Ante Čačić's Croatia inflicted Spain's first defeat in 15 EURO finals games to win Group DPortugal drew all three of their Group F fixturesNani, who scored twice in the group stage, is set to win his 100th cap for PortugalCristiano Ronaldo needs one goal to level Michel Platini as all-time leading EURO scorerLuka Modrić and Mario Mandžukić set to return after missing Spain gameWinners play Switzerland or Poland, who face off in Saturday's first last-t6 gamePossible line-ups
Football Update
The importance of Spain’s defeat of Italy in 2008
It would be foolish to ignore that the final of UEFA EURO 2012 actually yielded the Henri Delaunay trophy itself when Spain defeated Italy 4-0.But ask any of the players involved in La Roja's breakthrough tournament win, back in 2008, and they will attach almost mystical importance to the fact that they defeated their bête noire, Italy, in a sweaty, tense, heroic quarter-final in Vienna. Spain had not beaten the Azzurri in a competitive fixture for eight decades. From the moment Howard Webb blew the final whistle on Spain's 2-1 win against Greece in the group stage there were 94
History suggests Golden Boot could be Bale’s
Gareth Bale rounded off a dream night for Wales by scoring the final goal in their 3-0 win against Russia on Monday, adding to his free-kicks against Slovakia and England to become only the seventh player in EURO history to score in every group game.What next for Bale and Wales? If some of his predecessors are anything to go by, he could be picking up the Golden Boot. Michel Platini, 1984France's midfield maestro left it late to break the deadlock in the tournament's opening game against Denmark, scoring the only goal in the 78th minute. He was only just getting
Praise for Ibrahimović, Wilmots happy with Belgium
Marc Wilmots, Belgium coachThey had to open up, so that's why we defended a bit deeper. We stuck to our plan. Both teams attacked and tactically we were better on the counter. It must have been a difficult watch for people with heart problems.I said bravo to Zlatan Ibrahimović for his career. I was a player myself and know how difficult it is when you finish with the national team. You have to be careful with him because he is very intelligent. Sometimes he drops deep and is then one on one against a central defender. They were obliged to open
Fabiański and Poland not finished yet
How do you celebrate your team's first qualification for a UEFA European Championship knockout stage? If you are Poland goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański, you do it by plotting new targets. Adam Nawałka's side made history by reaching the last 16 with a 1-0 victory in Marseille on Tuesday, taking their Group C total to seven points and just missing out on top spot on goal difference alone. Next up are Switzerland in Saint-Etienne on Saturday, and Fabiański sees no reason why Poland cannot improve on their performances so far. "I'm very happy that for the first time in our history we've advanced to the next phase," h...
Stade Pierre Mauroy pitch to be replaced
UEFA has decided that it will replace the pitch at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille Métropole immediately after the Group E match between Italy and the Republic of Ireland on 22 June.The extremely difficult weather conditions in the past few weeks (rain, humidity, lack of sunshine) have caused irreversible damage to the surface at the stadium, in spite of a series of measures (a ban on pre-match training on the pitch, use of fertilisers, seeding, mowing, light therapy and drying) put in place to allow the playing surface to recover. The new pitch will be transported from the Netherlands
Hodgson backs England to open the floodgates
Roy Hodgson, England managerIt is very disappointing. Once again we have had all the play and a lot of opportunities in and around the Slovakia box and not been able to take one. It is both frustrating and disappointing, but I believe it will come as we have players in the team who can and will score goals.Nathaniel Clyne had a very good game as did Jordan Henderson in front of him. They strengthened their chances of playing in future games and proved we have a very strong squad of players. What would have changed had Wayne [Rooney] started? They came on – Wayne, Harry