Day Thirteen in France

After 13 days and 36 games the group stage of Euro 2016 is over. We have said goodbye to a grand total of 8 countries from the original 24. Now the real football starts.

Most of the attention seemed to be on who was going to be the best third placed sides but there was a lot still to determine in both Groups E and F.

The early games saw Iceland play supposed dark horses Austria while Ronaldo battled to keep Portugal in the competition against surprise group leaders Hungary. The matches ended up being two of the best we have seen so far.

Hungary and Portugal traded goals like two over the hill heavyweight boxers slugging it out in the final round. Zoltan Gera struck first for Hungary before Nani brought Portugal back into the match just before half time.

Dzsudzsak twice put Hungary back in the lead only to be pegged back by Ronaldo who at last found some real form. One of the Portuguese captain's goals was a wonderful flick, the other a commanding glancing header. But the two sides couldn't be separated meaning that Hungary won the group they were expected to prop up. Portugal had to make do with scraping through as one of the best third place sides. And that was down to the amazing story that is Iceland.

Once again Iceland were not fancied to take anything from a match and once again they defied expectations. If Austria thought that their opponents would sit back and try to grind out the draw they needed they were sadly mistaken. It took Jon Dadi Bodvarsson under 20 minutes to open the scoring and Iceland had already hit the woodwork before then.

Dragovic missed a first half penalty for Austria befoe they finally drew level on the hour mark. Alessandro Schopf scored a great goal after a Ricky Villa-esque dribble but as much as they tried they couldn't get the second goal that would have put them through to the next round.

But Iceland were not finished. As the seconds ticked away in injury time they sprinted into one last counter attack culminating in Traustason sliding in at the far post to squeeze it past Almer in the Austrian goal to seal the win. Apart from a moment of intense drama it showed the spirit of the Iceland team that should act as a warning to England that they won't be a push over in the second round.

Group E was a little bit more straight forward but no less dramatic. Belgium finally overcame Sweden in a drab game with Chelsea target Radja Nainggolan benefiting from a wicked deflection to score past the Swedish keeper and cement their second place finish.

Italy had already won the group and knowing that they would be facing Spain in the next round rested a number of players. The Azzurri definitely looked a weakened side but Ireland, although performing much better than in their previous two matches, still didn't seem to have the quality that they needed to get the three points that would put them through.

In a last roll of the dice Martin O'Neill put on Wes Hoolahan with just over ten minutes to go. Ireland's most creative player had been dropped in a bid to muscle the Italians out of the match but almost as soon as he came on he was given the perfect chance to score. The pressure got to the Norwich midfielder who could only shoot straight at Sirigu - Buffon's woeful replacement in the Italy goal.

Everyone thought that the one chance Ireland had needed had been and gone but with just five minutes left Hoolahan crossed perfectly onto the head of the very impressive Robbie Brady who expertly found the net and gave Ireland a dramatic victory.

The result was tough on Turkey who would have squeaked into the second round if Ireland hadn't scored but for sheer guts and determination Ireland deserved their win. They now face France on Sunday where I'm sure the fans will remind Thierry Henry of the last time they played each other in an important match.

Other things I have noticed...

• I'm very jealous of Icelandic captain Aron Gunnarsson's beard but his long throws are not really that long (although they do seem to be effective)
• It was only a matter of time before Ronaldo started scoring and the two he got against Hungary were fantastic
• Some of the Ireland players look like they had stepped off the local park to play - although the extra levels of sweating were probably down to the closed roof in Lille
• Such a sad way for Zlatan to finish his international career but he was really left to carry the Swedish side - and he didn't really do that well anyway

Obviously no games today - an absolute outrage - and we will have to wait until Saturday to get back into the swing of things with three second round matches. But never fear, I will still serve you my Euro 2016 ramblings tomorrow with a look ahead to the weekend's games.

Day Eight in France

Some of the better looking sides from the first round of matches were in action on day eight - with decidedly mixed results.

Italy, who looked so impressive in their defeat of Belgium, reverted to type against Zlatan's Sweden in what was largely a very uneventful game. Although the Swedish captain was more involved than in their draw with Ireland, he couldn't inspire the rest of his side into anything too adventurous in what was probably the least exciting game of the tournament so far.

Eder finally put us out of our misery by scoring, admittedly, a very well finished goal in the 88th minute and put Italy through to the knock out stage. Unsurprisingly a foul throw from Chiellini went unpunished and Eder worked some space for himself for a shot after Zaza's vital flick.

Sweden actually started the match quite well but they really haven't looked like they would go very far in the tournament - especially if Zlatan is not performing.

The second game of the day will largely be remembered for the flares thrown on the pitch by disgruntled Croatian fans, but this was the first match to have more than three goals and was a real treat to watch.

Croatia played the majority of the match like they had in their first game and carried on looking like they might have a real chance of winning the whole thing. The Czechs just couldn't cope with the skill and invention of Modric and Rakitic and if was no surprise when they took the lead through Perisic just before half time.

Croatia added a second with about half an hour to go when Rakitic chipped over the advancing Cech after the keeper had put his defender under far too much pressure with a lazy goal kick.

At this point it seemed more a question of how many more Croatia would get than whether the Czech Republic would get back into the match but substitutes once again changed the day.

A wonderful cross from the outside of the Rosicky's boot was met by Skoda whose header flew into the corner of the net. It was sweetly met but I thought the Croatian keeper could have done a much better job of keeping it out.

Modric had already gone off by this time and it was now that the Croatian fans threw a number of flares onto the pitch stopping the match. Seemingly intent on causing the Croatian FA maximum embarrassment and in the hope of incurring a fine - if not more serious repercussions - six or seven flares had to be removed from the pitch while the fans started fighting among themselves.

The whole spectacle seemed to break the Croatian side's concentration and a stupid handball right at the end gave the Czechs a penalty which Necid - another sub - powered past the keeper.

The Czech Republic will now be confident of beating Turkey to qualify for the next round while Croatia, who will also go through, will wait anxiously to see how UEFA react to their fans' behaviour.

In the last game of the day Spain brushed aside Turkey on their way to the next round. Two from Morata and one from Nolito gave Spain the victory in a match where they could easily have scored four or five.

The third goal was a sheer delight with Spain showing everyone that they still know how to move the ball around with 22 passes being made before Morata finished the move off. According to the official statistics Spain had 61% of possession but it is questionable whether De Gea even touched the ball - he wasn't even on screen for the entirety of the evening's highlights package.

The defending champions are looking very good and although I doubted whether they could repeat their feat of four years ago they seem to easily brushing aside their Group D opponents so far.

Other things I noticed yesterday...

• The vibrancy and colour of the Swedish fans are always a great addition to any tournament. Shame the team aren't doing their part
• Not sure it was really necessary for the camera to stay on Croatian captain Srna during the national anthems knowing that his father had died just days before
• Turkey's second kit should always be a white shirt with a red band across the chest. The fact that it is not in this tournament is probably why they were so poor against Spain
• Although there are complex reasons for the disruption in the Croatia game it should be said that their fans have an unsavoury history that is sometimes forgotten - perhaps as Croatia are always seen, in a vastly simplistic manner, as the good guys compared to their Serbian neighbours?
• Modric ran the show against the Czech Republic and will be badly missed for the game against Spain

And so to today's matches. Belgium v Ireland could be a real cracker and although I have no doubt the Irish will be right up for the match, surely Belgium will realise that they need to get a win here if they are to do anything in this tournament. I expect them to be much better than against Italy but still only scrape through 1-0.

Both Iceland and Hungary have an excellent chance to progress thanks to their first games in the group so today's match is vitally important for both sides. As much as I would love Iceland to push on from their draw against Portugal I have a feeling that Hungary will sneak a win, 1-0 again.

The ever lovable Ronaldo will lead his Portugal side against Austria in the evening match knowing that a victory should put them through to the next round. Portugal were very disappointing in their draw with Iceland but should have too much for potential pit ponies Austria even if their captain decides to have a strop again. I'm going 2-0 to Portugal.

Day Four in France

Well yesterday's predictions were spectacularly bad but, as the cliche goes, I'm glad to say that football was in the end the winner.

When will people stop writing Italy off? (At this point I must admit that I also wrote Italy off yesterday but that doesn't make my point any less valid!) Supposedly the worst Italian side in 50 years put on the performance of the tournament so far and beat Belgium's 'golden generation'.

I've mentioned before that I'm not entirely convinced by Belgium and see them as a team of individuals who don't always perform when expected. Last night was a brilliant example of that. Italy played a fast, flowing brand of football with their defenders making the type of 40 yard diagonal balls that Steven Gerrard could only dream about.

The first goal was a thing of beauty. An inch perfect pass from Bonucci, controlled perfectly by Sunderland reject (!) Giaccherini before he slotted it past Courtois in the Belgian goal. And it was nothing more than they deserved. An injury time second goal from Southampton's Graziano Pelle made the victory even sweeter.

Belgium should still qualify from a group that also contains the Republic of Ireland and Sweden but their limitations have been shown once again. This was the best match we've seen so far and with most of the sides having played now it is still completely up in the air as to who will probably win the trophy.

The day started off with Spain seeing off the Czech Republic thanks to a Gerard Pique headed goal three minutes from time. I didn't get to see this match live (I know! Someone should be paying me to watch these games...) but the highlights showed that Spain were well on top with the Czechs looking very lacklustre.

Ireland nearly pulled off what would definitely have been considered an upset but in the end had to be content with a point against Sweden. Zlatan didn't really turn up for the first half and only fine saves from the Swedish keeper and the woodwork (I know they're not made out of wood but I love the terminology) kept Ireland - and Derby's Jeff Kendrick in particular - from taking the lead.

Wes Hoolahan finally opened the scoring in the second half with a lovely finish after Seamus Coleman had done some really good work out on the right. But an own goal levelled the scores with 20 minutes to go and that is how it stayed. Ciaran Clark may have put the ball in the back of his own net but the goal was all down to Ibrahimovic's persistence and it looks like he will have to carry Sweden through the remaining two matches if they have are to have any chance of getting out of the group.

Other things I noticed...

• Loved how Czech defender Roman Hubnik went for the whole 'geography teacher who also takes PE' look (see below)
• What was Pique's goal celebration gesture all about? He looked like an over elaborate Bono
• I used to like Ireland's Jon Walters when he shaved his hair. Now he looks like a sales rep for a small drinks firm in the north west
• Big fan of Ireland's kit - although they stretched authenticity a bit far by using the 'fake Irish pub' font for the names on the back of their shirts
• Italian footballers give the best anthem
• Italy showed the same squad togtherness that Wales did the other day - it will take them far
• Romelu Lukaku is really bad at major tournaments
• Martin Keown is an earnestly appalling co-commentator

And so to today's games. Just the two - what fresh hell is this? - to enjoy. Austria take on Hungary in Bordeaux and will be looking for their own superstar, David Alaba to inspire the side to victory, And they should be too good for Hungary who should have tracksuit trouser wearing custodian Gabor Kiraly in goal. I'm going for a 2-0 victory for Austria.

It sounds like Ricardo Quaresma might miss the match tonight which is a massive shame considering he has had a brilliant season both for his club side Besiktas and the national team. Ronaldo has his own injury worries but should play. Expect Iceland to attempt to stifle the Portuguese creativity but I can't see them keeping them out for the entire match. Portugal are far more than just Ronaldo and I expect them to go far in this tournament. They'll start tonight by winning 2-0.

Unlikely European Heroes

The always excellent Football Pink were good enough to publish something I wrote about IFK Gothenburg's European glory days of the the 1980s. Want to take a look? - IFK Gothenburg