There remains a level of purity in international football that is harder to find at the top of club football, especially in England.
This has been a refreshing summer of unpredictable winners and rousing atmospheres at the European Championship in Germany, with a welcome lack of VAR controversies, profit and sustainability rule (PSR) breaches and the associated points deductions, and social media sniping between rival fanbases.
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Give it a month, and we can welcome all those things back into our football bosom. For now, let us bask in the glow of the raw emotion of international football, which is never as apparent as at the full-time whistle.
Tears, joy, pitch invasions, desolation, touching embraces and big, fat celebrations — these are moments when careers can be ended, or made.
We’ve collated the best of Euro 2024 so far in a handy top-10 format.
10) Poland 1-2 Netherlands (group stage)
With the Netherlands struggling to break down Poland in both teams’ opening match, Ronald Koeman sent for big Wout Weghorst as part of a double substitution in the 81st minute.
At full time, one of those replaced players, Cody Gakpo, bursts back onto the pitch to congratulate his team-mate, who scored the winner two minutes after his introduction. In Koeman’s day as a player, the Dutch were renowned for squad in-fighting and a lack of team spirit, but it feels much different with him as the manager.
This image perfectly encapsulated that.
9) Portugal 0-0 France, 4-5 on penalties (quarter-finals)
Nothing contrasts footballing emotions with such starkness as the end of a penalty shootout.
Jules Kounde is like a puppy who’s just spotted its owner returning from holiday. But Joao Felix, whose miss means Portugal are out, is a picture of desolation — hands on head, shirt in mouth.
8) Netherlands 2-1 Turkey (quarter-finals)
Amid the euphoria of his country reaching a first European Championship semi-final since 2004, a true act of sportsmanship from Denzel Dumfries, who takes a moment to console a sobbing Hakan Calhanoglu, a club colleague at Inter Milan.
7) England 2-1 Slovakia (last 16)
Who were the winning team here? Pure exhaustion from five players who are empty physically and emotionally (more so the latter for Ivan Toney — No 17, far right — you’d hope, as he only played the final 32 minutes) at the end of a gruelling match which saw England come from a goal down with four of six added second-half minutes played to edge through after extra time.
6) Netherlands 2-3 Austria (group stage)
David Alaba missed out on these Euros after suffering a serious knee injury playing for Real Madrid in December but travelled to Germany as a walking, talking mascot — a non-playing captain of the Austria squad.
The way head coach Ralf Rangnick is clinging onto him here after Austria secured their spot as Group D winners by beating the Netherlands in a match where their opponents equalised twice, you would think Alaba was the mastermind of their success.
Austria celebrated hard in Berlin after that one, reflecting a rare moment of genuine belief and hope in their international team. It would only last a few more days.
5) Scotland 0-1 Hungary (group stage)
Talking of managers clambering all over players, here’s Steve Clarke reaching upwards to comfort Scott McTominay after Scotland’s traditional early tournament exit was confirmed by a late, late Hungary goal.
4) Georgia 2-0 Portugal (group stage)
A game that meant very little to Portugal, who had already qualified as group winners and made eight changes from their previous starting XI, but everything to Georgia, who celebrated the biggest win in their international football history.
The second the final whistle blew, all of Georgia’s subs and staff careered onto the pitch.
Substitute goalkeeper Luka Gugeshashvili (No 12) did not kick a ball at the tournament, but here he is in a body position more suitable for a wrestling match… or a very special kind of nightclub:
And here’s Guram Kashia limbo-ing in front of the Georgia end:
3) Croatia 1-1 Italy (group stage)
For unfiltered heartbreak, it was hard to beat the Croatians who, in the 97th minute of their group finale, were 1-0 up and heading for the last 16. Then up popped Mattia Zaccagni to consign them to third place, and guarantee Italy went through instead.
Josip Stanisic and Lovro Majer sank to the turf, devastated.
Croatia’s fate would not be officially sealed until a couple of days later, but they knew two points would never be enough to be one of the four third-place finishers to survive.
Luka Modric was comforted by big Domagoj Vida as manager Zlatko Dalic walked past. Modric would still have the indignity of the player-of-the-match formalities to endure, where he resembled Shaun The Sheep after being told it’s lamb chops for dinner.
2) Spain 2-1 Germany (quarter-finals)
The host nation crashing out in dramatic style is always one of the most memorable moments of an international tournament.
Spain had crept ahead late in extra time through Mikel Merino’s header, but there were three minutes of stoppage time still to endure, and the script seemed written for Toni Kroos, with retirement awaiting as soon as Germany’s involvement in these Euros ended, to help take it to penalties by whipping a searching free kick into the box with what would be the last kick of the game.
Instead, Kroos floated the set-piece delivery feebly into Unai Simon’s arms and the Spanish celebrations started.
Antonio Rudiger was inconsolable.
And Kroos bowed his head, his career over.
1) Austria 1-2 Turkey (last 16)
Because Turkey had defended an Austrian corner in the closing seconds of this match, all 11 Turkish players could be captured in the same shot.
All 11 are either flat on their backs, celebrating with both arms, or on their knees. And bear in mind, the referee has still got his whistle in his mouth as it’s about one second since he signalled the end of the contest.
Their exhaustion and elation reflect the tremendous amount of energy Turkey had to expend to beat Rangnick’s Austria, who were strongly fancied to win this tie.
Within 20 seconds of this moment the party had started, with substitutes and staff galore racing to that end of the pitch, where the Turkey fans were housed. Great scenes.
(Top photo: Emin Sansar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
