Poland beat Switzerland on penalties in the first match with a tempo of play that dictated how the rest of the day went. The Poles started much brighter but both sides looked over cautious with some terrible finishing on show.
Poland took the lead just before half time through Blaszczykowski who finished off a swift counter attack. The midfielder had scored against Ukraine in their final group match and gave his side a deserved lead.
The two Polish forwards - Lewandowski and Milik - looked very poor once again and it was Switzerland who finally perked up in the second half and looked the more likely to score. And their equaliser was a thing of pure beauty.
A speculative cross from Lichsteiner was only half cleared by the Polish defence and, as the ball bobbled up, Xherdan Shaqiri executed a sublime scissor kick volley from the edge of the area that dropped perfectly into the Polish net.
It was a goal that deserved to send Switzerland through but with no more goals added in the ten minutes remaining - or the extra time period - it was penalties in the first knock out match of Euro 2016.
Both sides scored their first attempts before new Arsenal man Granit Xhaka hit his effort wide of the post. The rest of the spot kicks were all successful giving Grzegorz Krychowiak the honour of sending his side through to the quarter finals.
The second match of the day was another tense affair with both Wales and Northern Ireland looking nervous in what was a largely uneventful match. Northern Ireland got control of the game in the first half, nullifying Gareth Bale and looking the better side without really looking like they might score.
Aaron Ramsey was nowhere near as effective as he had been against Russia and Joe Allen looked frustrated at his limited chances to get things going in the middle of the pitch.
Northern Ireland's tactics stopped Gunter and Taylor being able to push forward for the Welsh so their was no chance to pull out the defence splitting diagonal balls that worked so well for them in their final group game.
The game finally opened up a little as time went on and Bale was able to get a few runs going but with little effect until the 75th minute. After beating his man, Bale whipped in a low cross into the six yard box and Gareth McAuley, a hero for Northern Ireland against Ukraine, could only poke it in to his own net in an attempt to stop Hal Robson-Kanu connecting.
Wales are now through to the quarter finals where they will play either Hungary or Belgium on Friday night.
The final match of the day pitted the skillful Croatian side against Ronaldo's Portugal. If we thought that the two previous games had lacked excitement we hadn't seen anything yet. For a match with Modric, Rakitic, Ronaldo and Sanches - plus all the other highly talented players on show - we were presented a turgid match with absolutely no spark or innovation.
Both sides were so desperate not to lose that they simply forgot about trying to win. As the match crept towards the end of extra time, with penalties seemingly on the cards, Croatia finally pushed forward. Unfortunately for them it was their undoing. Perisic hit the base of the post with a header and with the ensuing counter attack Portugal scored.
Nani ultimately crossed from the edge of the area to Ronaldo whose shot was only parried onto the head of the incoming Quaresma. The Croatian players were distraught as the final whistle blew just minutes later and it is a shame that a side that looked so good in their group matches (apart from the capitulation to the Czech Republic) are now on their way home.
Other things I noticed...
- Wolfsburg's Swiss defender Ricardo Rodriguez has been hyped up throughout the tournament but didn't impress in any of the games I saw. Does he play in a different role for his club?
- As much as I admire the unique kit of Croatia, chequered socks are a step too far
- Speaking of kits, the Portugal second strip is an insult to the eyes
- Perisic's hair. We will say no more
Sunday sees three more matches to enjoy/endure with France taking on Ireland in the early game. Although it would be nice to think that the football gods will wreak revenge for Thierry Henry's cheating hand, the hosts will be far too strong and I can see them getting a few goals against a creaky Irish defence. I'm going for 3-0.
Hopefully these games will have a little bit more excitement than Saturday's but Slovakia will be looking to stop Germany play and nick a win so it will be up to the World champions to break their opponents down. I think they eventually will but don't expect a classic. Germany to win 1-0.
Hungary v Belgium in the final game of the day. I fear this will be the last outing for Gabor Kiraly's tracksuit bottoms, as although Belgium have looked far from being the 'golden generation' they should win here. Hungary have showed that they are no pushovers though and kept on coming back against Portugal in the final group game. I think Belgium will win in extra time - 1-0.
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