Thank you for joining us for the build-up to Switzerland v Italy and Germany v Denmark. Both games will have live coverage so make sure you don’t miss out on that. We will be back tomorrow with more Euros news in the build-up to England’s game against Slovakia. Enjoy the football tonight and have a great rest of the day.
It’s almost time. The knockout stage is just on the horizon and coming into view. Barry Glendenning will take you through the first game in the last 16, Switzerland v Italy. Click here for all the updates with team news expected in around 25 minutes time:
Can Granit Xhaka keep his perfect season rolling? The midfielder transferred to Bayer Leverkusen last summer from Arsenal and he was a part of the German club’s unbeaten domestic season. Leverkusen won their first Bundesliga title in their 120-year history.
Now Switzerland have progressed out of the group stages at the European Championships but defending champions Italy stand in their way of the quarter-finals. The two teams will compete today at 5pm GMT.
Ben Fisher has offered us an insight into life in Dortmund as he covers the Euros. It’s a peak behind the curtain, have a read of his diary:
Many in Germany are missing the Scotland fans already, here’s a piece on it:
Belgium apologise for social media video
The Belgium football association deleted a social media video on Saturday and apologised because midfielder Amadou Onana could be heard saying he would kick France forward Kylian Mbappe in their last 16 match.
When asked by a comedian who would kick Mbappe, Onana said: “Amadou Onana”.
A spokesperson for the Belgian FA said: “The video was intended to be humorous but has since been taken offline. We would like to apologise to anyone we may have offended by this. This concludes the matter for us.”
Italy verdict:
Italy were not out but certainly down against Croatia, losing 1-0 deep into added time. Had they lost they would have faced an anxious wait to see whether they would qualify as one of the best third-placed teams. As it was Riccardo Calafiori raced upfield and passed the ball to Mattia Zaccagni, who opened up his body and scored, Del Piero-esque, the equaliser to make sure Italy finished second. Luciano Spalletti’s team were laboured in victory against Albania, outplayed in defeat against Spain and surprisingly hesitant in the draw against Croatia. Spalletti changed his 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2 against Croatia but it wasn’t a huge success. What will he do for the last 16?
Switzerland verdict:
The team came into the tournament on something of a low with the coach, Murat Yakin, under pressure after a poor qualifying campaign, but emerged from the group stage on a high. Granit Xhaka has been one of the tournament’s best players, dominating midfield from a position slightly higher than the one he has had at Bayer Leverkusen this season. Around him Bologna’s Dan Ndoye has dazzled up front and at the back Manuel Akanji has led by example. “We have developed massively in the past six months,” said Xhaka. “This team now has a complete new desire, a new mentality and a new passion.”
Denmark verdict:
Kasper Hjulmand’s team will be pleased to have made it through to the knockout phase but there is still something missing. They are not as free-flowing as they were at Euro 2020, when they reached the semi-finals, and the fact that they did not win a group game will be a concern. Their best performance came against England when they drew 1-1 but arguably deserved to win and they are likely to need an even better performance to stand any chance against Germany in the last 16. The midfielder Morten Hjulmand, scorer of a long-range goal against England, will miss the game because of suspension.
Germany verdict:
The hosts got off to a perfect start against Scotland in Munich on the opening night of the tournament, winning 5-1 with the youngsters Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala grabbing the headlines. A more pedestrian 2-0 victory over Hungary followed before Switzerland provided a real scare in the final group game, Julian Nagelsmann’s side needing a last-minute equaliser from Niclas Füllkrug to get the draw and top the group. “Of course we would have liked to win the game and to play great football,” the captain, Ilkay Gündogan, said. “But I think you also need games like that during a tournament.” There are defensive worries before the last-16 game against Denmark on Saturday, with Jonathan Tah suspended and Antonio Rüdiger carrying a knock.
Shall we run through tonight’s teams’ group stage performance? Our very out Marcus Christenson wrote a piece on all 24 teams’ performances which you can read below but let’s take an in depth look at Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and Italy…
Do you want to know Slovakia’s story? The Guardian has a piece all about England’s last 16 opponent:
Thank you John, I am now full of caffeine and pasta. Ready for some more football news? I thought you might be.
Some cheery and positive Gareth Southgate quotes from the FA’s official magazine, England Football. Maybe we can win this thing.
“Everything that’s happened is now pretty irrelevant. We have things we can build on but this is also a different test, a different phase. Each game takes place on its own merit and can take a wild direction at times. This is the exciting part and it’s the bit nobody can predict. We need to find our next level, which I believe we can. Slovakia are a very well-coached team and they’ve got a clear playing identity.
“They want to play out from the back. Stanislav Lobotka is clearly key in that system. He dictates the tempo. They get numbers forward early, they press well, high and aggressively. You’ve got to find a way of breaking through that press. It’s a different sort of test.”
“Absolutely (enjoying the challenge), it’s a brilliant challenge. We’ve had different problems to solve as a team over the last few weeks and I’m the leader trying to connect all of that and keep the juggernaut that is the England football team on the right path. That’s how I’m viewing up.
“Every day I wake up and think what we need to do, the conversations that need to happen, the areas of the game we need to focus on. It’s the ultimate challenge. “It wasn’t tighter than we thought, we knew that all four teams could take points off each other. It highlights the level of European football really.
“We know that a lot of our players are better known, higher profile, but we’ve played so many teams outside the top 20 who are very good. We had it with Hungary in the Nations League a couple of years ago, you have to be at your best level. We haven’t hit the level yet but we have topped the group and now we have to improve faster than the rest of the teams basically.”
Ben Fisher has been in the camp of tournament sweethearts Georgia.
Georgia have cemented themselves as the neutrals’ team. “I think first of all we have done that because of our performances, our game, but the most important thing that people see is that we are a small country, this is our first time here and we were not afraid of it,” says Lochoshvili. “We showed everybody that we can play against all the teams. We keep fighting on the pitch until the end. The fans see the body language of our players in our games, this aggressiveness.”
Back home in France, there’s an election going on and their players at Euro 2024 have been urging young people to go out and vote. This time, Ibrahima Konate was speaking.
“I urge everyone to go and vote. I don’t want to tell people what to do but we must be together in all circumstances, we mustn’t be divided, that will only bring harm to everyone and to future generations. Of course it worries me, what is happening worries me. We cannot leave power to certain people who are intent on dividing people.
“Diversity has always been our strength. I come from an immigrant background. … Behind our skin color, there are hearts, that’s the most important thing.”
Several France players have spoken out from Germany about the political turmoil back home, including Kylian Mbappé, Marcus Thuram and Ousmane Dembélé.
Updated
France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga wants to play more, he tells Didier Deschamps – and a press conference.
“This is not a positive outcome for me. The fact that I don’t play much doesn’t necessarily make me happy. But I know that one day or another, my time will come. You have to be ready, like at the World Cup when the coach asked me to come on in the final.
“You have to be ready during training, already. Me, before matches, I do the same thing, I listen to music, I do my warm-ups. If my head is right, my legs will follow. A competition is not played with 11 players. The most important thing is to be focused until the end.”
Camavinga was introduced as an ersatz left-back in the World Cup final with Argentina, you may recall. N’Golo Kanté’s return has closed down the availability.
Thanks, Sarah. I’ll deal with the lunchtime crowd.
Right I am just going to run for a coffee and a bite to eat but I shall leave you in the very capable hands of John Brewin…
It was against her better judgment that Bea Riemer agreed to join her friends in the fan zone near the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin this week. “I have been gradually getting into the tournament,” the 25-year-old business student said, but until then she had been concentrating solely on Germany’s games at the Euros, “watching at home, in the gym and in a restaurant, my attention easily diverted; cautiously optimistic, a bit nervous of joining a bigger crowd.”
Witnessing Georgia’s magnificent 2-0 win over Portugal on the big screen, though, surrounded by fans of both those teams and others, has changed her whole attitude, she said. “This is one massive, fabulous party, and I don’t need to be in the stadium but I do need to be among other people, participating in the rollicking fun.”
Read more on fan reaction here:
Would you like an insight into Italy’s head coach? Well we have you covered:
“I thought you might be interested to know that the 15’000 fans will not follow the eagerly awaited match in Geneva’s Fanzone,” Peter Greenwood emails. “The Fanzone is closed this afternoon because of the impending mega-tempest forecast from 4 pm.”
Thank you Peter for that information. Hopefully the 15,000 supporters will be able to find somewhere to watch the game elsewhere.
Aston Villa have appointed Robert de Pauw as their new manager after Carla Ward stood down from her role at the end of the season.
He signs a three-and-a-half year deal with an option to extend a further year.
De Pauw joins after a spell with Bayer Leverkusen.
Switzerland boss Murat Yakin is hoping his team can upset defending champions Italy. “We did our homework, we didn’t just watch these three games, but the preceding ones too,” he said.
“Italy are able to vary and play many different systems. This is the home of tactical football and I really like the way they do things. They can defend collectively, go man for man all over the pitch, something that for example Atalanta do. We are ready and perhaps we can surprise Italy too.”
Björn has got in touch about Germany’s potential team news this evening.
“Discussions have erupted on German Social media as to whether we should drop Florian Wirtz for tonight’s match.
“As a Leverkusen-fan (have been for 26 years), I might be a bit biased, but he is the best German midfielder, ever - however he is being played on the wings, rather than as the free-ranging director that made possible our Double, and that is just wrong.
“At the same time, I can admit that he looks exhausted from a very long club season.
“Thus, I want to see Nagelsmann put Florian Wirtz into Gündogan’s position, taking the reigns of the German game. But if he doesn’t, then I’d be fine with resting him for a half time. Musiala may be the better dribbler, but Wirtz’ footballing IQ is off the charts, and he makes everyone around him look better, so let’s not shoot ourselves in the foot, please...”
Consistency is sometimes key, just ask Sarina Wiegman. She started the same starting XI throughout the Euros with the Lionesses and they won the trophy.
There is more news in the transfer market and this is a big one. Mary Earps has left Manchester United, she is expected to sign for PSG imminently.
Earps joined the club in 2019 and has since won the Women’s FA Cup. Rumours around her departure had been swirling since January.
The England international’s final game for United was a 6-0 loss to Chelsea.
Ben Thomas has got in touch and spoken about the England selection discussion:
“All of these different XI’s and formations show that there is no clear cut way to victory for England and that essentially no one knows what is best for us, and I trust Gareth way more than I do these others so-called experts. Especially when a lot of them are chopping and changing our back 4 which has been really solid so far.
“Many armchair experts also point out that Jude looks dead and then proceed to stick him in next to Rice where he’ll have to do a load more running. Dropping Saka and Foden at this stage is also a huge risk. But what do I know?”
It is definitely tricky picking the starting England team, I think Southgate won’t change much. I could see Kobbie Mainoo coming into the midfield.
All 26 players train for England
England have reported that all 26 players were in training today ahead of their last 16 match tomorrow.
It had been reported that Kieran Trippier was an injury doubt after missing two training sessions but he is back with the full squad today.
What are the routes for each team to reach the final? England have helpfully posted a graphic to easily see every one of them:
The #EURO2024 knockouts: 🔜 pic.twitter.com/6D4sP4tbOY
— England (@England) June 29, 2024
Anthony Gordon has been in the headlines this week with a lot of supporters wanting to see him in the starting XI. He has certainly made himself noticeable on and off the pitch. He has a graze to his chin after falling off of a bike in a recovery session.
In his press conference yesterday he detailed how he went “10 feet in the air chin first”. “I could have [been hurt] with the speed I was going down a hill,” he said. “I could have ended up anywhere. It was on the golf course and I’ve managed to land on the only bit of gravel there was.” Read more:
Kári Tulinius wants to nab a Georgia player for the Iceland team. He emailed:
“As an Icelander, I have to be realistic that more than half the players currently at the Euros would walk into the national team. That said, I’d love a goalscorer who can play on his own up front and be counted on to take one of his chances. So I’d happily offer Georges Mikautadze Icelandic citizenship.”
A great choice of goalscorer Kári, three goals already in this Euros, I think a lot of other supporters wouldn’t mind his name in their team’s starting XI.
England evaluation so far: All the pre-tournament optimism has evaporated, three plodding group-stage games sucking all the energy out of the team and the fans. OK, the first half against Serbia was decent but since then there have been questions about the players’ fitness, Gary Lineker calling the team’s performance against Denmark “shit” and Gareth Southgate having beer cups thrown at him.
Harry Kane has been out of form and so has Jude Bellingham, the team’s two biggest stars. The Trent Alexander-Arnold midfield experiment failed and so did the Conor Gallagher midfield experiment. Will Kobbie Mainoo start now? Will Luke Shaw finally play a part? There have certainly been more questions than answers so far.
Owen from Brighton has emailed and got involved with our player stealing chat. He said:
“I know that for England Pickford is perfectly competent. (Spectacularly saving shots which are going wide excepted). However if I was going to nick another player it would be Donnarumma or Oblak
“Both have basically single handedly kept their teams in the tournament and as it goes in a quality keeper might be the difference.”
That’s quite a bold steal for England, as you say Pickford is doing a good job. He just took his major tournament clean sheets tally to 11. Italy’s Donnarumma and Slovenia’s Oblak are in good form but I’m unsure how many supporters would switch them in for Pickford. If we could do a nationwide survey it would be interesting to see the results.
England supporters will be contemplating whether manager Gareth Southgate will switch up his selection for their last 16 match. Will Cole Palmer come in? Will Bukayo Saka move to left-back? Here the Guardian writers have picked their starting XI’s:
I’d love to hear from you. Fans are always keen to discuss selection of which of their national players should start but if you could have a player in your team that you could steal from another nation who would it be? Get in touch and let me know. And, of course, there is always snack chat. If you have read one of my blogs before I do love to talk about snacks. Email me or post on X (@rendellx).
A little side note away from the Euros as Chelsea have announced a signing. Omari Kellyman has left Aston Villa to join the London club.
The 18-year-old midfielder has signed a six-year deal.
He said: “It is fantastic to be standing here as a Chelsea player. It’s a massive club with an amazing history, so it is great to join. It is a dream come true for sure. I’m buzzing to have put on the shirt and can’t wait to get started.”
The discussions around Bukayo Saka at left-back became public domain when Ian Wright spoke about it on ITV. He said: “As great as Saka has done for England in terms of what he creates and his goals and assists, he is a natural left-sided player. He started playing for England on the left at youth level.
“He started at Arsenal on the left. If that’s going to give you the balance and gets you Cole Palmer in the team, it’s something you have to at least look at.”
But the Arsenal forward has a different stance. He told BBC 5 Live: “No, obviously I love Ian Wright and he says so many great things about me but I don’t think putting me out of position is the solution. But at the end of the day, I think we can talk about this but it’s in Gareth’s hands so we will just have to trust whoever Gareth selects on the day.”
Who could replace Kieran Trippier in the England team? Well Gareth Southgate has a few options. Sky Sports report Ezri Konsa will be the preferred choice but the manager also has Joe Gomez to call upon.
And with the discussions happening over the past few days, will we see Bukayo Saka slot into the left-back position? That would make way for a player like Anthony Gordon to slot into the team. But Saka himself told BBC Radio 5 Live yesterday that playing him out of position would not solve anything for England.
Kieran Trippier was not in training on Friday after missing an earlier session in the week. It is understood England are hoping he will be able to make the game.
Trippier injury doubt
England defender Kieran Trippier is an injury doubt for their last 16 match against Slovakia on Sunday, according to Sky Sports.
He has a calf issue that he has been carrying through the end of the season. Trippier started all three of England’s group matches.
More to come.
The jeopardy of knockout football is upon us. Lose and you are out. Knockout football also brings with it one of the most nerve-wracking aspects of the sport: penalty shootouts. So how does each team stack up for penalties? Read this to find out more:
Denmark head coach Kasper Hjulmand has every faith in his team. He said: “At the start I considered Germany one of the favourites, and it’s too bad that they’re playing us,.
“They have quality and talent, and expressed themselves very well in the group. But we also have quality and talent, and they’ll have to be very, very good to beat us.”
Denmark are aware of the tricky game they have lying ahead of them. Defender Jannik Vestergaard said: “We know that to win the tournament it would be a bit of an upset. But we like being underdogs.
“Germany will be favourites, but we like being a bit of a pain to the opposition and playing to our strengths.”
Julian Nagelsmann was also asked if Germany are prepared for the knockout stage. He said: “We started with an easier game than we expected, then a more complicated game against Hungary, who were brilliant, then a third game against the Swiss, which was difficult, but we got a late equaliser.
“So in the end we had to deal with different things in the group stage so I think we are well prepared for the knockout stage.”
One important question is on Germany supporters’ minds: Can Antonio Rudiger play tonight? He had a hamstring issue but he did return to training on Friday. Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann was asked about it at his press conference: “He’s very important. Our medical staff have been trying everything this week to get him fit again, and in training he looked good.
“We’ll see what happens overnight in terms of muscle issues. We have to wait and see what will happen, but at the moment he looks like being fit again so we’re happy to have him back. If nothing special happens (overnight) he could play.”
First, the insects. There has been an infestation of mosquitoes at Germany’s training camp in Herzogenaurach in Bavaria, one that has claimed numerous victims, with a fortnight of humid weather rendering the squad’s outdoor viewing garden – which sits right next to a forest – almost unusable in the evenings. “I have already been bitten two or three times,” the striker Maximilian Beier admitted. “But if that’s the biggest problem, then fine …”
Then, the thunder. The DWD, Germany’s equivalent of the Met Office, is warning of severe thunderstorms, torrential rain, large hailstones, hurricane-force winds and perhaps even tornadoes across the west of the country on Saturday: perfectly timed to coincide with the crunch last-16 clash against Denmark in Dortmund.
If Germany’s Euro 2024 campaign is beginning to take the appearance of a biblical ordeal, then rest assured: there are still plenty of potential plagues to come.
Read the full piece here:
Germany Denmark analysis: Imperious against Scotland and good enough against Hungary, Germany misfired sufficiently in their draw with Switzerland to cast doubt on the sustainability of their improvement under Julian Nagelsmann. Were they actually that good against Scotland, or were Scotland just terrible? The link-up between Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz has been effective, but there are doubts as to whether they’re best served with Kai Havertz dropping off or the more robust talents of Niclas Füllkrug at centre-forward.
Are Denmark good enough to trouble them? Probably not – although that’s what people thought before the final of Euro 92 which Denmark won 2-0. They flickered against Slovenia and England but are very reliant on Christian Eriksen for creativity. Well as he played in the opening game, the Manchester United midfielder struggles to last a full 90 minutes. But Denmark are solid enough, so if Germany aren’t quite at their sharpest, they could make life difficult.
Verdict Solid Germany win
Switzerland v Italy analysis: Italy are unbeaten against Switzerland in 11 games stretching back to qualifying for the 1994 World Cup but they look vulnerable here. They were worryingly open against both Albania and Spain and the switch to a back three against Croatia only seemed to make them flatter going forward. In goal Gianluigi Donnarumma has had a fine tournament, but a lack of creativity and the absence of a top-class centre-forward are major issues.
For all the pre-tournament talk that they might be over the hill, Switzerland, by contrast, have been incisive and inventive, with their coach Murat Yakin having a clearly defined and different plan for each game. Breel Embolo is now fit enough to start and his hold-up play, supplemented by the pace of Dan Ndoye going beyond him, represents a major threat. The one caveat is that they were less effective when Scotland sat deep against them – which may offer Italy a game plan.
Verdict Narrow Switzerland win
Preamble
Good morning and welcome to today’s Euros news blog. We have been without European tournament football for three days and withdrawal symptoms have started to kick in but thankfully we will all get a football boost today with the start of the last 16.
The knockout rounds begin with Switzerland v defending champions Italy. Switzerland have had a good tournament so far, finishing second in their group behind hosts Germany. They take on Italy who have not shown their best yet but have displayed glimpses, particularly in the build-up to and the finish of Mattia Zaccagni’s equaliser against Croatia.
The fixtures don’t stop after Switzerland v Italy with Germany v Denmark. Hosts Germany have been one of the teams to show what they can do, especially with their 5-1 drubbing of Scotland in the opening game of the tournament. Denmark, meanwhile, have not been as imposing but they are not a team to under-estimate.
We will be previewing both matches more throughout the day, as well as bringing you any breaking news from around the rest of the Euros. Let’s get started.
