Holders Portugal will face world champions France and fellow heavyweights Germany in a daunting Group F at Euro 2020.
Saturday s draw in Bucharest pitted Fernando Santos men and their talismanic captain Cristiano Ronaldo against the winners of the two World Cups either side of their Euro 2016 triumph.
It means Didier Deschamps Bleus will have an opportunity for revenge after Portugal beat them on home soil at the Stade de France to lift the trophy.
The nation with the dubious pleasure of joining them is still to be determined. Iceland, Bulgaria or Hungary would claim the fourth spot if they progress through their play-off route in Path A.
However, if Romania are victorious in Path A, they will go into Group C with Netherlands, Ukraine and Austria.
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Liverpool supporters’ group Spirit of Shankly “have no argument” with Jurgen Klopp’s criticism of Anfield’s atmosphere but expressed concerns of the effect tickets prices have had on football fan culture.
Reds boss Klopp was not impressed with the home crowd during the Carabao Cup quarter-final demolition of West Ham in midweek and told fans to give their tickets away if they are not prepared to get behind the side against Premier League title rivals Arsenal on Saturday.
The Spirit of Shankly group, which was founded in 2008, admitted the atmosphere is a concern among supporters and is in talks with the club over how the situation can be addressed.
“We have no argument with Jurgen Klopp highlighting issues around the Anfield atmosphere, or lack of it,…
Arsenal are interested in signing Jose Maria Gimenez from Atletico Madrid in the January transfer window, according to Fichajes. The report has claimed that Barcelona and Real Madrid are also keen on the 28-year-old Uruguay international centre-back.
Jose Maria Gimenez has been on the books of Atletico since 2013. The 28-year-old centre-back has been superb for the Spanish club over the years and is at the top of his game now at the age of 28. The Atletico no. 2 has made two starts and two substitute appearances in La Liga so far this season and has also played 45 minutes in the UEFA Champions League.
Arsenal are third in the Premier League table at the moment with 17 points from seven matches, a point behind leaders and defending champions Manchester City. Meanwhile, A…
Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall believes the continued growth of the Women s Super League should lead to an English team winning the Women s Champions League soon.
The Gunners won the UEFA Women s Cup in 2006-07, but no English side has lifted the trophy since the inception of the Champions League format in 2009, with Chelsea losing to Barcelona in the final in 2020-21.
Ahead of Arsenal s quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich, with the German outfit leading 1-0 from the first leg, Eidevall expressed his optimism for WSL teams in Europe in future.
It s natural that the clubs who have invested the most have also been the most successful ones, the Swedish coach said. If you see how the WSL has grown this year with more games played at bigger stadiums, go…
Liam Cooper is expected to leave Leeds United in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has noted that Cooper is out of contract at Leeds. The West Yorkshire club want the defender to stay and have offered him a one-year contract, but the Scotland international centre-back is holding out for a two-year deal.
Cooper has been on the books of Leeds since 2014 when he joined from Chesterfield. The 32-year-old has been superb for the Whites over the years and is a leader for the team. However, the two parties cannot agree on a new contract, and there could be a parting of the ways soon.
Leeds reached the Championship playoff final last season and went down to Southampton in the big finale at Wembley Stadium in London. Daniel Farke’s side will be determined t…
Erik ten Hag questioned Manchester United s mentality after starting their Europa League campaign with a 1-1 draw against FC Twente on Wednesday.
Christian Eriksen s stunning opener was cancelled out by Sam Lammers 68-minute strike, with United s Danish midfielder losing possession cheaply in the build-up.
It means the Red Devils have now failed to win their opening major European match in each of the last four seasons, losing in 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 and now drawing on Wednesday.
Ten Hag s side have also struggled when scoring the first goal in Europe, winning just one of their last six matches in the Champions League and Europa League when opening the scoring.
It was a contest dominated by the hosts, with United recording 19 shots to their opp…
Manchester United halted their two-game losing run with a 3-0 victory over 10-man Southampton at St Mary s, with Matthijs de Ligt, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho on target.
United emerged from the first international break of 2024-25 14th in the Premier League table following defeats to Brighton and Liverpool, but they got back to winning ways after surviving an early scare on the south coast.
Making his first Premier League start, Tyler Dibling won a penalty for Southampton in the first half, but Andre Onana kept out Cameron Archer s tame kick and the momentum shifted from there.
De Ligt headed in his first United goal just two minutes later, then an excellent Rashford strike, curled into the bottom-right corner from the edge of the box, gave them breath…
Gareth Southgate plans to stay on as England manager for the 2022 World Cup if he feels there is warmth for him to continue, though he acknowledged that could depend on his side s performance at Euro 2020.
England secured their place at next year s finals with a 7-0 rout of Montenegro last week, before rounding off their qualification campaign in style by beating Kosovo 4-0.
After reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, the last four of the UEFA Nations League and qualifying for Euro 2020 comfortably at the top of Group A, Southgate conceded his side will now be singled out as one of the teams to beat in the tournament.
And the former Middlesbrough manager is aware how his position could change should England fail to impress next year.
When you h…
Germany have an early chance to underline their title credentials at Euro 2012 when they face Portugal in Lviv on Saturday.
Joachim Loew s men are one of the pre-tournament favourites in Poland and Ukraine, but face a stern test first up in Group B.
With a clash against the Netherlands to follow before a meeting with Denmark, a strong start is a must for Germany in what has been labelled the Group of Death .
The return to fitness of Bastian Schweinsteiger is a boost for Loew s team ahead of the opener, with the Bayern Munich midfielder returning from a calf injury.
Portugal are expected to be heavily reliant on Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo if they are to be successful in a tough group.
The attacker was their top-scorer in qualifying and wil…
Spain laboured to a 1-0 Euro 2008 warm-up victory over the USA here on Wednesday night, badly missing injured striker David Villa and midfielder Andres Iniesta.
Xavi Hernandez scored the only goal of the game in the 78th minute for a side which lacked ideas, particularly in the playmaking role in which Iniesta excels and up front where Valencia s Villa would have made a difference.
Villa is suffering from a right quadriceps injury after a training ground incident on Tuesday and tests revealed a major bruise. Iniesta missed the match because of food poisoning.
Aragones almost fielded the same side which had trouble beating Peru 2-1 last Saturday, though Santiago Cazorla and Cesc Fabregas came in for Iniesta and Villa against Bob Bradley s American side.
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