Euro 2020 round of 16

Full Predictions for Euro 2020 Round of 16

Belgium, Croatia, England, Euro 2020, France, Germany, Italian Football, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Serie A, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland

After two fun and dramatic weeks, all the usual suspects made it to the round of 16 of Euro 2020. The new format – which has been adopted since 2016 – allows two thirds of the teams to reach the knockout stages, which makes the group stage a predictable affair.

Nonetheless, the fun part is over, as we’ve reached the serious stage of the competition. The remaining 16 teams will be fighting for eight spots in quarter final between Saturday and Tuesday.

So here are our full predictions for the tournament’s second round.

Wales – Denmark

Despite making little noise so far in the competition, Gareth Bale and co. have confidently secured their way to the next round with a second place finish in Group A.

On the other hand, Denmark have been the biggest heartwarming story of the competition, completing a remarkable turnaround from the dramatic collapse of Christian Eriksen during the opening fixture to reaching the round of 16 with a dominant victory over Russia.

The Danes are on the rise, and if they can replicate their performance from their last match, then they should be able to go past the Welshmen.

Prediction: Convincing win for Denmark

Italy – Austria

When it comes to the Azzurri, we, at the Cult of Calcio, can be little bias. But objectively speaking, Roberto Mancini’s men might be the best team of the tournament so far.

As for their opponents, Austria gathered 6 points from in Group C, making them numerically the best second place side in the tournament.

Nonetheless, the Italians are expected to go far in Euro 2020, and a Round of 16 elimination shouldn’t be on the cards.

Prediction: Italy win with a big second half display

Netherlands – Czech Republic

Despite their glorious history, the Netherlands weren’t considered amongst the strong favorites to win the tournament, but their three wins in the first round put them on the map.

The Czech have been solid if unspectacular with former Roma striker, Patrik Schick, enjoying a hot run.

Not even Frank De Boer’s questionable coaching can ruin this one of the Dutch.

Prediction: Hard-earned victory for Netherlands

Belgium – Portugal

We have two major battles in this round, and this is the first one. Romelu Lukaku and Belgium have been practically unstoppable so far, but they will now be facing their first real test in the competition.

For the second edition in a row, Portugal sneaked into the round of 16 by finishing third in their group, and they remain a serious threat for any side competing in Euro 2020 – as we all remember what happened in 2016.

The Iberians have been overly-relying on Cristiano Ronaldo for goals, whilst the Belgians seem to have much more cohesion and numerous winning cards in the squad.

Prediction: A back and forth clash ends with a late Belgium winner.

Croatia – Spain

After a slow start to the competition, Luka Modric turned up just in time to inspire a big win for Croatia over Scotland, and land them a spot in the knockout stages.

It was pretty much the same story for Spain, who failed to win their first two matches, before beating Slovakia in a crushing fashion.

Zlatko Dalic’s men haven’t looked the same since their appearance in the 2018 World Cup final, as their golden generation seems to be reaching its expiry date, whilst Luis Enrique can still rely on the vast pool of talent at his disposal.

Prediction: Comfortable win for Spain

France – Switzerland

What to make of France’s display in the group stage? Les Bleus gathered only five points, and rarely looked exciting – when you consider the extraordinary number of stars within their squad – but they still topped a group that contained Germany, Portugal and a resilient Hungary.

On the other hand, their Swiss neighbors weren’t exactly impressive, but a win over the struggling Turkey did the trick for them

For some reason, Vladimir Petkovic’s men tend to complicate the encounters for the Frenchmen, but individual brilliance should win the day of Didier Deschamps.

Prediction: Slim win for France

England – Germany

Arguably Europe’s biggest rivalry is set to be reignited at the same stadium where it all started in 1966. Euro 2020 is surely taking out the big guns from the round of 16.

England only scored two goals throughout the group stage, but it was enough for them to gather 7 points and comfortably top their group.

On the other hand, Germany looked uncharacteristically shaky, suffering from an opening defeat against France, before bouncing back against Portugal, but they eventually needed a late equalizer against Hungary stay alive in the tournament.

The Three Lions are known for botching it at the big stage, but one would believe that Raheem Sterling and company will provide enough speed and skill to cause nightmares for the slow Mats Hummels.

Moreover, the Brits have a true bomber in Harry Kane, whilst the Germans lack a genuine striker.

Prediction: England wins in extra-time

Sweden – Ukraine

Despite the absence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden were one of the pleasant surprises of Euro 2020, reaching the round of 16 after topping Group E.

On the contrary, Ukraine only qualified as the 4th best third place team, which means that they were numerically the worst side amongst the teams that reached the knockout stage.

The writing in on the wall for this one, as the Scandinavians are expected to continue their run at the expense of Andriy Shevchenko’s men.

Prediction: Tough but convincing win for Sweden

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