By Samindra Kunti in Munich
July 2 – Belgian coach Roberto Martinez will take a “last-minute decision’ over the fitness of both his lodestars Kevin de Bruyne and Eden Hazard for the blockbuster Euro 2020 quarter-final against Italy, the country he labeled “statistically the best team”.
July 2 – The legal battle between UEFA and the three remaining heavyweight clubs seeking to keep alive a European Super League has taken another twist with the Spanish courts once again acting to protect their interests.
July 2 – Italy has intensified its warning to England fans to stay away from the Euro 2020 quarter final against Ukraine in Rome on Saturday unless they can prove they have observed five days of quarantine.
July 2 – Nearly 1,300 Scotland fans who travelled to London to watch their team play England on June 18 in Euro 2020 later tested positive for coronavirus – including almost 400 inside Wembley for the match.
July 2 – The World Health Organization (WHO) has voiced concerns over Euro 2020, warning that the continental finals could act as a “super-spreader”.
July 2 – Belgian champions Club Brugge have a new backer, with investment fund Orkila Capital pouring €20 million of working capital into the club.
July 2 – Juventus say they expect to lose €320 million because of the coronavirus pandemic and are planning to raise €400 million in capital through a share sale as they look to redress the financial balance.
July 2 – If the Euros was to be decided by the average market value of players in each of the squad, the England are nailed on winners and Spain would be runners-up of they weren’t in the same side of the draw.
An analysis by the KPMG Football Benchmark team finds that the average value of an England player is €57.8 million. The least valuable players in the quarter finals are Ukrainian – who face England’s next – with an average value of just €6.6 million.
Qatar
How they qualified
The team was invited to participate for the first time. Qatar will also feature in the 2023 Gold Cup.
Tournament Record
None.
Star Man
Akram Afif
It still has to be Afif, even though he is never reached the heights of his 2019 Asian Cup winning performances. However, he still makes Qatar tick going forward and his link-up play with Almoez Ali is unmatched.
El Salvador
How they qualified
The team sealed a finals spot as one of four group winners in the 2019-20 Concacaf Nations League B. They dominated Group B, seeing off the Dominican Republic and Saint Lucia, and Monserrat. On matchday two, El Salvador suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat to the Dominican Republic, but they still topped the group on 15 points.
July 1 – Asia’s highest-ranked team Japan were paired with familiar foes Australia in Group B in today’s draw for the final round of World Cup qualifying. Iran and South Korea will meet in Group A.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 1 – Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, two of the Premier League’s supposed heavyweight clubs who seriously under-performed last season, have both ended their search for a new manager to try and revive their respective fortunes.
July 1 – German football club Schalke 04 has completed the sale of its esports team, League of Legends European Championship licence, to Swiss organisation Team BDS for €26.5 million.
July 1 – Denmark’s culture minister, Joy Mogensen,has criticised the bid process that allowed Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup, saying it was “wrong” and raised questions of corruption in international sports organisations.
July 1 – Adidas have renewed their kit deal with Portuguese giants Benfica for a further six years, taking them through to the end of the 2026/27 season.