Spain V Croatia and France V Switzerland, the last eight is beginning to take shape.

In yesterday’s action, I was an unbelievable two for two.  As I predicted, the character of the Orangemen did not hold up under the pressure and one straight red and two yellow cards contributed to a very poor performance and an early return to the dikes and canals. Schick also delivered as predicted in the two to look out for section.

The second game which had promised so much was a turgid affair, won by the only piece of brilliance on show, but it was enough for the Brussels sprouts to carry on their quest for the Holy Grail, their first ever win at a major tournament.

It also has led to the exit of CR7, have we seen the last of him at International level or will he still be around for Qatar 22 next December?

The first game today pits two countries who have given us great pleasure on the football fields in recent years, but whose past is somewhat murky due to a flirtation with fascism. We have the toreadors from Espana against the country now known as a game of thrones destination, Croatia.

Croatia is a country I would like to visit, once the world returns to a semblance of normality, it has a long and beautiful coastline on the Adriatic sea and of course the old town of Dubrovnik, now better known as the location of Kings Landing, the capital of Westeros from Game of Thrones fame.

Unfortunately, the history of Croatia is tainted by the rule of the Ustase during world war two, a fascist, ultra nationalist, Catholic organization which embraced much of the Nazis racial theories and who murdered hundreds of thousands of Serbs, Gypsies and Jews, something which they have really not shown much remorse for. 

One does not need to dwell too long on the rule of Generalissimo Franco in Spain from 1939 until 1974, that is not the remit of this blog, but the fascist leanings were very similar.

Football wise since gaining independence in 1991, Croatia has been rather successful especially for a country with a population of only four million people. Since 1994, they have finished third and most recently as runners up in the world cup and have twice reached the quarterfinals in five attempts at the Euros.

They started the tournament slowly with a loss to EnGerLand but have been improving game by game, culminating in this goal against the caber tossers.

Bend it like Luka

The matadors are a shadow of the imperious side which ruled world football from 2010 through 2012.  They also started slowly with two draws but became Toreadors as they galloped to a five nothing victory in their last game helped by this ridiculous piece of goalkeeping by the Slovakian goalkeeper.

 

Was ist das den ?, slapstick!

 

Interestingly enough the flamenco dancers were the first team to be affected by Covid with their captain Biscuits missing the first two games, he returned to bring much needed experience and solidity in their last game. Now the Croats have been impacted by a positive test to their main striker Perisic, who scored in the last match against the haggises, but will miss the game today.

Yesterday, I wrote that most people would be backing the Orangemen over the Skodas, but not this intrepid pundit. I have a similar feeling today. Despite their last score line, the castanets have found it difficult to score and as they come up against the hard men of the Knights Watch, I fear this could come back to haunt them. 

If the Croatians can nick a goal, I see them holding on to that lead. I actually have a feeling this one could go to penalties.

Two to watch out for are Luka Modric of Croatia and Alvaro Morata of Spain who is under a lot of pressure to find his shooting boots.

Modric , will he be the kings hand?

Morata, will be hoping to dance his way through.

A fashion collection is a term referring to a group of outfits put together for the coming season by different designers. This current collection of players representing Les Bleus is reminiscent of the top models, during Paris fashion week, effortlessly gliding down the catwalk wearing the latest haute culture from Givenchy or Chanel and stunning the audience with their elegance and gracefulness.

Think of Gisele, Cindy Crawford and Naomi Campbell strutting in their pomp and then replace them Pogba, Greizmann and the jewel in the crown Mbappe and you have Les Bleus as they swarm forward towards the opponents goal.

It is seemingly unstoppable, but as is well known behind the scenes of high fashion, there is always a lot of tension and prima donna egos flying around. This has always been the way with Les Marseilles as well.

Unfortunately their opponents, the bell ringers from Helvetia do not have enough to trouble them and thus give us a show of some shouted Mon Dieus, Zut alors or cause the throwing of some merde, which is a shame, as there is nothing as amusing as when Les Bleus throw their toys out of the Pram. The Froggies should find too many holes in the Swiss cheese.

Two to watch out for in this game are Xherdan Shaqiri, the Albanian Swiss play maker and Ngolo Kante the midfield dynamo of Les Bleus.  

Kante, the Duracell bunny

Shaqiri hoping to weave some magic


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Tomorrow sees the final two games in the last sixteen namely Ikea against the Cossacks and EnGerLand against the Hun.