Poland extinguish Welsh hopes in Euro 2024 playoffs

🟥 EURO 2024 PLAYOFFS 🟥

Semi finals 21-March | FINALS 26-March

PATH [A]	SF1	POLAND	5-1	ESTONIA	Warsaw
		Frankowski 22, Zielinski 50 Piotrowski 70, Mets 73og Szymanski 76		Vetkal 78
	SF2	WALES	4-1	FINLAND	Cardiff
		Brooks 3, N Williams 38 Johnson 47, James 86		Pukki 45
	FINAL	WALES	0-0	POLAND	Cardiff
			aet	won 5-4 on penalties

POLAND crushed Welsh dreams of a third successive European Championship finals - and fourth major finals out of five - by winning their playoff final on penalties after a 0-0 draw. 

Leeds United winger Daniel James sat his kick up at a good height to the right of Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, as the teams were finally separated after over two hours of stalemate. 

There had, after all, been precious little between the sides in the match itself.

Poland failed even to record a single effort on target across the 120 minutes - although Wales also struggled to make clearcut openings.

Indeed, in failing at any stage to build up a significant head of steam, Robert Page's men probably did not make the most of an expectant full house at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Stand-in skipper Ben Davies thought he had headed the hosts into a first half lead but was adjudged narrowly offside - while, early in the second half, Kieffer Moore forced Szczesny into a full-stretch save.

In the extra time period, though, Page's men were persistently pushed back and Jakub Piotrowski thought he had won it for Poland with a 25-yard shot which curled just wide.

A first ever competitive penalty shootout featuring Wales fast became an inevitability - and both teams had obviously been practicing for this eventuality.

Robert Lewandowski, Sebastian Szymanski, Przemyslaw Frankowski, Nicola Zalewski and Krzysztof Piatek all converted for Poland - while Ben Davies, Moore, Harry Wilson and Neco Williams scored the first four Welsh kicks.

But, with the score in the shootout at 5-4 to Poland, James - looking understandably nervous - took the long march from the halfway line to the penalty area.

In fairness to James, it was more than a mere tentative prod at goal - but the direction of his effort was rather telegraphed and Szczesny's save was enough to settle this tightest of contests.

Earlier, both Poland and Wales had dealt with Finland and Estonia easily in their respective home semi finals.

The Poles unsurprisingly prevailed 5-1 in Warsaw against Estonia who were only in this tie by virtue of being the best-ranked team on the lowest rung of the Nations League.

Meanwhile, Wales beat the Finns 4-1 in Cardiff, leading from as early as the third minute when David Brooks slammed in a rebound from Wilson's shot.

The Welsh looked to be on easy street when Neco Williams thumped in a free-kick tapped to him by Wilson - but Teemu Pukki took advantage of some sleepy defending to keep it interesting at the interval.

Straight after the restart, though, Tottenham Hotspur forward Brennan Johnson restored the two-goal lead after poaching from close range.

Cymru then had countless chances to put the tie to bed before James did just that by racing through and taking advantage of a dreadful mistake by the Finnish defender.

Certainly then, it has been a rollercoaster few days for the 26-year-old with the period finishing on a rather big dip.

James, though, still has plenty to play for this season with his club side Leeds at the top of the Championship heading into the run-in.

Head coach Page can also look ahead to the next campaign having been assured by Football Association of Wales bosses that his position is not in doubt. 

However, for Poland, a summer adventure now awaits with matches in neighbouring Germany against Netherlands in Hamburg on Sunday 16 June (2pm), Austria in Berlin on Friday 21 June (5pm), and France in Dortmund on Tuesday 25 June (5pm).

PATH [B]	SF1	ISRAEL	1-4	ICELAND	Budapest
		Zahavi 31pen		Gudmundsson 39, 83, 87 Traustason 42
	SF2	BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA	1-2	UKRAINE	Zenica
		Matvienko 56og		Yaremchuk 85, Dovbyk 88
	FINAL	UKRAINE	2-1	ICELAND	Wroclaw
		Tsygankov 54, Mudryk 84		Gudmundsson 30

UKRAINE provided a rare good news story for its war-weary public by becoming the comeback kids of this playoff competition to qualify for a fourth successive European Championship.

Trailing 1-0 in both the semi final away to Bosnia-Herzegovina and in the final against Iceland, the Ukrainians turned both ties around to win 2-1.

The comeback in the semi final was particularly dramatic - Serhiy Rebrov's men were trailing right up until the 85th-minute when Roman Yaremchuk pulled Ukraine back level.

But, for good measure, the visitors stunned the home crowd again three minutes later as Artem Dovbyk headed in the winner.

It was tough on the Bosnians who were looking to qualify for a first European Championship finals since gaining their hard-won independence in the 1990s - although the Dragons did appear at the 2014 World Cup.

However, Ukraine themselves had suffered late devastation in the qualifying group when they were denied what looked like a clear last-minute penalty in their final game against Italy which, if scored, would have put them through.

By now, the momentum was back with the Ukrainians - although the ongoing invasion by Vladimir Putin's pariah state Russia forced their "home" final to be hosted in the Polish city of Wroclaw.

Moreover, Iceland refused to read the script - and, on 30 minutes, the in-form forward Albert Gudmundsson worked some space for himself and hit a thumping shot into the corner from just outside of the D. 

Ukraine had another comeback mission to complete - and they quickly responded with a barrage of shots including an effort from Yaremchuk which was correctly ruled offside.

But, early in the second half, an equaliser did arrive as Viktor Tsyhankov cut inside from the right and neatly found the bottom left corner.

The tie was in the balance as the clock wound down and Gudmundsson - who hit a hat-trick in the 4-1 semi final thumping of Israel - shot narrowly wide.

With just over five minutes left, though, Mykhailo Mudryk made his effort count, finding exactly the same spot of the net as Tsyhankov had earlier.

Ukraine were going through to the finals after all, having been in any case probably unluckiest of all the teams to end up in the playoffs.

Indeed, a talented set of players should be competitive this summer in Group E against Romania in Munich on Monday 17 June (2pm), Slovakia in Düsseldorf on Friday 21 June (2pm) and Belgium in Stuttgart on Wednesday 26 June (5pm).

PATH [C]	SF1	GEORGIA	2-0	LUXEMBOURG	Tblisi
		Zivzivadze 40, 63
	SF2	GREECE	5-0	KAZAKHSTAN	Athens
		Bakasetas 9pen, Pelkas 15 Ioannidis 37, Kourbelis 40 Tapalov 86og
	FINAL	GEORGIA	0-0	GREECE	Tblisi
		won 4-2 on penalties	aet

GEORGIA qualified for their first ever major tournament finals by shocking Greece on penalties amid a red-hot atmosphere in Tblisi. 

In another largely chanceless encounter, Euro 2004 winners Greece dominated possession and came closest to scoring when West Ham United defender Konstantinos Mavropanos hit the bar with a powerful header in the first part of extra time.

That was swiftly followed by the closest effort to a goal from Georgia as Georges Mikautadze breached the offside trap and set up Zuriko Davitashvili.

Otherwise, the most notable moment until the penalty shootout came on the stroke of half time when a series of tetchy fouls resulted in members from both benches storming onto the pitch.

Onto penalties - and Greece made a nightmare start to the shootout after Anastasios Bakasetas had his effort saved.

And so, Georgia - kicking first - went 2-0 up through Giorgi Kochorashvili and Davitashvili before Georgios Masouras got Greece on the board.

That seemed enough to unnerve Mikautadze who missed the target altogether before Andreas Bouchalakis brought Hellas level at 2-2 from three kicks.

But the Georgians restored their lead through Lasha Dvali and, after striker Georgios Giakoumakis had rolled his penalty wide, all Nikoloz Kvekveskiri needed to do was keep his cool.

Kvekveskiri obliged to send the crowd at the Boris Paitchadze National Stadium into a wild frenzy with hundreds of fans bounding onto the pitch in joyous celebration.

Earlier, Georgia ended Luxembourg's own dreams of a first major finals appearance after the Luxembourgers belied their minnow status in the Nations League - while also giving a good showing in their qualifying group.

A keenly contested semi final turned on a mad sequence of events early in the second half. First, Georgia were denied a penalty by Spanish referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez then Gerson Rodrigues scored what appeared to be an equaliser for Luxembourg.

However, the Video Assistant Referee intervened and - fully three minutes after Rodrigues had hit the net - the officials ruled that Mikautadze had been brought down by Maxime Chanot.

The offence was deemed to have occurred outside of the box - but, as last man, Chanot was sent off. Play restarted with the resultant free-kick to Georgia while the Luxembourg equaliser was ruled out.

Unsurprisingly, a deflated and shorthanded Luxembourg struggled to mount much of a comeback after that - and Budu Zivzivadze soon scored his second of the game to put the tie out of reach.

In the other semi final, Greece thumped Kazakhstan - another side without any previous tournament experience - putting the tie in Athens beyond any doubt with a 4-0 lead at the interval before going on to win 5-0.

The Greeks, though, failed to carry through that goalscoring form to the final against the most talented all-round Georgian outfit since their independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

As such, Georgia will take on neighbours Turkey in Dortmund on Tuesday 18 June (5pm), Czech Republic in Hamburg on Saturday 22 June (2pm), and Portugal in Gelsenkirchen on Wednesday 26 June (8pm).

(Q) POLAND [A], UKRAINE [B] and GEORGIA [C] qualified for Euro 2024 via the playoffs 

🟥 COMPLETED EURO 2024 DRAW 🟥

GROUP A	GROUP B	GROUP C	GROUP D
[A1] GERMANY	[B1] SPAIN	[C1] SLOVENIA	[D1] POLAND
[A2] SCOTLAND	[B2] CROATIA	[C2] DENMARK	[D2] NETHERLANDS
[A3] HUNGARY	[B3] ITALY	[C3] SERBIA	[D3] AUSTRIA
[A4] SWITZERLAND	[B4] ALBANIA	[C4] ENGLAND	[D4] FRANCE
	GROUP E	GROUP F
	[E1] BELGIUM	[F1] TURKEY
	[E2] SLOVAKIA	[F2] GEORGIA
	[E3] ROMANIA	[F3] PORTUGAL
	[E4] UKRAINE	[F4] CZECH REP

GROUP A

14-June	(8pm)	GERMANY v SCOTLAND	Munich  ITV
15-June	(2pm)	HUNGARY v SWITZERLAND	Cologne  ITV
19-June	(5pm)	GERMANY v HUNGARY	Stuttgart  BBC
19-June	(8pm)	SCOTLAND v SWITZERLAND	Cologne  BBC
23-June	(8pm)	SWITZERLAND v GERMANY	Frankfurt  BBC
23-June	(8pm)	SCOTLAND v HUNGARY	Stuttgart  BBC

GROUP B

15-June	(5pm)	SPAIN v CROATIA	Berlin  ITV
15-June	(8pm)	ITALY v ALBANIA	Dortmund  BBC
19-June	(2pm)	CROATIA v ALBANIA	Hamburg  ITV
20-June	(8pm)	SPAIN v ITALY	Gelsenkirchen  ITV
24-June	(8pm)	ALBANIA v SPAIN	Dusseldorf  BBC
24-June	(8pm)	CROATIA v ITALY	Leipzig  BBC

GROUP C

16-June	(5pm)	SLOVENIA v DENMARK	Stuttgart  ITV
16-June	(8pm)	SERBIA v ENGLAND	Gelsenkirchen  BBC
20-June	(2pm)	SLOVENIA v SERBIA	Munich  ITV
20-June	(5pm)	DENMARK v ENGLAND	Frankfurt  BBC
25-June	(8pm)	ENGLAND v SLOVENIA	Cologne  ITV
25-June	(8pm)	DENMARK v SERBIA	Munich  ITV

GROUP D

16-June	(2pm)	POLAND v NETHERLANDS	Hamburg  BBC
17-June	(8pm)	AUSTRIA v FRANCE	Dusseldorf  ITV
21-June	(5pm)	POLAND v AUSTRIA	Berlin  ITV
21-June	(8pm)	NETHERLANDS v FRANCE	Leipzig  BBC
25-June	(5pm)	NETHERLANDS v AUSTRIA	Berlin  BBC
25-June	(5pm)	FRANCE v POLAND	Dortmund  BBC

GROUP E

17-June	(2pm)	ROMANIA v UKRAINE	Munich  BBC
17-June	(5pm)	BELGIUM v SLOVAKIA	Frankfurt  ITV
21-June	(2pm)	SLOVAKIA v UKRAINE	Dusseldorf  BBC
22-June	(8pm)	BELGIUM v ROMANIA	Cologne  ITV
26-June	(5pm)	SLOVAKIA v ROMANIA	Frankfurt  BBC
26-June	(5pm)	UKRAINE v BELGIUM	Stuttgart  BBC

GROUP F

18-June	(5pm)	TURKEY v GEORGIA	Dortmund  BBC
18-June	(8pm)	PORTUGAL v CZECH REPUBLIC	Leipzig  BBC
22-June	(2pm)	GEORGIA v CZECH REPUBLIC	Hamburg  BBC
22-June	(5pm)	TURKEY v PORTUGAL	Dortmund  ITV
26-June	(8pm)	GEORGIA v PORTUGAL	Gelsenkirchen  ITV
26-June	(8pm)	CZECH REPUBLIC v TURKEY	Hamburg  ITV

LAST 16

29-June	(5pm)	[38]  RUNNER-UP A v RUNNER-UP B	Berlin
29-June	(8pm)	[37]  WINNER A v RUNNER-UP C	Dortmund
30-June	(5pm)	[40]  WINNER C v THIRD PLACE D/E/F	Gelsenkirchen
30-June	(8pm)	[39]  WINNER B v THIRD PLACE A/D/E/F	Cologne
01-July	(5pm)	[42]  RUNNER-UP D v RUNNER-UP E	Dusseldorf
01-July	(8pm)	[41]  WINNER F v THIRD PLACE A/B/C	Frankfurt
02-July	(5pm)	[43]  WINNER E v THIRD PLACE A/B/C/D	Munich
02-July	(8pm)	[44]  WINNER D v RUNNER-UP F	Leipzig

QUARTER FINALS

05-July	(5pm)	(45)  WINNER [39] v WINNER [37]	Stuttgart
05-July	(8pm)	(46)  WINNER [41] v WINNER [42]	Hamburg
06-July	(5pm)	(48)  WINNER [40] v WINNER [38]	Dusseldorf
06-July	(8pm)	(47)  WINNER [43] v WINNER [44]	Berlin

SEMI FINALS

09-July	(8pm)	WINNER (45) v WINNER (46)	Munich
10-July	(8pm)	WINNER (47) v WINNER (48)	Dortmund

Elephants take torturous route to AFCON victory

AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS 2024

FINAL

Nigeria 1 Troost-Ekong 38
Ivory Coast 2 Kessie 62, Haller 81

Nigeria Nwabali, Ajayi, Troost-Ekong (c), Bassey, Aina, Onyeka (Aribo), Iwobi (Yusuf), Sanusi (Moffi), Chukwueze (Simon), Osimhen, Lookman (Iheanacho)
Subs not used Uzoho, Musa, Samuel, Onuachu, Awaziem, Omeruo, Nwadike Booked Nwabali, Aina
Ivory Coast Y Fofana, Aurier (c) (Singo), Kossounou, Ndicka, Konan, Kessie, Seri (Lazare), S Fofana (I Sangare), Gradel (Diakite), Haller (Krasso), Adingra
Sub not used Diomande, Bamba, Boga, Pepe, Kouame, B Sangare, Diallo Booked Aurier, Fofana, Ndicka
Attendance 57,094 at Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan Referee Dahane Beida (Mauritius)

HOSTS Ivory Coast took a ridiculously circuitous route to their third African Cup of Nations title as Sebastian Haller completed his own remarkable comeback story.

Former West Ham United striker Haller was diagnosed with testicular cancer shortly after joining Borussia Dortmund from Ajax Amsterdam in July 2022.

The 29-year-old underwent two surgical procedures and chemotherapy over the rest of that year before returning to action for Dortmund in January 2023.

Now, though, Haller has truly made his mark in the annals of Ivorian football history, cleverly using the toe-end of his boot to lift the ball over Nigerian goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali for a deserved winning goal.

Deserved it may have been - but, in truth, the Elephants will have counted their blessings that they even had the chance to contest this Final.

After all, in the group stage, the home team had been utterly abysmal following their straightforward 2-0 win over Guinea-Bissau on the opening day of the tournament.

The 1-0 defeat to eventual runners-up Nigeria was painful enough without the collective defensive breakdown in the 4-0 capitulation to Equatorial Guinea. 

Ivory Coast - stranded in third place with a -3 goal difference having played all their matches - were staring an embarrassing early exit in the face.

The repercussions for French head coach Jean-Louis Gasset were immediate - he was sacked while, having played first, the rest of the squad were forced to hang around awkwardly on the off-chance that other results went in their favour.

But then results did go in their favour.

Chris Hughton's Ghana were particularly guilty of blowing their chance of reaching the Last 16 despite their own slow start to proceedings. 

The Black Stars lost to Cape Verde Isles in their opening game after conceding a stoppage-time goal then twice gave away the lead to draw against Egypt. 

Worse was to come, though. Seemingly sailing into the knockout stages with a 2-0 lead over Mozambique, Hughton's men contrived to concede twice in stoppage time at the end of the match, and fell out of the reckoning altogether.

The former Newcastle United, Norwich City and Brighton & Hove Albion manager paid for the failure with his job - and the Ghanaians hardly found much consolation in being far from the only big name to be eliminated early on.

Algeria and Tunisia followed in the days which followed - both were winless, with the Algerians eliminated by minnows Mauritania, and Tunisians beaten by Namibia, who - along with the Mauritanians - won their first ever AFCON finals match.

Meanwhile, seven-time champions Egypt also exited the competition without a win in the Last 16 after sneaking through the first round with three draws.

However, the draw had not exactly opened up for the Ivorians.

Instead, their lowly finish left interim head coach Emerse Fae preparing for a knockout stage match against defending champions Senegal - and it looked set to go to form when Habib Diallo rifled a shot into the roof of the net inside four minutes.

But the Elephants hung in the contest and scored a late equaliser through Franck Kessie's penalty after former Arsenal forward Nicolas Pepe had been brought down by former Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

The Ivorians then took the match to penalties and were perfect from the spot while, for Senegal, Nottingham Forest defender Moussa Niakhate was unable to find the net.

And so, in the space of exactly one week, the hosts had gone from embarrassing no-hopers to the team which had ousted the defending champions.

Incredibly, the quarter final against Mali also involved late drama.

Trailing again to Nene Dorgeles's goal for the Eagles and down to 10 men, Ivory Coast rescued the last eight tie in the last minute with a goal from Simon Adingra.

The Brighton winger was quickest to react when the ball ran loose to force another period of extra time - then, just as the match looked destined for penalties, Oumar Diakite flicked a boot to divert Seko Fofana's long-range effort into the net.

In contrast to all of that, the 1-0 win over the Democratic Republic of Congo in the semi final felt pretty straightforward as Haller hit his first goal of the tournament by bouncing a volleyed finish over the goalkeeper.

Indeed, Nigeria had a far more stressful night in their last four clash, being taken to penalties by a resurgent South Africa side after conceding a last-minute spot-kick in normal time.

Until then, the Super Eagles had shown great defensive fortitude and kept four consecutive clean sheets with the highlight  of that run coming in a 2-0 win over their great rivals Cameroon in the Last 16 through a brace from Ademola Lookman.

But, in a match of penalties in the last four, it was ultimately the South Africans who lost their nerve with two misses from the spot to put the Nigerians through to the Final.

To their credit, Bafana Bafana recovered to take third place after winning yet another penalty shootout - their third in four matches - to register their best finish at AFCON in 24 years.

Thankfully, though, the Final did not require spot-kicks as a decider - not that Ivory Coast made life any easier than usual for themselves.

Despite the hosts dominating proceedings from the kick-off in terms of possession and attacks, Nigeria took a 38th-minute lead with what ended up being their only effort on target all night, as William Troost-Ekong headed in from a corner.

In the now-familiar position of chasing the game, Ivory Coast kept plugging away - and, with just a little more than an hour on the clock, Kessie headed in the equaliser, the goal again coming from a corner.

Kessie had earlier been rather fortunate to stay on the pitch after deliberately throwing his elbow to stop a rare Super Eagles' break.

However, the Nigerians never looked like turning the tide after the equaliser - and another wave of Ivorian attacks eventually took its toll for a second time.

Haller's finish brought an explosion of joyous orange-tinged celebrations in the stands and the West African country at large as supporters saluted a most unlikely triumph in Abidjan. 

▪️

ASIAN CUP 2024

FINAL

Qatar 3 Atif 22(p), 73(p), 90+5(p)
Jordan 1 Al-Naimat 67

Qatar Barsham, Salman, Mendes, Mukhtar (Khoukhi), Abdurisag (I Mohammad), Al-Haydos (Hatem), Gaber (Assadalla), Fatehi, Waad, Ali, Afif Booked Assadalla, Barsham
Jordan Abulaila, Nasib, Al-Arab, Al-Ajalin, Haddad, Al-Rashdan, Al-Rawabdeh, Olwan (Al-Awadat), Al-Taamari, Al-Naimat, Al-Mardi (Rateb) Booked Olwan Al-Ajalin, Al-Naimat, Abulaila
Attendance 86,492 at Lusail Stadium, Lusail Referee Ma Ning (China)

THE HOST nation also won the Asian Cup as Qatar defended their title with a 3-1 win in the Final against surprise package Jordan.

Akram Afif kept his cool to score a remarkable hat-trick of penalties - but, while that sounds extremely dubious, it was actually the result of repeated instances of clumsy Jordanian defending.

Al-Nashama appeared completely overwhelmed by the occasion - although the bigger names on the continent were a far bigger disappointment.

The failure of Japan and South Korea to win their groups resulted in some titanic knockout games as the Asian powerhouses took each other out.

Iran eliminated the Japanese in the last eight before their own semi defeat to the Qataris.

Meanwhile, Jurgen Klinsmann's South Korea sneaked through against Saudi Arabia and Australia - before their good fortune ran out in the last four against Jordan.

The Jordanians thus reached the Final for the first time, having earlier edged out Iraq and first-time quarter finalists Tajikistan.

But Qatar had the last word to become the first team to defend the Asian Cup title since Japan in 2004. 

Index 2023

INDEX 2023

So, good riddance 2023, you utter shitfest of a year. Whether or not life actually does begin at 40, as the cliché would suggest, it has certainly changed a lot for me in the last 12 months. RIP Dad, I miss you every day and I will always love you.

Nevertheless, it would be churlish not to admit that there have still been some highlights. My lovely niece Maya is growing up fast, always makes me smile and usually makes me laugh like a gargling drain with her antics.

I also loved my trip to Greece (except for the bit when my phone got stolen), my latest Glastonbury Festival renewal (where the Foo Fighters especially were truly epic), yet another visit to Prague (where me and my friends got to have a go at being Pilsner Urquell tapsters), a raucous weekend in Ibiza (except for the bit when my phone got stolen), and I also bimbled around a bit of Germany which I had never previously seen.

Of course, that trip to Germany derived from a serious prolonged upturn in form from my beloved Newcastle United who finished last season in the top four for the first time in 20 years.

But, to be quite honest, even Newcastle United let me down this year in the biggest games of the calendar year at Wembley in February in the Carabao Cup Final - even if the crowd in Trafalgar Square on the night before was epic - and then again against AC Milan at St James Park this month.

There have been various other weekends away in the UK which have captured the imagination: the snooker in Sheffield in April, Nottingham in May to see Team GB regain their place at the top table in international ice hockey, York for Hallowe'en, and another visit to Lindisfarne Festival in September.

Unfortunately, though, I finished the year still partly recovering from a hairline fracture to my ankle sustained at Lindisfarne after the injury suffered several setbacks, although some of them were admittedly self-inflicted.

Additionally, I have spent much of the run-up to Christmas battling an acute bout of the lurgy which has hung around for the last seven weeks and, at times, made me sound like a 40-a-day smoker.

It basically made an already exhausting year just that little bit more difficult to get through - and, despite numerous undoubted highlights, I am afraid this is a year which, for quite some time, I have been desperate to consign to the archives.

For what it's worth, this blog still gets updated with the occasional updates - and, hopefully, 2024 will provide opportunities for some write-ups on a brighter note.

An index of the posts made in 2023 can be found below:

CRICKET
Ashes 2023
16.06  Baz-ball faces its biggest Test of all in Ashes
11.07  Ashes alive after England win Headingley nail-biter
01.08  Broad signs off in style as Ashes series ends drawn
World Cup
05.10  Preview: Confident India hold all the cards
14.11  Not defending anything
19.11  Australia tear down India's cloak of invincibility

FOOTBALL
Season 2022/23
04.05  Haaland breaks goal record to send Man City back top
13.06  Manchester City complete incredible Treble
Season 2023/24
15.08  Manchester City go for four in a row
04.12  Another chance for England at Euro 2024

RUGBY UNION
World Cup
08.09  Preview: C'est le moment... peut-être
04.11  Back-to-back Boks outlast All Blacks

SNOOKER
World Championships
14.04  Snooker finds itself in a terrible fix
01.05  Belgian Bullet slays maximum man Selby

POLITICS
By elections
24.07  Another messy night

PERSONAL
Glastonbury 2023
30.06  There goes My Hero

So, take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind

Down the foggy ruins of time

Far past the frozen leaves

The haunted frightened trees

Out to the windy beach

Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow

Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky

With one hand waving free

Silhouetted by the sea

Circled by the circus sands

With all memory and fate

Driven deep beneath the waves

Let me forget about today until tomorrow

Bob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine Man (1965)

Another chance for England at Euro 2024

🟥 EURO 2024 FINALS 🟥

GROUP A	GROUP B	GROUP C	GROUP D
[A1] GERMANY	[B1] SPAIN	[C1] SLOVENIA	[D1] PLAYOFF [A]
[A2] SCOTLAND	[B2] CROATIA	[C2] DENMARK	[D2] NETHERLANDS
[A3] HUNGARY	[B3] ITALY	[C3] SERBIA	[D3] AUSTRIA
[A4] SWITZERLAND	[B4] ALBANIA	[C4] ENGLAND	[D4] FRANCE
	GROUP E	GROUP F
	[E1] BELGIUM	[F1] TURKEY
	[E2] SLOVAKIA	[F2] PLAYOFF [C]
	[E3] ROMANIA	[F3] PORTUGAL
	[E4] PLAYOFF [B]	[F4] CZECH REP

ENGLAND avoided the non-seeded big-hitters in the Euro 2024 finals draw to provide hope that the Three Lions may yet deliver a long-awaited major trophy next summer.

Gareth Southgate's side will take on Serbia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday 16 June (8pm), Denmark in Frankfurt on Thursday 20 June (5pm), and Slovenia in Cologne on Tuesday 25 June (8pm) in Group C. 

The Danes sit 19th in the current FIFA World Rankings - while Serbia are 34th and Slovenia are rated at a lowly 54th place.

So, on that basis, it really is a section which should prove pretty facile for a country which can call upon the likes of Bundesliga top goalscorer Harry Kane, Declan Rice, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham. 

In particular, 20-year-old Bellingham has already made a huge impression in his debut season at Real Madrid with 15 goals and four assists in all competitions. 

An unused substitute as a teenager in the Euro 2020+1 Final at Wembley, the youngster genuinely could be the difference-maker this time if his overly-cautious head coach Southgate finally lets his players off the leash. 

Certainly, that tendency of Southgate to keep the handbrake on at vital moments remains the main concern for Three Lions supporters ahead of the tournament. 

Elsewhere, Scotland landed a far tougher-looking draw by being placed in Group A with hosts Germany, experienced tournament campaigners Switzerland, and a fast-improving Hungary side.

Indeed, the Scots will take centre stage in the tournament opener against the Germans in Munich on Friday 14 June (8pm) - before facing the Swiss in Cologne on Wednesday 19 June (8pm) and the Hungarians in Stuttgart on Sunday 23 June (8pm).

Some fine performances in qualifying - in which Scotland won their first five matches and beat Spain in Glasgow - provides hope north of the border that they might make it through the group stages of a major tournament for the first time ever. 

However, the Tartan Army will have definitely wanted a kinder result than that which was delivered at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. 

After all, Steve Clarke's men are - at 36th in the world - the lowest-ranked team in their section, behind Germany who are 16th, Switzerland who are 18th, and Hungary who are 27th. 

In terms of the rest of the draw, outright favourites France must contend again with the latent threat of the Netherlands in Group D. 

The pair actually came through the same qualifying section with Les Bleus completing a comfortable double over the Oranje including a 4-0 thumping of the Dutch in Saint-Denis. 

As such, French coach Didier Deschamps probably will not have sleepless nights about their next meeting in Leipzig on Friday 21 June (8pm) - while the Netherlands will concentrate on finishing above Austria and the winners of Playoff Path [A], which could be Wales. 

Defending champions Italy - a definite bogey to avoid after being placed in Pot Four following recent struggles - face Spain in Group B in Gelsenkirchen on Thursday 20 June (8pm) in a repeat of the Euro 2012 final. 

Croatia - who the Italians have never beaten in eight previous attempts - and surprise package Albania complete that set.

Finally, grossly-overrated Belgium and the Cristiano Ronaldo-led Euro 2016 winners Portugal will be pleased with their own kindly draws.

The Red Devils take on Slovakia, Romania and the winners of Playoff Path [B] in Group E - while the Portuguese have been pitted against Turkey, Czech Republic and the winners of Playoff Path [C] in Group F.

Frankly, both of those seeded sides have ageing teams which are past their peak - but, equally, both should have enough to get past their limited opponents.

The countdown can start to the finals properly now, with an all-important interlude in March to determine the sides to qualify from the three playoff paths.

In Path [A], Poland will expect to progress against minnows Estonia while Wales take on Finland in Cardiff.

Then, with the playoff final also scheduled in the Welsh capital, the draw could not have really worked out much better for Cymru who could only finish third in their qualifying group behind Croatia and Turkey.

Troublesome Path [B] features two countries at war with Israel taking on Iceland and Ukraine facing Bosnia-Herzegovina, leaving the venue unconfirmed for one of the semi finals and indeed for the final if the Ukrainians make it through.

Meanwhile, Euro 2004 winners Greece are by far the biggest name in Path [C] - though their need for this route is a measure really of how far Greek football has fallen recently.

The Greeks take on Kazakhstan in Athens at the same time as Georgia face a vastly-improved Luxembourg outfit in Tblisi, with the final staged by the winners of the latter tie.

The playoff semi finals are scheduled for 21 March, with the playoff finals expected to be held on 26 March, and the three winners of those matches will complete the identity of the 24 competitors at Euro 2024.

Euro 2024 itself will begin on 14 June with Germany v Scotland and will run for exactly a month until the Final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin on 14 July.

GROUP A

14-June	(8pm)	GERMANY v SCOTLAND	Munich
15-June	(2pm)	HUNGARY v SWITZERLAND	Cologne
19-June	(5pm)	GERMANY v HUNGARY	Stuttgart
19-June	(8pm)	SCOTLAND v SWITZERLAND	Cologne
23-June	(8pm)	SWITZERLAND v GERMANY	Frankfurt
23-June	(8pm)	SCOTLAND v HUNGARY	Stuttgart

GROUP B

15-June	(5pm)	SPAIN v CROATIA	Berlin
15-June	(8pm)	ITALY v ALBANIA	Dortmund
19-June	(2pm)	CROATIA v ALBANIA	Hamburg
20-June	(8pm)	SPAIN v ITALY	Gelsenkirchen
24-June	(8pm)	ALBANIA v SPAIN	Dusseldorf
24-June	(8pm)	CROATIA v ITALY	Leipzig

GROUP C

16-June	(5pm)	SLOVENIA v DENMARK	Stuttgart
16-June	(8pm)	SERBIA v ENGLAND	Gelsenkirchen
20-June	(2pm)	SLOVENIA v SERBIA	Munich
20-June	(5pm)	DENMARK v ENGLAND	Frankfurt
25-June	(8pm)	ENGLAND v SLOVENIA	Cologne
25-June	(8pm)	DENMARK v SERBIA	Munich

GROUP D

16-June	(2pm)	PLAYOFF [A] v NETHERLANDS	Hamburg
17-June	(8pm)	AUSTRIA v FRANCE	Dusseldorf
21-June	(5pm)	PLAYOFF [A] v AUSTRIA	Berlin
21-June	(8pm)	NETHERLANDS v FRANCE	Leipzig
25-June	(5pm)	NETHERLANDS v AUSTRIA	Berlin
25-June	(5pm)	FRANCE v PLAYOFF [A]	Dortmund

GROUP E

17-June	(2pm)	ROMANIA v PLAYOFF [B]	Munich
17-June	(5pm)	BELGIUM v SLOVAKIA	Frankfurt
21-June	(2pm)	SLOVAKIA v PLAYOFF [B]	Dusseldorf
22-June	(8pm)	BELGIUM v ROMANIA	Cologne
26-June	(5pm)	SLOVAKIA v ROMANIA	Frankfurt
26-June	(5pm)	PLAYOFF [B] v BELGIUM	Stuttgart

GROUP F

18-June	(5pm)	TURKEY v PLAYOFF [C]	Dortmund
18-June	(8pm)	PORTUGAL v CZECH REPUBLIC	Leipzig
22-June	(2pm)	PLAYOFF [C] v CZECH REPUBLIC	Hamburg
22-June	(5pm)	TURKEY v PORTUGAL	Dortmund
26-June	(8pm)	PLAYOFF [C] v PORTUGAL	Gelsenkirchen
26-June	(8pm)	CZECH REPUBLIC v TURKEY	Hamburg

LAST 16

29-June	(5pm)	[38]  RUNNER-UP A v RUNNER-UP B	Berlin
29-June	(8pm)	[37]  WINNER A v RUNNER-UP C	Dortmund
30-June	(5pm)	[40]  WINNER C v THIRD PLACE D/E/F	Gelsenkirchen
30-June	(8pm)	[39]  WINNER B v THIRD PLACE A/D/E/F	Cologne
01-July	(5pm)	[42]  RUNNER-UP D v RUNNER-UP E	Dusseldorf
01-July	(8pm)	[41]  WINNER F v THIRD PLACE A/B/C	Frankfurt
02-July	(5pm)	[43]  WINNER E v THIRD PLACE A/B/C/D	Munich
02-July	(8pm)	[44]  WINNER D v RUNNER-UP F	Leipzig

QUARTER FINALS

05-July	(5pm)	(45)  WINNER [39] v WINNER [37]	Stuttgart
05-July	(8pm)	(46)  WINNER [41] v WINNER [42]	Hamburg
06-July	(5pm)	(48)  WINNER [40] v WINNER [38]	Dusseldorf
06-July	(8pm)	(47)  WINNER [43] v WINNER [44]	Berlin

SEMI FINALS

09-July	(8pm)	WINNER (45) v WINNER (46)	Munich
10-July	(8pm)	WINNER (47) v WINNER (48)	Dortmund

🟥 EURO 2024 QUALIFYING GROUPS 🟥

Fifty-three teams were drawn into seven groups of five teams (A-G), and three groups of six teams (H-J). The top two teams in each group qualified directly for the finals.

	GROUP A	Pts		GROUP B	Pts		GROUP C	Pts
(Q)	SPAIN	21	(Q)	FRANCE	22	(Q)	ENGLAND	20
(Q)	SCOTLAND	17	(Q)	NETHERLANDS	18	(Q)	ITALY	14
3	Norway	11	[C]	GREECE	13	[B]	UKRAINE	14
[C]	GEORGIA	8	4	Ireland	6	4	North Macedonia	8
5	Cyprus	0	5	Gibraltar	0	5	Malta	0
	GROUP D	Pts		GROUP E	Pts		GROUP F	Pts
(Q)	TURKEY	17	(Q)	ALBANIA	15	(Q)	BELGIUM	20
(Q)	CROATIA	16	(Q)	CZECH REP	15	(Q)	AUSTRIA	19
[A]	WALES	12	[A]	POLAND	11	3	Sweden	10
4	Armenia	8	4	Moldova	10	4	Azerbaijan	7
5	Latvia	3	5	Faroe Islands	2	[A]	ESTONIA	1
	GROUP G	Pts		GROUP H	Pts		GROUP I	Pts
(Q)	HUNGARY	18	(Q)	DENMARK	22	(Q)	ROMANIA	22
(Q)	SERBIA	14	(Q)	SLOVENIA	22	(Q)	SWITZERLAND	17
3	Montenegro	11	[A]	FINLAND	18	[B]	ISRAEL	15
4	Lithuania	6	[C]	KAZAKHSTAN	18	4	Belarus	12
5	Bulgaria	4	5	Northern Ireland	9	5	Kosovo	11
			6	San Marino	0	6	Andorra	2
	GROUP J	Pts
(Q)	PORTUGAL	30
(Q)	SLOVAKIA	22
[C]	LUXEMBOURG	17
[B]	ICELAND	10
[B]	BOSNIA-HERZ	9
6	Liechtenstein	0

🟥 NATIONS LEAGUE 2022-23 RANKINGS 🟥

	LEAGUE A		LEAGUE B		LEAGUE C		LEAGUE D
(Q)	SPAIN	[B]	ISRAEL	[C]	GEORGIA	[A]	ESTONIA
(Q)	CROATIA	[B]	BOSNIA-HERZ	[C]	GREECE	50	Latvia
(Q)	ITALY	(Q)	SERBIA	(Q)	TURKEY	51	Moldova
(Q)	NETHERLANDS	(Q)	SCOTLAND	[C]	KAZAKHSTAN	52	Malta
(Q)	DENMARK	[A]	FINLAND	[C]	LUXEMBOURG	53 54	Andorra San Marino
(Q)	PORTUGAL	[B]	UKRAINE	38	Azerbaijan	55	Liechtenstein
(Q)	BELGIUM	[B]	ICELAND	39	Kosovo
(Q)	HUNGARY	24	Norway	40	Bulgaria
(Q)	SWITZERLAND	(Q)	SLOVENIA	41	Faroe Islands
(Q)	GERMANY	26	Ireland	42	North Macedonia
[A]	POLAND	(Q)	ALBANIA	(Q)	SLOVAKIA
(Q)	FRANCE	28	Montenegro	44	Northern Ireland
(Q)	AUSTRIA	(Q)	ROMANIA	45	Cyprus
(Q)	CZECH REPUBLIC	30	Sweden	46	Belarus
(Q)	ENGLAND	31	Armenia	47	Lithuania
[A]	WALES	32	Russia [banned]	48	Gibraltar

KEY

(Q)   Qualified directly for the Euro 2024 finals

[A]   Path A playoff competition

[B]   Path B playoff competition

[C]   Path C playoff competition

All other teams have been eliminated

SUMMARY
• The top four teams in League A, League B and League C shown above all won their Nations League group
• The Nations League overall rankings determined which of the 12 teams - who did not qualify directly - entered the three playoff path routes to qualify for Euro 2024
• However, almost all teams from League A qualified directly - except for Poland and Wales - leaving a shortage of teams to compete in Path [A] in the playoffs
• This shortage of teams for Path [A] provided a place for a team in League B which did not win their Nations League group - this was determined to be Finland in a random draw. The shortage also provided a place for the best-ranked team in League D, which was Estonia.
• Path [B] was taken up by the top four ranked teams in League B who had not already qualified directly and had not been selected to make up the shortage of teams competing in Path [A]
• Path [C] was taken up by the top four ranked teams in League C who had not qualified directly

🟥 PLAYOFF PATH DRAW 🟥

Each of the playoff path winners will qualify for the Euro 2024 finals

PATH [A]

21 March	POLAND	[SF1]	ESTONIA	Warsaw
21 March	WALES	[SF2]	FINLAND	Cardiff
26 March	WALES/FINLAND	[F]	POLAND/ESTONIA	Cardiff/Helsinki

PATH [B]

21 March	ISRAEL	[SF1]	ICELAND	TBC
21 March	BOSNIA-HERZ	[SF2]	UKRAINE	Zenica
26 March	BOSNIA-HERZ/UKRAINE	[F]	ISRAEL/ICELAND	Zenica/TBC

PATH [C]

21 March	GEORGIA	[SF1]	LUXEMBOURG	Tblisi
21 March	GREECE	[SF2]	KAZAKHSTAN	Athens
26 March	GEORGIA/LUXEMBOURG	[F]	GREECE/KAZAKHSTAN	Tblisi/Luxembourg City