GOLDEN CANADIANS 50 GREAT ANTICIPATIONS

champions Portugal, and a committed Hungary side backed by full crowds in Budapest. After some fascinating head-to-head battles, they advanced as group winners and seemed as if they were going through the gears before unleashing their full prowess in the knockout stages. But then came the sensational penalty shootout defeat by Switzerland and the manner of it, which sent shockwaves across Europe. At that moment, it felt like anything might be possible. Belgium looked formidable in breezing through the group stage with a 100% record and then bringing Portugal’s title defence to an end courtesy of Thorgan Hazard’s superb strike, only to fall victim to irrepressible Italy as their golden generation again came up short. There were disappointments too for Germany, losing to old rivals England in the last 16 in coach Joachim Low’s final act, and the Netherlands, who fell apart against the Czech Republic in their first major tournament since the 2014 World Cup. The Dutch were at least involved in one of the best matches of the group stage as they overcame Ukraine late on despite surrendering a two-goal lead. That was one of a clutch of pulsating encounters sprinkled across the four weeks, including Germany’s thrilling 4-2 win over Portugal, Sweden clinching top spot in Group E with a last-gasp goal against Poland, and the gripping first semi-final between Italy and Spain where both teams maintained phenomenally high standards for the entire 120 minutes. And who could forget memorable Monday? June 28 was surely the most extraordinary day of action in European Championship history, as two astonishing last16 games produced 14 goals, non-stop drama, and two scarcely-believable comebacks. Spain somehow allowed a comfortable 3-1 lead slip against Croatia before prevailing 5-3 after extra time, and then came the infamous demise of France. It looked like Les Bleus had rescued a tricky situation when Karim Benzema’s double and a wonder strike from Paul Pogba punished Switzerland for missing a penalty which would have put them 2-0 up just moments earlier. It seemed like game over, but the Swiss deservedly hit back in the final 10 minutes and went on to win as Kylian Mbappe capped a campaign to forget by failing with the crucial spot-kick. It was an absolute classic. Pogba’s sublime curler was one of the goals of the tournament along with Andriy Yarmolenko’s beauty against the Netherlands and a screamer from Denmark defender Andreas Christensen in their thumping win over Russia, but the best of the lot was Patrick Schick’s breathtaking 50-yard e ort against Scotland. The Czech Republic striker went on to be one of the stars of Euro 2020, with his five goals matched only by Golden Boot

EURO 2020 AWARDS

winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who became the leading scorer in the competition’s history and equalled the world record of 109 in international men’s football. Italy hero Gianluigi Donnarumma was named Player of the Tournament, but many of the other standout performers were full-backs, just to illustrate how e ective they are in this day and age. Leonardo Spinazzola was a constant weapon for the Azzurri until being cruelly struck down by injury, Joakim Maehle was equally relentless for Denmark and scored twice, and nobody caught the eye more for the Netherlands than Denzel Dumfries, who was essentially an auxiliary striker. The abiding memory of Euro 2020 is that it was a finals like no other. Every host city brought a di erent atmosphere and flavour, and most importantly it caught fire on the pitch. There was extra time aplenty, more own goals than in all the previous Euros combined, strength shown in extreme adversity, and very worthy champions at the end. After 51 games and 142 goals, Italy showed that they’re the real deal once again.

ABOVE: Underdogs Czech Republic made it to the quarter finals.

BELOW: Pre-tournament favourites France su ered a shock penalty shootout defeat to Switzerland in the last 16

‘‘JUNE 28 WAS SURELY THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY DAY OF ACTION IN EUROS HISTORY, AS IT BROUGHT 14 GOALS, & TWO SCARCELYBELIEVABLE COMEBACKS’’

As the dust settles from Italy’s Euro 2020 success, Stephen Donovan looks at those who went home with the individual honours

PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: GIANLUIGI DONNARUMMA Faultless throughout Italy’s path to victory, Donnarumma showed exactly why he’s a world-class goalkeeper, not least when making two decisive saves in the shootout to beat England in the final. An imposing figure between the posts, he ultimately emerged the hero and has proved the natural successor to Gianluigi Bu on.

YOUNG PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT: PEDRI A special mention to Denmark’s Mikkel Damsgaard, but the meteoric rise of Pedri continues to astound. It feels crazy to believe that he has only one season of senior football behind him, but now the 18-year-old has become just as indispensable to Spain as he is for Barcelona with his dynamic midfield performances.

COACH OF THE TOURNAMENT: ROBERTO MANCINI Several coaches enhanced their reputations at Euro 2020, but Mancini’s transformation of Italy since taking charge is nothing short of phenomenal. With a neat and expansive style of play, he’s built a side that feels almost impossible to beat and instilled a fearsome mentality that carried them all the way.

TOP SCORER: CRISTIANO RONALDO Despite Portugal being eliminated in the last 16, Cristiano Ronaldo still managed to claim the Golden Boot and a bunch of records. His five goals all came in the group stage, the most impressive being a skilful finish against Hungary as he moved well clear as the top scorer in the competition’s history.

REVELATION OF THE TOURNAMENT: RAHEEM STERLING Many England supporters felt that Sterling wasn’t worthy of a place in England’s starting XI for the Euros, but coach Gareth Southgate kept faith with the Manchester City forward and he truly delivered. Three goals and a succession of top-drawer performances saw Sterling deservedly named in the Team of the Tournament.

GOLDEN CANADIANS

While this year’s tournament was held under interesting circumstances (no fans were allowed in the stadium and players were largely confined to their hotel rooms aside from travel) the competition was sti . For Canada and coach Bev Priestman, their group stage was no cakewalk facing hosts Japan, Chile, and tournament favorites Great Britain. A 2-1 win over Chile was bookended by two draws that on paper were good results, but were troublesome given that Canada had led in both matches. But the results were enough to earn Bev Priestman’s side a spot in the knockout round. It was an opportunity that Canada, and in particular their defense, seized on. In the quarterfinals, they held Brazil and Marta scoreless defeating the South American powerhouses 4-3 in penalties. The back four and goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe put on a similar stellar performance in the semifinals, blanking the United States 1-0. Getting past the United States and extinguishing the ghosts of 2008 was certainly a step in the right direction, but the biggest hurdle still remained: winning gold. While Canada’s golden generation of players (Labbe, Christine Sinclair, Allysha Chapman, Erin McLeod, and Desiree Scott) have impressed at both the Olympics and the World Cup they have never made a final at the senior level.

ABOVE: The entire Canadian Women's National Team posing with their new Gold Medals from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

BOTTOM LEFT: Team Canada celebrates after scoring a goal during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

BOTTOM RIGHT: Stephanie Labbe, Canada's Goalkeeper Their two bronze medals at the London and Rio de Janeiro Olympics are certainly signs of the improvement that Canadian women’s soccer have made through the years but for a group that expects to win third place wasn’t good enough. So the timing seemed perfect in terms of where this side is at in their careers and where Canadian soccer is going. Against Sweden though, a gold medal wasn’t a slam dunk. The Swedes led by Stinus Blacksteinus (five goals) had dominated the competition outscoring opponents 13-3. There is also a bit of history between the two sides with the same Sweden side having ended Canada’s hopes of World Cup glory in 2019 in France. The two matches played out in a very

“WHEN I STEP ON THE PITCH, THAT'S MY COMFORT ZONE.”

“WE CAME HERE WITH THE GOAL OF CHANGING THE COLOUR OF THE MEDAL AND WE LANDED ON THE PODIUM. NEVER SAY DIE.”

similar fashion with Blackstenius giving the Swedes the lead and Canada having to pry open a tightly organized defense. But in the second half, Canada found their footing on the attack using their size and speed to create some attacking chances. In the 67th minute Sinclair earned her side a penalty after video replay showed a foul inside the Swedish penalty box. With the chance to bring her team level, midfielder Jesse Fleming delivered, scoring her second goal in as many games. After the remainder of the second half and extratime saw the match still tied, the two teams went into penalties. The drama continued to ramp up as Labbe and Swedish goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl each made several key stops to the score at 2-2. In the sixth and decisive round Labbe’s save on a shot by Jonna Anderson and Julia Grosso’s strike sealed the result for Canada.

ABOVE: Veteran leader Christine Sinclair has been scoring goals for Canada for her whole career.

LEFT: Desiree Scott, a core player for the Canadian Women's National Team

BOTTOM LEFT: Alex Morgan celebrates after winning the bronze medal during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

BOTTOM RIGHT: Bev Priestman did a fantastic job coaching her team to the Gold Medal this past summer

USWNT EARN BRONZE BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN

While their neighbors to the north were celebrating their first Olympic Gold, the tone around the United States Women’s National Team is a little more subdued. Despite earning a bronze medal, the feeling about coming up short and what could have been have overtaken any sort of revelry. Third place games in international football are typically a mix of veteran players getting one last chance to put on the jersey and younger players a chance to say hello for the first time. For the USWNT the first part was definitely true, with veterans Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe each scoring a brace to earn third place. Longtime veteran defender Becky Sauerbrunn once again ran the defense and midfielders Christen Press and Lindsay Horan managed the match through the middle. But as had been the case throughout the tournament something seemed to be missing. Against a younger Australian side, the veterans struggled to keep up relying heavily on their experience to get them out of tough situations. While that helped secure the result this was the bronze medal match, not the gold medal match. For a side that is accustomed to being in championships it seemed like a bit of a downer. This wasn’t the first time that the USWNT didn’t look like the USWNT. In group play, they were picked apart by Sweden 3-0 and had an underwhelming draw against the Aussies. While they did earn a big win over minnows New Zealand to punch their ticket to the next round, it still didn’t inspire much confidence. Things seemed to turn around against the Netherlands, giving supporters a bit of hope heading into their semifinal match against Canada. But a lack of attacking spice in the semifinals spelled an end to their Olympic Gold Medal aspirations. For the USWNT and Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski a change is needed. The Summer Olympics exposed the age of the current roster and not having young players on their bench to go to change the pace hurt them. It is never easy to make a change in a national team roster but given the recent run of results and the improvements that other national teams have made; it may be time.