Permutations
Isn't it a lovely word? I can imagine it as a huge Kevin Keegan monster. There are certain words that have an association with football that I can't shake and it feels like the third round of group matches has always been about permutations. Is it better to win the group or not? Which side of the draw would be better to be on? This is a classic point near the halfway point of a tournament and it feels alive with possibility and glee. This time, with the third place team wildcard option on the table, it made this particular set of matches even more difficult to assess until it was all over. As I heard someone say, it makes filling your wallchart in a real annoyance.
I thought that this would add some extra excitement to the round with almost all teams still, potentially, in it to the end (and how appropriate in a group stage so tight in individual games). I'm not sure it has in all cases but it has in some and that should be applauded. I think UEFA have really added some spice into the mix here. For every time we complain about the Slovakians playing for a draw (against England) , you can also see the Spaniards and Croatians going toe to toe in the relative safety of knowing they'll both make it. We can be a little sniffy about who makes it out of the group stages but I think it really means something to some people - that is worth remembering. The joy of Iceland making it out of the group stages (and to be fair, they didn't need the third place for that) and what that must mean[1] in a country with the population of a borough of London is truly amazing. Look at what it means to third place Northern Ireland to get through to the last 16. Theoretically, these are the teams that should have got through in the previous system of having sixteen teams in the finals stage, but there is so much more glory, it is a joy to behold. The third round of games is less about what happened, and more about what could happen. Even so, there were some great games with my personal favourite being Spain vs Croatia as the two teams were clearly high level and they made their passes count - I also rather enjoy watching Spain lose these days. The Portugal vs Hungary game was also good - the highest scoring game (although my point on goals being overrated still stands!) as it had drama to the end as a result of the Hungary vs Austria game taking place in parallel - which in the end, comes down to the effect of those results.
And what permutations we have with a nice, uneven round of games in keeping with this slightly more open tournament than we thought. That last gasp winner for Croatia setting up a wonderful last 16 game between Spain and Italy which will have to be the tie of the round. Who'd have thought we would get a rematch of the last final? Both have been wonderful in parts (arguably, each delivered the performances of the stage against Belgium and Turkey) but the tightness of the continent's level sees them flung together. The "home nations" tie between Northern Ireland and Wales will be an intriguing contest with Wales probably able to exert pressure from a position of relative strength for them and it should see Bale, Ramsey and Allen continue their fine form. The draw has been split in two with one side heavy with potential champions and the other side, relatively light - these are the permutations making it exciting.
Kits
I am quite a fan of football from the aesthetic point of view, I really love the shifts of space and momentum when you see the mass of players interacting but I am also quite a fan, usually, of the details - the kits. I say usually, as some of the kits in this tournament are just horrible. The England kit is genuinely terrible with the pointless blue sleeves, the ridiculous looking white shorts and stupid red socks.
It is a real shame to trample over the traditional colours but at least there is only really one shade of white. France have got a blue that isn't even their normal blue! They have two blues on their shirt and neither is the correct blue! They still have blue shorts too which is just wrong. There seems to be a rule in the World Cup where the teams must have the same colour (or close) shirts and shorts but it seems not to be the case for UEFA and so we have seen teams with contrasting kits again. That is much better, but some teams (and it seems the Nike ones - they got rid of different shorts colours many years ago, seemingly voluntarily, for many of their kits such as Portugal and the Netherlands) have still got the rather silly looking monokits. It is like playing in a onesie.
1. If you want to know what it mean for Iceland, the commentary in this link will surely give you some idea. Iceland has a population similar to the London borough of Lambeth - this is some achievement.↩
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