Turkish “Kral”, Embolo mania and French madness

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  • On the bill: Turkey – Wales

Burak Yilmaz was in difficulty, Friday, June 11, against Italy, in Rome.

This is one of the disappointments of the start of the Euro: Turkey, thrashed 3-0 by Italy, Friday June 11 at the opening of the Euro, will have the opportunity to win its first points in this tournament , Wednesday June 16 at 6 p.m., against a team from Wales also disappointing for its first match against Switzerland (1-1). The Turkish coach, Senol Günes, will be able to count on his three Lille residents, just crowned with their title of champions of France: Burak Yilmaz, Yusuf Yazici and Zeki Çelik.

On the Welsh side, this game may be the penultimate of Gareth Bale’s career. The captain of the Red Dragons has cast doubt on his future after the competition. “I know what I’ll do, but it would only cause more mess if I said anything.” It will be for after the Euro ”, he launched at the end of May, enigmatic.

Hopefully this Turkey – Wales will be as prolific as their last encounter, in 1997. In a World Cup qualifying match, Turkey won 6-4 thanks to a quadruple from Hakan Sükür. To Burak Yilmaz, the “Kral” (“king”), to be as effective as his illustrious predecessor at the forefront of the Turkish attack.

Read also Euro 2021: a guide to know everything about the Blues and the qualified teams

  • It happened yesterday:

– For its entry into the competition, the title holder Portugal, after a long sterile domination, ended up bending (3-0) Hungary.

– It was also the first match of the France team and the Blues did not fail: Didier Deschamps’ men overpowered Germany (1-0), at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

>> Relive the live: France beats Germany for its entry into the competition

Read also Euro 2021 football: schedule of matches, results and standings

  • Euro star: Breel Embolo

Swiss forward Breel Embolo celebrates his goal against Wales.

At each international meeting, Swiss supporters only have eyes for Breel Embolo. Since Euro 2016, a song in honor of the Mönchengladbach striker (Germany) is intoned by the supporters of the Nati.

On Saturday, the Swiss striker shone, unlike executives Xherdan Shaqiri or Granit Xhaka. Against Wales, Embolo opened the scoring, before seeing Kieffer Moore snatch a point for the Red Dragons. “It’s a frustration. We had two, three actions, we did not materialize, and then we were punished. We deserved the victory today ”, he declared at the microphone of BeIN Sports after the meeting.

Rebel – Embolo was fined 200,000 euros and a match suspension after an illegal party, from which he escaped through the roof, police say – but brilliant, the Yaoundé native carries the hopes of ‘a people who dream of finally passing the knockout stages. Against the Italian neighbors, he will have to fight against Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci. An opposition of colossi.

Italy-Switzerland, Wednesday June 16, at 9 p.m. on M6 and BeIN Sports 1 (and live on Lemonde.fr)

Read also Euro 2021: Switzerland, all about the team

  • Meanwhile… Christian Eriksen reassures

It was through a message on his Instagram account that the Danish Christian Eriksen gave news for the first time, Tuesday, June 15. Victim of cardiac arrest in the middle of Denmark-Finland on Saturday, the midfielder was reassuring about his state of health: “I’m fine despite the circumstances. I still have to do some tests in the hospital, but I feel good. “

Four days later, the reasons for his cardiac arrest are still unexplained. On Sunday, the selection doctor said he did not “No explanation” for the time being. For the rest of the competition, and in particular Thursday against Belgium, Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand hinted at a press conference on Tuesday that he would leave his players the choice to play or not. “And it doesn’t matter if some players are not emotionally ready to play against Belgium”, he clarified.

At the Ferenc-Puskas stadium in Budapest, on June 15, during the Hungary-Portugal match.

A first for a long, long time. Fifteen months after the last sold-out international match in Europe, the match between Hungary and Portugal (group F) on Tuesday took place in front of nearly 65,000 spectators at the Ferenc-Puskas stadium in Budapest.

A choice contested on the spot, qualified as opportunist and political, since Hungary is among the countries hardest hit in the world by Covid-19, with one of the highest death rates in Europe.

Read also Between sanitary bubbles and limited gauges in stadiums, a Euro in Covid mode

” Games ? No, he’s dreaming. “

Noël Le Graët, president of the French Football Federation, buried, Tuesday on RTL, the hope of seeing Kylian Mbappé participate this summer in the Olympic Games (JO), in Tokyo. “It’s going to be complicated, did he declare. Between the championship [d’Europe des nations], where we hope to go far enough, and the gap with the start of the Olympics, internships, that seems utopian today. “ No Tokyo Olympics, therefore, for Mbappé, but why not at the Paris Olympics in 2024?

  • Covidometer: there will be crowds at Wembley

Despite the Covid-19 epidemic and the increase in infections caused by the Delta variant, the British are thinking big for the Euro finals. Admittedly, Wembley Stadium, which will host the semi-finals and the final, will not fill up. But the teams still in the running will nevertheless play in front of 40,000 spectators, or nearly 50% of the capacity of the London enclosure. It will be the largest crowd gathered in the UK for more than fifteen months.

The government decided, Monday, June 14, to increase the gauge as part of public test events, while postponing the end of its deconfinement by one month. “We want to gather more evidence on how we can safely resume big events”, said Culture and Sport Minister Oliver Dowden.

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