10 of the biggest UEFA EURO 2016 talking points
Stunning goals, strange behaviour, pumped up crowds and some ripping matches, the first round of UEFA EURO group games have had it all. Here are 10 of the best moments.
That Payet goal
The opening match of the tournament needed a big moment and France attacker Dimitri Payet stepped up to deliver it in the shadows of full-time, rifling his shot into the top corner to ignite the Stade De France crowd and kick-start host nation’s campaign.
Aside from scoring that wonder-goal, Payet's masterclass yielded the most scoring opportunities of the tournament - eight. Belgium's Maruane Fellaini is second on the list, with seven.
Those Iceland fans
Iceland is a trivia buff’s wet dream. The smallest country to qualify for the tournament, Iceland has a smaller population than Premier League champion Leicester. In fact, if you’re a male, you have a 1 in 2000 chance of making the national team. Most of the men who weren’t actually playing against Portugal were in the crowd, bursting their lungs as their heroes produced one of the feel-good moments of the first round.
Joachim low’s scratch and sniff
Just how do you top viral footage yourself picking your nose then eating it?
You do this!
Savvy armchair spooks have since dug up, pardon the pun, incriminating footage of Low ‘picking and sticking’ during training sessions.
Crime and punishment
For every weird and wonderful story that lights up the tournament, there’s an ugly one and the rolling brawls between England and Russia fans were blight on the opening few days. Now Russia has been handed a suspended tournament disqualification, with the same punishment hanging ominously over England.
Zlatan
The Swedish headline-generator always seems to find a way to dominate the back pages. From taking credit for an own goal by claiming ‘magical’ powers, to applauding his opponent for scoring said howler, Zlatan is always somewhere near the main talking points.
Hungary’s wonder-goal
Ok, so it may be a little premature to proclaim the second coming of the Magical Magyers, but Zoltan Stieber's stunner for Hungary was the goal of the opening round and conjured memories of some of the legends who have worn the famous shirt. And, Hungary sits top of a fascinating Group F that has been flipped on its head by the underdogs.
The great Italy ambush
It doesn’t feel right to attribute the word ‘ambush’ to a storied team like Italy, which has proven time and again it knows how to get it done at the big show. Then again, the way world number #2 ranked Belgium had been hyped up in the lead-up to their opening group E match, you could be forgiven for thinking the Azzuri would be brushed aside like flies on a hot day.
Anyway, Italy did what Italy does and the biggest surprise was that anyone was surprised.
Ruud picked it.
Italy manager Antonio Conte celebrated so hard his nose bled.
Bale versus England
Round 1: Wales behemoth Gareth Bale claims Wales has more pride and passion than England and reminds all there’s no way he would ever have played for the Three Lions, despite being eligible. England manager Roy Hodgson responds by saying he doesn’t respond to such comments.
Round 2: Bale ramps it up, claiming no England player would make the Wales lineup. Jack Wilshere responds with a haircut update:
Round 3: Bale’s Wales meets England in a mouthwatering match-up at 11pm on Thursday 16 June (AEST).
Turkey defender fixes hair
Speaking of hair, highly-rated Turkey midfielder Ozan Tufan used to be searched for on Youtube for his skills with ball at foot. Then, in his team's Group D opener, he decided to fix his bouffant as the ball was booted over his head and straight to the feet of Luka Modric. Ofan jogged towards the Real Madrid player as he re-adjusted his coiffure. Modric got ready to score a contender for goal of the tournament and Ofan's fringe-readjustment went viral.
Ronaldo never far from a record
Cristiano Ronaldo has had an odd tournament, but true to form, he's never far from a stat. Fresh from declaring himself to be the best footballer of the past 20 years, the Portugal captain fired off 10 shots against Iceland - the most of any player at a European Championship since Ronaldo himself, four years earlier against Netherlands.
The Iceland match also saw the end of Ronaldo's national record as the youngest debutant - Bayern Munich's Renato Sanches nabbing that honour midway through the second half. The Real Madrid star can content himself with equaling Luis Figo as the most-capped player for Portugal amid the frustration of not one of his 10 shots finding the net.
Afterwards, our man audacity to to take an eleventh shot at Iceland - one which also missed the mark.