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Guys, have y’all been watching EURO 2020?
EURO 2020 is one of the biggest football championships, as it sees numerous countries across Europe participating in the tournament. With the quarter-finals about to begin, we’re set to see who might just clinch the championship title this time!
Whether you’re already watching the championship, or have yet to join in on the hype, we’ve prepared some things you gotta look out for during the ongoing EURO 2020!
In the meantime, if you’re not sure where to watch the latest sports content, check out sooka, where you can enjoy live sports action and local content online. Find out more at the end of this story!
But first, here are seven exciting things you gotta know about EURO 2020:
1. Young up-and-coming players with mad skills
Phil Foden
Image via Talksport
The European championships cast a spotlight on young players on a world stage. We’ve seen breakthrough stars who have cemented their careers on the pitch. Numerous young footballers are playing during EURO 2020, most of whom are around 18 to 23 years old. Who will shine the brightest this year?
21-year-old Phil Foden, who plays for England, is known to be one of the most promising midfielders. Will he prove himself on the field? There are also plenty of other up-and-coming footballers, including 19-year-old Jeremy Doku, 21-year-old Ferran Torres, and more, who may very well be the next generation of superstars.
2. Intense goal-saving efforts
Yann Sommer saves a penalty kick from Kylian Mbappè
Image via Stadium Astro
Ever witnessed intense goal-saving that made your heart beat super fast? T.T
With every football championship, we can expect to see intense goal-saving efforts that will keep us on the edge of our seat. For instance, when Francesco Toldo leapt for joy after he remarkably saved a penalty goal from the Netherlands during EURO 2000.
In fact, we’ve been getting some pretty exciting showdowns, like when Jordan Pickford made an amazing save against Kai Havertz in the last 16 or when Yann Sommer saved a penalty kick from Kylian Mbappé, which led to Switzerland defeating France!
3. Matches played across 11 different cities for the first time ever
Image via Global Times
According to the president of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), Michel Platini, EURO 2020 will be held across 11 cities for the first time as a ‘romantic’ one-off event to celebrate the 60th birthday of the European championship, wahhhhhh!
Plus, EURO 2020 has been one of the most anticipated football championships this year, due to the pandemic causing a year-long delay.
It’ll be super cool witnessing football matches taking place in different stadiums and cities. Take a look at the cities involved:
– Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam, Netherlands
– Baku Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan
– National Arena Bucharest in Bucharest, Romania
– Puskás Aréna in Budapest, Hungary
– Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark
– Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland
– Wembley Stadium in London, England
– Football Arena Munich in Munich, Germany
– Olimpico in Rome in Rome, Italy
– Saint Petersburg Stadium in Saint Petersburg, Russia
– Stadium La Cartuja Sevilla in Seville, Spain
4. Fun goal celebrations and rituals
Image via UEFA (YouTube)
Ahhh, goal celebrations! Incredible goals can be the talk of the town and live long in the memory of football fans.
Tonnes of goal celebrations and rituals have taken place throughout the European Championship. From Iceland’s iconic slow handclap after they defeated England during EURO 2016, to Swedish player Tomas Brolin celebrating his goal against England in 1992, and when Semih Sentürk gestured for Croatia’s football fans to be silent after he scored the winning goal for Turkey.
There should be no reason why we wouldn’t be seeing it again this time! Nothing beats the joy of witnessing your favourite football team celebrating after scoring a goal during a match. :’)
5. Video Assistant Referee (VAR) being used for the first time in the European Championship
Image via The Guardian
When fans were eagerly waiting for the commencement of EURO 2020, one of the biggest questions was whether VAR would be used in the tournament.
The use of VAR has always been controversial, with many perceiving it as a great way to overcome human errors, while others think it has affected the football gameplay considerably, as players have to be extra cautious in the field.
According to the chairman of UEFA’s Referees Committee, Roberto Rosetti, “We’re confident that the VAR system will be of great benefit at EURO 2020 – and we believe that our VARs are the best in the world. The aim is that the VARs are careful, clear, and show consistency and uniformity in their interventions.”
Despite the controversy circulating VAR, the implementation of VAR has been successful and accepted by the players in the group stages and the last 16 matches. So, you can expect VAR to play a role in some nerve-wracking decisions in the knockout stages of this EURO 2020!
6. The favourites versus the underdogs
Image via The Athletic
Tipped as favourites for EURO 2020 are Portugal, Italy, and Germany, all of whom have clinched the championship title before. But like in every football match, it’s hard to predict who could emerge as the winner, such as Portugal who recently got knocked out by Belgium, and Germany, who got knocked out by England.
Meanwhile, who doesn’t love a good underdog story? Like when the whole world was blown away after Greece defeated Portugal and took home the championship title in 2004. Or, when Denmark unexpectedly won in the 1992 final, after Yugoslavia was disqualified!
So, are you rooting for your favourites or the underdogs? You might wanna keep your eye on teams like Switzerland, Denmark, and Belgium as they make their way through the final 16.
7. The ultimate football final at London’s Wembley Stadium
Image via Sada Elbalad English
The EURO 2016 final took place in the world-renowned Stade de France, which is France’s national stadium and Europe’s seventh-largest stadium, with a seating capacity of 80,698!
After a month of football matches taking place across Europe, the EURO 2020 final is scheduled to take place on 11 July at the second-largest stadium in Europe – England’s Wembley Stadium, woohoo!
With Wembley Stadium hosting the final, will England be able to clinch the championship title like how they did previously when the stadium hosted the World Cup’s final in 1966?
Argggh, until now, it’s still hard to predict who will emerge as the winner. We were initially rooting for world champion, France, but they recently got knocked out, nooooo. T.T
EURO 2020 is already in the knockout phase, but it’s never too late to join in on the hype.
Not sure where to start catching up on all the football matches? sooka, Malaysia’s newest streaming app, carries plenty of local content and live sports action, including all of EURO 2020’s matches, woohoo!
Image via Sooka
Best of all, from now until 7 July, you can access all 51 EURO 2020 matches by subscribing to the VIP+Sports plan at an introductory price of RM15.90 per month.
So, hurry and sign up before you miss out on this awesome promo!
What’s also great is that if you have not subscribed to their plans and are looking to watch a specific match, you can opt to pay just for that screening. In other words, just watch what you want! sooka is also allowing you to purchase single EURO 2020 passes for only RM7.90.
Looking for more sports content to watch? sooka is also airing lots of upcoming live sports events such as UFC: McGregor vs Poirier on July 11, the live Olympics from July 23 onwards, and so much more. Whatever you want, confirm got lah.
sooka is also your go-to streaming app for not only the latest EURO 2020 coverage, but all sports content that you don’t wanna miss out on, including live streams
Image via sooka (Provided to SAYS)
Plus, you can also catch Malaysia’s popular Movies and Dramas this July 2021, such as Bikers Kental, Tombiruo: Penuggu Rimba, Jebat, Polis Evo 1&2, Roda Panas, Gantung, Scammer, Mael Totey, to name a few.
Additionally, sooka also has a VIP Entertainment plan, which is also priced at RM15.90, so you can enjoy exclusive local content and more.
So, whatchu waiting for? Now that you know what to look out for, stream the ongoing EURO 2020 matches on sooka today!
You can also download the app from the App Store or Google Play on your phone or tablet to watch.