European Championship news: Final between Italy and England will be ‘epic battle’ | European Football Championship

sport">THURSDAY 8 JULY

Italian midfielder Verratti: ‘Epic battle against England’

sport">10.31 pm: The European Championship final between England and Italy at Wembley on Sunday will be a match to remember. That is what Italian international Marco Verratti predicts. “I expect an epic battle,” the 28-year-old midfielder of Paris Saint-Germain looked ahead. “Playing the European Championship final is a childhood dream come true. Both countries can make history.”

sport">The Italians are on the hunt for their second European title, after the triumph in front of their own audience in 1968. After a weak period, the ‘Azzurri’ led by national coach Roberto Mancini are now unbeaten for 33 games in a row. “I notice that there is now a lot of enthusiasm around the Italian national team,” said Verratti. “Before the tournament, there was little faith in us abroad, but now they all see our strength. Italy is back at the level where we need to be.”

sport">England won the world title in their own country in 1966, but could never progress beyond the semi-finals at European Championships. This time, the English team does have home advantage, in a stadium filled with approximately 60,000 spectators, where only a few thousand Italian fans will be present. Björn Kuipers is the referee at Wembley.

sport">Verratti: „I think England has done a good job in recent years. They are in the final for the first time and that says it all. They have only conceded one goal. It is therefore a balanced, strong opponent. I look forward to playing against them in such a beautiful stadium. It’s a wonderful final. These matches are not too difficult to prepare, because you know that everyone will give it their all. We should not look too much at the opponent and first of all at ourselves. The team that can play free from the pressure is the biggest contender for the European title.”

Deschamps remains national coach of French football players

sport">4.33 pm: Didier Deschamps will remain coach of the French national football team until the World Cup at the end of next year in Qatar. “There is no discussion about that,” said Noël Le Graët of the French Football Association. “His will to keep going is strong and so is ours.”

sport">The 52-year-old Deschamps has been the national coach of France since 2012. He led his team to the world title in 2018. Two years earlier, the French lost to Portugal in the final of the European Championship in their own country.

sport">France has disappointed at the European Championship in recent weeks. The team was already eliminated by Switzerland in the eighth finals. Deschamps was criticized after the penalty shootout defeat. But he is allowed to serve out his contract with the French federation.

Russia fires national coach Cherchesov after disappointing European Championship

sport">3:27 pm: Stanislav Cherchesov has been fired as head coach of Russia’s national football team. He was appointed by his country’s national federation after the 2016 European Championship.

sport">Under Cherchesov, Russia was already eliminated in the group stage of the European Championship, after defeats against Belgium (3-0), Denmark (4-1) and a win over Finland (1-0). The Russian Football Association is looking for a trainer who can lead the team to the World Cup in Qatar at the end of next year.

Martinez wants to stay national coach of Belgium

sport">3:03 PM: Roberto Martinez wants to serve out his contract as head coach of the Belgian national football team. The ‘Red Devils’ were eliminated at the European Championship in the quarterfinals by Italy (1-2).

sport">“The disappointment after the lost game with Italy was great, but the focus is already on the World Cup qualifiers in September and the Final Four of the Nations League a month later,” said Martinez, who will be playing until the end of next year. years in Qatar under contract with the Belgian Football Association. “Only when I have the feeling that I can no longer contribute anything will I leave. I will also continue my work as technical director. That’s the plan.”

sport">Martinez and his players were very disappointed after the defeat in Munich against the Italians. Belgium has been the number 1 in FIFA’s world rankings for some time, but in recent years has failed to win a major tournament with a ‘golden’ generation of internationals.

Turkish national coach wants to stay on after a failed European Championship

sport">13:21: Senol Günes wants to continue as head coach of the national football team of Turkey after a failed European Championship. “I want to achieve our great goal,” says the 69-year-old Turk. “We want to go to the World Cup in Qatar.”

sport">At the European Championship, Turkey lost the group matches with Italy (0-3), Wales (0-2) and Switzerland (1-3). Günes received a lot of criticism after the elimination, but sees sufficient prospects to stay on as national coach.

sport">Turkey is the leader of the World Cup qualifying group, which also includes the Dutch national team. Turkey has a 1 point lead over Orange, Norway and Montenegro. Turkey continues the qualifying tournament on September 1 with a home match against Montenegro. Then there are away matches with Gibraltar (September 4) and the Netherlands (September 7).

sport">Turkey won 4-2 against the Orange in Istanbul at the end of March. Only the group winners qualify directly for the World Cup.

UEFA sues England over laser pointer in crowd at Wembley

sport">12:46 pm: The English Football Association FA must take into account a penalty from UEFA. The European federation has filed three charges against the English. For example, during the semi-final between England and Denmark on Wednesday, a supporter shone a laser pointer in the face of Kasper Schmeichel from the stands of Wembley, while the Danish goalkeeper was ready for Harry Kane’s penalty. Referee Danny Makkelie mentioned this.

sport">Supporters also set off fireworks and disrupted the Danish national anthem before kick-off with whistles. UEFA has ordered the legal department to investigate.

sport">England qualified for the first time in the European Championship final by beating Denmark 2-1 after extra time. Kane scored the winning goal. The English captain saw his penalty kick stopped by Schmeichel, but it was hit in the rebound. England will face Italy at Wembley on Sunday.

Italian president with 1000 fans to final European Championship in London

sport">11:33 am: Italian President Sergio Mattarella supports his national team on Sunday during the final of the European Championship against England in London. He will watch the final battle from the Wembley terrace of honor.

sport">About 1,000 supporters will travel from Italy to England on Sunday. They are allowed to stay in London for 12 hours after a negative test. After returning to their own country, they have to quarantine for five days, due to rules against the spread of the corona virus.

sport">During the semi-final against Spain, only Italians who live in England or Ireland were welcome at Wembley on Tuesday. 6500 tickets were reserved for them. A comparable number is also welcome during the final on Sunday.

Spinazzola joins Italy again after surgery

sport">10:52 AM: Leonardo Spinazzola will travel with the Italian team to Wembley despite his injury. The left back dropped out in the quarterfinals against Belgium with an injury to his Achilles tendon, which he has now successfully operated on.

sport">according to The Gazzetta dello Sport he then rejoined the squad to encourage them for the final battle at this tournament. The Italians can use his support. Italy must face England in the final. With a final in London, English fans will no doubt be outnumbered.

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