Turn off your Phone Raheem

It's all gone a bit quiet on the Euro front. I guess there's been other stuff going on but I really want the football to start again. There was some news coming out of the England camp that Raheem Sterling had been a bit depressed because of all the negativity on social media. And there has been a fair bit of it, some of it from me after he missed that chance against Wales. I know this is a radical solution but someone should take his mobile phone away. Or at least turn off the data. Is that even allowed with twenty year olds? Would they die from the shock?
By the way, doesn’t it feel like England haven’t played for about a year? Not long to wait now. But first we have all the other Round of 16 (I hate that expression) games. I might take a glance at Poland against Switzerland but aside from being either 1) the country that my Grandparents were born in or 2) the country where my Grandparents money may well have ended up, I have no connection with either place.
The second game is Wales against Northern Ireland and I’ll definitely be watching this one. Michael O’Neil predicted a cup tie feel for this game and it’s a fair prediction seeing as it actually is a cup tie. I’ve also heard various pundits say that it will be like a Premier League game but the truth is it won’t. For one thing, there won’t be anyone on the pitch from outside the UK which is unlike any premier league game I’ve watched. Also, most the Northern Ireland team don’t even play in the Premier League. This makes their achievement in getting this far quite spectacular. Some of their stories are brilliant. One of their forwards Josh Magennis spent most of his youth playing as a goalkeeper. I know they all want to play outfield but how many of them get to do it at a major tournament?
As for Wales, I’ve had a cheeky fiver each way bet on them winning the tournament. I know it’s ridiculous but why not. They’re playing well, they’re in much the easier side of the draw, they’re scheduled to meet Belgium in the quarter final and they beat them twice in qualifying. And if you get to a semi-final, anything can happen. Greece won Euro 2004 with a much more limited team and Wales have Gareth Bale. Stranger things have happened, not least in the Premier League last season.
I think Croatia will beat Portugal although with Ronaldo, anything is possible. He’s a strange man. It can’t be easy being almost the best footballer on the planet but not quite. None of us would mind being in that position but he’s Ronaldo. He has to be the best and his frustration with his Portuguese team mates is palpable. It’s difficult to know when he’ll have his meltdown at this tournament but it will definitely happen at some point.