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Reuters
32 minutes ago
- Reuters
Heat wilts players but not fans' spirit at Sweden-Denmark Euros clash
GENEVA, Switzerland, July 4 (Reuters) - Despite the early evening sun blasting down on the Stade de Geneve on Friday, the enthusiasm of fans did not wilt in the heat during Sweden's 1-0 victory over Denmark in the Women's European Championship. Midfielder Filippa Angeldahl scored for Sweden in a third straight game, securing the win in the opening game of Group C. The so-called "soft-hooligans" of Sweden lived up to their name with emphatic chants throughout the match and even one ABBA-inspired sing-along. "Having the crowd, it means so much, like you could hear them all through the game, like having our backs, pushing us through," Sweden defender Linda Sembrandt told Reuters. Swedish fans brimmed with confidence from the start of the match, putting up a bright yellow display reading: "The gold is coming home". "When you come out on the pitch and see everyone... you can't describe how important that is," said Swedish forward Madelen Janogy. Danish fans tried their best to reply with bellowing drums and "Danmark" chants to fire up their side but the Danish "Roligans" could not quite compete with their Scandinavian rivals who dominated the stadium with their anthems. Temperatures peaked at 30 degrees Celsius, which players said had an impact on their performance. "It was really hot. It's hard to prepare for it, like we have training in it, but it was really hot today. A few people got cramps," Sembrandt said. The game was stopped on a number of occasions for players to refresh with drinks. "It was a lot of stops. We had a cooling break because it's hot, and that's what the referee wanted... That's just something you have to deal with. You sometimes have to be a little more smarter the way you play," Denmark's Janni Thomsen told Reuters.
Daily Mirror
41 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Diogo Jota team-mates break down in tears during first match after tragic death
Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo both remained team-mates of the Liverpool star with the Portugal national team, with Al-Hilal midfielder Neves a close friend having grown together with Jota in England at former club Wolves Ruben Neves and Joao Cancelo broke down in tears as tributes were paid at the FIFA Club World Cup to Diogo Jota and his younger brother Andre Silva, following their tragic deaths. Neves and Cancelo, both long-time friends and international team-mates of the Liverpool star who sadly died on Thursday following a car crash in Spain, were playing their first match since news broke of the pair's passing. But as a moment's silence was held in Orlando Florida on Friday night, both Portuguese internationals appeared devastated. Both ex-Wolves captain Neves and former Manchester City defender Cancelo had to be comforted by team-mates. After the tribute, a sobbing Neves had his face in his hands while Cancelo sank down on his haunches and wiped away tears as he tried to prepare to face Brazilian side Fluminense. The pair had both elected to play for their club, Al Hilal, in Friday's quarter-final. Head coach Simone Inzaghi had given the pair the option to miss the game if they were not feeling up to it. Both decided to play, with Neves posting a tribute on social media to Jota just an hour before kickoff. The two players had been team-mates and friends since 2016, breaking through together at Porto, before joining Wolves in the same summer and firing the Black Country side from the second tier into Europe. In an emotional message, Neves wrote: 'Bro, wherever you are, I know you'll read this, we've never been this sloppy and maybe now I regret it a little, but you know what you mean to me as much as I know what I mean to you. 'More than a friendship, we're family, and we won't stop being that just because you've decided to sign a contract a little further away from us. When I go to the national team, you will continue to be by my side at the dinner table, on the bus, on the plane... you will always be there with me, as usual. 'Let's keep laughing, making plans, sharing our life with each other. I'm going to make sure you're always present and I'll make sure that your loved ones never lack anything while you're there, far away but thinking of us, waiting for us. 'Life has brought us together and now it can't tear us apart. We've achieved some great things together, we still have a lot to go, I know we can. From today on, you will enter the field with me and we will follow our path together, on the stage where we met. 'Diogoal, you are my favourite lemonade!! Amo-te.' Neves' post came after he had initially posted on Thursday: 'They say we only lose people when we forget them. I will never forget you.' The world of football has been in mourning following the death of Jota and his younger brother on Thursday. Hundreds gathered at a wake in Portugal on Friday morning, ahead of the brothers' funeral at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar in Sao Cosme at 10am on Saturday. Initially held in private for family it was later opened up to the public. Manchester City's Bernardo Silva and Manchester United's Diogo Dalot were both among those to pay tribute, along with a Liverpool contingent led by sporting director Richard Hughes and one of Jota's best friends in football, another ex-Wolves and Portugal star, Joao Moutinho.
Leader Live
43 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Liverpool prepare for emotional farewell at Diogo Jota funeral
The club, as well as fans and football as a whole, are in mourning after the 28-year-old Portugal international and his brother Andre Silva were killed in a car crash in Spain in the early hours of Thursday. Mohamed Salah, one of the last players to share his grief on social media, admitted he was dreading returning to the club in the wake of Jota's shock death. I am truly lost for words. Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break. Team mates come and go but not like this. It's going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won't be there when we go… — Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah) July 4, 2025 Some players were due back on Friday to begin the preliminaries of pre-season testing, but the first tranche of a phased return was postponed as everyone at the club continues to try to come to terms with the tragedy. 'I am truly lost for words. Until yesterday, I never thought there would be something that would frighten me of going back to Liverpool after the break,' Salah wrote on social media. 'Team-mates come and go but not like this. It's going to be extremely difficult to accept that Diogo won't be there when we go back. 'My thoughts are with his wife, his children, and of course his parents who suddenly lost their children. 'Those close to Diogo and his brother Andre need all the support they can get. They will never be forgotten.' It is believed a flight to Portugal has been chartered by the club. Reports in Portugal say the players, most of whom are still on summer holiday, are expected to attend, but Liverpool have yet to confirm arrangements. Mourners gathered at a wake in Portugal on Friday, ahead of the brothers' funeral at the Igreja Matriz de Gondomar in Sao Cosme at 10am on Saturday. Initially held in private for family – Jota leaves a newly-married wife Rute and three young children – it was later opened up to the public, with hundreds queuing around the 17th-century church. Liverpool sporting director Richard Hughes was among a number of club staff to attend the chapel, along with Manchester United's Portugal international Diogo Dalot. Nottingham Forest's Jota Silva, born in Gondomar, and Jota's former Wolves and Portugal team-mate Joao Moutinho were also among the mourners, with the president of the Portuguese Football Federation Pedro Proenca and Porto president Andre Villas-Boas also visiting. The country's president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and prime minister Luis Montenegro both attended in person, while members of the Portuguese parliament paid tribute to the two brothers. Some members of the public embraced and cried before entering the venue as floral tributes of yellow and white and candles were laid by a tree outside. People held service sheets featuring pictures of both brothers, the largest one showing Jota smiling in his Liverpool shirt and making a heart sign with his hands. At Anfield, where a temporary shrine has built up, thousands have left flowers, shirts, scarves and cards. A tearful former Liverpool captain and team-mate, Jordan Henderson, was among those present on Friday, laying flowers and taking a moment to read some of the tributes after signing a book of condolence available in the Anfield Road stand. 'Jots it was a pleasure to share a pitch with you but more importantly a friendship. All the laughs we had off the pitch and trying to find ways to wind milly (James Milner) up and get him fined, which we never could,' the England midfielder wrote on Instagram. 'Taking pictures of me asleep on the bus travelling then sending them to me later. You always wanted to have a laugh and were a pleasure to be around. 'I know how much Rute and your family meant to you and I know you will always be looking down on them. Thank you for everything you brought into this world, we will all miss you.' An Everton delegation comprising Portugal-born strikers Beto and Youssef Chermiti and former midfielder Ian Snodin also attended Anfield to pay their respects and lay wreaths.
