Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised the 'decisive' Antoine Griezmann after his two goals helped down Olympique de Marseille 3-0 in the Europa League final on Wednesday and tried to convince the striker to resist the lure of Barcelona.
Hosts France have sealed the last semi-final spot and will meet World Champions Germany in a mouth-watering clash at Marseille. In another showdown, giant-killers' Wales inspired by their hero Gareth Bale will take on Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal at Lyon. Rediff.com takes a closer look at the four semi-finalists as the fight for European glory reaches it's business end.
IMAGES from an exciting Europa League semi-final first leg match played at Emirates Stadium on Thursday
Albania are unlikely to pose much of a threat to France but Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann will be expected to produce sharper performances in Wednesday's Group A match when victory should assure the hosts a last 16 spot in Euro 2016.
Heavyweights Arsenal, Atletico Madrid and Lazio took big steps towards reaching the Europa League semi-finals after convincing home first-leg victories and RB Leipzig also stayed on course with a 1-0 win over Olympique de Marseille on Thursday.
Lionel Messi's fifth-place finish in this year's Ballon d'Or vote was absurd, Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said of the Spanish champions' Argentina forward on Tuesday.
Mbappe becomes PSG's all-time highest goal-scorer as French champions extend lead
Atletico Madrid made a typically aggressive start to lay the foundations for a 2-0 victory at home.
Lionel Messi had two free-kick attempts while ex-Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic narrowly missed the target from inside the area.
Antoine Griezmann scored twice off the bench as Atletico Madrid sealed a place in the King's Cup quarter-finals with a 3-0 win at home to Rayo Vallecano on Thursday while Valencia also advanced with victory by the same scoreline at Granada.
Ronaldo's nomination comes after the 33-year-old last week denied rape allegations levelled against him by a woman who sued him in court in the United States.
'Les Bleus' will be inspired by the two-decade anniversary of their only World Cup win in 1998, while double winners Uruguay's modern generation are desperate to recreate the black-and-white-era glories of their 1930 and 1950 trophies.
Spanish soccer clubs have no option but to face up to reducing players' salaries next season due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, La Liga president Javier Tebas said. The Spanish season has been on hold since March and although matches are due to re-start in June without spectators, the league still estimates clubs will lose a combined 300 million euros ($326.07 million) in lost revenue due to the disruption.
Atletico Madrid's French forwards Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro fired them to a first win in three league outings as they beat Valencia 3-0 on Sunday to maintain their hold on Spain's fourth Champions League qualifying place.
Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi scored stunning goals to edge Barcelona towards a fourth consecutive King's Cup final with a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, although the holders were lucky to survive a late onslaught from the hosts.
Lionel Messi's early goal earned Paris St Germain a 1-0 win at Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday as they opened a two-point lead at the top of Ligue 1.
IMAGES from soccer matches played across Europe on Sunday.
France forward Antoine Griezmann says he would only leave Atletico Madrid if manager Diego Simeone also quit the La Liga club.
Atletico Madrid's Luis Suarez struck two late goals to give the LaLiga champions a 2-1 win at Getafe on Tuesday after the hosts were reduced to 10 men late in the second half.
Amid increasing speculation surrounding his potential move to Real Madrid, Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba believes that Cristiano Ronaldo should win the coveted Ballon d'Or trophy following victories in the Champions League and Euro 2016 finals. Despite being stretched off with a knee injury in the final, the Real Madrid superstar encouraged his teammates, issuing tactical instructions from sidelines to inspire Portugal to their first ever international trophy in Paris.
Antoine Griezmann headed two goals for Atletico Madrid in a 3-1 victory over Levante that kept them on the heels of La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday.
New France captain Kylian Mbappe lived up to expectations with two goals in a 4-0 statement home win against the Netherlands.
Images from the FIFA World Cup qualifier matches played on Tuesday night.
World champions France moved to four points while Hungary, on one point, kept up their slim hopes alive, in a group where they had been given little chance with heavyweights Germany and Portugal also in the mix.
Images from Saturday's action in La Liga.
United were unable to create enough quality opportunities to get themselves the goal they needed.
Manchester United showing 'concrete interest' in the French forward
The Dutchman burst through the middle of the pitch and laid the ball off for Messi to dribble into the net for an 18th league goal of the season, extending his lead at the top of the scoring charts.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
A statement from the club on Thursday said they had made record turnover of 990 million euros last season and projected an increase to 1.047 billion euros for the 2019/20 campaign.
Lionel Messi became Barca's record appearance maker in the competition with 76 Copa matches.
France coach Didier Deschamps confirmed his final Euro 2016 squad on Tuesday, including defenders Adil Rami and Samuel Umtiti in place of the injured Raphael Varane and Jeremy Mathieu. Liverpool centre back Mamadou Sakho was not included even though his 30-day provisional suspension for failing a drugs test expired last weekend. Hosts France geared up for the finals with a 3-2 victory over Cameroon in Nantes on Monday. They take on Scotland in Metz on Saturday.
A fitter Atletico Madrid will face off against Spanish neighbours Real Madrid in their second UEFA Champions League final in three years.
The win took Barca to the top of the standings on 68 points although Real Madrid, on 65, will reclaim their lead due to their superior head-to-head record if they beat Real Mallorca at home on Wednesday.
After tweaking his formation and starting lineup at Euro 2016, France coach Didier Deschamps seems to have found the perfect formula at just the right time. Thanks to his shrewd tactics, his team turned on the style to outplay Iceland 5-2 on Sunday and advance to an appetising semi-final battle with Germany. The fact that France, who had never got past the last eight at the finals since their 2000 triumph, managed to get almost everything right, has a lot to do with Deschamps' methods.
Despite striking a brace to help Atletico win Europa League title against Marseille, the French player has been heavily linked with a switch to Barcelona.
Barca, who were without injured talisman Lionel Messi, started on the back foot and fell behind when Nabil Fekir netted with a sublime angled strike in the 15th minute. Griezmann, who joined Barca last month from rivals Atletico Madrid, scored four minutes before halftime to level the scores.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone rates Antoine Griezmann as one of the top three players in the world and says the forward owes it to his ability to work hard and the willingness to listen.
Atletico Madrid are not seeking revenge for their 2014 Champions League final defeat but instead want to write a new chapter in the club's history with their first European Cup after getting past Bayern Munich.
Holders Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League after being stifled by a brilliantly well-organised Atletico Madrid.
