Page 15 - Europe

Spain, Croatia peaking ahead of Euro 2020 knockout game

Dani Osmo will be lining up against some familiar opponents when Spain faces Croatia in the round of 16 at the European Championship. In fact, he easily could have been lining up for Croatia instead of Spain at Euro 2020. The attacking midfielder turned down overtures from Croatia's national team after moving to Dinamo Zagreb from Barcelona's academy as a 16-year-old and spending six seasons at the club. Olmo has never played senior club soccer in Spain he moved to RB Leipzig in 2020 but doesn't regret his decision to stick to his home country. "There was interest from Croatia, but I always preferred to play for Spain," Olmo said. The 23-year-old Olmo is part of a group of young players who have been given leading roles in Luis Enrique's new-look Spain team. Against Croatia, he has the added role of being the in-house expert on the opposing players. "Our coach knows the Croatia team well. If he asks me, I will share my opinion with him, Olmo said. I have played with the majorit

Euro 2020: France looks to forwards, Swiss aim to end knockout drought

Winning the toughest group at the European Championship wasn't really a big surprise for the World Cup champions. Winning only one match in that group was, though. Regardless, it was still enough for France to finish first in Group F and set up a match against Switzerland on Monday in the round of 16. "A new competition is starting," France coach Didier Deschamps said. With Kylian Mbapp, Antoine Griezmann and Karim Benzema, Deschamps has enough attacking power to deliver back-to-back major titles, something that would match the country's achievement in 1998 and 2000. Benzema and Mbapp swap quick passes and switch positions high up the field, with the quick-thinking and skilful Griezmann operating behind them. But none of them were able to score in the opening 1-0 win over Germany, a match decided by Mats Hummels' own-goal. Griezmann did get on the scoreboard in the 1-1 draw against Hungary, while Benzema scored both in the 2-2 draw against Portugal after rejoining the national squ

Croatia's Ivan Perisic has coronavirus, will miss next Euro 2020 game

Croatia forward Ivan Perisic tested positive for the coronavirus and will miss the match against Spain in the round of 16 of the European Championship.

Euro 2020: Italy set new national record, break 82-year old feat

As a result of defeating Austria in the ongoing Euro 2020, Italy on Saturday (local time) set a new national record, extending their unbeaten run to 31 games

Would love to score my 1st Euro goal against England: Mueller

31-year-old striker Thomas Mueller indicated that the one dark spot in his illustrious career was not having scored a goal against England at the European Championships.

Euro 2020: To write off Germany now would be crazy, says Jurgen Klopp

Liverpool FC head coach Jurgen Klopp has stated that it would be crazy to write off Germany at the ongoing Euro 2020, despite their struggles in the final group stage clash against Hungary

Euro 2020: Czech Republic down 10 men Netherlands, 2-0 to reach quarters

Goals from Tomas Holes and Patrik Schick helped the Czech Republic in defeating 10-men Netherlands to sail through quarterfinals of ongoing Euro 2020 on Sunday here at the Puskas Arena

England and Germany to renew epic rivalry at Euro 2020

One of the great rivalries in international soccer will be renewed on Tuesday at the European Championship when England plays Germany in the round of 16 at Wembley Stadium. The teams have played some epic matches in the past, including in the 1966 World Cup final and in the semifinals at Euro '96. They each won one of those matches, but overall the Germans lead with 15 victories, 13 losses and four draws. 1938: ENGLAND 6, GERMANY 3 Less about the result and more about what unfolded before kickoff in front of 110,000 fans at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, the English visitors gave a Nazi salute during the playing of the German anthem. And they did it under British government orders. The act handed Adolf Hitler a propaganda coup a year before Britain declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939 after its invasion of Poland. 1966: ENGLAND 4, WEST GERMANY 2 England won its only World Cup title by beating West Germany in London in a match that produced an enduring moment of controversy that

Denmark on the road for 1st time to face Wales at Euro 2020

After three emotional European Championship matches in Copenhagen, Denmark will next play in a city that Christian Eriksen once called home. The Danes will take on Wales in the round of 16 at the Johan Cruyff Arena on Saturday, a stadium where Eriksen is fondly remembered by Ajax fans as a stylish midfield playmaker from 2010-13 before his transfer to Tottenham. Denmark lost its first Euro 2020 match to Finland 1-0 after Eriksen suffered cardiac arrest on the field and had to be resuscitated with a defibrillator. The Danes also lost to Belgium before beating Russia 4-1 to finish second in Group B and advance to knockout rounds. I'm thinking a lot about Christian and how much I have hoped that he could experience this," Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand said. He has been looking forward to this summer so much, it's a big, big dream for Christian, and just to know that he's not here hurts. While Denmark is hitting the road for the first time at a tournament that is being played in 11 ci

Record-chasing Italy becoming the team to fear at Euro 2020

Italy's unbeaten streak won't last forever, and Austria coach Franco Foda is plotting to be the one to stop it. The Italians have become one of the favorites at the European Championship after winning all three of their games in the group stage, scoring seven goals and conceding none. Those three victories at Euro 2020 extended the team's unbeaten streak under coach Roberto Mancini to 30 games matching the previous record set in the 1930s. Initially it seemed to be an insurmountable and impossible challenge for us, because they haven't lost for an eternity, Foda said. But sooner or later even Mancini's team will lose. Austria, which has reached the round of 16 at the tournament for the first time, will get its chance on Saturday at Wembley Stadium. Besides the unbeaten streak, Italy will also be trying to set another record. The team has not conceded a goal in 11 matches, a total of 1,055 minutes. If Austria fails to score, Italy will surpass the record of 1,143 minutes set betwe

Portugal coach sees weaknesses in Belgium team at Euro 2020

Portugal coach Fernando Santos has spotted the weaknesses in Belgium's team. He's just not going to tell anyone what they are. The Belgians won all three of their group matches at the European Championship to set up a match against defending champion Portugal on Sunday in the round of 16. Santos praised Belgium but said the team also struggled, especially in the come-from-behind win over Denmark when the top-ranked FIFA team was held to only six attempts. "I'm not going to talk about their weaknesses now because I don't want them to know what I'm thinking, Portugal coach Fernando Santos said. "But there are things we can explore. The game against Denmark showed some of their weaknesses." Belgium opened with a comfortable 3-0 victory against Russia and then needed late goals to defeat Finland 2-0 in its final group game. The Belgians beat Denmark 2-1 in between. Only Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands won all their group matches at Euro 2020. Portugal struggled to advance with a w

Ronaldo inspires every celebrity to be an 'undorser'

The Ronaldo episode is not likely to be the last, as many more celebrities may now want to make visible statements in support of causes close to their hearts

EVs to dominate sales 5 years sooner than expected in US, Europe: EY

In terms of EV sales volumes, Europe is expected to lead the way until 2031, with China taking the lead from 2032 to 2050.

Portugal tie France, both through to Euro 2020 knockouts

France and defending champions Portugal both qualified for the round-of-16 at the Euro 2020 after they played out a 2-2 draw in a thrilling match that saw three penalties given and scored.

Spain put 5 past Slovakia, book Euro last-16 berth

Spain produced their best performance of the group stages to qualify for the last-16 of the European Championships with an impressive 5-0 win over Slovakia.

Angela Merkel: Europe 'on thin ice' amid delta virus variant rise

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday that Europe is on thin ice in its battle against Covid, as the highly contagious delta variant threatens to undo progress made in reducing infections

Oh no! Euro 2020 racking up own-goals at a wild pace

The own-goals at this year's European Championship are coming at a blistering and record-breaking pace. Two own-goals scored Wednesday by Slovakia in Spain's 5-0 victory made it eight so far at Euro 2020. That's already five more than the tournament record of three set at Euro 2016. The first Slovakian mishap came when goalkeeper Martin Dbravka pushed a high rebound off the crossbar into his own net. Juraj Kucka then knocked in the final goal of the rout in Seville. There previously had been only nine own-goals scored in 40 years from the 1976 tournament through Euro 2016. And before this year, there had never been a European Championship game with two own-goals. There have been two in the past week. Portugal also scored two on Saturday, four minutes apart. Defenders Rben Dias and Raphal Guerreiro gave Germany a 2-1 lead in a match the Germans ended up winning 4-2. The scorers of all eight own-goals in the group stage ended up on the losing team, including Germany defender Mats

Busquets proves key as Spain gets back on track at Euro 2020

After helping Spain avoid elimination at the European Championship, Sergio Busquets had to pause for a moment while talking about his time away from the squad because of the coronavirus. The Spain captain teared up recalling the doubts that went through his mind after being told he had to go into isolation only days before the tournament was to begin. I'm emotional because I had to go through some difficult times, Busquets said. I had to stay at home for 10 days, not knowing if I was going to be back or not. Spain was glad Busquets did make it back, just in time to lead the team to victory over Slovakia on Wednesday. The Barcelona midfielder was voted the man of the match in the 5-0 win that sent Spain to the round of 16 after opening with disappointing draws against Sweden and Poland. The result allowed Spain to finish second in Group E, setting up a meeting against Croatia in Copenhagen on Monday. All this helped us grow, Busquets said. Now whatever challenges we have in front

Danish health officials: Delta variant reported during Euro 2020

Danish health officials have urged soccer fans who attended the Euro game between Denmark and Belgium on June 17 to be checked for the coronavirus

A look at travel rules in popular European destinations

Europe is opening up to Americans and other visitors after more than a year of COVID-induced restrictions. But travelers will need patience to figure out who's allowed into which country, how and when. Meanwhile, the welcoming mood isn't always mutual. U.S. borders, for example, remain largely closed to non-Americans. Here's a look at current entry rules in some popular European tourist destinations. One caveat: While these are the regulations as written by governments, travelers may meet hiccups as airlines or railway officials try to make sense of them. FRANCE If you're vaccinated, come to France. But only if you got one of the four EU-approved vaccines: Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna or Johnson & Johnson. That works for Americans as long as they can produce official proof of vaccination but not for large swaths of the world like China and Russia where other vaccines are used. France's borders are officially reopened. Vaccinated visitors from outside Europe and a few green ...