And the time has come ! Squads are in. Players have put their club rivalries on a hold for a chance to be heroes of their nations ! Euro 2020 is all set to take place in 11 countries across Europe with Turkey taking on Italy in the curtain raiser. Most participating countries are playing international friendlies to get their squads “NSYNC” (in sync 😂). England named their 26-man squad which included Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jude Bellingham, Sam Johnstone and Bukayo Saka. Unfortunately, with an injury in an international friendly, Trent AA won’t feature in England’s team. Hugh blow for the Three Lions. Defending champions have a heavy weight attack this summer with the likes of Diogo Jota, Bruno Fernandes, Jao Felix and the GOAT (or at least one half of it 🐐) Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal also boasts a tough defense with Ruben Dias, Jose Fonte (Ligue 1 champion with fellow team mate Renato Sanchez) and Raphael Guerreiro.
Don’t sleep on the Italian maestros, with Immobile, Insigne, Pellegrini and Barella all coming off of a strong season. Spain, the only team with 24 players in a 26-man squad (still, two more players can come handy, anytime right ? ), drew 0-0 against Portugal in a friendly on Friday. They have the experience of Thiago, Alba and Busquets plus the young blood of Ferran Torres, Gerard Moreno, Laporte and Oyarzabal. World champions will see Karim Benzema play while Germany hopes Timo Werner and Kai Havertz carry on their form into this summer fiesta !
Talking about Europe, we just witnessed the cleanest penalty shoot out ever after Villareal outlasted Manchester United to take the Europa League crown with 1-1 (11-10) win on penalties. This is the fourth Europa League crown for Unai Emery (three previous ones with Sevilla) which is the most my any manager in the history of this competition. The battle of Blues for the Champions League crown went to Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea after they beat Manchester City 1-0 in Porto to clinch their second ever trophy in this competition. It looked like Sergio Aguero was set for a trade mark farewell when he came on in the 77th minute to rescue his club, but it was too little too late for the Cityzens. Tuchel, though not intentionally, has emulated his fellow German and former Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp by losing in a UCL final and coming back and winning it the next year ! 😉
Peeking into to next season, with a plethora of managers playing musical chairs around Europe, Carlo Ancelotti will be the new boss at Real Madrid. His former club, Everton is still looking to replace him with someone who can carry Everton into Europe next year (Nuno the best fit?). Spots are still open at Tottenham, Wolves and Crystal Palace while Rafael Benitez is touted to make a return trip to the Premier League.
With Euro 2020 kicking off on June 11th, we will also keep a keen eye on the latest transfer news coming from all over the footballing world. Grab your lemonade, relax and stay tuned ! 😎
Ball in the Net 