BALTIMORE, Maryland, Monday, June 27, 2016 - Two upset-minded sides - Wales and Poland - have marched into the Final Eight of the Euro 2016 Championship Tournament, being contested over the last month throughout France. In the first match of the final part of the tournament, Poland beat back Switzerland by winning the Penalty Kick Stage, 5-4. The teams had battled ferociously throughout regulation and overtime, but "regular play" ended with the two teams tied, 1-1. Meanwhile, Chile has beaten back Argentina on penalty kicks to win the "Copa América Centenario" Tournament, contested in These United States in recent weeks, with the title match played at the Meadowlands on Sunday in front of some 82,000 fans. Team USA performed admirably in the tournament, coming through the Group Stage and winning its Quarterfinal Match over a good Ecuador team, 2-1. That put the USA in the tournament semi-final against Argentina on June 21 in Houston. The magic ended there, with the South American side beating the USA, 4-0.
In France, the Knockout Phase, or Finals, began over the weekend with the 16 qualifying teams taking part in the now-single elimination last stage. In the first match at St. Etienne, the Swiss and Poland battled for 90 minutes and through extra time and overtime, only to end up tied, 1-1. The New York Times reported that Jakub Blaszczykowski scored his second goal of the tournament to give Poland the lead in the 39th minute with a low shot past Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer. But, according to the AP and the New York Times, a bicycle kick by Xherdan Shaqiri in the 82nd minute sent the match into extra time. In the penalty kick phase, the New York Times said that Grzegorz Krychowiak stepped up to score the shootout winner. But Krychowiak only got his moment in the limelight after Shaqiri missed his penalty kick for Switzerland. It was the only missed penalty kick of the ten taken in that final part of the match. Poland will now take on erratic Portugal in the quarter-finals.
Wales, which has its own national soccer team even though it is part of the United Kingdom, claims an underdog role even though a player deemed one of the world's very best plays for the Welsh Side. Gareth Bale, who plays professionally for Real Madrid, in Spain, is a prolific scorer with one of the nastiest shots to be seen anywhere. When Wales lost to England in the Group Stage - do you think that game was played with some passion? - Bale gave Wales a 1-0 lead at the half on a long free kick that seemed to change directions before settling into the net. The Welsh made the Finals nonetheless, and in its first game it turned back another underdog side, the team from Northern Ireland. The final score was 1-0, with the match's only score coming when Northern Ireland's Gareth McAuley inadvertently poked a nasty Bale cross into the Irish net. A UEFA reporter at the match said that McAuley was forced to risk the result because Bale's cross was coming onto the foot of Wales' Hal Robson-Kanu, who was charging the net.
Also in France, Germany crushed Slovakia, 3-0; Portugal defeated Croatia, 1-0; Homestanding France defeated Ireland, 2-1; and Belgium rocked Hungary, 4-0. Today there are two matches to determine the final two qualifiers for the Round of Eight. As I post this, Italy and Spain are scoreless in the 27th minute. Later, England will collide with Iceland.
Some of the match-ups for the Round of Eight are already known. The first quarterfinal match will be played Thursday when Poland takes on Portugal in Marseilles. On Friday, Wales tangles with Belgium at Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille Métropole. On Saturday, Germany will take on the winner of the match today between Italy and Spain. That game will be played in Bordeaux. And, naturally, on Sunday the home team, France, will take on the winner of today's game between England and Iceland. That spectacle will be played at St. Denis. The semi-finals are set for July 6 in Lyon and July 7 in Marseilles. The championship will take place on Sunday, July 10 in St. Denis.
As an aside, Burnley fans already know that Claret Striker Sam Vokes is one of two starting strikers for Wales. When Belgium edged Wales in the Group Stage of this tournament, Vokes was still recovering from the serious knee injury which kept him out of action for nearly one year. His return to health and the acquisition of Andre Gray has given Burnley high hopes that its season in the Premier League that is coming up will be far different than the last appearance two seasons back, when the Claret played terrific defense but just could not score. Now, Vokes is fully recovered and Green is coming off a stunning campaign in which he led the Championship in scoring.
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