🇪🇺 Big wins for Germany 🇩🇪, England 🏴, Spain 🇪🇸

As Euro 2024 got underway, there were some impressive victories for Germany 🇩🇪 & Spain 🇪🇸 and ‘decent’ results for England 🏴 and Italy 🇮🇹.

Hey there MVP,

So Euro 2024 got underway with a battering victory for the host nation. A confident Germany dominated a lacklustre Scotland from start to finish, going 3-nil up by the end of the first half. The game would eventually finish 5-1 with impressive performances from Jamal Musiala, Florian Wirtzk, Toni Kroos and substitute Niclas Fulkrug. The weekend also saw Spain smash Croatia 3-nil and Netherlands grab an impressive win over Poland. 

On Sunday, Italy came back from 1-nil down to beat Albania 2-1 whilst Jude Bellingham and England got the job done against Serbia. England started quickly and looked organised in attack and defence, but they failed to build on their early 1-nil lead.

In other news, there’s plenty of transfer negotiations going on in the background of the Euros and we’ve got the latest news. You also don’t want to miss out picks of the best upcoming games in Euro 2024 and this week’s shocker..

Today's game plan:

• Don’t Miss This Game 🎯

• This Week’s Shocker 🤬

• Around The World 🌍

• Games to Keep an Eye On 👀

• Goat Trivia 🐐 

Spain vs Italy | Thursday | 20:00 BST

On Thursday night there’s a big one in Group B as Spain and Italy, two giants of European football, play each other in a crucial group stage match. 

This match will be a tactical battle between two of Europe's footballing behemoths. Spain will look to dominate possession and utilise their exciting forward line, whilst Italy will look to disrupt Spain's rhythm with pragmatic defending and then look to exploit opportunities through quick transitions.

Form & Team News

🇪🇸 Spain, a historically dominant force in European football, has a decorated history with three European Championship titles (1964, 2008, 2012). Known for their possession-based style and tactical fluidity, Spain enters the 2024 tournament with high expectations, particularly after a series of strong performances leading up to the competition.

Back in 2008 to 2012, Spain were a dominant force in European and World football. The Spaniards have 3 European Championship titles (1964, 2008, 2012) and 1 World Cup (2010), but they enter Euro 2024 with lower expectations than previous tournaments.

In their opening Group B match, Spain showcased their offensive prowess in a convincing 3-0 victory over Croatia. They got going with a nicely taken goal from Álvaro Morata, which was then followed by goals from Fabián Ruiz, and Dani Carvajal. Spain showed their usual confidence in possession and dominated large periods of the match. As always with Spain teams, they have match winners and small but technical players that can create moments of brilliance.

At the heart of this Spain team is Manchester City’s Rodri, who anchors the midfield and adds height to a relatively small outfield. Of course, there’s also the wing play of Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, who is wanted by both Barcelona and Arsenal.
Spain head into the match with a fully fit squad, bolstered by the return of key players such as Aymeric Laporte who has now recovered from a recent muscle issue. The team for the game against Italy is likely to be very similar to the team that was selected in the Croatia game. Spain will play their usual 4-3-3 with Fabian Ruiz, Rodri and Pedri bossing the midfield and Yamal, Moratta and Nico Williams up front. 

GR Spain predicted lineup | Unai Simón, Nacho Fernández, Daniel Carvajal, Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Fabián Ruiz, Rodri, Pedri, Álvaro Morata, Nico Williams, Lamine Yamal

🇮🇹 Italy are the current  European champions, having beaten England on penalties in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley. Italy are defending a rich legacy that includes 4 World Cup victories (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) and 2 European Championships (1968, 2020). However in this tournament, Italy have a much younger squad with a bit less of that gritty Italian experience of older teams. But this is a team that is definitely not to be underestimated or taken lightly. 

Italy began their Euro 2024 journey in Group B with a comeback win over Albania. After conceding the fastest goal in European Championship history, when Nedim Bajrani scored within 23 seconds, they showed resilience and persistence to take the lead back. There were goals from Alessandro Bastoni in the 11th minute, and then the winner from Nicolò Barella in the 16th minute secured all three points for the Italians.

Italy play a solid system with a flat back three that switches to a 5 in defence. Italy didn’t get through the game against Albania unscathed though; Federico Chiesa picked up a slight knock making him a doubt for Thursday’s game against Spain. Expect Gianluigi Donnarumma to start in goal, with Bostoni in front of him, Jorginho in the middle and Gianluca Scamacca up top.

GR Italy predicted lineup | Gianluigi Donnarumma, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Riccardo Calafiori, Alessandro Bastoni, Federico Dimarco, Nicolò Barella, Jorginho, Davide Frattesi, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Mateo Retegui, Gianluca Scamacca

This Week’s Shocker…

Belgium made a shocking start to Group E by putting in an uninspired performance against Slovakia to lose 1-nil.

Despite Belgium's higher FIFA ranking and expectations as a possible major challenger for international tournaments, Slovakia managed to hold off the Belgian pressure. Slovakia scored early on in the 7th minute through Ivan Schranz and defended well, other than one point in the 86th minute when Lukaku scored; but, following a VAR review, the goal was ruled out due to a handball from Lois Openda during the buildup. De Bruyne and co were not best pleased. 

Around the world…

🇸🇦 Virgil van Dijk offered massive contract by Al-Nassr

The Liverpool centre-half has been heavily linked with a move to Saudi, and Al-Nassr emerged as the likely favourites to secure the Dutchman’s services. However, although van Dijk has admitted he has spoken to new Liverpool manager Arne Slot about his contract situation, a decision on his future will not be made until after Euro 2024.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Multiple clubs interested in signing Mason Greenwood from Man Utd 

Manchester United have decided to stick with their decision to sell Mason Greenwood. It’s being reported that the English forward would prefer to stay at Getafe, but clubs including Juventus, Lazio and Napoli are interested —as are Valencia, Atletico Madrid, and Barcelona.

🇮🇹 Georgian winger Kvaratskhelia on the verge of leaving Napoli 

The agent of Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia says his client wants to leave Napoli this summer. Apparently, Kvaratskhelia is not comfortable with the number of managers that Napoli have gone through during his time at the club.

🇪🇸 Lamine Yamal becomes the youngest player to ever play in the Euros

Spanish and Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal made history by becoming the youngest player to play in a game at the European Football Championships. At 16 years and 338 days old, Yamal takes the record from Poland midfielder Kacper Kozłowski who was 17 years, 246 days old. 

🇳🇱 Xavi Simons is close to completing a move to the Premier League 

Manchester United have reignited their interest in Xavi Simons - after initially agreeing a £50m transfer fee for him last summer. The Dutchman has been playing well in Germany for RB Leipzig and has attracted interest from other clubs including Barcelona and Arsenal.

Games to keep an eye on…

Portugal vs Czech Republic | Tuesday | 18:00 BST

Portugal are raising eyebrows and there are many of us who have Portugal as dark horses to win this tournament. If they do win, it will be by outsourcing other teams, not by defending better. Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, will face the Czech Republic in this Group D match up.

Croatia vs Albania | Saturday | 20:00 BST 

Croatia and Albania play in a crucial Group B clash. Albania will look to bounce back from their loss to Italy with a big performance against Croatia. These teams and countries have some shared history. 

Scotland vs Switzerland | Sunday | 20:00 BST

Scotland take on Switzerland in Group, and this is a game that Scotland probably have to win. Although they have a modest population of 9 million, Switzerland are no mugs when it comes to international football. In their opening game they beat Hungary 3-1 and players like Granit Xhaka, Kwadwo Duah, and Ruben Vargas will cause trouble all over the pitch for Scotland. 

Netherlands vs France | Friday | 20:00 BST

A classic Euros match up as the dutch take on the French on Friday night. You could argue that the Netherlands looked better than France in their opening games. Netherlands beat Poland 2-1 whilst France secured a 1-nil win over Austria. Worryingly for France, Kilian Mbappe took a knock to the face and looks to have broken his nose. Looking more and more like a ninja turtle. 

GOAT Trivia…

Say congrats to…

Jurrien Timber [@Jurrientimber]. The Arsenal and Netherlands defender turned 23 on Monday.

On this day in football…

On June 17, during Euro 2016, Italy played a crucial group stage match against Sweden, taking a narrow 1-0 victory. This win was crucial for the Italian as it confirmed their advancement to the knockout stages. 

The only goal of the match was scored by Éder in the 88th minute, a brilliant curling shot from outside the box. This match was particularly memorable for its defensive rigour and tactical approach. The game featured legends from both countries including Zlatan Ibrahimovich, Danielle De Rossi and Higi Buffon.

Goal of the week…

Our goal of the week is this beautiful hit from Nicolae Stanciu for Romania in their 3-nil win over Ukraine.  

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