Football: Italy beat Spain on penalties in epic Euro 2020 semi-final

LONDON -- Italy beat Spain 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in a magnificent Euro 2020 semi-final at Wembley on Tuesday, as Jorginho converted the decisive kick to take the Azzurri through to the final of a tournament in which they have been the outstanding side.

They were not always on top in this game though, with Spain the better team for long spells of an epic contest before Federico Chiesa, the Juventus forward, gave Italy the lead with a fabulous finish an hour into a match watched by a crowd of almost 58,000.

The much-maligned Alvaro Morata, who was dropped from the starting line-up, came off the bench to equalise with 10 minutes of normal time left.

No further scoring in extra time meant penalties again for Spain, who had beaten Switzerland in a shoot-out in the quarter-finals.

They had also beaten Italy on penalties at Euro 2008, but this time misses from Dani Olmo and then Morata saw Spain give up the advantage they had been handed when Manuel Locatelli failed with the first kick in the shoot-out.

The Italians celebrated at the end with a large contingent of their UK-based supporters, and a team that has been rejuvenated under Roberto Mancini continues to dream of winning a first European Championship since 1968.

Now unbeaten in 33 games, they go through to Sunday's final to face either England or Denmark, who meet in Wednesday's second last-four tie.

"I have to thank the players because they believed right from day one that we could do something incredible," said Mancini.

"We haven't yet done everything we need to though, there is still one step to go."

It is nine years since Spain mauled Italy 4-0 in the Euro 2012 final in Kiev to win a third consecutive major tournament, and this was the fourth consecutive Euro in which these powerhouses had met.

Spain won the first two of those meetings, but the last two have now gone to Italy.

"It is not a sad night for me by any means," said Spain coach Luis Enrique.

"We can go home knowing we competed and were among the best teams."

- Wembley comes to life -

This meeting took place in the chill of a damp July evening in London, but the atmosphere at Wembley was no damp squib.

There were no travelling supporters, given the obligatory quarantine for all visitors to the United Kingdom.

However, the large Spanish and Italian communities already in Britain meant a combined 20,000 fans of the two teams were in the 57,811-crowd allowed inside Wembley.

They added a noise and colour so sadly lacking at major sporting events since the pandemic began, and that provided the perfect stage.

The football itself was absorbing and of the highest quality, particularly in midfield where Italy's outstanding trio of Jorginho, Marco Verratti and Nicolo Barella met their match in Spain's Sergio Busquets, Koke and the brilliant Pedri, a frightening talent at just 18.

- Morata from hero to villain -

What the game lacked in the first half was drama in front of goal, although Italy's Gianluigi Donnarumma made one crucial save to deny Olmo in the 25th minute.

Italy missed Leonardo Spinazzola, their outstanding left-back who suffered a torn Achilles tendon against Belgium in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile Luis Enrique dropped Morata and selected Mikel Oyarzabal to start on their right flank.

Spain had enjoyed the better of the game before Italy went ahead thanks to a goal of the highest quality.

A move that started with Donnarumma's throw out saw Lorenzo Insigne play Ciro Immobile in behind.

Immobile was thwarted by Aymeric Laporte's tackle but the ball fell to Chiesa and he picked his spot in the far corner of Unai Simon's goal on his right foot.

The Italian fans, gathered en masse at that end of Wembley, erupted in celebration.

Spain reacted by sending on Morata and Gerard Moreno, and just as Italy looked to be seeing out the victory, Morata was the man who got the leveller.

After collecting the ball midway inside the opposition half, Morata played a one-two with Olmo as he cut through the defence and slotted in.

It was a deserved equaliser, and Spain had a spring in their step going into extra time, but they could not take that into the decisive shoot-out.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Ronaldo equals international scoring record as Portugal edge into last 16

Cristiano Ronaldo scored two penalties to equal the all-time international goalscoring record and help holders Portugal edge into the last 16 of Euro 2020 with a 2-2 draw against France in Budapest on Wednesday.

Portugal will face the world's top-ranked side Belgium in the first knockout round in Seville on Sunday.

Fernando Santos' men moved through as one of the four best third-placed sides, for the second straight Euro, from Group F behind France and Germany, who only just qualified after a dramatic 2-2 draw with Hungary in Munich.

"We did everything I wanted us to do (in the 4-2 defeat) against Germany," Portuguese coach Santos told RTP. "The result was clearly fair."

Ronaldo gave his side the lead just after the half-hour mark with his first spot-kick, before France hit back through Karim Benzema's two goals either side of half-time.

But, with Portugal heading out as it stood with Hungary leading Germany, Ronaldo helped win and then scored their second penalty with half an hour remaining.

The 36-year-old's fifth goal of the group stage extended his record tally of Euro goals to 14 and drew him level with former Iran striker Ali Daei, in his 178th international match.

World champions France will next take on Switzerland in Bucharest on Monday.

"It was a fight, it wasn't easy," France coach Didier Deschamps told TF1. "We tried to win and at the end of the match, obviously, knowing the result of Germany, that allowed us to be first, which is the best place.

"I know very well that a new competition will be starting from the last 16."

The first real chance of the game fell to France forward Kylian Mbappe after quarter of an hour, but the 22-year-old's wait for a Euro goal was extended by Rui Patricio's parried save.

But it was Portugal who made the breakthrough, as they were awarded a 31st-minute penalty as France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris tried to punch the ball away, but instead caught Danilo Pereira in the face, leaving the Portugal midfielder needing treatment on the pitch.

Ronaldo stepped up, sending Lloris the wrong way.

- VAR controversy -

France drew themselves level in controversial circumstances in first-half stoppage time.

Referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz gave a penalty after Mbappe collided with Nelson Semedo while trying to get on the end of a pass into the box.

After a lengthy VAR check, the decision stood despite vociferous protestations from the Portugal players.

Benzema, who had missed his last three penalties, made no mistake from the spot this time, scoring his first goal for France since October 2015, having been recalled for the tournament after a five-and-a-half year exile over his alleged role in a blackmail scandal.

It was also the Real Madrid striker's first goal at a European Championship in his ninth match.

Unsurprisingly, Danilo was substituted at half-time after the blow to his head.

France moved in front for the first time shortly after the restart as Paul Pogba's excellent pass released Benzema to slot in off the post.

The linesman flagged the Frenchman offside, but a VAR check overturned the decision.

France were left without a recognised left-back when Lucas Digne hobbled off six minutes after coming on at the interval for Lucas Hernandez, who was booked in the first half.

But it was right-back Jules Kounde who conceded the second spot-kick for a handball from Ronaldo's cross, and the Juventus star stepped up to level the all-time record, with Lloris guessing incorrectly again.

Portugal knew a defeat would send them out if Hungary beat Germany, and they needed Patricio to make a wonderful double save midway through the second half.

Pogba cleverly created space for a long-range strike which Patricio managed to claw onto the angle of post and crossbar, with the Wolves 'keeper getting up quickly to dive and push away Antoine Griezmann's follow-up effort.

France had a penalty shout turned down in injury time despite another long VAR consultation, after Kingsley Coman went down under a challenge by Bruno Fernandes, who was brought on with 18 minutes to play after being left out from the start.

But with the other match over in Germany, France knew a draw would put them through as group winners and that was how it finished.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Finland snatch Euro win over Denmark after Eriksen collapse

COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Finland beat Denmark 1-0 in their opening match of Euro 2020 which was overshadowed by Christian Eriksen collapsing and having to be revived on the field by medics.

Joel Pohjanpalo scored the only goal on the hour mark of a Group B match which was stopped for nearly two hours after Danish playmaker Eriksen slumped to the turf towards the end of the first half.

There were fears for his life as he was given CPR by medics on the pitch as his teammates, some distraught, formed a circle around him.

The stadium had fallen into a shocked silence as the medics worked but Eriksen was eventually carried off the field at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen and a photo showed him apparently holding his head as he laid on the stretcher.

The Danish Football Union (DBU) said the Inter Milan player was awake and had been able to speak to teammates.

"We've been in contact with him, and the players have spoken to Christian," DBU director Peter Moeller told Danmarks Radio (DR).

"That's the great news. He's doing fine, and they are playing the game for him," he added.

The match, which had kicked off at 1800 local time (1600 GMT), resumed two-and-a-half hours later in front of a passionate crowd at the Parken Stadium.

Chants of "Christian" and "Eriksen" from both sets of supporters rang around the stadium as news of his status began to filter through to supporters.

The two teams played out an uneventful final few minutes of the first half after both sets of players returned to the pitch with several Danish players in tears.

After a short break of five minutes the second half of the match continued with a similar pattern as before Eriksen's collapse, with Denmark pressing Finland back but failing to find a way past the opposition defense and Finnish 'keeper Lukas Hradecky.

Pohjanpalo stunned the crowd into silence with when he headed home Jere Uronen's cross, capitalising on Finland's one true chance of the game.

Shorn of the creativity of their shining light Eriksen, the Danes struggled even more to break down the tightly-organised Finns and looked as though they would need some good fortune to get something from the match.

They thought they had got it when Yussuf Poulsen was brought down in the area by Paulus Arajuuri in the 73rd minute, but Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's weak spot-kick was easily saved by Hradecky.

The Danes piled on the pressure but apart from a few skirmishes in the box failed to cause their opponents much trouble and had to deal with defeat which will likely seem unimportant given what happened earlier in the evening. 

Agence France-Presse

Football: Euro 2020 championship postponed over COVID-19 - Norwegian and Swedish FAs

Soccer's 2020 European Championship has been postponed for a year as the world fights to contain the outbreak of the coronavirus, the Norwegian and Swedish FAs said on Tuesday.

"Postponed until 11/6- 11/7 2021. Will get back to you after the meeting," Swedish FA chairman Karl-Erik Nilsson said in a message to Reuters during a UEFA videoconference call.

The Norwegian FA tweeted the news from its official account.

UEFA, who is yet to confirm the decision, was under pressure to push back the tournament to give suspended domestic leagues time to be completed.

European soccer's governing body was holding a video conference with all 55 of its affiliated national football federations and representatives of clubs, leagues and players. The decision will go before UEFA's Executive Committee to be rubber-stamped later on Tuesday.

It is the first time in the competition's history that the final stages have been postponed.

News of the postponement broke after Reuters had earlier learned UEFA had cancelled its hotel bookings in Copenhagen, one of the host cities for the championships that had been scheduled to be held from June 12-July 12 this year.

The CPH Hotel told Reuters over the phone that UEFA had booked 80 of its 102 rooms, but cancelled them a little over a week ago.

The Marienlyst Strandhotel, where the Danish team usually bases itself, told Reuters in an email that UEFA had also cancelled the rooms booked on behalf of the Danish side.

The decision to put back the 24-team tournament follows football, like numerous other sports, being brought to a virtual standstill by the coronavirus outbreak.

The virus has infected almost 180,000 people and killed more than 7,000 worldwide, with the epicentre now in Europe as infection rates slow down in China where the outbreak began.

All five of Europe's top domestic leagues -- England, Spain, Italy, France and Germany -- are suspended, along with the Champions League, Europa League and World Cup qualifiers.

Leagues have urged UEFA to prioritise completing domestic competitions, reflecting a concern that clubs throughout Europe will lose significant ticket and associated match-day revenue by not completing the season while still having to pay their players' salaries.

Cancelled seasons would also risk significant compensation claims from rights-holding TV broadcasters.

The European championship is usually held in one or two host nations, but was spread around the continent this time in what organisers said was a romantic one-off event.

The host cities are Amsterdam, Baku, Bilbao, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Glasgow, London, Munich, Rome and St Petersburg. (Writing by Brian Homewood; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Pritha Sarkar)

Ronaldo bags hat-trick, closes on 100 goals in Portugal rout

FARO, Portugal - Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo scored another treble, moving closer to 100 international goals, as he led the European champions to a 6-0 drubbing of Lithuania in a Euro 2020 qualifier on Thursday.

Ronaldo, whose hat-trick was the 55th of his career and ninth for Portugal, has 98 goals and could become only the second player to score a century for his country after Iran's Ali Daei.

Pizzi, Goncalo Paciencia and Bernardo Silva shared the other goals in the one-sided Group B match.

The European champions, however, were left waiting to secure a place at the finals after Serbia beat Luxembourg 3-2.

Portugal is in second place with 14 points, one ahead of Serbia, and will qualify if they win in Luxembourg on Sunday. Leaders Ukraine have already qualified.

Ronaldo showed no sign of the knee problem which led to him being substituted in his last 2 games for Juventus -- prompting an angry reaction on the second occasion -- and could easily have reached a century of goals on Thursday.

Coach Fernando Santos declared that he never had any doubts about Portugal's most-capped player.

"I asked him if he was okay to play, it was just a case of having a conversation with him," he said. "I never had any doubts about his condition, it was other people who had them. Nothing surprises me about Cristiano."

Ronaldo was quick off the mark, winning and converting a penalty in the seventh minute.

The 34-year-old got to the ball ahead of Saulius Mikoliunas, who clipped his heel, and sent his spot kick down the middle, hitting goalkeeper Ernestas Setkus' foot on the way in.

Lithuania paid for more sloppiness 15 minutes later as they lost the ball in midfield and Paciencia slipped the ball quickly to Ronaldo who produced a wicked, dipping first-time shot which flew past the bemused Setkus from 25 meters.

He had another shot on the turn saved by Setkus and blasted over after bursting into the box before the break.

Pizzi, Paciencia and Silva scored in an 11-minute spell after halftime and Ronaldo sent 2 efforts agonizingly wide as the siege continued.

He completed his hat-trick from Silva's pass in the 65th minute before Paciencia set him up nicely for a fourth but Ronaldo fired the easy chance over the bar.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Football: England thrash Bulgaria after game halted over racist abuse

SOFIA - England bounced back from their first tournament qualifying defeat for 10 years with a 6-0 thrashing of toothless Bulgaria on Monday in a Euro 2020 Group A clash marred by racist incidents in the first half that stopped the game.

The match at the Vasil Levski stadium was temporarily halted by the referee in the first half under a three-step UEFA protocol to tackle racist abuse from the crowd.

Racist chanting was heard from the stands and reported by England players to manager Gareth Southgate, with the referee informed and a public announcement made on two occasions.

"The officials were onto everything very quickly," said Southgate. "We reported everything very quickly when we heard things.

"I explained to the players that if anything else did happen in the second half we would be coming off. We all saw the second half was calmer and that allowed our players to do their talking with the football."

Most of the Bulgaria players and coach Krasimir Balakov said they had not heard any abuse of the England team.

"It's a very delicate subject," Balakov told reporters. "I do not think there is a single person in Bulgaria who would say that racism is something pleasant.

"But at the same time, it is very strange how this topic is interpreted in football. I have heard absolutely nothing (during the game)."

On the pitch, Ross Barkley and Raheem Sterling both netted twice after Marcus Rashford got the opener and captain Harry Kane finished off the rout, Bulgaria's heaviest home defeat, as the visitors recovered from a 2-1 loss to the Czech Republic on Friday.

England, who moved closer to a place at Euro 2020, are top of the group with 15 points from six games, three ahead of the Czechs and four in front of Kosovo who beat Montenegro 2-0.

EARLY VICTIM

England debutant Tyrone Mings was an early victim of racist abuse, turning towards the fans when chants were aimed in his direction. Croatian referee Ivan Bebek stopped the game in the 28th minute after Raheem Sterling was a target for abuse.

A public announcement condemned the racist abuse before stating that the match would be abandoned if it continued.

The game was stopped again in the 43rd minute but resumed after the referee consulted England manager Gareth Southgate.

A group of black-clad Bulgarian fans, some of whom were making right-wing salutes, were moved from an area behind the dugout with home team captain Ivelin Popov trying to appeal to the supporters in a heated discussion at halftime.

Popov did not even go to the dressing room, attempting to explain to fans that their behaviour was unacceptable.

European soccer governing body UEFA had ordered the Bulgarian Football Union to partially close the Vasil Levski national stadium for England's visit after supporters were found guilty of racist behaviour in matches earlier this year.

On the pitch, Barkley struck twice after Rashford score in the seventh minute as Southgate’s side highlighted the gap in quality with the hosts before Sterling netted before halftime.

England’s victory was rounded off by Sterling's second goal midway through the second half and a cool finish from Kane five minutes from the end against bottom side Bulgaria.

"We have no class," coach Krasimir Balakov said of his side. "I understand all the people who have bought tickets and wanted something different, but against this England team, with this dynamic, and with these players that cost millions..." 

(Reporting by Angel Krasimirov; Editing by Ken Ferris)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Football: Poland, Russia reach Euro 2020

Germany, Netherlands close in

PARIS, France -- Poland and Russia secured their places at Euro 2020 on Sunday with victories over North Macedonia and Cyprus respectively, while Germany and the Netherlands boosted their hopes of reaching the finals.

Russia eased to a 5-0 thrashing of 10-man Cyprus, with Poland joining them, Belgium and Italy in qualifying this week by seeing off North Macedonia 2-0.

Stanislav Cherchesov's Russia, who reached the World Cup quarter-finals on home soil last year, only had to avoid defeat in Nicosia to follow Belgium in qualifying from Group I.

Valencia winger Denis Cheryshev fired in a ninth-minute opener for the visitors, before Magomed Ozdoev, who scored a fabulous long-range strike on Thursday against Scotland, made it two midway through the first half.

Any thoughts of a Cyprus comeback were ended in just the 28th minute when Kostas Laifis was dismissed for a nasty lunge on Russian full-back Sergei Petrov.

Striker Artem Dzyuba scored his third goal in two games in the 79th minute, before Aleksandr Golovin and Cheryshev's second completed the rout late on.

Russia will attempt to overtake Belgium, who beat Kazakhstan 2-0 earlier on Sunday, at the summit when they host the world's number one side on November 16.

The European Championship finals, which start on June 12 next year, are being held at 12 different venues across the continent, including Saint Petersburg in Russia.

Poland went into their game against North Macedonia knowing victory would punch their ticket for the Euros.

They were forced to be patient by the visitors, who could qualify through the playoffs after winning their Nations League group if they fail to do so automatically.

But Przemyslaw Frankowski prodded home less than 60 seconds after coming on as a substitute in the 74th minute, before Akardiusz Milik made the points safe.

Poland remain three points clear of Austria, who won 1-0 in Slovenia, at the top of Group G, with North Macedonia and Slovenia five points further adrift.

- Dutch see off Belarus -

Ronald Koeman's Netherlands remained at the top of Group C ahead of Germany on head-to-head record with a nervy 2-1 win over Belarus in Minsk.

The Dutch lead third-placed Northern Ireland by three points after beating Michael O'Neill's side 3-1 on Thursday.

Georginio Wijnaldum headed the away team in front in the 32nd minute, shortly after Denis Laptev had spurned a golden chance to give Belarus a shock lead.

The Liverpool midfielder doubled the advantage before the break with a wonderful 25-yard strike into the top corner, and although Stanislav Dragun gave Belarus hope early in the second half, the Netherlands held on with relative comfort.

"We have to do better than we did in the second half, although in the end we had things under control," Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk told television channel NOS.

"We are now very close to qualifying for the finals, and ultimately that's what counts."

Victory in Belfast over the Northern Irish next month would secure the Oranje a first appearance at a major tournament since finishing third at the 2014 World Cup.

Germany eased to a 3-0 victory in Estonia despite seeing Emre Can sent off in the 14th minute.

Ilkay Gundogan, who along with Can before kickoff 'unliked' a controversial Instagram post by Turkey forward Cenk Tosun, scored twice, with Timo Werner also finding the net.

Joachim Loew's side host Northern Ireland in their final game, which could decide second place.

"We had to regroup after the red card, the team did well after the break, we did not concede and scored three goals," said Loew.

- Wales hold up Croatia -

Croatia were made to wait to qualify, as Gareth Bale's strike in first-half injury time proved enough to grab a 1-1 draw for Wales in Cardiff.

Nikola Vlasic fired a low ninth-minute shot in off the post to put Croatia on course for qualification, before Bale's fine goal secured Wales a point in a bad-tempered affair.

Last year's World Cup runners-up Croatia will qualify if they avoid defeat against Slovakia in their final match on November 16, while Euro 2016 semi-finalists Wales could join them with two closing wins, as long as Slovakia do not beat the Croatians.

"We've got to win both games and rely on others. But we're in it. I wanted to be in it after these games," Wales manager Ryan Giggs told Sky Sports.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Football: Injured Ronaldo limps off in Portugal qualifier

Portugal paid the price for poor finishing after their captain and top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo was forced off the pitch with an apparent hamstring problem during their Euro 2020 Group B qualifier against Serbia on Monday.

A 1-1 home draw, which followed a 0-0 stalemate against Ukraine on Friday, left European champions Portugal on two points and Ronaldo on the sidelines after he limped off in the 30th minute of an absorbing contest.

The 34-year-old pulled up after sprinting for the ball and was replaced by midfielder Pizzi with Serbia leading 1-0 through Dusan Tadic's early penalty.

Central midfielder Danilo equalised with a long-range effort in the 42nd minute but the home side missed a string of chances as they lacked Ronaldo's killer instinct against a rugged Serbian defence.

Ronaldo appeared to be pointing towards his right hamstring as he received treatment near the corner flag.

Speaking later he said: "We played quite well and created lots of chances. We played better than against Ukraine, but when the ball doesn't want to go in, it simply doesn't go in."

Serbia coach Mladen Krstajic played down the impact of Ronaldo's misfortune as he was quick to point out that his injury-hit side missed several key players.

"As far as whether Portugal missed Ronaldo, you must know that we were missing lots of players -- and we do not have a huge selection to choose from, like some countries do," he said.

Ronaldo, whose club Juventus visit Ajax Amsterdam in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on April 10, was making only his second Portugal appearance since last year's World Cup. 

(Writing by Ken Ferris and Zoran Milosavljevic ; Editing by Martyn Herman)

source: news.abs-cbn.com