Month: June 2021

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EURO 2020: WALES REACH KNOCKOUT STAGE DESPITE 1-0 DEFEAT TO ITALY

Wales have qualified for the last 16 of Euro 2020 despite losing 1-0 to Italy in Rome.

Matteo Pessina scored the 39th-minute winner as Italy topped Group A with a 100 per cent record and equaled their national record of 30 games unbeaten.

Wales were forced to play the last 35 minutes with 10 men after Ethan Ampadu was shown a straight red card for a late challenge on Federico Bernardeschi.

Switzerland had Welsh hearts racing by establishing a 2-0 interval lead against Turkey in Baku and trimming Wales’ goal difference advantage.

The Swiss eventually won in 3-1, but it was not enough to leapfrog Wales and their qualification hopes now reside on being one of the four best third-placed sides.

Wales instead will head to Amsterdam to play the runners-up of Group B, most likely Denmark, Finland or Russia.

The prize at stake was a last-16 tie at Wembley with Austria or Ukraine the probable opponents.

Italy had established themselves as one of the tournament favourites by overwhelming Turkey and Switzerland, two 3-0 wins making it 10 successive victories by the margin of 31-0.

Manager Roberto Mancini had promised changes with qualification for the knockout stage already secured and made eight in the event.

Leonardo Bonucci took over the captaincy from the injured Giorgio Chiellini and Marco Verratti made his first appearance of the tournament after injury.

Wales also altered a winning line-up with boss Robert Page concerned over potential suspensions moving forward.

Ben Davies, Chris Mepham and Kieffer Moore were carrying yellow cards and the trio were replaced by Ampadu, Chris Gunter – winning cap number 102 – and Neco Williams.

The absence of targetman Moore meant Wales played Aaron Ramsey, the Juventus midfielder back on Italian soil, as a ‘false nine’ with Gareth Bale and Daniel James either side of him.

There were only around 400 Wales supporters present in a Stadio Olimpico crowd of around 14,000 amid tight coronavirus restrictions.

But the travelling fans made themselves heard as the action got under way and Italy set up camp in the Wales half.

Emerson Palmieri forced a first save from Danny Ward and the Leicester goalkeeper was grateful that Rafael Toloi’s shot flew off Pessina and straight at him.

Verratti was prompting most home attacks with delightful precision, but Italy were let down by careless finishing as Andrea Belotti and Federico Chiesa dragged efforts wide.

Wales did break the stranglehold briefly when Gunter, who has never scored in his long international career, headed Ramsey’s corner just over the crossbar.

But Italy’s superiority was rewarded after Verratti had been bundled over by Joe Allen.

Verratti sent in a low free-kick which Pessina met superbly on the volley to direct the ball past the helpless Ward.

Bernadeschi almost doubled Italy’s lead soon after the restart as his 25-yard free-kick struck a post.

Wales’ task got a lot tougher 10 minutes into the second period when Ampadu brought his boot down on Bernadeschi’s foot and Romanian referee Ovidiu Hategan had no hesitation producing his red card.

Ward saved superbly from Belotti and Bryan Cristante before Bale missed Wales’ best opening 15 minutes from time.

Joe Rodon directed a free-kick onto Bale’s favourite left foot, but the Real Madrid forward snatched at the opportunity and skied the ball over.

It was not to prove costly, though, as Wales held on and maintained their record of reaching the knockout stage of every major tournament they have competed in.

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ONLY VACCINATED FANS WILL BE ALLOWED AT QATAR 2022 WORLD CUP – PRIME MINISTER

Qatar will only allow people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend next year’s World Cup and is in talks to secure one million doses in case global immunization efforts lag, the prime minister said.

The Gulf Arab state hosts the four-week tournament in November 2022 and the president of global soccer body FIFA has said the matches would be held in full stadiums.

Prime minister Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani told newspapers that while most countries were expected to have vaccinated their citizens by then, Qatar was still taking measures to ensure a successful event.

“We are currently negotiating with a company to provide one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in order to immunize and vaccinate some of those coming to Qatar,” he said in remarks also carried by state news agency QNA late on Sunday, without identifying the firm.

It was not immediately clear how those vaccines would be offered. Most coronavirus vaccines require two doses administered weeks apart.

Qatari officials had earlier said they hoped to hold a coronavirus-free tournament and planned to make vaccinations available to attendees not already immunized.

Qatar is inoculating its citizens and residents with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. It has administered at least 2.8 million doses, enough to vaccinate about 50.8% of its population, according to a Reuters COVID-19 tracker.

Sheikh Khalid said the 2021 Arab Cup, which Doha is hosting in December, would reflect Qatar’s preparedness to host major tournaments.

He said a large number of stadiums had been completed and work continued on three stadiums including Lusail Stadium, which will host the final match of World Cup 2022 and was now 90% complete.

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EURO 2020: SWEDEN EDGE SLOVAKIA TO GO TOP GROUP E

Sweden closed in on reaching the European Championship knockout stages for the first time since 2004 with a 1-0 victory over Slovakia.

Emil Forsberg’s 77th-minute penalty settled an encounter which was low on chances and entertainment but lifted Jan Andersson’s side on to four points, leaving Slovakia likely needing to get a result against Spain in their final Euro 2020 Group E fixture to progress.

After their draw in the opener against Spain, in which they had just 15 per cent possession, Sweden were again content to concede the majority of the ball to their unambitious opponents.

It led to a dour game which only briefly sprang to life around the hour mark with a flurry of chances which culminated in Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka bringing down substitute Robin Quaison to allow Forsberg to end the team’s run of 365 minutes without a goal at the European Championship.

Slovakia forced the first genuine save in the 58th minute when Robin Olsen, who spent last season on loan at Everton, tipped over a header from Juraj Kucka only for the offside flag to go up.

Dubravka produced a similarly impressive save from Ludwig Augustinsson, who rose highest to meet Sebastian Larsson’s cross, but this one would have counted. From the resulting corner Marcus Danielson’s twisting header from six yards flew over.

LaLiga’s young player of the year Alexander Isak then came to the fore with the Real Sociedad player, after having a shot from distance deflected wide, heading on to the roof of the net.

The 21-year-old’s weaving run from 40 yards out lit up the St Petersburg Stadium and ended with him forcing a near-post save out of Dubravka but the Slovakia goalkeeper was caught on his heels moments later.

Isak’s spinning through-ball on the turn fell to Quaison and although Dubravka pulled out of the challenge his momentum brought down the substitute. And Forsberg finally broke the deadlock to put his nation within touching distance of the last 16.

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NEYMAR INSPIRES BRAZIL INTO COPA AMERICA QUARTER-FINALS AFTER PERU CRUISE

A tearful Neymar inspired hosts Brazil to become the first side to qualify for the Copa America knock-out stages following a 4-0 win over Peru in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. Goals from Alex Sandro, Neymar, Everton Ribeiro, and Richarlison gave the holders a ninth straight win and a perfect six points from two games in Group B as Peru dropped to the bottom.

There was little between the two sides in the first half but Brazil’s greater quality made the difference after the break as talisman Neymar inspired them to an ultimately comfortable victory.

“It’s emotional for me because many things happened in these last two years that were difficult, complicated,” said Neymar as the tears flowed.

Two years ago he missed Brazil’s Copa triumph on home soil through injury, although before the tournament began he was accused of rape, a case that was dismissed over a lack of evidence.

His 68th goal in 107 games for his country took him to within nine of the record set by Brazil’s great Pele.

“It’s an honor for me to be part of the Brazilian national team history. To be honest, my dream was always to play for the Selecao, to wear this jersey. I never imagined achieving these numbers.”

It took Brazil 10 minutes to get a shot on goal, and when they did it came from the unlikely boot of defensive midfielder Fred, who fired over.

A minute later the Selecao were in front as Everton’s cross from the left skimmed off a Peru head and landed at the feet of Gabriel Jesus at the back post. The Manchester City forward picked out Alex Sandro arriving unmarked six yards out to fire home.

Fabinho was next to test his sights but fizzed a drive from 25 yards just wide.

It was a cagey affair, with Peru enjoying the greater possession but neither side really threatened again until the stroke of halftime when Alex Sandro shot over from the edge of the box.

After the break, Brazil continued to create better chances as right-back Danilo got forward to lash a half-volley wide from the edge of the area.

Brazil thought they had a penalty on the hour mark when Neymar tumbled in the box under pressure from Renato Tapia, but as the Paris Saint-Germain star waited to take the spot-kick, Argentine referee Patricio Loustau went over to check the pitchside monitor and reversed his decision.

Neymar didn’t have to wait long for his chance to score, as Peru turned over possession in midfield on 68 minutes and Fred played the ball into the striker, who turned quickly to fire low past goalkeeper Pedro Gallese from 20 yards.

The hosts started to play with freedom and substitute Richarlison brought a fine save out of Gallese after he was set up by Neymar, who later shot wide.

Peru should have got back into it 12 minutes from time but Luis Abram and Alex Valera both contrived to miss an open goal from inside the six-yard box.

Neymar and substitute Roberto Firmino had chances to wrap up the win but the third goal finally came a minute from time as Richarlison teed up another substitute in Everton Ribeiro to tap home from six yards out.

And Richarlison got the goal his fine cameo deserved in stoppage time.

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DUTCH THROUGH AS GROUP WINNERS AFTER COMFORTABLE WIN OVER AUSTRIA

The Netherlands progressed to the Euro 2020 knockout stages by clinching top spot in Group C courtesy of a comfortable 2-0 success over Austria in Amsterdam.

Memphis Depay’s early penalty and Denzel Dumfries’ second goal of the tournament saw the Dutch build on their opening win over Ukraine against toothless opposition at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

With head-to-head results being used to separate teams on the same number of points in the group phase, consecutive victories over their closest rivals mean Holland cannot be overhauled at the top of the standings.

Frank De Boer’s men are now guaranteed a last-16 tie against one of the best third-placed teams in Budapest on June 27, while Thursday’s result also eliminated their upcoming opponents North Macedonia.

Austria never threatened to spring a surprise in the Dutch capital and will battle Ukraine for second spot in Bucharest on Monday.

The Netherlands were boosted by the return of Juventus defender Matthijs De Ligt from injury in the only change to the team which began Sunday’s entertaining, albeit not entirely convincing, 3-2 win against Andriy Shevchenko’s side.

The hosts had further reason for optimism just 11 minutes in as they took the lead.

Austria captain David Alaba was penalised for standing on the foot of Dumfries following VAR intervention and Depay calmly claimed his 27th international goal by dispatching the ball into the bottom left corner from the spot.

Depay, who has been heavily linked with Barcelona as his Lyon contract runs down, should have doubled the lead five minutes before the break.

Patrick Van Aanholt’s searching pass sent Wout Weghorst clear into the box and, after he unselfishly squared across goal, strike partner Depay wastefully side-footed over with the goal gaping.

Without suspended forward Marko Arnautovic, Austria failed to create a first-half chance but would have been encouraged by that shocking miss and not being further behind.

Franco Foda’s team resumed with more urgency and initially enjoyed increased possession, yet Holland remained far more dangerous.

Austrian goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann produced a fine stop to deny Stefan De Vrij’s header following a Depay corner, with De Ligt’s follow-up effort fortuitously diverted behind by Michael Gregoritsch.

The visitors did not heed that warning and finally slipped further behind in the 67th minute.

Austria’s high line allowed Donyell Malen a clear run at goal from almost halfway from a Depay pass and the substitute selflessly teed up rampaging wing-back Dumfries for a simple close-range finish.

The Netherlands blew a two-goal lead against Ukraine before recovering to win but there was no danger of that being repeated, despite some late openings for the opposition.

Dutch substitute Owen Wijndal survived a minor scare when he almost diverted the ball into his own goal after a corner, while Alaba flashed wide late on, before Austria replacement Karim Onisiwo tamely headed straight at keeper Maarten Stekelenburg.

The Netherlands’ victory was a seventh in succession against Austria, delighting the majority of the 16,000 crowd and ensuring a second-round spot at the earliest opportunity.

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NAOMI OSAKA WITHDRAWS FROM WIMBLEDON BUT WILL COMPERE AT THE OLYMPICS

Naomi Osaka has withdrawn from Wimbledon but will still compete at this summer’s Olympics in Tokyo.

The world number two has been taking time away from the court since withdrawing from the French Open for mental health reasons amid a furore around her refusal to fulfil media duties.

Wimbledon is set to begin on June 28th and tournament organisers had been hopeful the Japanese player would take her place in the women’s singles draw.

But in a statement on www.olympics.com, her management teams said: “Naomi won’t be playing Wimbledon this year. She is taking some personal time with friends and family.

“She will be ready for the Olympics and is excited to play in front of her home fans.”

On Wednesday, Wimbledon chief executive Sally Bolton had revealed that the All England Club was expecting Osaka to compete.

Bolton said: “We’ve reached out to her team, we haven’t spoken to Naomi herself. At this point in time she’s entered into the Championships and we haven’t received confirmation that she won’t compete.”

Tournament director Jamie Baker added: “I had the conversation with her team. It’s absolutely clear that we’re here, we’re completely open for any discussions when they want to have that.

“Hopefully it goes without saying that we want the best players competing here no matter what.

“We treat every single player with a tremendous amount of care.”

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EURO 2020: DE BRUYNE LEADS BELGIUM TO COMEBACK WIN OVER DENMARK

Kevin De Bruyne came off the bench to fire Belgium into the last 16 with a comeback victory over Denmark on an emotional night in Copenhagen.

Playing for the first time since suffering facial fractures during the Champions League final, the Manchester City playmaker set up Thorgan Hazard’s 55th-minute equaliser and then clinched a 2-1 Group B win with a stunning finish 20 minutes from time.

Five days after midfielder Christian Eriksen had suffered a cardiac arrest on the same Parken Stadium pitch, Yussuf Poulsen fired the Danes into an early lead as FIFA’s number one-ranked team were outplayed until De Bruyne arrived to light up proceedings.

Kasper Hjulmand’s men could hardly have got off to a better start when they took the lead with less than two minutes gone.

Jason Denayer’s careless pass out of defence was picked off by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and when he fed Poulsen, the striker smashed a low shot across keeper Thibaut Courtois and inside the far post.

Courtois found himself in the thick of action early on, diving at the feet of wing-back Joakim Maehle and then fielding Daniel Wass’ header back across goal inside the opening six minutes with Belgium in uncharacteristic disarray.

Play stopped briefly as the clocked ticked around to 10 – the shirt number worn by Eriksen – as the players of both sides and officials joined the spectators in a moving moment’s applause for the Inter Milan midfielder.

Belgium simply could not force their way into the game as they repeatedly squandered possession to leave Danish keeper Kasper Schmeichel untested, and Courtois was relieved to see Eriksen’s replacement Mikkel Damsgaard curl a 35th-minute effort just past the upright.

Roberto Martinez sent on De Bruyne as a half-time substitute in a desperate search for inspiration – he was soon to be followed by Axel Witsel and Eden Hazard – and the move paid dividends within 10 minutes.

Romelu Lukaku ran away from the Danish defence before squaring for De Bruyne, who expertly dummied his way into space before rolling the ball into the path of the fast-arriving Thorgan Hazard to thump into the net.

But it was his sumptuous 70th-minute strike, which flew past the helpless Schmeichel and into the bottom corner, which ultimately won the day and maintained the Red Devils’ perfect start.

Martin Braithwaite might have rescued a point three minutes from time, but saw his header from substitute Andreas Skov Olsen’s cross clip the crossbar and run away to safety.

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AC MILAN SIGN FIKAYO TOMORI ON PERMANENT DEAL

AC Milan have taken up their option to sign defender Fikayo Tomori from Chelsea permanently on a four-year contract, the club announced on Thursday.

Tomori joined the Rossoneri on an initial loan with the option to sign in January and he made his debut in a fiery Coppa Italia clash with derby rivals Inter Milan, which saw Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic red carded.

“AC Milan is delighted to announce the exercising of the option for the permanent transfer of Oluwafikayomi Oluwadamilola Tomori from Chelsea,” a club statement read. “The English defender, who made 22 appearances and scored one goal over the last season, will continue to play with the Club until 30 June 2025.”

Having made just one Premier League appearance for Chelsea in the first half of the campaign, Tomori established himself as a mainstay in the Milan backline as he played 17 times in Serie A, with Stefano Pioli’s side returning to the Champions League for the first time since 2014.

Tomori also played in both legs of the Europa League round-of-32 clash with Red Star Belgrade and the round-of-16 defeat to Manchester United.

The highlight for the 23-year-old was his standout performance in Milan’s stunning 3-0 victory away to Juventus, where he scored a towering header for the game’s third goal and his first for the club.

Milan was the fourth loan of Tomori’s career, having made his Premier League debut for Chelsea in 2016.

He spent time at Brighton & Hove Albion, Hull City and Derby County before establishing himself as Chelsea first-team player in the 2019-20 season, where he made 22 appearances in all competitions. Tomori also made his England debut in 2019.

Despite leading the Serie A table for much of the campaign, Milan finished the season in second place, but secured Champions League qualification on the final day.

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UKRAINE STAND TALL AGAINST NORTH MACEDONIA TO CLAIM FIRST EURO WIN

Soccer Football - Euro 2020 Qualifier - Group B - Ukraine v Portugal - NSC Olympiyskiy, Kiev, Ukraine - October 14, 2019 Ukraine's Andriy Yarmolenko celebrates at the end of the match REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

Ukraine got their first win at Euro 2020 as they beat North Macedonia 2-1 in Bucharest on Thursday.

Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk scored for Ukraine in the first half as they became the first duo to score in each of their team’s first two matches in European Championship history, having both found the net in their 3-2 defeat to the Netherlands.

Leeds United’s Ezgjan Alioski pulled a goal back in the second half as he scored the rebound after his initial penalty was saved by Ukraine goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan following a foul on Goran Pandev.

Both sides came into this match having lost their opening games — North Macedonia went down 3-1 to Austria — but, despite facing a fast start from their opponents, Ukraine’s greater quality soon showed as they created the majority of the chances.

The opening goal came on 29 minutes as Yarmolenko finished off from close range following a corner from the impressive Ruslan Malinovskyi.

Yarmolenko then turned provider five minutes later as he played Yaremchuk for a cool finish past North Macedonia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.

Pandev produced a lovely dinked finish over Bushchan on 39 minutes, but the goal was ruled out for a clear offside.

North Macedonia started the second half with more purpose and were rewarded for their endeavour on 56 minutes when Argentine referee Fernando Rapallini pointed to the spot following a foul by Oleksandr Karavayev on Pandev. Alioski saw his effort saved, but was first to the rebound to power home.

Malinovskyi missed the chance to wrap up the win for Ukraine when he saw his 83rd-minute penalty awarded for handball saved. It was the fourth spot kick missed of five awarded throughout the tournament so far.

If Netherlands avoid defeat in the other Group C match with Austria later on Thursday, major tournament debutants North Macedonia will become the first team eliminated from Euro 2020. They face Frank de Boer’s side in their final group game on Monday. Ukraine’s next task is a clash with Austria on the same day.

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BUFFON RETURNS TO PARMA AFTER 20 YEARS AWAY

Gianluigi Buffon has returned to Parma on a free transfer 20 years after leaving the club to join Juventus, it was announced on Thursday.

The 43-year-old goalkeeper left Juve at the end of the last campaign, where he had been for two decades, either side of a 12-month spell at Paris Saint-Germain in 2018-19.

Parma’s U.S. owner Kyle Krause had teased Buffon’s return on Wednesday with a tweet which read: “it’s a bird it’s a plane it’s” — in reference to the ex-Italy international’s Superman t-shirt he wore during the club’s 1999 Coppa Italia celebrations during his first spell.

arma tweeted the announcement with a video of a man in a black hooded jumper, walking on to the club’s home pitch to dig up an old treasure chest with a Superman t-shirt and Parma jersey, before Buffon revealed himself and said: “I’m back.”

Parma were declared bankrupt and were re-founded in Serie D in 2015. They returned to Serie A in 2018, but they are back in Serie B after dismal 2020-21 campaign saw them finish bottom.

Buffon made his professional debut for Parma at the age of 17 in 1995 and kept a clean sheet against AC Milan. He won the Coppa Italia, UEFA Cup and Italian Supercoppa at the club in 1999 before he left to join Juventus for a then-world record fee for a goalkeeper. The £32.1 million fee in 2001 was a record for 16 years until Manchester City paid Benfica £34.7m for Ederson.

At Juve, he won 10 Serie A titles in 19 seasons, as well as the Serie B title in 2006-07 when the club played in the second tier after they were relegated as a result of the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal. He also won the Coppa Italia five times and the Supercoppa on six occasions. Buffon reached the Champions League final three times with Juve, but was on the losing side in each.

In 2018, he moved to PSG where he won the Ligue 1 title and Trophee des Champions before returning to Juve the following season.

Buffon is the most capped Italian man with 176 international appearances and was part of the 2006 World Cup-winning side, a season which saw him finish second in the running for the Ballon d’Or.

He made his Azzurri debut in 1997 and was part of squads for nine major tournaments from 1998 to 2016 and was an unused sub at the 1998 World Cup. Buffon was also captain of the Italy side which lost to Spain in the Euro 2012 final.