The opening two fixtures of the last-16 stage of Euro 2020 played out on Saturday with Denmark and Italy triumphing in contrasting matches.
There were seven goals scored across the two fixtures with Denmark easing to a 4-0 victory Wales thanks to two goals from Kasper Dolberg to become the first team to reach the quarter-finals.
Italy followed them into the last eight later on the day, although their progress was much more hard fought via a 2-1 extra-time win over a spirited Austria at Wembley courtesy of substitutes Federico Chiesa and Matteo Pessina.
Stats Perform reflects on a day of youthful confidence and omens for later in the tournament.
Wales 0-4 Denmark: A landmark double for Dolberg
Denmark have won each of their last four competitive meetings with Wales in a run stretching back to June 1999, and they swaggered to victory again in the first meeting between the sides in a major tournament.
The Danes showed their prowess from long range when Dolberg put them ahead with a curling shot from distance - and they have netted more goals from outside the penalty area (three) than any other side at Euro 2020. Indeed, since 1980 only France (five in 1984) and Belgium (four in 2016) have scored more from distance in a single edition of the competition.
Since the start of 2019, only Christian Eriksen (11) has scored more goals in all competitions for Denmark than the eight Dolberg has so far. At the age of 23 years 263 days, Nice striker Dolberg became the youngest player to score for Denmark in the knockout stages of the European Championship.
Dolberg also became the second Denmark player to score two goals in a knockout game at a major tournament (World Cup and Euros) after Henrik Larsen against the Netherlands at Euro 1992 when the Danes went on to win the tournament.
Another youngster making his mark for Denmark was Mikkel Damsgaard, who, at 20 years and 358 days, became the youngest player to assist a goal in Euros knock-out game since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2004 against the Netherlands.
It was a miserable game for Wales who suffered their biggest defeat in a competitive match since a 6-1 thrashing by Serbia in September 2012. Wales had Harry Wilson sent off in Amsterdam and, following the dismissal of Ethan Ampadu against Italy, became the first team to receive two red cards in a single edition of the European Championship since Russia and Switzerland in 2004.
Italy 2-1 Austria: Mancini's side finally let one in
Italy have won four consecutive games at the European Championship for the second time, which bodes well for them going far, having previously done so at Euro 2000 when they ended up as losing finalists.
Chiesa and Pessina gave them a 2-1 win over Austria, and it was the was just the second time two different substitutes have scored in a European Championship game for Italy after Alessandro Altobelli and Luigi De Agostini did so in 1988 against Denmark.
Sasa Kalajdzic's goal for Austria was the first Roberto Mancini's side have let in since October 2020, ending a run of 19 hours and 28 minutes without conceding for the Italians.
Although Austria have now lost all five of their meetings with Italy in major international tournaments (World Cup and Euros), netting just two goals in these matches.
This was Italy’s eighth game at the European Championship to go to extra time, more than any other side in the history of the competition. Their two goals were their first goals in the additional 30 minutes.
Despite playing 157 minutes at Euro 2020 so far, Marco Verratti has created more chances than any other player for Italy (nine).
Dundee consider appeal against six-figure fine for postponements over poor pitch
Dundee are considering an appeal after being handed a six-figure fine – most of which is suspended – following a disciplinary hearing over their troublesome pitch.
The Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) announced that a fine of £186,000 had been handed down.
However, £120,000 of the punishment is suspended until the end of next season and will only be triggered by a further breach of rules.
Dundee disagreed with the wording of the SPFL press release, claiming they had been fined £150,000 in total with an additional £36,429.60 fee payable as compensation to the SPFL for television and pitch specialist costs.
The cinch Premiership club say the additional £120,000 fine would be “automatically triggered in the event of a single waterlogged pitch postponement next season”.
A statement added: “Dundee Football Club are deeply disappointed with the severity of the punishment and are currently seeking legal advice with regards to an appeal.
“The club will be making no further comment on the outcome while we seek legal advice.”
The league said that Dundee had admitted five separate breaches of SPFL rules relating to their Dens Park pitch following five postponements of league matches this season.
An SPFL spokesman said: “SPFL rules on pitch condition are an integral part of maintaining a fair league competition.”
Two of the postponements – against Rangers and Aberdeen – came within 90 minutes of kick-off and a recent game against Motherwell only went ahead following a late pitch inspection, with visiting manager Stuart Kettlewell subsequently arguing that areas were unplayable.
The rearranged match against Rangers was postponed again last week and a contingency plan was made to play the game at St Johnstone’s McDiarmid Park before the game finally went ahead at Dundee’s home ground on Wednesday, with the match ending goalless.
Massimiliano Allegri taking nothing for granted at resurgent strugglers Cagliari
Cagliari’s record at home means Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri is not taking the trip to the Sardinian capital lightly.
Juventus are well positioned to secure Champions League qualification for next season, while Cagliari are just four points above the drop zone ahead of Thursday’s contest at the Unipol Domus.
The Bianconeri next take on Lazio in the Coppa Italia semi-final on Tuesday, holding a 2-0 lead from the first leg.
But Allegri is wary of Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari, who scored twice in the last quarter of an hour to secure a 2-2 draw at runaway league leaders Inter Milan last time out.
“Of their eight wins this season, six have come at home and 23 of the 31 points they’ve got have been picked up at home,” Allegri told a press conference.
“They’re a team who score a lot of goals in the last 15 minutes of games and particularly with players who come off the bench, they have scored more goals with substitutes than anybody else.
“We know it will be a tough game, so our very best version will have to show up. We won’t be rotating ahead of the Italian Cup, the most important game is Cagliari, then we’ll focus on the cup.
“It would be a mistake to not focus on Cagliari, and a win in Sardinia would allow us to take a big step towards our goals.”
Juventus still have clashes against top-four rivals AC Milan, Roma and Bologna ahead of them in the next few weeks.
“It’s important to stay focused on the next month or so,” Allegri added. “We have a lot of difficult games to come. A win at this stage is almost worth double.”
Cagliari have lost just once in their last eight matches to ease relegation fears and twice hit back from a goal down to claim a surprise point at Inter Milan on Sunday.
“I told the guys that they are doing well, but we have new pitfalls ahead of us,” Ranieri told a press conference.
“The team is focused, we have to keep the right balance. We have to keep pushing without fear, the salvation fight is very tight. There are no foregone conclusions, you go out there and fight.”
EFL to seek compensation for clubs after FA Cup replays abolished
The EFL will seek compensation for its clubs over the “frustrating and disappointing” decision to scrap all FA Cup replays from next season.
League sources say it was sidelined from the decision, which was announced by the Football Association on Thursday.
EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said: “Whilst the league had previously been involved in discussions over the future of the calendar, these were predicated on the agreement of a new financial deal with the Premier League for EFL clubs which has not progressed.
“This is frustrating and disappointing given the calendar is a shared asset across football, and as we have consistently said a whole game approach is required to find solutions to complex fixture scheduling challenges.
“Our domestic calendar has been put under extreme pressure by the expansion of UEFA competitions and ultimately this represents another lost traditional revenue stream for EFL clubs at a time when the financial gap between the biggest clubs and those further down the pyramid is growing bigger than ever.
“We will now be discussing the implications for EFL clubs and seeking appropriate compensation arrangements.”
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