The Netherlands are looking to win their opening four games of a European Championship for just the second time when they take on the Czech Republic in the last 16 of Euro 2020 on Sunday. 

Head coach Frank de Boer played every minute when they last achieved that feat in 2000, the Oranje ultimately losing on penalties to Italy in the semi-finals. 

The Netherlands, who will be without Luuk de Jong after he was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury, do not have a successful record in the knockout stages of this competition, progressing from just two of their seven standalone games since they won the tournament in 1988. They beat Yugoslavia 6-1 in the 2000 quarter-final and overcame Sweden on penalties at the same stage in 2004. 

Standing in their way of a quarter-final clash against either Wales or Denmark is a Czech Republic side who have a miserable record of their own when it comes to European Championship knockout games. 

Jaroslav Silhavy's side have been eliminated in three of their last four games in the knockout stages of the tournament – versus Germany in the final in 1996, Greece in the semi-final in 2004, and most recently, Portugal in the quarter-final of Euro 2012.

They will be without left-back Jan Boril after he picked up a second yellow card of the tournament in the final group game against England, with Ales Mateju in line to deputise.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Netherlands – Georginio Wijnaldum

Wijnaldum made a reasonably slow start in finding the back of the net at international level, scoring 10 goals in his first 53 appearances for the Oranje. He has accelerated in recent years, though, with no player scoring more for the Netherlands than his 15 in 25 games since the start of 2019. 

The new Paris Saint-Germain midfielder scored three goals in the group stage, including a brace in the 3-0 win over North Macedonia. The Czech Republic have been warned.

Czech Republic – Patrik Schick

Schick lit up Euro 2020 with his stunning long-range strike against Scotland in his side's opening game in Group D. 

The Bayer Leverkusen forward was responsible for six of his side's nine shots on target in the group stage – the highest percentage of any player for his team in the tournament (67 per cent).

 

KEY OPTA FACTS

- This will be the first meeting between the Netherlands and the Czech Republic since October 2015, when the Dutch were beaten 3-2 in a Euro 2016 qualifier. Indeed, they have lost each of their last two games against the Czech Republic – both coming in qualifying for the previous European Championship in 2016.
- The Czech Republic and the Netherlands will face each other at the European Championship for the third time (excl. Czechoslovakia meetings), with both sides winning one game apiece previously. Their last meeting in the competition was a thriller at Euro 2004, in which the Czechs came from two goals down to win 3-2, following an 88th minute winner from Vladimir Smicer.
- The Netherlands completed more high turnovers (open play sequences that start within 40 metres of the opponent’s goal line) than any other side in the Euro 2020 group stages (44), while only Spain (60) forced more pressed sequences (sequences where the opposition has three or fewer passes and the sequence ends within 40m of their own goal) than the Dutch (58).
- Memphis Depay has been directly involved in 13 goals in his last 10 appearances for Netherlands in all competitions (nine goals, four assists), while only Robert Lewandowski (12) attempted more shots than Depay (11) in the group stage at Euro 2020.

A collision between Tony Martin and a spectator's placard led to a huge crash in the peloton on the first stage of the Tour de France.

Shortly after Ide Schelling had topped the final climb of the 197.8 kilometre ride from Brest to Landerneau to ensure he will finish the stage in the polka dot jersey, Martin was sent careering to the tarmac, his crash sending scores of riders to the ground.

The incident led the front of the race to be neutralised to allow those caught up in the crash to catch up, but Jasha Sutterlin of DSM was not able to do so.

Sutterlin was forced to abandon the race in an extremely unfortunate turn of events for a rider competing in only his second Tour.

Schelling was eventually caught by the peloton once the race was allowed to restart at normal speed.

Angelique Kerber defeated Katerina Siniakova in straight sets on Saturday to win the inaugural Bad Homburg Open and end her three-year wait for a title.

The number four seed, whose last tournament triumph was at Wimbledon in 2018, prevailed 6-3 6-2 on home soil in a time of one hour and 25 minutes for her 13th career WTA singles crown. 

Kerber overcame Amanda Anisimova and top seed Petra Kvitova on Friday to reach her first final in two years but took time to get going against Siniakova, who won her only two career titles in 2017.

Siniakova broke Kerber's serve in the third game, only for the German to quickly respond by taking the next game as the pair continued to exchange blows.

World number 28 Kerber slowly found her rhythm and opened up a two-game lead at 5-3, but she had to save three break points before Siniakova fired into the net to concede the opening set.

The second set played out in a similar manner to begin with as Siniakova battled back after losing serve in the first game to level at 2-2 against her former world number one opponent.

But Kerber showed her quality by reeling off four games in a row and getting over the line with her third match point to add to her trophy collection.

The victory for the 33-year-old was her 75th on grass, which is the third most among active players behind Serena and Venus Williams.

Kerber is seeded 25th for Wimbledon and will face Nina Stojanovic in the first round next week.

"Everyone knows that I love to play on grass, I really feel well," she said in her on-court interview. 

"I had some great matches. The goal was to have some good matches to prepare for Wimbledon. Let's see and hope I can continue this next week."

There was concern for the British and Irish Lions when captain Alun Wyn Jones was forced off early in Saturday's Test against Japan.

Jones was withdrawn after doing damage while trying to turn the ball over in the eighth minute of the match at Murrayfield.

The lock appeared to injure his left wrist and walked off the field shaking his head in the warm-up match ahead of the tour of South Africa.

Jones, the most-capped player in Test history, was replaced by England lock Courtney Lawes.

The Lions start the three-match series against the Springboks at Cape Town Stadium on July 24.

Presnel Kimpembe has defended team-mate Kylian Mbappe after the forward was criticised by former player Jerome Rothen for putting himself first over the team.

Mbappe failed to score or assist a goal in France's three Euro 2020 group matches, but Les Blues still advanced with draws against Hungary and Portugal after beating Germany.

The Paris Saint-Germain star's eight attempts are the most of any France player in the tournament, but he found the target from just three of those.

Only three players – Gerard Moreno (nine), Burak Yilmaz and Martin Braithwaite (both 10) – had more attempts in the group phase without scoring.

Mbappe is four games without a goal overall, meanwhile, and ex-PSG winger Rothen has suggested the 22-year-old's ego is hindering his performances.

"There's no problem with Mbappe being the leader on the field, but when it goes beyond the field then it annoys me," Rothen, who earned 13 senior caps for France, told RMC Sport.

"I don't think Didier Deschamps can handle it anymore and it is becoming troublesome. It's amazing Kylian is allowed to do so many things. His ego is inordinate and is a problem."

 

Mbappe created three chances in the games against Germany, Hungary and Portugal, which is one fewer than Paul Pogba and three fewer than Antoine Griezmann.

But Kimpembe has no concerns over Mbappe's form and believes it is just a matter of time before he starts scoring goals again.

"There is still a long way to go in the competition," he said at a news conference on Saturday ahead of France's last-16 tie with Switzerland. 

"Scoring will not be a problem for him. He is also there to provide for the rest of the team. He is creating a lot of chances.

"He is not scoring but is playing a part in the team's offensive actions and is happy to help others – that is the most important thing for the team. Above all, the results are most important."

France's entertaining 2-2 draw with Portugal on Wednesday saw them finish top of Group F and set up a meeting with Switzerland in Bucharest on Monday.

Should Les Blues pass their first knockout-round test, they are on course to face either Spain or Croatia – the side they beat in the 2018 World Cup final – in the quarter-finals.

And while France managed just one win in their three group fixtures, Kimpembe was eager to put things into perspective after topping an extremely tough group. 

"To come out on top in the group of death, I'll take that," Kimpembe said. "What would you rather: finish first with a few problems, or second and third with good performances?

"You have to put things into perspective and look at the bright side. The objective was to finish first, which we've achieved. We are very happy about that."

France have now gone two years since their last competitive defeat, which came against Turkey in a European Championship qualifier in June 2019.

Roger Federer will not make a final decision on whether he will play at the Olympic Games in Tokyo until after Wimbledon.

An Olympic gold medal is the one major honour to have eluded Federer during his decorated singles career.

The 20-time grand slam champion won gold in doubles alongside Stan Wawrinka in 2008 but was beaten by Andy Murray in the singles final in 2012 and pulled out of the tournament in 2016 to recover from a knee injury.

Rafael Nadal will not feature in Tokyo, having decided to skip Wimbledon and the Olympics to help him recuperate after the clay-court season.

Federer has grown significantly more selective over his schedule in the latter stages of his career as he has sought to look after his body.

Asked about his participation at the delayed Games, which begin next month, Federer told a media conference: "It's still my intention to go to the Olympic Games.

"But we will reassess everything after Wimbledon. It is my goal to play as much tournaments as possible. But it really depends on results and how the body is feeling.

"I wish I could tell you more. At the moment things are not as simple as in the past. With age, we have to be more selective, I can't play it all."

Federer starts his campaign for a ninth Wimbledon title when he faces Adrian Mannarino on Tuesday.

The Swiss has won all six of his meetings with Mannarino, including matches at Wimbledon in 2011 and 2018.

The Russian Grand Prix will be staged at a new purpose-built circuit just outside St Petersburg from 2023.

The Sochi Autodrom has been the venue for the race since it was added to the calendar in 2014.

Autodrom Igora Drive, 54 kilometres from St Petersburg, will be the next Russian track to host a Formula One Grand Prix after it was given Grade 1 status by the FIA last year.

"I am pleased to confirm following joint intensive work with our Russian partners and detailed assessment of Igora Drive – Formula One will be racing at that amazing circuit from 2023," said F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali.

"I am impressed by St Petersburg and believe that the Russian Grand Prix at Igora Drive will be an incredible event."

The new circuit will feature 10 different track layouts in an area of around 100 hectares.

Lewis Hamilton has won four times in Sochi, but it was his Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas who took the top step of the podium last year.

The 2021 Russian Grand Prix will be staged at the Sochi Autodrom on September 26.

Gareth Southgate is set to offered a new contract regardless of the outcome in England's Euro 2020 showdown with Germany on Tuesday.

The Three Lions set up a meeting with old rivals Germany in the round of 16 at Wembley after qualifying as Group D winners.

England advanced from the group stage of a major tournament without conceding a goal for only the third time – having also done so at the 1966 World Cup (three matches) and in the second group stage of the 1982 World Cup (two games).

Southgate, who replaced Sam Allardyce in November 2016, is contracted until after the World Cup in Qatar next year but Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham wants the 50-year-old to sign a new deal.

"Am I enjoying the football? Yes, I am," Bullingham said. "Gareth has done a brilliant job, finishing top of the group, really solid defence, and he's done really well on and off the pitch, in every aspect.

"Our support is unwavering – 100 per cent unwavering. We are 100 per cent behind Gareth. He knows how we feel about him.

"We feel he is brilliant, both on and off the pitch. We want him to carry on. He's doing a great job.

"Regardless of the group stage of the tournament we would have wanted him to carry on, not just in [this] tournament but if you look at the Nations League as well, he did brilliantly in that.

"I remember the Spain game (the 3-2 Nations League win in October 2018) – absolutely great performances."

 

Bullingham added: "Gareth knows exactly how we feel about him. He knows that we think he's doing a great job and we'd like him to carry on.

"We would love him to carry on, for sure, beyond this contract."

Giannis Antetokounmpo dismissed suggestions he should get on with it from the free-throw line after leading the Milwaukee Bucks to a series-levelling win over the Atlanta Hawks.

The Eastern Conference Finals could sway on how Giannis performs over the coming games, with the teams now poised at 1-1 following the Bucks' storming 125-91 win on their home court.

The Hawks are reportedly annoyed at NBA officials ignoring Antetokounmpo repeatedly taking longer than the allotted 10 seconds at the line.

It was reported by The Athletic that Antetokounmpo took between 11.5 seconds and 13.3 seconds for each of his eight free-throw attempts in Game 1 against the Hawks.

"Usually I take eight to nine seconds. So it was borderline 10 seconds," Antetokounmpo responded on Friday night.

"When my coaching staff tells me to speed it up I know I'm maybe around 10 and sometimes the referee will talk to me and say, 'You've got to speed it up'.

"Then I make an effort to take it a second or two seconds faster. But my mindset going into this game was to do my routine, get as many dribbles as I can, get my breath and just shoot my shot."

Two-time MVP Antetokounmpo posted 25 points in 29 minutes and Jrue Holiday added 22 points of his own as the Bucks made light work of the fifth-seeded Hawks.

 

Antetokounmpo said the key for the Bucks after their 116-113 setback in Game 1 was to take a measured approach into the second clash in the series.

"I was calm, it wasn't the end of the world – if we had lost today I would have been a little bit more nervous," he said.

"I trust my team-mates, trust our habits. I think everybody's on the same page and know what we have to do. We knew we had to come in here and get this game and that's what we did.

"There's got to be some urgency, but you still have to enjoy the fact that we're here. We worked extremely hard to be one of the last four teams standing.

"We're going to try to play good basketball. The way I think about it is I'm going to be doing this for a long time so I've got to enjoy each game."

He relished the home support but added: "Also, there's an enjoyment factor when you're on the road and everyone's booing you and counting... '1, 2, 3, 4...'.

"What I do is enjoy each moment. You never know when it's going to be taken away from you, you can never take it for granted."

Ahead of Sunday's Game 3, Antetokounmpo said the Bucks would keep learning from each performance.

"We've got to focus on ourselves and how can we get better and put ourselves into position to win a game. We've got to keep getting better, each game at a time," he said.

"From Game 1 to Game 2 we've been better, we're happy about that, and hopefully from Game 2 to Game 3 we can get better."

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola tied a 51-year-old strikeout record in MLB on Friday.

Nola matched Tom Seaver's strikeout record after striking out 10 consecutive batters in the Phillies' 2-1 loss to the New York Mets in game one of a doubleheader.

While the Phillies went on to lose, Nola joined Seaver (1970) as the only pitchers in baseball history to accomplish the feat.

"It's pretty cool being in a category with Tom," Nola said.

Nola finished with a career-high 12 strikeouts, but the Phillies still lost, though they bounced back 2-1 in the second game.

"It was tough," Nola said about the loss. "I mean, yeah, it's a cool accomplishment. But winning's cooler, in my opinion."

As for the Mets, they have allowed three runs or fewer in 21 of their last 22 home games. According to Stats Perform, they are the first team to do so in any span of 22 home games since the 1917 White Sox, who went on to win the World Series.

 

The Tatis show

Fernando Tatis Jr. recorded his first career three-homer game as the San Diego Padres crushed the Arizona Diamondbacks 11-5. Tatis took his tally to 25 home runs for the season, moving level with Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

The Los Angeles Angels fell 4-3 to the high-flying Tampa Bay Rays but two-way star Shohei Ohtani hit a 453-foot home run. It was his seventh homer in nine games and 24th of the season.

Johnny Cueto pitched seven shut-out innings to lead the San Francisco Giants to a 2-0 win over the Oakland Athletics. Cueto struck out six batters while allowing just five hits and one walk.

The Baltimore Orioles snapped their 20-game road skid after rallying past the Blue Jays 6-5 in 10 innings. An away drought tied for the second-longest in American League (AL) history came to an end thanks to a four-run eighth inning. Guerrero's home run had helped the Blue Jays take a 5-1 lead before their five-game winning streak was halted.

The Boston Red Sox made it four straight wins after upstaging bitter rivals the New York Yankees 5-3.

Luis Torrens homered twice to help the surging Seattle Mariners trump the Chicago White Sox 9-3. Seattle have won nine of their last 11 games.

A.J. Pollock, Max Muncy and Zach McKinstry homered in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 6-2 victory at home to the Chicago Cubs.

 

Martin struggles

The less said about Corbin Martin's performance, the better. In just 0.1 innings, Diamondbacks pitcher Martin gave up three hits, four runs, two homers and two walks without a strikeout. He finished with a 10.69 ERA. Arizona team-mate Riley Smith did not fare much better after allowing three hits, four runs and three homers in 3.2 innings.

 

Arenado milestone

The slumping St Louis Cardinals lost 5-4 to the Pittsburgh Pirates but it was a memorable outing for Nolan Arenado, who hit his 250th career homer in the third inning.

 

Friday's results

Milwaukee Brewers 5-4 Colorado Rockies
New York Mets 2-1 Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 New York Mets
Baltimore Orioles 6-5 Toronto Blue Jays
Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 Los Angeles Angels
Atlanta Braves 3-2 Cincinnati Reds
Boston Red Sox 5-3 New York Yankees
Miami Marlins 11-2 Washington Nationals
Texas Rangers 9-4 Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins 8-7 Cleveland Indians
Seattle Mariners 9-3 Chicago White Sox
Pittsburgh Pirates 5-4 St Louis Cardinals
San Francisco Giants 2-0 Oakland Athletics
San Diego Padres 11-5 Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 Chicago Cubs
Houston Astros-Detroit Tigers (postponed)

 

Astros at Tigers

The Astros (47-28) and Tigers (32-43) will clash in a doubleheader after Friday's game was washed out. Houston are riding an 11-game winning streak and will send Framber Valdez to the mound in game one, while Casey Mize starts for the Tigers.

Andrei Vasilevskiy was labelled the "best in the world" after guiding NHL champions the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup Final.

Lightning goaltender Vasilevskiy starred after stopping all 18 shots he faced as the Lightning outlasted the New York Islanders 1-0 in Game 7 of the semi-finals on Friday.

Vasilevskiy produced his second shutout in three games, while Yanni Gourde scored shorthanded in the second period for the Lightning – who will face the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final.

Lightning captain Steven Stamkos hailed Vasilevskiy after the Islanders – who were trying to reach the Cup Final for the first time since 1984 – were shut out in a Game 7 for the firs time.

"I don't think we can say anything more about him," Stamkos said. "He's the best in the world for a reason. He's the steady rock that allows us to play with pace, play with confidence and play with a lead."

Canadiens star Carey Price and Vasilevskiy will be the first former Vezina winners to face each other in the Stanley Cup Final since Ed Belfour (Dallas Stars) and Dominik Hasek (Buffalo Sabres) in 1999, according to Stats Perform.

Tampa Bay's Brayden Point fell short of an NHL record after failing to score a goal in a 10th straight Stanley Cup playoff game.

Point was unable to match Philadelphia Flyers forward Reggie Leach, who scored a goal in 10 successive postseason games in 1976.

"We've come such a long way; I've been with this group for a while," Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said. " … It's so [darn] hard to win in this League, but last year, I just found we could win in different ways, but in the end, just the warrior mentality this group had, and it was prevalent tonight.

"After a really tough loss the other night [in Game 6], you just can't count them out. They've just learned how to defend, and again another masterful performance in the defensive zone to win a huge Game 7 for us."

The Lightning will host the Canadiens – featuring in the showpiece for the first time since 1993 – in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Monday.

Giannis Antetokounmpo and Milwaukee Bucks trounced the Atlanta Hawks 125-91 to square the Eastern Conference Finals series at 1-1.

After dropping the series opener, the third-seeded Bucks responded by routing the visiting Hawks in Game 2 in the NBA playoffs on Friday.

Two-time MVP Antetokounmpo posted 25 points in just 29 minutes and Jrue Holiday added 22 points of his own as the Bucks eased past the fifth-seeded Hawks in Milwaukee.

The Bucks – ahead 103-63 at the end of three quarters – never trailed against the Hawks, leading by at least 30 points through the second half as both teams rested their starters for the entire fourth period.

In Game 1, Antetokounmpo and Holiday became the first pair of team-mates to each attempt 25-plus field goals and make at least half of them in a playoff game since Kyrie Irving (16-for-29) and LeBron James (15-for-27) did it for the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the 2017 NBA Finals.

While they did not reach those numbers in the second showdown, Antetokounmpo (11-for-18 shooting) and Holiday (nine-for-14 shooting) were heavily involved again as the Bucks bounced back on home court.

Brook Lopez (16 points) and Khris Middleton (15 points) were the only other players to finish in double digits for the Bucks, who blew out the Hawks 43-17 in the second period.

Hawks star Trae Young came into the clash on the back of a 48-point, 11-assist performance in Game 1 but he was unable to replicate those numbers.

Young finished six-for-16 shooting for a team-high 15 points as starters John Collins (11 points), Clint Capela (two points and eight rebounds), Bogdan Bogdanovic (eight points) and Kevin Huerter (eight points) struggled.

 

Suns at Clippers

The Los Angeles Clippers, still missing Kawhi Leonard (knee) can level the Western Conference Final at 2-2 when they host the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 on Saturday.

Nani scored a stunning late goal to lead high-flying Orlando City to a 2-1 win at MLS rivals Inter Miami.

Orlando rallied away to David Beckham's Inter Miami on Friday, Nani's memorable 80th-minute effort completing the comeback.

After a scoreless opening half, former Juventus and Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain had come off the bench to give Inter Miami a 67th-minute lead.

Higuain scored within seven minutes of his introduction, a low shot from distance putting the hosts ahead at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

But Orlando hit back within six minutes – Chris Mueller teed up by Nani for the equaliser before the latter decided the contest.

Former Manchester United star Nani cut onto his right foot and hit a powerful strike from the edge of the penalty area with 10 minutes remaining.

After three wins in six days, Orlando are now second in the Eastern Conference and just two points behind New England Revolution, while Inter Miami are 11th.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a "great champion but at times he can be annoying", according to Hungary boss Marco Rossi.

Hungary came up against Ronaldo's Portugal at Euro 2020, beaten 3-0 by the defending champions on matchday one following the superstar's late brace.

Ronaldo has scored five goals in three games to lead Portugal to the last 16 and a blockbuster showdown with Belgium, but Hungary head coach Rossi hit out at the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

"Ronaldo is a great champion but at times he can be annoying," Rossi told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"After the penalty with us he celebrated as if he had scored in the final. People notice these things."

Ronaldo equalled Ali Daei's long-standing men's record for international goals.

The 36-year-old Juventus forward scored twice from the penalty spot to move onto 109 goals for Portugal as they secured passage to the knockout stages of Euro 2020 with a 2-2 draw against France on Wednesday.

Ronaldo is now the top-scoring European player at major tournaments (World Cup and Euros), with his brace against France moving him beyond Miroslav Klose (19) to 21 goals.

Indeed, that was Ronaldo's second brace of Euro 2020 already – no player has ever registered three in a single tournament at the European Championships.

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