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The Euro 2020 tournament has been one of the best Euro competitions yet, just what everyone needed after 2020 to forget. This year’s rescheduled tournament has raised talking points since the very first match when Italy faced Turkey. The competition has now reached the quarter final stage where we still see Italy in it. Turkey, however, had a tournament to forget having not registered a single win and only scoring 1 goal along the way. There are more talking points to report as we look at the crucial Quarter-Final stage matches.

While we were all happy to see the end of 2020, we did miss out on one of the worlds best international football events. Fortunately, we have now had the chance to see most of it, and its been a cracker so far!

Soccer

Photo by Nathan Rogers on Unsplash

Italy and Spain first to Enter the Semis

Spain and Switzerland were to play the first quarter final match in Saint Petersburg, where a crowd of almost 25000 saw the Italians overcome a brave 10-man Switzerland side. The Spanish needed penalties to win as Switzerland battled hard right through 120 minutes of football. Switzerland were unable to repeat their heroics against France as they missed 3 of their 4 penalties. The game was in their own hands a couple of times though, as Spain missed 2 of their penalties, handing Switzerland the advantage.

Belgium against Italy was billed to be the match of the tournament so far, as the world number 1 team, Belgium, faced-off against the ‘historically brilliant’, Italy. The game started out lively with a few early chances. Italy were denied a goal by VAR as Bonucci was in an offside position when the ball struck him. First half goals from Barella and Insigne were enough to give The Azzurri victory. Belgium managed to pull a goal back through a Lukaku penalty but it was never going to be enough as Italy held strong to qualify for the Semi-Finals. They will now face Spain on Tuesday evening.

Where to Back Your Favourite Teams

We are now at the business end of Euro 2020 with just three matches left to play. This means not too many more opportunities to stake your bets at the online bookmakers. Your only issue is finding the best bookmakers, odds & markets, and bonus offers. Virgin Bet is one of the sports betting sites that likes to reward new players. There is a Virgin bet Free Bet welcome offer which gives you the chance at winning some profits from a free bet.

Check out a Virgin Bet review before comparing it with your other options. There are some great alternatives, as Virgin, like other sites, has its own pros and cons. Definitely a pro is the Virgin bet offers & promotions you will find when signing up.

Sancho looks set to start for the Three Lions

Jadon Sancho has been a hot topic of conversation for any England fan. The Dortmund attacker has been given almost no game time throughout the entire tournament, registering just 7 minutes against Czech Republic. Sancho is an extraordinary talent; however, England currently have a lot of good players who are in form – somebody was always going to miss out. In the final quarter final match of the tournament against Ukraine, it looks as though Sancho will get much more game time. Bukayo Saka has had a solid tournament so far, but it seems that he has picked up a knock and Gareth Southgate will not want to risk him, especially when you consider the quality that will replace him.

If Jadon Sancho can show what every England fan knows he is capable of, then it will be tough for Bukayo Saka to get back into the team should England progress – a nice headache for Southgate to have.

Ukraine will have 2 players unavailable ahead of the crucial game against England. Oleksandr Zubkov will obviously not be available after flying back to Hungary to receive treatment on an injury. Artem Besedin has still been unable to recover after being injured during the Ukraine game.


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