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Jan Vertonghen injured and Thomas Vermaelen suspended for quarter-final
1 July ~ “His Euro is over, that’s fate for you,” Marc Wilmots told the press on Thursday night, reporting on Jan Vertonghen’s injury. Belgian media had speculated all afternoon about Vertonghen’s ankle, badly sprained in training earlier in the day, causing ligament damage.
There are now so many outlets for a fan’s fury that it has become a 24-hour job to be angry, writes Harry Pearson
A few years ago a friend of mine took his six-year-old son to his first match. It was at the Stadium of Light during a fractious period for the home side. They conceded early. As all around him fans shook their fists and vented their fury with the players, the manager, the owner, my friend looked across at his son. The boy was weeping uncontrollable. “What’s the matter?” his father asked. “I don’t like it. I don’t like it,” his son sobbed. “Why are the men so angry?” They left at half time.
John Duerden says that despite an influx of money across the continent, clubs and governing bodies remain haphazard in their organisation
“A team that has scored just one goal in four matches has eight points. I am simply too amused to try and find an explanation to this,” said Uzbekistan’s Olympic coach Vadim Abramov of United Arab Emirates’ resurgence in the qualifying group. Amusement was not the general reaction after the worst of the wildly varying standards of professionalism in Asian football were revealed once again.
James Eastham on Joe Cole’s encouraging start at Lille
As first impressions go, Joe Cole’s at Lille was about as good as it gets. Just 21 minutes into his debut as a substitute in a league game against St Etienne, Cole recalled his youth. Picking up the ball in the inside-right position, he spun through 360 degrees, set off on a run towards the byline, evaded four challenges and had the presence of mind to pull the ball back for team-mate Ludovic Obraniak to score the third in a 3-1 win.