10 memorable moments from Euro 2020 as tournament wraps up

After a full month of football festival on the European continent, the rescheduled Euro 2020 comes to an end today (Sunday) with the final taking place at Wembley.

The Three Lions of England will be battling against the Azzurri of Italy in an encounter that promises to be thrilling, as both teams look to set new records.

The tournament, initially billed for last year’s summer but pushed forward because of the coronavirus pandemic, has seen several memorable moments play out, and Ripples Nigeria’s Ben Ugbana takes a look at some of them.

1. Christian Eriksen’s collapse on the pitch

The football world was sent into a state of shock during Denmark’s opening group fixture against Finland when Danish midfielder Eriksen collapsed on the 43rd minute of the game. The scene saw medical professionals bring him back to consciousness by administering CPR before he was rushed to the hospital where he was stabilized. Players and fans were visibly disturbed by the incident as reports would later suggest the player suffered a cardiac arrest. The game resumed shortly after, and Denmark lost 1-0.

2. Ronaldo equalling all-time international goalscoring record

Perhaps the main Euro 2020 achievement of Juventus forward, Ronaldo was his adding of five more goals to his international tally. Defending champions Portugal could not go past the round of 16 stage, but the group phase was enough to see their talisman bag goals that saw him equal the all-time international goalscoring record of Ali Daei – 109 goals. Ronaldo has also become the all-time leading goalscorer at the Euros with 14 goals.

3. Patrik Schik’s ‘goal of the tournament’ stunner

Czech Republic forward, Schik produced one of the most iconic moments in the Euros after netting from nearly 50 yards to stun the crowd during a Group D clash against Scotland. Schick had seen that Scotland goalkeeper David Marshall was in an advanced position before he fired a sensational strike from the halfway line to bag a goal that is certainly among the top contenders for the best goal of the tournament.

4. Morata’s ‘disappointing’ start that attracted death threats

Spain’s Alvaro Morata was quite unfortunate in the three-time champions’ opening encounters as the front line of the team failed to meet expections. The Juventus forward made it to Twitter’s trend table during and after Spain’s goalless draw with Sweden. And despite scoring against Poland in their 1-1 draw on matchday two, fans were still not pleased. Morata revealed he could not sleep for nine hours after the game as he received death threats and insults to his family. The 28-year-old would later miss a key penalty in Spain’s shootout loss against Italy in the semifinals.

5. Spain vs Croatia eight-goal thriller

Having started their Euro 2020 campaign on a slow note, Spain thrilled the footballing world with a superb encounter in their round of 16 fixture against Croatia. They were 3-1 in front at 85 minutes before conceding two goals within the final five minutes to force the game into extra time. But the Luis Enrique side scored two fine goals in extra time to finish as the winning side in an eight-goal thriller. The game became the second in the list of highest goal-scoring fixtures in the tournament’s history.

Read Also: Pinnick vows to frustrate transfer of Nigerian players to ‘mushroom clubs’ in Europe

6. Upset of the tournament – Switzerland stunning favourites France

The night that saw France’s exit at the Euro 2020 was one of the most memorable nights of the competition. World champions France had been tipped as favorites to win the tournament even before it started in June. But in a round of 16 clash against an incredible Switzerland team, the star-studded French squad were knocked out after losing 5-4 on penalties following a 3-3 scoreline at the end of 120 minutes of play.

7. Pogba’s screamer, Mbappe’s missed penalty in one night

The ouster of France made the headlines with Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba in most articles. Mbappe missed the decisive penalty that gave Switzerland the victory. The Paris Saint-Germain forward would later apologize to fans and his country after the miss. However, Pogba’s second-half goal for France was one of the most beautiful sights to behold in the tournament. The Manchester United forward scored a screamer from about 20 yards to put France in command for a moment before defeat loomed.

8. Ukraine’s last-minute winner against Sweden

Artem Dovbyk scored a dramatic 120th minute winner to send Ukraine through to the quarterfinals. It was an incredible moment for the Andriy Shevchenko side, who had been considered underdogs in the round of 16 tie. Swededn had gotten ahead early via Oleksandr Zinchenko’s left-footed shot before Emil Forsberg’s equaliser in the first half. It was in the absolute dying phase of extra time that Dovbyk sent Ukraine to the next round where they would later face exit against England.

9. Jorginho’s ‘Ballon d’Or winning penalty’ for Italy

The winning penalty for Italy against Spain in the semifinals was scored by Chelsea star, Jorginho, who has been tipped to win this year’s Ballon d’Or. Having helped Chelsea seal their second Champions League title in May, Jorginho scored the decisive spot-kick to send the Azzurri to the final of the international competition. The beauty of the moment was how the midfielder was able to calmly slot in his country’s fifth kick under the highest of pressure.

10. Sterling’s controversial extra-time penalty win against Denmark

The 104th-minute penalty that eventually sealed a 2-1 win for England in the semifinal was won via a controversial fall by Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling. The forward appeared to have dived but despite check by VAR, a penalty was awarded, and Harry Kane scored from a rebound. The semifinal victory saw England advance to their first-ever final at the Euros and also their first major finals since 1966.

In all, there would most likely be some more memorable moments during the final game of the tournament tonight, to be played between hosts England and Italy at Wembley.

The kick-off is 8:00p.m Nigeria time.

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