After 12 days of and a couple of days off, the Euros were back, this time for the very serious busine s of the knockout stage.The round of 16 was set to play Trevor Ariza Jersey out in the span of four days with two games held daily, and it certainly did not disappoint with a couple of blockbuster clashes as well as exciting action all around.We look back at the first knockout round of Euro 2020:Wales vs DenmarkThe first round of 16 clash saw Wales and Denmark square off in the Amsterdam ArenA. Looking at the line-ups on paper, Denmark were expected to continue in their 3-4-3 system, but in the match, their shape was much more fluid.After a quick start from the Danes, Wales started to claw their way back into the match and had a sustained spell of po se sion and attacking threat, with Gareth Bale once again at the centre of all good things for them.However, Kasper Hjulmand then pushed Andreas Christensen into midfield in a 4-3-3 to close down the space between the lines.Just a few minutes before the half-hour mark, Kasper Dolberg capped off a lovely team move with a pinpoint curling finish into the bottom corner from outside the box to give Denmark the lead.The Nice striker then added another just a couple of minutes into the second half, as a poor Neco Williams clearance fell very conveniently to him in the box, and he dispatched it with no hesitation at all.Towards the latter stages of the match, Denmark returned to a 3-4-3 with Christensen restored to centre-back, and they were able to see out a comfortable 4-0 victory as Joakim Mhle and Martin Braithwaite got on the scoresheet late on.Italy vs AustriaThe other match on the first day of the knockouts was at Wembley, where Italy were facing Austria. Franco Fodas side continued with a back-four, and they started off really brightly as they matched their opponents toe-to-toe with good po se sion-play and counter-pre sing.The Italians slowly started to gain control, and for the latter period of the first half they almost exclusively were the attacking team, but they failed to beat Daniel Bachmann despite having good chances where they hit the woodwork and drew a couple of fine saves.After that period of defending, Austria got back on the front foot in the second half, and this time, they almost got their breakthrough after the hour mark through Marko Arnautovi, but the goal was ruled out by VAR for offside.Italy started threatening again thereafter, but there were no goals in the 90 minutes, so we went to extra time. Jevon Carter Jersey This time Roberto Mancinis side looked good from kick-off, and substitute Federico Chiesa gave them the lead just a few minutes after the 90 before Matteo Pe sina made it 2-0 before the end of the first period of extra time.(Photo Credits: Paul Chesterton via Imago Images)Austria did pull one back with under 10 minutes to go as Saa Kalajdi stooped low to head a flat corner in at the near post, but it was a case of too little too late by then, so Italy progre sed to the quarter-finals.Netherlands vs Czech RepublicThe next round of 16 tie was played out in Hungary, where the Netherlands squared off against the Czech Republic. Frank de Boer preferred pace over physicality in attack as he picked Donyell Malen ahead of Wout Weghorst, and although his side started off well, they were quickly contained by their opponents, who decided to employ a very proactive man-to-man approach out of po Kelly Oubre Jr. Jersey se sion.The Czechs were also fairly expre sive on the ball, where Tom Souek had a fair bit of freedom to get forward from holding midfield.The West Ham midfielder had the best chance of the first half too as his stooping header went just wide of the far post, so there were no goals to speak of at the break.The Dutch were in control of po se sion, though, but the complexion of the match changed when Malen failed to get a shot away in a one-on-one, and soon thereafter, Matthijs De Ligt was sent off for a deliberate handball as the last defender.The Czech Republic naturally started looking a lot more threatening thereafter, and they soon went and took the lead through Tom Hole from a set-piece situation.Patrik Schick then added insurance with about 10 minutes of normal time remaining, and that was enough to seal an unlikely victory for Jaroslav ilhavs side.Belgium vs PortugalThe first of two real blockbuster showdowns in the round of 16 featured Belgium and Portugal, who met in Spain.The match was a keen tactical battle from the get-go as both sides looked to be patient in po se sion and play through each other.Chances were, therefore, at a premium, but Thorgan Hazard broke the deadlock at the stroke of half-time with a powerful strike from outside the box.(Photo Credits: Pre sin Photo Shawn Marion Jersey via Imago Images)After Kevin De Bruyne (whose positional freedom to drift around the pitch was crucial was Belgiums approach-play) went off injured, Belgium seemingly lost their edge and Portugal grew more and more threatening.They came incredibly close to equalising when Rben Dias headed a corner goalwards and Raphal Guerreiro struck the post a couple of minutes later, but ultimately failed to score and went out with a 0-1 defeat.Croatia vs SpainThe fifth round of 16 clash was held in Copenhagen, where Croatia took on Spain. Luis Enrique once again made a couple of tweaks to his side despite their comfortable 5-0 victory last time out, but they stuck to the same principles and looked very comfortable in the opening stages of the match.After mi sing a couple of huge chances early on, Spain got a bit too comfortable, as a seemingly ordinary backpa s from Pedri crept past Unai Simn (who horribly misjudged it) to gift Croatia the lead without them even registering a single shot.Despite being a bit rattled thereafter, La Roja continued to control proceedings, eventually equalising a few minutes before half-time when Pablo Sarabia smashed his shot home after some pinball in the box.The Group E runners-up continued to look in charge as the second half kicked off, and they only needed 12 minutes to go and take the lead as Csar Azpilicueta headed Ferran Torres cro s home.To his credit, Simn bounced back from that ma sive mishap by making a couple of crucial stops, before Torres scored a superb third.That was not all, as an almighty scramble in the Spanish six-yard box ended with Mislav Ori just about bundling the ball over the goal-line before it was cleared, and in stoppage time, Mario Paali headed an equaliser home.(Photo Credits: Petter Arvidson via Imago Images)Just a few minutes into extra time, Croatia had a huge chance, but they were denied by Simn again.Spain regained control of the match thereafter, after which they finally retook the lead when lvaro Morata smashed a half volley home and got a bit E'Twaun Moore Jersey of security after Mikel Oyarzabals strike.France vs SwitzerlandBucharest was the next venue for the round o