Key events
On the pitch at least, it went (sort of) well for England. Their 1-0 win over Serbia gets their tournament up and running and, according to Barney Ronay, they have one man to thank.
Have we ever seen an English player like Jude Bellingham? Wayne Rooney’s intrioduction to the Three Lions was certainly more explosive. Maybe even Michael Owen’s leap into stardom was more dramatic. But I’m with Barney on this one. I’ve not seen a more complete footballer at this age before.
So, while the hype train is steaming ahead at full tilt, let’s add some more discourse to the narrative:
UEFA and treating fans like criminals: It’s a tale as old as time.
Sadly, no matter who is in charge, no matter which nation is playing, no matter where the match is taking place, fans can now predict that they’ll be treated with disdain.
Jonatha Liew was at the Arena AufSchalke (after some delay) and witnessed this poor treatment for himself last night.
Have you got a story that you’d like to share?
Daniel Boffey
It was quiet after the match between England and Serbia in Gelsenkirchen and the German police will be pleased that they kept the violence isolated to one outbreak. The policing was generally impressive. No nonsense and very responsive to any issues and they kept the two fans wide apart but they did so with as little drama as possible. Lowish profile until it was needed. Good omens for the tournament.
Preamble
Daniel Gallan
Good morning and welcome to our our live Euro blog. It’s Day 4 and the final leg of the first round which means that after today, we’ll be able to say with absolute certainty which teams mean business and which teams are here to make up the numbers.
At 2pm BST, we’ve got Romania v Ukraine. With respect to the Romanians, I think most of us will be looking at the Ukranians, wondering how their country’s ordeal might galvanise them and their loyal supporters.
Then at 5pm it’s Belgium v Slovakia. Are we still referring to Domenico Tedesco’s team as a golden generation? Can Kevin De Bruyne propel his team to, well, not glory, but respectability at least?
And closing out today’s programme we have Austria v France at 8pm. The French are the pre-tournament favourites with Kylian Mbappe odds on to win the Golden Boot. But the young captain has grabbed attentions for non-football reasons, calling on his fellow French youths to vote against rising “extremes” in the upcoming national election.
Should be another cracking day of footy.
If you’d like to get involved why not drop me a mail.
