‘We weren’t a punching bag’: verdicts from Euro 2024 countries who are out
Nicola Zalewski and his teammates looks dejected after Poland's defeat to Austria. Photograph: Dan Mullan/Getty Images
Poland were the last team to qualify (their penalty shootout playoff win in Cardiff finished later than Ukraine’s and Georgia’s games) so it is no great surprise they bowed out first, being the only side to lose their opening two matches. The 36-year Robert Lewandowski is insisting on carrying on despite the public having doubts and his penalty (scored at the second attempt) in a 1-1 draw with France was a consolation for the Barcelona striker. The respected Polish journalist Michal Okonski summed up Poland’s tournament by writing: “Poland saved its face. It’s got the face of Kacper Urbanski” – referring to the 19-year-old youngest member of the squad, who at Thiago Motta’s Bologna has learned to play without fear.
“Gone in 60 Seconds,” declared the front page of the Scottish Sun. “Down and Out,” said the Daily Record. The Record showed Scott McTominay with head in hands, the Sun providing a shot of Steve Clarke consoling the Manchester United midfielder. Coverage of another Scotland group-stage exit has been twofold. The Tartan Army, who have captured hearts and minds across Germany, take up a lot of the column inches as tens of thousands of Scots beat a hasty march home. There has also been stark criticism of Clarke for what is perceived as an overly negative approach, particularly against Hungary in a must-win fixture. The manager faces an uphill task to remove that label of over-caution. Clarke’s emphasising of a non-European referee during the Hungary defeat – in which Scotland were denied a late penalty – has drawn ridicule at home.
The elimination of Albania was expected considering they were in a group with Italy, Croatia and Spain, and fans were mostly positive regarding the performances. The general feeling was that the team did well in not being overwhelmed, and the results were close, the team even snatching a draw against Croatia. But there was also a feeling of what might have been. “Goodbye Euro, Albania leaves with regrets,” was the main headline of Panorama Sport newspaper, referring to missed chances against Italy and Spain and the two goals conceded in three minutes against Croatia.
The renowned Serbian basketball coach Miroslav “Muta” Nikolic, a member of the national team staff, utters the same phrase to the camera whenever Serbian basketball players win an important medal: “All of this is so normal.” This same phrase applies to the Serbia football team whenever there’s a failure. Although there were no high expectations, that doesn’t diminish the great disappointment felt in a nation hungry for football victories. “Keep your head up,” said the coach, Dragan Stojkovic. “We weren’t anybody’s punching bag.” He added that it was a good sign that the players, who had been in strict quarantine for 25 days, didn’t fight each other and there were no scandals. Such statements fuelled the anger of fans, who are demanding Stojkovic’s dismissal. The national team’s favourite word is “restart”. But if the virus has penetrated deep into the system, constant rebooting cannot help. Because “all of this is so normal”.
Immediately after the crucial loss against Turkey, the Czech Republic felt hard done by in terms of the refereeing. “It was a disrespect towards our country,” Tomas Soucek, usually the diplomat, fumed. The Czechs were not complaining about Antonin Barak getting sent off but were dismayed that Kenan Yildiz did not receive a second yellow for catching Vladimir Coufal with an elbow, and what they felt was a wrongly disallowed goal at 1-1. “But I don’t want to say we were eliminated because of the referees,” said the head coach, Ivan Hasek. “The problem is we didn’t beat Georgia.” Feelings are mixed. On the one hand it is a failure – one point in a group with Portugal, Turkey and Georgia – but on the other, they should have won against Georgia based on xG and performed really well with 10 men against Turkey. The lack of individual quality stood out but Hasek and his coaching staff had only one international window in March to instil their principles and there are no calls for Hasek to resign.
Amid anger and confusion at the shocking end to the game against Italy, the press underlined that there was still a chance, however slim, of Croatia making it to the next round if results went their way. But even at that point the tournament felt like a big defeat, especially after injury-time equalisers were conceded against Italy and Albania. So when Slovenia drew with England to make Croatia’s exit official, there was a sense of inevitability. Croatia rode their luck for too long, it seems. And now, with questions about whether Luka Modric will retire from international football, it feels as if it is finally time for a new beginning.
In Ukraine, the team’s performance is considered a failure, even though they essentially failed in only one match and became the first side to be eliminated with four points from a 24-country European Championship. The victory over Slovakia and solid match against Belgium did not overshadow a disgraceful defeat by Romania. Ukraine were considered the favourites in the group and they were eliminated. The vast majority of fans and the press believe that there is no excuse for this. The main topic is whether to fire the head coach, Serhiy Rebrov. Great hopes were placed in him: the national team waited almost two years for him, but the reality turned out to be less rosy. Opinion is divided over whether to give him another chance, sparking heated debates among fans.
“The Georgian miracle is our defeat,” read the front page of the Hungarian sports daily Nemzeti Sport. The headline reflected a measured response to Hungary’s exit, acknowledging the good and bad fortune of the team’s predicament. Good fortune that Hungary were even in a position to potentially make the last 16 after leading for only 60 seconds throughout the tournament. Bad fortune that it was Georgia of all teams to knock Hungary out by beating much-fancied Portugal. But in the coming days there will be more reflection. Hungary weren’t at their best after impressing so much over the past two years, and now, after three days in limbo, the finger-pointing will begin in earnest.
Reporting by Maciej Slominski, Ewan Murray, Ermal Kuka, Uros Jovicic, Martin Vait, Alex Holiga, Oleh Shcherbakov and Tom Mortimer