A number of football powerhouses, notably England, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium, have not lived up to the expectations of their fans at Euro 2024. Belgium’s team, in particular, faced boos from its supporters after a goalless draw against Ukraine on Wednesday.
Domenico Tedesco, the team’s manager, was not in a mood to justify their performance. He expressed frustration over the delay caused by a police escort from the hotel, which meant they had to hasten the warm-up and his team talk was cut short to two minutes. Also, he stated that laser pens directed at their eyes added to the difficulties.
As if to lighten the mood, Ally McCoist in response to Clive Tyldesley’s comment during a Georgia v Portugal game that it always rained there, quipped that rainy nights in Georgia were commonplace. Didier Deschamps, on the other hand, appeared unaffected by any criticism, stating that if the more than 10 million viewers did not appreciate their performance, they could just switch channels.
The Daily Star made it clear that they are not particularly fond of Gary Lineker, referring to him as a “spud-flogger”. Meanwhile, an Enlgand supporter, Freddie Hahn chose to sleep through England’s scoreless match against Slovenia despite shelling out over €600 for the trip to Germany, indicating the level of disappointment with their performance.
Interesting remarks were also made when it was revealed that Phil Foden’s temporary return to England was due to the impending birth of his third child. A certain English paper’s website contained a variety of comments on the news.
“Did World War II combatants receive paternal time off?” “All these modern conventions are rather overwhelming. I was under the impression that the fellow was hurrying back to assist his spouse with parallel parking the family vehicle… now that’s a scenario I could comprehend.” “They’re all faint-hearted. Buck up.” “Good heavens, you already have two little ones, greet the child upon your return.” “Why is he welcoming a child in the midst of the Euros?”
The epitome? “Somewhat egocentric, surely she can travel to him?”
STATISTIC: 18
The total quantity of yellow cards brandished in the match between Turkey and Czechia, setting a new tournament record. And some red card incidents were also observed.