Category: Europe

Iceland shirts are selling best in Scotland, home to England’s most dedicated trolls

It should come as no surprise that Iceland kitmaker Errea has been unable to keep up with global demand for the shirts of Euro 2016’s undisputed darlings. It should also come as no surprise that the place where demand is highest for the shirt of the nation that stunned and embarrassed England by beating them 2-1 in the round of 16 is Scotland, the place where trolling England is a national pastime (especially when they’re the only nation of the British Isles not to qualify for a major tournament).

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Cristiano Ronaldo surrenders spotlight to help Portugal reach Euro 2016 semifinals

When you reach the penalty shootout in the quarterfinals of a major tournament without winning a single match in 90 minutes, ideal scenarios lose importance. This was the situation Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal found themselves in against Poland, after three draws in the group stage and needing 117 minutes to score against Croatia in the round of 16.

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Will Grigg became Euro 2016’s standout player without actually playing

Like the World Cup, the Euros have a history of turning little known players into highly sought after stars with a few dazzling performances over the course of a several weeks. But Euro 2016 has proven different in that the player it has launched to international stardom didn’t actually play a single minute at the tournament.

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The galvanizing madness of Antonio Conte propels Italy past Spain

Spain dismantled Italy in the Euro 2012 final, winning 4-0 to claim their third consecutive major trophy. Two years later at the 2014 World Cup, both nations made shocking exits in the group stage with one win and two losses each. At this point, Spain decided to stay the course with the firmly entrenched and historically successful Vicente Del Bosque, but Italy made a change, replacing Cesare Prandelli with Antonio Conte. And two years after that, Italy have now beaten Spain 2-0 in the Euro 2016 round of 16. And this reversal of fortunes is largely down to the men in the technical area.

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Steve McClaren illustrates the delusion of superiority that contributes to England’s failure

Despite claims that England’s loss to Iceland is “one of the greatest shocks in the history of soccer,” anyone who has watched Iceland over the last couple years or England over the last 50 should have been able to predict the result of their Euro 2016 knockout-stage meeting.

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Thierry Henry tries to play it cool as he gets a ribbing for Ireland handball incident

Ireland’s Euro 2016 knockout stage opener against host nation France got off to a karmic start as they were awarded a penalty in the opening minutes that Robbie Brady converted to give them an early 1-0 lead. This gave the BBC studio team of Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Rio Ferdinand a chance to rib their colleague — Thierry Henry, the man whose infamous handball for France helped keep Ireland out of the 2010 World Cup.

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Shakira, Peter Crouch take credit for Xherdan Shaqiri’s Euro 2016 wonder goal

Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri scored a brilliant overhead kick before his side lost to Poland on penalties. It invited a warranted amounted of praise, but it also inspired some jokes. 

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