of doubt in the
minds of pundits about their chances of mounting a serious title-challenge,
while booking a semi-final date with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the
process. While many fans will be eagerly waiting for the clash of the two
talismanic Real Madrid stars, Wales vs Portugal isn’t going to be entirely about
them. Suspension to Aaron Ramsey and Ben Davies will mean that they will sit
out of tomorrow’s clash. While Bale’s influence has inspired his teammates’
performance by many notches, the Portuguese maestro hasn’t been near his personal best. A 2-1 win over Slovakia followed by a last minute loss to
rivals, England may have driven many to believe that their Euro campaign is
winding up soon. But a 3-0 drubbing of the Russians has injected fresh confidence
into Chris Coleman’s side. A last-16 clash with Northern Ireland was set, and
Wales breezed past them with a 1-0 win courtesy of an own goal. Their fiercest
clash came in the quarter finals against tournament favorites and the 2nd
ranked team in the world,-Belgium, which boasts of a star studded line-up. But
Wales defied all odds and came from behind through goals from captain, Ashley
Williams, Robson-Kanu and Sam Vokes to clinch a 3-1 victory and send them
sailing into the last four. Wales are
dangerous when pushed against the wall and this is exactly the kind of
predatory nature champion teams are made of. Wales have all that it takes to
beat Portugal and even pip the finalists to clinch their maiden football title.
Not minnows anymore, are they?
Road to the
semis:
Victory over
Slovakia 2-1
Loss to
England 2-1
Victory over
Russia 3-0
Victory over
Northern Ireland 1-0
Victory over
Belgium 3-1
Goals scored:
10
Goals
conceded: 4
Top scorer:
Gareth Bale – 3 goals
PORTUGAL: Portugal’s
over-dependence on Cristiano Ronaldo may have driven many to play down their
chances in Euro 2016 but the semi-finals are only a day away and here they are. After finishing 3rd in a
relatively modest group, Portugal faced giant-killers Croatia but edged them
out 1-0 in extra-time. This was followed up with a penalty shoot-out victory
over Robert Lewandowski’s Poland. Though they are matched up with Wales in the
final four, an unwanted record hangs around their necks. Portugal is the only
team ever to progress to the semi-finals without mustering a single win inside
normal time. They started their campaign with a 1-1 draw against high-flying
Iceland, followed it up with a drab goalless draw against Austria and ended
their group stages with a thrilling 3-3 draw against Hungary. Both the former
Manchester United men, C. Ronaldo and Nani have scored two goals each but the
brightest and most promising star for Portugal is the new Bayern Munich
signing, Renato Sanches. The 18-year old has performed at the highest level and
has already bagged two man-of-the-match awards in his first ever major
tournament. Ronaldo hasn’t reproduced his excellent club form but patches of
his genius have helped lift his country’s expectations. A finalist in Euro
2004, Ronaldo will be raring to fire in what is widely considered to be his
last realistic chance to win a trophy with his national team. Although they do
not head into the semi-finals as firms favorites they have enough quality in
their ranks to edge out Wales and maybe cause an upset in the finals too.
Road to the
semis:
Drew with
Iceland 1-1
Drew with
Austria 0-0
Drew with
Hungary 3-3
Victory over
Croatia 1-0 (ET)
Victory over
Poland 1-1(5-3 pen)
Goals
scored: 6
Goals
conceded: 5
Top scorer:
Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani - 2 goals each
GERMANY: As
many expected the 2014 FIFA world cup champions progressed to the semi-finals
without much hassle but run into hosts and fellow favorites- France, a fixture
many tout to be “too premature”. After a bizarre penalty shoot-out victory over
Italy, the Germans are set to lock horns with arguably their toughest opponent
so far in the tournament. Germany started their campaign with a comfortable 2-0
win over Ukraine but played out a goalless draw with Poland and ended their
group stages with a 1-0 victory over N. Ireland. In the round of 16, they swept
aside Slovakia scoring three goals, with their incredible sweeper-keeper Neuer
claiming a clean sheet. Joachim Loew’s side boasts of the best defensive record
amongst all the semi-finalists.Mario Gomez has been their highest goal scorer
with two so far in the competition. Germany’s top scorer in World Cups, Thomas
Mueller has been a pale shadow of his former self and his country will need him
to regain his form if they are to overcome France and advance to the finals. However,
influential defender Mats Hummels, will miss out following his suspension
earned in the quarter-final victory over Italy while Sami Khedira, Mario Goetze
and most likely Bastian Schweinsteiger also slated to miss out owing to injury.
Although they haven’t hit the height of performances like they did in their
outstanding 2014 World Cup campaign, the Die Mannschaft is marching on, slowly
but strongly. The bookies had placed both France and Germany as equal favorites
to reach the finals and that is a safecall to take; the action waiting to be
witnessed on Thursday night is possibly one of the most impossible to predict.
Road to the
semis:
Victory over
Ukraine 2-0
Draw against
Poland 0-0
Victory over
Northern Ireland 1-0
Victory over
Slovakia 3-0
Victory over
Italy 1-1 (5-6 pen)
Goals
scored: 7
Goals
conceded: 1
Top scorer:
Mario Gomez - 2 goals
FRANCE: The tournament’ hosts have scored 11 times in
this year’s Euros and are on a high after melting Iceland 5-2 in their quarter-final
encounter. Antoine Greizmann, Dimitri Payet and Oliver Giroud are in red hot
form and will be have to be particularly clinical in Thursday’s clash against
Germany. France started their Euro 2016 campaign with a 2-1 win over Romania and
scored another two goals in their rout of Albania but was held to a goalless
draw against Switzerland in their last group match. France edged out the
Republic of Ireland in the round of 16 and followed it up with the latest
hammering of Iceland. Giroud produced a sensational centre-forward display
scoring two and involving in another two and player of the tournament
candidates –West Ham midfielder, Dimitri Payet and Atletico Madrid forward, Antoine
Greizmann justifying their nomination. The spine of the team, Paul Pogba has
finally hit the ground running after starting the competition rather
poorly. Captain and goalkeeper, Hugo
Lloris has been outstanding as well for the French team. Realistically speaking,
only their semi-final rivals Germany pose any threat in their quest for the
crown. Amid an air of security threat and an era-defining battle over labour
laws, this year’s Euros will be the perfect antidote to bring happiness back to
France.
Road to the
final :
Victory over
Romania 2-1
Victory over
Albania 2-0
Draw against
Switzerland 0-0
Victory over
the Republic of Ireland 1-0
Victory over
Iceland 5-2
Goals
scored: 11
Goals
conceded: 4
Top scorer:
Antoine Greizmann- 4 goals
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