Two late goals in Portugal’s win leaves their star on 106, three short of the record, and he will fight to keep the trophy, tooHe celebrated like it was his first goal for Portugal rather than his 105th. That undampened desire is what keeps Cristiano Ronaldo going and makes him continually relevant. His emphatically finished penalty polished off doubt where there had been plenty. His smoothly finished second, leaving him just three short of Ali Daei’s international goal record, re‑emphasised his ruthlessness. Hungary didn’t deserve this, but Ronaldo happens.It marked another to his litany of records, playing and scoring in a fifth European Championship, and it will mean something to him – but it’s not the record he is really...
After Patrik Schick’s stunning goal for the Czech Republic, hosts full of hesitation belied their adoption of a Baccara classicSomewhere along the road to Euro 2020 Steve Clarke and his players adopted Yes Sir, I Can Boogie as their anthem and, in many ways, it has proved a great choice.Yet while the 1977 Baccara hit is infinitely more uplifting than Flower of Scotland, a song including the lyrics “you wanna know if I can dance” and “I’m a sensation” could be construed as a slightly overconfident theme tune for a side competing in their first major finals for 23 years. Related: Schick’s halfway line hit helps Czech Republic spoil Scotland’s party Continue reading...
The Leeds player is that rarest of things, a midfielder who appears to prefer it when the midfield is packed to suffocationSomething strange happens as you approach Wembley Stadium. It vanishes. The sweeping white arch that you’ve been fixing your gaze on for the last three miles of your journey suddenly disappears behind a forest of fancy new high-rise apartments. The vast edifice that looks like an entrance is actually a business hotel. Somehow, the closer you get to one of the world’s most famous stadiums, the less you can see of it.For three years, Gareth Southgate and his team have had the satnav pointed at this stadium, this game, this date. Every friendly, every training camp, every hopeful trek...
The draw makes meeting Russia unlikely, but Andriy Shevchenko’s united squad have a clear sense of purpose reflected in the political symbol on their bright yellow kitLaw four of Fifa’s 2020-21 Laws of the Game is explicit: “Equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images.” It seems straightforward enough. Nothing political.But of course, everything is political. A minute’s silence is political. Taking the knee is political – although not in the sense it heralds the Marxist apocalypse, as some of the more ludicrous pundits and spokespeople have suggested – and so is not taking the knee. Wearing a poppy is political, and so is not wearing a poppy. That’s especially so when national teams are...
Robert Page’s side looked off the pace and lethargic as they opened Euro 2020 with a draw against SwitzerlandStinking out a major tournament is an experience that most middling countries endure at some point and, for a long time in Azerbaijan, it looked as if Wales might be preparing for an unwelcome coming of age. All those nostalgic Euro 2016 features before their opening game of the latest tournament were fine and dandy but one wondered whether part of the point had been lost amid the reminiscing.In France five years ago Wales showed on their return from big tournament irrelevance that there was no need for any inferiority complex; they were a force to be reckoned with. And before facing...