EURO 2024 Roundup, Matchday 6
Here is a recap of the games that took place in Matchday 6 of EURO 2024, highlighting unexpected outcomes and standout individual performances.
Croatia 2-2 Albania
Albania managed to come from behind to secure a crucial draw against Croatia in their first-ever encounter, leaving both teams with one point each in the Euro 2024 tournament. The outcome of Group B’s final matches will determine their progression. Albania, who had previously surprised Italy with the fastest goal in UEFA European Championship history, once again started strong in their second group game. They took an early lead with a goal from Qazim Laçi after just 11 minutes. Despite Croatia’s efforts to equalize, Albania continued to play aggressively rather than defensively. Croatia struggled to create clear scoring opportunities throughout the first half as Albania maintained their attacking threat.
After making some changes at halftime, the Croatian manager injected new energy into his team. Despite the score remaining the same as the hour mark passed, the favorites eventually equalized when Andrej Kramarić scored. This goal sparked Croatia into action, and they continued to press forward, leading to a goal by Ante Budimir after a crucial pass across the goal. Albania tried to find a late equalizer, but it was Gjasula who scored a stoppage-time goal, sending their fans into celebration. This thrilling finish allowed Sylvinho’s team to secure a late point before their final group match against Spain. Croatia, on the other hand, will need a positive result against Italy to progress from the group stage.
Germany 2-0 Hungary
Germany secured their spot in the knockout stage of Euro 2024 by defeating Hungary 2-0 in Stuttgart. The two teams entered the match with contrasting form from their previous Group A matches. Germany almost conceded an early goal due to a mistake by Joshua Kimmich, but Manuel Neuer was quick to react and denied Hungary’s Roland Sallai. Musiala later scored for Germany after a well-executed play involving İlkay Gündoğan. Hungary protested that a foul had been committed in the build-up to the goal, but VAR confirmed the goal. Hungary responded with attempts from their captain, Domink Szoboszlai, but were unable to score.
In the beginning of the second half, the hosts had the first opportunity to score, but Péter Gulácsi made two quick saves to deny them. He first blocked Gündoğan’s shot from a tight angle, then held onto Toni Kroos’ deflected rebound. Shortly after, Jonathan Tah was caught off guard by Varga, but the Ferencváros striker missed the target with his header in front of his cheering fans. Germany capitalized on this missed chance as Gündoğan scored from a pass by Maximilian Mittelstädt, securing the three points needed for progression to the next round. The home fans in Stuttgart erupted with relief as the victory was sealed.
Scotland 1-1 Switzerland
Scotland was unable to secure their first UEFA European Championship victory since 1996 as Xherdan Shaqiri’s impressive goal helped Switzerland to secure a comeback draw in Group A. Despite suffering a heavy defeat to Germany in their previous match, Scotland quickly took the lead against Switzerland. However, Switzerland, with their most experienced Euros starting XI, remained composed. Xherdan Shaqiri equalized with a brilliant shot from outside the box after Anthony Ralston’s mistake. Switzerland continued to dominate, with Dan Ndoye’s goal being disallowed for offside after Angus Gunn’s error.
Switzerland continued to trouble Scotland’s defense in the second half. Switzerland thought they had scored again through Breel Embolo, but the goal was disallowed for offside. Scotland showed improvement from their previous heavy defeat to Germany with a more resilient performance against Switzerland, earning a valuable point to keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stage alive. Switzerland relied on Shaqiri’s moment of brilliance to secure second place in Group A, maintaining an unbeaten record in 13 of their last 15 major tournament group games.
