DONAUESCHINGEN, Germany: Spain playmaker Dani Olmo is vying for the Euro 2024 golden boot with England’s Harry Kane, but said Friday he doesn’t care about winning it as long as his team lifts the trophy.
Olmo and Kane are tied on three goals with four other players and if either score in the final on Sunday in Berlin they will likely claim the prize.
However, with Spain angling for a record fourth European Championship, Olmo said the team’s target was far more important than his own individual glory.
“It’s an extra motivation, if there’s even room for that, but look, as long as we win, I don’t care if I score or if (Spain goalkeeper) Unai Simon does,” Olmo told reporters.
“I don’t care at all, the important thing is winning the game, but I always have the objective of helping to chip in.”
Olmo has also created two goals for his team-mates but unlike in the past when that was used as a tie-breaker, the award will be shared by any players joint-top of the charts.
The RB Leipzig midfielder did not start the tournament as part of Spain coach Luis de la Fuente’s first choice side but made a strong impact off the bench when given the chance.
Olmo replaced the injured Pedri in the quarter-final win over hosts Germany, scoring and setting up the winner for Mikel Merino.
The midfielder also struck against France in the semifinal and has scored in all three knock-out rounds Spain have played.
“In this tournament I feel very good, in a great moment of form, so I have to keep taking advantage of it,” continued the 26-year-old.
“It’s true (Kane and I) are tied, but there are other players too who have helped us get here, with goals and good play.
“Speaking of goals, Fabian (Ruiz) has two goals, Alvaro (Morata) has one — if he scores a hat-trick then he will win it, and we’d be just as happy — it doesn’t matter who scores, the main thing is the team.”
Olmo scored a hat-trick for Leipzig as they beat Bayern Munich 3-0 in the German Supercup final on Kane’s debut for the Bavarian giants last August.
The England captain has still not won a trophy in his career at club or international level, finishing a runner-up with England in the Euro 2020 final.
Kane, 30, has struggled for form and peak fitness at the Euros despite managing three goals.
“Of course it would be a dream to score a hat-trick (again) and win it,” added Olmo.
“But I repeat, the goal is just to win it.”
Spain winning Euro priority not Golden Boot race with Kane: Olmo
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Spain winning Euro priority not Golden Boot race with Kane: Olmo
- Olmo and Kane are tied on three goals with four other players and if either score in the final on Sunday in Berlin they will likely claim the prize
- However, with Spain angling for a record fourth European Championship, Olmo said the team’s target was far more important than his own individual glory
Spain survive Colombia scare, join USA in Olympic women’s football semis
- Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati converted the decisive kick in the shoot-out as Spain beat Colombia 4-2 on penalties
- Spain now advance to a semifinal on Tuesday in Marseille against either hosts France or Brazil, who meet later
PARIS: World Cup holders Spain survived a major scare before beating Colombia on penalties to reach the semifinals of the Olympic women’s football on Saturday, after the United States edged out Japan.
Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati converted the decisive kick in the shoot-out as Spain beat Colombia 4-2 on penalties after their quarter-final tie in Lyon had finished 2-2 at the end of extra time.
Spain now advance to a semifinal on Tuesday in Marseille against either hosts France or Brazil, who meet later.
Spain are going for gold in their first appearance in the Olympic women’s football, but they were moments away from being eliminated after falling 2-0 behind to the South Americans.
Mayra Ramirez fired Colombia ahead early on and Leicy Santos doubled their lead early in the second half after a Linda Caicedo shot was saved.
Jennifer Hermoso pulled a goal back in the 79th minute for the world champions, who were then rescued when captain Irene Paredes turned in a Salma Paralluelo cross in the seventh minute of injury time.
That meant extra time, and no further goals led to penalties. Captain Catalina Usme’s first kick for Colombia was saved, while Liana Salazar missed her attempt as Spain scored all four of their efforts from the spot to go through.
Earlier, Trinity Rodman scored a stunning goal in extra time as the United States edged Japan 1-0.
The daughter of former NBA superstar Dennis Rodman struck in stoppage time at the end of the first half of extra time to finally break the deadlock, and Japan’s resistance, at a packed Parc des Princes in Paris.
That took the USA through to a semifinal on Tuesday in Lyon, where they will face either reigning Olympic champions Canada or 2016 gold medallists Germany.
The USA remain on track under new English coach Emma Hayes to win a record-extending fifth women’s football gold, and a first since defeating Japan in the London Olympic final in 2012.
That silver remains Japan’s only medal in the competition and they go home after thwarting the USA for most of a tense quarter-final, where they failed to take what few chances came their way on the break.
“I honestly think that was the only way we were going to find a goal in that game,” Rodman said of her moment of magic after she was set up by Crystal Dunn.
“Obviously we had tried all game long to get in between them and it wasn’t working, but she played it in behind.
“It just bobbled a little, and then I banged it in the upper 90. I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I am very happy about it.”
The presence of Snoop Dogg — who is working at the Olympics for US television — in the crowd in Paris provided more excitement for many spectators than the game itself.
Japan sat back and allowed the USA to have most of the possession, which they did without showing a cutting edge.
Their front three of Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith were impressive during the group stage but found the going tougher against Japan’s back five.
That was until Rodman struck midway through extra time, as she controlled a long diagonal ball by Dunn on the right, turned Hikaru Kitagawa inside out and fired a shot high into the far corner of the net.
It was her third goal in four games at the tournament, making her the USA’s joint top scorer alongside Swanson.
Egypt beat Paraguay on penalties to reach semifinals of men’s soccer tournament at Olympics
- Ibrahim Adel converted the final penalty kick to seal the win for Egypt
- Egypt will face either Argentina or France in the last four
MARSEILLE, France: Goalkeeper Hamza Alaa saved a penalty by Marcelo Perez and Egypt defeated Paraguay 5-4 in a shootout to reach the semifinals of the men’s soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics on Friday.
Ibrahim Adel converted the final penalty kick to seal the win for Egypt after the teams had drawn 1-1 in regulation and failed to score in extra time.
Egypt will face either Argentina or France in the last four.
The other semifinal will be between Spain and Morocco. The Spaniards defeated Japan on Friday, while Morocco got past the United States.
Paraguay took the lead in regulation with a goal by Diego Gomez in a breakaway in the 71st minute, but Egypt sent the game into extra time with Adel’s header in the 88th.
Paraguay were runner-up to Argentina in 2004 in Athens but had not played in the last four Olympic Games. Egypt’s best result was fourth in 1964 in Tokyo.
Fermin Lopez scores twice as Spain beat Japan 3-0 to reach semifinals at Olympics
- Abel Ruiz sealed the win late for Spain, the silver medalist three years ago in Toyko
- Japan finished at the top of their group after three straight victories
LYON, France: Fermin Lopez scored a goal in each half and Spain beat Japan 3-0 to reach the semifinals of the men’s soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics on Friday.
Abel Ruiz sealed the win late for Spain, the silver medalist three years ago in Toyko.
Spain arrived as one of the favorites but there were doubts surrounding the squad after they failed to win their group following a loss to Egypt. Japan, meanwhile, finished at the top of their group after three straight victories.
Lopez opened the scoring with a low left-footed shot from outside the area in the 11th minute, then used his right foot to add to the lead in the 73rd. Ruiz capped the victory from inside the area after a corner kick in the 86th.
Japan had a first-half goal disallowed for offside on a very tight call determined by video review.
Spain’s road back to the final will now go through Morocco, which reached the last four by routing the United States 4-0 earlier Friday.
Morocco march into Olympic men’s football semifinals
- After topping their group ahead of Argentina, Morocco are looking like serious gold medal contenders
- The Olympic men’s football final will take place at the Parc des Princes next Friday
PARIS: Captain Achraf Hakimi was among the scorers as a dominant Morocco outclassed the United States on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Olympic men’s football tournament, winning their last-eight tie 4-0.
Morocco had the vast majority of a noisy and packed crowd at the Parc des Princes behind them and were simply too strong for the USA.
Soufiane Rahimi opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Ilias Akhomach and Hakimi added further goals in the second half, with another spot-kick, by Mehdi Maouhoub, wrapping up the win.
After topping their group ahead of Argentina, Morocco are looking like serious gold medal contenders and advance to a semifinal on Monday in Marseille against either Japan or Spain.
The Olympic men’s football final will take place at the Parc des Princes next Friday, August 9.
The sizeable Moroccan community in France has turned out in big numbers over the last week to back their team, who came to the Games after winning last year’s Under-23 Africa Cup of Nations.
They are a formidable side, captained by one of the world’s best full-backs in Hakimi and with two livewire wingers in Akhomach and Abde Ezzalzouli either side of the prolific Rahimi in attack.
The United States never really looked likely to recover once Rahimi converted a penalty just before the half-hour mark after he had been fouled in the area by Nathan Harriel.
Rahimi, who plays in the United Arab Emirates and is one of Morocco’s three overage players at the Olympics, is the tournament’s top scorer with five goals in four games.
Miles Robinson did miss a good chance for the Americans just before the hour, but Morocco doubled their lead on 63 minutes.
Ezzalzouli produced a great piece of play on the left flank before picking out his fellow former Barcelona youngster Akhomach to finish at the near post.
Hakimi, playing on his Paris Saint-Germain home ground, then ran through to make it 3-0 with 20 minutes of the game remaining.
Substitute Maouhoub added another penalty in stoppage time after Harriel had been penalized for handball following a VAR review.
The remaining quarter-finals all take place later Friday with the pick of the ties in Bordeaux, where hosts France, coached by Thierry Henry, take on two-time gold medallists Argentina.
It will be the first meeting of the nations since Argentina players were recorded singing racist chants about their French counterparts as they celebrated winning the Copa America in mid-July.
FIFA announced that it would investigate the chants, which targeted France’s star striker Kylian Mbappe among others.
El Ghazi signs for Cardiff after Mainz row over Israel-Hamas posts
- El Ghazi will now be joining Welsh capital club Cardiff, who play in English football’s second-tier Championship
- “I’m really hungry and looking forward to playing for this great club,” El Ghazi told Cardiff’s website
LONDON: Cardiff have signed Anwar El Ghazi after a German court found he was wrongfully dismissed by former club Mainz for making comments about the war in Gaza on social media.
El Ghazi, who has won two caps for the Netherlands and previously played for Aston Villa and Everton, will now be joining Welsh capital club Cardiff, who play in English football’s second-tier Championship.
Last month, a German labor court ruled Mainz’s decision to dismiss the former Dutch international last year “did not terminate the employment relationship” and the contract between the parties remained valid.
The ruling entitled El Ghazi, 29, to a payment from Mainz of more than 1.5 million euros ($1.63 million), AFP’s sports subsidiary SID reported.
And on Wednesday, El Ghazi announced his contract had been mutually terminated, leaving him a free agent.
“I’m really hungry and looking forward to playing for this great club,” El Ghazi told Cardiff’s website.
“The city is amazing. I’ve got to feel at home, and from the moment I arrived here I’ve been feeling good.
“I know I’ve not been playing for a while. I stayed fit for myself, but team training is obviously different. When I’m fully fit, I want to help the team where I can with goals, with assists and with my experience. I will give everything for the shirt.”
El Ghazi wrote on X on Wednesday that he had no regrets over his previous posts.
“It would be unconscionable to remain silent whilst we witness what is happening in Gaza,” he said.
The war in Gaza began on October 7 with Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.
The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, including 42 the military says are dead.
Israel responded with a military offensive that has killed at least 38,345 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
