EURO 2020 is in full swing!
It’s time for Scotland today, who face Czech Republic in their first match at a major tournament since 1998.
England got their campaign off to a winning start thanks to Raheem Sterling’s strike against Croatia.
While Portugal’s Joao Cancelo is out of the tournament after testing positive for Covid-19.
Follow all of the latest news, build up and updates below…
MARKO DENIAL
Austria’s Marko Arnautovic insists his crazy celebration was not a racist tirade against North Macedonians of Albanian heritage.
The ex-West Ham star, 32, reacted by screaming at Leeds’ Ezgjan Alioski, who is part-Albanian but chose to play for the country of his birth, North Macedonia.
Serbian newspaper Informer alleged that an angry Arnautovic blasted: “I f****d your Albanian mother.”
Many of the North Macedonian players are half-Albanian and Arnautovic apologised for his actions, but is adamant it was not a racial slur.
He said: “I am not a racist and will never be a racist. There was a battle of words in the emotion, from both sides. It doesn’t matter who it was about. (It) had nothing to do with politics at all.
“My friends, who have grown into my family, are from all over the world. To all those people who felt addressed: I’m sorry.”
The ex-West Ham striker talks to Leeds and North Macedonia star Ezgjan Alioski HOLY SCHICK
Scotland’s return to the international big time ended in bitter frustration as Steve Clarke’s team were put to the sword by the bouncing Czechs.
Two goals from striker Patrik Schick – one an extraordinary lob from the halfway line – leaves the Scots bottom of Group D.
Now they will travel to Wembley on Friday knowing they must get something against England to stand any real chance of progressing to the knock-out stages for the first time in their history.
There was a major spanner in the works for Clarke’s plans when Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney was ruled out by ‘a little niggle’.
But that couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the first crowd in Scotland since lockdown was imposed 15 months ago.
Read more from SunSport’s match report HERE.
SCHICK STRIKE
Czech Republic striker Patrik Schick scored an ASTONISHING goal from the halfway line against Scotland at Euro 2020.
The 25-year-old Bayern Leverkusen netted his second of the match from just inside the Scotland half with a remarkable lob.
‘WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE’
Kasper Schmeichel said it was ‘damn nice’ to see Christian Eriksen laughing and smiling in hospital after his cardiac arrest.
The 34-year-old said: “It was damn nice to see him smile and laugh and be himself. Just notice that he is there.
“It was a wonderful experience and something that has helped me see that he was okay after lying there.
“We talked about nothing and everything. As long as he is well – that has been the most important thing. He has experienced something that we have not experienced.
“He has a completely different experience of the situation. It was great to talk to him, and now we have a lot of work to try to navigate.”
DEC-ISIVE CLASH
Declan Rice cannot wait to get cracking at Scotland – because he thinks it will be one of the biggest matches he ever plays in his career.
The 22-year-old said: “When you look back on your career at the end, the game on Friday will probably go down as one of the top three you will ever play.
“We know the history with Scotland. We know the type of game it will be.
“After tonight, we travelled back and had a laugh amongst the lads and enjoyed it. Then we want to focus on the Scotland game and repeat the same performance.”
BALCONY PLUNGE
Exclusive by Ben Hill: A Euro 2020 fan fell 20ft from Wembley’s upper tier onto concrete after ‘trying to fix a flag’ during England’s opening game of the tournament.
Horrified witnesses saw the fan fall just as the Euro 2020 game between England and Croatia kicked off at 2pm yesterday.
FLYING SCOTSMAN
Manchester United star Scott McTominay has been named in Scotland’s starting XI for their Euro 2020 opener.
The 24-year-old has featured in defence for his country but will line-up in his more favoured midfield role this afternoon.
Arsenal ace Kieran Tierney is missing from Scotland’s squad after picking up an injury in training last week.
KEANE ON THREE LIONS
Roy Keane revealed he was ‘impressed’ by England after their convincing 1-0 win over Croatia in their Euro 2020 curtain-raiser.
Speaking on ITV, Keane said: “The way they managed the game impressed me as much as anything.
“Their decision-making during the game in terms of possession and stretching their opponents.
“Then when they got a goal in front, they never looked like giving up the lead.
“It was a great sign for England going forward.”
DUTCH OF CLASS
This is the classy moment a humble Holland fan congratulated three jubilant Ukraine supporters after Andriy Yarmolenko scored a blinder for their team.
The West Ham winger curled a beauty into the top corner to make it 2-1 to the Dutch during their Euro 2020 opener and Ukrainian fans in the stadium went mad.
KEEP AN EYE OUT
Kasper Schmeichel reassured Christian Eriksen’s wife Sabrina Kvist Jensen that her husband was alive as he supported her on the side of the pitch.
Schmeichel’s dad Peter told BBC Radio 5 Live: “That would be the worst two hours in my time in football. We had absolutely no information but we could see it was very, very serious.
“You look at the reaction of the players and it happened not very far from all the wives of the players and, of course, Christian’s wife would have seen that.
“She came on to the pitch and you could see from the reaction of the players; I saw my son Kasper run over to her, and I spoke to him last night.
“He said that Christian is breathing. She actually thought that he’d passed away, and just to confirm that (he was breathing) he went back to be absolutely sure that he wasn’t saying anything that was out of order.
“By then Christian was talking to the doctor and we could see there was a little bit of calm there, but until it was confirmed it was really terrible to watch it all and to understand why a fit, 29-year-old player at this level and how it can happen like that.
“And having a son there, straight away you relate that to yourself.”
ON THE BOX
The television boss in charge of Denmark vs Finland has defended the coverage of Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest.
He insisted it was ‘necessary to show distress’ but also outlined the steps taken to protect the player and those involved.
TV director Jean-Jacques Amsellem said there was ‘no handbook for these incidents’.
He told L’Equipe: “There was a slow-motion of the scene where we can see him fall really clearly, but I immediately forced my teams not to focus on him, not to film him anymore.
“During all the live coverage that followed, I did at one moment show Danes in tears because it was still necessary to show the distress.
“We also saw the emotions of the Finns and the crowd but I don’t think we did anything mawkish or creepy.”
MCSAUCE
Andy Robertson listed Manchester United star Scott McTominay as the best dancer in the Scotland squad.
FAB’S FEARS
Fabrice Muamba begged ‘please, this is not going to happen again’ as he watched Christian Eriksen collapse.
He told GMB: “I was just hoping that the guy can pull through. Christian is a fantastic footballer.
“Aged 29, the guy still has a couple of years left in him to play at the highest level.
“He’s finishing a good season with Inter Milan and to play at a tournament in his home country was the perfect opportunity.
“To watch it and see this happen to a fellow professional player, you are saying, ‘Please, this is not going to happen again.'”
WHYTE HOT
Exclusive by Gary Stonehouse: Derek Whyte cried when Scotland qualified for Euro 2020 – now he has urged Kieran Tierney and Co to have ‘no regrets’.
He said: “Every time Scotland get to a tournament it seems to end in a glorious failure.
“But I’m quietly confident this year. I really like Stevey Clarke and he has not got any superstars in his squad – but what he does have is plenty of players playing in the Premier League.
“That’s unusual from the last couple of years but as long as they do the country proud then that is all we are asking for.”
He added: “I just want them to give it everything, have no regrets and you just never know.
“Football is a funny old game and it might be a bit of brilliance or madness with someone getting sent-off against you in a game you are not expected to win.
“Just make sure when you do come home it’s with no regrets.”
DANISH DILEMMA
UEFA threatened Denmark with a 3-0 loss if they failed to complete their match with Finland, Peter Schmeichel revealed.
Their match was stopped just before half-time when Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch.
He told GMB: “They said the players insisted on playing. I know that not to be the truth. Or that’s how you see the truth.
“They were left with three options. One was to play immediately and get the last 50 minutes played.
“The next one was to come in yesterday at 12 noon and finish the 50 minutes.
“And the third option was to forfeit the game and lose 3-0.
“So, you know, work it out for yourself. Is it the players’ wish to play? Did they have any choice really? I don’t think they had.
“And as you can hear from yesterday’s press conference, the coach seriously regrets putting the players back on the pitch.”
ERIKSEN SPEAKS
Christian Eriksen has spoken for the first time since his cardiac arrest on Saturday.
The 29-year-old said he feels better but wants to ‘understand what happened’.
He sent a brief message to the public in quotes reported by Italian outlet Gazzaetta dello Sport.
Eriksen said: “Thank you all, I won’t give up. I feel better now but I want to understand what happened.
“I want to say thank you for all you did for me.”
DE BOER ON ERIKSEN
The Dutch manager said: “For me it was very difficult to see those images yesterday. We saw the game live and I had to leave the room.
“I’ve worked for five years with Christian Eriksen and as well there are some players in my team who are in contact with him or are still playing with or who had a good bond with him when he played for Ajax so it was a rollercoaster last night.
“We had a meeting scheduled last night to talk about our tactical gameplay but we rescheduled it for the morning because I didn’t want to speak about football so we did that this morning and everybody could find his own moment and have his own space.
“Daley was quite emotion as well. He had some problems with his own heart as you know and even now Christian Eriksen is one of his best friends so when you’re both at the tournament they have fought for it.
“So there is a lot of emotions going through him so it definitely was not easy for us, for him especially.
“We hear good news coming from Denmark so let’s hope that things will get well for him and now we need to continue and focus on the most important thing next to the normal, [most] important thing [that is] life, which is football. That’s what we did today.”
MORE FROM BLIND
The Netherlands players were together watching the Denmark v Finland clash on Saturday and Blind said: “We were with a number of guys who also experienced Abdelhak Nouri [who was left with permanent brain damage after collapsing during a pre-season friendly while at Ajax] and also with teammates of Christian.
“It has so much impact. It is very recognisable to me and that made it intense. Also for my family. My parents, my wife.”
Blind added: “Leave him alone. Don’t speculate about his future. Give him time and space to recover. If it didn’t go well, it would start haunting your head even more.
“He now even encourages his teammates to play. That’s why I decided to play myself. Also because I’m safe according to the doctors.”
BLIND FAITH
Daley Blind considered withdrawing from Holland’s Euro 2020 opener after seeing his former Ajax team-mate and friend Christian Eriksen collapse after suffering a cardiac arrest on Saturday.
The former Manchester United star has been fitted with an implanted defibrillator after being diagnosed with heart muscle inflammation.
Blind left the pitch in tears following Holland’s 3-2 win over Ukraine on Sunday.
He told Dutch broadcaster NOS: “Yesterday had a huge impact on me. Besides the fact that I know Christian well as a friend, the situation for him is terrible.
“Of course I have also experienced a few things in that area, so that I had to overcome a mental hurdle to play.
“I had a lot of trouble with it, but I’m proud that I did it. Then all the emotion comes out for a while.
“I’ve definitely thought about not taking part. The images and the moment had a lot of impact and I didn’t sleep very well because of them. I really had to overcome a big hurdle to do this.”
MORNING EUROS FANS
England hero Raheem Sterling says sinking Croatia was like scoring in his back garden.
The Three Lions won a Euro opener for the first time in ten attempts – while Sterling defied his indifferent season for Manchester City with his first goal in a major finals.
The livewire striker, who topped the billing along with all-round midfield star Kalvin Phillips, said: “It’s a great feeling for me, playing at Wembley, it’s not far from where I grew up and seeing the stadium being built.“I’ve always said if I played at Wembley at a major tournament then I’m scoring, at Wembley, my back garden, I have to score. It’s great to finally do that.
“It’s great to break the duck…We dug deep as a team and kept that clean sheet in the end as well.”And boss Gareth Southgate enthused: “It’s a lovely day for the English public.
“We’ve waited a long time for the beer gardens to open and I’m sure they’re throwing it everywhere as well as drinking it which is lovely.”
Now this afternoon Scotland aim to make it a full house of unbeaten Euro 2020 openers for Britain, Wales having drawn with Switzerland on Saturday.
The Scots face the Czech Republic at 2pm, ahead of Poland meeting Slovakia and fancied Spain taking on Sweden.
In yesterday’s other action, Holland beat Ukraine 3-2, the previously-wasteful Denzel Dumfries heading a late winner after his Dutch side surrendered a 2-0 lead.
And subs Marko Arnautovic and Michael Gregoritsch struck late on to give Austria their first ever Euro finals win, 3-1 over tournament debutants North Macedonia.
LION HEARTS TESTED
EXCLUSIVE: England stars all had cardiac screening tests to reduce the risk of the horror collapse which felled Christian Eriksen, it was revealed yesterday.
The FA ordered thorough heart checks on the football aces leading the charge towards Euro 2020 glory.
They would not be allowed to play unless they had passed specialist electrocardiogram tests, checking for abnormalities, within the last year.
The players also had to have a detailed echocardiogram ultrasound scan within the last two years.
FA sources said it is now policy to regularly monitor England’s top men’s senior stars — and also England players across every age group.
STERLING HAILS HIS ‘BACK GARDEN’ WINNER
Raheem Sterling broke his and England’s Euro finals hoodoo with the winning goal in his “back garden”.
Sterling, who grew up in Brent just down the road from Wembley, scored for the first time at a major international competition to give the Three Lions their first win in a opening Euros game – at the 10th attempt.
The Manchester City winger, who has a tattoo of the Wembley Arch on his left forearm, said: “It’s a great feeling for me, playing at Wembley, it’s not far from where I grew up and seeing the stadium being built.
“I’ve always said if I played at Wembley at a major tournament then I’m scoring, at Wembley, my back garden, I have to score. It’s great to finally do that.
“It’s great to break the duck. Today was a great team effort. We dug deep as a team and kept that clean sheet in the end as well.”
NEV: SOUTHGATE IS LIONS’ BEST ASSET
Ex-England assistant manager and Manchester United legend Gary Neville believes current boss Gareth Southgate is the team’s biggest asset at Euro 2020.
The national side began their tournament well with a 1-0 win against 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia at Wembley.
Speaking during punditry on ITV, Neville said: “I think we’ve got an outstanding international manager who’s got unbelievable experience.
“I thought he managed that game unbelievably today. You talk about who the best player was, it might be Kalvin Phillips or Raheem Sterling but our biggest asset is our manager.
“The clamour in the past would have been to for Grealish and he didn’t even bring him off the bench.
“So, he’s willing to make the unpopular decisions, ones that some of us ultimately – at times – don’t think he should make because he knows that group better than anyone.
“He’s had seven or eight tournaments now, as a coach now, with the U21s, as a player.
“He’s vastly experienced and I feel really comfortable with him there – as an England fan – and what he did today was really good.”
MUAMBA: GIVE ERIKSEN TIME
Fabrice Muamba says Christian Eriksen needs time and space to recover.
Danish star Eriksen, 29, is stable in hospital having suffered a cardiac arrest against Finland.
The incident had haunting echoes of Muamba’s own fight for life after collapsing while playing for Bolton against Tottenham in 2012.
Muamba, forced to retire, tweeted: “This makes you realise how fragile life is and how quickly you can lose a loved one.
“Like everyone, I am relieved to hear Christian is in a stable condition and that he is doing ok.
“Credit of course must go to the brilliant medical staff who got to him so quickly and did an amazing job to make sure he was ok.
“His team-mates who rallied around him also did a great job and should be really proud.
“The most important thing and number one priority for us all is to give Christian and his family space and time to heal and recover.”
DALOT IN FOR COVID VICTIM CANCELO
Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot has been called up to Portugal’s Euro 2020 squad.
Man Utd full-back Diogo Dalot has been called up to Portugal’s Euro 2020 squad The 22-year-old has replaced Manchester City star Joao Cancelo who had to pull out after testing positive for Covid-19.
Dalot is United’s 12th representative at the tournament. He got the call after impressing for Portugal’s Under-21s recently.
They lost to Germany in the Under-21s Euros final earlier this month with Dalot starring as they reached the final.
Dalot – who spent last season on loan at AC Milan – joins up with United team-mate Bruno Fernandes after the Portuguese FA confirmed Cancelo would miss out.
The squad have travelled to Budapest ahead of their Group F opener against Hungary on Tuesday.
And Cancelo is the only member of the 26-player group to return a positive test.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
