BERLIN — Spain and England are close to kickoff at the European Championship final, with much of the focus on a teenage prodigy and whether one of the world’s most underachieving teams can end its decades-long wait for a title. The match is scheduled to start Sunday at 9 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) in … Read more
MUNICH — Spain reached the European Championship final with a 2-1 victory over France on Tuesday with 16-year-old Lamine Yamal becoming the youngest-ever scorer at a major tournament. France took an early lead when Randal Kolo Muani headed in a cross from Kylian Mbappé, who played without a mask, before Yamal’s moment of brilliance in … Read more
DORTMUND, Germany — The referee for England’s semifinal game against the Netherlands at Euro 2024 will be Felix Zwayer, who once had ties to a match-fixing scandal in Germany. Wednesday’s game will be Zwayer’s fourth of Euro 2024 and his second with the Netherlands after refereeing the Dutch team’s 3-0 win over Romania in the … Read more
MUNICH — The Netherlands reached its first European Championship quarterfinal in 16 years with a 3-0 win over Romania on Tuesday. Cody Gakpo broke the deadlock in the 20th minute and Donyell Malen scored two late goals to send the Dutch to their first quarterfinal in the tournament since 2008. The Dutch had missed a … Read more
DORTMUND, Germany — Here’s a quiz question: What do the 2022 World Cup final, the 2021 African Cup of Nations final, the 2020 European Championship final and the 2016 Copa America final have in common? Answer: They were all settled by a penalty shootout. Like it or not, the shootout — that tense battle of … Read more
STUTTGART, Germany — For Christian Eriksen, Denmark’s opening game at the European Championship was a much happier occasion this time. The Manchester United midfielder scored the opening goal in a 1-1 draw with Slovenia on Sunday. It was his first match at the Euros since suffering a cardiac arrest in Denmark’s opener in the previous … Read more
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The fluttering of 64 kilometers (40 miles) of orange bunting and a hammer driving a nail into a wall to hold up orange tarps are the sounds of a Dutch summer of soccer in a normally drab suburban street in The Hague. The Marktweg is one of several streets in the … Read more
Goalkeepers and defenders: Exhale. The most feared striker in Europe won’t be playing at the European Championship. That’s because Erling Haaland’s Norway didn’t qualify. Haaland’s goal-scoring statistics with both club and country are staggering: 90 goals in 98 matches across all competitions in two seasons with Manchester City, and 30 in 32 matches for Norway … Read more
A returning Cristiano Ronaldo, a rampant Kylian Mbappé and a resurgent Germany. Throw in a Harry Kane-powered England and defending champion Italy and Euro 2024 is wide open. That’s without mentioning three-time winner Spain. The unpredictability of the European Championship, which begins in Munich on Friday, is what makes it such compelling viewing. Even in … Read more
BRUSSELS — Belgium’s away kit is a tribute to a much-loved and nearly century-old cartoon character, Tintin. Croatia’s shirt will not go unnoticed. Germany’s home jersey is a classic white but the away shirt is a bold pink and purple. Ahead of the European soccer championships starting June 14 in Germany, The Associated Press takes … Read more
