Trying to pump up excitement, which has been largely missing in Rome in the run up to the kick-off, Italian soccer greats and 2006 World Cup winners Francesco Totti and Alessandro Nesta welcomed fans at the opening ceremony.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
'We would prefer to play home games. That would be an advantage, that you do not travel. The other countries we play against play home games. That is a shame for us but we have to accept the situation as it is.'
England face the Czechs away in Group A on Friday before visiting Bulgaria on Monday
Ibrahimovic said sports people like Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James should quit sticking their nose into politics.
The Dutch football season was effectively ended on Tuesday after the government extended a ban on major public events by three months, the Dutch football association (KNVB) said in a statement. Colombian President Ivan Duque also dismissed the idea of restarting the county's soccer league behind closed doors, saying to do so would endanger the health of players and staff.
Spartak Moscow have warned their fans to refrain from violent behaviour when they travel to support their club in a crucial Champions League encounter against Liverpool on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
European soccer's governing body, UEFA, said on Sunday it had opened disciplinary proceedings against the Russian Football Union following crowd disturbances at the end of the Russia-England Euro 2016 match in Marseille.
Spain showed tremendous character though and prevailed thanks to Morata's superb strike in the 100th minute
Manchester United skipper Antonio Valencia apologised for liking an Instagram post that called for manager Jose Mourinho to be sacked after Tuesday's goalless draw against Spanish side Valencia in the Champions League.
The 2020-21 English Premier League season will begin on September 12 and the final round of matches will be held on May 23, the league announced on Friday. The new season, originally scheduled to begin on August 8, has been delayed this year after the Premier League suspended the 2019-20 season for three months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Liverpool forward Sadio Mane, who is also out of contract at the end of next season, told Sky Sports he would address his future after Saturday's final.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Leicester City's Nampalys Mendy fired home the decisive spot kick as they beat Southampton 6-5 on penalties after a 0-0 draw, on Tuesday, to book a League Cup quarter-final with holders Manchester City.
Eriksen is recovering at a nearby hospital and will have an implantable cardioverter defibrillator
Denmark's Christian Eriksen was given CPR by medical staff on the pitch during the Euro 2020 match against Finland before being rushed to a nearby hospital.
UEFA said Eriksen, who was given CPR by medics on the pitch, was transferred to hospital where the 29-year-old was stabilised, with officials saying he was conscious. Following is a list of players who have collapsed on the pitch during a match.
Runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City will play Borussia Dortmund with the winners to face either Bayern or PSG in the semi-finals.
Portugal will look to their Euro 2020 opener with Hungary to get a head start
Images from the Nations League matches played on Thursday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
Ukraine was ordered to play a game behind closed doors as part of a UEFA punishment for racist behavior at last month's European Championship qualifier against Spain.
'You cannot easily be stricter than we are. You can put everyone into a complete quarantine, that is a scenario that has been debated in several countries'
Chelsea will face Dynamo Kiev at home in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie, while London rivals Arsenal will travel to Rennes following Friday's draw in Nyon, Switzerland.
UEFA have offered their support to Slovenian club Maribor following the deaths of two of their young players in a car crash on Tuesday. Left back Damjan Marjanovic and forward Zoran Baljak, both 20, were killed in an accident as they returned from training. Two of their team mates, Ziga Lipuscek and Ljubomir Moravac, who are both 19, were injured in the crash, with the latter in a serious condition.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi beat Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo to take home the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award on Thursday.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. score twice as his side punished a sloppy Liverpool to win 3-1, while Manchester City beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg.
Pirlo started his first season in charge of a senior side looking to make it 10 successive Serie A titles for Juve, but the rookie coach struggled.
Much-needed rest for the Barca stars before FC Barcelona's UEFA's Champions League campaign.
Striker Kylian Mbappe will bounce back from missing the decisive penalty in France's shootout loss to Switzerland on Monday that saw the world champions exit Euro 2020 at the last-16 stage, coach Didier Deschamps said.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
French Football Federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet told the country's top clubs on Wednesday to make the quality of their pitches an absolute priority, describing one ground at Euro 2016 as "a failure".
FIFA's independent ethics committee has cleared the organisation's president Gianni Infantino of any alleged breach of its code, world soccer's governing body said on Wednesday.
With this win Italy have extended their unbeaten run to 29 games, the last 10 coming off wins where they have scored 31 goals and conceded none.
European clubs are anticipating another windfall after changes to the Champions League and say the new system will be fairer as well as making them richer. The European Clubs Association (ECA) said it expected revenue from the Champions League and Europa League to jump from 2.35 billion euros ($2.62 billion) per season to around 3 billion euros from 2018-19, when the changes, announced by UEFA last month, come into force. ECA chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also ruled out talk of a breakaway Super League in the foreseeable future, saying the clubs wanted to remain united.
Denmark's Christian Eriksen received life-saving cardiac massage treatment on the pitch after collapsing on Saturday in his side's Euro 2020 opening match with Finland but was able to speak before being taken to hospital, team doctor Morten Boesen said.
'I don't understand Spain without Catalonia. I don't want to understand or see it'
