David Sneyd
Highlight and lowlight of the tournament?
Highlight: Witnessing the emergence of what will hopefully be a crop of stars for the future. Taking just the semi-finalists; Lamine Yamal (only turned 17 yesterday) and Nico Williams (only turned 22 on Friday) of Spain have flourished. Kobbie Mainoo forced his way into England’s midfield at 19 while Arda Güler is the same age and Turkey’s inspiration. Xavi Simons also came to the fore for the Netherlands and at 21 should only get better.
Lowlight: The combination of VAR, microchip technology in footballs and referee Michael Oliver combining to rule out a Denmark goal followed by awarding Germany a penalty all in a matter of moments during their round of 16 clash. The handball decision given against Lois Openda in the build-up to a perfectly legitimate goal for Belgium against Slovakia during the group stage is also a worrying indication of how technology’s intrusion won’t help the game when the rules are an ass and the standard of refereeing equally inept.
2. Player of the tournament?
Lamine Yamal.
3. Biggest disappointment?
France. Absolutely brutal.
4. Favourite pundit?
Had hoped for a Roy Keane-Ange Postecoglou double act of dry humour and acerbic wit. Sadly never materialised. But at least we’ll always wonder what was in that Lidl bag under Kenny Cunningham’s seat. Something from the middle aisle?
5. Best goal?
Jude Bellingham’s last-minute overhead kick to keep England in the tournament was a cracker. It could prove to be the moment people look back on as the catalyst for their success.
6. Describe Euro 2024 in one sentence.
A glimpse into the future…
Paul Fennessy
1. Highlight and lowlight of the tournament?
Highlight: Watching Spain and especially Lamine Yamal. Playing joyful, expansive and effective football is rare and incredibly hard to do at international level. That is why most of the top teams at this tournament have invariably been tough to watch. Spain, and to a lesser extent Germany, were a breath of fresh air in this regard.
Lowlight: Pretty much every France game except the Spain match. Didier Deschamps has been rightly praised for his success, reaching the final in three of the last four major tournaments going into these Euros. His ultra-defensive style was effective in the past. Still, with their best-attacking players, Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe, looking out of sorts at this tournament, they seemed toothless and almost a parody of themselves. Incredibly, Randal Kolo Muani’s early semi-final goal against Spain was the only one they managed from open play in the tournament.
2. Player of the tournament?
Rodri. Spain have been the most impressive team regardless of who wins today’s final. They’ve got this far despite having a not-entirely-convincing defence and an attack led by a striker, Alvaro Morata, who was offloaded by Chelsea four years ago after an underwhelming spell. So the midfield is essentially the biggest reason for La Roja’s progress. And while Rodri’s excellence won’t have surprised anyone, perhaps he is taken for granted and underestimated to an extent at Man City, where the 28-year-old is just one of several great players. His performances at this tournament serve as a reminder of his vast influence and ability to dictate games like few others. His midfield partner Fabián Ruiz is a close runner-up.
3. Biggest disappointment?
Portugal. The way Roberto Martinez persisted with Cristiano Ronaldo despite all evidence to the contrary that he was good enough and fit enough to start every game was borderline disgraceful. It’s a shame a team of so many talented players — Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes — seemed inexplicably under the control of one man’s substantial ego. Prioritising dressing room politics over adequate team selection is classic bad management and Martinez’s reputation has suffered greatly due to his unwise actions at this tournament.
4. Favourite pundit?
I’ve enjoyed watching Didi Hamann and Richie Sadlier. Sometimes with pundits, you feel there is an agenda with what they’re saying or that they are not being entirely open in their views. But any expert’s primary loyalty should be to the viewer and not people within the game, and you always get the sense that’s the case with Hamann and Sadlier.
5. Best goal?
Jude Bellingham’s bicycle kick against Slovakia. The Real Madrid star hasn’t always lived up to the hype at this tournament, but that one world-class moment compensated for an abundance of flaws in Gareth Southgate’s setup and felt like a turning point for his flagging team. There were arguably more aesthetically pleasing goals, but when you consider the intense pressure of that moment, nothing else at the tournament can quite compare.
6. Describe Euro 2024 in one sentence.
Spain the anomaly as pragmatism invariably prevails.
Gavin Cooney
1. Highlight and lowlight of the tournament?
For my highlight, I’ll take Georgia’s win over Portugal, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s performance. It was the perfect international football occasion: an emotion-drenched underdog victory, made possible by a stunning individual performance.
My lowlight is England 0-0 Slovenia. And I won’t be saying any more about it.
2. Player of the tournament?
I am going with Lamine Yamal. He scored perhaps the goal of the tournament to level the semi-final against France, but his creative abilities are astounding: those crosses to the back post for Fabian Ruiz cannot be defended. He is no longer a future superstar — he is one right now. Oh, and did you know he only turned 17 this week?
3. Biggest disappointment?
France. Antoine Griezmann picked a bad time to lose form, and they could not replace his creative qualities. As a result, they miserably ground their way to the semi-finals, scoring only once from open play.
4. Favourite pundit?
I haven’t seen any of the Irish or UK coverage really, bar Roy Keane’s magnificently stony demeanour during those England goal reaction videos that ITV are doing. So I’ll give it to Keane on that basis.
I speak the sum total of no German so I can’t be of much help in picking the best of the hosts’ coverage. But Michael Ballack hasn’t aged a day since retirement, and Per Mertesacker seems to have built a cult following here.
5. Best goal?
Yamal’s against France, though Arda Guler’s eerily similar screamer against Georgia runs it close.
6. Describe Euro 2024 in one sentence.
A good tournament, if not a great one.
