Winners and losers from Euro 2020 last 16

The last 16 stages of the

finished Wednesday night and now the best eight teams of the tournament know their destiny. Unlike the group stage, there were many surprises and some of the underdogs managed to upset the favorites and qualify for the next round.

No teams had an easy job except maybe Denmark, whose fairy tale continued as they reached the last 8 after a commanding 4-0 win against Wales. Among the heavy favorites, England, Italy, and Spain qualified but had to sweat it out on the field to guarantee themselves a place in the next round.

For France, Portugal, Germany, and the Netherlands it was a different story as they were stunned by their opponents and had to go home early. The Netherlands was unrecognizable against the Czechs and lost 2-0. And Germany showed no sign of improving from the group stage and crashed out after a 2-0 defeat against England.

Switzerland was without a doubt the best team among the underdogs. They pulled off an incredible comeback against France from 3-1, and in the last ten minutes of the game, then won the game on penalties. The Czech Republic was amazing against the Netherlands and was rewarded with a place in the next round. Croatia and Austria were also impressive and could have won against Spain and Italy.

Many of the biggest European players were present in the last 16. Some of them played to their levels and some were surprisingly in a bad form. Simon Kjaer of Denmark, Spinazzola of Italy, Thorgen Hazard of Belgium, Patrick Schick of Czech, Emil Forsberg of Sweden, Harry Kane of England, Pedri and

of Spain were some of the best players of the last round.

Kylian Mbappe, Thomas Muller and Gini Wijnaldum were among the biggest losers. In the following article, we will go into more detail to determine the

Winners and losers from Euro 2020 Last 16

.

Who are the Winners and losers from Euro 2020 last 16?

A detailed look at the performances of the teams and players in the first knockout stage of this year's European Championships to determine the winners and losers from Euro 2020 last 16.

Winners and losers from Euro 2020 last 16: The Teams

First, we will have a look at the winners and losers among the favorites and the underdogs.

Winners:

Denmark, Italy,

, Czech Republic, England, Belgium, Switzerland, and Ukraine were the eight teams who qualified for the last 8. They are all winners, both in terms of the final score and their performances. Switzerland was the most impressive one as they stunned the heavy favorites, France, and pulled off a memorable comeback in the last ten minutes to draw 3-3. Their heroics continued in the Penalty shoot-outs as they made history by reaching the quarter-finals of a major tournament after 67 years.

Denmark was equally impressive as they registered the most dominant score of the round and humiliated Wales by four goals. England should be mentioned also since they finally beat their long-time rivals, Germany for the first time since 1954. Belgium struggled against Portugal and was probably lucky to go through to the next round. The Czech Republic earned praise from fans and critics by beating the unfazed Netherlands side 2-0, however, they benefited greatly from De Ligt's error in the key moment of the game. Meanwhile, Spain showed the spirit of Champions by overcoming Croatia's scare by two goals in the extra time to win 5-3.

Losers:

Wales, Netherlands, Croatia, Austria, Germany, Portugal, Sweden, and

all left the competition in the last 16. Some like Croatia, Austria, and Sweden can hold their heads high since they bow out in style and won the heart of football fans with their courageous displays. For Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, and especially France, Euro 2020 was a nightmare they will remember for a long time.

France had the most dramatic defeat as they were 3-1 until the 80th minute, but a ten-minute lack of concentration costed them greatly and they eventually were eliminated in the last 16 stages of a major tournament for the first time since 2004.

The Netherlands was in control of the match against Czech but lost it after Matthias De Ligt was sent off in the second half. Germany and Portugal were equally poor against England and Belgium and rarely threatened the opposition's goal. And finally, Wales simply had no answer for the passionate Denmark side who humiliated them 4-0.

We continue our article on the

Winners and losers from the Euro 2020 last 16

with an analysis of the best and worst players of this round.

Winners and losers from Euro 2020 last 16: The players

In the second part of SportMob's article on the Winners and losers from Euro 2020 last 16 stage, we will look at the performances of the best and worst players of the tournament in every position.

Goalkeepers:

Winners:

The hero of Euro 2020 last 16 among the goalkeepers was Switzerland's keeper,

who blocked many shots from France's deadly strikers and saved Kylian Mbappe's decisive penalty to send his team to the next round. Jordan Pickford also had a good game against Germany and saved against Timo Werner at one of the key moments of the game. He is the only goalkeeper left in the competition with a 100 percent clean sheet.

Losers:

Manuel Neuer was poor in goal for Germany and showed that maybe age has finally caught up with him. Wales's goalkeeper, Ward conceded 4 times against Denmark and he should have done better with a couple of them. Croatia's Livankovic conceded the most goals, five. Unai Simon made a horrible mistake early in the game against Croatia but recovered in style to save some very important shots and help Spain earn a hard-fought win. So including him in the losers list would not be fair.

Defenders

Winners:

was probably the best defender of the last 16 stage. The Manchester United captain was brilliant both in defense and in attack and lead his national team perfectly in one of the most important games of their recent history. Another winner among the defenders was Denmark's popular captain, Simon Kjaer who once again demonstrated his huge leadership skills in this tournament. We should also mention the entire Denmark and Czech Republic defense line as they stood tall against Wales and Netherlands attacks.

Losers:

was the villain in Netherland's shocking elimination from the last 16 as it was his mistake and foul that lead to his send-off and changed the game against the Czech Republic. Clement Lenglet embarrassed himself with one of the funniest blunders of the tournament as he completely missed Haris Soferovic in Switzerland's first goal against France. Marcus Danielson's horror tackle at Ukraine's Arten Besiedyn was so harsh that a red card does not seem like enough punishment for him.

Midfielders:

Winners:

was the hero for Belgium's side that lost Kevin de Bruyne against Portugal due to an injury. He scored a super goal which was enough to send the Red Devils into the last 8. Federico Chiesa and Mathieu Pessina were Italy's best players and goal scorers against the stubborn Austrians. Tomas Soucek was one of Check's best players against the Netherlands. Oleksandr Zinchenko was hugely influential for Ukraine with a goal and a last-minute assist against Sweden. And finally, Granit Xaka marshaled his team superbly in their incredible comeback and eventual win against France.

Losers

:

The new PSG signing,

was the biggest loser among the midfielders. It's hard to believe, but he only made 10 successful passes in the entire 90 minutes. Leon Goretzka and Joshua Kimmich were anonymous against England and struggled to get into the match. N'Golo Kante and Adrian Rabiot were a shadow of themselves against the Spirited Switzerland side that kept fighting until the end. Paul Pogba scored a screamer against Switzerland, but it was his amateur error that lead to the last-minute equalizer.

Forwards

Winners:

Kasper Dolberg scored twice against Wales to show why he is considered among the most talented forwards of Europe. Harris Saferovic also had a brace against France, including a superb last-minute header which forced the game into the extra time. Rahim Sterling continued to justify his selection in England's starting line-up, while his partner, Harry Kane silenced his critics with a very important goal against Germany. Alvaro Morata was another striker who proved his critics wrong as he scored Spain's all-important fourth goal against Croatia.

Losers:

Kylian Mbappe was the worst among the forwards as he missed many big chances throughout the game and also missed his penalty against Switzerland. Cristiano Ronaldo didn't do anything wrong, but he failed to have an impact against Belgium. Gareth Bale had one of his worst international performances against Denmark. Memphis Depay's lethargic performance against Czech worried Barcelona fans greatly about his mentality. And finally, Timo Werner and Thomas Moller both missed great chances which cost the Germans a place among the last 8.

Winners and losers from Euro 2020 last 16: The Managers

Winners:

Veteran manager, Vladimir Petkovic was definitely the most impressive coach in Euro 2020 last 16 stage. He refused to accept defeat although his team was trailing France 3-1 in the last ten minutes. His smart substitutions changed the tide of the game and he was rewarded for his brave decisions by a historic win.

Luis Enrique was also impressive as he was successful in keeping his team motivated after they surrendered a two goal lead in the final minutes of their game against

. Denmark's coach, Kasper Hjulmand has continued to guide his team perfectly since their horror experience in the first game of the tournament when Denmark's talisman, Christian Eriksson suffered a heart attack on the field. Finally, Gareth Southgate continued to impress in the major tournaments as he guided his team past the German challenge.

Losers

:

Didier Deschamps was definitely the biggest loser of the last round of action at Euro 2020. His decision to substitute his best players before the end of the game costed France greatly as they could not threaten the Switzerland defense at the extra time and had no experienced penalty taker in the shoot outs.

Joachem Low had a bitter farewell to Germany national team after a 15 years spell at the helm. He looked without solutions against

and suffered another early elimination from a major competition after the disastrous 2018 World Cup exit at the group stage.

Frank de Boer also make the list of losers among the managers as his team had no apparent game plan against the Czech Republic. The fact that he was expelled shortly after Netherland's elimination clearly shows how bad he was at the job.

Top moments from Euro 2020 last 16 stage

We conclude our article on the winners and losers from Euro 2020 last 16 with a list of the best moments of this round which will be remembered forever for various reasons.

Federico Chiesa scored a goal 25 years after his father's, Enrico Chiesa.

Federico Chiesa showed why the fans were pushing

's manager, Roberto Mancini to play him in the starting line-up. He came on in the second half against Austria and showed amazing skill to score his team's first goal. More amazing was the fact that his father, Enrico Chiesa also scored at the tournament almost 25 years ago. Like father, like son, indeed.

Denmark thrashing Wales 4-0.

The most incredible team of the tournament so far, Denmark continued to impress the world with yet another commanding 4-0 win, this time against Wales in the last 16. They won their last group game against Russia by the same margin to seal qualification. Their fairy tale run after what happened to Christian Eriksson in the first game continues and now they are two games away from their first final since their famous title-winning campaign at Euro 1992. Less than ten days ago, they were on the verge of an early elimination, but now they are considered among the top favorites to win Euro 2020.

De Ligt sent off against the Czech Republic

The Dutch famous veteran, Marco Van Basten questioned De Ligt's defensive skills before the start of the tournament. Still, few would guess that the Juventus defender will be the main reason for Netherlands ' elimination from Euro 2020. The

were poor against the Czech, even before De Ligt's sent off in the second half. But they were in control of the match and were patiently working on a winning goal. Yet De Ligt's uncharacteristic mistake and foul left the referee with no choice but to send him off. The Netherlands never recovered from the blow and conceded two quick goals to lose the game everyone thought they would win easily.  

Spain's goalkeeper, Unai Simon's howler against Croatia

Many questioned Luis Enrique's decision to play Unai Simon in goal for Spain. He committed a bizarre error in the first half of the game against Croatia and failed to control Pedri's back pass from the middle of the pitch. Such a howler could kill any player's concentration, but Simon made his coach proud by pulling off amazing saves in the remainder of the game, letting his team win the game in the extra time.

Croatia and Switzerland's late comebacks against Spain and France

On one of the craziest football nights in the history of the European Championships, Croatia and Switzerland both pulled of unbelievable comebacks against Spain and France. Both teams were losing 3-1 till the final minutes of their games but showed great determination to tie the game. For Croatia, it had a bitter ending. They collapsed in the extra time and conceded two goals to lose the game 5-2.

For Switzerland, it became a legendary game. They survived France attacks in the extra time and won the game 5-4 in the Penalty shootouts. What else a football fan could ask for from top European knockout games?

Kylian Mbappe's Penalty miss

Many expected

to be one of the main stars of Euro 2020 after his impressive performances in the 2018 World Cup. However, the PSG forward failed to score any goals in the tournament and missed the decisive penalty against Switzerland.

Thomas Moller's one on one miss and Harry Kane's goal

Thomas Moller's return to the German national team was a bitter experience as he missed a one on one against England which would tie the game in the second half. Moller sent his shot inches wide of the post. A few minutes later Harry Kane scored England's second goal to put the final nail in Germany's coffin.

Ukraine's last gasp winner against Sweden in the 120th minute

 The game between Sweden and

was set to go into the penalty shoot outs with the two team's level on one goal after 120 minutes, but then Oleksandr Zinchenko sent the ball into the box with a perfect cross and Artem Dovbyk slotted the ball into Sweden's net to send Ukraine's camp into a frenzy. A perfect ending for the Euro 2020 last 16 stage that was full of exciting moments.

So here you had it! A complete list of the

Winners and losers from Euro 2020 last 16 stage

. Do you agree with our choices? Any team or player you want to add to our list? Let us know in the comments.

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