Albania’s Klaus Gjasula looks on in horror as he scores an own goal that gives Croatia the lead. “Just when it looked as though Croatia had disproved their doubters by coming from behind to beat Albania, they let it slip at the end. As against Italy in their first game, Albania scored with their first […]
“The French far-right leader Jordan Bardella has criticised the footballer Kylian Mbappé over his call for young people to vote against the ‘extremes’ in parliamentary elections this month. ‘I have a lot of respect for our footballers, whether Marcus Thuram or Kylian Mbappé, who are icons of football and icons for youth … But we […]
“Giorgi Mamardashvili pawed the free kick away. As he did, his Georgian team-mates ran over to celebrate as if he had scored. His compatriots in the press tribune in the Westfalenstadion turned to their colleagues, grasped their arms and said: ‘The best in the world. The best goalkeeper in the world.’ Mamardashvili was the hero […]
“A night of mayhem and confusion, of futures and pasts dragging each other in different directions, and at its climax a goal of pure catharsis. Portugal, one of the tournament favourites, are away: a poacher’s goal by the 21-year-old Francisco Conceição sealing victory in the first minute of injury time and underlining the bench strength […]
“When Didier Deschamps was asked a question about the pairing of N’Golo Kante and Adrien Rabiot in midfield after France’s 1-0 victory against Austria, he politely interrupted it to make a small correction. … France’s switch to a midfield three featuring the Atletico Madrid forward has continued throughout the European Championship qualifying campaign and into […]
“Romelu Lukaku wants to be considered one of the best strikers in the world and, by most metrics, he is. The 31-year-old has been a consistent scorer at every club he has played for and has had moments when he has appeared world-class. Unfortunately, the Belgian is prone to performances like Monday’s against Slovakia, when he […]
Harry Kane “Jude Bellingham wasn’t having it. He wasn’t having Serbia forcing their way back into this match and, once it was over, he wasn’t having anyone rain on his or England’s parade. It was put to him in the post-match news conference that while the first half against Serbia had shown why England are […]
“When Christian Eriksen collapsed in Denmark’s opening game of the European Championship three years ago, his unconscious body surrounded by his teammates as he received CPR, what then would have seemed a reasonable hope for the future? To survive? To lead a relatively normal life? To resume his career? Did anybody in those dreadful moments […]
“There was the unforgettable star turn off the bench in the World Cup quarter-finals against Argentina in the artificial surrounds of Lusail, and now Wout Weghorst can stash away another compelling piece of evidence of his nose for goal in a Netherlands shirt at a major tournament. In Qatar, Weghorst scored his first goal within […]
“It was the first real heavyweight meeting of Euro 2024 — and the result was much more one-sided than many expected. Spain got their campaign off to an impressive start with a 3-0 win over Croatia at Berlin’s Olympiastadion thanks to goals from Alvaro Morata, Fabian Ruiz and Dani Carvajal — all scored before half-time. […]
