We saw two surprising games yesterday. It wasn't the results that were particularly unexpected but the manner of them. Wales crashed out of the Competition after being beaten convincingly by a resurgent Denmark. Both sides started positively but Wales seemed to have the edge in the opening 15 minutes. Gareth Bale went close with a long range effort just wide of Schmeichel's goal. After that though it was all about the Danes who took the game to Wales. Dolberg opened the scoring with a brilliant strike from just outside the area. The Nice Striker Kasper Dolberg finished brilliantly to put the Danes in front. Wales struggled then with Connor Roberts being forced off with a groin injury then striker Kieffer Moore being booked, harshly, shortly after. Rob Page must have been mightily relieved to get his team in at half time only 1 - 0 down. The second half started disastrously for Wales when a poor clearance fell to Dolberg who made it two. Dolberg had a good game and whoever takes over at Nice (Christophe Galtier?) will be looking to get more out of him than Coach Adrian Ursea managed. Dolberg scored just six times for his club last season but showed his quality here.
Denmark went from strength to strength and ran out 4 - 0 winners. After Denmark's turbulent opening game I was sure this just wouldn't be their tournament. It seems however that they are growing in to the Competition. Their performance yesterday was far more than a frenzy of emotion after what happened to Christian Eriksen. They were composed and clinical. It will be interesting to see who they play next. Wales will be devastated at how soundly they were beaten but they have given plenty to the tournament. They showed a lot of desire in the group stages and did well to get through to the knockouts.
Italy went through but were taken to extra time by Austria. I was dismissive of Austria's chances because Italy have looked so good but Austria really gave the Italians a game. Italy looked good in the first half. Spinazzola was a constant threat making great runs from left back. Marco Verratti was strong in midfield and constantly looked to get Italy on the attack. Ciro Immobile had a great shot from distance that hit the bar but it was goalless at half time. In the second half Austria defended superbly to frustrate Italy and could have taken the lead had Arnautovic done better with his chances. The ex West Ham striker thought he'd taken the lead when he headed in off the bar. VAR however correctly ruled it out for offside. The game went into extra time before Chiesa finally opened the scoring in the 95th minute. Fellow substitute Matteo Pessina made it two 10 minutes later. Austria did pull one back but it's Italy that go through after a bit of a scare.
They will face the winners of Belgium V Portugal in the next round.
Netherland V Czech Republic - kick off at 1700 from Ferenc Puskás Stadium, Budapest. Live on ITV and ITV Hub.
The Netherlands cruised through their group with three wins from as many games. They don't have the depth of talent they've had in tournaments gone by but they've play well so far. Captain Georginio Wijnaldum has been one of the players of the tournament. He's led his team by example playing as a number 10 behind Depay and Weghorst. He is playing further forward than he did for Liverpool which seems to suit him. He's scored three goals in the tournament so far but has also been keen to come deep and win the ball for his team. It's clear the Dutch have goals in their team (Dumfries and Depay have two each) but it will be interesting to see how they cope with the Czechs attack.
The Czech Republic should carry more threat than Austria and North Macedonia gave them. Can the the Czech's attacking players cause the Dutch problems like Ukraine did in their game? The Czech Republic will hope to create more chances for Patrick Schick than they managed against England. Jaroslav Silhavy's side seemed to be a little lacklustre against the English and struggled to break them down. They will be hoping that their midfield duo of Soucek and Tomáš Holeš can dominate the centre of the pitch a bit more. Schick will be hoping to add to his three tournament goals if wingers Luka Masopust and Jakub Jankto can give him the service. The Dutch seem to be really comfortable in their play with everyone understanding what they are supposed to be doing. The Czechs should provide more of a test than they've had so far though.
Frenchfooty prediction: Netherlands 2 V Czech Republic 1
Belgium V Portugal - kick off at 2000 from Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville. Live on ITV and ITV Hub.
What a game this could be. Two of the best teams in the Competition who believe they can win the tournament. The number one ranked team in the world versus the reigning European Champions. Each team has quality right through the side with plenty of goal scorers and match winners. Belgium qualified relatively easy. Russia and Finland were swept aside 3 - 0 and 2- 0 respectively. Denmark put up a good fight but the Belgians stepped up a gear to turnover a 1 - 0 deficit and win 2 - 1. Roberto Martinez's side have played some quality football and just seem to have all the ingredients to succeed. A quality Goalkeeper in Courtois, an experienced back three, one of the best attacking midfielders in the world in De Bruyne, and an out and out goalscorer in Romelu Lukaku. It's a little surprising that they haven't done better in recent tournaments with the quality they have. This is an experienced squad though, most players are in their mid to late twenties, and many of them will remember the disappointments of losing out to Wales in the Quarter finals of Euro 2016 and to France in the World Cup Semis. They have been able to change their starting eleven in recent games without any disruption to performance or results. De Bruyne didn't play against Russia and Eden Hazard was only brought on late in the first two games, yet they were clearly the better side in both matches. When everyone is fit the spine of Courtois in goal, Lyon's Jason Denayer centre back, DeBruyne midfield and Lukaku up front is the platform that Martinez favours. The attacking trio of De Bruyne, Lukaku and Hazard have been great to watch so far and if on song today they will cause Portugal problems.
Portugal should give Belgium a sterner test than they've faced so far in the tournament. The Portuguese were disappointing in their group loss to Germany and weren't at their best last week against France. This is knockout football though which is when we normally see the best of Fernando Santos' team. In 2016 they qualified from their group with just three points then went on to win the tournament. They looked stronger in midfield with Renato Sanches preferred to Carvalho. It will be interesting to see if the Lille midfielder starts today and if Bruno Fernandes is chosen alongside him ahead of João Moutinho. Portugal have plenty of creative players but Diego Jota and Bernardo Silva were a bit disappointing against France. Portugal will need more from them today to create chances for talisman Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo can score any type of goal and, if given the service, could become the all time International Goalscorer today. He is currently level with Iran's Ali Daei on 109 goals. Whatever the result today I wouldn't bet against Ronaldo scoring. The Portuguese weakness has been defensively conceding six goals in their last two games. Belgium will exploit that if given the chance which makes them slight favourites here. There is so much attacking quality here that surely we'll see plenty of goals. This could be a classic.
Frenchfooty prediction: Belgium 3 V Portugal 2
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