Bundesliga at the Euros, Day 11
Groups B and C concluded today with 2 more teams booking their place in the round of 16. North Macedonia v Netherlands, Ukraine v Austria, Russia v Denmark, and Finland v Belgium were the matches today, here is what happened.
Netherlands finish flawless
The Netherlands made it 3 from 3 in group C as they beat North Macedonia 3-0 in the Johan Cruyff ArenA. A brace from Georginio Wijnaldum to add to the Memphis Depay opener was enough for the Dutch to sail through group C without dropping a point. North Macedonian captain Goran Pandev was given a guard of honor in the 68th minute as he was substituted in his 122nd and final appearance for his country, a true national hero that made history for his nation scoring their first goal at a major tournament was given the respect that he both earned and deserved. Wout Weghorst from Wolfsburg and Darko Churlinov from Stuttgart both came off the bench for their respective nations but could not trouble the scores.
North Macedonia Starting XI: (4-2-3-1)
Dimitrievski
Ristovski - Velkovski - Musliu - Alioski
Ademi - Bardhi
Trickovski - Elmas - Trajkovski
Pandev
Netherlands Starting XI: (5-3-2)
Stekelenburg
Dumfries - De Vrij - De Ligt - Blind - Van Aanholt
De Jong - Wijnaldum - Gravenberch
Depay - Malen
Austria qualify for round of 16
Austria have qualified for the round of 16 in a European Championship for the first time in their history as a goal from Hoffenheim's Christoph Baumgartner was enough to see off Ukraine 1-0 in the National Arena in Bucharest. A fantastic corner from David Alaba was met by Baumgartner to give Austria the lead. Daniel Bachmann performed an excellent double-save to deny Shaparenko and Yarmolenko to keep Austria's lead intact. Franco Foda's side have qualified in 2nd behind the Netherlands and will take on Italy at Wembley Stadium.
Ukraine Starting XI: (4-3-3)
Bushchan
Karavaev - Zabarnyi - Matvienko - Mykolenko
Shaparenko - Sydorchuk - Zinchenko
Yarmolenko - Yaremchuk - Malinovskyi
Austria Starting XI: (4-3-2-1)
Bachmann
Lainer - Dragovic - Hinteregger - Alaba
Laimer - Grillitsch - Schlager
Baumgartner - Sabitzer
Arnautovic
Belgium cruise through as group winners
The number 1 ranked side in the world once again showed their class, as an own goal from Lukas Hradecky and a goal from Romelu Lukaku gave Belgium a 2-0 victory over Finland and made sure the Red Devils went through group B flawless. Finland still had hope of qualifying as runners-up to Belgium but were unable to find the back of Thibaut Courtois' net. A corner flighted in from the far side was met by an unmarked Thomas Vermaelen, whose header hit the post and bounced off Hradecky's back and over the line before the Bayer Leverkusen keeper could reach back for it. Lukaku got his goal with a well-placed finish in the bottom corner after having his first goal ruled out for offside by VAR.
Finland Starting XI: (5-3-2)
Hradecky
Raitala - Toivio - Arajuuri - O'Shaughnessy - Uronen
Lod - Sparv - Kamara
Pohjanpalo - Pukki
Belgium Starting XI: (3-4-3)
Courtois
Boyata - Denayer - Vermaelen
Trossard - De Bruyne - Witsel - Chadli
Doku - Lukaku - Hazard
Danish delight in Copenhagen
Unbelievable scenes in the Parken Stadion in Copenhagen, as Denmark put in an incredible second-half display to beat Russia 4-1 and qualify for the last 16 as runners-up to Belgium. It started well for the Danish, as young Mikkel Damsgaard found the back of the net with a pearler from the edge of the box. Denmark were gifted a 2nd after a very poor backpass from Russian defender Georgi Dzhikiya fell very kindly to RB Leipzig striker Yussuf Poulsen who doubled the Danish lead. Denmark needed some help from Belgium and thought they got it when Lukaku scored, but VAR ruled it out and at the same time Russia were awarded a penalty. Russia captain Artem Dzyuba stepped up and scored, and the nerves really kicked in for Danish supporters. Nerves were slightly eased when news of the Hradecky own goal filtered through the stands and then onto the pitch, but they were well and truly settled after a goal-mouth scramble had the ball cleared out partially by Russia, only for Chelsea center-back Andreas Christensen to unleash a first-time rocket which sent the Parken crazy. Denmark sealed the deal when Joachim Maehle strided forward from left-wing-back to roll into the corner to make it 4-1. The final whistle blew and the stands erupted with joy, beer splashed all over the pitch and the Danish players got into a huddle to confirm they were through, when the moment of realization hit it was pandemonium inside the Parken Stadion. A true fairytale story that Hans-Christian Andersen would've been proud of.
Russia Starting XI: (3-5-2)
Safonov
Diveev - Kudryashov - Dzhikiya
Fernandes - Ozdoev - Zobnin - Golovin - Kuzyaev
Miranchuk - Dzuyba
Denmark Starting XI: (3-4-2-1)
Schmeichel
Christensen - Kjaer - Vestergaard
Wass - Delaney - Hojbjerg - Maehle
Braithwaite - Damsgaard
Poulsen