Euro 2020: Italy v Wales, Switzerland v Turkey buildup – as it happened!

Enjoy the games and the rest of the weekend. Ta-ra.

Right, this is us. But fear not! Paul Doyle is on-hand to bring you Italy v Wales...

...and Rob Smyth will bring you Switzerland v Turkey.

Ah, before I knock off, here’s a new bit.

But let’s finish the blog on a positive note. What a photo this is.

View image in fullscreen

What a species.

“Just caught up with all the fascinating and entertaining items in the build up,” emails Richard Hirst, “but one comment surprised me, and that was your praise of Ally McCoist as a commentator. He and Lee Dixon chuntering on during the England v Scotland game like two old men reminiscing in the pub about what they did in the war was the absolute pits, matched only by Keane and Souness ranting at half time. It made me glad that I don’t have Sky, so am spared their rants during the Premier League season.”

I don’t know, I really enjoy Coisty’s zest for football and life, and also think he adds some decent tactical knowhow. But I’m often wrong.

He also says that he’s developed and matured playing for Diego Simeone. Imagine how it must feel to earn Simeone’s trust and respect.

Sky are showing Kieran Trippi-ki-yay speaking to the press. He thinks Harry Kane is good at footvall.

And the final of the World Test Championship is poised.

Lewis Hamilton is back in front in the French GP. You can follow its closing stages here.

Apparently, Gareth Bale believes in aliens.

I can’t say I’m surprised – he might even be one himself.

Back to Matthäus, he was in the West Germany squad that beat Belgium in the 1980 final.

Great effort from the lad in the glasses here.

“This isn’t the first time Turkey have had to wait for ‘loads’ of games to go one way or another to qualify, emails Önder Susam. “There’s even a cartoon from at least a decade ago (which has been widely shared again after the Wales game) that sums up what Turks constantly have to look out for as we’ve pretty much never qualified for any tournament as easily as this one.

It roughly translates as:

- What happened then? Is it impossible for Turkey to advance to the next round?”

- Nope. If we manage to draw Poland in the next game, if France beat Bosnia and Hungary lose at home to Holland, if Tajikistan smiles while Germany farts, and if Nigeria says ‘Hi’ and Lithuania goes ‘piss off you donkey’, then we can qualify for the next round.

- Down with this football.”

Superb stuff.

“I forgot Daniel James lest some Welsh fans get upset,” returns Niall O’Keeffe. “As for 2002, your analysis is spot on. My favourite player at the time was Roy Keane and I actually sobbed when I learnt the news from Saipan the day before flying from Toronto (where I lived) to Tokyo for my first World Cup. And yes. You can print that if you want.”

Ha! I can’t think of many players I’ve seen who are as good in that position – I’m just too young to have a proper opinion on Souness but am pretty sure he’s in that category, but otherwise Bryan Robson and Lothar Matthäus are about the size of it.

An old Rooney teammate – and Euros favourite – was at it overnight. This terrific header was Nani’s fourth goal in six MLS games, and Orlando City now sit second in the The MLS.

Funny thing is, Rooney is right – you really can’t expect a young player to turn up at a tournament and tear it up. Unless that young player is him. It’s a real shame of his career that both times he looked poised to do something epochal – win England a trophy in 2004, win Man United the Champions League and a record-breaking fourth straight title in 2010 – he got injured. Obviously he’s remembered as a brilliant player, but those misfortunes obscure to many just how brilliant.

Look at his little face!

View image in fullscreen

Best of all, he literally drops the line that “you cannot expect young players to come and tear tournaments up”.

No, of course you can’t Waz old mate.

View image in fullscreen

Wayne Rooney’s Times column was interesting this morning – as it frequently is. He reckons England need dribblers to commit defenders, so suggests that Grealish and Sancho come in, and also notes that Foden is struggling because he’s used to playing in a Pep Guardiola team, where the interplay is better and designed to get him in front of goal. He also suggests playing Dominic Calvert-Lewin to run channels and occupy defenders so that Haitch Kane can play as a number 10.

Here’s something on what happened next, from Joy of Six: insults.

That Irish team Niall references: Roy Keane’s work getting them to the 2002 World Cup, out of a group also containing Portugal and Netherlands, is up there with his finest achievements – quite an accolade.

“Sign of barren years for Irish fans that I am sitting here in Dublin counting down the hours to Wales v Switzerland,” emails Niall O’Keeffe. “The Welsh team remind me of Ireland in the early 2000s – a few great players (Roy Keane, Damien Duff, Robbie Keane, Steven Finnan) that bring out the very best in their less gifted team mates – Bale, Ramsey, Davies, Allen in the case of Wales.

The Scots are similar too. Yessir, Celts can boogie!!”

Yes, it’s a shame what’s going on with Ireland, and I’m not aware of too many bankers coming through. Scotland, though, had a long period of nothing before their current lot, while Wales are now a tournament staple. They’ll need to replace Bale, which is not easily done – they can’t even toss a hundred million pounds at Soldado, Chiriches, Paulinho and others – but if David Brooks can get back to where he was, he is an absolute player.

Imagine if Italy win the Euros after winning Eurovision. No one has managed that double yet, but things are certainly going well for this year’s champs. Here’s one saving another’s life in extremely nonchalant style.

Meanwhile, New Zealand have forced home a great morning and polished off India for 217. They’ll begin their reply presently, and you can enjoy that with Tanya Aldred.

Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton leads the French Grand Prix; you can follow that here with Luke McLaughlin.

“Speaking of Euro 96 (as you were below),” emails David Wall, “Jürgen Klinsmann has just been on 5 live for an hour and, as he shows when a pundit on particular matches, he comes across as a really good humoured and likeable character, as well as being thoughtful about football for itself and in a broader context. As Gary Lineker has started rumours about him getting the Spurs job yesterday, perhaps Daniel Levy should seriously think about it. If nothing else, it’ll bring back a bit of goodwill to the club that it has lost over the past couple of years.”

Yep, I can absolutely see why that’d be an attractive appointment, though the footballing case is not totally compelling. Other hand, some jobs are right for some people, and maybe this’d be right for him. I wonder, though, if Spurs - or anyone else – are thinking about Roberto Mancini.

Hi again and thanks Will – lunch is over, and you can me on the addresses at the top of the page. That Henry free-kick, though, and with the left foot too. I think I wrote earlier in the week that this competition might’ve come a couple of years too late for Belgium, but if Lukaku and De Bruyne are at it they’re right there.

He’s still got it ...

Something I did with Finland captain Tim Sparv after the Denmark game.

Spain need a win from their final group game against Slovakia to guarantee progression, having drawn their opening two games.

La Roja have suffered issues with Covid but it is their dismal performances causing consternation in Spain.

“The main word on my lips is frustration. If only we’d scored that penalty and all those chances. But we need to believe in ourselves and stay strong,” said defender Pau Torres.

Gerard Moreno scored 13 penalties for Villarreal at a 100 percent success rate but could not convert for Spain against Poland, putting pressure on Luis Enrique and his squad going into their final match.

“We’re in a huge mess,” said the front cover of newspaper Marca, while daily AS said Spain were “on red alert”.

Spain’s players are once again bemoaning the La Cartuja pitch following their 1-1 draw with Poland. You think the surface would be of a reasonable standard and Spain could work out how to improve it.

I realise it was a late replacement for the San Mames but there is no shortage of decent stadia in the country.

“The pitch wasn’t in the best state for us to execute our style of play against a team that sat deep. The pitch is harming us a lot,” said midfielder Rodri.

Coach Luis Enrique praised his opposite number Paulo Sousa for how they set up in the draw.

“I’d hoped we could have played better but we have to recognise the power of Poland and the excellent game they played. They pressed us very high and blocked our passing avenues. They impressed me,” he said.

View image in fullscreen

This could be the final day of the tournament for Turkey, who had been tipped by many (including me) to be dark horses. Sadly, for them and lazy pundits, it turns out they are really mediocre. I cannot remember seeing too many teams devoid of pace but Turkey really are slow in everything they do. Will there be a root and branch review by the Turkish FA?

Emre Sarigul explains why they’ve been so ruddy awful.

This is my first Father’s Day as a parent. I spent an hour fixing the sink after my partner poured coconut oil down it, only for it to solidify. It did make me feel manly, so maybe that was my gift.

Phil Grey emails: “For superstitious Welshmen like myself the big tactical decision would seem to be whether to stick with the routines of the first two matches or assume Italy are going to win and munch a different flavour of crisps, wear the shirt inside out and only drink beer with our left hand.”

Just make a crisps and beer smoothy to cut down the faff.

Some intrepid reporting from our man in Rome, Ben Fisher.

Right, Will Unwin is here to smooth your route through the next hour while I forage for food. You can email him here or tweet him here.

You can read more about that in this excellent piece.