Group F includes France (World Cup champions), Germany (four-time World Cup winners and former European Champions), Portugal (defending European champions), and Hungary (a nation on the rise), and is arguably the toughest of the six first-round groups at Euro 2020.
Germany fought back from a goal down to stun Portugal 4-2 and restart their Euro 2020 campaign. Their first match against France ended in a disappointing loss, and questions were asked about Germany’s prospects for this campaign. What was predicted to be an even affair for Germany and Portugal ended up being a nearly embarrassing night for the Portuguese.
Fans with Vwin betting, the ultimate betting partner for the Euros expected a close match pitting some of the finest footballing talent in the world.
The defending champions, Portugal, were on the receiving end as Joachim Low’s team dictated the early exchanges. All of that changed as Cristiano Ronaldo created and completed a brilliant break that handed the visitors a surprise lead.
Ruben Dias and Raphael Guerreiro scored two own goals in four minutes to ensure the hosts had reversed the deficit by halftime after a tense first half.
After the break, the Germans maintained their dominance and increased their lead when Kai Havertz became Germany’s youngest goal scorer in a European Championship game. On the hour mark, the match was virtually finished as a battle when Robin Gosens headed home Joshua Kimmich’s cross.
With 24 minutes remaining, Diego Jota pulled one back after some excellent work by Ronaldo, and it appeared like it would be a spectacular finish, but the Germans held tight.
Ronaldo’s opener stunned Germany, since it came against the run of play. Was Low’s side on the verge of another disastrous departure from a major tournament after losing in their first game and limping out of the previous World Cup?
Things turned upside down after two Portugal own goals in four minutes. The second, Guerreiro accidentally converting Kimmich’s cross, underlined the idea that this was not going to be one of those days for the Germans, and it turned out to be true.
Gosens had a disallowed goal before he scored Germany’s fourth. Generally, he was the most imperious player on the pitch.
The Atalanta winger’s final contribution before his replacement was a thunderous header home of Kimmich’s looping cross, a fitting finale for a player who had caused the Portuguese so much trouble all day.
“We never doubted ourselves, we knew we could do better,” said Germany coach Joachim Low. “The next game might be tougher because Hungary plays deeper and defends with eight or nine men.
“We have to go step by step. Teams that did everything perfectly in the first two games rarely won a tournament.
Group F is a toss-up. France is in first place with four points, followed by Germany and Portugal with three points each, and Hungary in last place with one point.
Going into the last day, the prospects are endless, and the group that everyone had their eyes on before the tournament has lived up to its hype.
On Wednesday, Portugal will play world champions France at the Ferenc Puskas Stadium in Budapest, while Hungary will face Germany at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
