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John Brewin. The day’s Euro 2020 action starts with Sweden v Slovakia.
The Fiver is here, looking closely ahead to
Sweden v Slovakia and Croatia v the Czech Republic.
Let the hype begin.
🦁🦁🦁 pic.twitter.com/zkQp5wRAOw
— England (@England) June 18, 2021
As we are reliving Euro 96, why not?
⏪ #OnThisDay in 1996, Ally McCoist scored the winner against Switzerland at #EURO96 🚀🏴pic.twitter.com/q6iVV9K1K1
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 18, 2021
Some quotes from the Denmark camp after that emotional match with Belgium on Thursday.
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg: “That atmosphere and that support, it was something I’ve never experienced before. It was exceptional and very, very powerful. So many people have supported us. Now all you want to do, for everything in the world, is to pay them back with everything you have. And that’s what we’re going to do on Monday. [Christian Erisken]’s with us all the time. He is with us here.”
Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand: “To come into Parken and feel the energy, it was magical. The stadium helped us deliver the way we did yesterday. Of course it’s about having that final sharpness and putting the ball in the net. And there’s no doubt that Denmark will continue playing for him”
It’s not just Everton and Tottenham who have forgotten to appoint a manager this summer. There’s West Brom, too.
Ewan emails in. “As a Scot who has lived in London for over 10 years I always try and help my countrymen (and women) when they are lost in London. I met three such chaps in the pub yesterday at lunch. They’d phoned 60 pubs (perhaps a mild exaggeration) to secure space to watch the game and had been told that all were full. I asked them which was the last they called. I picked up my phone and rang the number and put on my most overblown Hugh Grant impression; warmly received by the person on the other end of the phone the three Glaswegians now have a booking for this evening.”
Updated
Robert Lowery replies to Jonathan in Budapest: “Reading Jonathan’s reply on Budapest as a final host, he leaves out the rather important context that Hungary’s death rate per 100k currently stands almost twice that of the UK, and three-four times that of European nations of comparable size who didn’t reenact the Thick of It in their situation room....So forgive me and others if we take past performance into account in assessing future risk.”
Yes, Budapest does seem to carry a certain risk. As, it must be said, does London. This issue may not be going away too quietly.
Jonathan in Budapest emails in: “In relation to David’s message at 10.44, I would point out that every adult who wants the vaccine in Hungary has received one, and to attend the game you have to either present an immunity card or two negative PCR tests. These are pretty strict requirements and I have been told they are reliably enforced. I am attending the Hungary game tomorrow and have no qualms about doing so. What more can venues actually be expected to do if we are ever to return to full crowds?”
Where would Gareth Southgate’s England team be without migration? Here’s where to find out. For the next two matches, they’ll be posting ‘Where The Starters Started’ content on their social channels.
Find out how migration has shaped more than just #England's starting line-up: https://t.co/nJdHBrKaaP #FootballMovesPeople #ENGCRO #Euro2020 #ThreeLions pic.twitter.com/1Cx1oJSfsT
— Migration Museum (@MigrationUK) June 13, 2021
More Tottenham, who are keeping the club football fires burning after the Gattuso affair followed the Fonseca affair followed the Pochettino affair followed the Ten Hag affair.
Per PA Media.
The club have repaid a £150m Bank of England loan using £250m raised through a private placement scheme organised by Bank of America. Spurs took the Covid Corporate Financing Facility loan last year to help them through the coronavirus pandemic after seeing revenue slashed.
Chairman Daniel Levy said: “The long-term sustainability of the club is paramount and the replacement of short-term debt with long-term financing means we are in a secure financial position. The club’s ability to manage effectively throughout the Covid period led to discussions with the same institutions that supported the club in 2019 to refinance stadium funding. Our institutional investors and banks have been supportive and positive throughout the pandemic despite the uncertainty in the economy and the lack of fans at the stadium for the past two seasons, for which we are very grateful.
“I should also like to take this opportunity to thank all our partners who have continued to support us, in particular our long-term partner AIA. During these challenging times, they have worked alongside us on new ways to activate and engage. We never underestimate the immense contribution this partnership makes to our resilience as a club.”
David in London gets in touch: “This possibility of the final games being switched to Budapest has come out of the blue. My first question is whether there’s any way of reading it other than Uefa encouraging hosts to ignore public health considerations by threatening to move them to a country whose president does likewise?”
It’s certainly one way of looking at it, David. Remember when a few Champions League matches were played at neutral venues? Budapest featured heavily. You might also take into consideration this story, and the Wimbledon element. Decisions taken on PR rather than public health grounds? Whatever next?
The advertising banter continues. Share price updates to follow.
Ukr's Andriy Yarmolenko: 'I'll put Coca-Cola … I'll put Heineken right here. Contact me!' #Euro2020 pic.twitter.com/4RNmtctPvA
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) June 18, 2021
Further detail on that final venue story, with a quote from the Hungarian FA. Per Reuters. Your move, Boris.
The Hungarian organisers focus on hosting the four Budapest matches. However ...MLSZ stands ready to host any high-level football event.
Our story here suggests the UK government’s route out of an embarrassing reverse, though one that will bring into sharper focus the continuing partial lockdown.
Updated
Good news for Spain, as Sergio Busquets, their captain, returns to the squad. Can he play up front? Per Reuters.
Spain captain Sergio Busquets has recovered from Covid-19 and is to rejoin the squad immediately, the team said on Friday, in a boost to their Euro 2020 campaign after making a lacklustre start.
Busquets tested positive on June 6 while preparing for the tournament at Spain’s training camp in Madrid and was sent back home to Barcelona into quarantine, although he was able to continue training on an individual basis as he was asymptomatic.
The midfielder will return to the team’s camp after returning a negative test and will fly with the rest of the squad to Seville ahead of Saturday’s game against Poland, the team said in a statement on their official website.
Busquets, 32, is the only surviving member of Spain’s 2010 World Cup winning side still in the squad and was named skipper after Sergio Ramos was left out of the squad due to injury. The Barcelona player, however, is unlikely to face Poland after being unable to train with the group since he first tested positive.
This does exactly what it says on the tin.
Here’s last night’s pod, after an emotional day in Copenhagen.
Potential Tottenham manager? At this point, all of us are a potential Tottenham manager.
More on that story of the potential of the final being spirited away from London.
Think this is a first, dedications in the style of Simon Bates. We may start accepting requests for Our Tune soon but this is very nice from Tony in Nottingham: “Just like a lot of fans from across GB my wife and I will leave in an hour or so for London for the England v Scotland game. We’re leaving early as it is also my wife’s birthday so will stop somewhere for lunch on the way down.
“I’ve not missed a clash between these two since 1983 and have been worrying about the game since Scotland beat Serbia on penalties. I dearly hope it won’t be as nerve-shreddingly anxious as the 1999 play-off at Wembley but fear it might be. If you have a moment please wish my wife, Misako, a happy birthday and thank her in advance for putting up with me today. It won’t be pretty.”
A Uefa statement on the Boris Johnson-busting idea that the Euro 2020 final could be moved from London to Budapest due to Covid-19-related capacity issues. Plus, the free movement of Uefa dignitaries without quarantine, which was a reason behind the Champions League final taking place in Porto and not London.
UEFA is delighted that the capacity at Wembley will go up to at least 50% for the knock-out round matches. At the moment, we are in discussions with the local authorities to try to allow fans of the participating teams to attend the matches, using a strict testing and bubble concept that would mean their stay in the UK would be less than 24 hours. and movements restricted to approved transport and venues. We understand the pressures the UK government face and hope to reach a satisfactory conclusion of our discussions. “There is always a contingency plan but we are confident that the final week will be held in London.
That seems like one to watch, doesn’t it? Orban v Johnson: the race is on.
Recapping some action from yesterday.
Some rather surprising transfer news you may have missed.
Juventus’ all-time leading goalscorer and honorary president, Giampiero Boniperti, has died at the age of 92.
Addio, Presidentissimo.https://t.co/mjKh4ei3Ca pic.twitter.com/p8zVZfooEA
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) June 18, 2021
And a must read: David Hytner’s big interview with Paul Ince, including some Euro 96 memories.
Eric Devin on Les Bleus, who looked impressive yet restrained against the Germans on Tuesday.
There’s another continental championship going on at the moment, though in sadly reduced circumstances. The last-minute hosts have got off to a good start.
By Thursday lunchtime all of the tables outside the Barrel Vault pub at London’s St Pancras station were taken up by Scottish fans, mostly in kilts. Paul Petrie and his two workmates Joe Kelly and Davey Corns flew down from Dundee to Luton on Tuesday.
“We’re the advance party,” says Petrie, dressed in vintage 1978 replica kit with an Archie Gemmill’s squad number 15 on the back. They came just to soak up the atmosphere as fans arrive off the trains from King’s Cross. They do not have tickets for the game but plan to watch at the Oxford Arms in Kentish Town – if it passes a recce planned for later.
Updated
And Ewan Murray speaks to Scotland’s boys of 1999 though their 1-0 win at Wembley was still not enough to make it it Euro 2000.
From the Scotland camp.
From the England camp
Here’s Jonathan Liew’s excellent preview of the big one.
Not now, club football...though this saga really does have it all. It is now 58 days since José Mourinho was sacked.
Preamble
Shouldn’t you be at work? Oh, you are at work. And so are we, building up to the Auldest rivalry in world football, with apologies to Sheffield FC and Hallam FC’s enmity going back to the early 1860s. Yes, it is here, and so are the Scots. The area around Kings Cross and Euston was bedecked in blue shirts, the odd kilt and a lot of puce flesh as Thursday dragged on. Then came a rainstorm to remind them of home. Bagpipes were at a minimum but more can be expected today. Of that there is no doubt.
England v Scotland takes top billing but before that we have Sweden v Slovakia and then Croatia v the Czech Republic, the latter taking part in the England/Scotland group. Slovakia are riding high after beating Poland, while Sweden hung on heroically for that draw against Spain, though may be tired after those efforts. Croatia creaked a little at Wembley, while the Czechs were excellent against Scotland once they had ridden the storm.
But the majority of the day will be spent building up to Wembley, with other updates from around the Euros. Plus, the latest from crisis and managerless clubs Tottenham and Everton, as club football rears its head in typically manic style.
