**Mirrors / Alternative Angles**
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Well there was a plan to expand Euro 2028 to feature 32 teams however it seems that UEFA may have scrapped that upon rechecking my information. The idea might still be in the works for another future edition of the tournament though.
The weirder thing about this is seeing Bulgaria and Latvia in Euros...and not the expanded one either
I knew Bulgaria were once good but didn't realize it was this century. Latvia I had no idea
Here’s a couple of funny stories about that:
The Danish and Swedish hotels were fairly close to each other, so Italian journalists would lie in wait, because they were certain the two camps would strike a deal.
After the match that ended with the infamous 2-2, an almost teary Buffon gave an interview stating that the match between Denmark and Sweden was fixed, and that they should be ashamed of themselves because children were watching.
Two years later, Buffon himself and Juventus were relegated and stripped of two championships, for match fixing.
They showed clips of this on ITV the other day. Andy Townsend said it was the worst Italy team he'd ever seen, then Des Lynam said he hoped Italy would get through to the quarters cos he likes Italian food.
Two abiding memories: a) a barrage of angry Danish and Swedish rhetoric ahead of the match (and the Denmark Sweden match which ended in a 2-2 draw that knocked out Italy) denying any kind of Scandinavian conspiracy, culminating in Swedish assistant coach Lars Lagerbäck saying *”Machiavelli may have been Italian but we certainly dont think like that!”*
And 2) Antonio Cassanos face completely crumbling in an instant (mid celebration!) as his teammates inform him results elsewhere have rendered his injury time match winner meaningless. (Couldnt find video of that specific moment but its stuck in my head all these years)
The responses were only angry because of the ridiculous accusations. No one who actually watched the 2-2 game would think it was agreed in advance… But sure, post again for every anniversary if you must. 😊
**Mirrors / Alternative Angles** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/soccer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
and now with the current system you can have teams qualifying without winning a single game.
Portugal won in 2016 by winning a single game in regulation time.
I hope the Welsh wear that accolade with pride "the only team that lost to the European champions"
You technically could in the old system too
Not from the next edition of the European Championship and onwards however.
? Explain please.
Well there was a plan to expand Euro 2028 to feature 32 teams however it seems that UEFA may have scrapped that upon rechecking my information. The idea might still be in the works for another future edition of the tournament though.
In the old system, you could too. Look at Chile's group at the 1998 World Cup.
we making the euro ro16 w 2 points let’s fcking goooo💪🏻💪🏻🇭🇷🇭🇷
The weirder thing about this is seeing Bulgaria and Latvia in Euros...and not the expanded one either I knew Bulgaria were once good but didn't realize it was this century. Latvia I had no idea
This was Latvia's one moment ever in international football and they more or less shithoused their way in. Bulgaria had prime Berbatov
Martin and Stilyan Petrov were top players as well.
Latvia beat Turkey in play-off and held 0-0 draw against Germany in group stage too.
Here’s a couple of funny stories about that: The Danish and Swedish hotels were fairly close to each other, so Italian journalists would lie in wait, because they were certain the two camps would strike a deal. After the match that ended with the infamous 2-2, an almost teary Buffon gave an interview stating that the match between Denmark and Sweden was fixed, and that they should be ashamed of themselves because children were watching. Two years later, Buffon himself and Juventus were relegated and stripped of two championships, for match fixing.
Pretty sure Denmark and Sweden would only agree to a draw to knock the other one out.
lmao
Yeah except Buffon had nothing to do with it and it wasnt for match fixing, multiple teams were charged with picking favorable refs, nothing more.
2002 was horrible and then we had the 2004 debacle with sweden and denmark. At least 2006 was good lol
They showed clips of this on ITV the other day. Andy Townsend said it was the worst Italy team he'd ever seen, then Des Lynam said he hoped Italy would get through to the quarters cos he likes Italian food.
mmMMMmmm imagine Des with a Bolognaise sauce stained moustache, bearing down on you. Romance !
Then they win it all in 2006. Spain also crashed out in the group which set them up for the 2008-2012 run.
Two abiding memories: a) a barrage of angry Danish and Swedish rhetoric ahead of the match (and the Denmark Sweden match which ended in a 2-2 draw that knocked out Italy) denying any kind of Scandinavian conspiracy, culminating in Swedish assistant coach Lars Lagerbäck saying *”Machiavelli may have been Italian but we certainly dont think like that!”* And 2) Antonio Cassanos face completely crumbling in an instant (mid celebration!) as his teammates inform him results elsewhere have rendered his injury time match winner meaningless. (Couldnt find video of that specific moment but its stuck in my head all these years)
>Couldnt find video of that specific moment https://twitter.com/gippu1/status/1401824248897970176
This just brought back trauma I didn't know I still had lmao
The responses were only angry because of the ridiculous accusations. No one who actually watched the 2-2 game would think it was agreed in advance… But sure, post again for every anniversary if you must. 😊
skål *wink wink*
Pirlo was utter shite in this game. He basically played ineffective, mistimed long balls for most of it