Blog

by Ben Ayuko

{image by sportsmole}

Sorry Georgia, I was not familiar with your game.

Neither were you, reader. I don’t think anybody was. Or at least, I don’t think anybody thought Georgia would beat Portugal, deservedly, let alone qualify for the knockout rounds of the European championship. On their first time in the competition no less.

And I mean “Deservedly“. Quite literally from the 1st minute of the game {technically 1:30} when Georgia Starboy, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, raced through on goal after latching onto a through ball from teammate Georges Mikautadze and finished tidily passed the Portuguese keeper, Diogo Costa. This early goal seemed to spark a seemingly dormant flame that had been inside this Georgia team all along, just waiting for a chance to shine. And shine they did.

Now, Portugal is one of the best teams in the world, so obviously they had chances to score from the likes of Ronaldo, Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, etc. But none of them managed to breach this very inspired Georgian defense. Their goalkeeper, Giorgi Mamardashvili, in particular had quite a stellar performance, making 5 saves including a particularly powerful freekick from Ronaldo. And with every chance he saved, it only seemed to spur Georgia on. They were trading shots on either end of the pitch with Georgia holding their own and going toe-to-toe with one the best teams in the world let alone in Europe.

Just as Portugal started to get a handle on the game and it seemed like the inevitable outcome, we all knew was going to happen, was going to happen, Georgia earned themselves a penalty kick and Georges Mikautadze , after registering the assist for the first goal, dispatched the spot kick with finesse to seal the deal and confirm Georgia’s progress into the Round of 16.

The dream lives on.

Elsewhere, Cenk Tosun scored in the dying minutes of injury time (90min+4) to secure 2nd spot for Turkey and ensure safe progression through to the round of 16. Hakan Çalhanoğlu’s powerful drive into the bottom corner had given Turkey the lead before Tomáš Souček equalized for the Czech Republic. It was quite a comeback considering they’d had a man sent off in the 1st half.

Portugal progressed as group winners followed by Turkey then Georgia. Let us see what they can muster in the next round.

by Ben Ayuko

{image by Sky News}

England set out to secure their status as the top team in Group C when they took on Slovenia. Gareth Southgate, the England Manager, has recently come under fire from his own people (the English) after some lackluster performances in the opening 2 group games. Knowing this he really needed a performance from his team to get the fans on his side.

If anything, he may have started riot. A protest. A demonstration even. Like the taxbi- look, it wasn’t good.

England had one or two good moments in the whole game. 1st, a goal ruled out due to an offside in the buildup {admittedly, a good play}. And 2nd was good sequence of play that culminated in a weak effort on goal from substitute Cole Palmer. Other than that, England failed to create anything of real note for the whole 90min. They were equally as likely to lose the game as they were to win it. The spectators were so displeased, they began throwing their empty beer cups at Gareth Southgate. Okay, maybe they’re treating him a little harshly considering he is literally coaching their national team. But English fans have always been that way with their own people. Who can forget the whole Beckham episode before he “mad up for it” with ‘That’ freekick vs Greece. Or the whole racist debacle at the last Euro tournament with Saka, Rashford and Sancho because they missed their penalties in the final. All we can ask is, is anyone really surprised they never win anything?

Anyway, the game ended 0-0.

Elsewhere, Denmark and Serbia played out a 0-0 draw, securing Denmark 2nd spot in Group C and qualification for the next round.

Fun fact, there has only been 1 win in 12 games in this group, which came from England on the opening day against Serbia. Denmark and Slovenia have drawn all their games, while England and Serbia drew 2 of theirs, each. This, of course means Serbia’s loss to England is also the only Loss experienced in this group.

It just might have been the most uneventful group.

by Ben Ayuko

{contact info: gnrlspecific@gmail.com}

{image by Getty Images}

Austria put on a show against the Netherlands as they edge them out 3-2 to get the victory and sail to the top of the group D table.

Austria took the lead through ana unfortunate own goal by Donyell Malen. He attempted a sliding tackle to try intercept a pass but ended up inadvertently putting the ball into his own net. Austria took a hold of the game from then as Netherlands found it difficult to play efficiently right up to half-time. After the break, Netherlands came out flying and immediately hit back through Cody Gakpo, the Liverpool man finishing off a swift counter-attacking move. At this point, it seemed like the Netherlands were going to run away with the game as they looked sharper than before, connecting plays and testing the keeper. They had wrestled the game back from Austria. So, it was a surprise when Austria then went 2-1 up.

A nice passing move around the Netherlands penalty area ended with a floated ball to the back post for Romano Schmid to nod home. Against the run of play, they had taken the lead. This is when Koeman, Netherlands coach, called on his trump card from the bench. Wout Weghorst, the Dutch giant, who has developed somewhat of a reputation for having an impact off the bench was substituted in and it didn’t take long for his impact to be felt. A ball was hung in the air for him t attack and he nodded it down onto the path of Memphis Depay who finished it with a plomb. They were level again. Surely now, they were going to win it and retain top spotting their group, right?

Obviously not, because not more than 5minutes later, Austria launched a devastating counterattack with Marcel Sabitzer on the end of it. He took one touch and rifled it in at the near post to the roof of the net.

Austria saw out the game and won 3-2, ascending form 3rd to 1st and comfortably through to the next round.

Elsewhere, it was a game of 2 penalties as Kylian Mbappe and Robert Lewandowski traded spot kicks for their respective teams meaning the game ended France 1-1 Poland. This also meant France could only finish 2nd in the group, having missed the chance to take advantage on the Netherlands slip up. Poland was sent home, but their fans left on a high.

by Ben Ayuko

{image by Getty Images}

{contact info: gnrlspecific@gmail.com}

Croatia just got brutally dumped out of the Euros tournament with a last-minute goal in the 8th minute of injury time (90min +8) from a wonderful finish by Mattias Zaccagni.

Croatia had initially taken the lead through their captain, Luka Modric, who, after a good save by the Italian keeper, Donnarumma, showed good poacher instincts by finishing off the rebound. Modric, who had earlier missed a chance to give Croatia the lead from the penalty spot, had taken the moment only minutes in a bid to make amends for his error and gift his country a place in the knockout stages. This probably being the Croat’s last tournament, it seemed written in the stars that he should receive such a fairytale moment as the dream lived on. The Italians, however, had other plans.

Just as the referee was pursing his lips to blow on the tip of the whistle, Italian Centre back Riccardo Calafiori picked the ball in his own half, and, as though fed up with his own team’s attackers’ constant failure to create chances, proceeded to carry it all the way into the Croatia penalty are. There, he laid it off to Zaccagni, who curled the ball expertly into the top corner to seal Italy’s spot in the knockout rounds and send Croatia packing.

Delight for the Italians meant Heartbreak for the Croats.

Elsewhere, an early goal by Ferran Torres was enough to secure victory for Spain as they maintained their perfect start to the Euros campaign, maintaining their top of the table status. They sail through to the knockout stages having won every single group game, scored 5 goals and conceded none.

I’m sure many people have them as their favourites.

by Ben Ayuko

{image by mykhel}

contact info: gnrlspecific@gmail.com

England absolutely demolished USA in their last group game of the second group stage of the ICC T20 World Cup to set up a semi-final against India.

The USA, the host nation, batted first and could only muster up 115 runs before all 10 wickets were bowled out after 18.5 overs. The highlight of the round, and probably the weekend (if not the whole tournament) was definitely Chris Jordan, not only getting a hattrick of back-to-back-to-back wickets but getting USA’s last 3 wickets during their inning. Like respectfully digging the grave in which they were to be buried.

But that wasn’t the final nail in the coffin. No, that honour went to England Captain, Jos Buttler and fellow batsman, Phil Salt as they cruised through their innings without enduring a single stump. Jos Buttler ended on 83 runs with Salt finishing them off with a boundary which brought him up to 25 runs, after a mere 9.4 overs.

England won by 10 wickets.

Elsewhere, India got their revenge against Australia after beating them in their last group game by 20 runs to secure their passage through to the semi-final and set up a clash against England. South Africa and Afghanistan make up the remaining 2 spots for those vying for the ultimate title.

by Ben Ayuko

{image by Ken Browne (Olympics.com)}

Former 100m sprint world champion, Christian Coleman, narrowly missed out on qualifying for the 2024 summer Olympic Games in Paris.

The American, who holds the record for the 60m indoor sprint word title, was one of the favourites to go through to represent the United States at the Olympics.

He had a strong semi-final performance, which he won comfortably in a time of 9.86sec, setting up yet another final showdown with his compatriot and current world champion, Noah Lyles (Who had won his own semi-final). He took his place on the starting blocks alongside a relatively quick field with every competitor having gone through with a sub-10sec sprint time, including the 18-year-old high schooler, Christian Miller.

As the gun fired, Coleman shot out the quickest and he was well clear of the track up to the 50m mark. However, this seems to have come at a cost as he appeared to gas out pretty early in the race giving the other competitors the opportunity to reel him in, which they did. First came, Noah Lyles in 9.80sec followed by Kenny Bednarek (9.87) and Fred Kerley (9.88). Coleman was next in 4th with a time of 9.93sec and misses out as only the top 3 athletes would qualify for the Olympic games. The 18-year-old, Christian Miller, was 5th with a time of 9.98sec.

This means that this is the first time in 7 years Coleman has failed to book a seat to represent his country.

This could be something to ponder for Omanyala, because did Christian Coleman- his nemesis- miss out simply because he wasn’t quick enough or because the rest of the field was just that much faster?

by Ben Ayuko

{image by cumhuriyet}

Germany, the host nation, was looking to roundoff a successful kick-off to the Euro 2024 tournament in front of their home fans at the Frankfurt stadium in Frankfurt. It was all goin according to plan for new manager Julien Nagelsmann. However, they failed to account for an inspired performance from a dogged Switzerland side that was determined to, not only spoil the party in the stadium, but also finish top of the group standings in Group A.

This is why there was a well taken finish by Dan Ndoye in the 28th minute game time, giving Switzerland the lead. And why, try as they might, the Germans just couldn’t break down the resolute Swiss defense. And why in the 80th minute, Switzerland mustered a deserved 2nd goal only for it to be ruled out for the tightest of offside calls. The home crowd was stunned. It was silent enough in the home end to hear the sneeze of a hamster. They couldn’t understand how it is they had miscalculated proceedings so terribly.

That is about the time when the German manager made an executive decision and subbed in their wrecking ball of a center forward, Niclas Füllkrug, who- in the last minute of injury time (90min +4)- crashed in a towering header to draw the game level at 1-1 and send the stadium into rapturous delirium.

Germany retained top spot (of the group) while Switzerland came second.

Hungary secured 3rd spot after Kevin Csoboth scored against Scotland in the 10th minute of injury time (90min+10) in what seemed like an attempt at outdoing Germany’s own heroics for a 1-0 win, and in so doing, left themselves with half a chance of progressing to the next stage.

Scotland are the first team to be kicked out of the tournament.

by Ben Ayuko

{image by Getty Images}

{contact info: gnrlspecific@gmail.com}

England National Team Manager, Gareth Southgate, has once again been called out for the lack of urgency in his team’s style of play. After, shall we say, escaping with a point against Denmark, a good team on its own merit but a team most would’ve expected England to beat nonetheless, the dissatisfied clamor amongst the English fanbase is almost palpable from about 8,000km away here in Kenya.

Having mentioned before the start of the tournament that it could very well be his last chance to win something for his country, one would’ve half expected the home support to be behind him; One Last Dance, as they say…

But no. The English fans are as vocal about their opinions of him as ever, and they are not pulling any punches.

And we’re only two games in.

You love to see it.