Friday 8th July
It was hot and sunny, feeling like proper summer football tournament weather! Arriving at Gunnersbury station, there were volunteers outside guiding people to the stadium. In the pub over the road from the station, there were Germany fans along with a bus! Closer to the ground, Denmark fans had taken over a pub next to the River Thames. It was nice just walking around and taking in the atmosphere. Outside the ground, there were face painters and people walking around on stilts. I then saw the two sides arrive at the ground in their coaches.
The Brentford Community Stadium is an impressive, slightly odd shaped ground fitted in a triangle shaped area of land between three railways. I especially loved the different colour seats. I stayed in the concourse area as it was a bit cooler and even from there could hear the Denmark fans who were already in the stadium making a lot of noise. It was a bit weird to be sat in the same block in the ground as both Jess (waved at before the match) and Chris (had a chat at half time) who I know and it was nice to see them.
Germany really impressed me in their 4-0 win. They hit the woodwork three times and the Denmark goalkeeper had made a fantastic save before they did take the lead in the first half. They scored another three goals in the second half and had another one disallowed for offside. Denmark had a player sent off right at the end of the match. I had a nice view of a lovely coloured sky as the sun set. There was a really good atmosphere, but please can the Mexican waves stop along with the silly cheer that goes with them!
There are a number of stations closer to the stadium, but after the match I walked 25 minutes to Acton Town and it wasn’t too busy. One of the nice things about have a tournament like the Euros in your home country/city is being able to get home from some matches before midnight!
Saturday 9th July
After a late night, it was an early start as I was on my way north to Sheffield (well Chesterfield first as I was staying there) before 9am! There were engineering works on the railway between Derby and Sheffield so there was a replacement bus (and a hold up on the M1 due to traffic). The joys of travelling by train at the weekend! I even saw a few people wearing Sweden shirts on the way up. Chesterfield is famous for the crooked spire and being the birthplace of Millie Bright! After having lunch with a friend and checking into the hotel, I got a normal bus to Sheffield.
There were plenty of Sweden and Netherlands shirts on show as soon as I got off the bus. I made my way to the fan park in Devonshire Green which was busy and very yellow and orange! A Dutch DJ played some tunes, including “Dancing Queen” by ABBA for the Swedish people that were there! There was a great atmosphere there in the hot sunshine! The Sweden fans had made themselves at home on a side street near the fan park and were making a lot of noise. The Netherlands did their fan walk to the ground, led by an orange bus, and this was amazing to see.
At Bramall Lane, I was sat on The Kop. For someone like me who is over 6 foot tall and has long legs, there wasn’t much leg room. Netherlands v Sweden was a match I had been looking forward to attending since the draw was made and I had got a ticket last November. Sweden took the lead before half time, but the Netherlands equalised shortly after the break as it finished 1-1. The Swedish supporters sang and chanted throughout the match whilst the Dutch had a small band and they could be heard from the other end of the ground. It was very colourful with so many fans wearing yellow and orange shirts. There were 21, 342 fans at the match, which was a record attendance for a group match not involving the host nations at a Euros (breaking the previous record that had been set the day before at the Spain v Finland match). This was probably the best atmosphere at a match I have been at and one of my favourite football days.
After the match, I eventually found the right stop to get the bus back (turned out to be the last bus at 10:50pm)! Some Dutch and Swedish fans also got on it as they also seemed to be staying in Chesterfield too! It took about an hour to get back and I went straight back to my hotel, passing a bar that was blasting out a Spice Girls song!
Sunday 10th July
I knew this would happen with the amount of travelling and matches I am watching but I woke up and had to think where I was and was it Sunday! I quickly remembered and went and met friends for breakfast. The same Swedish people who had been on the bus back to Chesterfield last night were on the rail replacement one back to Derby. It was a stunning day and the Derbyshire countryside looked lovely as the bus made its way. Part of the train had a problem so everyone was crowded into five coaches instead of ten.
I got home by mid-afternoon, and then watched the two matches on the telly. The atmosphere at the Academy Stadium during Belgium v Iceland sounded great. I can’t wait to see and hear the Thunderclap live at Rotherham next Monday when I watch Iceland v France. At half time, I thought it had 0-0 written all over it, especially after Iceland had a penalty saved. Shortly after halt time, Iceland did take the lead but Belgium equalised later in the half as it finished 1-1. Another draw after the two matches on Saturday had also finished level.
The later match was France v Italy, and in my opinion two of the best national anthems. France looked great attacking in the first half and were leading 5-0 at the break. Italy did have a player sent off in the second half but this was overturned after a VAR check. Italy got a goal back but France’s first half performance meant they won 5-1. The France home shirts are also the best I have seen so far. That match also brings an end to the first set of group games. In those, Germany and the first half performance from France have impressed me the most.
After two nights of getting home/to hotel at nearly midnight, it was nice to be in bed by 10:30pm!
Written by Paul Donegan (@PaulDonegan1980 on Twitter and Instagram)
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