Euro games reports

[Grist_To_The_Mill]

That should have stood, he wasn't stopping the goalie from diving.

Yep, agree

[fivetide]

Rooney demonstrating why he's a completely uninspirational manager.

[Brin]

Rooney demonstrating why he's a completely uninspirational manager.

Deemed to fail again at Plymouth?

[Brin]

Sorry, that goal should have stood.

[mellowmiller]

Rooney demonstrating why he's a completely uninspirational manager.

Can't miss him though!
He's twice the width of Fabregas 🙂

[great_fire]

Clearly the Dutch like orange but that’s not a colour on their national flag. Strange.

Adding some yellow to the red should sort it

The royal family is or was the House of Orange. William III was William of Orange and was "invited" to become the King of this country and there was the Battle of the Boyne which is the reason it's also the colour for Northern Irish protestants.

[Brin]

The royal family is or was the House of Orange. William III was William of Orange and was "invited" to become the King of this country and there was the Battle of the Boyne which is the reason it's also the colour for Northern Irish protestants.

Also the quote of, 'It's black o'er Bills Mothers' as in dark clouds afar, is in relation to when William of Orange went to attack England only to look back at his homeland when the English had landed and began to burn everything to the ground. Hence, ''It's black o'er Bills Mother's' house''

Wether this is true or not I don't know but folklore has passed this down through the generations.

[Brin]

Both the Czech Republic and Georgia will enter their Group F match in Hamburg on Saturday knowing they must win or risk being eliminated from Euro 2024.
Both sides suffered defeat in their opening group matches with the Czech Republic conceding late to lose 2-1 to Portugal and tournament debutantes Georgia losing 3-1 to Turkey.
If the other Group F match between Turkey and Portugal later on Saturday ends in a draw, the loser in Hamburg is out.
If Georgia lose then Portugal win, the tournament newcomers go home. If the Czech Republic are beaten and Turkey triumph, it is all over for Ivan Hasek's side.
"Georgia knows and we know that we cannot lose," said Czech head coach Hasek. "But it won’t be that wild of a game. Georgia have players who can attack but they won’t open the defence.
"We really do want to attack, get set-pieces, and be dangerous. We didn’t attack that well in the first game, and that's why we want to do it on Saturday. We want to show it."
The Czechs are featuring at their eighth successive Euros tournament and have reached the quarter-finals in two of the past three editions.
Georgia's match against Turkey produced one of the most enthralling games of Euro 2024 so far and Czech midfielder Antonin Barak said his side must not fall foul of the Georgian counter-attack.
Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who fans have nicknamed "Kvara-dona" in reference to Argentine Diego Maradona, is Georgia's biggest threat and Barak said they must work out how to face him.
"We are getting ready for him, we are preparing ourselves. But we do not forget the other players, they have a lot of attacking force. So it is not only about Khvicha, but he is a superstar definitely," said the Fiorentina midfielder.

Think this has 1-1 written all over it.

[Brin]

Portugal forward Diogo Jota says his side are "expecting a completely different game" when they take on Turkey in Group F on Saturday.
The Portuguese required a stoppage-time goal from substitute Francisco Conceicao to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 on Tuesday night in Leipzig.
Jota had a goal ruled out for offside in Leipzig after coming on as a substitute.
"Turkey have better players [than the Czech Republic] and they will want a different kind of match," said Jota.
"If we can impose our game like we did against the Czechs, it could go even better because Turkey aren't used to defending in a low block.
"If that happens, we can try to come away with the three points and qualification."
Three points for Portugal will secure their progression to the knockout rounds.

Meanwhile the Turkey boss Vincenzo Montella says the "dream" is to beat Portugal and qualify for the last 16.
The 3-1 victory over Georgia was the first time Turkey have won their opening group game at a European Championships.
Sitting top of Group F, three points for Montella's side on Saturday will secure their passage into the knockout rounds.
"This is the first time we've won the first match and we've not got beyond the group stage in the last three Euros; we didn't even pick up a point last time," said Montella.
"Our first target was to win the [opening] match. Now we've won it, the dream is to win the next one and reach the knockout stage."

Match stats to peruse:

Portugal boast an impressive record against Turkey - winning seven out of nine matches, with Turkey winning two.
Hakan Calhanoglu completed 88 of his 95 passes in Turkey's 3-1 win over Georgia - the highest number by a Turkish player in European Championship history.
Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to score in his three appearances against Turkey.
The two sides last met in March 2022, with Portugal winning 3-1.
Turkey have not beaten Portugal since 2012 and their previous victory came in 1955 - both by the scoreline of 3-1.
This will be the fourth meeting between Turkey and Portugal at the Euros. Portugal have won all three of their previous encounters in the tournament, without conceding a single goal: 1-0 in 1996 (group stage), 2-0 in 2000 (quarter-finals) and 2-0 in 2008 (group stage).

[Brin]

Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco says his team "are only thinking about winning" before their crucial clash with Romania on Saturday.
Tedesco's side suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Slovakia in their Group E opener on Monday.
Defeat to Romania in Cologne would not eliminate Belgium, but it would be a huge blow to their chances of progressing to the last 16.
Despite boasting the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Leandro Trossard and Romelu Lukaku, Belgium have struggled at recent major tournaments, and were knocked out in the group stages at the 2022 Word Cup.
They have also been eliminated at the quarter-final stage of the past two Euros.
"We never think about losing. We think about winning," Tedesco said.
"If we pass the group stage, then I have a good feeling about us. Losing to Slovakia hasn't changed something in our mind."
The Belgium manager also said striker Lukaku "can do more of course" but supporters "can't expect six goals from six chances".
Lukaku, who has 85 goals for his country, was criticised for his poor finishing in Belgium's defeat to Slovakia.
He also scored two goals that were later ruled out.


Romania can reach the knockout stage with a game to spare if they win in Cologne.
Last time out they recorded a shock 3-0 win over Ukraine, the nation's first in a European Championship in 24 years.
Belgium are third in Fifa's world rankings and are widely expected to beat their 47th-placed opponents.
But that is not stopping Tricolours defender Radu Dragusin from backing his side to deliver a second famous upset.
"We played several times with teams that were superior on paper and the result was favourable to us," said the Tottenham centre-back.
"Tomorrow we will go with the same mentality, great confidence, and we want to show that on the field."

Match stats:
Both sides have won five of their 12 encounters, although they haven’t met since 2012.
The Red Devils’ defeat against Slovakia was their first under head coach Domenico Tedesco.
Belgium haven’t lost the opening two group games of a major tournament since the inaugural World Cup in 1930.
Romelu Lukaku has six goals in 11 games at the European Championships – no other Belgium player has more than two goals at the Euro finals.
Romania have exited the group stage in four of their five European Championship appearances.
Edward Iordanescu could lead Romania to victory in their opening two games of a major tournament for just the second time in their history, after his father Anghel achieved the same at the 1998 World Cup.

Belgium to win?