Five things we learned from Group A at Euro 2020

After nearly a fortnight of action, Euro 2020’s group stage is finally completed. 16 teams now remain. And this is where things start to get interesting. The stakes are much higher; for there’s no mulligan. Either one wins, or one goes home. Group A’s representatives in the round of 16 will be Italy, who qualified as group winners, Wales, who are in as runners-up, and Switzerland, who secured a spot after finishing as among top four third-placed sides.

Here are five things we learned from Group A at Euro 2020.

Italy showing that they’re not the same team of years ago…

Italy and defense. The two go hand in hand, as the Azzurri have built their reputation on being very skilled in the art of defense. That’s not to say that Italy haven’t had dynamic strikers – names like Pippo Inzaghi, Bobo Vieri, Francesco Totti, Roberto Baggio are all among those to have donned the Azzurri kit – but there is a reason when people think of Italy, they think of Catenaccio. For years, Italy were basically viewed as a team who’d be perfectly happy with scoring one goal and then hunkering down to protect that lead; in short, a more conservative approach when it comes to scoring goals.

That’s not the case of this Italian side. Italy posted a perfect winning record during Euro 2020 qualifiers, during which they scoring a whopping 37 goals and conceded just four. Nine of those came during a 9-1 rout of Armenia. Normally, people are used to teams like Germany scoring at that rate, but Italy under Roberto Mancini have finally been unleashed, as shown by their resounding 3-0 wins over Turkey and Switzerland.

…but some vestiges still remain

While this free-scoring Italy side is quite different from many from prior tournaments, the Azzurri haven’t forgotten their roots. They are just one of two teams to make it through the group stages without conceding a goal. The other is England. However, unlike the Three Lions, Italy won all of their games, whereas Gareth Southgate’s men recorded a frustrating scoreless stalemate against Scotland on matchday two. In keeping three clean sheets, 22-year-old Gianluigi Donnarumma becomes the youngest shot-stopper to achieve this feat, and now all eyes will be on the newly signed PSG man as Italy look to take care of business against Austria and progress to the quarter-finals.

Turkey fail to deliver when it counts

Although this quartet was a tough one, many did expect better of Turkey. After all, their skipper, Burak Yilmaz arrived at this competition a Ligue 1 winner with Lille. And Hakan Calhanoglu had had a solid season with AC Milan – so much so that the Rossoneri’s bitter rivals, Inter, recently snapped him up on a free transfer. So while qualifying as group winners was going to be tough, at the very least, there were some expectations that Senol Gunes’s men would put up a good fight for possibly second.

Turkey impressed during Euro 2020 qualifiers, notably picking up four points against reigning World Cup champions and tournament favorites France. In fact, on matchday nine, they were sitting on top of their group, but Iceland dug in their heels to snatch a draw in Istanbul. Iceland also happened to be the only team who beat the Crescent-Stars, although their win during the reverse fixture was shrouded in controversy due to the reportedly poor treatment Turkey felt they received from the moment they arrived in the country.

So, with that kind of show, there indeed were hopes that Turkey could make some kind of splash. They did make an announcement, albeit of the wrong sort as Merih Derimal became the first goal-scorer of Euro 2020 – in his own net. And after that, it all went downhill from there. Turkey ended up crashing out of Euro 2020, scoring just once without picking up a single point. The only other team to post such pitiful numbers is North Macedonia, and everyone knows that Turkey do have a much better team than the debutants.

Never count Switzerland out

It’s safe to say that Switzerland struggled in their first two games. La Nati were bitterly disappointed not to be able to secure a win over Wales after seeing their early effort cancelled out and another goal ruled out for offside. They were then thoroughly beaten 3-0 by Italy, leaving them with just one point after their first two matches.

In short, it all came down to their game against Turkey: would Switzerland get their act together or end up crashing out with barely a whimper?

As we know, Switzerland chose the former. Xherdan Shaqiri finally got off the mark, netting a brace following Haris Seferovic’s opener to successfully nullify Turkey after the Crescent-Stars attempted to get back into the game. Their task ahead will be a very tough one – as they’ll face France in the round of 16, but Les Bleus certainly won’t be taking them lightly.

Wales still an unknown factor

Wales were dealt a huge blow before this competition started, as head coach Ryan Giggs had to step back after being accused of assault. That means the team are currently under the leadership of interim boss Rob Paige. The Dragons didn’t exactly start off their second Euro tournament with a roar, as they had to fight to secure a draw with Switzerland. Wales were also fortunate to see their opponents’ goal cancelled out for offsides; otherwise, they may have ended up empty-handed following a 2-1 loss.

Against Turkey, they finally started getting their act together, with Gareth Bale redeeming himself following a missed spot kick by being directly involved in his team’s two goals. Although they lost 1-0 to Italy on matchday one, they still put up a good fight, but it’s cost them Ethan Ampadu in the process. He’s set to miss their upcoming round of 16 tie due to a sending off, meaning that Paige will have to find an apt replacement in his stead.

Five years ago, Wales made it all the way to the semi-finals in their debut Euro competition. Will they be able to repeat that same performance this time around? Next up for them will be Denmark, a team who have been through so much already, and will be fired up to keep their run going. It won’t be easy, but Wales, who are very much still an unknown factor, just may be able to make another deep run this time around. We will just have to wait and see.