Euro 2024: Best team, goal and player from Round of 16

The Round of 16 at Euro 2024 is complete.

Tuesday marked the end of the first round of the knockout stage as there were a pair of thrilling matches. The Netherlands defeated Romania, 2-0, before Turkey upset Austria, 2-1, holding on to its lead in exciting fashion.

Those matches weren’t the only memorable moments though from the Round of 16. England scored in the final moments of added-on time to level Slovenia before winning in extra time. France got another own goal to beat Belgium. Spain put up a dominant performance to defeat Georgia. Elsewhere, Portugal advanced on penalty kicks over Slovakia, Switzerland took out defending champion Italy and host nation Germany needed a strong effort to beat Denmark.

The quarterfinals promise to be just as exciting as the rest of the tournament has been so far. On one side of the bracket, Germany takes on Spain (noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) and France battles Portugal (3 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) on Friday. On the other side of the bracket, England takes on Switzerland (noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) and the Netherlands will battle Turkey (3 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) on Saturday.

Before the quarterfinals begin, though, the “FOX Soccer Now” crew put a bow on the Round of 16 and dished out superlatives. Here’s what Jimmy Conrad, Melissa Ortiz and Wes Morgan viewed as the best of the best in the Round of 16.

Türkiye UPSETS Austria to advance to the quarterfinals

Best Team: Spain

“It’s Spain for me. Complete dominance of the group and against Georgia. It dismantled them. It was fantastic. It scored four goals. Lamine Yamal on the wing and Nico Williams were doing their jobs, particularly Williams. Williams’ individual goal, where he went past a defender and then finished it, really showed his confidence.

“But the stats from that game — 75% possession, 34 shots and 792 passes — they were unstoppable. They’re definitely the [best] team. The only negative from that match was that they conceded an own goal. But they’re the team to beat. They’re more than capable of going to the final, they just have to prove it.” — Morgan

Spain vs. Georgia Highlights | UEFA Euro 2024

Best Goal: Jude Bellingham, England (vs. Slovenia)

“Hey, Jude! Jude Bellingham’s goal was absolutely incredible. The play starts off as a throw-in before a little flip back and then the bicycle kick to score the goal. Bellingham said, ‘Who else? Who else?’ No other than Jude Bellingham. This team was already so tight. There was zero hope from anyone. There were already videos of fans that had left the stadium. The uproar of the crowd after that and then Harry Kane went on to score later.

“But [to score that goal], not only do you have to be incredibly talented to execute that, you also need to be so confident in your talent to even try to attempt that so late.” — Ortiz

Jude Bellingham’s 95th minute BICYCLE KICK goal against Slovakia

Best Player: Cody Gakpo, Netherlands

“I thought he was tremendous [on Tuesday] for the Netherlands, who were looking to put together their first complete 90-minute performance. He really epitomized the intensity, the purpose in playing and scored his sixth goal in nine major tournament games. He had three goals in the 2022 World Cup. He’s now got three goals in Euro 2024.

“This kid just lives up to the big moments. Maybe he didn’t do it as much at the club level consistently, obviously coming into a new environment, team and coach takes some time and practice. But here, with the Dutch, he definitely knows what he needs to do. If they’re going to make it to the final, and the road is looking pretty tantalizing to get there, he’s going to be a big reason why.” 

Cody Gakpo scores in 20′ as the Netherlands take a 1-0 lead over Romania

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