🇬🇧 England Lose a Euro Final, Again // ¡Arriba España! 🇪🇸

Hey there MVP,

So Gareth Southgate’s England lost another major final, but with Southgate now gone, England fans can now look ahead to the 2026 World Cup with players like Cole Palmer and Kobbie Mainoo having firmly established themselves.

Incredibly, Spain and Spanish clubs have been in 27 finals in the last 23 years (World Cups, Euros, Champions League, Europa League, Club World Cup) and they have won every single one of them. The only time a Spanish team has lost a final during that 23-year period was when they lost to another Spanish club. 

In the Copa America, Arrrrgentina came out victorious and retained their crown. The final ended 1-nil after a very late winner from Lautaro Martínez deep into extra time to break Colombian hearts. A hard-fought game, the real big news was the ankle injury Messi picked up. Like Ronaldo a week ago, Lionel was crying but for different reasons.

We now turn our attention back to club football and look ahead to some crucial Champions League qualifiers including Irish clubs. We’ve also got the latest transfer news and top stories from around the world of football. Let’s goAt!

Today's game plan:

• Don’t Miss This Game 🎯

• This Week’s Shocker 🤬

• Around The World 🌍

• Games to Keep an Eye On 👀

• Goat Trivia 🐐

Shamrock Rovers vs Vikingur Reykjavik | Tuesday | 20:00 BST

The Champions League first qualifying round reaches its climax as Shamrock Rovers host Vikingur Reykjavik in Dublin tonight. The icy first leg in Reykjavik ended in a goalless draw, so the stage is set for this decisive second leg. Shamrock Rovers eye a victory that could not only advance them to face Sparta Prague but more importantly, significantly boost their financial gains from the Champions League by an order of magnitude.

Form & Team News

Shamrock Rovers currently sit in 4th in the Irish Premier Division and have been showing mixed form with a recent league record of three losses and two wins. The most recent result was the 0-0 draw against Vikingur in the first leg of this crucial Champions league qualifier. 

Despite their struggles in domestic games, Rovers have shown a defensive solidity in European matches and are looking to take their games down to the wire. Indeed, in the first leg Shamrock repelled numerous attacks, maintaining a clean sheet despite being reduced to ten men towards the end of the game.

It was midfielder Darragh Nugent who picked up the red card and will therefore serve a suspension for the second leg —a significant blow for Rovers. However, the return of key players like Johnny Kenny and potentially Graham Burke into the squad is a much-needed boost. 

There are Injuries to Rory Gaffney and Aaron McEneff which will see them fully sidelined for this crucial, big money qualifier.

GR Shamrock Rovers predicted lineup | Leon Pöhls, Roberto Lopes, Sean Hoare, Daniel Cleary, Joshua Honohan, Jack Byrne, Gary O'Neil, Trevor Clarke, Dylan Watts, Johnny Kenny, Aaron GreeneThe Champions League first qualifying round reaches its climax as Shamrock Rovers host Vikingur Reykjavik in Dublin tonight. The icy first leg in Reykjavik ended in a goalless draw, so the stage is set for this decisive second leg. Shamrock Rovers eye a victory that could not only advance them to face Sparta Prague but more importantly, significantly boost their financial gains from the Champions League by an order of magnitude.

Vikingur Reykjavik’s from entering the second leg is also mixed with an overall record of LWD recently. These are the current Icelandic champions and one of the oldest clubs in Iceland. This season, Vikingur have continued their dominance of the Besta Deild Karla and currently sit in first place, five points clear. 

Although Vikingur looked solid at home, historically they have struggled in away matches in European competitions. To date, the club has never secured an away win in European competition. Shamrock Rovers will be hoping the Icelandic side don’t put their unfortunate run to an end at the Tallaght Stadium tonight.

Vikingur’s recent form in all competitions has seen two draws and three wins, including a big away win over Stjarnan towards the end of June. However, it’s likely the Icelandic champions will make some adjustments to their starting XI for this trip to Ireland. 

The predicted change is that Helgi Gudjonsson, who was substituted due to a knock in the first leg, will make way for Ari Sigurpalsson, a player who poses a major threat from set-pieces. The rest of the team is expected to remain unchanged, relying on a solid defensive set up. 

GR Vikingur Reykjavik predicted lineup | Ingvar Jonsson, Jón Guðni Fjóluson, Oliver Ekroth, Gunnar Vatnhamar, Karl Fridleifur Gunnarsson, Pablo Punyed, Nikolaj Andreas Hansen, Erlingur Agnarsson, Ari Sigurpalsson, Valdimar Thór Ingimundarson, Danijel Dejan Djuric

This Week’s Shocker…

This week’s shocker has to be this epic clapback from Marc Cucurella to Gary Neville. 

Cucurella played from the start for Spain and was a consistent performer, actually setting up Spain’s winning goal in the final. We see a lot of players responding to comments made in online media these days, but when done right, it can bring gold. 

Around the world…

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Gareth Southgate steps down from England manager job

After eight years as England manager, Garet Southgate has taken the decision to resign from the England job. He steps down as England’s most successful manager in terms of consistent major tournament performances; having reached 1 World Cup final and 2 Euros finals. Southgate’s full record: Played 102; Won 61; Drawn 24; Lost 17; Scored 213; Conceded 72; Win ratio 59.8%  

🇸🇦Al-Qadsiah go after Aubameyang after completing Nacho signing

Saudi side Al Qadsiah are pushing to sign Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, as next top target after bringing in Nacho. Marseille would be happy to keep Auba at the club... waiting for his plan.

🇦🇷Argentina beat Colombia to win Copa America, Messi injures ankle

Argentina and Colombia played out a gruelling Copa America final on Sunday night / Monday morning. This was a contest between two legendary captains; Leo Messi and James Rodriguez, with the Argentinian’s side coming out on top. The win means Argentina have now set a new record for the most Copa America wins; 16x champions. 

🇮🇹AC Milan likely to agree deal with Monaco for Youssouf Fofana

With his Monaco contract set to expire in a year’s time, Fofana is looking for a move. He has reportedly agreed personal terms with AC Milan, but as yet no deal has been agreed between the clubs on the transfer fee. 

🇳🇱Ten Hag brings Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee to Manchester United

Manchester United have completed the signing of Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna in a deal worth £35 million (€42.5m). Zirkzee has signed a 5-year deal with United and will look to challenge Rasmus Houlind for a starting role up front.

Games to keep an eye on…

Lincoln Red Imps vs Hamrun | Tuesday | 17:00 BST

The Imps take on Hamrun in a game between two of the most English-sounding about. Turns out Hamrun, or Ħamrun Spartans as they are officially know, is a Maltese football club based in Hamrun, a town of 10,000 people.

FCSB vs Virtus | Tuesday | 18:30 BST

FCSB is the new name that the legendary European club Steaua București now goes by. Steaua are cruising in this Champions League qualifier, aggregate score heading into the second leg, 7:1.

Decic vs The News Saints | Tuesday | 20:00 BST 

The New Saints are an interesting footballing story. TNS or The New Saints as they are now known following a rebranding, are a join Welsh/English club who play in the Cymru Premier in Wales.Although you might not have heard of them, TNS are the most successful club in the Welsh league structure, with 16 league titles. In fact, since the 2001–02 season, TNS have finished as champions or runners-up in every season, other than the 2008–09. Getting further in European competition is now the aim for TNS.

Petrocub vs Ordabasy | Wednesday | 18:00 BST

A random one really, but it’s always good to see Moldovan club Petrocub Hîncești in action. They play Ordabasy in this Champions League qualifier, with the scores tied at 0-0 on aggregate. 

GOAT Trivia…

Say congrats to…

Happy birthday to the Spurs and Real Madrid legend [@GarethBale11]. The Welshman turned 35 today, Tuesday 16th July. 

On this day in football…

On 16th July 2016, a little-known Frenchman called Ngolo Kante signed for Chelsea. The little Frenchman, who some called the perfect natural replacement for Makelele, lifted the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, Europa League, UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup in his seven seasons with Chelsea. 

With 269 games played, he netted 13 goals. In 2023 Kante made the move to Saudi and now plays his football with Al-Ittihad.

Goal of the week…

This week our goal of the week is up for vote.

Vote to be entered into our active subscriber-bonus promotion.

Here are the goals if you’ve forgotten them already 😅

Nico Williams goal

Cole Palmers Goal

Bonus: Euro 2024 top goalscorers 

(Accurate at the time of writing: 9th July)

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