Newcastle star  Kieran Trippier sparked concerns last week after his wife uploaded a cryptic post on social media. Trippier has been actively involved in the Three Lions’ Euro 2024 appearance so far.  The defender who is a right-back, has been substituting at left-back due to injuries. Trippier’s wife Charlotte posted on Instagram: “Sooner or later you get over the s*** you swore you’d never get over and it’s the best feeling in the world.”  She then followed that post with the words: “The sun is shining. Happy Monday angels.” There are speculations that Trippier may have lost his wife as a follower on social media.

The Round of 16 for Euro 2024 is underway, as dark horse teams Austria and Georgia pulled off stunning victories over the Netherlands and Portugal respectively to qualify for this stage of the tournament. As predicted, Spain, England and Germany finished first in their group. With the other qualifying nations preparing to begin Round 16, let’s look at the Euro 2024 Match Previews for certain key matches. Switzerland will play Italy in Berlin as they hope to maintain their excellent momentum, while Denmark will face undefeated Germany at Dortmund. France and Belgium will compete in a clash of titans, and Portugal will seek to obliterate Slovenia. Keep reading to see our breakdown of the key Euro 2024 matches to feature in the Round of 16 stage. We have also linked to the previews for all these matches on our website; containing betting tips and experts picks for each fixture. Which Teams Will Play In A Euro 2024 Match For Round Of 16? After the recently completed Euro 2024 group stage, 12 were confirmed from the top-two finishes in respective groups with four more entering as the best third-placed teams to make up the final 16. Top Two Teams qualifying in the Round of 16 are: Germany. Switzerland. Spain. Italy. England. Denmark. Austria. France. Romania. Belgium. Portugal. Turkey. Best third-placed teams qualifying for the Round of 16: Slovenia. Netherlands. Slovakia. Georgia. Euro 2024 Match Previews With Venue And Date Below are all the Euro 2024 match previews you can read about on MatchPlug. Switzerland VS Italy – June 29th at the Olympiastadion, Berlin. Germany VS Denmark – June 30th – at the BVB Stadion, Dortmund. England VS Slovakia – June 30th at the Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen. Spain VS Georgia – June 30th at the Cologne Stadium, Cologne. France VS Belgium – July 1st at the Dusseldorf Arena, Dusseldorf. Portugal VS Slovenia – July 1st at Frankfurt Arena, Frankfurt. Romania VS Netherlands – July 2nd at the Munich Football Arena, Munich. Austria VS Turkey – July 2nd at the Leipzig Stadium, Leipzig. Euro 2024 Match Previews For Round Of 16  After 36 games, the Euro 2024 has moved on to the knockout stages, starting with the round of 16 which begins on the 29th of June 2024. On that note, let us examine the Euro 2024 match previews for all eight round of 16 matches: 1. Switzerland VS Italy Switzerland has played surprisingly well so far in the tournament and came close to defeating Germany to top Group A. That was probably the best goal they’ve ever given up as they are in the easiest half of the draw. The match with the Germans proved that the Swiss have good defense. They were aggressive, well-organized, and managed to hold off the hosts for 92 minutes. Besides their opening match loss to Hungary, Switzerland’s attack has struggled. They managed just four shots against the Germans and required Xherdan Shaqiri to score a wonder strike to defeat Scotland. Italy on the other hand, waited until the last minute to clinch a spot in the last 16. They need Mattia Zaccagni to score in the 98th minute to play out a draw against Croatia. The Azzurri also struggled with their attack, starting their first two group games with a striker who scored only once in 19 international appearances.  Against Croatia, Mateo Retegui got a chance to lead the line, extending a drought that saw him score just once in his last 13 appearances for team and country. Head-to-head Stats For Switzerland VS Italy This match has ”Under” written all over it, and it won’t be shocking if both teams were to drag things out until penalties. Switzerland and Italy competed in the qualifying group at the 2021 World Cup and drew 0-0 and 1-1. The Swiss have drawn six of their last 10 internationals with eight ending Under 2.5 goals, while six of the last eight Italian fixtures have ended in two or fewer goals. Read the preview: Switzerland VS Italy: Preview and Expert Football Prediction. 2. Germany VS Denmark  Germany and Denmark will reenact the 1992 Euro final when they clash in Dortmund on Saturday 29th June, 2024. While the hosts have been undefeated in the contest with two wins and a draw, Denmark is yet to get a victory, ending all their group matches in a draw and scoring twice. Entering this match as the underdogs, Denmark will take inspiration from their wondrous Euro 1992 finals performance in Gothenburg. In that game, they pulled off one of the largest final upsets ever, defeating Germany who were world champions then, by a 2-0 score to win their first and only major football title. The Danes will look to midfielder Christian Eriksen and forwards Rasmus Hojlund and Jonas Wind to subdue Germany, who have a star packed lineup featuring Euro 2024’s joint-second top scorers Jamal Musiala and Niclas Fullkrug, including breakout star Florian Wirtz. Before the knockout game, Julian Nagelsmann will make the hard decision: keep faith in underwhelming Kai Havertz in the starting lineup or star Fullkrug after his stoppage-time equalizer off the bench in the last match against Switzerland. Head-to-Head Stats For Germany VS Denmark Historically, Germany is almost unbeatable once they advance to the knockout stage at the Euros. All the 10 times Germany has advanced, they’ve reached the semifinals nine times and the final six. Die Mannschaft are on the same level as Spain with three European Football Championship titles. Defeating Denmark in the round of 16 will put them one step closer to securing a fourth title; an honour as hosting nation. It will also be a perfect send off for Tooni Kroos, who will retire from football after the contest. However, Denmark who reached the semifinals at the last edition of Euro 2020, are no easy pushovers for Germany. Read the preview: Germany VS Denmark: Preview and Expert Football Prediction. 3. England VS Slovakia  England lost momentum after their first three performances, but they topped their group and

Euro 2024 is down to the last 16 teams, as eight of them go home after an exhilarating group stage. Fans watched Albania, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, Croatia, Ukraine, and Scotland exit the tournament, while other nations qualified for the Round of 16. Amongst these qualifying countries, some teams referred to as “Dark Horses”, unwanted outsiders have shockingly qualified as well. This post discusses those Euro 2024 Dark Horse Teams. So far, the Euros have been full of twists, but what stood out the most is that where preferred favourites such as England and France have struggled, the dark horse teams like Austria, Turkey, Georgia, and Switzerland scaled through easily to appear in the next round.  As the 16 lucky teams gear up to compete for the Round of 16 and eventually the finals on July 14th, MatchPlug believes that those dark horses deserve to be recognized for the outstanding performance they put on during the group stages.  Table of contents: What is a dark horse? 10 Euro 2024 dark horse teams Euro 2024 dark horse teams that qualified for the round of 16 What Is A Dark Horse? A dark horse is an unpopular candidate or competitor, who unexpectedly wins or succeeds in a competition. UEFA expanding the European Championship means unwanted teams have more chances to make their presence felt at the competition.  What Are Some Rules For Euro 2024 Dark Horse Teams There are some rules surrounding Euro 2024 dark horse teams that help you identify them at major tournaments like the Euros.  1. Dark horses are not ranked among the pre-tournament favourites. Countries like Georgia and Austria were not when the contest began. These teams were put down behind the usual favourites Germany, Spain, France, England, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands.  2. Dark horses cannot have much historical pedigree. Austria haven’t had this in modern ages since the 1954 World Cup, when they finished third, and have reached just one knockout stage at any international tournament. At Euro 2020, Italy defeated them in the last 16.  3. Dark horses may have an impressive recent record which is usually overlooked. Austria entered the euros undefeated in seven games and teased their ferocious attacking abilities by beating Turkey 6-1 in March.  4. Dark horses always have an air of mystery around them, either secretly talented players or a mythical coach. In the case of Austria (again) Marcel Sabitzer, Patrick Wimmer, Christoph Baumgartner, and Marko Arnautovic held the fort down. Their coach Ralf Ragnick was also excellent. 7 Euro 2024 Dark Horse Teams 1. Austria 2. Georgia 3. Slovenia 4. Turkey 5. Netherlands 6. Denmark 7. Italy Euro 2024 Dark Horse Teams That Qualified For The Round Of 16 In this section, we examine some of the Euro 2024 dark horses that certainly produced shocking results in the tournament, defied all odds to make it to the round of 16, and topped their group ahead of the preferred favourites.  Below are some of the Euro 2024 dark horse teams that are still going strong in the tournament: 1. Austria Austria officially became a dark horse in the tournament when the pressure began to increase and favourites like England and France cracked in the heat of battle. The Austrians brought to the contest thrilling football, a transformed tactical approach, and a sense of national pride. They first announced their presence by excellent friendly victories over Germany and Italy. After they lost 1-0 to France in their first Euro 2024 match, they went on to beat Poland 3-1. Austria finally sealed their place in the round of 16 by a 3-2 beating of Netherlands.  They finished the group stages of the contest by topping Group D with 6 points ahead of France and are set to face Turkey as their first opponents in the round of 16. 2. Georgia As a team playing in its first ever European championship, Georgia delivered what is considered perhaps the most remarkable performance in this year’s euros. This debutante defeated the almighty Portugal by a 2-0 scoreline to steal a spot in the round of 16.  The Georgian national team has had a quiet confidence rising within it since they eliminated Greece in a penalty shoot out to secure a place at Germany. Their Euro run has been filled with ups and downs since then. First they lost 1-0 to Turkey, drew with Czechia, and then beat Portugal at the dying minutes of the group stage to stay in the competition.  Georgia is set to face Spain on the 29th of June 2024 for the round 16 and we hope this team survives La Roja’s brutality. 3. Slovenia Just like Georgia, there was little information this summer about Slovenia which ranked 57th in the world; only two nations competing in Germany this year are lower in FIFA standings. Unlike Georgia, Slovenia did not put its hopes in the array of talent around the pitch but on just one star they have in their squad, Benjamin Šeško. It doesn’t come as a surprise that the Leipzig forward has been associated with bigger clubs like Chelsea, Arsenal, and Milan this summer and his price may only increase further with his recent performance at the Euro. Meanwhile, Slovenia sealed the deal with a timely 0-0 stalemate with favourites England to enter the round of 16.  4. Turkey Turkey began its start to the Euro 2024 with a spectacular 3-1 beating of Georgia thanks to two long range strikes and a destabilising counter attack. This performance wiped out the disappointment of their campaign last time out at the Euro 2020, which was ridden with injury and uncertain management.  In the match with Georgia, Mert Muldur and wonderkid Arda Guler helped the Turks take the lead before Muhammed Kerem Aktürkoğlu sealed the victory. Since then, Turkey has survived a 3-0 lashing from Portugal and defeated Czechia 3-1 to enter the next stage of the contest.  There is a lot of talent locked away in this team and they are