Euro 2016: Group Standings, Tables and Updated Schedule After Wednesday Results
Hungary and Portugal played out one of the top matches of the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament so far, with both teams booking their ticket for the next round in a 3-3 draw. In Group F's other match, Iceland beat Austria 2-1.
Zoltan Gera gave the Hungarians a shock lead, but Nani equalised shortly before half-time to set up the best 45 minutes of the tournament so far. Balazs Dzsudzsak twice restored Hungary's advantage with deflected shots, and Cristiano Ronaldo twice pulled Portugal level.
In the other Group F match, Iceland took an early lead through Jon Dadi Bodvarsson, but Alessandro Schopf equalised for Austria. The match seemed destined to finish in a draw, but Arnor Ingvi Traustason scored a last-minute winner.
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In Group E, Belgium and Ireland joined Italy in the Round of 16. Radja Nainggolan scored the only goal in the Red Devils' win over Sweden, and Robbie Brady did the same against the Azzurri.
Here's a look at the updated group standings:
| 1 | France | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 |
| 2 | Switzerland | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 |
| 3 | Albania | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 3 |
| 4 | Romania | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 1 |
| 1 | Wales | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 |
| 2 | England | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 |
| 3 | Slovakia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Russia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 1 |
| 1 | Germany | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | +3 | 7 |
| 2 | Poland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 7 |
| 3 | N.Ireland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Ukraine | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 0 |
| 1 | Croatia | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 7 |
| 2 | Spain | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 6 |
| 3 | Turkey | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 3 |
| 4 | Czech Republic | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 1 |
| 1 | Italy | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 |
| 2 | Belgium | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 6 |
| 3 | Ireland | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 4 | Sweden | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 1 |
| 1 | Hungary | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 5 |
| 2 | Iceland | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 5 |
| 3 | Portugal | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Austria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 1 |
For the full schedule, visit Euro 2016's official website.
Group E
Italy 0-1 Ireland
Sweden 0-1 Belgium
For all of the spectacle in Wednesday's Group F matches, the Group E fixtures didn't follow suit. Belgium largely controlled their clash with Sweden and had a few good looks on goal, but the best chance fell to the Swedes early. A free-kick delivery fell to Marcus Berg, who had to fire immediately and couldn't work the ball past Thibaut Courtois.
Thomas Meunier angled a header just past the post, but overall, Sweden's defence easily held firm against the Red Devils. Belgian football expert John Chapman was entertained, despite the lack of chances:
In Group E's other clash, Ireland were denied a first-half penalty when Federico Bernardeschi nudged James McClean in the back, and the Irish had the better chances against the Italians, who fielded a side of mostly backups.
The Azzurri had already locked up the top spot in the group, and manager Antonio Conte made eight changes to his starting XI to give his players some rest―only Leonardo Bonucci, Andrea Barzagli and Alessandro Florenzi kept their spot.
Ciro Immobile fired Italy's best chance just wide, while Salvatore Sirigu made a fine save to deny Daryl Murphy and Jeff Hendrick fired a shot just wide.
Irish fans were unhappy with the official, however, and the Times' George Caulkin was sure the ball should have gone on the spot:
Simone Zaza fired a volley just over the bar early in the second half, but after that initial chance, the intensity in that match dropped again. Meanwhile, Sweden applied more pressure on Belgium, as they needed a win to advance, but it didn't result in too many chances. Romelu Lukaku came close to handing his side the lead, but Andreas Isaksson closed off his goal well.
Substitute Lorenzo Insigne hit the post for Italy, and both contests opened up toward the final whistle. Nainggolan ended Sweden's bid to advance with a fine strike after a good counter-attack, and two minutes later, Brady sent the Irish fans into ecstasy with a powerful header.
TV personality Dara O Briain loved what he saw:
The results mean Belgium will face Group F winners Hungary in the next round, while Ireland advance as one of the best third-placed finishers, setting up a highly anticipated clash with hosts France. Italy already knew they'd face Spain before this match.
Group F
Hungary 3-3 Portugal
Iceland 2-1 Austria
All four teams in Group F still had a chance of advancing to the knockout stages, and while the first two matchdays didn't result in a lot of goals or highlights, Wednesday's slate of fixtures lived up to expectations.
Iceland kicked things off when Johann Berg Gudmundsson fired a shot off the upright, and Marko Arnautovic nearly took advantage of a defensive blunder to score Austria's first goal of the tournament.
But it was Bodvarsson who opened the score with a smart finish after 18 minutes, wrong-footing Austrian goalkeeper Robert Almer. As shared by Iceland Foods, the scorer had some added motivation to make sure his team advanced to the next round:
Just one minute later, Gera gave Hungary a shock lead in their contest with a superb volley after Nani failed to clear a corner-kick in time.
Portugal had no answers for Hungary's double wall, and the Group F leaders had a handful of chances to double their lead. Most of the action took place in the other fixture, however, where Arnautovic was lucky not to see a red card for a clear elbow before Dragovic fired a penalty off the post.
DW Sports couldn't understand why Bayern Munich star David Alaba, who was pulled down inside the box to cause the spot-kick, did not get the chance to step up instead:
Nani equalised for Portugal after a superb pass from Ronaldo shortly before half-time, setting up a crazy start to the second half in that contest.
Just minutes into the half, Dzsudzsak's free-kick took a major deflection, beating Rui Patricio, before Ronaldo pulled his team level shortly after with a lovely backheeled finish. Portugal pushed forward for another goal, but it was Dzsudzsak who once again gave Hungary the lead with yet another deflected effort.
Bleacher Report UK's Karl Matchett couldn't help himself:
Bleacher Report UK were in awe of what they were seeing:
Substitute Ricardo Quaresma fired a perfect cross into the path of Ronaldo, who restored order with a powerful header, but Hungary still weren't finished, and Adam Szalai was unlucky to see his first-time effort smash off the post and stay out.
In the other match, Schopf finally broke Austria's scoreless streak with a nice individual effort, but his team still needed another goal to advance to the round of 16.
Portugal dominated the final 20 minutes of their match against Hungary, looking for a winner that would hand the team top spot in the group and a place in the perceived easier side of the bracket.
The pressure lessened as the final whistle drew closer, however, as Ronaldo and his team-mates realised a single Hungarian goal could be enough to knock them out of the tournament. The last minutes were spent simply passing the ball around.
Portugal seemed headed for a round-of-16 clash with England, but Iceland scored a last-minute goal against Austria to pass them in the standings. Portugal will instead face Croatia in the next round, while Hungary will play Belgium.
