BERLIN: Spain coach Luis de la Fuente called on a “brilliant” generation of players to make history for their country in the Euro 2024 final against England on Sunday.
La Roja are aiming to win a record fourth European Championship 12 years after they last lifted the trophy.
With Rodri Hernandez pulling the strings in midfield and explosive young wingers Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams in attack, Spain have been the tournament’s great entertainers on the road to Berlin.
“It’s a brilliant generation, many of them have come through successful youth levels and that usually bodes well for success,” De la Fuente told reporters Saturday.
“We want to start to make history — and we have made history already in the run to (the final)... I trust in a great future, there’s both present and future.”
Spain won the 2008 and 2012 Euros and the 2010 World Cup with many star players from Barcelona and Real Madrid, including Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Sergio Ramos and David Villa.
The current side has fewer stars but consider that one of their strong points, with the squad on an even footing and “unity” has been a key word among Spain players at the tournament.
Despite Spain shining en route to the final while England have scraped through, De la Fuente said the clash at the Olympiastadion will be “extremely balanced.”
“Whichever team manages to impose their strengths, whoever makes less errors (will win),” said the coach.
“But you can win a one-off game, even playing far worse (than your opponent).
“We need to have maximum concentration, not make any mistakes and take advantage of the chances we have — put them away.”
The coach thanked injured duo Pedri and Ayoze Perez, who will not be available to face England, and said Barcelona midfielder Gavi will travel to join the team for the final.
The 19-year-old missed most of the season with a knee injury but was an important player for Spain before sustaining it in November.
De la Fuente said it was no challenge to keep Barcelona’s Yamal, who turned 17 on Saturday, and Athletic Bilbao’s Williams, 22, calm ahead of the biggest game of their careers.
“It’s not at all hard, they have such joy, and incredible maturity for such young players, they understand the sport very well and they are well accompanied by more experienced players,” explained the coach.
“We’re a team, it’s not about hailing individuals, and this makes us stronger.”
At the other end of the age spectrum is 38-year-old Sevilla defender Jesus Navas, who started the semifinal win over France in direct confrontation with Kylian Mbappe.
Navas won the 2010 World Cup, 2012 Euros and the 2023 Nations League with Spain and said he would love to lift another trophy with his country.
“To still be enjoying myself with my national team at 38 is incredible,” said the right-back.
“In (Spain’s golden years) we were such a close-knit group, and you could feel it. Now it’s the same, there’s an incredible group. I’m delighted by everything that’s happening to us.
“We know the excitement and hope that we all have and I hope we can win it.”
De la Fuente calls on Spain players to make history in Euros final
https://arab.news/8zxh7
De la Fuente calls on Spain players to make history in Euros final
- “It’s a brilliant generation, many of them have come through successful youth levels and that usually bodes well for success,” De la Fuente told reporters Saturday
AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez joins Saudi side Al-Hilal
- The 27-year-old French defender joins Al-Hilal on a three-year deal
Paris: Saudi club Al-Hilal on Thursday signed AC Milan’s French full-back Theo Hernandez on a three-year contract.
The 27-year-old leaves the Serie A side in a deal worth 25 million euros ($29.2 million), Italian media report.
Hernandez has played 38 times for France with two goals, and figured in the last World Cup, including the defeat by Argentina on penalties in the 2022 final in Qatar.
Moving to the Saudi Pro League a year before the next World Cup could be considered a risk for his chances of getting called up again by coach Didier Deschamps.
But he can take encouragement that Deschamps selected N’Golo Kante for Euro 2024 whilst he was playing for another Saudi club, Al-Ittihad.
Theo is the younger brother of Paris Saint-Germain and France defender Lucas Hernandez.
Swiss move through to Euro 2025 quarterfinals with late Xhemaili goal
- Switzerland, who needed only a draw to advance based on goal difference, finished second in Group A behind Norway to go through to the knockout round for the first time
- The desolate Finland players collapsed to the pitch in tears at the final whistle, while the Swiss lingered after the game’s end to pose for pictures
GENEVA: Switzerland’s Riola Xhemaili scored a last-gasp goal to salvage a dramatic 1-1 draw with Finland on Thursday that sent the joyous hosts through to the quarterfinals at Euro 2025, and heartbroken Finland home.
Switzerland, who needed only a draw to advance based on goal difference, finished second in Group A behind Norway to go through to the knockout round for the first time, and will face the winners of Group B, which would be world champions Spain as things stand now.
“I think we set ourselves a goal on the pitch, to write history, to go into the knockout stages, which we’ve never done before,” Swiss captain Lia Walti said.
Finland looked to be heading for the knockout round after Natalia Kuikka scored a penalty in the 79th minute, awarded after Viola Calligaris’s foul on Emma Koivisto. Center-back Kuikka calmly slotted home a low shot as Swiss goalkeeper Livia Peng dived the wrong way.
But, roared on by the home crowd, the Swiss kept up the attack in the breathless dying moments and Xhemaili, a second-half substitute, scored in the 92nd minute when Geraldine Reuteler mis-hit her shot on goal and Xhemaili was there to tap it in, blowing the roof off at Stade de Geneve.
“I really have to say that I didn’t think that we’re going home because I really believed in this team, until the last second, and I knew we were going to score,” Xhemaili said.
“I knew that Geraldine Reuteler, she will hit the target, of course, because she’s one of our best players, so I was like, just stay on the right spot in the right moment and wait until the ball is coming and it did.”
The desolate Finland players collapsed to the pitch in tears at the final whistle, while the Swiss lingered after the game’s end to pose for pictures and their famed manager Pia Sundhage wrapped her assistants in huge hugs.
But for most of the nervy night, the game was far from a classic, with desperation showing in both sides with the stakes sky high.
Switzerland started brightly and put Finnish goalkeeper Anna Koivunen to work early with a couple of chances. But momentum shifted midway through the half to quiet the nervous crowd and Peng made a huge save on the goal-line seconds before the break to preserve the draw.
Intensity picked up over the second half and Sundhage threw virtually every attacker on her bench into the game in search of the equalizer, with the Swiss ending the night with 15 shots to Finland’s six.
“I am going to dance tonight,” a smiling Sundhage told SRF.
Kuikka said Switzerland were the better team on the night.
“They came to the game like they wanted to win and it kind of showed,” she said.
Wenger defends Club World Cup amid Klopp criticism
- Wenger: Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I don’t share Jurgen Klopp’s view at all. I feel that a Club World Cup, a REAL Club World Cup was needed
- Wenger also pointed to the unexpectedly high attendance figures as evidence of the competition’s success
NEW YORK: Arsene Wenger has dismissed Jurgen Klopp’s criticism of FIFA’s revamped 32-team Club World Cup, calling the tournament a “fantastic competition” and emphasizing the support it has received from participating teams, players, and managers.
Klopp, the former Liverpool manager, described the expanded summer competition as “the worst idea ever invented” in an interview with German newspaper Die Welt two weeks ago. Wenger, now FIFA’s chief of Global Football Development, countered these remarks on Thursday during a FIFA Technical Study Group (TSG) briefing in New York.
“Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I don’t share Jurgen Klopp’s view at all,” Wenger told reporters. “I feel that a Club World Cup, a REAL Club World Cup was needed. If you make an inquiry today with all the clubs who were here at this competition, I’m basically sure that we have 100 percent of answers of people who want to do this again. So that’s basically the best answer.”
Wenger also pointed to the unexpectedly high attendance figures as evidence of the competition’s success. “The decisive question is, do the fans like it? Attendance projections were low, but in reality, they were much higher. The answer is there,” he added.
The tournament has provided FIFA with a testing ground ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which will take place across North America. Wenger acknowledged that the summer heat in the US posed challenges but said FIFA has learned valuable lessons to address these issues.
“The heat in some games was a problem,” Wenger admitted. “We tried to combat that with cooling breaks and watering the pitches during breaks. We learned a lot on that front.”
He singled out Orlando as one of the venues where pitch conditions proved difficult, though he praised the quality of natural grass pitches overall. Philadelphia’s surface, he said, would serve as a benchmark for future competitions in the US.
Looking ahead, Wenger said FIFA is considering using covered stadiums in cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Houston to host early matches in next year’s tournaments. He also revealed that FIFA analysts have studied the impact of heat on player performance, finding that temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) affect high-speed running and sprints more than overall distances covered.
“Certainly next year, there will be more roofed stadiums as we have to follow the TV schedule. We are learning to be better equipped to deal with these conditions,” Wenger said.
The inaugural 32-team Club World Cup concludes on Sunday, with Paris St. Germain taking on Chelsea in the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Messi brace sets up Miami’s 2-1 MLS victory over New England
- The 38-year-old Argentine star has scored two goals in each of his last four MLS games to become the first MLS player to score multiple goals in four straight games
- With the victory Miami climbed from sixth to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings
FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts: Lionel Messi scored twice in the first half of Inter Miami’s 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution on Wednesday, continuing a run of form unprecedented in Major League Soccer.
The 38-year-old Argentine star has scored two goals in each of his last four MLS games to become the first MLS player to score multiple goals in four straight games.
He launched the streak in late May with two goals in a 4-2 win over Montreal then had two in a 5-1 victory over Columbus.
Miami then paused their MLS campaign to compete in the Club World Cup — where Messi scored one goal in four matches and Miami were eliminated in the round of 16 by Paris Saint-Germain.
Javier Mascherano’s team returned to MLS action on Saturday with a 4-1 victory at Montreal — also fueled by a brace from eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi.
In all Messi has 14 goals in 15 MLS games, putting him two behind leading scorer Sam Surridge, who has appeared in six more games for Nashville than Messi has played this season.
Messi put Miami up 1-0 in the 27th minute at Gillette Stadium, taking advantage of a Revolution miscue and firing a left-footed shot from the heart of the area.
The Argentinian star doubled the score 11 minutes later, charging onto a long through ball from Sergio Busquets and curling a left-footed shot beyond the reach of Slovenian goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic.
Veteran goalkeeper Oscar Ustari also starred for Miami, coming up with six saves before Spaniard Carles Gil managed to put one by him, picking off Tadeo Allende in the 79th minute and rifling in a shot from outside the box.
With the victory Miami climbed from sixth to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings. On 35 points, they are seven points behind leaders FC Cincinnati but with three fewer matches played after their Club World Cup break.
Dominant France thrash Wales 4-1 at Euro 2025 to go top of group
- After that the Welsh wilted as the French dominated, with Grace Geyoro scoring their fourth in the 63rd minute, steering home a ball from the right following an extended period of possession to crown a convincing win
ST. GALLEN, Switzerland: France produced a dominant display to thrash Wales 4-1 and go top of Group D at Euro 2025 on Wednesday, outclassing their opponents who scored their first goal at a major championship.
After England beat the Netherlands 4-0 earlier in the day, France went top of the group on six points, followed by the English and the Dutch on three points each.
Wales, who face England in their final group game on Sunday, have yet to register a point but still have a mathematical chance of going through to the knockouts. France face the Netherlands in their last group game.
Clara Mateo was at the center of much of France’s attacking play and lashed them into an early lead, controlling a flick-on from a corner on her chest and firing a volley into the net in the eighth minute.
The moment thousands of Wales fans had been waiting for came five minutes later when Ceri Holland broke down the left and though her first attempt to find Jess Fishlock was blocked, she managed to steer the ball to the 38-year-old, who poked home Wales’ maiden goal at the women’s European Championship finals.
That was as good as it got for Wales, who looked set to go into the break level only for Holland to chop down Mateo in the box and Kadidiatou Diani’s spot kick crept over the line after striking the foot of keeper Safia Middleton-Patel.
Middleton-Patel was at fault just after the break as she lost control of the ball in the box, allowing Mateo to tee up Amel Majri, who thumped it into the net.
After that the Welsh wilted as the French dominated, with Grace Geyoro scoring their fourth in the 63rd minute, steering home a ball from the right following an extended period of possession to crown a convincing win.
“We’ve got six points after two matches and that’s what we need to remember. It won’t be an easy (next) game because the Netherlands will have no choice but to attack and score goals,” France coach Laurent Bonadei said.
Mateo was impressed with how her side bounced back from Fishlock’s equalising goal and how they went on to dominate.
“We had a bit of a scare at the start of the game but we had confidence in ourselves. It was a great evening, there are different strikers and that’s important for everyone’s confidence,” she said.
