Page 14 - Europe

Heavy rainfall causes flooding in parts of Europe; countries alert

Storms caused heavy flooding across parts of western and central Europe overnight, and a man swept away by a raging stream in eastern Germany remained missing Wednesday.

Re-nationalising British Rail

Vinayak Chatterjee looks at the stresses in public-private partnerships

Euro 2020 in review: The best, worst and downright strange

A review of the best, worst and downright strange at this year's European Championship

Euro 2020 created strong reputation despite many challenges

Delayed one year by the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 European Championship is in the history and financial books after being among the most difficult soccer tournaments ever organized

5 Italians, no Cristiano Ronaldo in Euro 2020 team of the tournament

Five players from European champion Italy and no Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbapp nor Robert Lewandowski were picked in UEFA's official team of the tournament announced on Tuesday.

How local politics and nationalism shaped football as we know it today

The sport, which began capturing global imagination just after World War I, has been used as a platform to make political and racial statements and broadcast ethnic identities

Italy wins Euro 2020, beats England in penalty shootout

Italian soccer's redemption story is complete. England's painful half-century wait for a major title goes on. And it just had be via a penalty shootout. Italy won the European Championship for the second time by beating England 3-2 on penalties on Sunday. The match finished 1-1 after extra time. Gianluigi Donnarumma dived to his left and saved the decisive spot kick by Bukayo Saka, England's third straight failure from the penalty spot in the shooutout in front of its own fans at Wembley Stadium. It was less than four years ago that the Italians plunged to the lowest moment of its soccer history by failing to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in six decades. Now, they are the best team in Europe and on a national-record 34-match unbeaten run under Roberto Mancini, their suave coach. England was playing in its first major final in 55 years. It's the latest heartache in shootouts at major tournaments, after defeats in 1990, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2012. England went a

Euro 2020 final: Where Italy and England can win or lose

It's being billed as the best team of the tournament against, in effect, the host nation. The European Championship final between Italy and England at Wembley Stadium on Sunday has all the makings of a tight and tense title match. Here's where the game could be won and lost: MIDFIELD DISPARITY Midfield is the department where Italy undoubtedly has the edge in terms of quality and experience. Marco Verratti is one of the few genuinely world-class midfielders at the tournament, Jorginho is a newly crowned Champions League winner and is the conductor of play in front of the defense, while Nicolo Barella at age 24, the youngest of the trio has been a revelation coming off a title-winning season at Inter Milan. While England's hard-working, central-midfield pairing of Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips gives the team a solid base, they should be overmatched. "The games against Spain (in the semifinals) and England will be very different," Verratti said. "The midfield is a key section.

Value trade is just getting started beyond the US stock market

For all the dominance of mega-cap growth names, US stocks led the world during the cyclical upswing in the first half of the year - and that means other regions are now primed for a catch-up

Blacked out

Kanika Datta discusses the hidden racism in the institutions of European football

Ex-Madrid captain Sergio Ramos signs 2-year deal with PSG

Obsessed with winning the Champions League, Paris Saint-Germain added precious experience to its squad by recruiting former Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos on Thursday

Euro 2020: English FA charged with offenses after semi-final win

UEFA has charged the English Football Association with three offenses from its European Championship semifinal win over Denmark. The disciplinary cases were opened over the use of a laser pointer by fans, fireworks being set off and for disturbing the Danish national anthem. England won the Euro 2020 match 2-1 in extra time at Wembley Stadium.

Counting the cost: England fans gear up for Euro 2020 final

There are no doubt a few hangovers across England on Thursday after a night of wild celebrations in the wake of the national soccer team's victory over Denmark in the European Championship semifinals. There will likely be many, many more on Monday morning if England manages to beat Italy in the final, its first in a major tournament since winning the 1966 World Cup. The worry is that beyond the headaches and the grouchiness, the outpouring of joy will worsen rising coronavirus infection rates, particularly among younger men. "Whilst association does not necessarily mean causation it is difficult to escape the conclusion that celebrations around the Euros have been an important factor in driving up the epidemic in the U.K.," said Paul Hunter, a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia. It's clearly difficult to rein in the enthusiasm associated with England's march to Sunday's final. There's a lot of pent-up frustration out there that has been further fueled by the ri

Spain, Italy take unbeaten runs into Euro 2020 semifinals

Luis Enrique thought for a couple of seconds, looked straight back at the questioner, and gave the curtest of replies. No, said the Spain coach, with the blankest of looks on his face, after being asked if he had seen a better team than his at the European Championship. An answer out of blind loyalty? Perhaps. Or was it the fact that Spain was the leading scorer at Euro 2020? Maybe. Or the fact that La Roja is on an unbeaten streak stretching back to October, a run of 13 games? Quite possibly. Spain's opponent in the European Championship semifinals on Tuesday might have something to say about all that. Italy, another of the continent's traditional powers, brings an even better run of form to Wembley Stadium a national-record 32 matches unbeaten, going all the way back to September 2018. From the moment tenor Andrea Bocelli cleared the field at Stadio Olimpico after his stirring rendition of Nessun Dorma at the opening ceremony, making way for the start of the tournament, the .

Euro 2020: We've got to give Denmark respect, says England's Henderson

Henderson showered praise upon England's side after their dominating win over Ukraine in the quarter-finals of the ongoing Euro 2020 but has cautioned the Three Lions not to get ahead of themselves

Denmark taking Christian Eriksen inspiration to Wembley at Euro 2020

Christian Eriksen's absence makes it even harder to forget what happened to him.

Spain beat 10-man Switzerland on penalties to reach Euro 2020 semis

Mikel Oyarzabal held his nerves to score the crucial penalty as Spain entered the semi-finals of the ongoing Euro Cup after beating Switzerland 3-1 on penalties on Friday.

Denmark takes on Czechs for spot in Euro 2020 semifinals

From the despair of seeing a teammate suffer cardiac arrest to the European Championship quarterfinals, somehow Denmark keeps on going. Denmark will face the Czech Republic on Saturday, exactly three weeks after midfielder Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field in the team's opening game and had to be resuscitated with a defibrillator. While Eriksen recovers initially in the hospital and now at home Denmark has improved at Euro 2020. A 4-1 win over Russia got Denmark out of the group stage after two losses. Beating Wales 4-0 in the round of 16 matched the team's best showing since Danish Dynamite won the 1992 European Championship. Culture-wise, there's similarities. Values of sticking (together), one for all and all for one," Denmark midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg said Thursday. "There's this pride also to be playing for your country and all these values that I don't think have changed too much since 1992. But my biggest respect to the guys in '92 because they went on to wi

England won't have home support against Ukraine at Euro 2020

Having overcome historic rival Germany in the last 16, facing Ukraine might seem like an easier proposition for England. Turns out, though, that Saturday's quarterfinal match at the Stadio Olimpico might be England's toughest test of the European Championship. That's because it's the only match of Euro 2020 that England will have to play away from the friendly confines of Wembley Stadium. Making matters more complicated is that the Italian government has explicitly warned Britain-based England fans to stay away from the game unless they can prove they have observed five days of quarantine since arriving. For a team like England that is known for its traveling supporters, that's a major blow. We've got to create our own atmosphere on Saturday in Rome, which we're capable of doing, said England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who has kept four clean sheets in the tournament. The fans were tremendous the other night and throughout the group stages as well. I think that gives us added ..

Europe expected to be 'Delta dominant' by August as cases rise, warns WHO

WHO)has warned that Europe is expected to be "Delta dominant" by August, adding that increased mixing, travel, gatherings, and easing of social restrictions have ended a 10-week decline new cases