Euro 2020: The story so far

The first round of Euro 2020 games over, it’s time to check out how each of the Barça players have got on.

Griezmann, Dembélé and Lenglet

France showed just why they are considered by so many people to be the favourites to win the tournament with a stellar performance against Germany, winning 1-0 but also having two goals discounted for the very narrowest of offside calls. Griezmann started the game and looked in fine song, making 34 good passes. Dembélé was only on for the final seconds, and Lenglet watched from the bench.

Next up for France is Hungary on Saturday at 3.00pm CEST, where a point should be enough to ensure passage into the next round.

Jordi Alba, Pedri, Sergio Busquets and Eric Garcia 

Jordi Alba and Pedri, with 121 and 105 passes each, were two of the standout players for Spain against Sweden, where the home side played some fabulous football but were unable to turn any of that into goals.

Pedri was the youngest player ever to appear for Spain in the competition. Eric Garcia was an unused substitute, while Sergio Busquets is hanging on the results of his PCR test to see if and when he’ll be able to re-join the squad.

Next up for Spain is Poland on Saturday at 9.00pm CEST. 

Frenkie de Jong

Holland’s game with Ukraine was regarded by many as the best of Euro 2020 so far. The Dutch let a 2-0 lead slip before sealing a 3-2 win right at the end. De Jong looked comfortable, with a 91.75% pass completion rate.

Holland are in action next against Austria on Thursday at 9.00pm CEST. 

Braithwaite

Denmark’s game with Finland will always be remembered for what happened to Christian Eriksen and the admirable way in which everyone involved dealt with and avoided a potential tragedy, Martin Braithwaite included. The Barça striker was very active in attack, and had two shots on target, but Denmark ended up losing 1-0 to debutants Finland.

The Danes need to bounce back with a win, but it won’t be east against the much-fancied Belgians on Thursday at 6.00pm CEST.