Following the rescheduling of Euro 2020 back to 2021, the long wait was finally over as Rome played host to a Turkey side who's supporters had high hopes for. A scrappy own goal won't have been have been appreciated by Turkey fans and neutral fans; but the Italians won't have been bothered as they finally found a breakthrough. The Italians soon doubled their lead as Immobile recorded his first international goal at a major tournament, soon the game was put to bed as scorer turned creator Immobile fed Insigne who finished emphatically as Italy put on a show for the approximate 16,000 fans.
Next up, Wales and Switzerland visited Baku in a crunch tie between the two. For both you had to feel it was an opportunity to establish themselves and massively boost hopes of proceeding past the group stages. A slow start from Wales saw the Swiss dominate possession as they probed for an opener. However, Wales managed to get to half time unscathed but soon fell to a 1-0 deficit shortly after the restart. This served as a catalyst for a relentless Wales attack but no real openings where made. Until in the 74th minute a seemingly training ground routine found the head of Keifer Moore who repaid Wales manager Robert Pages' faith in him with a goal. This sparked a nervy few minutes for Wales supporters as Switzerland soon found the back of the net, only to be ruled out for offside after a lengthy VAR check. A late flurry of saves also followed for Danny Ward who aided Wales towards a valuable point.
However, the story of the night came in Copenhagen as Denmark and Finland faced off. A rather uneventful game soon took a turn for the worst as Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest after 41 minutes of play sparking a huge medical presence as they where forced to perform CPR on the pitch. The Danish players, clearly in distress, surrounded him in order to deflect cameras from view. The consoling of Eriksen's girlfriend from players from Danish skipper Schmeichel and centre back Kjaer will remain a sign of the togetherness of the squad. Fortunately, efforts to resuscitate Eriksen where successful and the game resumed later that night as Finland's Pohjanpalo proved the only goal to claim Finland's first win at a major finals on a night where celebration for a win was muted and replaced for celebration for life.
After an eventful night, St Petersburg was the next venue as Belgium ran rampant against the Russians as they fell victim to a 3-0 loss, in which Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku dedicated his goals to club teammate Eriksen.
Next up, England looked for revenge at Wembley as they faced a Croatia side who's 2-1 victory against the hosts to progress to the World Cup final in Russia in 2018. A positive start from the hosts saw Phil Foden's shot hit the post as they looked for an early lead. However, fans had to wait until the 57th minute for a goal as an excellent run from Phillips created space for Sterling who fired home for England.
Next up, Austria claimed a memorable first win at a Euros as they played a North Macedonian side who are the lowest ranked team at the tournament. However, the North Macedonians created a party atmosphere and had plenty to cheer about after scoring their first goal at Euro's through veteran striker Pandev.
To follow was a 5 goal thriller as the Netherlands edged out Ukraine 3-2, in a game featuring the goal of the tournament (so far) from West Ham's Yarmolenko.
The opening fixtures of Group D concluded at a rocking Hampden as Scotland fans cheered on their team who where featuring at a major tournament for the first time in 23 years. Glasgow's spirits where high and a bright start heightened expectations as big chances came and went. However, the Scots where dealt a huge blow as Schick's header opened the scoring for the Czech Republic just moments before half time. Scotland where tasked with a huge uphill battle after Patrik Schick's insane halfway-line goal inflicting more disappointment onto the faces of fans. A lesson in taking chances for the Scots as they are now tasked with tests against England and Croatia.
Next up, Group E served up some rather uneventful games as Slovakia shocked 10 men Poland with a 2-1 win, followed by a 0-0 draw between Sweden and Spain in which big chances for both sides where wasted.
However, Group F created a bit more entertainment as a 60,000 fans in Budapest cheered on a Hungary side served with the almost impossible task of progressing in a group consisting of Portugal, France and Germany. The Hungary side hosted Portugal and contained the side for 83 minutes before being cruelly punished with a deflected shot from Guerreiro shot giving Portugal a valuable lead. Mistakes soon followed as Ronaldo's brace set a new record for the top scorer in Euro's history with a brace. The Euros opening fixtures concluding with the prospect of a game of the tournament so far between European giants France and Germany. However, the game proved nothing that it promised as France's slender 1-0 lead via a Hummel's own goal proved enough- despite 2 disallowed goals.
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