Summer of Soccer Winners and Losers

Winner: Chile

To be completely honest, Chile were going to be winners even if they had lost the penalty shootout. A loss would have still proven that Chile can play with the world’s elites and that they are not to be underestimated anymore. But they did win and have now won two consecutive Copa Americas. Leading up to their 4–2 shootout win over Argentina, was a 7–0 destruction of Mexico and then a rain-delayed 2–0 win against Colombia. Though the officiating of the final may be questioned, Chile and their goalkeeper in particular (who we will discuss later) held strong to make it to penalty kicks, which they obviously won. Their efforts did not go unnoticed, as La Roja swept all the individual awards for the tournament, with Alexis Sanchez winning the Golden Ball, Eduardo Vargas the Golden Boot, and Claudio Bravo the Golden Glove Award. Chile are up to third in the World Elo Ratings and show no signs of moving down anytime soon.

Loser: Argentinian FA

To start I want to make it clear that I refuse to solely blame Messi for Argentina’s trophy drought. Yes, Messi missed his penalty in the shootout, but soccer is a team sport and there are ten other guys out there with him. There is only so much one player can do and this image perhaps best shows what Messi was up against in this final:

Messi was masterful in this tournament and though his penalty miss may be the defining moment, he showed that he is the best player in the world and possibly ever. The real bombshell came after the game when Messi announced he would be retiring from the Argentine National Team, and he was not the only one! It is tough to blame him too, there is a large faction of Argentinian fans who do not appreciate what he has done for his home country and cling to Maradona. If he and others will actually follow through on this is yet to be seen, but this is where the Argentine FA has a problem. It is no secret that they have been in trouble lately, and tensions between Messi and the AFA came to the forefront before the final when Messi posted on Instagram a message aimed at the AFA about a flight delay.

Not exactly what you want to hear from your star player days before a major final. Messi did apologize after saying that should not be the focus, but he was not far off here. To compound the AFA’s problem, Grant Wahl reported this news on Tuesday:

These are bad times for Argentina, and World Cup qualifying resumes in September. Argentina is an insanely deep team, but losing the likes of Messi, Sergio Agüero, Mascherano, and others would be a massive blow. If the AFA does not step up they could severely hamper their chances of ending the 23-year trophy drought for Argentina two years from now in Russia.

Winner: South American Goalkeepers

As I said earlier, Claudio Bravo (Chile’s goalkeeper) was a big part of the reason La Roja won the Copa America Centenario. Bravo was not the only one though, Colombia’s David Ospina and Argentina’s Sergio Romero had great tournaments as well. Bravo made perhaps the save of the tournament on an Agüero header in extra time of the final.

That is almost super human and it came just minutes after Romero made a fantastic save for Argentina:

David Ospina was fantastic for Colombia in the third-place game and Clint Dempsey is probably still seeing Ospina in his nightmares. Ospina made two great saves to prevent Dempsey from scoring in their group stage match and then this incredible save off his free kick in the 51st minute of the third-place game. This just isn’t even fair…

It was a very impressive showing from these fine fellows and their clubs can only hope they carry over their form into the season.

Meh: USA

Before the Copa America Centenario began, Jurgen Klinsmann said that the goal for the USMNT was to reach the semifinals of the tournament. After losing their opening game to Colombia 2–0, the US rallied to win their next two games and the group after Costa Rica shocked Colombia 3–2 in the final game. The US then faced Ecuador in the quarterfinals in Seattle and won the game 2–1 to reach the semifinals. Mission accomplished, right? Well not exactly. In a chaotic two minutes versus Ecuador, the US lost two key contributors. Jermaine Jones saw straight red for making intentional contact with an opponent’s face and Bobby Wood picked up his second yellow in four matches for dissent, resulting in a suspension. Later in the match, Alejandro Bedoya also got himself suspended for yellow card accumulation, leaving the US without three starters against #1 ranked Argentina.

Though the United States faced long odds to beat Argentina anyways, losing three important players was not going to make it any easier. Argentina prevailed 4–0, and the US struggled mightily in the game, barely able to keep possession or even complete a pass. This showed how far the US still has to go to catch up with the elites of the world, but this was not a bad tournament by any means. There is progress being made. Many young players are playing in big leagues around the world or are in the academies of major clubs. It is a process, and Klinsmann’s efforts in the youth system will not be evident for a few more years. It will take some patience but the US is getting there as a soccer nation.

Winner: Copa America Organizers

There is no two ways about it, this Copa America Centenario was a resounding success. There were some hiccups along the way, but ultimately this was a fantastic showing for the US as hosts and for the idea of a continued combined tournament and possibly a World Cup in 2026. Surfaces were decent, fans got along, ratings were high, and attendance was great:

There have already been rumors of making this a recurring tournament every four years and I cannot see anything that would prevent this from happening. The rumored plan would be to play the tournament in-between the Gold Cups in a non-World Cup year (2020, 2024, 2028, etc.). This would not affect Confederations Cup qualification for CONCACAF and would not exclude South American fans, as the regular Copa America would still be held the year before in South America. There has also been talk of expanding the field to 20 teams but as we are about to discuss that may not be the best idea.

Loser: Expanded Euros field and yellow card rules

As alluded to above and in my “Winners and Losers from the Group Stage”, the expanded Euros field has caused some teams to play very conservatively. For the first time the Euros field went from 16 teams to 24 teams. While this allowed for some smaller countries like Hungary and Albania to qualify, it made for a number of unentertaining games. The addition of teams also created an extra round to the knockouts, however the yellow card rules were not adjusted. This meant that if a player picked up two yellow cards in five(!) games they would be suspended for the semifinals.

If the format for the Euros stays at 24 teams, the yellow card rules will have to be changed to avoid this happening again. At the minimum, the yellow cards should reset after the round of sixteen. Another option could be to leave the reset where it is now (the quarterfinals) as not to risk players missing the finals, but only suspending players for two yellow cards if they are received in successive matches instead of a suspension for two yellow cards total in five games. Any modification will do but something clearly must change.

Winner: Portugal

Ugh…it was not pretty by any means but someway, somehow Portugal are the champions of Euro 2016. After the heartbreak of losing to Greece in 2004 as hosts, Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo were able to finally win the first ever major tournament in their country’s history. Portugal only won one game the entire tournament in regular time but they fought hard all the way to get here. They were massive underdogs going into the final, and when Ronaldo was forced to come out after only 25 minutes, their likelihood of winning seemed next to nothing. Portugal bunkered down, and thanks to an excellent game from Pepe at centerback and Rui Patrício in goal, they were able to force extra time. Then, Éder, the unlikeliest of heroes, was able to smash a ball that found the back of the net from about 25 yards out to give Portugal the lead in the 109th minute. They held on to win, and a hobbled Ronaldo was able to finally lift the trophy. So often, Portugal have come up just short of a title, and now they finally are champions behind a gritty performance from the entire team all tournament.

Loser: Spain’s Euro dominance

It is certainly the end of an era for this Spanish team. After winning the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 Euros, Spain were seeking a three-peat at the Euros. Unfortunately, finishing second in their group on the final day put them up against Italy in the first round of the knockouts. In the rematch of the 2012 final, Spain were stifled by the stout Italian defense and ultimately lost 2–0. Not only did this eliminate Spain from the Euros, it likely signals the end of Spain’s dominance. They are still extremely talented but this is not the same team. Also, as expected, long-time boss Vicente Del Bosque, retired after the competition. Del Bosque lead Spain to their first ever World Cup title and the 2012 Euros win, with an 87–10–17 record during his tenure. Spain need to replace their most successful manager ever, who will have the tough task of leading Spain into it’s next era.

Winner: Wales

In their first major tournament since the 1958 World Cup, Wales were ready to put themselves back on the footballing map. Lead by Gareth Bale, they did just that, reaching the semifinals before ultimately losing 2–0 to Portugal. Wales won their group and beat Northern Ireland and Belgium on their way to the semifinals. This tournament would be a success for almost any country but it means even more to Wales and their fans as they head toward World Cup qualifying in September. The Welsh are in a relatively light qualification group, with the disappointing Austrians as the only real threat to them. If all goes according to plan, and Bale and company can build on this success, they should find themselves in-line to make a deep run at the World Cup in Russia.

Loser: England

What more can you say? (🚨🚨🚨Game of Thrones Spoiler ahead!!!!🚨🚨🚨)

In all seriousness, this was not a great tournament for England. With the youngest team at the Euros and the expectations higher than ever after a perfect 10–0–0 qualifying campaign, England fell flat once again at a major tournament. After drawing with Slovakia in the final group stage match, England failed to win the group and were subsequently put on the much tougher side of the bracket. Their opponent ended up being Iceland (who we will get to very soon), and England were favored heavily going into the match. Things did not go according to plan and Iceland beat England 2–1 to knock them out of the competition. It was a bad performance and you could hear the disgust in the announcers voices as the final whistle drew nearer. Harry Kane in particular had a rough day (and tournament, honestly), spraying free kicks everywhere but near the goal. This was in the middle of the second half and well…it wasn’t good:

England need to rebound fast and the good news is they have a very young squad, but they will need to find a new manager as Roy Hodgson resigned after the embarrassing loss to Iceland. In all honesty, Hodgson likely was not going to keep his job anyways, creating a “ ’You’re fired!’ ‘You can’t fire me because I quit!’ ” situation but England still need a manger. A number of names have been floated around for the job, including US manager Jurgen Klinsmann. England have a very easy World Cup qualifying group and should breeze their way through it, but going far in a major tournament is what matters and England only have two knockout stage wins in the last 20 years.

Winner: THAT Shaqiri goal

With his team trailing 1–0 to Poland in the 82nd minute of the opening knockout round match, Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri did this:

My vote for goal of the tournament and one of the nicest bicycle kicks you’ll ever see, Shaqiri pulled Switzerland level late to force extra time. Though Switzerland lost 5–4 on PKs, this was still incredible. In his postgame press conference he was asked if this was the nicest goal of his career, to which he replied “You don’t know me very well, obviously. I always score nice goals!” He wasn’t lying either, the Stoke City midfielder has his fair share of fantastic goals.

Loser: THAT Zaza run-up

Now to the other end of the spectrum…Simone Zaza’s penalty kick from the quarterfinals. Italy and Germany played to a rather dull 1–1 draw, except for Boateng’s crazy/dumb/fantastic hand ball (sound extremely recommended):

Note: If you are wondering, there is an entire Twitter account dedicated to merging soccer and Titanic music (@TitanicGoal). Worth your time if you want to kill 15 minutes.

Anyways, the game stayed 1–1 after the 30 minute extra time and they headed to penalty kicks. Just before extra time ended, Simone Zaza was subbed on for the sole purpose of the shootout. He went second for Italy and proceeded to sky his penalty after one of the odder run-ups you will ever see:

This was Zaza’s first touch of the game so its hard to blame him in such a high pressure situation but that run-up was..uh..not good. This entire shootout was surprisingly awful for both teams but if you want to see a video of all the penalties taken at once, this video from The Mirror is fun.

Loser: Legend tears

Emotions run high in these tournaments, not only for fans, but for the players as well. The worst part is us having to watch the legends of the game brought to tears. It was heartbreaking to see Messi so dejected after Argentina’s most recent finals letdown. The same can be said for GiGi Buffon walking off the field for what is likely his last major tournament after Italy’s loss to Germany in the quarterfinals. And perhaps most heartbreaking of all was watching Cristiano Ronaldo rip of the captain’s armband after realizing he could not continue with his injury.

Messi was devastated after missing his penalty in the shootout to Chile and you could almost see how the entire weight of a country weighed on him after the game.

Buffon cried on his way off the pitch after the PK shootout loss to Germany:

Buffon was even more emotional in his post-game press conference, and it was even tougher to watch. Buffon is the greatest goalkeeper of my lifetime (possibly ever) and when he does eventually ride off into the sunset on a majestic white stallion it will be a sad day.

Similar to Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo was trying to deliver a trophy to a country hungry for one. At the age of 31, this was also likely Ronaldo’s last real shot to do so. Unfortunately for him, he went down with an injury after being taken down by Dmitri Payet early in the final. He tried to fight through the pain and come back on the pitch but ultimately he was forced off. His toughness did not go unnoticed, as many people (myself included) could only admire his desire to represent his country:

Fortunately, this one has a happy ending and Portugal were able to pull off the upset. Meaning Ronaldo got to shed a different kind of tears as they lifted the trophy as champions.

Winner: Iceland

If you read either of my other Euro articles, you know that I was all-in with this Iceland team. They were the underdogs that stole our hearts at this tournament and they announced themselves to the world by knocking of England 2–1 in the round of sixteen. Iceland heavily committed themselves to developing their soccer culture, and that dream came to fruition at this Euros. However, this was not only about the players on the pitch, but the entire country rallying behind their team. Iceland’s population is listed at just 330,000 and approximately 8% of the population traveled to France to see their team take the field in their first ever major tournament. By now we have all seen the video of the Icelandic commentator going crazy after Iceland secured a berth in the knockouts. That symbolized how much this meant to Iceland, but this video in Iceland’s capital of Reykjavik of the viewing party shows their importance even more:

Turns out he wasn’t far off…

Even though Iceland lost to France 5–2 in the quarterfinals, the fans were not phased as they did their now famous “Viking clap” after the final whistle in the stadium and back home in Reykjavik:

When the team got home, they were greeted by 33,000 fans and deservedly treated as heroes. By this reaction you would think they won the Euros but this was a big first step for Iceland.

It would be wrong to label this Iceland team as a “Cinderella” or what they did as a “miracle.” This was no fluke, this is a talented Iceland squad and they are set up to be successful for a long time. The island nation, with a population roughly equal to Riverside, California, only lost one game at the entire tournament and will set their sights on qualifying for a World Cup for the first time ever in September.