Best match
You cannot really look further than Portugal’s 5-0 deconstruction of Germany in the semi-final in Olomouc. The Germany coach, Horst Hrubesch, admitted he was relieved the scoreline had not been worse and with good reason – Portugal were irresistible. This was expected to be the clash of the tournament’s two best teams but it ended up being probably the most one-sided contest of the whole competition.
Player of the tournament
John Guidetti. Picked up the Uefa bronze boot for his two goals but more than that he was the chief talisman and rabble-rouser for the champions. Sweden’s quality should not be underestimated – Oscar Lewicki and Ludwig Augustinsson were particularly good – but it was their tenacity and determination that was the driving factor behind their success. And no one embodied that more than their striker. For pure talent, though, it is a tie between William Carvalho and Bernardo Silva.
Team of the tournament
José Sá (Portugal); Carl Jenkinson (England), Jannik Vestergaard (Denmark), Paulo Oliveira (Portugal), Ludwig Augustinsson (Sweden); Emre Can (Germany), William Carvalho (Portugal), Oscar Lewicki (Sweden); Bernardo Silva (Portugal); John Guidetti (Sweden), Domenico Berardi (Italy).
Best tweet
Stefano Sturaro, Italy, without a shadow of a doubt.
"Sui cadaveri dei leoni festeggiano i cani credendo di aver vinto, ma i leoni rimangono leoni e i cani rimangono cani"
— stefano sturaro (@sturaro_stefano) June 24, 2015
“Dogs celebrate on the corpses of lions, thinking they’ve won, but lions remain lions and dogs stay dogs.”
Sturaro was not particularly impressed with Sweden’s draw against Portugal in the final group game, a result that meant both those teams went through to the semi-finals despite Italy’s win over England.
Best quote
“When you lose 4-1 it’s a bit embarrassing. We’re the best in the Nordics! We’re going to play in the final! We’re Sweden! The rest can just go home!” – John Guidetti gives Denmark both barrels after Sweden’s victory in the semi-final.
Best translation
June 22, Italy’s pre-England-match press conference at the Andruv Stadium. An Italian journalist asks an extremely long question. Italy manager Luigi Di Biagio gives an equally long answer. Italian translator says question is ‘typically Italian question’ and moves on
Best coach
Hakan Ericson. Got so much out of his Sweden team. Their performances – particularly in the final – were characterised by positional discipline and tactical nous and while that did not always make them particularly pleasing on the eye it did maximise the talent at Ericson’s disposal. The setup in the final nullified so much of Portugal’s threat and tempted Rui Jorge into tactical changes that in the end suited Portugal’s opponents.
Best callback
After the presentation of trophy the Swedish team ran towards fans behind goal saluting … a reference to their ill-tempered play-off win over France.
Best referee
Polish official Szymon Marciniak shone in the final. He let the game flow brilliantly and kept his cards in his pocket until late in the game rather than seek to make an unnecessary early statement.
Biggest disappointment
England arrived with great expectations and ended up bottom of their group. Oddly, they were the only team to beat Sweden (although that fact only serves to add to the sense of what might have been).
Loudest fans
Sweden. By a mile.
