Earlier in the day I heard Austria being described as 'potential dark horses' which seemed very faint praise indeed. Not even nailed on dark horses - just the potential to be one. Much was made of these dark ponies and when David Alaba hit the post in the first minute it looked as if it was going to be a very long 90 minutes for Hungary.
But Kiraly's tracksuit trousers inspired the not so magnificent Magyars and after Szalai had scored his first goal since about 1965, Austria were given an even harder task when Dragovic was sent off. The dark shetlands were always going to find it difficult after that and a sublime finish from Steiber made it two with minutes to spare.
Austria looked very ordinary and once again it was teamwork and togetherness that won through. Beautiful huh? The only disappointment was the lack of a Franz Ferdinand half time entertainment show (that's one for you history lovers out there).
The second match brought us an even bigger upset with Iceland grinding out a draw against Ronaldo's Portugal. Iceland looked in trouble in the first half with little invention and a real problem getting the ball out of their own half. They did have an early chance but it was no surprise when Nani scored the opener in the 31st minute after some nice work by Andre Gomes on the right.
It can never really be said that Ronaldo is anonymous in a match but he wasn't demanding the ball and running at the opposing defence and the more the game went on the more Iceland grew in confidence. This paid off just after the break when Bjarnason finished off a nice move and drew Iceland level.
Although Portugal did have the majority of possession after that it would unfair to say that Iceland simply parked the bus. They defended well but attacked when possible and thoroughly deserved the draw. It is probably fair to say that not many people would have had Hungary on top of the group after the first matches.
Other things I noticed...
- Although all footballers dive these days Hungary surely have to be the kings of the pathetic exaggeration
- The referee in the Austria v Hungary match was Clement Turpin. I like that a lot.
- Apparently Iceland has a population roughly the same as Leicester. Is everything comparable to Leicester these days?
- For some reason I was disappointed with the lack of beards in the Iceland side
- Is there a bigger pantomime villain in the world of football than Pepe?
- Did anyone else notice a Germany flag with 'Fuchtorf' written across it at the Portugal v Iceland match? Think about it...
So everyone has played one match now and while no one team has stood out, there have been some good performances - many from nations that you wouldn't have expected it from. I've been impressed with Croatia, Italy and Germany without thinking any of them will definitely be going all the way. There are some big names that need points in the second round of games so we should be in for a bit of a treat over the next few days.
Back to three matches on day six. Russia v Slovakia in the early game. Neither of these sides looked particularly good in their first outing and I can see another draw on the cards - I'm going for 1-1.
A draw would probably be enough for Switzerland but I think they will get another win against Romania. They didn't impress against Albania but a favourable schedule will help them through. I predict a 2-1 Swiss victory.
I've completely reversed my prediction of Albania as dark horses (light cows?) and fully expect France to comprehensively beat them in Marseille. I'm fully aware that this will probably mean Albania will win now but I'm going for a 3-0 French victory. Allez les Bleus!
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