This year’s European Championships have left a number of football pundits eating their words after a string of surprising results that completely deviated from the script.
The most notable shock was when tiny Iceland (with a population of Klerksdorp) beat the mighty England team – which is thought to be the originators of football.
Another upset was when Wales, which is ranked 26th in the world, beat the number-two team in the world, Belgium 3-1 in the quarterfinals.
The correlation between these two examples is defence. Defence will be the aspect that wins matches for teams in this Euro. The champion will be the team with the strongest defence and best goalkeeper.
Belgium defended poorly against Wales and was all at sea. There was no dedication, commitment or leadership in defence. In contrast, Italy defended superbly with the back three of Giorgio Chiellini, Andrea Barzagli and Christian Bonucci marshalling the defence as a unit with the wily 38-year-old veteran, Gianluigi Buffon as the anchor in goal.
England had a big defensive lapse as well as a shocking goalkeeping error to blame for their loss against Iceland. England goalkeeper, Joe Hart, could easily have saved the shot but, instead, the ball rolled tamely into the net. Iceland was solid in defence and chased every ball, suffocating the English in the process. The four remaining teams, France, Germany, Portugal and Wales are a living testament to their winning defensive combinations. They know when to attack and they do not necessarily have a defensive mindset.
Wales has Gareth Bale, who can run opposition ragged, Portugal has the footballing superstar, Ronaldo, who can score a goal from almost nothing while France has Laurent Koscielny and Adil Rami in defence, who have done a good job, thus far.
The two upcoming semi-finals will surely be one for the books as Portugal and Wales clash on Wednesday, 6 July with France taking on Germany on Thursday, 7 July.