Alexander-Arnold OUT of Euro 2020 for England, Cristiano Ronaldo set for record haul with Portugal
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD has been ruled out of Euro 2020 due to the injury he sustained against Austria. Bukayo Saka scored the only goal as the Three Lions secured a victory at the Riverside.
And Scotland earned a commendable draw against the Netherlands as Memphis Depay equalised for the Dutch in the last minute.
WIN £50,000! Play Dream Team Euros – our FREE fantasy football game
Follow all of the latest news, build up and updates below…
LUK OUT INTER
Christian Eriksen could attract interest from top clubs around Europe if he impresses with Denmark at the Euros, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
Eriksen’s suitors are currently being put off by his hefty salary, with the midfielder earning €7 million [£6million] annually, as per his contract with Inter.
Things could change if the 29-year-old succeeded with Kasper Hjulmand’s side, who are drawn in Group B alongside Russia, Finland and Romelu Lukaku’s Belgium.
Lukaku is another player who could force Inter to change their transfer plans if he succeeds with Roberto Martinez and co.
The 28-year-old yesterday assured reporters he would stay at Inter, but the Nerazzurri would have a difficult decision to make if somebody came in with an offer above €100m [£85m].
Elsewhere, Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic also have uncertain futures as they prepare to represent Croatia, with both players out of contract in the summer of 2022.
‘SELFISH’
Former England striker Gabriel Agbonlahor has criticised Jordan Henderson’s failure to step aside from the Euro 2020 squad due to his current injury situation.
The Liverpool skipper has not played since mid-February after picking up a groin problem, but was one of several recovering players named in England’s final 26-man group by Gareth Southgate on Tuesday afternoon.
He told talkSPORT: “The thing that is really winding me up is the Henderson thing.
“He should just be honest with the manager now and say: ‘You know what, I am struggling here. I’m a leader and a captain in myself, I’ll do the right thing for the squad’.
“Bring in whoever you have to bring in as another central midfielder because this injury is playing up now. I think [Henderson] is being selfish.
“If you look at it, the squad has been announced and he told Southgate he is not fit. They said the scans have come back and they’re fine, but he knows himself that there is a niggle he is feeling.
“The tournament starts in ten days, you are playing against Croatia, playing against a good team. You need to be at it, you need a training session before the game, you need some games in you.”
‘CLEVER FOOTBALLER’
Sven Goran Eriksson believes that Jesse Lingard should have been included in the 26-man England squad for the upcoming European Championships.
The 28-year-old has undergone a tremendous career turnaround since joining West Ham United on loan from Manchester United in January.
Lingard was included in Gareth Southgate’s preliminary squad for the Euros but was cut when the final list was announced.
Eriksson was shocked at Lingard’s omission, with the former England manager questioning current boss Gareth Southgate’s decision.
He told talkSPORT: “It’s a surprise that Lingard’s not there because even to have him on the bench with his pace and one-on-one ability, he’s a clever footballer.
“He had a good season with West Ham. I didn’t see him play every game, but the games I saw he has been very good.
“It’s always difficult. In the end, you can only pick the number [of players] that you’re allowed to pick. Someone will be disappointed – it’s always like that.”
PALM OFF
Chelsea defender Emerson Palmieri has encouraged reporters to stop discussing his future amid reports he could join Inter.
The Serie A winners Inter are interested in signing the full-back after identifying him as their main target for the left wing-back spot.
Emerson is out of favour in West London and is expected to leave Chelsea, with only one year left on his contract.
However, the 26-year-old told reporters at a press conference today (via TuttoMercatoWeb): “Lots of people are talking about my return to Serie A, but I don’t even want to think about it at the moment.
“I’m honestly not interested, I’m living in the present and I want to focus on playing Euro 2020 and winning it.
“I’m living my dream of playing in the Euros, it’s always been my aim to get here. Now I’m at this level but I’m not satisfied, I want to give my best and win the Euros.”
BORN TO PLAY
Rangers defender Borna Barisic has made his return to action after a month on the sidelines, playing all 90 minutes as England’s Euro 2020 rivals Croatia drew 1-1 with Armenia.
Barisic last featured for Steven Gerrard’s side in the 4-1 Old Firm thrashing of bitter rivals Celtic on May 2, limping off with 15 minutes left of the Ibrox win.
The Rangers star has cemented his place as Croatia’s first-choice at left-back in recent years and will be hoping to bring the curtain down on a fantastic campaign with international success.
Before Euro 2020 gets underway, there’s one more friendly for Barisic and co – away to Belgium on Sunday.
ENGLAND PAIN
Gary Lineker has shared his sorrow at the news Trent Alexander-Arnold will miss the Euros.
Much was made over whether the Liverpool full-back would be selected, and Lineker feels he will be missed by England.
The Three Lions still have three other right-backs to call upon and Alexander-Arnold’s absence could pave the way for another player to come into squad.
Jesse Lingard must fancy his chances after being named in the starting line-up against Austria on Wednesday.
Lineker said: “What a blow for Trent Alexander-Arnold and England. Losing the best attacking right back in World football is such a shame.”
What a blow for @TrentAA and @England. Losing the best attacking right back in World football is such a shame.— Gary Lineker 💙 (@GaryLineker) June 3, 2021
NOT TRENT TO BE
Trent Alexander-Arnold has been ruled out of Euro 2020 and will depart England’s camp on Thursday night.
A medical assessment earlier in the day revealed that the Liverpool defender, 22, had suffered a grade two quad tear during England’s 1-0 friendly win over Austria.
The scan confirmed the devastated defender’s worst fears and he will now withdraw from England’s squad for the tournament. He faces a recovery period of between four to six weeks.
Southgate is expected to call up an additional player to replace Alexander-Arnold in England’s 26-man squad.
Jesse Lingard, James Ward-Prowse, Ollie Watkins, Aaron Ramsdale, Ben Godfrey and Ben White were all cut from England’s Euro 2020 squad earlier this week.
‘IT’S REALLY DEVASTATING’
Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka told his post-match press conference that ‘it’s a shame’ that Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold suffered an injury yesterday.
The Arsenal teenager scored for England on Wednesday as they beat Austria 1-0 in an international friendly, with both Saka and Liverpool’s academy product putting in strong performances on the night.
But just towards the end of the game, as Alexander-Arnold kicked the ball away, he seemingly felt something in his thigh or hamstring and had to go off.
Speaking about the injury, Saka said: “It’s really devastating.
“I think he’s worked hard to earn his spot here and he deserves it. He had a really good game tonight.
“It’s a shame that it ended that way and I am just hoping that it’s not too serious. But we have to wait and see.”
DREAM TEAM
You can take Piers Morgan on this summer – by joining his Dream Team mini league for Euro 2020.
Piers has picked his side for the summer tournament and you can try to beat him – for bragging rights AND the chance to win £50,000.
Dream Team Euros is free to join and you can enter today.
And once you’ve signed up you can duke it out with a host of celebs including Piers.
Simply sign up and enter the pin EUMORGAN in the League Hub.
The TV presenter has picked his 11 including just ONE Arsenal player. So if you fancy your chances against him join now.
ENGLAND UNITED
Manchester United’s players are due to join the group on Thursday, with Luke Shaw, Dean Henderson and Marcus Rashford joining up along with injured Harry Maguire following the Europa League final loss to Villarreal.
Chelsea and Manchester City are set to follow in the coming days after last Saturday’s Champions League final clash in Porto as preparations continue at England’s north-east base ahead of Sunday’s final friendly against Romania.
“All the (omitted) players are going to stay with us through to the end of Sunday’s game anyway,” Gareth Southgate said. “Obviously we’ll make an assessment on the whole squad once we’ve got through that game.
“I’m very conscious we’ve got another 90 minutes to get through and that alone is a bit of a challenge for us, really.”
MAGIC CR7
Records Ronaldo could break at EURO 2020
Most finals campaigns
Seventeen men have appeared in four EURO tournaments, beginning with Lothar Matthäus and Peter Schmeichel back in 2000.
Ronaldo is among them and he will strike out alone if he features this summer. He is the last man standing of the 11 who notched up number four in 2016.
Most finals goals
Ronaldo marked his EURO debut against Greece on 12 June 2004 with a goal – his first for Portugal! – and has since registered eight more across 21 finals appearances.
A tally of nine means he heads into UEFA EURO 2020 level with France’s Michel Platini, whose goals all came at EURO ’84.
Most appearances (including qualifying)
Ronaldo needs three more appearances to surpass Gianluigi Buffon’s all-time high of 58 appearances in EURO competition, qualifying and finals – the 36-year-old could end the tournament on 63 matches.
His 56 to date have resulted in 36 wins, 12 draws and eight defeats.
58 Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)56 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)51 Mario Frick (Liechtenstein)
Oldest scorer in a final
Just one player aged over 30 has scored in a EURO final.
Bernd Hölzenbein was 30 years and 103 days old when he headed West Germany’s late equaliser against Czechoslovakia in 1976 to prompt extra time and, ultimately, a penalty shoot-out win.
Ronaldo will be aged 36 years and 156 days on 11 July, date of the EURO 2020 decider.
HOLD UP
Dutch football fans were confused and worried after manager Frank de Boer’s slip of the tongue.
The Holland boss made a major gaffe when answering questions after the 2-2 draw with Scotland.
De Boer was asked about his team’s 5-3-2 formation and who he would play down the right flank with the Euros looming.
And the Holland manager’s answer left people scratching their heads.
De Boer said: “Queensy Menig could possibly go there, of course.”
But the 25-year-old FC Twente winger isn’t even in De Boer’s final squad for the Euros.
Dutch media report that the manager must have been referring to Quincy Promes.
But it still left some supporters worried ahead of this summer’s tournament.
One tweeted: “A dismal coaching record after Ajax, poor communication skills, and very little self-reflection makes him the least likely to succeed Oranje manager – ever. But stranger things have happened.”
TIPS FOR EU
The wait is almost over – Euro 2020 starts on June 11.
The cream of the crop from around Europe are set to battle it out over a frantic four-week schedule, culminating in a final showdown at Wembley.
Tournament winners
It’s tough to split the top five in the market, with France, England, Belgium, Germany and Spain the front runners.
But we feel this youthful England side is a couple of years too early to end all those years of hurt – and therefore our pick for overall winner are reigning world champions France (9/2).
Top goalscorer
There’s a clear front-runner in the market here – and Harry Kane deserves to be.
The 2018 World Cup Golden Boot winner was the top scorer in this season’s Premier League with 23 goals.
Player of the tournament
Beaten semi-finalists in the World Cup three years ago, Belgium have the market leader for player of the tournament in their ranks.
they will look to former Man Utd and Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku for goals.
The 28-year-old striker has been a revelation for Inter Milan since heading to Italy, netting over 60 times in two seasons.
At a whopping 20/1, he’s a real value bet in this market.
IT’LL BE AL-RIGHT
John Barnes believes England’s incredible depth at right-back will significantly lessen the blow of Trent Alexander-Arnold’s injury.
He told BonusCodeBets.co.uk: “I’ve never known such a fervour about one position on a football pitch before Trent got injured – and you could say it is probably lucky we already had three others in the squad!
“He is one of our best right-backs, but we have so many options in that position, so it’s actually not a great loss to England.
“It’s obviously extremely sad for Trent and I feel for him – but we have so much cover there, so it should not be detrimental to England’s chances.
“If Harry Kane limped off against Austria, I’d be sitting here being far more concerned for England.
“It’s also lucky for Liverpool that this bad-looking injury has happened in the off-season.”
GERMAN ENGINEERING
The Germans have scored some sensational goals down the years at the Euros.
Do you guys think they’ll be big contenders once again this summer?
SPURS OF THE MOMENT
French Spurs stars Hugo Lloris and Moussa Sissoko caught up with Joe Rodon last night.
The trio all featured as France comfortably beat Wales 3-0 as both sides gear up for Euro 2020.
Lloris made history, by earning his 100th cap as captain of Les Bleus, and 124th in total.
SON BURNED
Son Heung-min hit out after being grilled over Tottenham team-mate Harry Kane’s future.
The South Korean forward insisted the pair are both only focused on international duty – with Kane set to skipper England at Euro 2020.
The Spurs striker, 27, has been linked with a £150m move to Man Utd or Man City in a bid to win trophies.
And if Kane leaves North London this summer it would end a brilliant partnership with Son – who he broke a record with in March when they combined for a 14th goal of the season.
But Son, 28, was in no mood to discuss Kane’s potential transfer when asked by reporters while on international duty.
He snapped back: “Has Kane moved already?
“Everything is not decided. Rather than worrying about his transfer, I am doing my best at Tottenham.
“I want to focus on the national team and Tottenham. Maybe Kane is doing the same, he is busy preparing for the Euros.”
Son and Kane have a terrific partnership up top
FOR GOODNESS SAK
By SunSport’s Duncan Wright
Bukayo Saka admits being England’s Mr Versatile can get tough – despite shining for the Three Lions and firing them to victory over Austria.
Saka, 19, scored his first senior international goal to seal the win and stake a claim for involvement when the Euros start next weekend.
The Arsenal star also ended up playing in three different positions to suit Gareth Southgate’s tactics and substitutions at the Riverside, to show just how capable he is as a footballer.
But the teenager admits constantly switching roles can cause problems and he needs the help of senior players to make sure he stays switched on.
Saka said: “It’s not easy all the time, you know.
“The information I get from the coaching staff and the players makes things much easier – all the communication from the more experienced players around me like Kieron Trippier, Conor Coady, Tyrone Mings, making sure I’m where I need to be.”
“I feel like anytime I played for England I really enjoyed myself because of the quality and the top players you have around.
“Things feel good, things flow, I always feel like I can I can express myself and I think I did that.
“I can learn a bit from everyone, there’s so much different quality players especially in attack but even in the midfield and defence you know there’s so much experience I can take from everyone to try to speak to everyone and get some advice from them.”
Bukayo Saka is Arsenal and England’s Mr VersatileCredit: PA
ON THIS DAY
It’s 21 years since two-time Euros winner Iker Casillas made his debut for Spain.
The ex-Real Madrid goalkeeper captained his nation to glory in 2008 and 2012.
He also captained them to their maiden World Cup triumph in 2010.
Legend of the game!
ICYMI – EXCLUSIVE BY CHARLIE WYETT
Harry Maguire revealed he has only just started light training in his race to be fit for the Euros.
And the Man United captain is set to miss England’s opening game against Croatia on June 13.
Maguire said: “I have done little bits of running.
“I don’t want to aggravate it too early as we still have nearly two weeks until the first game and it is a long tournament.
“I am taking it day by day. I have not asked for a time-frame but I am looking forward to being involved.
“It can improve dramatically in a few days and you can have little setbacks.”
JUST FOR THE SAK OF IT
Bukayo Saka netted his first international goal, as England defeated Austria 1-0 in Middlesbrough last night.
Let’s take you back through the action, with the official match highlights, as both teams gear up for Euro 2020.
[embedded content]
‘DON’T UNDERSTAND’
England manager Gareth Southgate has criticised the fans that booed Three Lions stars taking a knee before last night’s match with Austria.
He said: “It’s not something on behalf of our black players that I wanted to hear because it feels as though it is a criticism of them.
“I think we have got a situation where some people think it’s a political stand that they don’t agree with – that’s not the reason the players are doing it, we are supporting each other.
“I think the most important thing for our players to know is that all their team-mates and all the staff are fully supportive.
“I think the majority of people understand it. I think some people aren’t quite understanding the message and I suppose we are seeing that across a number of football grounds at the moment.”
Engalnd stars take a knee at Riverside StadiumCredit: Getty
SCOT TO BE GOOD
Scotland were denied an impressive victory over the Netherlands last night by a last minute Memphis Depay free-kick.
Steve Clarke’s side delivered a confident display, with Jack Hendry sweeping them into the lead after brilliant pressing from Stuart Armstrong.
Depay produced a great finish to equalise before the break, but Kevin Nisbet bagged his second goal on 63 minutes to restore Scotland’s lead.
But Depay then spared Frank de Boer’s blushes late on.
[embedded content]
LEV IT OUT
Manchester United starlet Dylan Levitt featured alongside Dan James for Wales last night against Paul Pogba’s France.
The midfielder, 20, has made one senior appearance for United, and spent the second half of the season on loan at Istra 1961 in Croatia.
He replaced Joe Allen on the hour mark.
Levitt tries to get close to Kylian Mbappe
FRENCH FANCY
Paul Pogba got the better of Daniel James last night, when the pair faced off on international duty.
Both are gearing up for Euro 2020, with France and Wales respectively.
But it was Pogba who got the win in last night’s friendly, as Les Bleus swept past Robert Page’s Wales 3-0 .
Pogba played 63 minutes of the dominant win, while James did manage to carve out a couple of openings during his 73 minutes on the field.
Paul Pogba earned the bragging rights over Dan JamesCredit: AFP
Load more entries… More
