Euro 2020: England and Scotland prepare to collide at Wembley – live!
18-Jun-2021 07:41:39 | Guardian
Some rather surprising transfer news you may have missed.
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Juventus’ all-time leading goalscorer and honorary president, Giampiero Boniperti, has died at the age of 92.
Addio, Presidentissimo.https://t.co/mjKh4ei3Ca pic.twitter.com/p8zVZfooEA
And a must read: David Hytner’s big interview with Paul Ince, including some Euro 96 memories.
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Eric Devin on Les Bleus, who looked impressive yet restrained against the Germans on Tuesday.
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There’s another continental championship going on at the moment, though in sadly reduced circumstances. The last-minute hosts have got off to a good start.
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By Thursday lunchtime all of the tables outside the Barrel Vault pub at London’s St Pancras station were taken up by Scottish fans, mostly in kilts. Paul Petrie and his two workmates Joe Kelly and Davey Corns flew down from Dundee to Luton on Tuesday.
“We’re the advance party,” says Petrie, dressed in vintage 1978 replica kit with an Archie Gemmill’s squad number 15 on the back. They came just to soak up the atmosphere as fans arrive off the trains from King’s Cross. They do not have tickets for the game but plan to watch at the Oxford Arms in Kentish Town – if it passes a recce planned for later.
Related: Underdogs and proud: Scotland’s fans reflect a nation growing in its sense of self
And Ewan Murray speaks to Scotland’s boys of 1999 though their 1-0 win at Wembley was still not enough to make it it Euro 2000.
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From the Scotland camp.
Related: Steve Clarke tells Scotland they need at least a draw from England clash
From the England camp
Related: Harry Kane warns Scotland he’s better than when he last faced them
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Here’s Jonathan Liew’s excellent preview of the big one.
Related: England v Scotland will reflect how both have changed, on and off field | Jonathan Liew
Not now, club football...though this saga really does have it all. It is now 58 days since José Mourinho was sacked.
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Shouldn’t you be at work? Oh, you are at work. And so are we, building up to the Auldest rivalry in world football, with apologies to Sheffield FC and Hallam FC’s enmity going back to the early 1860s. Yes, it is here, and so are the Scots. The area around Kings Cross and Euston was bedecked in blue shirts, the odd kilt and a lot of puce flesh as Thursday dragged on. Then came a rainstorm to remind them of home. Bagpipes were at a minimum but more can be expected today. Of that there is no doubt.
England v Scotland takes top billing but before that we have Sweden v Slovakia and then Croatia v the Czech Republic, the latter taking part in the England/Scotland group. Slovakia are riding high after beating Poland, while Sweden hung on heroically for that draw against Spain, though may be tired after those efforts. Croatia creaked a little at Wembley, while the Czechs were excellent against Scotland once they had ridden the storm.
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