Kevin Whitcher
So… Wales v Portugal in Lyon. A game that the Welsh justifiably felt they could win, given their beating of Belgium, and the fact that in five matches so far, Portugal had failed to beat anyone in 90 minutes. However, it was not to be. With the creativity of Aaron Ramsey lost through suspension, there was a heavy reliance on Gareth Bale’s shooting boots. And on the night, it didn't happen.
Portugal, defensively, have had one horrowshow in these finals, against Hungary. And since the group stage, they have undoubtedly improved. They progressed with just three points in their group as one of the best third place finishers. Better teams exited the tournament due to the quirks of the draw whilst Ronaldo and company remained. Against the Welsh, they were without a key player themselves through injury, Pepe, but didn’t seem to miss him as much as Chris Coleman’s team missed Ramsey.
Ultimately, the game was decided on the quality of the chances the Portuguese created. Love him or loathe him (and no need to ask which regarding the readers on this website), you cannot deny that Ronaldo is a class exponent in the art of heading a football at a goal with power. I wonder what exercises he does in his gym to develop that weird neck of his, the one his head seems too small for. He scored a goal of similar quality against the Hungarians, and does not need much space to work in. So marking him tightly isn’t going to always be the solution. In fairness, he was hauled over by James Collins in the first half when a cross came in and should have been awarded a spot kick. After he did score, only three minutes had passed before a shot of his was deflected in by Nani. Game over.
By the way, the first choice strips of both sides are red. So why were they both in away kits? Anyway, for Wales, a triumphant tournament. And something to build upon. In terms of organization, team spirit and getting the most out of the resources available, they could teach the English side a few lessons. Their exit does mean though that Mark Clattenburg will referee the final on Sunday, on top of doing both the FA Cup and Champions League finals this season. The politics behind his even being at the tournament are interesting. The FA wanted to send Martin Atkinson, but UEFA rate Clattenburg more highly, so in the end, both officiated at the finals. Clattenburg though, has remained, and in fairness, he seems to have had a decent enough tournament so far. UEFA have evidently decided that his howler in not playing advantage in the FA Cup Final was not typical of his performances, and I assume he has generally performed well in the Champions League to have been given the final a few weeks back. It does always add a bit of interest to these matches when a Premier League ref is in charge. Who can ever forget the performance of Graham Poll in Germany 2006, giving three yellow cards to the same player before sending him off?
At half time, the BBC recalled the aforementioned 1982 semi-final. I remember watching whilst still living at my parents’ house as an impressionable teenager. France went 3-1 up and I thought, game over. I felt the need to ‘park my breakfast’ so to speak (albeit late in the evening by now). By the time I returned from the loo, it was 3-3. Ah, the stuff of memories. I think most everyone outside Germany was rooting for the Italians in that final after Harald Schumacher’s “challenge” on Patrick Battiston. If you thought Howard Webb bottled it in 2010, this was far worse.
Anyway, 34 years on, and there was no comeback for the Germans this time when they went two down in Marseille. A rare defensive error by Kimmich allowed Paul Pogba to centre the ball and Griezmann doubled the home side’s advantage. There have been a number of critics of the French defence, but, in spite of their changing the centre back pairing after the last 16 game, they performed very well last night. Against Iceland, and leading comfortably, I think they just took the foot off the gas a bit in terms of concentration. There is room for improvement, especially in the midfield. Perhaps N’golo Kante will return to the starting line-up for the final to shore things up.
One observation about the semis, and especially last night. With the amnesty on yellow cards (the idea being no-one is suspended from the final itself), there is no disincentive to any player regards making tactical fouls, at least until they do get a yellow card. And at times, this made the game very bitty. Fouling is so commonplace, it is rare to watch an international game without frequent stoppages these days. And part of the problem, certainly at set pieces, is that everyone is doing it rather than there simply being a perpetrator and a victim. Maybe it is all the extra cameras at these tournaments. Nothing is missed. Who’d be a referee, eh?
I’ll wrap up the Euro 2016 offerings on Monday after the final has been played.
