Aston Villa sign Chelsea left-back Maatsen for £35m.
29 Jun 2024
Aston Villa have completed the signing of Chelsea left-back Ian Maatsen for £35m.
Maatsen, 22, spent the second half of last season on loan at Borussia Dortmund and helped the Bundesliga club to reach the Champions League final.
The defender is with the Netherlands at Euro 2024 as they prepare for a last-16 tie against Romania on Tuesday.
He is Villa's second signing of the summer after striker Lewis Dobbin joined from Everton.
Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz scored as Euro 2024 hosts Germany reached the quarter-finals by beating Denmark in a game that was interrupted by a spectacular storm.
29 Jun 2024
The last-16 tussle at Borussia Dortmund's Westfalenstadion was suspended for around 20 minutes towards the end of the first half, as lightning lit up the sky and the pitch was soaked by hail and heavy rain.
But the game was also notable for calls by the video assistant referee, with Nico Schlotterbeck having had an early header ruled out by VAR, while Denmark were denied in the second half when Joachim Andersen's strike was chalked off as team-mate Thomas Delaney was flagged just offside.
Germany were celebrating another VAR call in their favour moments after the Danes' disallowed goal when referee Michael Oliver was called to the pitchside monitor and awarded a penalty for handball by Andersen.
Havertz put a cool spot-kick out of Kasper Schmeichel's reach to delight the passionate home fans.
The forward should have scored a second soon after when he clipped a shot over Schmeichel only to see it go wide, but Germany had their decisive second with just over 20 minutes remaining.
This time it was young star Musiala who got the goal as he raced through on the left and slotted into the far corner.
From then on the home fans were on their feet, roaring their side on for more goals, hoping they would really lay down a marker to suggest they might go all the way.
No more were forthcoming, but the Germany fans cheered their side passionately at the final whistle in celebration of this convincing win.
They will next play the winner of Sunday's game between Spain, who have looked one of the best sides so far at Euro 2024, and surprise package Georgia. That quarter-final is scheduled for Friday, 5 July.
Cenk Tosun scored a stoppage-time winner as Turkey beat the Czech Republic in their final group game to secure a last-16 tie against Austria.
27 Jun 2024
The Czechs needed to win Wednesday's final group game to avoid being eliminated, and they pushed for victory in the tense closing stages.
But they left gaps in defence and former Everton striker Tosun cut inside and drove a shot into the back of the net.
The Czech Republic's hopes of victory were not helped when they had Antonin Barak sent off midway through the first half for a second yellow card after catching Arda Guler with his studs up.
Initially, Turkey struggled to break down their opponents and finished the first half without a shot on target, but their passionate fans were sent wild six minutes after the break when captain Hakan Calhanoglu struck into the bottom corner.
That meant the Czech Republic needed to score twice, and they got back level when West Ham midfielder Tomas Soucek volleyed in from six yards.
The game was wide open after that as both sides pushed for victory, and it was Turkey who got it in the 94th minute to confirm their progress.
There were chaotic scenes right at the end as both sets of players clashed, resulting in the Czech Republic having another player sent off as Tomas Chory was shown a red card.
But the Turkey players were able to celebrate their dramatic win soon after and look forward to the knockout stages.
Georgia made history and reached their first major tournament knockout stage with victory over Portugal at Euro 2024.
27 Jun 2024
Portugal had already won the group, but were shocked in their final group stage game before the clock struck two minutes as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia drilled a low shot past Diogo Costa.
That goal came as Georgia hit Portugal on the break after overturning possession and set the tone for how much of the rest of the night would play out.
The underdogs did not require dominance and made their chances count as Georges Mikautadze delivered from the spot when they were handed a second-half penalty to further propel Georgia to their shock success.
Georgia were content with letting Portugal control possession - as they were steely in defence and closing down space to limit Portugal's chances - and waited for the opportunity to threaten on the counter.
Few opportunities came Georgia's way, but few of any real danger were handed to Portugal; the underdogs held their shape to perfection and caused the Group F winners to become increasingly frustrated.
Cristiano Ronaldo lacked the service to make the difference in the final third, Portugal's midfielders struggled to pass the ball in a way that did anything more than merely boost their possession statistics, and Georgia finished their group stage in fine fashion.
By beating Portugal, Georgia completed the biggest Euros upset in history, based on Fifa rankings, and created a night to remember in their debut major tournament. They will now play Spain in the last 16, while Portugal take on Slovenia.
Belgium reached the knockout stages of Euro 2024 as group runners-up - but Ukraine exited the competition following their goalless draw in Stuttgart.
26 Jun 2024
All four teams in Group E started the evening level on points and with a chance of progression.
But an inferior goal difference meant Ukraine knew their fate also depended on the outcome of Slovakia's tie with Romania, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
They were unable to make an impact in Stuttgart - limiting Belgium to few chances but lacking a consistent attacking threat of their own until late on.
Leicester City's Wout Faes was a standout performer in Belgium's defence, making two crucial blocks late on to stop Artem Dovbyk testing goalkeeper Koen Casteels.
Roman Yaremchuk was also a sporadic outlet for Ukraine in the absence of injured Chelsea forward Mykhailo Mudryk, while Ruslan Malinovskyi almost curled a corner past Casteels and inside the near post.
Meanwhile, Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne provided a sprinkling of much-needed quality as he curled a free-kick just wide in the first half.
Belgium, though, came closest to scoring when Romelu Lukaku scuffed a shot straight at goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin from close range, before substitute Yannick Carrasco tested Trubin too.
In the end, Domenico Tedesco's side progressed having lost one, drawn one and won one of their three group matches. But they will need to improve with World Cup finalists France up next in the last 16.
The result was a disappointing blow to Ukraine, who became the first team to win as many as four points yet finish bottom of their group at the Euros.