The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsUEFA Euro 2016 Group E Review
Teams: Italy, Belgium, Republic of Ireland & Sweden.
When the draw for the European Championships came out, Group E was one of the most anticipated with Italy and Belgium expected to be challenging for the trophy, Sweden looking to progress even further and the Republic of Ireland hoping to live up to the aspirations of the fans. Italy are undoubtedly one of the favourites for Euro 2016 glory and manager Antonio Conte would like his tenure to finish on a high before he embarks on a new journey at Chelsea. Once again, Belgium were the dark horses in the tournament and despite the absence of Vincent Kompany through injury, Marc Wilmots still has a large amount of talent at his disposal. The Republic of Ireland were one of the surprise packages in qualifying; conceding just seven goals and taking four points from the world champions Germany. Sweden’s tournament was always going to be reliant on Zlatan Ibrahimovic in full fitness; however he has failed to get his national side out of the group stages in the last two European Championships.
Matchday 1:
Republic of Ireland 1-1 Sweden
The first game of the group was an extremely important one between the Republic of Ireland and Sweden. Belgium and Italy looked certain to go through to the knockout stages, meaning whoever won this encounter would have an advantage of attaining the 3rd spot. They couldn’t be separated in Paris and Ireland were subject to a cruel blow as Sweden equalised through an own goal. Ireland were dominant from the offset, hitting the woodwork and going close to scoring with a number of early opportunities.
Martin O’Neill’s side had to wait until after half-time for the breakthrough to arrive and it came in spectacular fashion. Some great work from Seamus Coleman on the right made space to get a cross in and it was met by Wes Hoolahan on the half-volley to finish excellently. Ireland became more vulnerable as the game went on and Sweden were allowed a route back into the match. A well-worked move led to Zlatan Ibrahimovic driving the ball across the box, only for Ciaran Clark to head the ball into his own net.
Belgium 0-2 Italy
With a large amount of anticipation on their shoulders, Belgium’s Euro 2016 campaign got off to a disappointing start as they were comfortably beaten by Italy. Both goals game from Premier League players, as Emanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pelle earned the points for the Italians. Little over half an hour had passed when Antonio Conte’s side took the lead; a fine ball over the top from Leonardo Bonucci was brought down expertly by Giaccherini before he stroked the ball into the bottom corner.
Belgium had plenty of chances to draw level, but Romelu Lukaku and Divock Origi were wasteful in front of goal. After being played in by Kevin De Bruyne, Lukaku had only Gianluigi Buffon to beat but was too complacent and forced his effort the wrong side of the post. With full-time looming, Italy worked the ball from box to box before Pelle double his side’s lead with a well-timed volley inside the area.
Matchday 2:
Italy 1-0 Sweden
The performance of Italy was less than stellar when they faced Sweden in the second round of matches, but in typical Italian fashion they dug deep and got the three points needed. After failing to register a shot on goal in their opener against Ireland, Sweden were lacking in front of goal once again as they didn’t manage a shot.
It was a match involving two stubborn the defences; a usual trait of the Italians, but Sweden proved surprisingly resilient. Their resilience was broken in the 88th-minute however after a moment of magic from Eder. The frontman picked the ball up on the edge of the box before ghosting past the Italian back line, faking a shot before unleashing a curling effort into the far corner. This ensured Italy would be in the knockouts as they were leading the group with six points, while Sweden needed to beat Belgium to progress.
Belgium 3-0 Republic of Ireland
After their poor start to the Euro 2016 campaign, Belgium were back on track with a comfortable victory against Ireland. It was anyone’s game at the break as both sides were level at half-time. It was an inspired team talk from Marc Wilmots however as Belgium returned revitalised and took control of the second half.
It took no more than three minutes for the Belgians to get in front and Romelu Lukaku scored his side’s first goal of the competition. He wasn’t closed down on the edge of the box and took his time to pick his spot in the bottom corner. Axel Witsel added a second on the hour mark, heading home from close range. The game was put well out of Ireland’s reach in the 70th-minute; Lukaku scored his second of the game when he received the ball inside the area following a slick counter-attack, with enough time and space he slid the ball past Darren Randolph. This result meant Belgium were nearly over the line, while Ireland just needed to win in their final match to confirm qualification to the knockout stages.
Matchday 3:
Italy 0-1 Republic of Ireland
Ireland were heading into their final group game knowing only the three points were enough to secure their place in the next round. Thankfully for Martin O’Neill’s side, Italy were already through and Antonio Conte named a weakened team, excluding the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Eder, Giorgio Chiellini and Graziano Pelle. This allowed Ireland to take the game to the Italians and they had control for the most part.
There were half-chances for the Irish; Jeff Hendrick missed by a matter of fractions with a shot that left Salvatore Sirigu beaten had it been the right side of the post. O’Neill turned to Wes Hoolahan, Aiden McGeady and Stephen Quinn in the hope of finding the winner. Ireland’s golden chance for the winner fell to Hoolahan, who fluffed his lines after having too long to think about the placement of his shot. He made amends moments later though, swinging in the perfect delivery for Robbie Brady to head home the goal to send Ireland through, sparking euphoria on the sidelines and in the crowd.
Sweden 0-1 Belgium
The final game of Group E saw Belgium confirm 2nd place, knocking out Sweden to ensure Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s international career ended disappointingly. Things are finally looking up for Belgium as they completed the group stages on a high; finishing level on points with Italy and keeping two clean sheets.
Radja Nainggolan scored the deciding goal with a crisp strike from distance to beat Andreas Isaksson via a small deflection. It rounded off a highly unsatisfactory tournament for Sweden, as they exit the competition with just one point and only an own goal against their name.
Final Group Standings:
- Italy 6pts
- Belgium 6pts
- Republic of Ireland 4pts
- Sweden 1pt
Top Scorers:
Romelu Lukaku finished as the top goal scorer in the group with two goals, suggesting he could still be one of the star strikers in the tournament in Belgium live up to their expectations.
The following players had just the one goal to their name; Wes Hoolahan, Robbie Brady, Emanuele Giaccherini, Graziano Pelle, Eder, Axel Witsel and Radja Nainggolan.
Prediction for the Rest of the Tournament:
The Republic of Ireland face a very tough test in the Round of 16 as they prepare to take on France, one of the favourites in the tournament. Martin O’Neill’s side will have a great deal of confidence after beating Italy, however the home advantage of the French may be too much to overcome.
Belgium are on the more comfortable side of the tournament tree and they stand an excellent chance of making the final. They just have to get past Hungary in the next round who, after great performances in the group stages, will be no walkover.
Italy would have preferred a better draw in the early stages of the knockouts as they have to take on Spain thanks to a late goal from Croatia’s Ivan Perisic in the win against the Spaniards. If Italy are going to win the tournament, of course they will have to beat a team of Spain’s quality and if they can maintain their resolute defending, it should be enough.
