Joao Moutinho came off the bench for Portugal late on, while Leander Dendoncker started for Belgium in their win over Denmark. Conor Coady, Ruben Neves and Adama Traore still await their first piece of action in the tournament.
But here’s a round up of the second gameweek of Euro action involving our gold and black stars.
Belgium | Leander Dendoncker
Dendoncker made it four successive starts for Belgium, with a place in Roberto Martinez’s side to face Denmark in Copenhagen, but the Wolves midfielder only lasted 60 minutes before being replaced by the returning Axel Witsel.
However, it was fellow substitute Kevin De Bruyne who turned the game in Belgium’s favour, after the Red Devils had gone behind to an early Yussuf Poulsen strike. The Man City man came off the bench at half-time and set up Thorgan Hazard to level the scoreline less than 10 minutes later, before netting the winner with a neat left-footed effort.
With Witsel still working his way back to full fitness, Dendoncker is likely to start once again in Belgium’s final match of Group B in Saint Petersburg on Monday evening. With his side already sure of a place in the last 16, Belgium know a draw against Finland will be enough to see them top the group.
- Belgium 3-0 Russia
- Belgium 2-1 Denmark
- Belgium vs Finland | Monday 21st June, 8pm | BBC
England | Conor Coady
Less said about England’s lacklustre performance against Scotland on Friday night, the better, but at least for Wolves captain Coady, being an unused substitute means he cannot take any of the blame for not securing the Three Lions’ place in the knockout stages.
Although England’s current haul of four points should see them progress as one of the four best third-placed teams – even If they lose to Czech Republic on Tuesday, Gareth Southgate’s side need at least a point at Wembley on Tuesday night to be sure of progressing, and only a victory will be enough for them to go through as group winners.
With this in mind, Southgate is expected to either stick with the centre-back pairing of John Stones and Tyrone Mings, or bring the fit-again Harry Maguire back into the starting line-up, which means Coady might still be waiting for his chance of getting among the action.
- England 1-0 Croatia
- England 0-0 Scotland
- England vs Czech Republic | Tuesday 22nd June, 8pm | ITV
Spain | Adama Traore
It has come of a surprise to many, especially BBC’s Danny Murphy, for Traore not to have seen a minute of gametime for Spain in their opening two fixtures in Group E.
Having struggled to break down a stubborn Swedish defence in their first draw of the competition, Spain then let a lead slip through their grasps against Poland, with the experienced Robert Lewandoski keeping the Poles’ tournament hopes alive.
With Spain needing to beat Slovakia to stand a chance of making the top two, boss Luis Enrique could bring Traore into his team in Seville on Wednesday evening to give the Spanish attack the spark they definitely require.
- Spain 0-0 Sweden
- Spain 1-1 Poland
- Spain vs Slovakia | Wednesday 23rd June, 5pm | ITV
Portugal | Rui Patricio, Nelson Semedo, Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho
In one of the games of the tournament so far, it was, however, not a night to remember for Wolves’ Portuguese contingent against Germany in Munich on Saturday, as they failed to book their spot in the last 16.
Patricio and Semedo were part of the defence which conceded four times to the Germans, including a pair of own goals, as Ruben Dias and Raphael Guerreiro put the ball past the Wolves goalkeeper. But Moutinho did make a late appearance off the bench and displayed his quality with a beautiful free-kick which led to a goal from former old gold forward Diogo Jota.
Ruben Neves will be hoping to get his competition underway against France in Budapest on Wednesday night, where only a win will definitely earn a place in the knockout stages for Portugal. Depending on other results, a point may not even be enough to seal one of the best third place spots.
- Portugal 3-0 Hungary
- Portugal 2-4 Germany
- Portugal vs France | Weds 23rd June, 8pm | BBC
