Euro 2020
Roma man impresses again, ex-Premier League forward also does well – Italy 2-1 Austria Player Ratings
Italy made it to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 after a tough evening against Austria. The first chance of note came in the 17th minute. Leonardo Spinazzola got down the left and played a low cross to Nicolo Barella, whose shot was denied by the right foot of Daniel Bachmann. Austria responded with a chance of their own. Marcel Sabitzer floated a ball over the top for Marko Arnautovic, but the former West Ham United forward fired over on the half-volley. The closest either side came to opening the scoring came through Ciro Immobile. The Lazio man hit a shot from 30 yards which clipped the outside of the post. Italy had the better of the first half, registering 11 attempts to Austria’s one. Nonetheless, the two sides went into the break level. Austria came out in the second half showing mu...
Euro 2020: Denmark fairytale goes on as Welsh crash out
Wales’ Euro 2020 dream is over after Kasper Dolberg’s double helped Denmark cruise into the quarter-finals with a thumping 4-0 victory in Amsterdam. The Danish campaign began in traumatic cirucmstances after Christian Eriksen’s collapse but they have bounced back superbly and produced a dominant display as Wales crashed out with a whimper. Dolberg stuck opened the scoring midway through the first-half and then doubled the lead immediately after the restart, with Joakim Maehle sealing the win late on before Martin Braithwaite capped the rout in stoppage time. Wales also had Harry Wilson sent off in the final minute as their campaign came to a sorry end. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating ...
Former Tottenham player delivers nonsense Euro verdict, FA jump the gun
Goodbye group stage, hello knockout phase. Yes folks, we’re down to the last 16 in the European Championships and as Jim Ross would say ‘business is about to pick up’. We’ve reached the stage of the tournament where a mistake can kill someone’s career, or one goal could lead to a player bagging a big-money move they don’t deserve. Let’s look at some of the key talking points from the last 24 hours and establish which team we want to crash out of the competition. Denmark on a mission The football world froze two weeks ago as Christian Eriksen collapsed during Denmark’s opening game against Finland at the European Championships. Thankfully, the medical experts miraculously worked their magic, and Eriksen has lived to fight another day. What a man! ‘He’s become a friend’ – how Kasper Hjulmand...
Romelu Lukaku backed to succeed Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich
Former Belgium striker Emile Mpenza has tipped Romelu Lukaku to succeed Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich. The 28-year-old has excelled at Inter, scoring 64 goals in just 95 matches since joining the Serie A side from Manchester United in 2019. The forward has a similar record for the national team, having struck 63 times in 96 caps for the Rode Duivels, including three at Euro 2020. Mpenza has been amazed by the ex-Chelsea and Anderlecht player’s development and believes Bayern would be smart to look at him if they need to replace Poland sensation Lewandowski following his 48-goal campaign in Germany. “Romelu’s strength in a duel and his speed are outstanding. That makes it so difficult for the defenders against him,” Mpenza told Sport Bild. “If they go into a duel with him, he uses his...
Former Chelsea player urges manager to take the safe option and ignore Villa star’s claims
Former England and Chelsea star Joe Cole has urged Gareth Southgate to include Mason Mount in his starting line-up against Germany instead of Jack Grealish. During an interview with talkSPORT, Cole reiterated his admiration for the Aston Villa playmaker but implored Southgate to bring Mount back into the starting XI. “As much as I love Jack, I would go with Mase ahead of him for this game,” he said. “Jack won’t like this, but having Jack off the bench, if it is level after 60 minutes, imagine Wembley seeing Jack step up if we need something. “You need someone on the bench who can change something. “Mason is a little bit more disciplined in the central position, which allows you to change the system a little bit. “It is like choosing [a favourite] between your kids. Choosing between Mason M...
“We are always the underdogs” – Gareth Bale is confident of a “big performance”
Wales captain Gareth Bale is unfazed by his team’s underdog status ahead of their Euro 2020 last-16 clash against Denmark on Saturday. Wales finished runners-up to Italy in Group A with a mixed return from their three group stage fixtures (W1, D1, L1) to reach the European Championships knockout phase for the second tournament running. The Dragons reached the semi-finals at Euro 2016, going down 2-0 to eventual winners Portugal as they hope to emulate similar success this summer. Rob Page’s team will have to overcome Denmark, who became the first nation in Euro history to make it out of the group stage after losing their opening two games of the tournament. Danish Dynamite lost their headline performer Christian Eriksen for the rest of the competition after the Inter Milan playmaker collap...
Outgoing Liverpool star confirms he is ready to walk, sends important message
Day 14 at the European Championships was an opportunity to relax after the thrills and spills of the group stage. With no games scheduled, you could be forgiven for thinking that there would be no talking points. You’d be wrong. England’s Sheeran gig stinks ‘England’s preparations for Euro 2020 Germany clash begin with a surprise gig… by Ed Sheeran’. Well, isn’t that nice for them? Putting aside how utterly dismal Sheeran’s ‘music’ is for one moment, how exactly was this allowed to happen? How lovely England’s football team enjoyed a private Ed Sheeran concert. Meanwhile my brother who is also a musician hasn’t played for 15 months. This two-tier interpretation of the Covid rules is a farce. — Bella Wallersteiner (@BellaWallerstei) June 24, 2021 For starters, England’s players are supposed...
Manchester United man leads Euro 2020 Best XI while Ronaldo leads from the front
The Euro 2020 group stages have come to a close, and it’s just a short wait before the knockout rounds begin. The opening two weeks of action have been nothing short of enthralling. We’ve seen some incredible goals, great drama, and an inexplicable amount of own goals. What’s not to love? Here is our best XI from the group stage. Lukas Hradecky (GK) – Hradecky can count himself unlucky to be going home early, having put in some excellent performances in the last three games. He kicked off his tournament with a crucial penalty save in the 1-0 win over Denmark and followed this up with another good performance in the 1-0 defeat against Russia. His final game was impressive but ended in heartbreak. He made several brilliant stops to keep Belgium at bay but scored an unlucky own goal to s...
1 from Portugal, 1 from France, 2 from Netherlands – Euro 2020 Best XI of Round 3
The group stage has come to an end, and now we have to endure two whole days without Euro 2020 action. How will we cope? At least the groups ended on a cracker, with several exceptional performances from the final round of fixtures. Here is our best XI from round three of Euro 2020. Lukas Hradecky (GK) – It feels a bit bizarre to include someone who scored an own goal, but here we are. Hradecky kept Finland in the game for as long as possible, producing several excellent stops to keep Belgium out before being cruelly robbed of his clean sheet. Nelson Semedo (RB) – The selection of right-backs from the latest round of fixtures was somewhat slim, but Nelson Semedo gets in for a solid performance. He got a lot of criticism for his performance against Germany, and many feared that it...
Bundesliga duo star in enthralling game – Sweden 3-2 Poland Player Ratings
Sweden secured top spot in Group B with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Poland at the European Championships on Wednesday. Poland went into the game needing a win or they’d be eliminated, and they made the worst possible start. Alexander Isak bundled the ball through to Emil Forsberg, who finished into the far corner with his weaker left foot via a small deflection. But they responded well to going behind and really should have been level in the 18th minute. Robert Lewandowski saw his header crash back off the crossbar, but the rebound fell perfectly for the Bayern Munich forward. With everyone expecting to see him nod home from close range, he somehow hit the crossbar again before it was cleared to safety. Shortly before half time, Paulo Sousa’s men had another opportunity to equalise. Piotr...
Ronaldo makes history, Man Utd and Real Madrid stars impress – Portugal 2-2 France Player Ratings
Portugal and France both progressed to the knockout stages of Euro 2020 after an entertaining 2-2 draw. The first chance of the evening fell to Kylian Mbappe. The youngster was played through on goal by an excellent Paul Pogba through ball, but his finish was underwhelming for a player of his standards. From then on, it was a half soaked in controversy, beginning when Portugal were awarded a penalty in the 28th minute. Danilo Pereira got his head to a cross and was caught by the arm of Hugo Lloris on the follow through. Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz pointed to the spot, despite protests from French players. Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up and slammed his penalty past Lloris. Just before half time, more controversy arose when France were given a penalty. Mbappe went down under contact from Nelso...
Rainbow stadium controversy proves that politics will never be separate from sport
Peter Szijjarto, Hungary’s foreign minister, is livid. Germany will be playing Hungary in Munich for the final game of Group F of the EURO 2020 championships. However, the mayor of Munich wants to light up the stadium in rainbow colours to protest a controversial new law in Hungary that bans the dissemination of content in schools that promotes homosexuality and gender change. “I consider it very harmful and dangerous when anyone tries to mix politics and sports,” Szijjarto told reporters. While UEFA rejected the request and maintains the view that football cannot be used as a political tool, the reality is that there’s a long history of politicians harnessing the power of football as a political weapon. Benito Mussolini, Italy’s fascist ruler from 1922 till 1943, understood the political ...
