Euro 2020 Thread (Or should it be Euro 2021?)

[panama hat]

Wales 0:1 Switzerland
Denmark 3:1 Finland
Belgium 1:1 Russia

Don't really know much about the Welsh, Finnish nor Russian teams

[hallelujah]

Belgium 1:1 Russia

Don't really know much about the Welsh, Finnish nor Russian teams

The Russian team is invariably shit, but there is always a story about their side.

In the days of the USSR they had some great players, most of whom came from the Ukraine such as Oleg Blokhin but, despite their talent, they they were never a threat in my lifetime until 1988 when they somehow reached the finals before being beaten by the great Holland team of Gullit and Van Basten.

Now, despite football being even more popular than ice hockey, and being the national game, a population of 145 million can barely raise a truly competitive team. There are many reasons for this, but corruption ranks high, as does elevating 3rd world imports, who they racially abuse, thus blocking genuine young Russian talent that can't find their way on local pitches cos the money has been spunked/pilfered elsewhere. Like most areas of society, rampant corruption hampers progression.

Yours, Hal, who is a genuine football lover first and foremost.