- Dolberg 27',48'
- Maehle 88'
- Braithwaite 90'+4'
- Referee: Daniel Siebert
- Attendance: 14,645
- Chiesa 95', Pessina 105'
- Kalajdzic 114'
- Referee: Anthony Taylor
- Attendance: 18,910
Wales 0
Denmark 4
Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam
IBO Reporter: Jickster
|Wales go into this game in the unusual position of being the bad guys, there's so much good will towards Denmark after their Christian Eriksen trauma and they way they have responded to it, culminating in an exciting win against Russia to reach this stage. So a lot of Welsh fans are feeling a bit uncomfortable about possibly dumping them out, although they obviously want to continue their own run. They are once again outnumbered in the stadium with lots of Danes able to make the short trip to Amsterdam. It's the Welsh who start the brighter, taking the initiative and dominating the opening phase. Bale shoots from distance, but without getting the right curl on the shot it arrows wide of the goal. Unfortunately for Wales that's as good as it gets however, the Danes gradually work their way back into things and are ultimately comfortable winners of the game.
A switch of system means that Denmark start to take a hold of the midfield, they force a flurry of corners and start forcing the Welsh back. Joe Rodon makes a clear foul on the half way line to get a deserved yellow card: "No complaints from Rodon" says Robbie Savage, as we watch a slow motion replay of Rodon vigourously complaining about the decision. Soon a precise couple of passes finds Dolberg in space- his shot from outside the box is a beauty and puts them in front at half time. Denmark's control of the match continues and early in the second half they get a second goal. Braithwaite does well down the right, his low cross goes to Wales' substitute right back Neco Williams who makes a complete hash of his attempted clearance with his weaker left foot, it falls straight to Dolberg who smashes in from close range. Wales are unhappy about what looked a foul on Kieffer Moore at the other end, it probably was a foul to be fair but there was a lot of action before it ended up in the net so they can't be too upset.
Wales apply some mild pressure in an effort to get back into things but the Denmark defence always looks comfortable, the Danes themselves look more likely to get a third goal on the break. "They deserve three" says Savage and they finally get it on 88 minutes as Maehle turns back onto his left foot for another powerful finish. Then Wales fall to pieces, Harry Wilson makes a cynical tackle on Maehle expecting to take a yellow card but is surprised to get a red instead- harsh perhaps but maybe the combination of the aggression and the position on the pitch were worth a yellow each? Denmark really rub things in as a nice bit of play ends up with Braithwaite putting it in the net from the edge of the box- the flag goes up for offside but a VAR check overturns it and the game ends 4-0.
Later on, Wales coach Rob Page gives a slightly bitter interview bemoaning refereeing decisions and overplaying Wales' initial dominance, when the truth is they were well beaten by a better side today. Wales did their best and obviously with class acts like Bale and Ramsey they feel they have a chance against anyone, but the truth is that the rest of the squad is weak and while they can sometimes raise their game and give everything for the cause to produce good results, there's only a limited shelf life where that will produce success. After a while they will revert to their natural level which is what happened here. I'm also a bit suprised at the reaction on TV (Elis James being a culprit), there's a bit too much expectation of this side now, before the tournament most agreed that reaching the knockout stage would be a good result. Having failed to even qualify for any tournaments in my lifetime until 2016, Wales should be pleased that not only is qualification becoming a regular occurrence, but they also give a good account of themselves once they get there- despite this heavy defeat they've had a good tournament.
As for Denmark, they are getting better and better. Eriksen's story affected them mentally and also robbed them of their best player, but they appear to have renewed purpose and their other good players are finding form at the right time, I've been very impressed by the likes of Maehle, Braithwaite and the star of today's game, Dolberg. At the time of writing they've now found that their quarter final opponent will be the Czech Republic, no pushovers but you couldn't choose much better opponents for this stage of the competition and the Danes look good to continue their story and reach the semi final.
Italy 2
Austria 1
Wembley Stadium, London
IBO Reporter : Jickster
|Italy are hot favourites for this game, no other side in the tournament has had things go as much their own way in the group stages and on the back of a 30 game unbeaten run there are few at Wembley who would have given Austria much of a chance before the game. The Austrians had scraped through a fairly weak group themselves, although they might have felt that they had the players to withstand a bit of pressure more effectively than Turkey or Switzerland had managed.
The game started very much as Italy's group games had gone- they were dominating possession and probing for weaknesses in their opponents defence. A couple of decent efforts went close, first a good move involves Spinazzola finding Barella shooting low and forcing a good block from Bachmann in goal, then Immobile has a good effort from long range clip the post. Austria struggle to find much rhythm of their own in the first half, but Italy are generally frustrated.
Still, up until the hour mark I'd have been very comfortable as an Italy fan, but then the pattern of play slowly starts to shift. Italy are finding it more difficult to stretch the Austrian defence, while Austria themselves become emboldened and launch a few more purposeful attacks themselves. It looks like the transformation is complete with 20 minutes left, as a looping cross is headed back across goal by Alaba for Arnautovic to turn in from close range. Austria and their supporters go crazy as they think they have the lead, but a replay shows a clear offside, it takes VAR a needlessly long time to confirm it but the goal is eventually disallowed. The 90 minutes end 0-0, not the most exciting of games but Austria can feel that they've done a good job of limiting Italian chances.
But Italy start extra time with renewed energy and show more thrust than they had up to that point, taking the lead with a brilliant goal. A cross in is at an awkward height for Chiesa, but he controls it superbly with his head, takes another touch with his right to make space and hits it powerfully into the net with his left foot. A wonderful goal and Italy are in control. Danny Murphy wants Italy to start taking the ball into the corner when there are still 17 minutes of play remaining, but they turn the pressure on further and get another nice goal before the half time break, Pessina finishing well. That should really finish the game but actually Austria get a second wind and make life uncomfortable for Italy, they get a goal back as Kaladjzic scores from a corner to make a nervy last five minutes. But Italy don't really look like conceding an equaliser and although they made hard work of it they reach the quarter finals.
Disappointment for Austria, just for a second it looked like they might cause an upset when Arnautovic thought he'd scored. They certainly gave Italy their toughest test so far, but they have basically performed to their par level in this tournament.
Italy are still difficult to judge, they are doing the right things to dispatch weaker opponents but they still haven't met any other contenders. That will all change when they face Belgium in the next round which will be a fascinating contest and we will find out more about their credentials then. But I do like this side, especially when you see the glee on the face of the loveable Gianluca Vialli as he hugs his old mate Roberto Mancini when Italy score.