Euro 2020: France, Germany, Portugal will advance to the final 16 | Euro2020 News

After fighting in his first two Euro 2020 faced with departures and calls for cancellations, Frenchman Karim Benzema returned the faith of coach Didier Deschamps with two goals to help the world champions qualify for Group F on Wednesday.

Les Bleus drew 2-2 against the runners-up Portugal he gave them five points and a meeting in the last 16 on Monday with Switzerland.

Benzema, after an absence of almost six years after joining Deschamps in a row, had no appearance in the first two games against Germany and Hungary.

Before the tournament, in the warm-up game, the Real Madrid striker missed his third consecutive penalty for France.

FT

France led the team thanks to a brace Karim Benzema!

Portugal finished third in Group F and passed.

Not a bad game at all

Portugal 2-2 France #PORFRA # bbceuro2020 # EURO2020

– BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 23, 2021

However, it was Benzema who sided with the penalty at the break – rather than strikers Kylian Mbappe or Antoine Griezmann – to bend Rui Patricio’s feet and make it 1-1 after Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut, which was also a point shot.

“It’s nice to see. He was looking for goals, but he didn’t lose confidence in himself or my faith, ”Deschamps said, ignoring calls for Olivier Giroud to return to the starting line-up in France.

Benzema’s clinical shot through Paul Pogba’s ball put France ahead again early in the second half, and Ronaldo’s second penalty was not enough to knock him out of the top of the Group F group standings.

Constantly threatening Mbappe won France’s penalty on Wednesday and Griezmann scored for Hungary in the final match – but Benzema is now the tournament’s top scorer.

“It put a lot of pressure on me, it’s normal, but I never gave up and I was focused on creating space and opportunities,” he said. Benzema, a Muslim of Algerian descent, accused Deschamps of bowing to racists in 2016 when he was expelled in 2016.

“I had no doubts, but I knew there was a lot of hope after five or six years.”

Benzema has not conceded a goal in France since October 8, 2015, scoring two in a 4-0 win over Armenia.

“He needed those goals to get the country into its own right,” said 1998 world champion Youri Djorkaeff.

French center-back Raphael Varane was delighted with his Real Madrid team-mate. “It wasn’t easy for him. Now, he will be very safe and Karim is confident in what we need, ”he said.

Departure from Hungary

A new goal from Leon Goretzka drew 2-2 against Germany against Hungary on Wednesday night in a sub-match against the Germans on June 29. In England Wembley-n.

Hungary It looked like Germany would be shocked and sent off outside the tournament after Adam Szalaik headed home in the 11th minute to open the scoring.

Kai Havertz equalized for Germany in the 66th minute, but Hungary restarted again from the start a few seconds later when Andras Schafer overtook the defenders and sent the ball into the net.

Coach Joachim Loew kicked the substitutes to get the point they needed to advance to the last 16, with Goretzka’s strike late for Germany.

Hungarian Roland Varga with fans after playing with Germany on June 23, 2021 [Pool via Reuters]

The Hungarians have been wondering for more than half a century if they will be proud of the national team again, but while the players stood in front of their fans, singing national anthems with tears in their faces, it was clear that this long wait was over.

The record shows that Hungary failed to win last place in Group F of Euro 2020 in all three of its matches and was left out of the tournament.

Another way to see Hungary’s results is that despite not being expected in the toughest team, the world champions and championship favorites were six minutes away from victory in France and Germany until Leon Goretzka’s late draw. .

If it weren’t for the final six minutes of their first game against Portugal, when they scored three goals, they would be undefeated – and loud and proud of their support as well.

Hungary is proud to have left the tournament, although UEFA will investigate “potential cases” of discriminatory actions, including racist and anti-corruption allegations.LGBTQ songs.