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Sport
SPORTS WEEKLY SPECIAL EURO 2020
BY DAVID SAFFER
England are in a major final for the first time in 55 years.
Gareth Southgate’s team came from a goal down against Denmark to win 2-1 and book a day of destiny against Italy in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday night.
Harry Kane scored the 104th minute winner, coolly slotting home after his penalty was saved by Kasper Schmeichel in the first period of extra time.
Make no mistake, this victory was deserved. England were fitter, looked more in control and didn’t panic when they faced their first major challenge of the tournament after going behind.
Above all, the team is packed with talent on the bench and as Denmark wilted in the extra 30 minutes, finishing the game with 10 players as all the substitutes had been used, England played keep ball for the final few minutes of the match.
England boss Gareth Southgate told ITV Sport, “I’m so proud of the players. It’s an incredible occasion to be a part of. The fans were incredible all night. We knew it wouldn’t be straightforward. The game in Rome (against Ukraine) was straightforward. We said to the players we have to show resilience and come back after setbacks and we did that.”
Regarding Kane’s penalty, he noted, “There’s nobody you’d rather have on it but he was up against a great goalkeeper. Thankfully it’s immaterial.”
Southgate added, “I felt we’d get there but I knew we’d have a different sort of battle. Denmark are so underrated as a team and they caused us a lot of troubles. When you’ve waited as long as we have to get through a semi-final, the players, considering the limited international experience some of them have, have done an incredible job. The most pleasing thing is we’ve given the fans and nation a fantastic night and the journey carries on for another four days.”
Regarding any celebrations, the England boss said, “They’ve had it, haven’t they? There was mayhem on the pitch and I was part of it. We’ve got to enjoy the fact we’re in the final but there’s one more massive hurdle to conquer.”
As for the final, he noted, “Italy are a very good side. I’ve thought that the last couple of years. They are in outstanding form and have defensive warriors who have been through everything. It’s a great game to look forward to.”
Southgate added, “Finals are there to be won. We’ll regroup and prepare properly. We need to recover tonight, it’s taken a lot physically and mentally. Italy have also had that, although they’ve had an extra day to recover.”
Kane told the media, “Unbelievable, what a game though, credit to Denmark. We dug deep and we got there when it mattered. We reacted really well, we’re in a final at home, what a feeling.”
As for his penalty, he added, “I chose the side I was going to go, it wasn’t the best executed penalty I’ve ever had sometimes you miss and it falls your way and thankfully it did today.”
Looking ahead to the final, he commented, “We know it’s going to be a very tough game against Italy we’ve had a great tournament so far. One more game to go at home and we can’t wait.”
Man of the match Raheem Sterling told ITV Sport, “It was a top performance. We had to dig in deep. It was the first time we conceded but we responded well and showed good spirit. We knew it would be difficult. We stayed patient and we knew the legs and aggressiveness we have in the team we’d be okay.”
Commenting on the penalty when he was fouled, Sterling said, “I went into the box and he stabbed his right leg out. As long as it goes into the back of the net, that’s all that matters.”
England were bright from the start with Bukaya Sako looking dangerous early on.
Sterling appeared sharp but Mikkel Damsgaard sounded a warning by curling a shot wide of the post.
England conceded a spectacular 30-yard free kick from Damsgaard on the half hour but they didn’t panic, and when Kane slid in Sterling, his effort was brilliantly saved by Schmeichel.
England kept pushing forward and when Kane found Saka, the youngster’s low cross was diverted by skipper Simon Kjaer into his own net with Sterling ready to pounce six minutes from half time.
The match was up for grabs and England slowly gained momentum but Schmeichel denied Harry Maguire with a terrific stop before keeping out Mason Mount’s deft touch before full time.
Into extra time and England was boosted by Phil Fidon and Jordan Henderson from the bench.
Schmeichel denied Kane with a strong hand but Sterling was pulled down for a penalty and Kane stepped up to slot in the rebound after Schmeichel saved to put his country ahead.
But there were still 16 nerve jangling minutes to go. Southgate sprung a surprise by bringing Keiren tripper on for substitute Jack Grealish to beef up the defensive and England stood firm.
Indeed, they played the last few minutes out superbly not giving a brave Denmark side a sniff at goal.
Both semi finals were played at the national stadium in front of 60,000 fans.
Italy defeated Spain 4-2 on penalties after the match finished 1-1 after extra time. Jorgingo slotted home the all-important spot kick after a thrilling encounter between two great footballing nations with nine global titles between them. The Spaniards had been inconsistent and were not fancied to overturn the impressive Italians who had shown skill and desire on route to the semis. But Luis Enrique’s team bossed this match and but for a number of missed opportunities would have saved themselves the heartache of spot kicks. The first half saw both sides show attacking intent without a clinical touch. Roberto Mancini’s side though were not quite the force they have been in earlier matches however they opened the scoring on the hour with a brilliant goal on the break from Federico Cheisa. But Spain drove forward and thoroughly deserved to equalise with a great finish from substitute Alvaro Morata after a subline one-two with Dani Olmo. Both teams had chances to win, Spain more than the Azzuri, but Harry Kane scored the winner against Denmark PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK the match inevitably went to penalties. Italy stepped up first and Unai Simon comfortably saved a weak effort from Manuel Locatelli, but Spain failed to take a grip on proceedings when Olmo struck the crossbar. Andrea Belotti, Gerard Moreno, Leonardo Bonucci and Tiago traded penalties before Federico Bernardeschi fired Italy to match point. Sadly, for Spain, Morata, who had scored their goal late on, had his effort easily saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma. Jorgingo coolly slotted in the winning strike to break Spanish hearts, especially Morata and Olmo who had created a brilliant goal earlier in the match. Italy though were the winners on the night and had qualified for their 10th major tournament final. And so, the stage is set for the grand finale and all roads lead to Wembley. Southgate, Kane, Sterling et al now have chance to join the Sir Alf, Moore and Hurst as immortals. Come on England!
Record breakers England thump Ukraine in quarterfinals
BY DAVID SAFFER
England enjoyed a record-breaking 4-0 win against Ukraine in Rome to book a semi-final spot against Denmark at Wembley.
Gareth Southgate’s side, boosted by a historic 2-0 win against Germany in the last 16, cruised into the semifinals with their most accomplished knock out tournament display in decades.
Skipper Harry Kane was back to his best after his group stage struggles.
Kane is England’s talisman and from the moment he poked home Raheem Sterling’s accurate pass on four minutes victory was not in doubt.
Ukraine, following their exertions against Sweden, looked jaded, and when Harry Maguire thumped home a header from Luke Shaw’s free-kick just after half time, 20 million TV viewers back home could relax, a rare experience for England’s ever hopeful fans desperate for a first major honour since the Boys of ‘66. Kane headed home another pinpoint Shaw cross on 50 minutes and when substitute Jordan Henderson connected with a corner for his first international goal from Mason Mount’s corner, England fans were in dreamland.
Ukraine were finished, Southgate racked up the substitutions to ensure no players would be suspended for the semis and England duly saw out a win and five successive clean sheets.
“It’s fabulous,” Southgate told BBC Sport. “I suppose it’s still sinking in that it’s another semifinal, three in three years. We want to go two steps further. It’s fabulous for our country, a semifinal at Wembley. Everyone can really look forward to that, it’s brilliant.”
He added, “I’m chuffed the two performances (versus Germany and Ukraine) have brought so much happiness to people. The players have been fantastic. To play as well as they did in a game with so much resting on it was impressive. We’ve known we had players we needed to look after physically. We know across seven games, the squad is so important, trying to give people a breather at the right time. We learned a lot from Russia (in the 2018 World Cup) in that instance. We were trying to balance players with knocks and yellow cards.”
“What a great performance in a big game,” Kane told BBC Sport. “We were favourites. There was a lot of pressure and a lot of expectations. The performance was top-drawer. Another clean sheet, four goals, it was a perfect night for us.”
He added, “It’s where we wanted to be. We set out a vision before the World Cup of what we want to achieve. We are knocking it off step by step. The World Cup was great but we fell short. We had a good run in the Nations League. We’re in another semi-final. Now
Harry Maguire of England scored against Ukraine Jordan Henderson got his first goal for England
PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK
it’s about getting over the line.”
“We have more experience (than 2018). We’ve been playing for our clubs in big games, Champions League finals, Premier League title races. We’re looking confident. Hopefully we can continue that.”
Regarding his goals, Kane noted, “It’s always nice to score early in a game. It’s a great feeling to help the team. There was a lot of talk about me and my performances. But I’m just ready for the next game and trying to lead this team to the European final.”
Maguire told BBC Sport, “We have great belief in the dressing room. It is hard to soak it up when you have another big game coming and you know who you are playing and when. The dressing room will be a great atmosphere tonight and then we will wake up tomorrow and be focused again. This group are not settling for a semi-final, we want to go further.”
Henderson added, “We have always felt we are continuing to grow as a team and we feel we are ready to take the next step. Denmark are a tough side so we need to be at our very best if we want to go to the final but hopefully we can do that.”
Henderson has waited longer than any other England player for his first international goal, after 62 caps. He noted. “It’s about time. It’s been a long time coming. Thankfully I managed to get on the scoresheet. I’m just delighted for the lads because the performance was fantastic.”
England’s victory meant a third Euro semi-final historically after 1968 (when four teams played the knockout stages) and 1996.
Other noteworthy milestones included Southgate becoming only the second England manager to reach World Cup and European Championship semifinals after Sir Alf Ramsey in 1966 and 1968. And keeper Jordan Pickford’s five clean sheets is a first for the competition.
England had also recorded seven consecutive clean sheets.
Denmark’s Euro crusade continued with a deserved 2-1 win against the Czech Republic in Baku.
The Danes, playing with a spirit of destiny after midfielder Christian Eriksen suffered a cardiac arrest in the opening game, lost the next match but have played superbly since.
Denmark overcame a physical Czech side with an impressive display in Azerbaijan after Thomas Delaney nodded home the opening goal on five minutes from a corner.
Kasper Dolberg volleyed home to double the lead from a magnificent cross from Joakim Maehle before the break only for the impressive Patrik Schick to bag his fifth goal and move alongside Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo for the Golden Boot.
The ‘92 champs though held firm with keeper Kasper Schmeichel backed by defensive trio Andreas Christensen, Simon Kjaer and Jannick Versergaard ensuring victory.
In other quarterfinal clashes, Spain defeated 10-man Switzerland 3-1 in a remarkable penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw after extra time in St Petersburg.
Swiss substitute Ruben Vargas fired over the crossbar enabling Mikel Oyarzabal to grab the headlines with the decisive spot kick.
The Spaniards had opened the scoring when Jordi Alba’s shot was deflected into his own goal by Denis Zakaria on eight minutes. Swiss skipper Xherdan Shaqiri equalised after a defensive mix up midway through the second half but Spain soon had a numerical advantage when Remo Freuler was dismissed for a rash tackle on Gerard Moreno 13 minutes from time.
Switzerland dug deep to reach the shootout although their opponents were guilty of poor finishing.
However, the Swiss led after Sergio Busquets struck a post with the opening effort when Mario Gavranovic slotted home. Dani Olmo levelled for the threetime champions but Fabian Schar failed to keep the advantage. Rodri and Manuel Akanji traded misses before Gerard Moreno, who had missed numerous chances in the match, finally hit the target to edge Spain 2-1 ahead. And when Vargas missed Oyarzabal settled the contest.
Spain face inform Italy at Wembley in the semifinals after Roberto Mancini’s team came through a tremendous tie 2-1 against world number one side Belgium in Munich.
The Azzurri’s have won 13 consecutive games and are 32 games undefeated.
Nicolo Barella showed great close control to evade three defenders to open the scoring before Lorenzo Insigne curled home a sensational second for the Italians just before half time. But in stoppage time Giovanni di Lorenzo inexplicably fouled Jeremy Doku in the penalty area and Romelu Lukaku slotted in the resultant penalty.
Both sides missed opportunities in arguably the best contest of the tournament.
Lukaku went close for Roberto Martinez’ much-fancied team but Leonardo Spinazzola, Federico Chiesa and Insigne also had chances to wrap up the game.
Italy demonstrated their defensive nous towards the end, a highlight coming when Spinazzola blocked a Lukaku shot. Leonardo Bonucci and skipper Giorgio Chiellini celebrated as if it was the winning moment.
Italy duly prevailed but lost the influential Spinazzola who was stretchered off late on.
When Virgin Atlantic launched direct fl ights between Tel Aviv and London Heathrow in September 2019, it was an especially proud moment for us all, not just our Israeli CEO Shai Weiss. With its appeal to both leisure tourists and business travellers alike, as well as being our only destination we could get to in less than fi ve hours, excitement at fl ying daily to Tel Aviv was high. The route was performing far beyond expectation, consistently shining in the top fi ve in terms of our customer satisfaction polls.
While no one could have predicted the events since, and the devastating effect Covid-19 has had on the airline and travel industry as a whole, Israel’s world-leading testing vaccination programme, aided by MDA, has meant a joyful return for us and our passengers. Now, as Israel emerges from the crisis and builds out its path for reopening the country to foreign travellers, alongside the UK dropping the need to quarantine on return from Israel having added it to its Green list, demand has never been higher. We’re now back to fl ying daily between London and Tel Aviv Ben Gurion, and are excited to ramp that up to a twice daily service. And we want you to fl y in style.
We pride ourselves on making your journey with us a pleasure from start to fi nish. Whether it’s our incredible service, innovative products, our sparkling new aircraft, or the countless small, thoughtful touches, we’re always making sure that we’re putting you fi rst. Our Upper Class service offers the perfect retreat at 30,000 feet, with lie-fl at suites, fi ne dining, and an exclusive onboard social space. On the ground, you’ll enjoy a private security channel and our beautiful Clubhouse lounge at London Heathrow. For little extras that make a big difference, our Premium cabin is the ideal choice. There’s priority check in and boarding, and a glass of bubbly to welcome you as you settle into your extra-large leather seat.
In Economy, we offer three different ways to fl y. Sail through the airport with hand luggage only with Economy Light, or check a bag and to choose your seat in advance in Economy Classic. Economy Delight is a bit more of a treat, with priority boarding and extra legroom. In every cabin, you’ll fi nd WiFi, inseat power, fantastic food and drink included, and the latest music and movies.
Of course, the health and safety of our customers and our people has always been our number one priority. We’ve recently been awarded the highest standard in Health and Safety by APEX and Simplifl ying. We also want to make sure you can book your travel with confi dence, knowing that if things change, so can your ticket. Our fl exible booking policy means you can change your dates as often as you like. You can even choose a different destination or make one name change, with no admin fees.
We know so many of our customers are desperate to travel back to Israel for pleasure, work or just to see family and friends and we cannot wait until we see the Israeli Government formalise their plans around the safe opening of Israel to foreign travellers. The Team at MDA have played such an important part in Israel’s success story post Covid. We are delighted to be supporting them to and from the UK and Israel, and we are so excited to see more of their supporters and partners onboard a Virgin Atlantic Aircraft soon.
Nick Bettles – Country Manager – Israel
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MDA UK STAKEHOLDERS’ DINNER WITH AMBASSADOR HOTOVELY
We were thrilled to finally be able to host our stakeholders in one room for a wonderful event at The Grove at the end of June.
This was our first in-person event in over 18 months, and to mark the occasion we were joined by Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely, who welcomed the opportunity to quote ‘get out of the ‘ghetto’ and experience life beyond the Embassy, The Residence and the local Tesco!’
Brian Kalms, MDA UK Vice Chair, welcomed the group before Daniel Burger took to the stage to discuss Magen David Adom UK’s strategic vision for the future of the organisation - in Israel, the new Middle East and beyond - and how, ultimately, together we can save more lives. After networking with MDA UK Board Members, Committee representatives and fellow supporters, guests left feeling energised and excited about what the future holds. Here’s hoping that this is just the start of a return to normality and the end of Zoom get-togethers!
OPERATION GUARDIAN OF THE WALLS
May saw a return to violence and terrorism on Israel’s borders as the simmering conflict erupted once more. For 11 days Israel came under attack, and Magen David Adom once more found itself on the frontline.
A constant barrage of rockets were fired into Israel and there were relentless violent attacks on the streets, until a ceasefire came info effect on 21st May.
Magen David Adom Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics were at the scene of every medical emergency across the length and breadth of Israel. Their incredible teams risked their lives to ensure the safety and health of the population, often providing essential medical treatment to patients in the midst of red alert sirens. Even when MDA teams and ambulances came under attack on the streets, they powered through to ensure that anyone who needed medical attention, received it.
In support of our colleagues who were on the highest level of alert throughout the troubles, MDA UK launched an emergency appeal to fund two new Mobile Intensive Care Units (MICUs) that were made available immediately to begin their lifesaving efforts. We received an outpouring of support from donors here in the UK. In just a few days we not only funded both MICUs, but were able to purchase a third. To the hundreds of you who supported this campaign, thank you.
THANKS TO THE INCREDIBLE GENEROSITY OF THE UK COMMUNITY, WE WERE ABLE TO PUT THREE NEW MICUs ON THE ROAD DURING THE HEIGHT OF THE TENSIONS.
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@Magen David Adom UK @mda_uk @MDAUK_
