EPL Players at EURO 2024 – Day 12
The round of 16 is starting to take shape more and more after groups C and D came to an end in yesterday’s four games. As part of our EPLNews EURO 2024 report, here is how Premier League players performed in these games.
France 1-1 Poland
Robert Lewandowski’s second half penalty goal meant that Poland secured their first and only point at the EUROs but, more importantly for the rest of the tournament, prevented France from topping group D.
Premier League players in this game did not perform very well, especially Jakub Kiwior, who gave away a penalty scored by Kylian Mbappe to open the scoring. Jakub Moder was perhaps the Prem’s standout in Dortmund, as he featured in midfield for Poland and was one of his team’s better players.
Ratings
France: William Saliba (Arsenal) – 6.5
Poland: Jan Bednarek (Southampton) – 6.5; Jakub Kiwior (Arsenal) – 5.5; Jakub Moder (Brighton) – 7
You can find highlights and reactions by clicking here.
Netherlands 2-3 Austria
The other game in group D was an entertaining, topsy-turvy affair in Berlin that saw Austria prevail over Netherlands to finish top of the group.
Some suspect Dutch defending in the opening minutes meant that Austria was finding unusual amounts of space and scored the first goal of the contest via a Donyell Malen own goal. Shortly after the break, Netherlands equalised through a well taken goal by Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo.
However, it didn’t last too long, as Austria equalised just before the hour mark through Romano Schmid. With a quarter of an hour to go, Memphis Depay scored the goal that drew the two teams level again and, had the score stayed that way, would have virtually ensured that both Austria and the Oranje were through to the round of 16.
But former EPL player Marcel Sabitzer had other ideas, as he scored the winning goal five minutes later.
Only the Netherlands had Premier League players on show for this clash and, for the most part, they underperformed. Captain Virgil van Dijk led a defence that conspired to concede three times, giving Austrian attackers acres of space to create threatening chances.
The best EPL player in the game was attacker Cody Gakpo, who scored a goal and fashioned a couple of other chances.
Ratings
Netherlands: Bart Verbruggen (Brighton) – 5.5; Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) – 5.5; Nathan Ake (Manchester City) – 6; Cody Gakpo (Liverpool) – 7.5; Micky van de Ven (Tottenham) – 6
Austria: N/A
Click here for highlights, reactions and details from this game.
Denmark 0-0 Serbia
Denmark have secured second place in group C after a third draw in three games, this time a nervy and cagey affair against Serbia, in Munich.
The nature of the game was not too surprising, given that both teams were aware of the high stakes and the risks tied to conceding a goal. Possession was split 50-50, xG registered was 1.21 in total and the quality of football suffered, despite Serbia’s efforts to bring on as many attacking players as possible in search of a goal that would have taken them to the next round.
In terms of Premier League players, obviously no one covered themselves in glory, as defences held firm in the face of poor quality chances.
Ratings
Denmark: Joachim Andersen (Crystal Palace) – 7.5; Jannik Vestergaard (Leicester) – 7; Pierre-Emile Højbjerg (Tottenham) – 6.5; Christian Eriksen (Manchester United) – 6.5; Rasmus Højlund (Manchester United) – 6
Serbia: Saša Lukić (Fulham) – 6.5
You may click here for reactions and highlights from this game.
England 0-0 Slovenia
Another drab performance from the Three Lions saw them secure a draw against Slovenia and top spot in group C. The only highlight of the first half was a goal from Bukayo Saka, disallowed for an offside in the build-up.
England dominated large portions of this match, but it proved to be aimless and fruitless, as they finished it with only three efforts on target. However, it was a draw that meant a lot for the Slovenians, as they have now qualified for the round of 16 from third place in the group.
There were plenty of EPL players in this game, but no one really rose to the occasion. As expected yesterday, Conor Gallagher replaced the criticised Trent Alexander-Arnold in the starting line-up, but Gareth Southgate’s switch failed to inspire a better midfield performance from his team.
Ratings
England: Jordan Pickford (Everton) – 6.5; Kyle Walker (Manchester City) – 6.5; John Stones (Manchester City) – 7; Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) – 6.5; Kieran Trippier (Newcastle) – 7.5; Conor Gallagher (Chelsea) – 5.5; Declan Rice (Arsenal) – 6.5; Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) – 6.5; Phil Foden (Manchester City) – 7; Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United) – 5.5; Cole Palmer (Chelsea) – 6.5; Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool) – N/A; Anthony Gordon (Newcastle) – N/A
Slovenia: N/A
You can find highlights and reactions by clicking here.