Latest news with #Euro2023
Daily Mail
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Harvey Elliott makes offensive hand gesture just seconds after England U21s' European triumph over Germany
Harvey Elliott let out his frustrations by flashing two fingers at someone just seconds after England's Under-21 Euros triumph against Germany. Elliot opened the scoring after five minutes in what turned out to be a ping-pong game in Bratislava, which saw the Three Lions blow a two-goal lead, forcing extra-time. But Germany could not continue their momentum in the last half hour, and it was Jonathan Rowe - who is currently on loan at Marseille from Norwich - who snatched a winner to make it 3-2 in the 92nd minute. England held on to claim their second consecutive U21 Euro title, yet Elliott's immediate reaction revealed frustration rather than jubilation. It is unclear who the Liverpool star's gesticulations were aimed towards.
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Spain's Aitana Bonmati diagnosed with viral meningitis ahead of Euro 2025
Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati has been diagnosed with viral meningitis ahead of this summer's European Championship, her head coach Montse Tome has confirmed. On Friday night, the 27-year-old Barcelona midfielder posted a photo of herself watching Spain's 3-1 defeat of Japan in a pre-tournament friendly from a hospital bed with a cannula in her arm. Advertisement Bonmati, who has won each of the two most recent women's Ballon d'Or awards for the best footballer in the world, is a key player for Spain, who play Portugal in their tournament opener on July 3. 'Aitana was feverish the previous night, the next day she did not get better,' Tome said on Friday. 'She was tired, we let her rest and then this morning the doctor took her to run some tests, at first the tests came back normal but the last test — and by the way she has authorised me to talk about this — shows that she has viral meningitis. 'She is under medical supervision, I know that this is an alarming situation but the doctor is telling me that she is being taken care of, she is in the hospital, we do not know for how long, but she wanted me to communicate the situation with you all. This is all I can share at this time.' Advertisement Viral meningitis is the most common and least serious type of the disease, as opposed to bacterial meningitis. It is an inflammation of the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. According to the British National Health Service (NHS), viral meningitis typically takes seven to 10 days to fully recover from. Spain, the reining world champions, are among the favourites for Euro 2025 with Bonmati part of a midfield trio alongside club team-mates Patri Guijarro and Alexia Putellas. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Barcelona, Spain, Women's Soccer, Women's Euros, Women's World Cup 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
21 hours ago
- Health
- New York Times
Spain's Aitana Bonmati diagnosed with viral meningitis ahead of Euro 2025
Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati has been diagnosed with viral meningitis ahead of this summer's European Championship, her head coach Montse Tome has confirmed. On Friday night, the 27-year-old Barcelona midfielder posted a photo of herself watching Spain's 3-1 defeat of Japan in a pre-tournament friendly from a hospital bed with a cannula in her arm. Advertisement Bonmati, who has won each of the two most recent women's Ballon d'Or awards for the best footballer in the world, is a key player for Spain, who play Portugal in their tournament opener on July 3. 'Aitana was feverish the previous night, the next day she did not get better,' Tome said on Friday. 'She was tired, we let her rest and then this morning the doctor took her to run some tests, at first the tests came back normal but the last test — and by the way she has authorised me to talk about this — shows that she has viral meningitis. 'She is under medical supervision, I know that this is an alarming situation but the doctor is telling me that she is being taken care of, she is in the hospital, we do not know for how long, but she wanted me to communicate the situation with you all. This is all I can share at this time.' Viral meningitis is the most common and least serious type of the disease, as opposed to bacterial meningitis. It is an inflammation of the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. According to the British National Health Service (NHS), viral meningitis typically takes seven to 10 days to fully recover from. Spain, the reining world champions, are among the favourites for Euro 2025 with Bonmati part of a midfield trio alongside club team-mates Patri Guijarro and Alexia Putellas ()
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Women's Euros 2025: Guide to Group D – can England escape toughest group?
One of the teams in this group will be going home far earlier than they had hoped. Three does not go into two and France, the Netherlands and England will expect to make the knockout stages. The Netherlands and England are the two most recent winners of the European Championship, with both achievements being accomplished under the same manager, Sarina Wiegman. Spare a thought for poor Wales, who are being thrown in at the deep end for their first international tournament. The favourites are… They have not been at their best in recent months and the disruption leading into this tournament — the retirements of Mary Earps and Fran Kirby, plus Millie Bright making herself unavailable and having surgery — has not helped, but it is still hard to look past holders England as the leading contenders to get out of this group. Advertisement Wiegman's side have lost to the Netherlands and France in the past two years but they have also pulled out crucial wins against both teams when they have needed to. Wiegman has repeatedly shown she is a manager who can weather the storms of international tournaments, having reached the final of every European Championship and World Cup in which she has managed. That is not to say it is impossible England are on the wrong end of a shock here — it just feels hard to bet against them. The standout match will be… England vs Netherlands This whole group is pretty mouthwatering but the game between England and the Netherlands on the second matchday (July 9) will be pivotal. There is plenty of European Championship history between these teams — the Netherlands knocked England out at the semi-final stage in 2017 — with Dutchwoman Wiegman now managing England only adding to the fun. Advertisement Meetings between these sides have seen plenty of drama in recent years. In their Nations League group in 2023, Renate Jansen scored a late winner for the Netherlands, then in the reverse fixture at Wembley, Ella Toone did the same for England. Expect this one to go down to the wire. The group's galactico is… Lauren James (England) When fit, Lauren James is one of the best players in the world. England look like a different side when she is playing, and their success this summer may very well depend on whether they can keep the Chelsea forward healthy. She set the World Cup alight in 2023 until she was sent off in the round of 16 — she will be hoping she can harness the more positive aspects of that tournament in Switzerland. Advertisement Whether it is her ball-carrying, passing, shooting or even her defensive work rate, James has become the complete forward. Wiegman can use her off either wing or as a 'No 10' through the middle, adding to her unpredictability. James is so good that this England team could be built around her for years to come, but she needs to deliver this summer. The player who could make a name for themselves… Veerle Buurman (Netherlands) When Chelsea announced a transfer deadline-day signing last September, plenty of people asked, 'Who?', when they saw the name Veerle Buurman. The left-sided centre-back was immediately loaned back to her previous club, PSV, then broke into the Netherlands team at the start of the season. Advertisement She has looked very comfortable at senior level and her ability to vary whether she carries the ball or passes it out from the back makes her unpredictable in build-up. She also contributes in attack. She registered two goals and an assist at the most recent Under-20 World Cup, and has a goal and an assist in her senior international career already too. A story to look out for Wales For several of Wales' players, this summer will mark the culmination of years of work, none more so than Jess Fishlock, the 38-year-old who has amassed more than 160 caps for the national team. Widely regarded as one of the best midfielders ever in the women's game, Fishlock has been a dedicated servant to the Wales national team. Advertisement But it is not just her. Angharad James, Hayley Ladd and Sophie Ingle are some of the other names who have spent years striving for the opportunity to play in an international tournament for Wales. Ingle is in the squad but missed the whole of the 2024-25 season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in Chelsea's pre-season. Under former Portland Thorns manager Rhian Wilkinson, Wales have become a well-organised defensive side with a penchant for a quick counter-attack, powered by the speed of Bristol City winger Ffion Morgan and the sharp finishing of Leicester City forward Hannah Cain. They could hardly have been drawn into a tougher group but it also represents a free hit — and the opportunity to spoil England's summer. You might not know this Netherlands captain Sherida Spitse recently became the most-capped international player in European football history. In April, she played her 241st game for the Netherlands in a 3-1 win against Austria, surpassing Caroline Seger, who made 240 appearances for Sweden before retiring in 2023. The men's record is held by Cristiano Ronaldo, who has 221. Advertisement Spitse made her debut as a 16-year-old in 2006, in a 4-0 defeat against England. She has since gone on to feature in seven international tournaments, with this summer's Euros being the fifth one she has been selected for. Fixtures in full 5 July: Wales vs Netherlands, 17:00 BST, 12:00 ET 5 July: France vs England, 20:00 BST, 15:00 ET 9 July: England vs Netherlands, 17:00 BST, 12:00 ET 9 July: France vs Wales, 20:00 BST, 15:00 ET 13 July: Netherlands vs France, 20:00 BST, 15:00 ET 13 July: England vs Wales, 20:00 BST, 15:00 ET This article originally appeared in The Athletic. England, Wales, France, Netherlands, Women's Soccer, Women's Euros 2025 The Athletic Media Company
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Elliott is England's 'man for the moment' amid uncertain Liverpool future
With just five minutes to go, Harvey Elliott stood and savoured the Liverpool forward raised his arms at the Stadion Tehelne pole in celebration, drinking in the reception after scoring his - and England Under-21s' - second goal - one which ultimately sent the Young Lions into their second successive Euro double booked a showdown with Germany or France on Saturday after Lee Carsley's defending champions deservedly beat the Netherlands in the sweltering heat of Bratislava.A pocket of young fans had spent the majority of the second half chanting his name, especially after he smashed in a fine 62nd-minute opener, and Elliott deserved the adulation after a season of frustration. The 22-year-old won the Premier League with Liverpool last season but made just two starts to leave his Anfield future admitted he does not want to be "wasting years" in his career and will assess his club situation this his performances in Slovakia are anything to go by then he will have plenty of suitors and options to play regular first-team football. Four goals for the Young Lions has left Elliott as the tournament's second top scorer and poised to complete a personal double having helped England lift the Euro 2023 is one of the leaders of the group and only he and Toulouse's former Leeds defender Charlie Cresswell remain from the trophy-winning team of two years was emotional afterwards as he reflected on his late and decisive winner, saying: "It's up there, every goal I score is a massive moment because I enjoy scoring goals, I enjoy the feeling and buzz and it gives me confidence."Emotionally and mentally it's definitely up there. There's nothing better than scoring for your country in front of your family in the stands."We all deserve to be here, the squad is incredible in terms of the quality, in terms of how we play football as a team and the togetherness we have. "The moment we have fear within ourselves is the moment it goes wrong. I think now, especially after the Spain game [in the quarter-finals], the fear isn't there anymore. We can take on any team."He did, though, admit he would need to re-think his sliding celebration after his opener."I decided to a do a silly knee slide which really hurt, but you have to live in the moment," Elliott told BBC Radio 5 Live. 'We're very lucky to have him' - but what next for Elliott Elliott made 18 league appearances under Arne Slot last season, but his only two starts came against Chelsea and Brighton, when Liverpool had already won the league. That was in stark contrast to the previous season, with 11 starts in 34 league games for the Reds in Jurgen Klopp's final campaign. Elliott has made 147 appearances, scoring 15 goals, in his six years at Liverpool since joining from Fulham as a teenager, with a season on loan at Blackburn in Under-21 boss Carsley has only seen Elliott's desire to succeed this summer."I've not seen a lot of the frustration," he added. "What I have seen is someone who's determined to play and to get the minutes. He wants to play every game and all of the minutes."He's definitely built into the tournament. Not getting as much game time towards the end of the season, we've had to manage his minutes in terms of the amount he's played and the intensity he plays at because he's so explosive with the way he moves and his end product. "We're very lucky to have him."Brighton have been linked with a move for Elliott, as have former club Fulham, and while Wolves have been mentioned they have already signed Spaniard Fer Lopez and any fee is likely to be too high for the Molineux outfit. Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock, part of BBC 5 Live's commentary team in Slovakia, believes Elliott has done well to ignore talk about his future and impress at the Euros."There's a lot of speculation about 'will he be at Liverpool next year?'," said Warnock, who made 67 appearances after coming through the youth ranks at Anfield. "That's not easy. There will be phone calls with his agent about who's talking, where are we looking at going and what are the potential avenues, am I going to stay at Liverpool? It's very much a rollercoaster as the tournament goes on. "Because of the amount of games he has played for Liverpool, and the impact he had coming in, I think we all thought he would catapult and play for a long time in the first team."But he has a World Cup winner in Alexis Mac Allister in front of him, [Ryan] Gravenberch had an unbelievable season and [Dominik] Szoboszlai was brought in for big money."He has responded well in this tournament. Mo Salah talks about moments in games and Harvey Elliott is one of those players for the moment. When the moment presents itself he is calm and composed." 'Messi-like' Elliott will be in demand Former England international Joe Cole said Elliott will now be hot has two years left on his Liverpool contract, but with the £116m arrival of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen his game time is likely to be further limited. Cole told Channel 4: "I love the kid, he plays football the right way. I am excited for his future. He has done a great job for Liverpool but if he decides to move on, there are levels to move on again. That passion, he can show every week."Anyone outside the top six he comfortably walks into and then two years on that level he comes back to Liverpool's level and competes. "He started as a young man at Fulham but his learning has been spread out. Teams from all over Europe will be looking for Harvey Elliott's agent's number."Cole also believes Elliott's matchwinning strike - driving forward before firing a low shot into the corner from the edge of the box - was worthy of greater praise."That second goal, if Messi did this, the world would be stopping. He has this ability and the frustrating thing is he could do it on a consistent basis if he played regularly," said the former West Ham, Chelsea and Liverpool midfielder. "His problem is he can do so many good things. He's a victim of his own skills and that is why he has been so good for Liverpool. They can play him anywhere."
