De La Fuente ready to make history
July 14 – Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has called on his team to make history as excitement builds ahead of tonight’s Euro 2024 final against England.
Europe
England expects as country gears up for mother of all football Sundays
July 12 – Preparations for Sunday’s Euro 2024 final are reaching fever pitch in England with pubs and bars set for a bonanza and airlines scrambling to meet last-minute demands.
UEFA renews betting data rights and sports integrity services deal with Sportradar
July 12 – Sportradar and UEFA have announced a multi-year extension of their existing exclusive betting data rights agreement, expanded to include the non-exclusive right to distribute data to non-betting media.
No Mbappe but French make it to the Euros final with Letexier to referee
July 12 – After all the fuss surrounding the appointment of German referee Felix Zwayer to England’s semi-final game against the Netherlands (it turned out pretty well for the English), UEFA has given the final to François Letexier from France.
King Charles looks forward to Sunday but worries over nation’s heart rate and blood pressure
July 12 – King Charles congratulated England for their last-gasp 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 semi-final on Wednesday but joked he hoped the final would be less nerve-wracking.
Koeman critical of VAR which is ‘destroying the game’
July 11 – Dutch manager Ronald Koeman has argued that “VAR is destroying the game” after England were awarded a controversial penalty in the Netherlands’ 2-1 exit at Euro 2024.
Deschamps gets vote of confident for 2026 from FFR boss Diallo
July 11 – Didier Deschamps is staying on as France coach after being praised by the head of the country’s federation for leading the team “in the best possible way” at Euro 2024.
Southgate praises his ‘bonded’ team as they ready for biggest test of all
July 11 – England manager Gareth Southgate has said his side want more after they showed “resilience and character” to eliminate the Netherlands in the last four of Euro 2024 and book a date with destiny against Spain in their first overseas final.
Champions League preliminary interrupted by ‘Balkan baiting’ chants
July 11 – Balkan political posturing has not been confined to the Euros as chanting of insulting messages marred the Champions League first preliminary round match between Borac Banja Luka of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania’s FC Egnatia
French lick their wounds as Yamal has the last laugh
July 10 – French coach Didier Deschamps acknowledged Spain were “superior” as Les Blues suffered Euro 2024 elimination following their 2-1 semi-final defeat in Munich.
England’s Southgate says they are playing ‘freer’, will Dutch miss the train?
July 10 – Ahead of their semi-final clash with the Netherlands, England manager Gareth Southgate believes that, with a weight off their shoulders, the best is yet to come for his side at Euro 2024.
Wales opt for former captain Craig Bellamy as country’s new manager
July 10 – Former Wales captain Craig Bellamy is the new manager of his country until 2028, replacing Rob Page who was fired in June after failing to qualify the team for Euro 2024.
Bore draws? Euro 2024 hits a record number of tied results as games go down to the wire
July 9 – As proof of the depth of competitiveness of Europe’s nations, the Euro 2024 Championships have seen a record number of 17 draws so far at the end of playing time.
Erdogan calls the Demiral ban a political act and directed at Turkey’s nationhood
July 9 – Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called the suspension of Turkish international Merih Demiral, scorer of two goals in the last 16 round, a “political” act.
Keeping it in the family. UEFA rules Man City and Man Utd can face sister clubs in UCL and Europa League
July 8 – Manchester City and Manchester United will be able to face Girona and Nice respectively in Europe this coming season after multi-club ownership conditions set by UEFA were met.