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Since the Euro 2024 competition commenced, the youngsters such as Turkey’s Arda Guler and England’s Jude Bellingham have shown that they have what it takes to be on the world stage. They have unapologetically influenced games and decided the momentum of the matches thus far.
The first round of the group stages came to a conclusion on Tuesday, June 18, in a fiercely contested game between Portugal and Czech Republic. It was 21-year-old Francisco Conceicao who came off the bench to secure the vital three points for the Portuguese team in the concluding part of the game.
There has been no dull moments in the competition thus far, there have been shock results, disappointments, unforeseen circumstances and some fascinating debuts, however, there have been no dull moments.
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The opening part of the competition is expectedly living up to the hype, albeit, there is still so much excitement to come.
Here are some highlights of what we observed from match day one of the ongoing Euro 2024.
- Pepe Is The Oldest Man In ‘Europe’
At the age of 41, Pepe became the oldest person to feature in an Euro competition after playing for Portugal in the 2-1 win against Czech Republic on Tuesday.
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- Is This A Final Run For The Old Guards?
There is every possibility that sensational athletes such as Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, the aforementioned Pepe and Croatian football icon, Luka Modric might be featuring in their final European tournament to make room for the burgeoning generation.
While Ronaldo and Pepe’s Portugal went on to win, Croatia suffered a 3-0 loss against Spain.
- The Emergence Of A New Generation
Goals from Germany’s Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz in the hosts’ 5-1 trashing of Scotland on the opening day epitomizes how the commencement of the competition unravel. The youngsters aided their respective nations, quickly signifying the arrival of a new generation.
Jude Bellingham bagged a winner for the Three Lions of England against Serbia, Arda Guler inspired the Turkish national team side to a 3-1 against debutants, Georgia.
So far, the youngsters have owned the show.
- No Favourites Yet!
It’s still early days, hence, it’s impossible to predict who will lift the title at the end of the competition. The host, Germany go off to a flying start, albeit, they still two more games to go. The Spanish national team led by Alvaro Morata bagged a 3-0 win against Croatia, but, they have failed on two other occasions to clinch the Euro title since the decline of the golden generation in the late 2000s to the early 2010s.
The Red Devils of Belgium suffered a shock defeat against Slovakia.
There are still many more games to come and excess goals to score, keep watching.
- Ukraine’s Lunin Isn’t Yet Prepared For The Big Stage
After missing the finals of the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League competition against Dortmund, Ukrainian goalkeeper, Andriy Lunin showed why he was dropped by Real Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti for the grand finale despite playing a huge role en route to that phase of the competition.
Lunin did poorly in the 3-0 loss against Romania in their opening Group E match. Two of his errors led to Romania’s goals as his side was unable to find a comeback.
It’s pivotal Lunin returns to his best or watch his side end the competition sooner than expected.
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