UEFA Nations League

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Newbury Weekly News

UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE

It’s coming home!

England will be hoping to win this summer’s Nations League

Gareth Southgate and the Three Lions head to Portugal this summer to compete in the Nations League finals

millions into celebra tion. A 2-0 win against Sweden in the last eight set up a semi-final clash with Croatia. And England made a dr eam start as Trippier netted an early free-kick and people star ted to feel that it was coming home . However, Ivan Perisic struck first to send the game into extra-time , before the experienced Mario Mandzukic ended England ’s dream. The Three Lions faced Belgium in the third/fourth play-off, but defeat came in that match and they came home – with people proud. There wasn’t much time for England to look bac k on what could have been as the newly-formed Nations League was about to begin. A group alongside Spain and Cr oatia was next, a real test of the squad ’s character. A home defeat to the Spaniar ds and a goalless draw in Croatia gave Southgate’s men a hill to climb, but they did. A 3-2 win in the Ber nabeu Stadium a gainst Spain and a dramatic 2-1 home win a gainst Croatia meant that England qualified f or the finals in Portugal. And two heavy Euro 2020 qualifying wins a gainst Czech Republic and Montene gro has set England up for this summer’s mighty challenge. Portugal, Switzerland and Netherlands stand in their way of bringing a tr ophy home.

Report by LIAMHEADD email liam.headd@newburynews.co.uk twitter @liamh_nwn

REVERSE the c lock back one year and England were preparing for a FIFA World Cup in Russia and, I think it ’s safe to say, expectations weren’t very high. The Three Lions qualified f or the tour nament with relative ease and were placed in a g roup alongside Belgium, Tunisia and P anama. A late Harry Kane header a gainst Tunisia in Volgograd gave Gareth Southgate’s men a winning star t before they put six past P anama in Nizhny Novgorod. Other results in Group G meant tha t both Belgium and England w ould be progressing into the last 16 of the competition, r egardless of the result between the two sides in the final g ame. A 1-0 defeat to the Red Devils resulted in England finishing second in the g roup – with a clash against Group H winners Columbia in the next round. Belief around the country was impr oving and fans were starting to enjoy watching the national team once again. But Colombia were going to be a whole different test. England struck first as Kane converted yet

The England players celebrate after beating Colombia on penalties in Russi a

Radamel Falcao and Juan Cuadrado both scor ed for Colombia, as did Kane and Mar cus Rashford for England. Luis Muriel netted f or the South Americans , but then Jordan Henderson was denied. But Mateus Uribe missed, Kieran T rippier scored and we were back on level terms. Pickford pull off a strong save to deny Carlos Bacca and Tottenham’s Eric Dier calml y converted his kick to send England thr ough and

another penalty and it look ed like his kick would prove to be the onl y goal of the g ame. But Yerry Mina, cur rently playing for Everton, headed in past Jordan Pickford to deliver a huge blow. After the game remained 1-1 after extra-time , penalties were required and if England w ere to reach the quarter-final, they would have to do

something they hadn’t done before. Win a World Cup penalty shootout.

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UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Newbury Weekly News

UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE

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The 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals will be the final tournament of the 2018–19 edition of the UEFA Nations League, the inaugural season of the international football competition involving the men’s national teams of the member associations of UEFA. The tournament will be held by Portugal from 5 to 9 June 2019, and will be contested by the four group winners of Nations League A. The tournament will consist of two semi-finals, a third place play-off, and the final to determine the inaugural champions of the UEFA Nations League.

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UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE

Newbury Weekly News

Thursday, May 30, 2019

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Thursday, May 30, 2019

Newbury Weekly News

Where are the games played? WITH the finals being pla yed in Portugal this summer, two stadiums have been selected. Porto’s Estádio do Dra gão and the Estádio D Af onso Henriques in Guimaraes will host tw o games each. The stadium in Porto will enter tain Portugal against Switzerland on June 5, while England ’s clash against Netherlands will be played a day later in Guimaraes. The winners of both semi-finals will then meet in P orto on June 9 and the runners-up will f ace off in a third/fourth play-off in Guimaraes on the same day. Italy and Poland also sent a bid in to host the inaugural finals , but with Portugal winning their r espective group, they were selected. Estádio do Dra gão, home of Portuguese side FC Porto, holds 50,083 and is also the home f or the national team. The Estádio D Af onso Henriques , home of Vitoria SC holds 30,000 and hosted a Nations League game between Portugal and Poland in November 2018.

Harry Kane will captain England

The Three Lions on the team sheet ENGLAND mana ger Gareth Southgate has named a 27-man squad as Eng land step up their preparations for the summer ’s Nations League finals. However, the squad will be cut bac k to 23 before the Three Lions fly out to Portugal ahead of their c lash with Netherlands in Guimaraes on J une 6. Although training has star ted with most of the England squad, some members are yet to report for duty due to being in FA Cup, Europa League and Champions Lea gue action. Manchester City’s English par ty have recently joined the squad, having been in FA Cup action against Watford on May 18. But Chelsea’s Ross Barkley competed in the Eur opa League Final, while the Spurs and Li verpool players remain absent as they f ace each other in the Champions Lea gue final on Saturday night . It’s a strong England team, with the majority featuring in last summer ’s World Cup, so experience isn’t short. The 27-man squad Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Tom Heaton (Burnley), Jack Butland (Stoke City). Defenders: Kyle Walker (Manchester City), John Stones (Manchester City), Trent Alexan- der-Arnold (Liverpool), Michael Keane (Ever- ton), Harry Maguire (Leicester City), Ben Chilwell (Leicester City), Danny Rose (Totten- ham Hotspur), Joe Gomez (Liverpool). Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Ross Barkley (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham United), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Raheem Ster - ling (Manchester City), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool). Forwards: Callum Wilson (AFC Bournemouth), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United).

The Estádio do Dragão in Porto will host a semi-final and the final

Opposition in focus Portugal, Netherlands and Switzerland will all be competing for the Nations League trophy

AS the finals are taking place in P ortugal, it’s only fair that we start with them. And where else to look than with ca ptain and leading talis- man, Cristiano Ronaldo. The 34-year-old has recently been crowned Serie A player of the year, in his debut season with Juventus, having helped them to lea gue success once mor e, scoring 28 goals in all competitions . Upcoming star Joao Felix, from Benfica, has been selected and players like Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias and Pepe will also feature. The Netherlands have turned a corner in recent years and are ready to compete amongst the best a gain. Led by Virgil van Dijk as captain – who has been a leading figure for Liverpool this season – the Dutch will be a tough task for England. Former Manchester United f orward Memphis De pay and Ajax captain Matthijs de Ligt will also ha ve pivotal roles. Switzerland were a surprise name in the finals , but don’t take them for granted. A 5-2 win against Belgium last y ear cemented their place in the finals and with pla yers such as Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, they ’ll be a tough team to br eak down.

Cristiano Ronaldo will be the key man for Portugal in the finals

Southgate you’re the one... GARETH Southg ate was recently appointed the OBE f or his services to f oot- ball in England – which saw the country reac h the semi-final of the FIFA World Cup in Russia. The 48-year-old has spent almost six-y ears in the set-up, firstly starting off as the under-21s manager in August 2013. After Sam Allar dyce resigning from the senior team in 2016, Southg ate went on to lead the Three Lions for part of their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign. Wins against Scotland and Malta and dra ws against Spain and Slo venia followed and in November 2016, Southg ate was offered a four-year-contract by the Football Associ - ation. The Three Lions qualified f or the summer tour nament with ease and did better than expected in Russia. Having spent a number of years with the younger groups in England, Southg ate has put his faith in youth bringing the lik es of Jadon Sancho, Ben Chillwell, Joe Gomez and Declan Rice into the set-up . It’s an exciting time to be an England f an. The players have certainly bought into the way that Southgate wants to play and that is fast and free-flowing attacking football. England have certainly struggled with results and previous tournaments in the past, but these past few months have got supporters dreaming of success.

Gareth Southgate has been a joy for England

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