Albania's football team were knocked out of the European Championship in the group stages but they were feted on their return home on Thursday as if they had won the tournament.
Italy midfielder Antonio Candreva gave a dazzling performance as he scored a penalty and set up a second goal in a 2-0 win over Finland in their fast-paced final Euro 2016 warm-up in Verona on Monday. The 29-year-old winger coolly converted a 27th-minute spot kick after being brought down and delivered an inch-perfect cross for Daniele De Rossi to head home midway through the second half. Thriving on the right flank in an adventurous 3-4-3 formation, Candreva was a handful for the visitors throughout the evening, showing blistering pace as well as neat footwork. With their coach Antonio Conte fielding a three-pronged attack of Stephan El Shaarawy, Ciro Immobile and Simone Zaza, the Italians pressed high and hard to keep the Finns on the back foot from the start.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The inaugural European Games has won over the doubters, even with low profile athletics and swimming events.
Chelsea's French defender Kurt Zouma will be out for six months after surgery on a knee injury suffered at the weekend, the Premier League champions said on Monday.
IMAGES from the Euro 2024 Group B match between Croatia and Albania at Hamburg Volksparkstadion, in Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo-led Euro 2016 champions, Portugal inched closer to the top-five after climbing two places to 6th in the FIFA world rankings released on Thursday.
Benzema, who has scored 30 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid this season, has not played for France since 2015 after a blackmailing scandal over which he faces a trial in October.
Midfielder James McClean hopes he can cast aside his bitter memories of the Euro 2012 campaign and play a key role for Ireland in this month's European Championship in France.
Poland rested striker Robert Lewandowski and missed his firepower as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Lithuania in a Euro 2016 warm-up in the former capital city of Krakow on Monday. The stalemate before a 30,000 crowd against a determined Lithuania side playing on the counter followed Poland's 2-1 loss to the Netherlands in a friendly last week. Poland coach Adam Nawalka fielded an experimental defence with Thiago Cionek in central defence and talented teenage midfielder Bartosz Kapustka deployed at right back to try to beef up the rearguard but they still looked vulnerable. The hosts played with more urgency in the second half against the Lithuanians, who failed to qualify for the finals in France, and almost scored on the hour when winger Jakub Blaszczykowski hit the post after marauding down the right. Despite attacking relentlessly they could not find the net without talisman Lewandowski, who watched from the bench as 'Ajax Amsterdam forward Arek Milik toiled alone up front.
From 4-0 up to heartbreak: Indian archer Pooja Jatyan misses Paralympics semis berth, losing to Wu Chunyan of China
Over the course of the next two years, the former England international was able to engineer a turnaround in fortunes for the team, leading them to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals before their run to the final of the Euro 2020 tournament last year.
Paris' police chief said on Monday he would be receiving thousands of reinforcements ahead of the Euro 2016 soccer tournament and that his force was as prepared as it could be to face the risk of a militant attack in the French capital.
The 2016 Euro moves to its knockout rounds with eight teams taking an early flight home. The group stages saw some memorable action in which many records broken. Rediff.com takes a look at the standout stats from the 36 matches in the preliminary round.
Austria will double mark Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo when the teams clash at Euro 2016 on Saturday, but fear that it could create space for his teammates to wreak havoc, Austria's captain Christian Fuchs said. The two nations had been considered the strongest teams in Group F, but the pressure on both has intensified after disappointing opening games. Portugal could only draw 1-1 with tournament debutants Iceland, while Austria lost 2-0 to unfancied Hungary. The prospect of stopping the three-times world player of the year has added to Austria's worries.
Hungary's 30-year wait to play on the major championship stage will end in France next year after their 2-1 victory over Norway ensured that one of football's most storied nations qualified for the Euro 2016 finals.
Araujo to miss Uruguay friendlies due to thigh injury
The shadow of their disappointing 2014 World Cup campaign still hangs over Spain as they prepare to defend their European Championship crown in France next month, according to coach Vicente del Bosque.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose rare talent burst into the limelight with a splendid goal against Italy at Euro 2004, was a shadow of his brilliant best when Sweden lost 1-0 to the same opponents on Friday. Sweden's 34-year-old captain again looked his age after a subdued display in an opening 1-1 draw with Ireland and an early Euro 2016 exit looms for a side with one point from two games before facing Belgium in their final Group E match next week. The tall and powerful striker, who left the pitch without saluting the crowd and did not stop to talk to anyone, has failed to produce a shot on target so far in the tournament.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's international career did not end in a blaze of glory at the European Championship but the striker said he was proud to have represented Sweden at the tournament.
An early goal by defender Fabian Schaer earned Switzerland a 1-0 victory over debutants Albania whose captain was sent off before halftime in the Euro 2016 Group A match on Saturday. Switzerland, bidding to reach the knockout stages for the first time, scored in the fifth minute and were given a further boost by a second yellow card for Albania skipper Lorik Cana.
Skipper Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated becoming the first player to appear in five European Championships with a brace as Portugal got their title defence off to a winning start with a 3-0 victory over a determined Hungary, in Budapest, on Tuesday.
For Ireland to reach the knockout stages at Euro 2016 they must achieve something they haven't done in 28 years - win a game at the European Championship. Martin O'Neill's team face an Italian side already guaranteed victory in Group E and manager Antonio Conte is likely to field many of his reserves, but it remains to be seen if Ireland can end their long winless streak in this must-win game.
Wales will move higher than their richer rivals and neighbours England when the new FIFA rankings are announced after Euro 2016, the first sign for what, many predict, will be a bright future after they made history at the tournament. Playing in their first finals since 1958, the Welsh reached the last four of a major tournament for the first time and are expected to move up close to the top 10 countries in the world rankings.
Spain coach Julen Lopetegui will take over as Real Madrid manager on a three-year contract after the World Cup, the European champions said on Tuesday.
Spain boss Vicente del Bosque is not expecting a repeat of their crushing 4-0 victory over Italy in the final four years ago when the two sides meet in the last 16 of Euro 2016 on Monday. Spain destroyed the Italians in one of the most one-sided finals in the competition's history at Euro 2012 to clinch their second consecutive European title and reaffirm their status as the world's then dominant side.
Portugal won their first Euro title after defeating France 1-0 at the Stade de France in Paris on Sunday.
The fate of Sunday's intriguing European Championship final between France and Portugal weighs largely on two men wearing the number seven shirt, one already at the top of the game and the other one getting there fast.
Croatia captain Darijo Srna still feels the pain of losing on penalties to Turkey at the 2008 European Championship, but refused to talk of revenge ahead of another meeting between the teams at Euro 2016 on Sunday. Croatia exorcised some of their demons by beating Turkey 3-0 on aggregate in a playoff to reach Euro 2012. But Sunday will be the first time the sides have met at a major tournament since that quarter-final in Vienna eight years ago when Semih Senturk's 122nd-minute strike cancelled out Ivan Klasnic's opener three minutes earlier to send the tie to penalties.
Missing out on the last Euros in France and then the 2018 World Cup in Russia were a major setback and re-establishing their reputation as a footballing force is top priority for coach Frank de Boer and his team.
A look at the last 16 team as Euro 2020 enters the knockout phase.
At least 488 Ukrainian athletes and trainers have been killed since early 2022, around two dozen of whom had been European or world champions in their discipline, according to sports ministry spokesman Serhiy Bykov.
Wales enjoyed their greatest day in football for more than half a century by overwhelming Russia 3-0 in Toulouse on Monday to win Group B at Euro 2016 ahead of their oldest rivals England.
What has made Deschamps successful in tournaments, especially at the World Cup since 2018, is not sticking to a particular identity or philosophy which is often the defining feature of big teams.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Slovakia defender Martin Skrtel will have no second thoughts about kicking England striker Daniel Sturridge, his Liverpool team mate, to help his country win their final Euro 2016 Group B game on Monday. England top the standings with four points from two games, one ahead of Slovakia and Wales with Russia at the bottom on one. "We can be friends before and after the game but on the pitch there is no friendship and I am sure Daniel would tell you the same thing," Skrtel told a news conference on Sunday.
Wales manager Chris Coleman said he was 'immensely proud' of his team after their hopes of reaching the Euro 2016 final were dashed by a brief lapse of focus during a 2-0 defeat by Portugal on Wednesday.
England coach Roy Hodgson, basking in a 2-1 victory over Wales on Thursday clinched by goals from two substitutes, said fringe players would be a major factor at Euro 2016. Gareth Bale put Wales in front before Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge replied, the latter in stoppage time, after both came on in the second half. Hodgson said it was hard to remember if he had made a better double substitution in his 40-year career.
Spain's preparations for Euro 2016 suffered a blow as they were beaten 1-0 by Georgia on Tuesday in their final warmup friendly ahead of the tournament in France. Tornike Okriashvili tapped in from close range in the 39th minute to secure a surprise victory for Georgia at Getafe's Coliseum Alfonso Perez stadium. Spain, who have won the last two European Championships, had not lost since being beaten in a friendly by the Netherlands in March 2015 and came into their final warmup match after convincing wins against Bosnia and South Korea. The hosts, however, lacked a cutting edge against a well-organised Georgia side who defended deep after taking the lead.
Wednesday evening's dramatic Euro 2016 group stage finale concluded an engrossing opening round that was tight and tense to the last as the expanded new-look European Championship passed its first test.
