Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Euro 2024 LIVE: Latest England news and Germany vs Scotland buildup

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Hosts train two days before opening Euro 2024 against Scotland

The buildup to Euro 2024 is almost complete and the tournament itself is just one day away, with Germany playing Scotland on Friday night and 22 other nations following suit in the days and weeks ahead.

For England it’s now about final preparations and ensuring Gareth Southgate’s starters are in peak form, with one notable absence in John Stones missing training on Wednesday. The centre-back is expected to be a cornerstone of the Three Lions’ hopes, with Trent Alexander-Arnold thought to be starting in midfield in the opening game.

Meanwhile, the manager himself has already suggested he could depart the job if England are not successful this summer, following a couple of near misses beforehand.

Follow below for all the latest news updates regarding England, Scotland and the rest of the tournament participants on Thursday, ahead of the eagerly anticipated start of the Euros.

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Rice not ‘disappointed’ by Iceland defeat

England, who kick off their Euros campaign against Serbia on Sunday, headed to Germany reeling from a shock 1-0 defeat to Iceland in their final friendly.

But Declan Rice says the disappointment does not detract from what was a beneficial 10-day training camp.

“It’s obviously difficult when you finish the league. Your body completely shuts down when you have a break, because we’re made to just play all the time,” the 25-year-old said on England’s departure show on YouTube.

“When we have a rest, our body shuts down and it’s hard to get going again but last week was really beneficial, to be honest with you, I think for everyone.

“We’ve got another full week now until the game, so we’ll be in a really good spot.”

Mike Jones13 June 2024 19:15

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England looking to make history says Declan Rice

“We want to make history,” the Arsenal midfielder said after of England’s Euro 2024 campaign. “We say it all the time, but genuinely we have a group, a manager, that really believes.

“We have a confidence that we can go there and do something really special and, of course, with that comes hard work. That is going to be the main thing – the hard work as a team, unity, togetherness and with everyone behind us at home.

“We’re going to feel that for sure, so stick with us, be positive and let’s see what happens.”

Mike Jones13 June 2024 19:00

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Netherlands suffer double midfield injury blow with Frenkie de Jong ruled out of Euro 2024

Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong has been ruled out of the European Championship after failing to recover from an ankle injury, dealing a blow to the team’s chances.

The Dutch football federation announced the Barcelona star would not be available for Euro 2024 in Germany after Ronald Koeman‘s team beat Iceland 4-0 in their final warmup. De Jong watched from the bench on Monday in Rotterdam.

“He won’t be fit enough to play at this level for the next three weeks,” Koeman said. “There’s no point keeping him with us.”

Mike Jones13 June 2024 18:45

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Robert Lewandowski suffers scare ahead of Euro 2024 – as another Poland forward gets injured celebrating

The Barcelona striker left the field with an apparent thigh problem after 32 minutes of the Poles’ last-gasp 2-1 victory in Warsaw.

To compound matters, fellow forward Karol Swiderski was also substituted after suffering an ankle injury while celebrating scoring the opening goal on 12 minutes.

Mike Jones13 June 2024 18:30

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‘A beautiful experience’: England arrive in Germany hopeful of Euro 2024 glory

Gareth Southgate’s England squad have arrived at their remote base in Germany to ramp up their European Championship preparations.

The Euro 2020 runners-up are considered among the favourites to go one better and lift the trophy in Berlin on 14 July.

England begin their quest to become kings of the continent in Sunday’s Group C opener against Serbia in Gelsenkirchen, around 200 miles from their tournament base.

Mike Jones13 June 2024 18:15

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Why Euro 2024 means more to Harry Kane – England’s most unique soldier

It wasn’t the only new thing Kane had to endure. Although he has obviously experienced trophy disappointment on many occasions, it has never been when success was so expected. Kane had made the hard choice to leave Tottenham Hotspur for Bayern, only to suddenly find success wasn’t coming easy for the perennial German champions. It did hit him.

The striker still registered this most painful of seasons – as he put it himself – in the way he always does. He internalised it and persevered. It was why the banquet suited him more than most. It helped “get on with it”, in the way he always does.

Mike Jones13 June 2024 18:00

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Missing from Euro 2024, Russia are slowly disappearing from football altogether

The last goal scored in a European Championship in Germany was the greatest in the tournament’s history. Some would say the greatest in footballing history. Marco van Basten’s volley combined vision and technique, power and geometrical precision. It condemned the Soviet Union, the competition’s inaugural winners in 1960, to defeat in the final of Euro ‘88. It sailed past Rinat Daseyev, the goalkeeper whose nickname of the “Iron Curtain” reflected geopolitics at the time.

Expect to see Van Basten’s volley replayed a lot over the next five weeks: when the Netherlands play, when there are games in Munich, whenever anyone scores a wonderful goal. Don’t expect to see the Soviet Union; or not the national team Fifa regards as its successor, anyway. As Vladimir Putin pursues what many people around eastern Europe believe is his quest to expand Russia’s borders to those of the old USSR, the most easterly representatives in Euro 2024 are instead Georgia and Ukraine. Under Putin, Russia has invaded areas of both at various points in the last two decades.

Mike Jones13 June 2024 17:45

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‘Hardest Geezer’ to run to Germany to support England at Euro 2024

Charity fundraiser Russ Cook has said he is “buzzing to be back on the road again” as he announced he will be running to Germany to support England in their Euro 2024 campaign.

Mike Jones13 June 2024 17:30

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Rodri, Pedri and the midfield puzzle to decide Spain’s Euro 2024 fate

We’re a little over a decade since Spain’s back-to-back triumphs at Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 and the national team have been through an entire lifecycle since then, it feels.

In four of the five tournaments thereafter, they have exited at the group stage or last 16; only at Euro 2020 did they show any kind of competitive edge, reaching the semi-finals in enormously fortuitous fashion after an extra time win over Croatia, a win on penalties over Switzerland and then a shootout defeat of their own against Italy.

A lifecycle of the team, a generation of players.

Mike Jones13 June 2024 17:15

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Euro 2024 power rankings

Here, The Independent assesses how every nation stacks up ahead of Euro 2024:

1. France

France have not been European champions since 2000, but they will arrive in Germany as one of the favourites to win the trophy after reaching the past two World Cup finals. They have both the best player in the tournament, Kylian Mbappe, and the most strength in depth – players like Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga and Inter’s in-form Marcus Thuram may only make the bench. Didier Deschamps is still searching for the right blend and balance, as the recent defeat by Germany and draw with Canada showed, but expect France to find it by the knockout rounds.

Mike Jones13 June 2024 17:05

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