Spectacular goals, intense overtime, clashes between cadors, scalped favorites, dreams that take shape and others that collapse ... The knockout stages of Euro-2021 were rich in lessons.

• France eliminated

It is the great thunderclap of the round of 16.

France, reigning world champion, arch-favorite, with the attacking trident feared by the entire football planet, was eliminated by modest Switzerland on Monday June 28 in Bucharest (3-3, 5 shots on goal to 3).

The European campaign of the Blues was missed.

After a decent first match against Germany (1-0), the Blues were held in check by Hungary (1-1) then by Portugal (2-2).

Before being taken out by the Swiss at will and superior tactical organization, after a penalty shootout where only Kylian Mbappé was defeated by Yann Sommer.

Moussa Sissoko and Benjamin Pavard comfort Kylian Mbappé after his missed shot against Switzerland, June 28, 2021. AFP - FRANCK FIFE

During the competition, the trident Griezmann-Mbappé-Benzema did not keep his promises despite the latter's four achievements.

In the middle, Kanté and Pogba appeared below their usual standards, while the once impregnable fortress defense looked more like a permanent DIY house of cards.

It is true that Didier Deschamps was little helped by the cascading damage of his men.

"As we are the French team and reigning world champions, being eliminated in the round of 16 is not a good result," assumed captain Hugo Lloris on Monday.

"Everyone expected more, we were the first. We will have to digest this disappointment," he summed up after the setback against Switzerland.

• Favorites jostled by outsiders

France is not the only one to go by the wayside in this first knockout match. The Netherlands also fell in the face of a nation a priori within its reach, the Czech Republic. In Budapest, the Dutch selection fell from very high, weighed down by the deserved exclusion of Matthijs de Ligt for a rude hand (53rd), then by Tomas Holes (68th) and the amazing striker Patrik Schick (81st), author of his fourth goal in this Euro.

The "Oranje" failed to contain the collective strength of the Czechs, carried by their audience who came en masse to Hungary and qualified for the fourth quarter of the Euro in its history (after 1996, 2004 and 2012).

They did not know how to be dangerous either: the Netherlands did not frame a single shot during the round of 16.

A failure which cost his place to the coach Frank de Boer, very disputed by his desire to question the sacrosanct 4-3-3.

He preferred to resign.

Frank de Boer stapt op als bondscoach van het Nederlands elftal.



📝 https://t.co/I8icq1UO4P.

- KNVB (@KNVB) June 29, 2021

Italy, yet so attractive after its group stage, itself doubted.

As paralyzed, it stuck for a long time against Austria.

Uncomplicated, "das Team" could even have opened the scoring if the head of Marko Arnautovic (65th), entered with the help of the crossbar, had not been canceled for offside after consultation of the video refereeing (VAR ).

The extra time allowed Squadra Azzurra to put the church back in the center of the village: Federico Chiesa then Matteo Pessina forced the Austrian safe before Sasa Kalajdzic reduced the score, a first in 11 matches for the Nazionale.

Alert for Italy, qualified not without difficulty.

• Croatia, Portugal and Germany out

In addition to France and the Netherlands, three other great nations left the competition prematurely, eliminated in the posters of the round of 16.

Portugal, dominating, was given a lesson in realism by Belgium and Thorgan Hazard (1-0).

Croatia, vice-world champion, lost to Spain at the end of extra time and a crazy match (5-3) where the Croats thought they were doing the hardest by scoring 2 goals in 10 minutes.

Finally, Germany took the door on Tuesday at Wembley against England.

Miraculous from the "group of death" from which it extricated itself in extremis, the Nationalmannschaft did not hold up to the shock against the Three Lions.

The Joachim Löw era ends with this elimination.

And England resumes dreaming of consecration at home on July 11.

The air of "Football's coming home" is once again a trend across the Channel.

A wind of change is blowing over this Euro-2021, with the elimination in the round of 16 of the 2016 European champion (Portugal), the 2016 European vice-champion (France), and the two semi-finalists of 2016 (Germany and Wales).

• Goals in shambles

The scorers made the powder speak during the round of 16. No match ended in a goalless draw. On the contrary, the spectators were spoiled with 29 goals in eight matches, an average of 3.6 goals / game. These round of 16 of Euro-2021 were much more prolific than those of Euro-2016. There were only 19 goals scored five years ago.

After the knockout stages of this Euro-2021, which is the second to be played by 24 teams, the competition's goal record has already fallen.

In 2016, 108 goals were scored in 51 matches played.

This year, after only 44 games, there are 123 goals.

Even without the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, top scorer in the competition (5 goals) and in the entire history of the competition (14 goals scored in 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016 and 2021), the nets should still tremble many times over. 'by July 11, the day of the final in London.

The joy of the Danish Kasper Dolberg, author of a double against Wales, June 26, 2021. AFP - OLAF KRAAK

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