I’m going to wrap this blog up now and send you on to the live coverage of the concluding matches in Group C, where Netherlands are hoping to match Italy’s perfect start to the tournament when they take on North Macedonia in Amsterdam. You can follow that match with Barry Glendenning here:
And over in Bucharest, Ukraine take on Austria with both teams gunning for second place. Daniel Harris will guide you through that game:
Thanks for all your emails and comments. Bye.
Croatia manager Zltako Dalic reckons Billy Gilmour’s absence with Covid-19 will not help his team against Scotland because a more wily old pro will come in to replace him.
Gilmour played really well against England but up to that game he was never a first-choice option and he may not have even started against us. Dalic told a news conference on Monday. I don’t see his absence as our advantage because whoever replaces him will be a more experienced player. Having said that, I wish Gilmour a speedy recovery.
This theory might not actually be true because Scott McTominay may well go forwards into midfield with Liam Cooper slotting into defence to replace him. Dalic is aware that his side are clear favourites to win the game, though, and expects his players not to panic under pressure.
This is our last chance to qualify for the knockout stages and we have to do everything in our power to make it happen. Scotland have shown their quality against England but we have to head out to the pitch as favourites. We need to be patient and not throw caution to the wind and it doesn’t matter how late we leave it as long as we win.
Look at those flags! Just look at them!
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Mary Waltz is also in the “Sell Kane” camp: “Levy can dig his heels in, hold Kane to his contract, and deal with constant distractions for the next two years, or he can maximise what he gets now, and use that £100m to start a rebuild. Keeping an unhappy Kane will not bring Spurs trophies. The distraction will keep top flight players and managers from coming to Spurs, who would want to enter that mess. Levy, face reality, cut the cord.”
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Sid Lowe brings you the latest from an anxious Spain camp, where César Azpilicueta is trying to lift spirits by pointing out that Chelsea had a dodgy start to their season but ended up as European champions. Read on here …
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John Hess helps to explain what might be going on inside Thomas Müller’s right knee. “I suspect he has a capsular ligament injury. ‘Kapselverletzung’ is probably shorthand. He is listed as questionable for Hungary.” A quick search through the British Journal of Sports Medicine tells me that players are usually out for a week with that type of pesky injury. So Müller’s capsular pain will likely be another Germany player’s gain.
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I can’t look at this image of the National Arena in Bucharest without wondering what it would be like to watch the match from that cube hanging above the pitch. I mean, it would have to have a glass floor. I suppose it would look a bit like Kick Off 2 (kids, here you go).
Take a look at the race for the Golden Boot here. There’s only one defender on that list: Denzel Dumfries. The flying right-back has scored in both of Netherlands’ matches so far. The 25-year-old has obviously been linked with a move away from Eindhoven because playing well at a big tournament will always lead to transfer gossip. Everton, Inter and Bayern have been mentioned in the past few days. As for the man himself, he says he models his game on Dirk Kuyt. “I enjoyed watching him play because of his work rate and how he approached the game,” he told Uefa. As detailed in our player guide, he would appear to be reaping the rewards of doing extra training (as Kuyt used to do) to fight his way to the top.
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Sell! Sell! Sell! Sell! “As a Tottenham fan, I obviously love Harry Kane,” begins Owen Dodd. “But if he truly does not want to stay at the club, Tottenham should accept City’s offer before he hurts his ankles again. His value will only decline in the future, and it angers me that we aren’t just accepting the deal and moving on.” You’re forgetting that Daniel Levy treats transfer deals like sport itself. This will run and run, I’m afraid.
Some good news for Scotland. The other 25 players in the squad trained on Monday morning and all tested negative from precautionary lateral flow tests immediately afterwards. PA Media reports that the Scotland camp are confident no players will be deemed close contacts of Gilmour when Public Health England completes its review of the situation. The squad are travelling up from the north east of England to Glasgow on two planes to ensure strict social distancing.
Not that I’m being a bad grass but that picture below would appear to be pretty close contact. But if players have returned negative tests perhaps Friday’s match is all water under the bridge.
Manchester City make £100m offer for Harry Kane
Fabrizio Romano reports that Manchester City have made an opening offer to Spurs worth £100m for Harry Kane. Surely this must be a slight distraction while the England striker tries to find form at the Euros. If he scores against the Czech Republic will City have to dig much deeper? Here’s the story:
No wonder Uefa, Fifa et all are constantly upsetting club managers by finding new and (not always) interesting ways to pack the schedule with more football matches. Your appetite for bloated tournaments knows no bounds. “I could definitely see Uefa expanding the Euros to 32 teams,” cheers Chris Savory. “However, if they go down that road, I’d like to see them take a leaf out of the Copa America’s book and invite countries from other confederations, as well as expanding the existing qualification process. Given that the African Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup both take place in odd years, why not allow the winners and runners-up of those two tournaments play in the Euros? The four best teams from those continents would certainly add more quality and interest than the 29th-32nd ranked teams from Europe.” Come on, Chris! Don’t give them any more daft ideas. Next you’ll be suggesting they invite West Brom, Fulham and Sheffield United.
Antony T has a few other suggestions. “People Are Overthinking this formatting. The solution is simple. There are 55 teams. We just need to get nine more nations and we are good to go. Australia obviously, as they are already in Eurovision and then some of those nations that enter the unofficial World Championship like Northern Cyprus, throw in the Scilly Isles and places like that, Vatican City, FBCRD (former Black Country republic of Dudley) and you’re all set. Straightforward knockout. All matches played at Sealand. Obviously.”
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Goran Pandev will retire from international football (again) after North Macedonia’s match against the Netherlands at the Johan Cruyff Arena. Could he go out with a goal? Netherlands looked less leaky against Austria but they may chop and change and the wily old fox might just sniff a chance.
Yes, this is it for me, the last match in the jersey of Macedonia national football team. I think this is the right moment to say goodbye to the national team. I am happy that I say farewell to the national team in such a great competition because not only my dream, but the dream of the national coach and all the players became a reality. To see our country, Macedonia, in a great competition.
Sweden are all but through as they prepare to face Poland on Wednesday. They seem to be working on a new set piece, with three mischief-making offensive players placed in front of the defensive wall, if this training-ground photo is anything to go by. Paulo Sousa beware!
Someone by the name of Aleksander Čeferin Jonathan thinks “Double Elimination” is the answer: “I like the expansion to 24 teams. It always felt wrong to me that it was almost as hard to qualify for the regional competition as it was the World Cup. I wouldn’t mind an expansion to 32 teams, even. Let the smaller nations join in the fun of the main event! To my mind it is the round robin group format that is the problem. It produces dead rubbers and games where only one side needs to get a result. Double elimination is a better solution, if you play double elimination groups then you need five games per four team group. That lets you run a 32-team competition in 56 matches (just five more than the current format if my maths is correct), all of them important for both teams and no strange situations with third place teams qualifying. It does mean that you always need to get a result for each game – no draws – but I’d rather see a few group games decided on penalties than what we have currently.”
Some more format chat here. “The obvious thing re format changes feels like REALLY rewarding winning your group and winning it well,” writes Andy Gold. “What if the four best group winners went straight to the quarters (getting a bye through the second round) and the two other group winners and the second placed teams played each other to decide the other four quarter finalists. Imagine how hard Italy would have gone at Wales last night to make sure they won and won well? Imagine how desperate France or England would have been in their respective games this week (rather than shrugging off OK results). Alternatively why do anything ... we’re having a great time here and why shouldn’t the people of Switzerland etc not also get an extra week of Euros fun.”
I see where you’re coming from Andy but couldn’t skipping a round actually have a negative effect on the rhythm of the team?
And here’s Gregory Phillips: “Going in I was dead set against it [this Euros format] but I’ve come around, since it means more of the final group games matter. Teams that would already be out now have one more shot. It’s the first knockout round a game early.”
Hmmm. I’m not so sure. Limiting final-game dead rubbers has led to a lack of clarity in the second and third games. We have to do a lot of waiting around to see whether third-place teams go through. I suppose no format will ever be perfect.
The reason I nipped away earlier was to make a stab at some lunchtime humour for you. You don’t have to thank me. In fact, you probably won’t want to.
Anyway, sign up for The Fiver here if you like. Sometimes they really are funny.
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“Wish You Were Here Gilmour! Putting the Pink Floyd puns aside for a moment, of all the managers at the tournament, Stevie Clarke is the one I feel least qualified to advise,” writes Anthony Barr. “The man who made Killie a force – albeit briefly – needs nothing from the likes of me. So yeah, stick Stuart Armstrong in for Billy. Keep Scott McTominay at the back for better distribution out of defence. Give Stephen O’Donnell another start as reward for Friday. Tell John McGinn to get all over Luka Modric. Start Che Adams and Lydon Dykes but keep Ryan Christie warm to come on for the latter. Game on!” I love that song. And that’s quite an attacking Scotland lineup, Anthony.
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Germany were so good against Portugal but the effort the effort they put into the performance may have come at a cost. Defenders Mats Hummels and Lukas Halstenberg, as well as midfielders Ilkay Gündogan and Thomas Müller, were all missing from training nursing injuries. Hummels and Müller have picked up knee problems, with the Bayern forward’s described as a “capsule injury”. I’ll have to look up my medical manual for that one. Meanhwile, Gündogan and Halstenberg have unspecified muscle injuries. The German FA has not confirmed whether any of the players is expected to miss the match against Hungary, in which a win will guarantee qualification for Jogi Löw’s side.
In Group F (which isn’t quite the Group of Death really given teams can qualify in third), Germany have three points, as many as Portugal and one behind group leaders France. Germany could also qualify with a draw if France do not lose their game against the Portuguese. The Hungarians, in last place with one point, need to win to have any chance of progressing.
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Hello. It’s Gregg here again. Thanks Paul. Let’s start with another goal that went in after striking the woodwork three times. “Darren Anderton v Sweden for England. England were 3-1 down when Platt pulled one back in the 89th minute. Almost straight from the kick-off into injury time, Anderton equalised with this rocket,” writes James Walton. Oof! It goes in so fast I can’t see it hit the crossbar as well. I’ll take your word for it though.
Mike has emailed from Canada to suggest a new format for the Euros. He wants even more games.
I doubt Uefa will go back to a 16-team tournament, so the format becomes key. Here’s my idea. I know it means more games but one benefit of that is that a single poor result would not eliminate a team.
With 24 teams, how about four groups of six teams? Group winners go to quarter-finals and then the second- and third-placed teams play in round of eight for remaining four quarter-finals spots. This format gives a reward for winning your group. Group winners would play eight games if they get to final. The second- and third-placed teams would play nine games if they make it to final. More games and more money for Uefa! What could be better?
Should there be 24 teams at the Euros? I tend to agree with commenter turnip2. We’ll get to see the best 16 teams go at it anyway, so let’s just enjoy the group stage for what it is.
Stepping away from Euro 2020 for a second, here’s the story of Les Hijabeuses, a group of young hijab-wearing female footballers who are campaigning against the French football federation and trying to promote a more inclusive society in France.
We’re coming towards the end of the group stage at Euro 2020, so it’s a good time to debate the format. Does having 24 teams at the Euros make sense? That’s the question Jonathan Wilson tackled in his column this weekend.
A little over a decade ago, John Delaney, the infamous then president of the Football Association of Ireland, approached Sepp Blatter and outlined his proposal to expand the Euros from 16 teams to 24. A little later, having thought about it, Blatter came back and told him he thought it was an excellent scheme, saying: “You should be honoured the president of Fifa said it was very good.” Blatter, notoriously, was a man who had 50 ideas a day, 51 of them bad.
And yet Uefa, not just following Delaney, went ahead with the expansion. This is the way of modern football. Everything must be bigger: more games means more money, and more competing nations means more votes for whoever introduces it. What is good for the sport itself, for the players, for those watching, is ignored.
So we have this bloated European Championship with its awkward format, too big now to be hosted by any but the largest nations or awkward collaborations. It’s not just that it takes 71% of the games to eliminate 33% of the teams; it’s that having best third-place sides go through is an awful system.
Our football writer Jacob Steinberg has some good news for England fans.
England players and staff all returned negative Covid tests after the Scotland game. Full squad in training today #EURO2020
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) June 21, 2021
Are Italy the real deal? Commenter Carlito Brigante thinks not.
I’m still not convinced Italy are all that. They look great at times but they’re in a pretty weak group. Should have won that game three times over yesterday but in the end could easily have ended up drawing against 10 men, were it not for Bale missing what was for him, an absolute sitter.
I’m not sure what more they could have done in the group. They won all three games without conceding a goal – and their great record goes back some time.
✅ 2-0 Estonia
— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@azzurri) June 21, 2021
✅ 2-0 Poland
✅ 2-0 Bosnia
✅ 2-0 Northern Ireland
✅ 2-0 Bulgaria
✅ 2-0 Lithuania
✅ 7-0 San Marino
✅ 4-0 Czech Republic
✅ 3-0 Turkey
✅ 3-0 Switzerland
✅ 1-0 Wales
11 consecutive wins.
11 consecutive clean sheets.#VivoAzzurro #ITA #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/eiKcwtqzGr
Another goal that went in after hitting the woodwork three times. Jermaine Beckford in his time at Bolton.
The upside to the Gilmour injury news:
Alan has emailed to give his brother’s opinion on Billy Gilmour:
Dunno who would be a good replacement, but my brother just said they need to isolate the England midfield too as they were in his back pocket for the best part of 90 minutes on Friday.
On the subject of Scotland, Stephen O’Donnell has been talking about Jack Grealish.
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
Ousmane Dembélé pulls out of France squad
Our football writer Andy Hunter has some news from the France squad:
Ousmane Dembélé has been forced to pull out of the France squad with the knee injury he sustained in Saturday’s draw against Hungary.
The Barcelona forward was introduced as a second half substitute by Didier Deschamps and initially impressed, only to sustain a knee injury that forced his own substitution 30 minutes later.
Dembélé underwent scans at a hospital in Budapest on Sunday that revealed he faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines and will not be available for the remainder of the Euros. He has been withdrawn from the squad following discussions on his recovery programme between France and Barcelona.
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Does hair affect your performance at work? Samuel has emailed to have his say.
In reply to Cormac, reading between the lines I think Cormac maybe doesn’t like Phil Foden, but where has this notion that getting your haircut affects your performance so much come from? I’m going to get my hair cut during my lunch break and I will still be able to do my job after that. Players get hair cuts all the time and can still play well.
I’ve had an email from Yash about a goal scored after the woodwork has been hit three times.
Tottenham’s first goal against Red Star Belgrade in 2019 Champions League, scored by Giovani Lo Celso, involved hitting the frame three times.
Here’s the goal:
Chin up, England fans. Harry Kane hasn’t scored at Euro 2020 yet but Ben White is looking sharp in training.
Can't beat a good diving header 🤩
— England (@England) June 21, 2021
Great finish, @ben6white! pic.twitter.com/7Hycxb5SmY
Scotland fans, how should Steve Clarke change his team to replace Billy Gilmour? Drop me an email: Paul.Campbell@theguardian.com
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Some more details on the Billy Gilmour story from Ewan Murray:
Scotland’s plans for their crucial Group D game against Croatia at Hampden Park on Tuesday have been seriously disrupted after Billy Gilmour, who played a starring role in Friday’s draw at Wembley, tested positive for Covid-19. Gilmour will now complete 10 days of isolation.
An email from Cormac, who is no fan of Phil Foden – or his hair:
Why do England players insist on getting tournament haircuts? I don’t think this has ever ended well for anyone! The nonsense coming out of Phil Foden yesterday was ridiculous. He should focus more on his mediocre performances rather than his haircut! Given he has only had half a decent season with City I think he should count himself lucky he’s even in the squad, never mind the team.
This seems harsh to me. Either way, a nice little quirk of the Foden hair “story” is that the Romania team at the 1998 World Cup – the inspiration for any side dyeing their hair – chose to go blonde after beating England. Dan Petrescu scored the winner that day, nutmegging David Seaman in the last minute.
Billy Gilmour tests positive for Covid-19
Some news from our Scottish football writer Ewan Murray:
Billy Gilmour has tested positive for Covid-19. 10 days isolation.
— Ewan Murray (@mrewanmurray) June 21, 2021
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Who has the best shirt at Euro 2020? I quite like the Finland shirt, which seems to have sold out. Their owl masks, however, are still available.
On the subject of Norwegian goalscorers, Morten Gamst Pedersen scored directly from a corner over the weekend. He’s still playing in the third tier in Norway at the age of 39.
🎯 Things you love to see. Morten Gamst Pedersen scored directly from a corner for Norwegian third tier side @AltaIF_Fotball earlier on today.
— 🇳🇴 Football (@NORftbl) June 19, 2021
39 years of age and still going strong. 🇳🇴 pic.twitter.com/gCMxDcK3fZ
This has nothing to do with Euro 2020 but Jakob Glesnes, the Norwegian centre-back who plays for Philadelphia Union, scored an incredible goal over the weekend.
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone score after hitting the crossbar three times. Even Tony Yeboah didn’t manage that. If you can think of a goal that hit the woodwork three times, drop me an email: Paul.Campbell@theguardian.com or send me a tweet @campbellwpaul.
Man's got Thor's hammer for a leg tho 🇳🇴#DOOP pic.twitter.com/anR9tDCxZN
— PhilaUnion🛡 (@PhilaUnion) June 20, 2021
Morning all. So, you’ll probably be aware that we’ve gone daily on Football Weekly during Euro 2020. Over the weekend, there was some discussion about Germany, Thomas Müller and the problem of having too many head chefs.
As you’ll discover immediately if you listen to the clip, this is not the Guardian’s new food podcast.
Euro 2020 Football Daily: Müller corners his teammates, and why kitchen work is a squad game #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/vydCBvmGuO
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) June 21, 2021
Austria insist there will be no repeat of the 1982 “Disgrace of Gijón” against Ukraine when the two teams meet this evening. Ukraine, who need only a point for second place, and Austria, as one of the four best third-placed teams, could both advance with a draw. Should we expect lots of sideways and backwards passing? “I do not think that it comes down to that,” said the Austrian Football Association president, Leo Windtner. “In every respect it would be the wrong tactic to go out and play for a point.”
Rob Smyth wrote a wonderful piece about the ‘Disgrace of Gijón’ for our World Cup stunning moments series. You can read it here:
Right, I’m going to hand over to Paul Campbell for a little while now. I’ll be back a bit later on. Thanks.
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Uefa confirmed last night that the Germany captain, Manuel Neuer, will not face any disciplinary action after wearing a rainbow armband during Euro 2020 games. The Bayern Munich goalkeeper has donned the armband for matches against France and Portugal to show his support for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride month, prompting Uefa to investigate whether it could be viewed as a political statement. Uefa has concluded there is no case to answer. An official statement from European football’s governing body said in their view, the armband “was promoting a good cause, ie diversity, [and] the team will not face disciplinary proceedings.”
It does beg the question, why did Uefa ever think it had to investigate it? Surely everyone knows what it means.
Furthermore, the mayor of Munich, Dieter Reiter, will ask Uefa for permission to light the Allianz Arena in rainbow colours for Germany’s match against Hungary on Wednesday, in response to anti-LGBTQ+ legislation passed by the Hungarian parliament. Furthermore, Uefa said on Sunday it was opening an investigation into an allegedly homophobic banner and monkey noises at Hungary’s first two Euro 2020 matches in Budapest.
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''I asked him to jump with no arms and he did'
Wales manager Robert Page has revealed that his gigantic striker Kieffer Moore is a very good listener. Having left him on the bench to begin with against Italy due to the possibility of him picking up another booking that would have led to a suspension, he decided to risk Moore for the last 30 minutes but told him to keep his arms by his sides when contesting aerial duels. Page found the results very amusing.
Kieffer is one of those players that unfortunately could accidentally get a booking. He understood my concern. I asked him to jump with no arms and he did. Watching him jump was hysterical.
Page spoke of his pride at his players’ achievement of having made the knockout stage at two successive Euros. “Don’t underestimate the character of a Welshman. It’s phenomenal what that changing room has got in there. I’m absolutely bursting with pride. I can’t speak highly enough of them, they got the job done to finish second.”
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How about England, then? Was the booing at Wembley an overreaction? Raheem Sterling is not fussed by the criticism that has showered the England camp since Friday. The fact that so many third placed teams can qualify has added to the feeling that there has been an exaggerated response to the 0-0 draw. England fans were essentially booing their team for having qualified, despite the laboured way they went about it. Personally, I thought more should have been made of how well Scotland played.
I do feel there’s a bit of an overreaction [after Scotland] … there’s more of a panic on the outside than inside the building. I don’t see anyone in the camp that feels any pressure or feels hard done by. The best thing we can do is focus on the training field. The more you listen to outside noise, the more it can affect you. The positive is that we can go out on Tuesday [in the final group tie against the Czech Republic], get a good win and that second game [against Scotland] is all forgotten about.
Frank de Boer is wary of urban foxes, which is why he’s taking nothing for granted against North Macedonia and will put out a strong Netherlands team:
North Macedonia really deserve to be here. They have done very well, they are well organised. And then you have this sly fox [Goran] Pandev who really makes the difference. It’s great to see he still enjoys playing and can be important for his country. We can’t underestimate them so I’m not going to alter much.
Italy have been mighty impressive haven’t they? The structure, the pressing, their ruthlessness when given a sniff of goal. And imagine being as good as they were in the first two games and then being able to bring Marco Veratti back into your midfield! Barney Ronay kept a close eye on the returning PSG midfielder in the 1-0 win over Wales yesterday.
Then there was Marco Verratti, one of the more understated velvet-touch world-class footballers around, who dominated this game by stealth as he so often does … He is an odd Italy player, a one-time prodigy, darling of the academies, who has spent almost all of his mature career in Paris. Aged 28 now, and straight back into the groove in Rome, he provides another, deeper gear in this system.
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Preamble
Morning all. How are we then? Good. Want some more football? Brilliant. With Group A having drawn to a close with Italy and Wales going through and Switzerland highly likely to follow them we now have four (yes, count them) matches today as groups B and C conclude. At 8pm BST Russia take on Denmark and Finland face Belgium in Group B. The Danish are bottom of the group but a win against Russia and a Finland defeat could be enough for them to finish second. And given the structure of qualifying, with four of the six third-placed teams joining the last 16, there is still an outside chance if they finish third. And wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if Christian Eriksen (who is now at home recuperating, thankfully) was able to watch his brilliant teammates beat the odds? Belgium looked in the groove in the second half against the Danish when Kevin De Bruyne started to push through the gears so Finland might find the going tough. Belgium may be tempted to rest key players, though. Before those games, at 5pm, in Group C the picture is similar to that in Group B. North Macedonia, without a point, face an uphill task against the slick group leaders, Netherlands, while Austria and Ukraine (on three points apiece) will battle it out for the automatic second place. I’ll bring you reaction from last night’s games too and any more news from Euro 2020 as it emerges. In the meantime, check out the latest standings and upcoming fixtures here:
And here’s how the race for the Golden Boot is shaping up:
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