Scotland to open Euro 2024 with Germany clash
Scotland will kick off Euro 2024 after they were drawn to face tournament hosts Germany in Group A. Steve Clarke’s side, who sealed qualification for the finals with two matches to spare, will play in the opening match in Munich on June 14 before games against Switzerland and Hungary. Gareth Southgate’s England were drawn to face Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia in Group C. Wales still need to win two play-off matches in March if they are going to make it, but face a difficult assignment against 2022 World Cup finalists France, the Netherlands and Austria if they do. Scotland lost to Germany at the group stage of Euro 92, a 2-0 defeat preventing the Scots from progressing. Scotland also faced West Germany at the finals of the 1986 World Cup, where the Germans won 2-1 en route to the final. The Germans have won the three most recent encounters. Scotland have never faced Hungary in a competitive match but have won three of their previous nine encounters, while they beat the Swiss 1-0 in Euro 96 at Villa Park – the teams’ last competitive encounter. England’s opening match will be against Serbia, a team they have never faced at senior level before, in Gelsenkirchen. The team then move on to Frankfurt to take on Denmark, who they beat in the semi-final of Euro 2020. Their final group match will be against Slovenia in Cologne, a team England beat in their final group match at the 2010 World Cup. Read More Will Jacks looks at positives after England central contract snub Brentford beat Luton with strong second-half show Five-star Burnley crush Sheffield United at Turf Moor
2023-12-03 02:17
Tim Howard elected to US Soccer Hall of Fame
Goalkeeper Tim Howard has been elected to the U.S. National Soccer Hall of Fame and will be inducted on May 4
2023-12-03 01:59
Brentford beat Luton with strong second-half show
Brentford scored three second-half goals to edge an important Premier League victory over Luton at Gtech Community Stadium. Neal Maupay opened the scoring and Ben Mee added a second soon after. Although Luton’s Jacob Brown pulled a goal back, Shandon Baptiste sealed a 3-1 success for Thomas Frank’s men with nine minutes remaining. However, the Bees’ injury troubles worsened when Kristoffer Ajer picked up a knock in the warm-up, with Saman Ghoddos replacing him. The hosts lacked any edge to their play in the first half as they struggled to play without midfield operator Mathias Jensen, who remained sidelined with an abductor injury. Luton’s absent Alfie Doughty, who picked up a hip injury in the week, was replaced by centre-back Amari’i Bell, who slotted in as a makeshift left-wing back. In the early stages of the contest, Bryan Mbeumo beat Jamaica international Bell on the outside, before his deft cross was dealt with by Luton’s tight defence. Neither side registered a shot on target inside the first half hour, although Yehor Yarmoliuk came close for the hosts. The midfielder’s close-range effort took a heavy deflection off Carlton Morris before the ball narrowly missed the inside of Thomas Kaminski’s post and went out for a corner. The Bees gained momentum from this and Mbeumo was in the thick of things again in the 37th minute. The attacker glided past his marker, driving inside, before producing a whipped curling shot which narrowly missed the target. The six-goal man was Brentford’s only real outlet in the first half and his neat flicks and feints opened opportunities up for attack partner Yoane Wissa, who tested Kaminski moments later. The home side came out for the second half strongly and broke the deadlock in the 49th minute. The pacey Wissa took up a dangerous position on the left and sent a testing cross into the box. The ball cannoned off Gabriel Osho and into the path of the alert Maupay, who opened the scoring. Frank’s half-time wisdom paid dividends for the west Londoners and they doubled their lead in the 56th minute through Mee. Mbeumo’s corner found the head of the rising central defender, whose effort deflected off Morris and into Kaminski’s net. Luton had paid the price for an erratic opening 10 minutes of the second half, as their defensive structure and organisation abandoned them.However, Rob Edwards’ team sought a way back and Brown, who helped them to a first home win of the season last week, came off the bench to make it 2-1 in the 76th minute. A week after his 83rd-minute winner against Crystal Palace, Brown cut through the middle of the Brentford backline and shot powerfully into the bottom corner of Mark Flekken’s goal. However, in keeping with the Hatters’ day, a series of mishaps led to Brentford sealing the win five minutes later. The ball pinballed around Luton’s penalty box and no defender managed to clear their lines before a poor parried save from Kaminski gifted Baptiste with an easy tap-in to round off the scoring. Read More Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard fire Arsenal four points clear at PL summit Five-star Burnley crush Sheffield United at Turf Moor Ronnie O’Sullivan out to ‘ruin careers’ of trophy rivals after reaching UK final Bristol blow Gloucester away for derby delight Police charge more than 40 away fans after major disorder outside Villa Park ‘We never lost trust’: Sarina Wiegman remained confident of England comeback
2023-12-03 01:57
Michigan vs. Iowa: Date, time, location and how to watch Big Ten Championship Game
The No. 2 Michigan Wolverines and No. 16 Iowa Hawkeyes face off in the 2023 Big Ten Championship Game. Here is how you can watch the game.
2023-12-03 01:52
Arsenal v Wolves LIVE: Premier League score and updates as Gunners hold on for vital win
The 2023/24 Premier League season is under way and you can follow every game and every goal right here with The Independent. This year sees Manchester City try to defend their crown and claim a historic fourth title in succession. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City, who also won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, will have to see off Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest to claim an unprecedented sixth league title in seven years. Meanwhile Luton Town are making their first appearance in the Premier League, having risen from non-league in an incredible decade of progress. They followed Championship winners Burnley and second-placed Sheffield United in earning promotion to the top flight. Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.
2023-12-03 01:24
Euro 2024 stadiums: Where will games be played in Germany?
Germany will host the European Championships next summer as England head to Euro 2024 as one of the favourites. After the Covid-delayed Euros were held across the continent in 2021, the tournament returns to its one-country host format. Germany is set to be a popular destination because of its strong football culture and hosted a memorable World Cup in 2006. The Olympiastadion in Berlin will stage another major final, while Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena and Borussia Dortmund’s iconic Signal Iduna Park are two of Europe’s biggest grounds. Euro 2024 draw LIVE: England, Scotland and Wales discover finals opponents for Germany Here’s everything you need to know. Euro 2024 stadiums Berlin - Olympiastadion Berlin Capacity: 75,000 Key games: Final, quarter-final 3 Cologne - Cologne Stadium (RheinEnergieSTADION) Capacity: 50,000 Key games: Last-16 match 3 Dortmund - BVB Stadion Dortmund (Signal Iduna Park) Capacity: 65,000 Key games: Semi-final 2 Dusseldorf - Dusseldorf Arena (MERKUR SPIEL-ARENA) Capacity: 51,000 Key games: Quarter-final 4 Frankfurt - Frankfurt Arena (Deutsche Bank Park) Capacity: 55,000 Key games: Last-16 match 5 Gelsenkirchen - Arena AufSchalke (Veltins-Arena) Capacity: 55,000 Key games: Last-16 match 4 Hamburg - Volksparkstadion Hamburg Capacity: 52,000 Key games: Quarter-final 2 Leipzig - Leipzig Stadium (Red Bull Arena) Capacity: 43,000 Key games: Last-16 match 8 Munich - Munich Football Arena (Allianz Arena) Capacity: 70,000 Key games: Tournament opener, semi-final 1 Stuttgart - Stuttgart Arena (MHPArena) Capacity: 55,000 Key games: Quarter-final 1 Read More Euro 2024 draw LIVE: England, Scotland and Wales discover opponents What time is the Euro 2024 draw and what are the pots? Euro 2024 draw: Top seeds England could face Scotland and Wales What are Scotland’s best and worst scenarios in the Euro 2024 draw? What are England’s best and worst case scenarios in Euro 2024 draw? Euro 2024: The cheapest ways to follow England and Scotland in Germany next summer
2023-12-03 01:23
Five-star Burnley crush Sheffield United at Turf Moor
Burnley ended their wait for a Premier League home win in style with a 5-0 rout of fellow strugglers Sheffield United, climbing off the foot of the table and piling pressure on Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom. Jay Rodriguez needed just 15 seconds to head Vincent Kompany’s side in front and Jacob Bruun Larsen doubled the lead in the 28th minute, with United ending the first half a man down after Oli McBurnie collected two petulant yellow cards in quick succession. More pain followed for United in the second half as Zeki Amdouni and Luca Koleosho scored two in the space of three minutes before Josh Brownhill added a fifth, giving Burnley their biggest ever Premier League win. No English league club had ever opened a season with eight home defeats and Burnley could not afford to set that record against a United side who began the day one point better off, with these two starting the day first and second in terms of the worst starts to a Premier League season by promoted sides. Both Burnley’s wins to date have come against teams promoted alongside them in the summer, but after encouraging displays against Crystal Palace and West Ham, three points offer tangible reward for improving performances. For United it was another chastening day, the pain of defeat increased by the loss of McBurnie to a needless suspension. There was no sign of the sort of quality that will be needed to get them out of trouble. Burnley scored the opener with a move straight from kick-off. James Trafford punted the ball forward, Amdouni shifted it to the left and Charlie Taylor whipped in a first-time cross for Rodriguez to head home. It was the quickest Premier League goal of the season, and made Rodriguez the first player in the league’s history to score in the opening 15 seconds of two separate games, 10 years and one day after he pounced for Southampton against Chelsea. Burnley doubled their lead when Bruun Larsen got in front of Luke Thomas to reach Dara O’Shea’s long ball, cutting in off the right before passing the ball under the despairing dive of Wes Foderingham. United’s frustrations soon surfaced. McBurnie, back in the starting 11 after scoring the late consolation in last week’s home defeat to Bournemouth, was lucky to only see yellow for catching O’Shea with an elbow in the 36th minute, leaving Kompany livid on the sideline. Moments later O’Shea caught McBurnie, who delivered enough theatrics to ensure his counterpart also saw yellow, and Kompany joined both players in the book for his remonstrations. More was to follow and when McBurnie caught O’Shea with an arm once again in first-half stoppage time, he earned a second yellow card and a head start on the trudge to the dressing room. Heckingbottom, already forced into one substitution due to an injury for George Baldock, made a triple change at the break as Benie Traore, James McAtee and William Osula came on for Thomas, John Fleck and Cameron Archer. It meant only half United’s outfield players that started the match were still on for the start of the second half. But it did little to change United’s fortunes and the floodgates opened after the 73rd minute. Burnley’s third came when United failed to clear a corner and Jordan Beyer headed the ball down for Amdouni to spring between Jack Robinson and Anel Ahmedhodzic before playing the ball beyond Foderingham. Moments later Koleosho cracked a shot off the crossbar when Foderingham could only parry Amdouni’s shot, but the teenager was soon celebrating his first Premier League goal as he shrugged off a challenge and beat the goalkeeper at his near post. Brownhill rifled in the fifth from the edge of the box with 10 minutes to go. Read More Ronnie O’Sullivan out to ‘ruin careers’ of trophy rivals after reaching UK final Bristol blow Gloucester away for derby delight Police charge more than 40 away fans after major disorder outside Villa Park ‘We never lost trust’: Sarina Wiegman remained confident of England comeback Mauricio Pochettino understands reason behind early struggles for Moises Caicedo Ange Postecoglou knows he can succeed at Tottenham by sticking to plan
2023-12-03 01:19
Burnley vs Sheffield United LIVE: Premier League score and updates as Clarets run riot after McBurnie red card
The 2023/24 Premier League season is under way and you can follow every game and every goal right here with The Independent. This year sees Manchester City try to defend their crown and claim a historic fourth title in succession. Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City, who also won the Champions League and FA Cup last season, will have to see off Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest to claim an unprecedented sixth league title in seven years. Meanwhile Luton Town are making their first appearance in the Premier League, having risen from non-league in an incredible decade of progress. They followed Championship winners Burnley and second-placed Sheffield United in earning promotion to the top flight. Follow the latest action from the Premier League below.
2023-12-03 00:58
Lionel Messi opens up on Ballon d'Or row with Robert Lewandowski
Lionel Messi has insisted he has resolved a dispute he had with Robert Lewandowski over comments he made at the 2021 Ballon d'Or ceremony.
2023-12-03 00:57
Beaver Creek men's World Cup downhill canceled for the second consecutive day
Snowfall and heavy wind has caused the cancellation of a men’s World Cup downhill race in Beaver Creek, Colorado
2023-12-03 00:54
SEC Championship Game: Date, time, location and how to watch Georgia vs. Alabama
The Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide face off in the 2023 SEC Championship Game. Here is how you can watch the big game.
2023-12-03 00:17
Man Utd's flight to Newcastle cancelled ahead of Saturday evening clash
Manchester United's flight to Newcastle was cancelled hours before their match at St James' Park kicks off on Saturday.
2023-12-02 23:47