Page 34 - Football

Euro 2024: England coach Southgate criticised after 0-0 draw with Slovenia

Top of the group, unbeaten and on the favorable side of the draw for the knockout phase of Euro 2024. It's a case of job done for England at this stage of the tournament. Try telling that to the fans who jeered loudly and threw beer cups as the final whistle blew on a 0-0 draw with Slovenia at Cologne Stadium. Criticism of England's performances in Germany has been fierce. I've not seen any team qualify and receive similar, manager Gareth Southgate said. Southgate believes he and his England team could be paying the price for its success under his leadership. Safe passage through to the round of 16 maintains his personal record of advancing from the group stage of every major tournament he's taken charge of, dating back to the World Cup in 2018. I think probably expectation (is different). We've made England over the last six or seven years fun again. I think it has been enjoyable for the players, Southgate said. We've got to be very, very careful that it stays that way. England

Euro 2024: France secures Round of 16 spot with 1-1 draw against Poland

A draw was enough to secure a spot for France in the Round of 16 as they secured a second-spot finish in Group D

Euro 2024: Denmark advances to last 16 after 0-0 draw with Serbia

Denmark advanced to the last 16 at the European Championship after a 0-0 draw with Serbia on Tuesday. The Danes finished Group C with three points, the same as Slovenia, but ended up in second place because of a better qualifying ranking. Slovenia, which drew 0-0 with group-winner England, also advanced to the knockout stage. Denmark had most of the chances even though Serbia needed a victory to reach the next round. And almost all of those Danish opportunities came through Christian Eriksen, who was making a record 133rd appearance for his country. Denmark and Slovenia finished even on points, goal difference, goals scored and disciplinary points.

Copa America 2024: Argentina beat Chile 1-0, seal quarterfinal place

Lautaro Martinez scored off a rebound in the 88th minute, giving defending champion Argentina and Lionel Messi a 1-0 victory over Chile that guaranteed them a berth in the Copa America quarterfinals. Messi's corner kick led to a shot blocked by goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, and Martnez scored his second goal of the tournament on Argentina's 21st shot of the match. Players stood and waited for three minutes while the goal, Martnez's 26th for the national team, was confirmed in a video review. Argentina leads Group A with six points, followed by Canada with six, and Chile and Peru with one each. The Albiceleste finishes the first round against Peru at Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday, when Canada meets Chile in Orlando, Florida. Playing a day after his 37th birthday, Messi frequently flaunted his talent to spin around and slalom through defenders before an adoring sellout crowd of 81,106 at MetLife Stadium, site of the 2026 World Cup final. Argentina dominated 21-3 in shots and 11-0 i

Much-changed Spain beats Albania 1-0 at Euro 2024 to finish group stage

Spain changed almost its entire lineup and still kept up its victorious start to the European Championship with a 1-0 win over Albania, which was eliminated. With his team already assured of winning Group B, coach Luis de la Fuente changed 10 of his starters and Spain won all three group games at a Euros for the first time since 2008, when it went on to win the tournament. A 13th-minute goal from Ferran Torres and goalkeeper David Raya's stoppage-time save from Armando Broja ensured Spain completed the group stage without conceding a goal. Every player is ready to play in this first 11 and that's key. Anyone can decide a game for you and players coming off the bench are very important as well, Torres, who made his first start of Euro 2024, said through a translator. I will try to make things difficult for my coach so that he will have to play me. Torres scored with a deflection off the post from Dani OImo's pass, and put his fingers to his ears in his goal celebration. He said the

Italy advances at Euro 2024 after Zaccagni equaliser against Croatia

Italy substitute Mattia Zaccagni scored in the last minute of stoppage time for Italy to advance to the knockout stage of the European Championship after drawing Croatia 1-1. Luka Modric's second-half strike looked like sending Croatia through as the Group B runner-up, but Zaccagni swept a brilliant shot inside the far post in the eighth minute of added time to cap a furious finale from the defending champions. Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic was unhappy so much time was added after a battling performance from his side. You can't have eight minutes of added time after that game, it's nonsense, Dalic said. There weren't so many breaks in play, or so many fouls to justify that. I don't want to cause a fuss but I think Croatia needs to be acknowledged and respected. We played for almost three hours. Italy needed a point to progress, while Croatia realistically needed a win to stay in the tournament. The Croatians have two points from their three games and were at the mercy of other results

Euro 2024: England to play Slovenia in final Group C game on Tuesday

England plays Slovenia in its final Group C game at Euro 2024 on Tuesday. Negativity has surrounded Gareth Southgate's team following its unconvincing 1-1 draw with Denmark, but England still tops the group on four points and a draw will be enough to guarantee it advances to the round of 16. Kickoff is at 9 p.m. local (1900 GMT) in Cologne. Here's what to know about the match: Match facts: England's 1-1 draw with Denmark has sparked heavy criticism of the team, despite it topping Group C and being likely to progress even if it loses to Slovenia. While England could still finish third, four points has always been enough to advance to the knockout phase of the Euros as one of the best third-placed teams. England beat Serbia 1-0 in its opening game. Winning the group would mean England faces one of the best third-placed teams from Group D, E or F. Slovenia on two points goes into the game knowing it could finish top or bottom of the group, depending on results. Slovenia has drawn .

Stimac's conduct affirms correctness of contract termination: AIFF

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Monday accused ousted coach Igor Stimac of making attempts to show the country's football fraternity in a bad light in international conferences, saying excuses and failures became emblematic of his tumultuous five-year tenure. In a strong rebuttal to the series of allegations made against the AIFF by the former men's team head coach, the federation said it left no stone unturned in its effort to provide the gaffer with everything he had asked for to lift the team's performance. In a long statement, the AIFF said Stimac's sole intention of calling the press conference, four days after his sacking, was to malign the federation. "This conduct (by Stimac) has only reinforced the AIFF's belief that the right decision was made, with just cause, to terminate his contract and move forward in the interests of Indian football," the AIFF said in the statement. Launching a stinging attack on AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey, Stimac had said the sooner

Germany confirms Rdiger strained hamstring ahead of Euro 2024 last-16 game

Antonio Rdiger strained a hamstring muscle in Germany's 1-1 draw with Switzerland at Euro 2024, his team said Monday. The Real Madrid defender was seen holding his leg as he left the field after Sunday's game, which saw Germany level the score with a header from Niclas Fllkrug in stoppage time. Germany didn't give any details of Rdiger's condition in a brief statement confirming the injury Monday or indicate whether he's likely to be fit to play in the round of 16 on Saturday. If Rdiger can't play, it would leave Germany without either of its first-choice central defenders. The other central defender from the last game, Jonathan Tah, will be suspended for the round of 16 after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament. It's likely to mean a bigger role for Nico Schlotterbeck, who replaced Tah off the bench on Sunday. The other central defenders in the squad are Eintracht Frankfurt's Robin Koch and Stuttgart's Waldemar Anton. Neither has played in Euro 2024 so far.

Euro Cup 2024 today match: ALB vs ESP live match time, CRO vs ITA streaming

The Albania vs Spain football match as well as the Croatia vs Italy football match will begin at 12:30 AM IST on June 25

Mirlind Daku banned by Uefa for 2 Euro 2024 games after nationalist chants

Albania player Mirlind Daku was banned on Sunday for two games after leading fans in nationalist chants at the European Championship, that UEFA said brought soccer into disrepute. Daku took a megaphone after Albania's 2-2 draw with Croatia on Wednesday in Hamburg and joined in chanting slogans against Serbia and North Macedonia. The incidents and fallout from the game in Hamburg have been the most serious involving Balkan politics at a Euros with the most-ever teams from the region playing and offering a stage for some fans to air its issues. It also has highlighted rifts in soccer between Albania and Serbia at a time when their soccer federations have tried to heal them by teaming up, despite opposition from many fans, in a bid to co-host the Under-21 Euros in 2027. On Sunday, UEFA said its disciplinary judges found Daku guilty of failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sports events for manifestations o

Hungary forward Barnabas Varga stable after injury against Scotland

Hungary forward Barnabs Varga was in hospital in stable condition after a serious-looking injury at his team's final group match at the European Championship. Varga will likely undergo surgery after fracturing several bones in his face. The 29-year-old also has concussion and will take no part in the rest of Euro 2024 should Hungary advance to the round of 16 as one of the four best third-place teams. The Group A game against Scotland was halted for nearly 10 minutes so Varga could get treatment after colliding with opposing goalkeeper Angus Gunn midway through the second half. Varga's teammates held up blankets to shield the player as he was tended to by medical staff, while everyone looked on in concern. Both sets of fans applauded when Varga was stretchered off. Several bones in Barnabs Varga's face were broken during the collision during the match, and he also suffered a concussion, the Hungarian soccer federation wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after the match. The Ferencvros

Germany gets late goal to draw with Swiss; finish top of Euro 2024 group

They all jumped for the ball in a frantic late push for the goal that would save Germany from its first loss at the European Championship, against an impressive Switzerland team. Defender Nico Schlotterbeck leaped up, next to the even more imposing center-back Antonio Rdiger, who reached highest of all. In front of them both was substitute Niclas Fllkrug. The German trio was circled by three Swiss opponents trying to protect a 1-0 lead two minutes into stoppage time. Six pairs of feet off the ground in unison, straining to be the one to head the ball. It was Fllkrug who won the contest, guiding the ball crossed from another substitute David Raum back across Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer into the top corner of the net. The match ended 1-1. We risked a lot in this phase because we could have conceded a second goal, Germany coach Julian Nagelesmann said about throwing his defenders into attack. "Who doesn't dare to risk, doesn't get to draw. Germany had already advanced to the r

Euro Cup 2024 today match: SUI vs GER live match time, SCO vs HUN streaming

The Switzerland vs Germany football match as well as the Scotland vs Hungary football match will begin at 12:30 AM IST on June 24

Euro 2024: Group A, B, C, D, E and F points table, top stats of tournament

Germany is at the top of Group A, Spain is leading Group B, England leads Group C while the Netherlands have Group D under their control. Romania and Portugal stand atop Group E and F respectively

Euro 2024: Italian coaches are dominating dugouts, here's the reason why

Italy continues a tradition at the European Championship with Italian coaches this time five in charge of national teams at the tournament in Germany. Italy coach Luciano Spalletti is joined by Vincenzo Montella (Turkey), Domenico Tedesco (Belgium), Marco Rossi (Hungary) and Francesco Calzona (Slovakia). With five of the 24 teams in Germany led by Italians, this tops the Netherlands' mark of having three coaches out of 16 teams at Euro 2008. All but Tedesco studied at the Italian federation's coaching school, directed by former coach Renzo Ulivieri, also the president of the Italian soccer coaches' association. It is a great source of pride for all of Italian soccer and especially for our coaching school, Ulivieri said in an interview with The Associated Press. We think that our coaches are excellent, for two reasons: ours is a good school and then, the coaches have a very educational apprenticeship within our leagues, both in the professional leagues, but also in the amateur

Euro 2024: Georgia get first point in a 1-1 draw with Czech Republic

Georgia earned its first-ever point at a major tournament in a 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic at Euro 2024 here on Saturday. Video reviews were in the spotlight as the Czechs had a goal for Adam Hlozek disallowed for hand ball. Georgia, the only team making its debut at Euro 2024, then took the lead with a Georges Mikautadze penalty given for hand ball by Czech defender Robin Hranec. The Czech team got back into the game when a header rebounded off the post and Patrik Schick scored with his chest. Schick went off with a calf injury soon after. Georgia could have won but Saba Lobjanidze shot narrowly over the bar with the last kick of the game on a counterattack. The draw means that both teams almost certainly require a win in their last group games to qualify for the knockout stages. Turkey and Portugal are the other two teams in Group F and they will meet later tonight.

Euro to FIFA World Cup: Fastest goals scored in international, club history

Albania's Nedim Bajrami scored the fastest goal in the history of European Championship (Euro Cup) history. Turkey's Hakan Sukur scored the fastest goal in FIFA World Cup history.

Euro Cup 2024 today match: SLO vs UKR live match time, POL vs AUT streaming

Slovakia vs Ukraine football match will begin at 6:30 PM IST on June 21. Poland vs Austria football match will begin at 9:30 PM IST on June 21

England draws 1-1 with Denmark, remains on track to advance in Euro 2024

Where England stands after two European Championship games is the envy of most teams. Just not good enough yet to have title ambitions. A 1-1 draw Thursday with Denmark a semifinalist last time, don't forget means England is unbeaten and all-but certain to advance to the round of 16. It also was a slack, mistake-filled display that left coach Gareth Southgate angrily gesturing at his players for gifting a slew of scoring chances late in the game. The team didn't function today, that is my responsibility, said Southgate, who heard jeers from fans behind the England goal in a ragged second half. Harry Kane gave England another fast start at Euro 2024, scoring it the 18th minute, but the captain was substituted off in the second half as the team faded. Denmark leveled in the 34th when Morten Hjulmand fired in a powerful low shot from long distance, after Kane gave away the ball in defense. Eight years with Southgate has earned England sustained tournament success. The Three Lions