Euro 2024: Foden back in training, Tyldesley to commentate on final game for ITV – live news | Euro 2024

Thank you very much for joining me today. What larks we have had and thankfully the football is back tomorrow.

Prepare by reading some Jonathan Wilson analysis.

Your main man Niall McVeigh’s been crunching the numbers.

Six England fans have been issued with football banning orders after disorder in Gelsenkirchen before the Euro 2024 opener against Serbia, the UK Football Policing Unit has confirmed.

Gelsenkirchen police said after England’s 1-0 win on June 16 that there had been a total of eight arrests connected to the match, with one British national and seven Serbian nationals taken into custody.

“The details of the supporters who have been issued with football banning orders are as follows: Todd Hines, aged 21, of Maitland Road in Essex, was given a three-year football banning order. Liam Jackson, aged 28, of Beech Street in Lincoln, was given a three-year football banning order. Lewis Dodsworth, aged 29, of Fulwell Road in Sunderland, was given a five-year football banning order. Kyran Alcock, aged 28, of Martindale Avenue in Sunderland, was given a three-year football banning order. Jack Hatton, aged 27, of Fordfield Road in Sunderland, was given a five-year football banning order. Gary McIvor, aged 38, of Eden Crescent in Darlington, was given a five-year football banning order.”

It will be Clive Tyldesley’s final game for ITV this weekend as he commentates on Germany v Denmark. The company have not offered him a new contract and will not have him on a game after the last 16, which is a shame.

Tyldesley has been a fine commentator for decades and will leave be much-missed by the millions that enjoy his work. While every co-commentator gets a bucket load of stick, Tyldesley has always remained popular.

Pleasingly, Tyldesley says has no plans to retire so hopefully he will pop up somewhere next season. As someone who spent five years at ITV Sport, he was always good to deal with and was liked by all. A thoroughly pleasant man. Good luck with what comes next Clive.

Antony Gordon has been speaking to the global press and reckons England really need to look what they can control rather than all the outside noise.

“We can only control so much. In the past games we weren’t where we want to be but as I said, it’s in the past,” Gordon said. “We’ve got to stay present as a team, stay focused on what’s ahead of us. We’ve got a lot coming up, we’ve got a lot to look forward to. If we let past games affect us, then we are not going to perform to the best we can.”

Phil Grey emails: “As I see it, what it all boils down to now is would you prefer England to light up the tournament by playing some dazzling attacking football, but ultimately finding a way as always to fall short, or would you prefer them to stumble through every game but finally actually win the damn thing? Because it’s already too late to wish for both. Twenty years ago, Greece sneaked through the group stage, not on goal difference (which was zero), but on goals scored. And then they won every match in the knockout stage 1-0, including a silver goal (!), which was a header from a corner. And eight years ago, the only team Portugal beat during normal time in the whole tournament was Wales, in the semi-final. Every other match was level after 90 minutes. Greece and Portugal have their names on the trophy.”

Puts a lot of emphasis on this poorly-performing team being able to reach the final.

The English are good old fashioned pessimists but how do other nations see this current England team?

England have proven to be a collection of football stickers, star players, with no footballing empathy among each other. It is jarring to see Trent Alexander-Arnold in the double pivot position in midfield, a vital role for which he does not have the knowhow.

The decision by English officials Anthony Taylor and Stuart Attwell to disallow a Netherlands goal against France at Euro 2024 was “totally correct”, according to Uefa referees’ chief Roberto Rosetti.

The pair received some criticism from television pundits in the UK and on social media for ruling out the goal after Attwell agreed with Taylor that Netherlands full-back Denzel Dumfries was impeding France goalkeeper Mike Maignan while stood in an offside position as Xavi Simons’ shot flew in.

There was also criticism for how long it took the officials to reach the decision, and while Rosetti admitted the duration of the review was an “element of improvement” he felt the right outcome was reached in a complex situation.

“The Uefa referee committee totally supported the decision,” the Italian said. “We think that the decision is right and we are also happy about the process. There are always elements for improvement. In this situation, the element of improvement is the duration of this review. For sure the duration can be less, we can decrease the duration of the review (but) I want to tell you that it’s not easy.

“In this situation the VAR checked two possible offsides, he had to check the possible impact of the attacker on the goalkeeper and a previous contact between two other players. Then we can add that we are at the Euro, the pressure is the pressure, and of course we always support accuracy. At the end the decision is totally correct.”

Lamine Yamal may have helped Spain cruise into the knockout stages of Euro 2024 but the 16-year-old has not neglected his schoolwork, with the Barcelona winger announcing that he had passed his secondary education exams.

Yamal, who broke into the Barcelona and Spain starting lineups this season, became the youngest player to appear at a European Championship when Spain beat Croatia in their group opener earlier this month.

The teenager has clearly been putting in the hard work both on and off the pitch. “I passed the exams and I have the ESO title now,” Yamal told Spanish radio station Onda Cero. “The last grades I’ve seen? If I’m honest, I saw them on my phone and it said I had passed so I just closed the app, called my mum and told her.”

What happened to Anthony Gordon’s chiny chin chin?

Jonathan Liew on a potential secret German weapon … and the weather.

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. The 1-1 draw against Switzerland in their final group game – salvaged only by an injury-time equaliser from Niclas Füllkrug – has served a timely reproof to the illusion that any of this was going to be easy.

“Here’s a hint on the USMNT’s problem,” from Joe Pearson. “It begins with G and ends with two G’s.”

George Egg the comedian?

“Not Euros-related but what is wrong with the USMNT?” asks Kurt Perleberg.

You’re asking the wrong blog.

Declan Rice and Kieran Trippier trained indoors away from the rest of the group yesterday in order to manage their workloads but they were back on the grass today.

Do England need a plan G?

Football Daily written by … ermmmmm … me.

“I thought I just take a quick look at the Italian 90 compilation below (1.52pm), and inevitably got hooked,” says Charles Antaki. “Lord, the memories… Including emotions which I thought were thoroughly spent at the time: some crushing, some joyful, and some merely cheerful – of which, the one I treasure most is Luciano Pavarotti happily informing Bobby Charlton “I hope to see Italy and England in the final, and I hope you win, and I am a liar”.

“Ben’s onto something,” says Joe Pearson. “The internet assures me that a quarter-zip quilted vest (waistcoat to you) is a perfectly acceptable accessory to a polo shirt, especially a long sleeved one (may not be suitable in the heat). What Southgate really needs, though, is a narrow brimmed fedora. Just sayin’.”

Did my annual transfer story today.

“I’d like to follow up on my own toxic, but undeniably prescient, contribution to the debate (yesterday’s live blog, 15:15 BST), vis a vis Southgate’s continually conservative clothing choice (the M&S cream zip polo shirt) and the necessity to release the handbrake in this regard,” writes Ben. “For goodness sake! The people are crying out for flair. A leather jacket? A Hawaiian shirt?? We’ve all got an opinion and I think flares could literally be the answer! But I suppose, inevitably, the key question we are all asking ourselves is, can Southgate’s star pieces, the zip polo shirt and the waistcoat, co-exist in the same ensemble? The zip polo shirt had an outstanding season but does it now look tired? Of course, both pieces want to assume the same position, and naturally the waistcoat would be drifting in from left field. Well, the combination would certainly be untested and no doubt uncomfortable, but could it bring a hitherto absent style to the campaign?”

It might distract people from what’s happening on the pitch.

It all looks very peaceful in the England camp. Some of the lads have been playing cricket, while Trent Alexander-Arnold is enjoying a bit of a stretch in the gym.

Kári Tulinius emails: “Rinat Dasayev to Manchester United in 1988 is one of the great what-ifs of football. At his peak ‘The Cat’ was the most graceful and dominant goalkeeper in the world. I can’t but think the ‘Fergie Era’ would’ve got going a few years early. It’s also a personal what-if moment. As a seven year old, I was obsessed with Dasayev, and if he’d rocked up at Old Trafford, I’d probably have become a Manchester United fan and enjoyed a blissful quarter-century of success. Ah well, it’s the struggles that define us. Speaking of, here’s a video of Dasayev reflecting wistfully on underachieving at the World Cup with the great Soviet side of 1982:”

Phil Foden has returned to Germany and trained with the rest of the England squad following the birth of his third child this week.

Ben Stokes has told under-fire England boss Gareth Southgate and his players to take the criticism they have received for their early performances at the Euro 2024 finals “on the chin and move on”.

England’s Test cricket captain, who was called in by Southgate to address the squad during their pre-tournament training camp at Middlesbrough’s Rockliffe Park headquarters, knows all about the pressure of performing under intense scrutiny.
The 33-year-old famously played a starring role as Eoin Morgan’s side lifted the 50-over World Cup with a dramatic victory over New Zealand in 2019 and, later the same summer, kept the Ashes alive with a stunning unbeaten 135 in a third Test win at Headingley, delivering when his country needed it most.

Asked how he coped with the pressure placed on him, as the nation’s footballers must now do, he said: “Just take it on the chin and move on.”

Asked what he had said during his time with the squad and what his advice would be now, Stokes said: “I really enjoyed going up and meeting the team. It was nice to get that invite from Gareth. I’ll keep what we spoke about there to myself but, look, they’ve got through to the knockout stages.

“Unfortunately it’s just the way that, I guess, the English mentality is, their team gets through to the knockout stages and they’re getting a load of grief. It’s interesting – I know what it’s like – but I guess that comes from expectation and everyone wanting their team to do well. But let’s just believe, eh?”

Thanks Rob. What will the dying embers of the working week provide us with? Who knows?

Hang on, before I go, here’s more on Scotlandwozrobbedgate.

Now I’ve polluted his blog with Manchester United glory, it’s ime for me to hand over to Will Unwin for the rest of the day. Thanks for your company, enjoy the football over the weekend.

“Regarding France v Portugal, I had almost forgotten the era of the Golden Goal,” says Joe Pearson. “Did we love it or hate it? All depends on whether your team scored it or not.”

The best golden goals were the ones scored in normal time. Oh, go on then.

“Funny how some question the best third-place teams going to the next round,” syas Lousise. “But when you look at, for example. Denmark, only scoring two goals, or Italy, struggling and compare that to a difficult Group D where the Netherlands scored five goals (yup, I am counting Xavi Simons’ goal). Is it really so bad the best third-place teams are joining in?”

Hasn’t the main complaint been the amount of time it takes to eliminate eight teams, rather than the concept per se? Like all formats, it has strengths and weaknesses. For example, I love the chaos that is caused when a potential winner finishes third in their group and gives the draw a shake.

That happened at Italia 90, when Argentina and the Netherlands came third, and led to one of the more dramatic days in football history: 24 June 1990. Highlights are below. Just listen to Barry Davies hold the name for Caniggia’s goal. The master.

In other news, the transfer window is creaking open. Have United signed Rinat Dasayev yet? It was on Teletext yesterday.

“I suppose it’s better to be gone but not forgotten, like Scotland, rather than forgotten but not gone, like one or two teams still left in the finals,” says Simon McMahon. “Thats what I’m telling myself anyway. Regarding the penalty, I thought it should have been given at the time but, on reflection, can see why it wasn’t. Maybe if Armstrong had actually tried to get a shot away rather than just protecting the ball it may have been given. But that’s all in the past, I’m supporting Georgia now. And England. I mean, who doesn’t love an underdog?”

I think it’s a pretty clear penalty. Armstrong is allowed to protect the ball and the contact comes while his leg is moving away from the defender’s. You can understand Rosetti defending his team though. He’s hardly going to say, ‘We’ve packed the lot of them off to Specsavers’.

On this day in 2012… Mario Balotelli wins a semi-final in style.

On this day in 2000… Portugal lose a semi-final, and their sh1t.

What I didn’t realise until a couple of years ago is that the shot from Sylvain Wiltord that led to Abel Xavier’s handball probably wasn’t on target. It’s hard to be sure but I reckon it would have hit the post. Amianeejit?

In the same game, Zinedine Zidane.

England’s opponents Slovakia are a good side, superbly coached and with a terrific left-winger in Lukas Haraslin. Here’s Jacob Steinberg on why England fans shouldn’t take them from granted. (TW: contains reference to Iceland.)

Spain v Georgia

Here’s more on Georgia from Daniel Boffey.

From the fans’ chants in Georgia’s opening game against Turkey of “Putin khuylo!” (Putin is a dickhead) to the questioning of Sagnol’s decision to drop a player who had vocally backed those protesting against Georgia’s alleged slide from democratic norms, there are signs of the battle being waged to claim the football team’s glory for one side or the other in the country’s political debate.