EURO 2020 is in full swing!
And it’s been another frantic day, with Portugal leaving it late to beat Hungary before France saw off Germany.
England are gearing up for their clash with Scotland on Friday.
And Wales are in action against Turkey TONIGHT in a must-win game for Robert Page’s side.
Royal Ascot day two special 🏇🎩
Follow all of the latest news, build up and updates below…
TURKEY V WALES – TEAM NEWS
The teams for Wales’ Euro 2020 match with Turkey have been announced.
Turkey: Cakir, Celik, Ayhan, Soyuncu, Meras, Yokuslu, Under, Karaman, Tufan, Calhanoglu, Yilmaz.
Wales: Ward, C. Roberts, Mepham, Rodon, B. Davies, Allen, Morrell, Bale, Ramsey, James, Moore.
Kick-off at 5pm.
FT: FINLAND 0-1 RUSSIA
Russia picked up an important victory against Finland at the Saint Petersburg Stadium.
The Finnish national team thought they got the lead in the opening minutes when Jukka Raitala dispossessed Igor Diveev at the right flank and delivered a stunning cross to Joel Pohjanpalo.
Pohjanpalo headed the ball past Matvei Safonov but was caught just an inch offside by VAR.
Russia got unlucky soon after as they lost Mario Fernandes to what appeared to be a back injury.
But Stanislav Cherchesov’s men created plenty of chances and finally broke the deadlock in the second minute of stoppage time.
Aleksey Miranchuk danced around Finland’s defence and passed to Artem Dzyuba who then set his team-mate up in the area for a stunning curling shot that beat Lukas Hradecky.
Russia had chances to seal the win in the second half with Aleksandr Golovin and Rifat Zhemaletdinov but they both just missed the target.
NOT SO GREEN
Mason Greenwood has been named on the 100-man longlist for the 2021 Golden Boy award.
The Manchester United forward, 19, was dealt a cruel blow after being forced to withdraw from England’s Euro 2020 squad due to injury.
Greenwood had been named in the 33-man provisional squad and had been tipped to make the final 26.
But the Old Trafford whiz has been given some good news after being named among the 100 nominees for the prestigious Golden Boy award.
Last year, Greenwood finished 12th as Erling Haaland won the crown.
But the young striker will have another chance of glory in 2021 after he was named as one of 15 Premier League representatives on the list.
LINE OF BEAUTY
Russia boss Stanislav Cherchesov has stated that ‘beautiful girls’ will be banned from entering their dressing room during Euro 2020.
The news will come as a blow to model Natalya Nemchinova – dubbed as Russia’s ‘sexiest fan’ due to her exploits at the 2018 World Cup.
AMPED UP
Exclusive by Chisanga Malata: Ethan Ampadu had a winner’s mentality long before he hit the big time with Chelsea and Euro 2020 contenders Wales.
Former Stoke Hill coach David Evans told SunSport: “He used to play for us in the summer tournaments.
“And then all of sudden, there’d be a penalty shootout in the semi-final and if you win it, you’re in the final and if you lose it, you’re going home.
“And I remember seeing him in tears after we lost a penalty shootout.
“Playing in local football was Ethan’s first introduction to winning and losing and being competitive.”
RUD BEHAVIOUR
Antonio Rudiger will escape action for his apparent “bite” on Paul Pogba.
Chelsea defender Rudiger appeared to nibble the back of Pogba’s neck and tweak his nipple in the latter stages of the first half of Germany’s opening group F defeat by France.
The incident was spotted by the cameras and looked at by the VAR officials on duty at Uefa’s Nyon base.
And despite the pictures being shared globally, Uefa have confirmed that no disciplinary case has been opened by inspectors, clearing Rudiger to face Portugal in Germany’s next game in Munich on Saturday.
PAV A LAUGH
UEFA have ordered France to explain what precautions they took after allowing Benjamin Pavard to play on despite being knocked out against Germany.
Pavard admits he lost consciousness for a short while after Germany’s Robin Gosens crashed into his head during France’s 1-0 win on Tuesday.
The Bayern Munich right-back’s head then smacked into the floor as he fell – and he was left out cold on the pitch as medics raced on to tend to him.
But after receiving treatment which included having a bottle of water thrown over his head, the 25-year-old was then allowed to resume playing the remainder of the match.
Now the governing body have asked the French Football Federation to explain what protocols they went by in allowing a player to carry on despite having been knocked out.
Overriding medical consensus is that if a player loses consciousness after receiving a blow to the head, then they have suffered some form of concussion.
All 24 teams in the European Championship signed up to a concussion charter before the start of the tournament – but IFAB’s protocols including the use of concussion subs are not in place.
Even so, each team doctor is supposed to watch closely video replays of collisions to help determine the severity of an injury, and not just rely on a player telling them they are OK to continue.
Uefa want to know if any of the recognised safety protocols were followed – and will still demand to know Pavard is fit to train and play matches over the next few days.
Under the charter, each national federation has to provide a written explanation of a player’s condition and prognosis to ensure they are safe to take part in any training or matches after a concussion.
DOWN TO A TEE
Finland players wore T-shirts sporting a get-well message for Christian Eriksen ahead of their Euro 2020 clash with Russia.
The Denmark star, 29, shocked the globe when he collapsed on the pitch in the first-half of the 1-0 defeat to Finland.
ARN-OUT-OVIC
Marko Arnautovic has been given a one-match ban for his wild celebration against North Macedonia.
The former West Ham star has been penalised for insulting another player during Austria’s 3-1 victory,
He will now miss his country’s Euro 2020 match against the Netherlands on Thursday.
RUD AWAKENING
Antonio Rudiger has denied biting Paul Pogba during France’s 1-0 win over Germany.
He said: “I should not come close with my mouth to his back, no doubt about it.
“It looks unfortunate. Paul and I have talked about it as friends after the final whistle.”
RON THE RECORD
Cristiano Ronaldo broke a number of records in Portugal’s win over Hungary.
When Ronaldo netted from the spot against Hungary, he became the oldest player to score a goal for Portugal at a major tournament aged 36 years, 130 days.
The record was previously set by Pepe at World Cup 2018 (35 years, 124 days)
Astonishingly, Ronaldo has scored at every single European Championships he’s ever played in.
He scored in his first ever match in the competition in a group stage match against the Greece in a shock 2-1 loss in 2004.
In 2021, his strike from 12-yards meant he has managed to score in five different Euros.
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EUR THE BEST
England stars Harry Kane and Jadon Sancho both make the most valuable Euro 2020 XI.
Sancho – a summer transfer target for Manchester United – is currently worth a sensational £86m.
Dortmund are looking to recoup that to the final penny, with United’s first bid of the year £11m short, at £75m.
But his £86m tag is enough for Sancho to make it into the Euro 2020 most valuable team worth €1.04BILLION (£890m) at right midfield.
On the opposite wing, France star Kylian Mbappe is the priciest star, valued at £137m.
The rest of the midfield is made up of Belgium star Kevin de Bruyne (£86m), Germany ace Joshua Kimmich and Holland’s Frenkie de Jong (both £77m).
MORE FROM LINEKER
The BBC presenter moved to explain why the Beeb aired distressing images of Christian Eriksen’s collapse rather than cutting to the studio.
He told the Times: “The Uefa broadcast feed cut into a couple of images that we never would have.
“While it’s happening, it’s easy to be critical. In an ideal world we wouldn’t have had a couple of those images for sure, which is why I came back with some apologetic words. But it was a very difficult half-hour.”
LINEKER ON ERIKSEN
The former England star was lead anchor for BBC when Christian Eriksen collapsed during Denmark’s 1-0 defeat to Finland.
He told the Times: “Our reaction was the same as anyone at home. Shock, and it felt quite traumatic.”
“I honestly suspected at one point we had lost him because they were suddenly putting screens up. ‘Oh my goodness.’
“I was working the day that Fabrice Muamba had his collapse [playing for Bolton Wanderers away to Tottenham Hotspur in 2012] and the Leicester helicopter incident [in which five people died, including the club’s owner, in 2018], but they weren’t during the show.
“These were unbelievably difficult circumstances.”
FINGER SNIFFIN’ GOOD
Joachim Low has been caught on camera sniffing his fingers… again.
The 61-year-old has become well known for his ‘scratch and sniff’ touchline antics during major tournaments.
RAM RAID
Exclusive by Charlie Wyett: Aaron Ramsdale is a shock target for Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta.
The Sheffield United keeper, 23, was yesterday called up into the England 2020 squad as a replacement for injured Dean Henderson.
And Ramsdale is a surprise name on Arsenal’s summer wanted list.
However, the recently-relegated Blades want around £20million for their star stopper.
Emirates boss Arteta has a major goalkeeper issue with the future of Bernd Leno unclear as he could be returning to Germany.
Brighton’s Mat Ryan spent the second half of last season on loan in North London but looks unlikely to return to Arsenal.
GIFT OF THE GAB
Gabby Logan has opened up about the tragic death of her younger brother Daniel.
The popular TV presenter was reminded of Daniel’s passing, aged just 15, by Christian Eriksen’s cardiac arrest on Saturday while playing for Denmark.
After the harrowing events in Copenhagen, Logan, 48, said: “Saturday night stirred up a lot of memories about Daniel, what happened to Christian, and I realised my own personal journey, my career, evolved in many ways out of a need to have some sort of a connection with his life.”
She then added: “He was just a few months shy of his 16th birthday and he was about to start his full-time professional contract when he died of a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is a hidden heart condition.
“We had absolutely no idea that he had this ticking time bomb inside him.
“He was playing football in the garden with my dad, and my other brother, who was six at the time.
“And he went over to the long grass to pick up a ball, fell over, and died.”
BEER WE GO
Paul Pogba mirrored Cristiano Ronaldo’s Coca-Cola snub by removing a Heineken beer bottle during his press conference.
The devout Muslim moved the beverage from the table in front of him following France’s 1-0 win against Germany on Tuesday night.
Pogba, who made a religious pilgrimage to Mecca along with Kurt Zouma in 2018, refused to endorse one of Euro 2020’s official sponsors as alcohol is forbidden for Muslims.
The 28-year-old has become the latest star to take a stance against the Euro’s sponsors after Ronaldo removed two bottles of Coca-Cola placed in front of him.
RUD BEHAVIOUR
Paul Pogba has claimed Antonio Rudiger ‘nibbled’ him during France’s 1-0 win over Germany.
He said: “I’m not crying for cards, yellow, red cards because of such actions.
“He nibbled, I think, a little bit on me. But we have known each other for a long time.
“I told the referee and he takes decisions and he took a decision. It’s over.
“It was a great match for us … and I didn’t want him to be suspended because of such a situation. It was towards the end of the match. We hugged each other and that’s it.”
GROUP OF DEATH
Group F containing France, Portugal and Germany is certainly the group of death at this summer’s tournament.
And yesterday’s 1-0 defeat to France was the first time Germany have lost their first game of a Euros campaign – after winning seven and drawing five in their Euros history.
Joachim Low’s side face an uphill battle to get their hands on the trophy a the only nation ever to win the competition after losing their opening game was the Netherlands back in 1988.
Things don’t get any easier for Germany either – their next game is against the current Euros holders Portugal.
STAT ATTACK
Here are some pre-match stats to get you in the mood ahead of the first matchday two fixtures of Euro 2020.
Russia have never lost against Finland in four international fixtures between the two nations.
Wales have won three out of their six clashes with Turkey.
And Italy are unbeaten in an impressive 28 international fixtures.
CRASH LANDING
A Greenpeace protestor crashed into football fans yesterday during a parachute stunt that went wrong just moments before France’s Euro 2020 match against Germany.
Just before kick off, the activist could be seen flying overhead at the Allianz Stadium in Munich but as he descended towards the pitch his parachute caught a camera wire – bringing him to the ground.
The event caused debris to fall down onto the pitch, almost striking France manager Didier Deschamps who took shelter under the dugout.
UEFA responded to the incident with a statement calling the activist’s actions “reckless and dangerous” and confirmed several people had been injured and were taken to hospital.
France vs Germany sees protester parachute into stadium before Euro 2020 kick-offTARTAN ARMY’S COMING
Up to 20,000 Scotland ticketless fans are set to descend on London for Friday’s Euro 2020 match with England.
Tartan Army supporters are planning to mass in Hyde Park before watching the crunch Group D clash in pubs and bars.
But there is increasing concern about the lack of Covid-secure fan zones for the match with the Auld Enemy.
Traditional meeting point Trafalgar Square has been turned into a fanzone for key workers only.
Scotland have been allocated less than 3,000 tickets for the sellout 21,500 qualifier at Wembley.
But between 6,000 and 20,000 Scottish supporters are reportedly planning on making the trip south.
FRENCH CELEBRATIONS
Thousands of French fans took to the streets of Paris last night to celebrate the 1-0 victory over Germany.
The city is still in the midst of a curfew due to the Coronavirus pandemic but politicians asked for some leniency from police services due to the circumstances.
World Cup holders France last won the Euros in 2000, after winning the 1998 World Cup just two years previously.
Can Les Bleus win back to back major tournaments again?
Credit: Getty Images – Getty Credit: Getty REMEMBER THIS?
On this day FIVE years ago Daniel Sturridge scored a dramatic late winner for England in a 2-1 win over Wales during the Euro 2016 group stage.
Gareth Bale had given the Dragons the lead in the first half before Jamie Vardy hit back for the Three Lions after the break.
The game seemed destined to end in a draw until Daniel Sturridge popped up late on to seal three points for Roy Hodgson’s side.
It was Wales who would have the last laugh in the tournament though – their historic run saw them make it all the way to the semi-final while England suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to minnows Iceland.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
