1. Antonio Conte is a bit special
Chelsea must be mighty pleased. Conte’s tactical triumph in stilling the much-lauded talents of Belgium, as well as quelling Zlatan in Toulouse, made Italy the second team to reach the knockout stage, and served as a clear indication of a manager hitting his stride. His record for Italy now reads: W W W D D D W W W W W W. Goals: 19, Conceded: 7, Clean sheets: 6
2. It’s best not to patronise Iceland
There was only one way for Iceland to respond when Cristiano Ronaldo laid into their approach by calling them a team with a “small mentality” who are “not going to do anything” at Euro 2016. In their 1-1 draw, he said, Iceland had the temerity to “park the bus in the net”. “Sore loser,” responded Iceland’s Kari Arnason. “Tough shit. He fannies about and dives around.” Saturday night’s penalty bungle had #Karma trending online.
3. Götze’s decline shows no sign of slowing down
Although he belongs to a select group of players who have scored the winner in a World Cup final, Mario Götze’s performances in Germany’s opening two matches have emphasised why Bayern Munich want to sell him. Shoehorned in as a false No9 against Poland and Ukraine, the former teenage sensation was low on confidence, a minimal goal threat and rarely capable of beating a man.
4. Teams love leaving it late
We’ve seen just 14 goals in the first half of games so far this summer, and 16 after the 76th minute – including seven in or after the 90th. England learned the hard way against Russia, then joined the club against Wales, emulating Italy, Northern Ireland, Hungary, Germany and France.
England fans celebrating Daniel Sturridge's late winner. Beer everywhere! https://t.co/8moplKxRfs
— The Boot Room (@tbrfootball) June 16, 2016
5. Tear gas isn’t soothing
Two big lessons from the police tactics in France so far: a) keeping the peace by lobbing gas and stun grenades at drunks needs a rethink; and b) deporting Russia’s gumshield-wearers without also cancelling their visas represents a loophole. Of 20 Russians deported on Saturday, all plan to return to France for the match against Wales on Monday.
6. The grass isn’t always greener
“The pitches should be better and we’re not happy,” says Uefa’s unhappy tournament director, Martin Kallen. Grass at Marseille, Lille and Saint-Denis is causing the most concern, with Uefa specialists rolled out to oversee heavy extra forking. Croatian flares don’t help.
7. Close-ups of managers are a mixed blessing
“I’m sorry for it. When you are full of adrenaline, things happen that you don’t perceive,” said Joachim Löw after distressing the continent with his in-trouser scratch and sniff. “It was adrenaline. I will try to behave differently in the future.”
8. Daytime TV swearing gets you nowhere
After his foul-mouthed televised exhortations towards a ballboy at the 2014 World Cup, Joe Hart has been at it again – letting go in the tunnel before the Wales game, urging his team‑mates on camera to “get that ball, move the fucking ball”. Forty-two minutes later, Gareth Bale followed his instructions to a tee, from 35 yards out. Cue multiple Total Eclipse of Joe Hart gags online.
9. France finally understand Payet
Displaying the neat precision that comes naturally to a man who used to fold clothes for a living, Dimitri Payet created 14 chances in his first two matches. They are no longer immune to the West Ham forward’s charms in France. A mixture of drama and quality, his goal against Romania was the on-pitch highlight of the opening week.
10. Bigger is better
Fears that adding eight more teams would make this tournament football’s answer to the Cricket World Cup – a sprawling, draining mess of a group stage – were misplaced. The so-called smaller teams have seized the moment and added to the excitement, from Northern Ireland’s win over Ukraine to Iceland holding Portugal to Albania giving hosts France a run for their money.
11. Computer game tactics can pay off
Under pressure, trailing at half-time, feeling frustrated and running out of options? Every Football Manager bedroom tactician knows what to do next: ditch the meticulous planning and throw on every available striker. Roy Hodgson pulled it off in real life, then celebrated with the tournament’s best mixed metaphor so far – explaining why he started Vardy and Sturridge on the bench. “I didn’t want to start breaking eggs with a big stick. I thought I would keep one or two up my sleeve.”
12. Bilic is a gift to TV punditry
Given that ITV treated us to the delights of Fabio Cannavaro learning English on the hoof in Brazil two years ago, it’s fair to say lessons have been learned. Slaven Bilic has stood out so far among the summer’s in-studio, on-table pundits. Intelligent, incisive and unkempt, he’s been praised for delivering the tournament’s most worthwhile analysis while still managing to name‑check Dimitri Payet in every second sentence.
13. England will need to monitor Hamsik
That was a brilliant goal Marek Hamsik scored in Slovakia’s win over Russia, shimmying inside from the left before sending a vicious, snarling curler well beyond Igor Akinfeev into the far corner. The mohawk-haired, buck-toothed Napoli midfielder was inspirational, and could hurt England on Monday. “I think he deserves a move to a really big club and I hope he gets one after the Euros,” says his national coach, Jan Kozak, who clearly won’t be spending much downtime in Naples in the near future.
14. Everyone loves Ireland fans
Le Monde billed them “the model fans of Euro 2016”, French magazine SoFoot asked “Are the Irish fans the best in the world?” Among the evidence so far: trademark “Angela Merkel thinks we’re at work” banners, and viral footage of Ireland fans serenading a nun on a train, tidying up after themselves in Bordeaux while chanting “Clean up for the boys in green”, changing an elderly French couple’s flat tyre, singing “Stand up for the French police”, and giving a surprised Paris resident the full Bieber treatment by mass cheering him every time he appeared on his balcony.
15. Tony Pulis is a purist
Called up by ITV to co-commentate on the Spain pass-and-move tiki-taka action against Turkey, Pulis played it straight – spending his first 10 minutes on air criticising the quality of set pieces. But he did give the reigning champions some credit – “Spain have top players, Clive. Top, top players” – and earned some plaudits online. @JonnyGabriel: “Clive Tyldesley and Tony Pulis are the new Ant and Dec.”
16. Tweets can come back to haunt you
Poor £49m Raheem Sterling. After two laid-back outings up and down England’s left flank, fans found a new way to take swipes at him, by retweeting some of his most laid-back archived messages. Among them: @sterling7 8 July 2014: “Feeling really lazy today”; and 4 Aug 2013...
Today I don't feel like doing anything , nothing at all !!!!! 🎵🎵🎵🎵
— Raheem Sterling (@sterling7) August 4, 2013
