After two long days without any Euro 2024 action, Saturday brought the start of the knockout round.
But aside from the first two last-16 ties taking place in Berlin and Dortmund, there was plenty else going on around the tournament.
From Belgium's Kylian Mbappe gaffe to Anthony Gordon receiving a tongue-in-cheek gift, here is the best of the social media output from Friday and Saturday at Euro 2024.
Belgium backtrack on Mbappe video
France will take on Belgium in perhaps the most high-profile round-of-16 tie on Monday, and the Red Devils' social media accounts have upped the tensions between the neighbours.
A video posted to Belgium's channels showed comedian Pablo Andres, who works extensively with the Belgian Football Federation, asking; "who will kick Mbappe's shin?"
Midfielder Amadou Onana then answers with his own name.
The video was swiftly deleted and was the subject of an apology from spokesperson Stefan van Loock, who said: "The video was intended to be humorous but has since been taken offline.
"We would like to apologise to anyone we may have offended. This concludes the matter for us."
The video was not received particularly well in France, and on Monday, we will find out whether it provided Mbappe with any additional motivation… not that any is required.
Birthdays and anniversaries in England camp
It was a big day in the England camp on Saturday, and not just because Gareth Southgate's men were put through their paces for the final time ahead of Sunday's clash with Slovakia.
Both Jude Bellingham and Eberechi Eze celebrated their birthdays, the former turning 20 years old and the latter 26.
Saturday was also a big day for the Three Lions for another reason, though, as it represented the three-year anniversary of their memorable Euro 2020 last-16 victory over Germany.
Harry Kane was on target in that match, his diving header giving England a two-goal cushion and clinching their most famous win of recent years.
A repeat performance on Sunday would certainly be welcome.
Buffon still has it
Italy goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon took up a role as delegation chief with the national team last year, succeeding the late, great Gianluca Vialli.
The Azzurri's touchline representatives always look effortlessly cool, and Luciano Spalletti's Armani suit turned heads during the group stage.
Buffon took the style stakes to a new level when he arrived at the Olympiastadion in the Friday evening sunshine, though.
Food fights continue
A bit of friendly back-and-forth between opposing groups of fans helps to make a major tournament special, and throughout the group stage, supporters clashed over food.
Albania fans snapped spaghetti in front of their Italian counterparts in one viral clip, while France's baguettes got similar treatment ahead of one of their matches.
On Saturday, the official Euro 2024 account on X attempted to settle some scores by running through the most popular half-time snacks across the continent.
Gordon gets given stabilisers
England and Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon raised a few eyebrows this week when he was seen with a grazed chin, having fallen off his bike during what was supposed to be a recovery ride.
On Friday, he was presented with a pair of stabilisers by the Daily Mail, which Southgate will hope can prevent any further mishaps.
With England crying out for dynamism on the left flank, the last thing they need is another fall for Gordon.
Records tumble as group stage closes
Finally, Saturday saw UEFA publish a summary of the group stage, which many onlookers believe to have been the most entertaining since the Euros expanded to 24 teams for 2016.
From the Tartan Army's short-lived German adventure to the Netherlands' fans painting host cities Oranje, we have seen plenty of outstanding footage from UEFA's fan zones.
A record number of people, between 430,000 and 440,000, attended the zones through the group stage, while the tournament has also made waves online.
UEFA says the tournament's official social media channels accumulated 145 million engagements and 1.35 billion video views in the group stage – both more than in the entirety of Euro 2020!
Columbus Crew v Nashville SC: Munthali hoping to leave positive impact as interim boss
Nashville SC interim head coach Rumba Munthali says his main aim is to get the club into a "positive spot" as they look to get back to winning ways against Columbus Crew.
Inter Miami ended Nashville's three-match MLS unbeaten streak on Saturday, with the Coyotes unable to mount a second-half comeback.
It leaves them seventh in the Eastern Conference, with the teams below them starting to close in on the last final series spot.
However, Munthali was optimistic following the defeat, explaining his focus is on the players' continued improvement.
"Against Miami, I thought we should have done better with defending set pieces and the scoring chances we had in the first half," Munthali said. "In the second half, we showed some fight, some resolve, and I commend the guys for that.
"My job at the club is to help players get better. It's just working in a different capacity [as head coach].
"I like helping players and I think they know that. My mindset hasn't changed. We're really looking towards the next game to make sure our club is in a good positive spot."
Meanwhile, Columbus sit three points above them in the table on 33 points.
The Crew have won their last two matches by an aggregate scoreline of 9-1, with Cucho Hernandez scoring four of those goals, with head coach Wilfried Nancy full of praise for his star man.
"Cucho scores goals, but he also makes chances," Nancy said. "He was sad because he was on the side with some back pain, and he wanted to come back and help the team. Now he is, it's good for the team and good for him."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Columbus Crew – Cucho Hernandez
Hernandez has been the star man for Columbus this season, and not just in the last two games when he has stepped up his goalscoring.
He has scored 10 goals so far this season – the most of any player for the Crew – with half of those coming in his last three outings for the club.
Nashville SC – Tyler Boyd
Tyler Boyd scored his first goal of the season during Nashville's most recent win, netting the winner against New York City FC.
While he could not follow that up against Miami at the weekend, he had the second-most shots for the team, though he did not test the goalkeeper.
MATCH PREDICTION: COLUMBUS CREW WIN
Columbus have won three of their previous eight meetings with Nashville in MLS, winning their last such home match against the Coyotes in June 2023 (2-0).
Having gone on a seven-match winless streak from late March to early May, Columbus have since lost just one of their last seven in MLS (winning the other six).
Nashville are unbeaten in their previous four road matches, conceding just once in that run (during a 2-1 win over Toronto FC). They will be hoping to extend that run by getting their first win at Columbus since April 2022.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Columbus Crew – 58.2%
Draw – 27.18%
Nashville SC – 20%
Pepe becomes oldest European to play in major tournament knockout game
Portugal defender Pepe has become the oldest player to appear in a knockout-stage game at a World Cup or European Championships, surpassing the record held by Peter Shilton.
England goalkeeping great Shilton was 40 years and 292 days old when he represented the Three Lions in their third-place play-off loss to Italy at the 1990 World Cup.
At 41 years and 126 days old, Pepe claimed that record for himself when he started Portugal's Euro 2024 last-16 meeting with Slovenia in Frankfurt on Monday.
Pepe and Cristiano Ronaldo are also the two oldest players to appear at the Euros, with the Selecao captain aged 39 years and 147 days when he stepped out versus Slovenia.
Deschamps praises France's patience against 'cautious' Belgium
Didier Deschamps believes France's patience paid off as they edged to a narrow victory over a "cautious" Belgium side at Euro 2024.
Billed as the match to look out for in the round of 16, the game did not live up to expectations, though France got the all-important goal when Jan Vertonghen inadvertently turned Randal Kolo Muani’s shot into his own net.
France will now face either Portugal or Slovenia in the last eight, and they have done so without scoring a goal from open play, with two own goals and a penalty making up their current tally.
Deschamps has credited France's persistence following the win against who he believes are a tough side to face.
"We made a lot of progress and I think that the opponent was obviously a little bit more cautious, even though on paper Belgium is quite an offensive team," Deschamps said.
"They are quite an attacking team, they maybe, held back a little bit more than we're used to seeing. On our side as well, even though we did everything we could to try and attack, to try and score, to try and create chances.
"We managed to create more chances than Belgium did, but we were also maybe on the back foot. We were intelligent, we were playing the waiting game, and we weren't going to fall into the trap of giving them the space that they were looking for."
Excluding own goals, France have not scored from any of their 66 non-penalty shots at Euro 2024.
With many questions being asked about Les Bleus' finishing, Deschamps admitted it is an area they will continue to work on.
"Obviously, you can't win games just through possession, but it's better having the possession of the ball and attacking and making the team defend," Deschamps added. "But the number of shots we had, that's probably the only thing that I want to work on.
"I think that on the pitch there's high intensity, and even if today the goal is enough for us to get to the quarter-finals, we've always got the capacity and the capability to score more.
"I'm immensely proud of what we've been able to do, and we're into the quarter-finals, and that's probably what counts."
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