The final round of the group stage showed fans the brutality of the game, however, this is only the beginning of the cruelty, and the knockout stage is even more brutal.

After entering the knockout round, the losing team can only go home and say goodbye to this European Championship, and the winning side will continue to move forward to the top podium.

After the group stage, the European Championship is a day away.

This is both time for the players to rest, but also time for the fans to adjust and mentally prepare for the brutal knockout round.

The knockout round of the European Cup begins on the 22nd!

The first knockout match is the Czech Republic against Germany, which will be played at the National Stadium in Warsaw.

At eight o'clock that night, the game officially started!

Entering the knockout round, both sides of the game appeared to be very cautious, and it was not until the tenth minute of the first half that the first shot on goal appeared.

The first half ended in a dull one, with the two sides shaking hands with a score of 0-0.

After the start of the second half, the German team took the lead, and in the fourth minute, Ozil broke through the middle and made a diagonal pass in the hinterland, Gomez snuggled up to the opposing defender and forced a half-turn shot!

Soccer ball slides out!

In the eleventh minute of the second half, Germany got a corner kick opportunity, Ozil directly sent the corner kick into the penalty area, Gomez jumped high and hit the goal with a ferocious header!

The soccer ball flew like a cannonball from the left side of the goal!

1 to 0!

Germany broke the deadlock on the field and took a one-goal lead!

After the resumption of the game, the Czechs stepped up their attack, however, in the 19th minute of the second half, they suffered another heavy blow.

Mesut Ozil advanced in the middle and made a diagonal pass in the hinterland, and after receiving the ball on the left side of the edge of the penalty area, Lahm volleyed with his right foot and drilled into the corner!

Two to zero!

In the end, Germany won the Czech Republic by two goals and took the lead in advancing to the semifinals!

……

After the match between Germany and the Czech Republic, the eyes turned to the Netherlands and Russia.

It was a match hailed by the Dutch media as a "revenge battle", with the Dutch team carrying the momentum of the World Cup winner to avenge the revenge of four years ago.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Van Marwijk said: "I still remember that scene four years ago, the Dutch fans can't forget it, and I can't forget it.

Now the vast majority of the players in this Dutch team are in that game, and for them it is a battle for revenge.

For me, though, it's just a normal knockout.

All the Dutch have to do is try to forget about the game four years ago, keep their emotions in control and believe they can win. ”

Head coach Advocaat said: "We were able to do it four years ago and I'm sure we can do it tonight! ”

"Even though the Netherlands are World Cup winners, we have a way to deal with the Dutch team, and I believe that in the end it will be Russia!"

……

Chen Fan wrote on his social platform on the morning of the game: "The European Cup has entered the knockout stage, although our performance in the group stage is not perfect, but I believe that after entering the knockout stage, we will get better and better!"

Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie have been in good form in training these days and they are just one step away from the top, so I'm pretty confident for tonight's game.

I'm sure the two of them will help the team a lot in tonight's game and even score goals!

As for Sneijder, he's been doing well and he's going to keep doing well until we win!

Four years ago at the European Championships, I was playing on the streets of Amsterdam and couldn't appreciate the pain of Arjen Robben. But I know every Dutchman wants to win tonight.

In that case, then, let's go and defeat Russia! ”

This story revealed several information, firstly, Robben and Van Persie's form is recovering, second, Chen Fan showed confidence in the decisive victory, and third, he rose too fast!

Four years ago he was an amateur player, and four years later he is already the most famous football superstar on the planet.

In just four years, he has won many titles that stars have never won in their lifetimes - World Cup, Champions League, Premier League, La Liga, Eredivisie, FA Cup, Copa del Rey, Spanish Super Cup......

In terms of individual accolades, he won the Ballon d'Or, Premier League Player of the Year, World Cup Player of the Year, World Cup Top Scorer, Champions League Top Scorer, Premier League Top Scorer, La Liga Top Scorer......

Not long ago, he beat Messi and Ronaldo to win the best player in La Liga.

Among his many trophies and individual awards, the only thing missing is the European Championship winner and the top scorer of the European Cup.

He has scored five goals in three group games and it is no surprise that he will be the top scorer of this tournament.

The only suspense is whether he can lead the Netherlands to the European Championships.

……

At half past six o'clock in the afternoon of the 23rd, fans from both sides began to gather outside the Gdansk Stadium.

Fans with national flags painted on their faces and small flags in their hands lined up in droves to get ready to enter the stadium.

The reporters were very dedicated, they also came to the stadium early and conducted live interviews with fans from both sides.

The Dutch fan shouted into the microphone: "We are world champions, tonight is a night of revenge!" ”

The Russian fan shouted: "Although the Dutch team has Chen, Robben, Van Persie, and Sneijder, just like four years ago, it is Russia that wins in the end!" ”

Fans on both sides have a lot of confidence in their teams.

At 6:40, the Russian bus was the first to enter the field, and as soon as they got off the bus, they were warmly summoned by reporters.

As the biggest star in this Russian team, Arshavin, he has been called by the most journalists.

Arshavin came to the reporter, and a British reporter took the lead in asking: "Chen is in very good form in the group stage, does Russia have a plan to deal with it?" Also, as a former teammate, how do you evaluate Chen? ”

Arshavin thought for a moment and said, "Of course we have a plan to deal with Chen!"

As for the evaluation of Chen...... I was team-mate with him at Arsenal and together we helped Arsenal set multiple records and win the first Champions League in Arsenal's history.

For me, it's a blessing to be teammates with Chen, and at the same time, I know how terrible he is.

He's proven in countless games that he's the greatest star on the planet and tonight will be a tough test for us.

I hope we can try to contain him and then the Dutch attack and drag the game to penalties! ”

Journalists nodded their heads and dragged the game to penalties, which would be more beneficial to Russia.

The Dutch team fell several times in the penalty shoot-out in international competitions, and some even said that the Netherlands was the biggest loser in the penalty shoot-out.

In the 1992 European Cup, in the semi-finals, the hard-working Dutch team met Denmark, the "ugly duckling" who later became the champion.

The two sides were tied at 2-2 in 120 minutes, but in the penalty shoot-out, the Orange were eliminated 4-5, and their plan to defend the title could only end in failure.

At the 1996 European Championship in England, after reaching the quarterfinals, the Dutch team still failed to cross the French hurdle. In the end, they fell to the penalty spot and lost 4-5 to France in the penalty shoot-out.

At the 1998 World Cup in France, the Netherlands advanced to the quarterfinals with one win and two draws in the group stage. They beat Yugoslavia 2-1 in the quarter-finals and Argentina by the same score in the quarter-finals.

In the semi-finals, the Netherlands met strong rivals Brazil, and the two sides were tied within 120 minutes. The Netherlands lost 4-5 again in the penalty shoot-out, and they had to say goodbye to the World Cup.

In the semi-finals of Euro 2000, the Netherlands drew 0-0 with Italy and eventually lost 3-1 on penalties.

The Netherlands were awarded penalties twice in the 120 minutes of play, but Frank? De Boer and Kluivert missed one after the other.

And Frank? De Boer also missed another penalty in the shoot-out, the other two being Stam and Bosvelt.

Some people even said that if the Netherlands had won the World Cup in South Africa on penalties, they would not have won the Hercules Cup.

The penalty was a nightmare for the Dutch team!