LIFE LESSONS FROM THE 17th UEFA EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
1. Enjoy Life
Remember it is the journey not the destination that matters - Scotland arrived on a sea of faith and bagpipes but on the field were out of their depth, beginning with a 5-1 opening match mauling by the hosts. And yet, there should be no regrets from the thousands of the carnival foot soldiers of the Tartan Army who took over Cologne, Munich and Stuttgart, making friends and memories for life. Christian Eriksen celebrated life itself by scoring for Denmark against Slovenia three years after a near-death experience at Euro 2020.
2. Rise When You Fall
Luka Modric was aghast when Gianluigi Donnarumma palmed away his penalty in the group stage but Croatia kept running and 33 seconds later the same player beat the same Italian goalkeeper to score. It is not a question of whether you will get knocked down in life, but rather how quickly you get up when you are.
3. Never Say Die
Ollie Watkins' last-minute winner for England against Holland was far from the latest goal. Niclas Füllkrug stole a point for Germany against Switzerland in the 92nd minute, Cenk Tosun wrecked Czech dreams when he scored in the 94th and Slovenia were already celebrating a historic win over their former Yugoslav masters when Luka Jović popped up to equalise for Serbia in the 95th minute. Klaus Gjasula waited until the same point of the clock before rescuing a draw for Albania against Croatia and the 95th was Jude Bellingham's minute of choice to save the Three Lions' blushes versus Slovakia. The Croats were guilty again of not playing to the whistle when conceding in the 98th against Italy and Kevin Csoboth scored the winner for Hungary against Scotland in the 100th.
4. It's a Marathon, Not a Sprint
Germany started with a bang, hammering the Scots 5-1 to light up the host nation. But the victory was so comfortable it taught us very little; England were much less impressive in their opener and received a ton of gripes where Germany were showered with praise, but it was the Three Lions who reached the final at the Olympiastadion and Der Mannschaft who went out in the quarters.
5. Trust The Wisdom of Youth
Lamine Yamal (16) and Arda Guler (19) were two teenagers who lit up the tournament with spectacular goals. Kobbie Mainoo (19) slotted in effortlessly for England and Jamal Musiala (21) also dazzled for Germany and like Yamal is sure to be one of the world's best players in years to come. If you are good enough, you are old enough. The Czech Republic's squad was the youngest of the 24 nations, aged on average 25.5.
6. Use Experience Too
Age is just a number - Portugal's Pepe, in his fifth decade, played five games at Euro 2024 and in his final match went 120 minutes against France, where the 41 year-old kept Kylian Mbappe and company from scoring. Ronaldo was 39, Luka Modric captained Croatia aged 38 years old and Jesús Navas was the same age for Spain. There was a host of 37 year-olds running around - Olivier Giroud for France, Jan Vertonghen for Belgium, Florin Niṭǎ for Romania, Peter Pekarík for Slovakia and Guram Kashia for Georgia three days before his 37th birthday. Poland's Kamil Grosicki also played at 36, as did Slovenia's Josip Ilićič. Germany's squad was the oldest with an average age of 28.5.
7. Know When to Leave the Stage
Cristiano Ronaldo did a Joe Biden for Portugal, running on reputation, apparently too big to fail. The naked emperor looked a dead weight up front for an otherwise fluid and talented side. He insisted on taking most of their free kicks close to goal but failed to find the net and missed a penalty. Just as when he left the field alone at Qatar 2022, it was hard to sympathise with his tears for not having scored a goal at Euro 2024.
8. Win or Lose, Do it with Grace
In their clash in Hamburg, the Czech Republic and Turkey shared no less than 18 cards, a record for the Euros. The Turks won 2-1 and qualified for the knockout stages at the expense of their opponents but accrued 11 yellows while the Czechs earned two red cards and tried to start a brawl at the final whistle.
9. Believe to Achieve
In their knockout clash, little Georgia bravely attacked a superior Spain, took the lead and led for 20 minutes; the Spanish cruised to a 4-1 win in the end, but everyone applauded the debutants for giving it a lash anyway. Equally little Albania led holders Italy for ten minutes and World Cup semi finalists Croatia for 63 minutes. Unfancied Slovenia and Turkey reached the knockout stages too, the former taking Portugal to penalties and Turkey eliminating the much-fancied Austrians before giving the Netherlands an almighty fright. A David might not have reached the final but minnows did give many a Goliath a fright along the way.
10. Ignore the Noise and Stay on Course
Gareth Southgate and England reached the final despite an incessant soundtrack of domestic moaning in the background, slating him once more for not playing on the front foot or making more use of his quiver of attacking talent. It was the same at Russia 2018, Euro 2020 and Qatar 2022 but England advanced again in spite or perhaps because of all the griping. Southgate has a wider vision than any previous England manager and as the title of his book says, Anything is Possible.
Sean O'Conor
Euro 2024 Host Cities & Stadiums
Buy tickets for soccer matches around the world