Enjoy the games and the rest of the weekend. Ta-ra.
Right, this is us. But fear not! Paul Doyle is on-hand to bring you Italy v Wales...
...and Rob Smyth will bring you Switzerland v Turkey.
Ah, before I knock off, here’s a new bit.
But let’s finish the blog on a positive note. What a photo this is.
What a species.
Uefa investigating “potential discriminatory incidents” at Puskás Aréna, Budapest. Claims of Hungary fans holding homophobic banner and making homophobic chants before Portugal game and fans holding anti-kneeling banner before France game. #EURO2020
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) June 20, 2021
“Just caught up with all the fascinating and entertaining items in the build up,” emails Richard Hirst, “but one comment surprised me, and that was your praise of Ally McCoist as a commentator. He and Lee Dixon chuntering on during the England v Scotland game like two old men reminiscing in the pub about what they did in the war was the absolute pits, matched only by Keane and Souness ranting at half time. It made me glad that I don’t have Sky, so am spared their rants during the Premier League season.”
I don’t know, I really enjoy Coisty’s zest for football and life, and also think he adds some decent tactical knowhow. But I’m often wrong.
He also says that he’s developed and matured playing for Diego Simeone. Imagine how it must feel to earn Simeone’s trust and respect.
Sky are showing Kieran Trippi-ki-yay speaking to the press. He thinks Harry Kane is good at footvall.
And the final of the World Test Championship is poised.
Lewis Hamilton is back in front in the French GP. You can follow its closing stages here.
Apparently, Gareth Bale believes in aliens.
So...
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) June 20, 2021
Wales captain Gareth Bale believes in aliens, but do you? 👽 #bbceuro2020 #WAL pic.twitter.com/7RdS8cYwpR
I can’t say I’m surprised – he might even be one himself.
Back to Matthäus, he was in the West Germany squad that beat Belgium in the 1980 final.
Great effort from the lad in the glasses here.
If anything will get you in the mood for Italy v Wales it's this!#bbceuro2020 #ITA #WAL
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 20, 2021
“This isn’t the first time Turkey have had to wait for ‘loads’ of games to go one way or another to qualify, emails Önder Susam. “There’s even a cartoon from at least a decade ago (which has been widely shared again after the Wales game) that sums up what Turks constantly have to look out for as we’ve pretty much never qualified for any tournament as easily as this one.
It roughly translates as:
- What happened then? Is it impossible for Turkey to advance to the next round?”
- Nope. If we manage to draw Poland in the next game, if France beat Bosnia and Hungary lose at home to Holland, if Tajikistan smiles while Germany farts, and if Nigeria says ‘Hi’ and Lithuania goes ‘piss off you donkey’, then we can qualify for the next round.
- Down with this football.”
Superb stuff.
“I forgot Daniel James lest some Welsh fans get upset,” returns Niall O’Keeffe. “As for 2002, your analysis is spot on. My favourite player at the time was Roy Keane and I actually sobbed when I learnt the news from Saipan the day before flying from Toronto (where I lived) to Tokyo for my first World Cup. And yes. You can print that if you want.”
Ha! I can’t think of many players I’ve seen who are as good in that position – I’m just too young to have a proper opinion on Souness but am pretty sure he’s in that category, but otherwise Bryan Robson and Lothar Matthäus are about the size of it.
An old Rooney teammate – and Euros favourite – was at it overnight. This terrific header was Nani’s fourth goal in six MLS games, and Orlando City now sit second in the The MLS.
Flying high for that one! © @luisnani | #TORvORL | #VamosOrlando pic.twitter.com/9BQSpqwKDB
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) June 19, 2021
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Funny thing is, Rooney is right – you really can’t expect a young player to turn up at a tournament and tear it up. Unless that young player is him. It’s a real shame of his career that both times he looked poised to do something epochal – win England a trophy in 2004, win Man United the Champions League and a record-breaking fourth straight title in 2010 – he got injured. Obviously he’s remembered as a brilliant player, but those misfortunes obscure to many just how brilliant.
Look at his little face!
Best of all, he literally drops the line that “you cannot expect young players to come and tear tournaments up”.
No, of course you can’t Waz old mate.
Wayne Rooney’s Times column was interesting this morning – as it frequently is. He reckons England need dribblers to commit defenders, so suggests that Grealish and Sancho come in, and also notes that Foden is struggling because he’s used to playing in a Pep Guardiola team, where the interplay is better and designed to get him in front of goal. He also suggests playing Dominic Calvert-Lewin to run channels and occupy defenders so that Haitch Kane can play as a number 10.
Here’s something on what happened next, from Joy of Six: insults.
That Irish team Niall references: Roy Keane’s work getting them to the 2002 World Cup, out of a group also containing Portugal and Netherlands, is up there with his finest achievements – quite an accolade.
“Sign of barren years for Irish fans that I am sitting here in Dublin counting down the hours to Wales v Switzerland,” emails Niall O’Keeffe. “The Welsh team remind me of Ireland in the early 2000s – a few great players (Roy Keane, Damien Duff, Robbie Keane, Steven Finnan) that bring out the very best in their less gifted team mates – Bale, Ramsey, Davies, Allen in the case of Wales.
The Scots are similar too. Yessir, Celts can boogie!!”
Yes, it’s a shame what’s going on with Ireland, and I’m not aware of too many bankers coming through. Scotland, though, had a long period of nothing before their current lot, while Wales are now a tournament staple. They’ll need to replace Bale, which is not easily done – they can’t even toss a hundred million pounds at Soldado, Chiriches, Paulinho and others – but if David Brooks can get back to where he was, he is an absolute player.
Imagine if Italy win the Euros after winning Eurovision. No one has managed that double yet, but things are certainly going well for this year’s champs. Here’s one saving another’s life in extremely nonchalant style.
Tutti abbiamo bisogno di un Damiano nella nostra vita pic.twitter.com/VykcnKi67b
— Trash Italiano (@trash_italiano) June 19, 2021
Meanwhile, New Zealand have forced home a great morning and polished off India for 217. They’ll begin their reply presently, and you can enjoy that with Tanya Aldred.
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton leads the French Grand Prix; you can follow that here with Luke McLaughlin.
“Speaking of Euro 96 (as you were below),” emails David Wall, “Jürgen Klinsmann has just been on 5 live for an hour and, as he shows when a pundit on particular matches, he comes across as a really good humoured and likeable character, as well as being thoughtful about football for itself and in a broader context. As Gary Lineker has started rumours about him getting the Spurs job yesterday, perhaps Daniel Levy should seriously think about it. If nothing else, it’ll bring back a bit of goodwill to the club that it has lost over the past couple of years.”
Yep, I can absolutely see why that’d be an attractive appointment, though the footballing case is not totally compelling. Other hand, some jobs are right for some people, and maybe this’d be right for him. I wonder, though, if Spurs - or anyone else – are thinking about Roberto Mancini.
Hi again and thanks Will – lunch is over, and you can me on the addresses at the top of the page. That Henry free-kick, though, and with the left foot too. I think I wrote earlier in the week that this competition might’ve come a couple of years too late for Belgium, but if Lukaku and De Bruyne are at it they’re right there.
He’s still got it ...
Class is permanent. 🤩 #DEVILTIME #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/6PO27JGEVV
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) June 20, 2021
Something I did with Finland captain Tim Sparv after the Denmark game.
Spain need a win from their final group game against Slovakia to guarantee progression, having drawn their opening two games.
La Roja have suffered issues with Covid but it is their dismal performances causing consternation in Spain.
“The main word on my lips is frustration. If only we’d scored that penalty and all those chances. But we need to believe in ourselves and stay strong,” said defender Pau Torres.
Gerard Moreno scored 13 penalties for Villarreal at a 100 percent success rate but could not convert for Spain against Poland, putting pressure on Luis Enrique and his squad going into their final match.
“We’re in a huge mess,” said the front cover of newspaper Marca, while daily AS said Spain were “on red alert”.
Spain’s players are once again bemoaning the La Cartuja pitch following their 1-1 draw with Poland. You think the surface would be of a reasonable standard and Spain could work out how to improve it.
I realise it was a late replacement for the San Mames but there is no shortage of decent stadia in the country.
“The pitch wasn’t in the best state for us to execute our style of play against a team that sat deep. The pitch is harming us a lot,” said midfielder Rodri.
Coach Luis Enrique praised his opposite number Paulo Sousa for how they set up in the draw.
“I’d hoped we could have played better but we have to recognise the power of Poland and the excellent game they played. They pressed us very high and blocked our passing avenues. They impressed me,” he said.
This could be the final day of the tournament for Turkey, who had been tipped by many (including me) to be dark horses. Sadly, for them and lazy pundits, it turns out they are really mediocre. I cannot remember seeing too many teams devoid of pace but Turkey really are slow in everything they do. Will there be a root and branch review by the Turkish FA?
Emre Sarigul explains why they’ve been so ruddy awful.
This is my first Father’s Day as a parent. I spent an hour fixing the sink after my partner poured coconut oil down it, only for it to solidify. It did make me feel manly, so maybe that was my gift.
Phil Grey emails: “For superstitious Welshmen like myself the big tactical decision would seem to be whether to stick with the routines of the first two matches or assume Italy are going to win and munch a different flavour of crisps, wear the shirt inside out and only drink beer with our left hand.”
Just make a crisps and beer smoothy to cut down the faff.
Some intrepid reporting from our man in Rome, Ben Fisher.
#Wal fans gather off Via Cavour in Rome. Some have spent thousands following team from Baku to here: pic.twitter.com/Si4BlhbphQ
— Ben Fisher (@benfisherj) June 20, 2021
Right, Will Unwin is here to smooth your route through the next hour while I forage for food. You can email him here or tweet him here.
You can read more about that in this excellent piece.
Austria have assured everyone that when they meet Ukraine tomorrow, there’ll be no repetition of the collusion with West Germany that took both sides through to the knockout stages of España 82 at the expense of Algeria.
Seeing as we’ve come back to Wales, it’s been interesting to see how well Daniel James has played so far. His final ball still needs work – that high cross against Turkey, when a low one would’ve left Ramsey a tap-in is a case in point – but he’s looking confident, which just goes to show what consistent selection can do. His problem is that at club level, he’s unlikely to force his way past Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford, there seems a fair chance that Jadon Sancho joins the pool too, and behind him Anthony Elanga and Amad Diallo will soon need games. For the sake of his career, I wonder if he’ll be considering a move.
However: seriously Gareth?
The Scotland and Wales teams both seem to be having a great craic; so do England, now that I think about it, and Italy and plenty of the others. It’s actually really good to see because these are the days of their lives – they’ve worked hard for them, so it’s good to see that they’re not passing in a blur of seriousness.
This is great.
Stephen O'Donnell revealed what went on between him and Jack Grealish on this morning's #ScotlandHQ – and the tips he'd been given from John McGinn... 😂
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 20, 2021
➡️ Catch up on the full episode here: https://t.co/UllsrqDI2E pic.twitter.com/OlQLksc6ZM
And here’s Rob Smyth’s piece on why Euro 96 was overrated. He’s right, as he usually is, though it was great time nevertheless.
There’s been a lot of Euro 96 chat over the last bit – on which point, Mike Gibbons’ book on the topic is well worth your time, an extract of which you can read below.
But the stuff about the which is England’s greatest tournament tune, World in Motion or Three Lions, ignores how good this one was. On Top of The Pops, introduced by Gina G!
The things is, cohesion generally – but not always – takes time, so even if Southgate changes things, that aspect might not improve. I still think, though, that he needs to give his team the platform to dominate, and both Bellingham and Mount are good enough to support Rice if he needs help.
I actually expected Southgate to insert particular players for particular games, but the problem he has is that he’s not inserting them into a thriving system. He might opt to stick to what he believes in and you could understand if he did, but it does look like a minor overhaul, 1986 and 1990-style, is necessary.
I’d expect Southgate to bring Walker back in – although James offers more going forward, it seems like Walker will play against the better teams – and I’ve no idea what’ll happen in front of that. I don’t think we’ll see Bellingham but might see Foden inside or Grealish come in. I doubt Sterling is left out, but I’d not be shocked if he was.
So who would we pick for England’s game against the Czech Republic? Now that you don’t ask, I think I’d go: Pickford; James, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Rice, Bellingham, Mount; Foden, Kane, Rashford.
Now we’re a bit more familiar with the players, managers and teams, it’s a good time to revisit this frankly incredible guide to all of them.
What was really interesting watching Wales the other day was the way they planned for Bale to drop deep and hit killer balls for Ramsey. We don’t really associate Bale with that kind of vision and execution, but as he showed, he has it. I wonder if it’ll work against Italy, or if it was a tactic designed specially to exploit Turkey’s line; if so, I’m looking forward to seeing what Robert Page comes up with for today. I’m not sure that short corner along the by-line will pass muster against a better and savvier defence.
As it goes, I don’t think Mancini was being disrespectful, deliberate or otherwise. The way I heard it – ok, read it, my Italian being limited to insults and swearing I’ve learnt watching Gomorrah – he was trying to explain that Wales are dogged and physical like Stoke, but also have plenty of quality.
To the unbridled mirth of Gary Bale, Roberto Mancini compared Wales to Stoke. Versions of “We pinned it up in the dressing room” and “he’s given my team-talk for me” are surely imminent.
Another goal BBC left off was Ronnie Whelan’s volley against the Soviet Union in 1988. It’s a shinner, granted, but he still had to get the body position and power, while hitting straight through the ball.
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On the subject of Robson, here’s a piece about him, his goal at Wimbledon in 1993, and going the game with your dad.
Another goal I always loved came in this game, in which Bryan Robson took on the Netherlands of Gullit, Van Basten, Rijkaard and Koeman, keeping it level for 70 minutes.
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I was meant to be going to that game, but my parents wouldn’t let me and my mates went without me. I appreciated it then as much as I appreciated it now.
The BBC have a show looking at the best goals from the Euros, and Suker against Denmark is one of them.
But let’s not forget the brilliance of this goal that never was.
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Stop press: Kyle Jamieson has just trapped Virat Kohli leg before. It’s hotting up.
We’re underway on day three of the World Test Championship. Join Tanya Aldred to see how it unfolds.
Much as I enjoy Ally McCoist too, I think Hayes might be the best of them – though there’s no need to choose because we’re lucky enough to have both.
The manager of that side was Emma Hayes, whose punditry has been one of the pleasures of this tournament. She’s not just good on the telly either, and is just as informative, insightful and compelling on radio.
Back to likeable players, Tierney actually made it into the Guardian’s Premier League Likeable XI. What an accolade! I bet he was well chuffed!
Spencer Salt gets in touch to point out this Dwight Yorke panenka, which I now also remember.
25 years ago today:
— When Football Was Better (@FootballInT80s) January 28, 2021
Howard Kendall's Sheffield United are knocked out of the Fa Cup by Aston Villa following Savo Milošević's comedy fall and Dwight Yorke's "cheeky" penalty. pic.twitter.com/zwRcGZvSv8
Bit of contract and transfer news. Kieran Tierney is such a likeable player, and Arsenal did very well to get him; they’d do pretty well to get Ben White too, though I wonder if there might be interest in him from higher up in last season’s table.
“I decided to do it when I was taking my run-up.” As you do. Who knew that Joe Hart wouldn’t be able to psych out Andrea Pirlo?
I don’t recall seeing many of these growing up in the 80s and 90s; this might be the first.
On this day in 1976, Czechoslovakia beat West Germany to win the European Championships and the Panenka was born. I’ll never fully grasp why anyone would ever take a penalty like that, but what an addition to the game.
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Email! “Seven hours to kick-off,” says Sheila Brook.
Which, naturally, reminds me of the book of Genesis – the bit where Laban makes Jacob work seven years to marry Rachel and it says “They seemed to him but a few days such was his love for her”. Problem being, Laban then tricked him and he ended up marrying Leah instead before working a further seven-stretch for Rachel, so hopefully the analogy ceases to work prior to that point.
The advantage there is in going last is one of the reasons this six-group format isn’t right: Germany, Hungary, Portugal and France will know what it’ll take to qualify in third place. That doesn’t seem fair, especially given that tournament football has long since accepted that this is a bad idea by scheduling the final round of games to kick off concurrently.
Not that Hungary are an easy night. The shame for them is that Dominik Szoboszlai got injured before the tournament, but even without him, they can make things difficult for Germany. Those matches are on Wednesday night, after which we’ve got two days with no football – absolute joke really.
That Portugal v France match should be an absolute banger, he revelated, and Portugal will be worried circumstances are conspiring against them. France looked so at ease against Germany, winning as comfortable a 1-0 as is possible against opponents of such quality and looking like they had levels in reserve. But after drawing with Hungary they’ll be wanting a performance and a result to secure top spot in the group, and the likelihood is that Germany will make them win to achieve it.
Talking of Fernandes, he’s been disappointing so far. I’m not sure it’s totally his fault – Portugal look unnecessarily disjointed – but I’m sure he expects more from himself than he’s delivered so far, in any circumstance. Like Gareth Southgate, Fernando Santos has questions to ask himself: does he persist with what he thought would work in the assumption that surely it must, or does he liberate his players and before it’s too late?
The ability – the desire – of sportsfolk to embrace pressure is something I don’t fully understand. I wrote a bit about that, in the process of writing about Bruno Fernandes.
Browsing yesterday’s photos, I came across this is great shot of the family Kimmich. I’ve no idea how people hold it together watching those closest to them compete in elite sport, I’d be a constant crying mess.
Elsewhere, the final of the World Test Championship is into day three. Follow that with Tanya Aldred.
Goodness me, the state of these.
“Honestly the way he heads the ball is like a League Two centre half - he’s absolutely incredible. His spring, his timing, the technical aspect… everything is absolutely perfect.” 💥@GNev2 is mesmerised by @Cristiano's heading ability 😍#Euro2020 pic.twitter.com/voqYuwtEXK
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 19, 2021
Ultimately, I guess Scotland lack what Wales have – attacking players as good as Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey – which is one reason they’ve not scored yet. Which is maybe another reason to try and get McTominay further up the pitch: he’s a decent finisher. Even against the Czech Republic, though he was in midfield, he was too deep to make anything happen, and though at club level he’s often used as a number 6, that’s because Manchester United don’t have a proper one. It isn’t really his game because his short passing and play-building need work, and if you don’t allow him to go box-to-box you’re not getting most of him.
You could argue circumstance pushed him into doing it, but credit to Steve Clarke for picking Billy Gilmour on Friday night. I do wonder if there’s anything he can do to get Scott McTominay into midfield, alongside Gilmour and John McGinn, because his drive and ball-carrying would complement both. But I’m not sure what happens at the back in that circumstance.
It’s amazing to consider that Scotland, the country of Denis Law, Kenny Dalglish and Jim Leighton, have never qualified for the knockout stages of a tournament. It’s not hard to imagine some kind of glorious mishap foiling a glorious performance and Croatia are no mugs, but it’s also not hard to imagine them turning up as they did on Friday and forcing things to go their way.
The final round of group fixtures is as good a time as any to reflect on a tournament format that isn’t one of the best, as Jonathan Wilson does below. Presumably we’re making our way up to 32 teams, which will make qualifying even more of a procession than currently probably won’t improve the quality of the opening round. However eight groups of four with the top two teams going through seems fairer than what we’ve got at the moment.
Our pod massive consider all that and more.
And it’s worth revisiting Nick Ames’ account of yesterday’s belter in Munich.
Here’s Sid Lowe’s report from Sevilla.
Group E is getting interesting. All four teams are in control of their own destinies, and it feels a fool’s errand to start predicting what’s going to happen. Slovakia might leave Spain a bit of space, but they’ve looked sharp in attack, while if Robert Lewandowski has found himself, Poland are right in the mix. I suppose we can still wonder if he’s one of those strikers who needs top players around him, given his tournament output over the years. But he’s also got the ability to make his own opportunities.
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Perhaps the special nature of an England v Scotland match can partially explain England’s poverty on Friday night, but they badly need a performance against the Czech Republic on Tuesday. I understand why Southgate wants the security of Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips in front of an unreliable defence, but more time spent in possession and with the ball up the other end more often would also be helpful. I’d like to see Jude Bellingham replace one of the two, and I also wonder if Jadon Sancho or Marcus Rashford might offer more than Raheem Sterling – though I totally understand Southgate’s loyalty to him.
Naturally, the man himself has some thoughts on the matter.
I guess it’s worth noting that England have a couple of players who’ve not played for them much because they’ve made late runs into the squad – Phil Foden, Luke Shaw – but even so, things should be more coherent. My guess is that Harry Kane gets another game to shake himself into action, though if things don’t work out again, there’ll be a proper think to be had.
For cosmic balance, just last week I wrote in these pages that England and Portugal looked the most likely to challenge France. My rationale was that with the players they have, they should have the next highest level. But it might be the case that cautious, unimaginative management will hold them back – neither side seems to be settled, the fluidity not that. There’s not much excuse for that either – in the fortnight before things got going when his team should’ve been grooving, Gareth Southgate was picking players not in the squad to start friendlies.
Robin Gosens is a name one might add to that list now. This going to sound extremely, er, Captain Hindsighty of me, but after watching Germany wallop Latvia in a friendly the week the tournament started, it felt like you could see him coming. He was great that night, and his desire and running power are a proper issue.
Who’ve been the standout players so far? Here are some.
“When the players took the knee, everyone clapped, not to drown out booing, because there wasn’t any … but because we agree with taking the knee,” he says. “It is a more inclusive form of nationalism here. Supporting Wales allows me to manifest my Welshness, see the world and have fun with my mates.”
It’s been a long week and a short week.
Nicky Bandini shares some thoughts on Italy. I’d heard Locatelli was good but even in that context I’ve been surprised by how good. I wonder if he might get a rest today, partly so that Marco Verratti can get going but mainly so that he’ll be ready for the knockouts. Part of me feels bad talking about players who might move on when this tournament is finished, but it seems unlikely Locatelli will play another season for Sassuolo. It’s not often the best Italian players play outside of Italy, but I can think of a load who could use him.
Switzerland and Turkey, meanwhile, are fighting for their lives. Even a win might not be enough for the latter – it’s beginning to look like four points will be necessary – but they’ll have a go, and won’t want to go home on nil pwa. Switzerland, meanwhile, have also disappointed, but a win here should see them sorted. We’ve waited awhile for it, but now we have it.
On these points:
So this stuff that’s going to be good, then. Italy have been the most impressive side we’ve seen so far, but because their best players aren’t stars yet we’re not sure how they’ll hold up when they play the best teams. Wales aren’t quite that, but their match against Turkey was one of the most intense we’ve seen so far, and in it their best players were absolutely buzzing. With both sides effectively through to the next round, we should see a pretty decent go-around – perhaps with some changes, but nevertheless.
Preamble
Morning all and welcome to day 10 of the Euros – or the start of matchday three, as Uefa appear to be calling it. It is, of course, tinged with sadness, as we’re now bereft of 2pm kick-offs and today are getting just the one slot at 5pm.
But Italy v Wales and Switzerland v Turkey is pretty nifty compensation, so too the do or die nature of things from here. We’ll be be building up to all that through the course of the next few hours, and generally prattling about what we’ve seen and what we’re about to see, so send in your thoughts to the addresses at the top of the page.
This is going to be good.
