The Chelsea contingent at the Euros has been whittled down massively in just one round. The round of 16 turned into an absolute slug fest for many with big names dropping out and unexpected names marching on. How did the Chelsea players do? Who is coming home early and who is looking to bring it home yet?
Day One: Andreas Christensen, Ethan Ampadu, and Jorginho
Ethan Ampadu was suspended for Wales match against Denmark. While it would have been nice to see him get a potential shop window showcase, it is good that it wasn’t on this particular day. Denmark completely dominated the Welsh side, hammering away a 4-0 victory.
Andreas Christensen was his usual fantastic self in 2021, with a few twists. He nominally played as a holding midfielder for Denmark, but he very often dropped deep to form a back three in response to certain Welsh attacks. This back and forth movement is something many have cried out from Christensen for years and it was very similar to how Thomas Tuchel used Marquinhos at Paris Saint-Germain. Perhaps he’ll get some ideas from the match for preseason?
Elsewhere, Italy went from unstoppable force to nearly unstoppable force. Austria gave them a game, taking the Italians to extra time. They didn’t have enough in the tank to survive Italy though. Jorginho played the full 120 as the lynchpin of the midfield. The main concern for him, and the Italian team at large, is having to go so long against an Austria side with a fresher opponent coming in the quarterfinals.
Day Two: Michy Batshuayi
Day two of the round of 16 was more about players of the past (and future?) as Michy Batshuayi was an unused sub for Belgium and no other Chelsea player featured. Belgium didn’t have too much trouble from a Portuguese team bursting with untapped talent this tournament. A Thorgan Hazard wonder strike from distance proved the difference as the Belgians prepare for a much less fresh Italian team next round.
Elsewhere, Atlanta United fans rejoice as Frank de Boer does the thing as Netherlands unexpectedly (to some) crashed out to the Czech Republic. Sure, not much can be done with Matthijs de Ligt tries to take the dark arts too far, but that’s how the cookie crumbles. The Czech Republic will look to continue their run with a winnable match against Denmark, but of course Denmark will be thinking the same thing about them.
Day Three: Cesar Azpilicueta, Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kante, Olivier Giroud, Kurt Zouma
Day three of the Euros could just as easily become the day defense and game management died. A whopping 14 goals were scored across 240 minutes of play with several Chelsea players featuring.
Spain and Croatia saw captain, leader, Spanish legend Cesar Azpilicueta notch his first ever Spanish goal. Spain had quite a bit of control all match but even at 3-1, they kept pushing for more. That proved to be a poor game management decision as Croatia roared back at the death to force extra time. It, ultimately, wouldn’t be enough for Croatia but Spain’s wounds were mostly self-inflicted.
Mateo Kovacic came off before things got hot after having a decent game. Many point towards Croatia suddenly being able to score two more goals when he left the pitch while also ignoring that they conceded another four after his substitution. Kovacic doesn’t shine for the national team in part because their midfield has too many overlapping qualities, but blaming the turnaround but not the capitulation around a Kovacic narrative is pretty lazy.
Day Four: Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Antonio Rudiger
Even with a big marquee matchup, it was unlikely the last day of the round of 16 would live up to the hype of day three. It didn’t help that Gareth Southgate opted not to use his Chelsea players in a 3-4-3 system that they just won the Champions League in. Ultimately, they got the result though and many are flipping from “Southgate is an idiot, we can play better than this” to “Saint Southgate is bringing it home”. Such is the life of an international team manager.
That change to three at the back was the right one to stall out Germany’s own three at the back. England was well set up to counter Germany’s advantages and hit them on the break. But Harry Kane was a ghost most of the match and it took Jack Grealish coming on to give England the attacking thrust necessary to take advantage of the German high line. England has a relatively clean route to the final now, with only themselves to blame if they don’t go the distance.
Germany, meanwhile, went full Chelsea with all three finally starting. Antonio Rudiger was his usual dark artsy self, let down by two other defenders beside him more than anything else. Timo Werner struggled to get into the game and somewhat awkwardly sat much deeper as he started runs than normal. He had a good chance early on but Jordan Pickford had an excellent angle to make the save. Kai Havertz was easily Germany’s best player as he more or less created all of their best chances single handedly. Let down by his teammates, he and his fellow Germans will now have the rest of the summer to rest up.
Elsewhere, former Chelsea player (and briefly rumored interim Chelsea manager) Andriy Shevchenko managed his Ukraine side past Sweden in a match that was more brawl than football by the end. Shevchenko has done very solid work with Ukraine and he might be one keeping an eye on in the future if he continues. Of course, England will be in his way and they will be more physically rested after Ukraine had to go to extra time (and nearly penalties).
Who were your stars of the round of 16? Who can go all the way? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!