EURO 2020 is rolling on at pace as the quarter-finals continue.And what a tournament we’ve had so far – world champs France OUT, holders Portugal OUT, Belgium’s Golden Generation OUT and England FINALLY beating Germany.
The Three Lions next face Ukraine in Rome tomorrow night in their final eight clash.
But travel restrictions mean there will be no England fans in attendance at the Stadio Olimpico.
Meanwhile Leonardo Spinazzola is reportedly out for months after being stretchered off in Italy’s win against Belgium.
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EURO STAR – EXCLUSIVE
Jose Mourinho column
As a manager going into a massive week like the one Gareth Southgate is facing, the pressure is everywhere — and you have only one option.
You become a lonely animal. You don’t socialise, you don’t walk in the street, you don’t shop, you don’t read anything, you don’t watch television, you don’t put on the sports radio in the car.
Gareth had the courage to do what he felt was best with his team selection against Germany and it paid off.
He is showing personality, a capacity to deal with all this pressure around the England team.
I think that pressure is only going to increase. Because the feeling now — and it’s my feeling too, I won’t hide it — is that England has to reach the final.
The national team is the club of everybody. Everybody cares. Everybody has an opinion.
ARE EU OK?
Spain midfielder Thiago Alcantara showed his class after consoling Ruben Vargas following Switzerland’s Euro 2020 exit.
The Augsburg winger, 22, was one of three Swiss players to miss in the penalty shootout as they were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
Switzerland missed out on the chance to reach the semi-final of a major competition for the first time in their history.
Their defeat reduced Vargas to tears following the shootout, with Liverpool ace Thiago quick to console the youngster.
And the ex-Bayern Munich star also comforted goalkeeper Yann Sommer following his epic performance.
GAZZA BACKS GAFFER – EXCLUSIVE
Paul Gascoigne says England can win the Euros if we throw all our support behind boss Gareth Southgate.
Legend Gazza told fans and players ahead of tonight’s quarter-final with Ukraine in Rome: “If we trust in Gareth, everything else will come good.”
Gazza’s Three Lions battle cry came as captain Harry Kane got off the plane ready to cane Ukraine.
Urging supporters at home and in Italy to play their part, he told The Sun: “The crucial thing is for as many England fans as possible to get to the game and, most importantly, get behind Gareth. He’s the answer to everything for us, and we need to believe in him.”
Gazza, now 54, was England’s hero in the 1996 tournament and rallied to Southgate’s side after his cruel penalty miss against Germany in the semi-final.
The ex-Spurs and Lazio ace added: “I know Gareth well and we’re still good mates so I know he’s got what it takes to take us all the way. He’s the key.”
FULL-TIME!
ITALY REACH THE SEMIS!
Italy 2 – 1 Belgium
Roberto Mancini’s side edge a thrilling encounter in Munich and will face Spain at Wembley in the semi-finals next Tuesday.
Barella opened the scoring before Insigne doubled their lead with a fantastic strike.
Romelu Lukaku pulled one back with a penalty on the stroke of half-time but Roberto Martinez’s side could not get another in the second-half despite coming close on several occasions.
🇮🇹 Italy see off Belgium to book a semi-final date with Spain! 👏👏👏#EURO2020— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) July 2, 2021
SHHHH
Belgium hitman Romelu Lukaku taunted Italy keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma after slamming home a penalty in their quarter-final tie.
Moments after going 2-0 down to a wonderful strike from Lorenzo Insigne, the Red Devils were awarded a spot-kick for a foul on Jeremy Doku.
In a bid to get into the head of the Inter Milan forward, ex-AC stopper Donnarumma patted him on the back of the head moments before he stepped up to take the pen.
Lukaku proved to have nerves of steel, cooly slotting the ball past the PSG keeper.
And after picking up the ball to initiate a quick restart, the former Manchester United man put his index finger to his mouth to shush the 22-year-old.
Lukaku’s gesture didn’t go unnoticed, with one fan saying: “Lukaku rightly silences Donnarumma.”
PITCHING IN
Wales star Gareth Bale will have his Real Madrid bosses tearing their hair out in frustration again, after announcing new plans to indulge his passion for golf.
The superstar, who has been accused by Real fans and officials of caring about golf more than he does about football, is throwing his weight behind his country’s national Open later this month.
The Wales Open will be re-named the Cazoo Open supported by Gareth Bale when it returns to Celtic Manor – home of the 2010 Ryder Cup – from July 22-25.
Bale has persuaded his management company, ICM Stellar Sports, to become joint sponsors with car retailers Cazoo, and is expected to tee it up at the Pro-Am leading into the event.
Bale commented: ”After watching the coverage last year we decided we wanted to play a part in the development of golf in Wales. We want to make golf in Wales bigger and we believe that this event can play a big role in that.
“We want to make it a real spectacle. And hopefully, we can get more people watching, and grow the game in Wales.”
HALF-TIME!
Italy 2 – 1 Belgium
And breathe!
What a half.
Italy raced into a 2-0 lead through Barella and Insigne before Romelu Lukaku made a game of it on the stroke of half-time with a penalty.
All to play for in the second-half.
GOOOOOOAAAALLLL – LUKAKU!
Italy 2 – 1 Belgium
45+2. Game on!
Jérémy Doku burst into the left side of the box and was shoved over by Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
The ref pointed to the spot and Romelu Lukaku stepped up and smashed it down the middle.
GOOOOOAAAALLL – INSIGNE!
Italy 2 – 0 Belgium
42. What a strike.
The pint-size superstar cuts in from the left and smashes it into the far right corner with his right foot.
Take a bow son.
GOOOOOOAAAALLL – BARELLA!
Italy 1 – 0 Belgium
31. Jan Vertonghen makes a total mess of his clearance.
The ball finds Barella on the right hand side of the penalty box.
He wriggles away from three Belgium defenders and smashes it across Courtois into the left corner.
GUNNER WORRY
England could be without Bukayo Saka for their quarter-final clash against Ukraine.
The Arsenal star started the brilliant 2-0 win against Germany, but came off for Jack Grealish on 69 minutes.
Speaking ahead of the Ukraine clash, Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate said: “We have just to check on Buyako who had a slight knock today. But other than that everyone else is available.”
All 26 players trained at St George’s Park ahead of this afternoon’s flight to Italy, where they are overriding favourites with bookmakers to progress to the semi-finals.
Ukraine are 24th in the Fifa world rankings – 20 spots below England – and progressed to the last 16 as the luckiest third-placed side.
Andriy Shevchenko’s men beat 10-man Sweden 2-1 in extra-time on Tuesday and Southgate is ready for a tough evening.
KEANE THEY HANDLE IT?
Roy Keane has hailed ‘brilliant’ Gareth Southgate but shared a few warnings for the England boss.
The former Manchester United player applauded Southgate’s ability to manage the different egos in the squad and noted how well the squad has operated on and off the pitch.
In ITV’s pre-match coverage of Switzerland vs Spain, he said: “In lots of big tournaments there’s been a circus around England, with certain personalities, we don’t see it with this group.
“There’ll be egos within the group, there’s some big players at big clubs. But this is where Gareth’s management skills come into it.
“The biggest danger to England against Ukraine is themselves. I wouldn’t be looking too far ahead. Gareth’s personality is a big help to this England group.
“He’s so calm, you can only look at the next game as the next game is always the hardest game.”
KICK-OFF!
Belgium vs Italy is off and underway in Munich.
The winner will face Spain in the semi-finals.
And you can follow the kick-by-kick action with our LIVE match blog here.
SPAIN WIN!
Switzerland’s giant-killing run comes to an end after a poor quality penalty shoot-out.
Spain win 3-1 with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring the winner.
The Spanish play Italy or Belgium in the semi and that game kicks off in 15 minutes.
Oyarzabal keeps his composure and Spain are through!🇪🇸 ❌✅❌✅✅🇨🇭 ✅❌❌❌#EURO2020— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) July 2, 2021
IT’S PENALTIES!
Spain 1 – 1 Switzerland (AET)
That’s it – 120 minutes gone and it’s down to the lottery of penalty kicks for the first place in the Euro 2020 semi-finals.
You can follow the action with our LIVE match blog HERE.
TEAM NEWS IS IN!
Italy face Belgium in the other of tonight’s Euro 2020 quarter-finals.
The game kicks off at 8pm in Munich.
And here’s how the teams line up.
🇮🇹 Chiesa starts for Italy in the second quarter-final! #EURO2020— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) July 2, 2021
HALF-TIME OF EXTRA TIME!
Spain 1 – 1 Switzerland
Still no winner but Spain are turning the screw.
15 minutes until penalties if it stays like this.
FULL-TIME!
Spain 1 – 1 Switzerland
It’s extra-time!
Jordi Alba’s first-half deflected effort was cancelled out by Xherdan Shaqiri in the second-half.
Remo Freuler was sent-off for a two-footed lunge soon after but Spain could not make the extra man pay.
Half an hour to go.
You can follow the kick-by-kick action from the Euro 2020 quarter-final with our LIVE match blog HERE.
CHILLING OUT
Ben Chilwell has shared a selfie showing himself seated next to Jack Grealish on a plane destined for Rome.
And the photo comes four years after the pair took a snap together on a journey to the under-21 European Championships.
Chelsea star Chilwell, 24, and Aston Villa captain Grealish, 25, were fresh-faced youngsters during that tournament, without a strand of facial hair between them.
But a lot has changed since then, with Chilwell earning a £50million move to Stamford Bridge and Grealish heavily linked with a £100m switch to Manchester City.
RED CARD – FREULER!
77. Switzerland are down to 10!
They were just coming back into the game and Remo Freuler has made the last 13 minutes very very difficult for his team.
Gerard Moreno was passed the ball midway inside the Swiss half when Freuler slid in.
He appeared to play the ball but both feet were off the ground and Premier League ref Michael Oliver wasted no time in producing the red.
GOOOOOOAAAALLLL – SHAQIRI!
Spain 1 – 1 Switzerland
Xherdan Shaqiri capitalises on a huge Spanish error to make it 1-1.
The Swiss have barely had a sniff but are well and truly back in it now.
OL BE READY
Oleksandr Zinchenko has warned England’s rock solid defence: Nobody’s perfect.
Zinchenko and his Ukraine side will attempt to become the first team to score against the Three Lions during Euro 2020 when they two sides meet in Rome tomorrow.
The Manchester City ace admits it will take the performance of their careers if they are to upset the odds and secure a semi-final place – but they are planning to do just that.
Zinchenko, 24, said: “Numbers speak for themselves, and the fact that England hasn’t conceded any goals so far shows they play very well in defence. But there are no perfect teams. Every team has weaknesses.
“Over the last couple of years I’ve been playing with Kyle Walker and John Stones, and they play to a very high level. And last season they played amazing.
“It will not be easy, we know. But at this stage of the tournament, everything is possible. The coaching team will tell us how score and we will do our best, we will try to surprise them. But we realise that to get through, all the players and the whole team, they will need to play probably the best game of their lives.”
HALF-TIME!
Spain 1 – 0 Switzerland
Jordi Alba’s effort which deflected in off Denis Zakaria’s foot after eight minutes is enough to see the Spanish go in ahead at the break.
But you sense there’s more drama to come in the second-half…
🇨🇭 🇪🇸 Zakaria’s own goal separates the teams at the break…Second-half predictions? 🔮#EURO2020— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020) July 2, 2021
GLADIATORS READY
England have completed their final training session before flying out to Rome to take on Ukraine in the Euro 2020 quarter-final.
The Three Lions booked their place in the last-eight with a convincing 2-0 victory over Germany on Tuesday evening.
Gareth Southgate has been left scratching his head with a plethora of selection dilemmas to mull over.
But on Friday, the England chief had a fully-fit and available 26-man group to work with at training.
The likes of captain Harry Kane and Harry Maguire were spotted grinning throughout the session, with Southgate also beaming.
After their afternoon’s work was done, the Three Lions players hopped on the team bus and made their way to the airport. England will fly to Rome this evening, get a good night’s sleep and have one final training session on Saturday morning in Italy.
GOOOOOAAAAALLLL!
Spain 1 – 0 Switzerland
8. A corner sails over everyone and finds Jordi Alba near the left corner of the penalty area.
The Barcelona left-back hits it first time on the half volley from just outside the box and it deflects into the net after hitting a desperately unlucky Denis Zakaria’s foot on the way through.
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