#Euro2020 Review: MATCHDAY 6
We officially began each group's Matchday 2 today as Finland and Russia kicked us off with some Group B action! Matchday 1 held lots of goals, saves, and assists for us. What will Matchday 2 hold for us in each group? Will we see any surprise clinches or any big upsets? Let's find out, shall we?
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Finland (0) vs Russia (1) | Group B - Matchday 2 | Saint Petersburg, Russia It only took Finland three minutes to score the first goal of the game! Unfortunately, that goal would be disallowed by VAR. Also unfortunately for Finland: they would never find the net again. Many chances were created for the Finnish, but none were ever finished. Russia would be the team to finally break through when Aleksei Miranchuk hit a beautiful curler at the end of the first half to put Russia in front! Despite their efforts, Finland were never able to find the equalizer and Russia would take all 3 points from this thriller of a match! The match was on tight on paper as it was on the field! Russia won the possession battle holding 56% possession, but they only outshot Finland by 3 shots taking 14. Finland will need to be more efficient in their final match against Belgium if they hope to continue to the knockout stages! With the win, Russia moves into a tie for 1st place in Group B of #Euro2020 with 3 points. Finland and Belgium both also hold 3 points, though Belgium still has their 2nd match to play tomorrow! For Russia and Finland, it will come down to matchday 3 to decide who moves on!
Turkey (0) vs Wales (2) | Group A - Matchday 2 | Baku, Azerbaijan It was a great day for the Welsh as they moved one step closer to securing their spot in the knockout stage! The match was an exciting and back and forth match, but only one team was able to find a breakthrough! Aaron Ramsey of Wales scored the first goal of the match as he tapped in a perfect cross from Gareth Bale. Turkey had chance after chance but just couldn't manage to find the equalizer! Finally, Connor Roberts sealed the deal when he doubled the Wales lead after the 90th minute off another Gareth Bale assist!
By just looking at the numbers, Turkey should have been the team on top in this match. They won the possession battle 56%-44% and also won the shots category taking 17 to Wales' 16.
With the win, Wales move into 2nd place in Group A of #Euro2020 only behind Italy! The Welsh hold a 3-point lead over Switzerland and a 4-point lead over last place Turkey.
Italy (3) vs Switzerland (0) | Group A - Matchday 2 | Rome, Italy Italy secured its spot in the knockout rounds today when they defeated Switzerland in their second match at #Euro2020! The Swiss looked like they would be a tougher challenge for about the first ten minutes, but after those ten minutes finished, it was all Italy! Manuel Locatelli put the Italians on the board first in the 26th minute and followed it up with another in the 52nd minute! The Italians controlled the flow of the game, often dictating the run of play. Switzerland came up with several counterattacking opportunities, but none of them ever came to fruition. Ciro Immobile finished the game off with a late goal in the 89th minute!
Though Italy controlled the game, they actually lost the possession battle! Switzerland controlled more possession in the match, 51%-49%. Obviously though, none of this possession came to benefit them during the match. With one game left in the group stages, Italy has secured their spot in the knockout rounds, holding all 6 points possible while Switzerland sit in 3rd on the table with only 1 point through 2 games.
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Check back here tomorrow for another update just like this one on the previous days' matches! Also follow us at @SSN_Soccer for more up-to-date content from #Euro2020!