Italy
Euro 2020: Knockout games bring the best out of France – Hugo Lloris
A depleted France will draw motivation from the threat of elimination as they prepare to face Switzerland in their European Championship last-16 match, captain Hugo Lloris said on Sunday. World champions France topped Group F with one win and two draws ahead of Portugal and Germany but key players in their backline have picked up injuries to give coach Didier Deschamps a selection headache on Monday. While Ousmane Dembele and Marcus Thuram are unavailable, Deschamps confirmed full backs Jules Kounde and Lucas Digne are also ruled out against the Swiss. Left back Lucas Hernandez, who injured his knee, has a chance to feature. Speaking at a news conference, goalkeeper Lloris said France – who finished runners-up in 2016 – were accustomed to do-or-die situations and thrived under pressure. “W...
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...
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...
Euro 2020: Angelo Ogbonna frustrated by Italy snub
West Ham United defender, Angelo Ogbonna, has admitted frustration missing Italy’s Euros squad. Ogbonna feels his form with the Irons was enough to earn him a place in coach Roberto Mancini’s selection. The former Juventus defender told Sky Italia: “For me it was a positive year, our goal was salvation and we managed to grab the Europa League. “I was saddened by the lack of a call-up, I can’t hide it, but I’m very happy with the path of our national team, the approach to the matches is totally different than in other years. In my case, I think there was little meritocracy but the coach will have had his reasons for making such choices. “But it is my analysis, it is not a criticism of the coach. But after such a year…” Asked if he was penalised for not playing in Italy, Ogbonna added: “I do...
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...
Gianluigi Buffon: Why I turned down Champions League for Parma
Gianluigi Buffon has said he rejected ‘two opportunities to even win the Champions League’ so that he could help Parma come back into Serie A and hasn’t lost hope of a spot at the 2022 World Cup. The 43-year-old shot-stopper signed the two-year contract and will be presented to the media this evening after leaving Juventus for the club where his career first started as a teenager. “I have many memories, above all the motivation and hope is to write a few more important pages in the history books of this club, and I know I can do it,” Buffon told Sky Sport Italia. “That is the main reason I returned here, along with the other 999 reasons! I felt such strong emotions, as an emotional reaction is the only way to keep delivering at this level at my age. “I knew Parma would give me something th...
Italian premier calls for Euros final to be moved from Wembley
The prime minister of Italy has called for the Euro 2020 final to be moved from Wembley due to coronavirus concerns. Mario Draghi says the level of infection in the United Kingdom means alternative venues must be considered. “I will try to stop the final being held in a country where infections are rising quickly,” he said on Monday when asked if Rome could be considered a possible replacement. Wembley is due to host five knockout matches, including both semi-finals and then the final on July 11. Italy will also play their last-16 game in London against Austria on June 26. Cases of COVID-19 have been increasing in recent weeks in the UK, fuelled by the Delta variant first identified in India, with a further 10,633 confirmed on Monday. There are also still strict travel restrictions in plac...
Euro 2020: Donyell Malen adds extra dimension to potent Dutch attack
The Netherlands had every reason to step down a couple of gears but instead upped their pace thanks to a fine display by speedy forward Donyell Malen in Monday’s 3-0 win over North Macedonia, advancing their claims to be genuine Euro 2020 contenders. Frank de Boer’s side had already qualified for the knockouts as group winners but whereas Italy’s Roberto Mancini made sweeping changes for his side’s 1-0 win over Wales, the Dutchman fielded his strongest team in their final Group C game. One of the two changes he did make was to bring in 22-year-old Malen in place of Wout Weghorst, making the Netherlands even more potent in attack as they became the top scorers in the tournament with eight goals. Malen, who provided an assist less than three minutes after coming on in the 2-0 win over Austri...
Borussia Dortmund star deserves better than being patronised by Southgate
Group A took centre stage at the European Championships on Sunday, with the final matches of the opening phase played simultaneously. Italy beat Wales 1-0 to confirm their place at the top of the group, while Switzerland triumphed 3-1 against Turkey. Despite being completely outplayed by Italy, the result was enough to send Wales through to the round of 16. Let’s have a look at some of the talking points from the Italy game and elsewhere. Don’t mess with Locatelli After being one of the stars of Euro 2020 during Italy’s first two games, Manuel Locatelli but was handed a well-earned rest against Wales. However, he was a little wound up on the bench during the game as teammate Nicolo Barella jokingly flung a water bottle at his head. what’s the Italian for banter pic.twitter.com/OKb4U1Qj0F —...
Euro 2020: Swiss coach confident of last-16 spot despite tough travel
Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic is confident his side have done enough to reach the last 16 at Euro 2020 after a 3-1 win over Turkey on Sunday but he criticised the long distances his side have had to travel during the tournament. Xherdan Shaqiri scored two superb goals as Switzerland secured third place in Group A at Euro 2020 with the win against Turkey, but they now face an anxious wait to see if they will reach the last 16. The Swiss, who finished level on four points with Wales but behind on goal difference, will hope to secure a spot in the knockouts as one of the four best third-placed finishers from the six groups. “We scored a few goals but unfortunately we had more chances we didn’t convert,” Petkovic said. “It wasn’t a perfect game but it was a good game.” “It should be enou...
Euro 2020 Best XI from Round 2: Dumfries, Gosen and a dream midfield trio
It’s been another exciting round of Euro 2020 action, with several players putting in standout performances for their country. As we approach the last selection of group stage fixtures, it’s all very nicely set up. We should be in for an enthralling finale. Here is our best XI from the second round of Euro 2020 games. Danny Ward (GK) – Wales go into their final group game with Italy in a very good position. With four points from two games, they look almost certain to qualify for the knockouts. And they couldn’t have done it without Danny Ward, who was excellent again in the win over Turkey. His stunning late save from Merih Demiral’s header was vital to keeping his side ahead in the closing stages, as they later got a second. Denzel Dumfries (RB) – The right-back has made a reall...
White House considering talks between Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping
The White House will consider arranging talks between President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, as the two countries spar over issues including human rights, a top U.S. official said on Thursday. Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the two leaders are due to “take stock of where we are in the relationship.” Beijing fumed over a communique issued at Biden’s urging by the Group of Seven leaders on Sunday. It scolded the country over human rights in its Xinjiang region and Hong Kong while also demanding a full and thorough investigation of the origins of the coronavirus in China. “Soon enough we will sit down to work out the right modality for the two presidents to engage,” Sullivan told reporters on a conference call. “It could be a phone call, it cou...
