Author: WTX Sports Team

England fans represent a ‘challenge’ for hooligans from other nations out to claim a scalp at Euro 2024, a football policing expert has said. Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions play Serbia in their opener today, with their opponent’s followers including Red Star Belgrade’s notorious ultras. A policing expert assessing the threat drew on the spectre of Marseille at Euro 2016, when groups of Russian hooligans laid into England fans. Dr Mike Hope said that while England had largely shed its hooligan image the fans still present a ‘trophy’ for violent groups from other nations. He also told Metro.co.uk that an Anglo-German…

As per usual, the BBC and ITV are showing every game from the tournament live over the next month, with the former getting things underway for the Three Lions in Gelsenkirchen. This will be a relief for fans as over the years it has been noted that the national team perform way better when on the Beeb as opposed to their advert-heavy rivals, with some even claiming that ITV’s coverage is cursed. But is there any logic behind this? Metro has crunched the numbers and worked out that Gareth Southgate’s side should indeed avoid Laura Woods and Mark Pougatch at…

England kick off their Euro 2024 campaign against Serbia this evening and assistant manager Steve Holland will once again be in the dugout alongside Gareth Southgate as the pair attempt to guide the Three Lions to glory in Germany. Southgate and Holland will be putting the finishing touches to his side’s preparations knowing they have a fully fit squad to choose from in Gelsenkirchen, which will come as a great relief to England supporters. Holland has been Southgate’s assistant throughout his reign as England boss, which started when he took over as caretaker back in September 2016. That has seen…

If England are to progress to the latter stages of Euro 2024, the chances are you’ll likely be seeing as much of Laura Woods on your TV as any of the Three Lions stars hoping to make history in Germany over the course of the next month. An almost omnipresent figure on our airwaves and screens over the last few years, Woods, like Harry Kane for Gareth Southgate, would have been one of the first names on ITV’s team sheet when assembling the squad that will cover close to 50 games this summer. Not that she sees it like that.…

When UEFA first announced its revamped plans for the future of the Champions League, including an extra place each for the nations whose teams perform best in European competition across the course of every season, it seemed inevitable that even more power would be bestowed upon the continent’s wealthiest division. The top end Premier League clubs, of course, possess deep squads with alternative options in every single position, hire the most sought-after coaches, and spend eyewatering amounts of money every summer which far outstrip the outlay of their rivals in Spain, Italy, Germany, and beyond. Surely they would always perform…

EURO 2024 Today’s fixtures – 16 June 2024  Group C Slovenia vs Denmark Serbia vs England Group D Poland vs Netherlands

EURO 2024 fixtures: England fixtures! Group C 16 June 2024 Serbia vs England (Arena AufSchalke, 20:00)

Match Preview: Serbia vs England – kick-off, team news, predictions & where to watch 16/06/2024 – UEFA European Championship – (Group Stage – Group C) Venue: Arena AufSchalke England’s first Euros match kicks off on Sunday facing Serbia at 20:00. Where to watch? You can watch Serbia vs England on the BBC, BBC iPlayer. The match kicks-ff at 20:00. Possible lineups Serbia possible starting lineup:V. Milinkovic-Savic; Veljkovic, Milenkovic, Pavlovic; Zivkovic, Maksimovic, Lukic, Kostic; S. Milinkovic-Savic, Tadic; Mitrovic England possible starting lineup:Pickford; Walker, Stones, Guehi, Trippier; Alexander-Arnold, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Foden; Kane Form Guide Serbia:Form (all competitions, most recent first): WLWLDL England:Form…

Slovenia vs Denmark – kick-off, team news, predictions & where to watch 16/06/2024 – UEFA European Championship – (Group Stage – Group C) Venue: Stuttgart Arena Slovenia take on Denmark in today’s first Group C game with kick-off at 17:00.  Team news There are no injury concerns for either side but Denmark boss Hjulmand admitted not all of his players are in shape to complete 90 minutes. “We have five substitutions and we know we will use these,” he added. How can I watch Slovenia v Denmark? The match is being shown live on ITV at 17:00 BST. Match stats Prediction:…

QUICK FACTS – (Group stage – Group A)  Match Review: Hungary 1-3 Switzerland – ‘Swiss make easy work of Hungary’ Switzerland secured a hard-fought victory over Hungary, starting their Euro 2024 campaign with a win at Cologne Stadium. Kwadwo Duah, a surprise inclusion by coach Murat Yakin, justified his selection by slotting home his first international goal. Michel Aebischer doubled Switzerland’s lead right before halftime. Barnabas Varga rekindled Hungary’s hopes with 30 minutes remaining, guiding a brilliantly weighted cross from Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai past Yann Sommer. Substitute Breel Embolo sealed the win in stoppage time with a skilful lob…

QUICK FACTS – (Group stage – Group B)  Match Review: Spain 3-0 Croatia – ‘La Roja make statement with impressive, high speed start’ Spain made a commanding start to their quest for a fourth Euros title with an impressive victory over Croatia at Olympiastadion Berlin. First-half goals from Alvaro Morata, Fabian Ruiz, and Dani Carvajal essentially decided the match before halftime. While Croatia offered little resistance, this performance was a statement win for La Roja. Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal became the youngest player in men’s Euros history at 16 years and 338 days, but it was Spain’s most experienced player…

QUICK FACTS – (Group Stage – Group B) Match Review: Italy 2-1 Albania – ‘defending champions make great start’ Defending champions Italy fought back for a hard-earned opening victory after Albania scored the fastest goal in Euros history. Nedim Bajrami made history after just 23 seconds, thumping a strike into the top right corner following Federico Dimarco’s throw-in blunder. However, Albania’s moment of joy in Dortmund was short-lived. The underdogs sat back but couldn’t stifle the Italians. Alessandro Bastoni headed home Lorenzo Pellegrini’s inswinging delivery from a clever short corner to equalise in the 11th minute. Just five minutes later,…

QUICK FACTS – (Group Stage – Group A) Match Review: Germany 5-1 Scotland – ‘Hosts thrash lacklustre Scotland’ Scotland crumbled under Germany’s relentless onslaught as Steve Clarke’s 10-man team began Euro 2024 with a disappointing defeat in Munich. The electric atmosphere at the Allianz Arena set the stage, and within 10 minutes, Florian Wirtz skillfully manoeuvred the ball into the net to open the scoring. Just nine minutes later, Jamal Musiala’s powerful strike almost tore through Angus Gunn’s net and shattered the spirits of the Scottish fans. Before the break, Kai Havertz converted a penalty, and Ryan Porteous’ red card…

Gareth Southgate has an entirely fit squad to choose from ahead of England’s opening Euro 2024 match against Serbia. The Three Lions begin their European Championship campaign in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday, hoping to go one better than three years ago when they lost on home soil in the final against Italy. Before England can harbour realistic ambitions of winning its first major trophy since 1966, they must first safely navigate a group that also contains Denmark and Slovenia. Southgate’s hopes of making a fast start to the tournament have been boosted by the return to full fitness of Bukayo who…

Express Sport – ‘Wake-up call can spur us on to glory’ says Kane The back page of the Daily Express leads on England captain Harry Kane who spoke after England’s shock 1-0 loss to Iceland in their final friendly match before the summer’s Euros in Germany. The England captain still believes England can go on to win the comptetion but expects it to be a tough one.

Sun Sport – Old Trafford crunch: Tuchel doesn’t want Utd job The back page of the Sun leads on German football manager Thomas Tuchel who has ruled himself out of managing Premier League club Manchester United. Tuchel was recently fired from Bayern Munich and there was speculation he could be heading to Manchester to take over from Erik ten Hag – who’s expected to be fired before the start of the new season. 

Telegraph Sport – Tuchel rules out United job The back page of the Daily Telegraph leads on German football manager Thomas Tuchel who has ruled himself out of managing Premier League club Manchester United. Tuchel was recently fired from Bayern Munich and there was speculation he could be heading to Manchester to take over from Erik ten Hag – who’s expected to be fired before the start of the new season. 

Guardian Sport – Kane over World Cup pain and insists he is fit for Euros charge The back page of the Guardian leads on Harry Kane who has insisted England are ready for the upcoming Euros in Germany this summer.

As England ramp up their preparations for Euro 2024, one player has been tipped to land a mind-blowing £375,000-a-week contract once he returns from Germany. Gareth Southgate and the 26-man Three Lions squad travel to Germany on Monday ahead of their first Euros game against Serbia next weekend. Despite a shock and disappointing 1-0 defeat to Iceland in their final warm-up match, England are one of the favourites to win the tournament. England have gone 58 years without a major trophy but reached the latter stages of the last World Cup – just as they did in 2018 – while…

Neal Maupay insists he has ‘no problem’ with James Maddison despite appearing to mock his omission from England’s final Euro 2024 squad. Everton striker Maupay, who spent last season on loan at Brentford, angered Maddison and the Tottenham squad by copying his darts celebration in a Premier League match against Spurs in January. Maddison and Maupay shared some tense words after the incident and the Frenchman escalated the feud on social media when he posted: ‘More goals and less relegations in my career than James Maddison.’ Maupay, 27, reignited the feud after Maddison released an honest and emotional statement following…

Has there ever been a more despairing 24-hour period in English sport? Probably, but after England’s dismal performance during the 1-0 defeat to Iceland at Wembley and the T20 World Cup battering suffered against Australia in Bridgetown it’s difficult to immediately bring one to mind. Of course, this may well be recency bias, a good old fashioned kneejerk reaction or just plain grumpiness but the two defeats hardly augur well for the rest of a sporting summer which promised so much and is now in danger of providing so little. England had only one shot on target on Friday and…

Phil Jones says Marcus Rashford ‘could have certainly offered something’ had he been selected in England’s Euro 2024 squad and expects the forward to bounce back stronger than ever next season. Rashford managed just eight goals in all competitions for Manchester United last term and has been left out of Gareth Southgate’s 26-man party set to fly out to Germany for this summer’s eagerly anticipated tournament. It’s just the latest setback in a concerning fall from grace for the attacker, who enjoyed his best ever campaign in front of goal in the 2022/23 season after finding the back of the…

Paul Merson has urged Portugal to take the difficult decision to bench Cristiano Ronaldo for the start of Euro 2024. Ronaldo enters his sixth European Championships having spent the last 18 months at Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr, where he has scored 64 goals in 70 appearances. The 39-year-old is Portugal’s greatest-ever player and will look to add to his 206 caps and 128 goals at the Euros in Germany. But Merson believes Ronaldo should start the tournament from the bench and only come into the side once Portugal’s qualification to the knockout stages has been secured. Roberto Martinez’s…

Kylian Mbappe has played down injury fears ahead of Euro 2024 with the France star benched in their final warm-up game against Canada. Les Blues were held a goalless draw on Sunday with Mbappe starting on the bench, coming on for the final 15 minutes. The forward, whose move to Real Madrid was confirmed last week, missed training with the national team on Saturday just nine days before the Euros kick off in Germany with France’s campaign beginning against Austria on Monday 17 June. L’Equipe reported Mbappe had been struggling with a back problem but he was deemed fit enough…

In the 2010s, if people wanted to predict the outcome of a national football match they turned to octopuses. Famous tentacled prophets included Paul and Rabiot, who gave their findings by choosing the winning country’s flag. They even had a good track record – at least until Rabiot was reportedly boiled alive and sold for food at a fish market. But now it’s 2024, and it’s all about the asparagus (note both octopus and asparagus end in ‘us’ so perhaps that’s what bestows the mystical powers.) Fortune teller Jemima Packington, 67, uses the green spears to reveal the future, and…