Goodbye to the group of death

The three powers that became Round of 16 of the Eurocup from the so-called group of death, France, Germany and Portugal, have been struck down, out of the quarterfinals.

The Germany defeat to England at London's Wembley Stadium 2-0 put an end to the trio of continental title contenders. On Sunday Portugal fell to Belgium (1-0) and on Monday France against Switzerland (3-3 and 5-4 on penalties).

The three teams, together with Hungary, provided a tremendous group in which anything could happen and it was resolved at the last minute with ties to two in the duels between Germans and Magyars and Portuguese and Gauls that in the end qualified the trio.

It is the first time that the Germans have fallen at this stage of the competition since they did not pass the first phase in Portugal 2004. In the 2008 Austrian / Swiss European Championship he was runner-up (they lost 1-0 to Spain in Vienna), and in the next two, in Poland / Ukraine 2012 and in France 2016, he was a semi-finalist.

Joachim Low, who will be relieved of office by Hans-Dieter Flick, says goodbye to his long period in the national team (he has been a coach since 2006) with a new disappointment, which adds to the one suffered in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, in which he did not pass the group stage.

France, current world champion and considered the number one favorite, and Portugal, defender of the title, they fell for the first time in their history in this round of a European Championship.