Round of 16 Matchday 3 at UEFA EURO 2020 Preview: where to watch, team news, prediction

The Round of 16 continues at the 2020 European Championship with another set of quality matches. First up is Croatia vs Spain at Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, in what should be a strong defensive battle between two teams coming off of victories. Following that match is France taking on Switzerland in Bucharest, Romania at National Arena.

Match Info

Euro 2020 Croatia vs Spain Preview

Croatia had a pretty decent showing in the Group Stage; the Croats played England tight in a 1-0 loss and drew 1-1 with the Czech Republic, who just punched their ticket to the quarterfinal round after defeating the Netherlands 2-0 on Monday. Of course, they did finish their play in Group D with a 3-1 win over Scotland, in which they dominated across the stat sheet.

Up next for Croatia is a stacked Spanish squad, waiting for them in the Round of 16, who are looking strong thanks to a 5-0 victory over Slovakia in the final match of the Group Stage. The win over the Slovaks who were making their Euros debut run stands out when considering Spain had scored just one goal beforehand.

Spain is a strong team, but it is worth questioning if they’ve really been tested yet. The 0-0 draw with Group E leader Sweden in their tournament opener is a positive, but again, misleading. Spain dominated the ball in that match with a possession total of 86 percent. They recorded 17 shots, though only five managed to be on target. Maybe they were still getting warmed up, but it is nonetheless noteworthy.

Prediction:

Spain and Croatia have played each other four times, and the all-time record is split 2-2. Spain owns the scoring differential, tallying five more goals throughout their contests, heavily impacted by their 6-0 win over the Croatians during the UEFA Nations League in 2018. The two nations have rotated wins and losses in every other match.

The pattern says that Spain is due for a win, and this writer agrees. Look for the Spanish to take this one 1-0 thanks to a penalty kick after overtime.

Where to stream Euro 2020 Football

ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC will carry the games in the US, and ESPN will also stream on their ESPN+ subscription service. But if you do not want to go through the trouble of finding schedules and keeping track of all games, we recommend PremiumTV for crystal-clear HD streams without the need for a VPN. Where you will get access to the full tournament coverage only for $29.99.

Euro 2020 France vs Switzerland Preview

Both Group A and Group F saw three of their teams advance to the Round of 16, speaking to the quality of competition.

France won the latter, which featured a challenging field of Germany, Portugal, and Hungary, by doing just enough. Their Group Stage finale against Portugal was a thrilling contest between Cristiano Ronaldo and France’s Karim Benzema who scored all of the goals in the match with two apiece. It was a disheartening 2-2 draw for the French, as it was their own penalties that set up both of Ronaldo’s goals. France will want to keep it clean moving forward as the competition gets even tougher.

In Group A, Switzerland found their way to four points and advanced to the Round of 16 despite posting a negative goal differential. They join Ukraine as the only two teams to advance with that distinction.

Just how good this Swiss team is is a tough question to answer. They control the ball well, owning the possession battle in each of their first three matches. Overall, the squad looked really good against Wales in their opening match, though the 1-1 final score doesn’t reflect that. Italy dominated them, which is understandable, and they in turn did the same to Turkey. They have some history with France in the Euros, and it hasn’t totally gone their way, currently 0-1-1 all-time. The first match was a loss, followed by a draw in 2016. Is this the time they get the win?

Prediction:

This is one to keep an eye on for an upset, as France only got by Germany thanks to an own-goal, and rather beat themselves against Portugal. (Yes, it was a draw, but France lost the win.) That said, they are still a solid squad,  and they certainly look stronger than Switzerland. France takes this match 2-1 in full time.

Euro 2020 Round of 16 Schedule