BALTIMORE, Maryland June 17, 2016 - The first scoreless draw of the Euro 2016 Finals virtually clinched second round spots for Poland and Germany and apparently assured Polish fans that their dark horse side can be a factor in the European Championship Tournament, playing out now across France. Ukraine, sadly, was eliminated from second round chances by the outcome. Meanwhile, in Seattle, the United States built a 2-0 lead over Ecuador and held on to defeat the powerful South American Side, 2-1, to advance to the "Final Four" of the Copa America Tournament, being played in the United States for the first time. The USA will take on the winner of the Argentina v. Venezuela match for the Copa Title.
Clint Dempsey scored in the 22nd minute and Gyasi Zardes scored in the 65th minute, on a goal set up by a Dempsey feed, as the USA built its lead. But Ecuador came back, scoring in the 74th minute to trim the American lead to a single score. Playing in front of a boisterous and jam-packed home crowd, the USA defense gathered itself and courageously pushed back. In the end, the heated duel ended in the win for the USA, but not before each side took a red card.
Wales, always cast in the underdog role, must find a way to come back after a gut-wrenching defeat by England in their Group B match. Gareth Bale, one of the world's very best players, scored on an amazing free kick in the first half to put Wales ahead of the English. But halftime subs Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge scored in the second half as England rallied. The Sturridge score came two minutes into added time, making the defeat all the more painful for Wales.
There are six divisions in the Euro 2016 field, and four teams in each division. In the first part of these finals, each team plays a match against every other team in their division, with the top two teams from the six divisions - a total of 12 teams - and the best four third-place teams, earning berths in the 16-team final round. Like the World Cup, the final round is then decided by a single-elimination tournament. If you do the math - and oh what a whiz you are if you do - the winner and runner-up will have played 7 matches in France to earn the Euro 2016 Title.
France, the home side, leads Group A with 6 points, with Switzerland and its 4 points standing strong in second place.
England is now in great shape with 4 points atop Group B, followed by Wales and Slovakia, both at 1-0-1(3 points) in second place. Russia is 0-1-1 (1 point) in last place.
Germany and Poland are atop Group C, each with 1-1-0 records and 4 points. Northern Ireland is third at 1-0-1 and Ukraine, at 0-0-2, is last and, now, eliminated from any hope of moving on.
Teams in Groups D, E and F have each played but one match thus far. In Group D, Spain and Croatia won and the Czech Republic and Turkey lost, with each game finishing 1-0. In Group E, Italy beat back Belgium, 2-0, while Ireland and Sweden played to a 1-1 draw. In Group F, Hungary defeated Austria, 2-0, while Iceland and Portugal played to a 1-1 draw.
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