Georginio Wijnaldum has agreed a deal to join Paris Saint-Germain despite looking poised to link up with Barcelona for several months.

The Netherlands international has signed a three-year contract at Parc des Princes, with his salary said to have been increased dramatically by the Parisians.

Wijnaldum joined Liverpool from Newcastle United in 2016 and quickly established himself as a key man for the Reds, only failing to appear in 11 Premier League matches over that five-year spell.

Liverpool had tried to keep the 30-year-old but he acknowledged last month that the two parties had been unable to agree on a new contract.

It seemed a given he would subsequently turn up at Barcelona, with transfer links between the two emerging as early as last year when Ronald Koeman replaced Quique Setien in August.

He was expected to be Barca's third free transfer of the close season after Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia, with Memphis Depay – who, like Wijnaldum, played under Koeman for the Oranje – expected to follow.

But PSG have pulled off something of a coup, luring Wijnaldum to Paris as the club's patchy relationship with Barca is thrust into the spotlight again.

Wijnaldum bolsters PSG's central midfield options that already include Idrissa Gueye, Leandro Paredes, Ander Herrera, Danilo Pereira and Marco Verratti.

A-League premiers Melbourne City suffered a shock late defeat in their final game of the regular season as Newcastle Jets emerged 2-1 victors to move off the foot of the table, with a historic goal for Archie Goodwin among the highlights.

It looked as though City – winners of the season's first phase – were going to coast to their 16th A-League victory of the season when Stefan Colakovski turned in Adrian Luna's low cross in the ninth minute.

However, Goodwin levelled in some style 14 minutes later, collecting a backheeled pass from Lucas Mauragis before nonchalantly curling a stunning 25-yard strike into the far side of the net.

In doing so, Goodwin – aged 16 years and 215 days – became the club's youngest-ever A-League scorer, and second only to Mohamed Toure (15y, 325d) in the competition's history.

The Jets then completed the turnaround with a minute of regulation time to go, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos – who came on for Goodwin – meeting Mauragis' teasing free-kick delivery with a glancing header that found the bottom-left corner.

Jack Duncan in the Jets' net then had to be alert to keep out Nathaniel Atkinson's close-range effort a few seconds after the restart, thus clinching a result that ensured Craig Deans' men moved off the bottom of the table, with Melbourne Victory taking their place.

City finish top regardless, two points clear of Sydney FC, and now turn their attention towards the semi-finals on June 20, where they await the lowest-ranked winner of the elimination-finals.

Harry Maguire was back in team training with England on Thursday ahead of their Euro 2020 opener against Croatia at the weekend.

All 26 members of Gareth Southgate's squad took part in the session at St George's Park as preparations for Sunday's game at Wembley continued.

Maguire has not played since May 9, when he damaged ankle ligaments during Manchester United's 3-1 Premier League win away to Aston Villa.

The centre-back missed United's final four league games of the season, in which they lost at home to Leicester City and Liverpool, drew with Fulham and won at Wolves.

He also sat out the Europa League final against Villarreal, which the LaLiga side won on penalties following a 0-0 draw in Gdansk.

Speaking last week, Southgate said it would be "tight" for Maguire to be considered fully fit for the match against Croatia after he also missed England's warm-up friendlies with Austria and Romania.

However, the Three Lions boss insisted it was right to include the former Leicester defender in the group, saying: "I think he's such a good player and we had the additional size of squad, the fact that that leadership which is growing in him all the time, we wanted to take that opportunity to bring him into the squad."

England, who are in Group D, also face Scotland on June 18 and the Czech Republic on June 22.

Diego Llorente is set to return to Spain's training camp on Friday after returning a negative test for coronavirus.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) said the Leeds United defender had become the second player in camp to test positive for COVID-19 ahead of their Euro 2020 opener, with captain Sergio Busquets the first to have done so.

Llorente was removed from the team's base and was due to begin 10 days of self-isolation in line with COVID-19 health protocols.

However, a statement from the RFEF said a follow-up test undertaken on Wednesday came back negative, and that there are indications of a "false positive" from the original test.

Llorente will undergo further tests on Thursday and Friday and will be allowed to return to camp if both come back negative.

Busquets' positive result plunged Spain's preparations for their Group E opener against Sweden on Monday into chaos, with group training suspended and all members of the squad preparing individually.

It meant Spain's U-21 squad was drafted in for Tuesday's 4-0 win over Lithuania, a match that was supposed to be the main team's final warm-up for the rearranged tournament.

A 17-man parallel squad remains in place at Spain's base should any further replacements be needed.

Ukraine will be allowed to wear their new Euro 2020 jersey that depicts a map of the country featuring Crimea, but UEFA has ordered them to remove a slogan deemed to carry "militaristic significance".

The kit, styled in the national team's traditional yellow and blue, features a subtle outline surrounding the badge that shows the country's borders.

Following its reveal over the weekend, Russian politicians and officials were quick to criticise the map's inclusion of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014 but is still internationally recognised as part of Ukraine.

The shirt also contains the inscriptions "Glory to Ukraine" and "Glory to heroes", each of which is acknowledged as an official military greeting in the country.

Russian protestations included an official complain to UEFA regarding the map and the slogans. The governing body has seemingly sided with Ukraine regarding the depiction of Crimea but not the use of military language.

Addressing the use of the map, a UEFA statement read: "Following concerns raised by the Russian Football Union, UEFA today reconfirmed its position regarding the design element on the front of the Ukraine national team shirt.

"Considering that the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262, which was widely approved by the member states, recognizes the territorial borders as broadly depicted by the design, UEFA does not require any modifications of this design element as it meets the criteria laid out in article 12 of the UEFA Equipment Regulations."

The context surrounding the use of the slogans was more nuanced, however, as UEFA accepted that "Glory to our heroes" used in conjunction with "Glory to Ukraine" does have political connotations.

"UEFA also confirmed that the slogan on the outside of the shirt 'Glory to Ukraine' was approved in 2018 and reiterated that UEFA considers this to be in accordance with articles 13 and 19 of the UEFA Equipment Regulations," the statement continued.

"This slogan on its own may be considered as a generic and non-political phrase of general national significance and therefore may be used on the national team shirt.

"UEFA then carefully considered the recently added slogan on the inside of the collar 'Glory to our heroes', which was included in the new shirt sample submitted to UEFA which was subsequently validated in December 2020.

"At that time however, the significance created by the combination of the two slogans was not considered. Following further analysis, this specific combination of the two slogans is deemed to be clearly political in nature, having historic and militaristic significance.

"This specific slogan on the inside of the shirt must therefore be removed for use in UEFA competition matches, in accordance with article 5 of the UEFA Equipment Regulations."

Ukraine begin their Euro 2020 campaign against the Netherlands on June 13 and also face Austria and North Macedonia in Group C.

Russia, who start against Belgium on June 12, are joined by Denmark and Finland in Group B.

Celtic have appointed highly regarded Australian coach Ange Postecoglou as their new manager after several months in limbo.

Neil Lennon resigned from the post in February with Celtic a huge 18 points adrift of bitter rivals Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

His departure did nothing to prevent the Gers marching to the title, as they ended Celtic's hopes of winning nine league titles on the spin – Steven Gerrard's men doing so without losing a single match.

Numerous coaches were linked with the role, with Celtic even going as far as confirming they had held talks with former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe but were unable to reach an agreement, reportedly caused by a differing of opinion regarding backroom staff.

Celtic finally have their man in Postecoglou, who was most recently with Yokohama F. Marinos, whom he guided to the 2019 J1 League title.

A Greece-born former Australia international, Postecoglou enjoyed continental success with the Socceroos' youth teams before then also guiding the senior team to Asian Cup glory – the country's first – in 2015.

A year earlier he was Australia's coach at the 2014 World Cup and he then secured their qualification for the 2018 edition, only to resign a couple of weeks after booking their place in Russia.

Upon signing a 12-month deal, Postecoglou said: "The opportunity that has been given to me is one of the greatest honours in football and the responsibility to lead our magnificent football club into the future is one that I will cherish dearly.

"Celtic is one of THE names in world football, of that there is no doubt – a giant of a club, a proper footballing institution and so much more – real history, real substance, real authenticity and real soul. I know Celtic is a true way of life for so many people and I know the demands which come with this position – I am ready to do all I can to meet those demands.

"I will be doing everything I can to get our great club back on top and, at the same time, deliver the kind of football which our fans appreciate. We want to entertain our fans and we want to win, these are the objectives which I always set myself and which I now begin work on."

Throughout his time in football management, Postecoglou – a former defender – has been renowned for implementing progressive, attack-minded systems and drawn praise for his sides' entertaining styles of play.

Postecoglou is only the club's second non-British manager this century after Ronny Deila of Norway, who spent two years in charge up to May 2016.

Lionel Messi could spend the latter days of his career at Inter Miami in Major League Soccer – at least, the club's co-owner is "optimistic" such a deal could be arranged.

Messi's future has been shrouded in uncertainly for the best part of a year, with the six-time Ballon d'Or winner attempting to force a departure from Barcelona last August.

While that did not come to fruition, with Messi unwilling to drag the club through the courts in an attempt to exercise an apparent get-out clause, his future has been a constant source of speculation through 2020-21 due to his contract expiring at the end of June.

Barca president Joan Laporta said this month that contract discussions were going well, with Messi seemingly happier at the club since the October resignation of Josep Maria Bartomeu and the previous board.

Although a move to Miami would seem unlikely at this juncture regardless of Messi's relationship with Barca, Jorge Mas, co-owner of the MLS side, sees no reason why an agreement would not be possible in the future.

"I am optimistic Messi will play in an Inter Miami shirt because I think it will complete the legacy of the greatest player in our generation and will meet with the ambitions of the owners of Inter Miami to build a world-class team," Mas told the Miami Herald.

Former Real Madrid, Manchester United and England star David Beckham is among the others to own a share of the MLS franchise and also serves as its president.

Mas says he and Beckham have certain ambitions regarding the calibre of player they want to see in Florida, and someone of Messi's reputation fits the bill.

He added: "David and I have been working really hard, we have aspirations of bringing the best players here and Messi is a generational player, arguably the best player of all time."

Roberto Mancini is the mastermind behind Italy's transformation and Christian Vieri believes the Azzurri will be in the mix to win Euro 2020.

Italy are among the contenders at the rescheduled European Championship – delayed a year due to the coronavirus pandemic – as the 1968 winners prepare to face Turkey in the tournament's curtain-raiser in Rome on Friday.

A proud football country but a national team on its knees after failing to qualify for Russia 2018, their first World Cup absence since 1958, Mancini has overseen a drastic recovery following his appointment more than three years ago.

Banishing the nightmares of Gian Piero Ventura's dismal tenure, Italy are in the midst of a 27-game unbeaten streak – a run dating back to September 10, 2018. Heading into Euro 2020, Mancini's men have won eight successive games in all competitions without conceding a goal for the first time in their history.

Italy were one of only two teams – alongside Belgium – to win 100 per cent of their games during the Euro 2020 qualifying campaign (10/10). The Azzurri scored 37 goals in their 10 qualification matches (3.7 per game) – this was the same tally in qualification for Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup combined (37 goals in 22 games).

As Italy gear up for their Euro 2020 Group A opener at the Stadio Olimpico, where they have never lost in a major tournament – they have won six and drawn two in the World Cup and European Championship combined, having not conceded a goal in each of the last seven fixtures – Azzurri great hailed the impact of Mancini.

"Mancini is one of my best friends," former Inter, Milan and Juventus striker Vieri, who earned 49 caps for Italy from 1997 to 2005, told Stats Perform.

"He did an amazing, amazing job. Getting the Italian team back together and getting all the fans in Italy to watch again because no one was watching.

"They have big players, big quality players – real quality like what we used to have 10-15 years ago. We had a situation for 10-15 years after the 2006 World Cup, we didn't have any big players. That's how it is sometimes, you don't have big players coming up.

"Now we have big players, we have experienced players. They play fantastic football and haven't lost for so many games, but they are really, really strong."

This is Mancini's first major tournament as Italy head coach. As a player, he only featured at one major final: he played four games at Euro 88, scoring the opening goal of the whole tournament during a 1-1 draw with hosts West Germany.

Italy, who will also face Switzerland (June 16) and Wales (June 20) in Group A, are taking part in their 10th European Championship finals. They won the tournament in their first appearance (1968) and have since reached the final twice without lifting the Henri Delaunay trophy (2000 and 2012).

"I told him [Mancini] I don't know if you're going to win the Euros, but you're going to get there," added Vieri, who scored 23 goals for the national team. "The team is strong, and they have big players again and everyone is following."

Another former Italy international, Walter Zenga, also lauded Mancini's work at the helm of the four-time world champions, while highlighting the quality of the entire coaching staff that includes Gianluca Vialli and Daniele De Rossi.

A three-time winner of the IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper award, ex-Inter star Zenga – regarded as one of the greatest keepers of all time – played 58 games for Italy between 1987 and 1992, including appearances at the World Cup in 1986 and 1990 and Euro 88.

"The important thing right now is we have a great coach. Not only a great coach but a great standard of staff," said Zenga, who still holds the record for going 518 minutes (five consecutive clean sheets) without conceding a goal at the 1990 World Cup.

"All the technical staff were involved in football – Vialli, De Rossi, et cetera. This helps the team to grow up and arrive at the Euros with a big chance to win."

A lot of attention will be on number one goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, who has played a key role amid Italy's undefeated streak under Mancini.

There is also uncertainty over Donnarumma's future, with the 22-year-old star out of contract at Milan and tipped to join Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.

"You have to consider one nice thing in life and football: you can improve yourself every day," Zenga said when asked about the quality of Donnarumma, who debuted as a 16-year-old for Milan in 2015. "There's no one day that you say you're at the top level, especially when you're 22.

"I've met him a lot of times in Milan and his character is very strong. He is strong because either if he makes a big save, makes an unbelievable game or the worst game of his life, he looks like he is [in] complete control of himself. This is the most important thing in life. He is the top goalkeeper in Italy."

Predicting the winner of a major international tournament is a natural part of being a football fan, even if it can sometimes be something of a fool's errand – as proven by Greece and Denmark.

But considering how integral statistics are to football these days, using data could potentially give you the edge, and that's where Stats Perform comes in.

Our Artificial Intelligence team have used Opta's extensive data reserves to quantify each team's chances of winning the entire tournament.

Every match has been run through the Stats Perform Euros Prediction model to calculate the estimated probability of the outcome (win, draw or loss). This uses odds from betting markets and Stats Perform team rankings, which are based on historical and recent performances.

It takes into consideration the strength of each team's opponents as well as the difficulty of their respective paths to the final, plus the make-up of the groups and any relevant seedings heading into the knockouts.

Then, the rest of the tournament is simulated 40,000 times and analysed, providing the AI team with a percentage for each nation, showing the probability of them ultimately lifting the trophy at Wembley on July 11.

Without any further ado, let's check out the results, some of which may come as something of a surprise…

MOST-LIKELY WINNERS: France (20.5 per cent)

Well, this one probably isn't much of a shock. Anyone who has looked through the squad at Didier Deschamps' disposal has likely come to the conclusion that Les Bleus will have to implode a la the 2010 World Cup if they're to be beaten.

Most of the key players from their 2018 World Cup-winning squad are present, and now they can call upon the services of Karim Benzema again, which is no small thing.

Our model also gives France a 46.8 per cent chance of finish top of the so-called 'Group of Death', which also includes defending champions Portugal and a Germany side desperate for redemption after World Cup humiliation in Russia.

If France are successful, Deschamps will become the first man in history to win the World Cup and Euros as both a player and manager.

2. Belgium (15.7 per cent)

Could this be the last-chance saloon for Belgium's 'Golden Generation'? Our predictor model certainly suggests they're still in with a great chance of winning the title, with their 15.7 per cent the second highest.

They have the joint-oldest squad at the tournament (29.2 years) along with Sweden, so while they're certainly not a young team, several of their best players are right at the peak of their powers, with Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku coming into the tournament arguably in the form of their lives.

They looked sharp in qualifying – for what it's worth – with a 100 per cent win record and a 40-goal haul that wasn't matched by any other team, while they will be strong favourites to win their group ahead of Russia, Denmark and Finland.

3. Spain (11.3 per cent)

Now, one thing our model cannot take into consideration is a coronavirus outbreak. La Roja had to field their Under-21s for the senior side's final pre-Euros warm-up game against Lithuania – while it means nothing for their chances at the tournament, they did ease to a 4-0 win.

It remains to be seen if there are any further consequences of Sergio Busquets and Diego Llorente testing positive for COVID-19, but if we assume Luis Enrique is able to rely on a squad that's more or less the selection he initially picked, they will at least be strong options to reach the latter stages.

Although perhaps not blessed with the kind of 'superstar' talent they've had at other tournaments over the past 15 years or so, they do have a highly regarded coach and beat Germany 6-0 as recently as November. Nevertheless, their disrupted build-up to the tournament could be telling when their campaign starts.

4. Germany (9.8 per cent)

Joachim Low's going to have to upset the odds if he is to enjoy one last hurrah with Die Mannschaft. The World Cup-winner coach is stepping down a year early after the Euros, with Hansi Flick set to take over.

Having the likes of Thomas Muller back in the squad after a stunning couple of seasons with Bayern Munich will surely improve their chances – though our model doesn't take player data into account.

The predictor will see that Germany have failed to beat Denmark and North Macedonia in two of their three most recent games, while they also have a particularly hard group.

5. Portugal (9.6 per cent)

The other major footballing power from the 'Group of Death' – our predictor suggests Portugal are the least likely of themselves, France and Germany to win Euro 2020.

Nevertheless, La Selecao will surely feel good about themselves heading into the competition. Their squad is arguably significantly better than the one that won Euro 2016, while coach Fernando Santos is a shrewd operator.

They also have this chap up front called Cristiano Ronaldo, who is one away from setting a new record for the most goals (10) in European Championship history.

THE REST OF THE FIELD

According to our predictor, a resurgent Italy and Netherlands are the next most likely to win the tournament, which would represent a rather good turnaround from missing out on the 2018 World Cup – in fact, the Oranje weren't at Euro 2016 either.

At this point there are probably many of you pondering – assuming you've not just scrolled straight down to the list – about England's chances.

Well, the Three Lions' ranking here is a prime example of how a good draw can really pay. While they should – in theory, at least – have more than enough firepower to get out of a group that also contains Croatia, neighbours Scotland and Czech Republic, their route to the final would almost certainly see them come up against one – or more – of Germany, France, Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands. They're also probably not helped by the fact they've played more Euros games (31) without reaching the final than any other team.

England's 5.2 per cent chance of success sees them behind Denmark (5.4 per cent), whose path to the final would likely be a little kinder, though the caveat is that the Three Lions could potentially play the vast majority of their matches on home soil at Wembley.

Tournament debutants North Macedonia are, perhaps unsurprisingly, the least likely to win Euro 2020, with their chances rated at 0.02 per cent.

6. Italy (7.6 per cent)

7. Netherlands (5.9 per cent)

8. Denmark (5.4 per cent)

9. England (5.2 per cent)

10. Switzerland (2.3 per cent)

11. Sweden (1.5 per cent)

12. Croatia (1.0 per cent)

13. Russia (1.0 per cent)

14. Poland (0.8 per cent)

15. Ukraine (0.8 per cent)

16. Wales (0.6 per cent)

17. Turkey (0.4 per cent)

18. Czech Republic (0.2 per cent)

19. Austria (0.2 per cent)

20. Finland (0.1 per cent)

21. Hungary (0.1 per cent)

22. Scotland (0.1 per cent)

23. Slovakia (0.04 per cent)

24. North Macedonia (0.02 per cent)

Everton continue their search for Carlo Ancelotti's replacement.

One emerging candidate has plenty of familiarity with Liverpool. 

Could the Toffees turn to a former rival? 

TOP STORY – BENITEZ IN MERSEYSIDE RETURN?

Former Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has emerged as a strong contender to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Everton, the Daily Mirror and other outlets report. 

As the Merseyside club's interest in former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo has faded, majority owner Farhad Moshiri apparently plans to speak to the 61-year-old Benitez. 

The Spaniard was Liverpool's manager from 2004-10, winning the Champions League title in 2005. He spent 18 months in charge of Chinese Super League club Dalian Professional before leaving by mutual consent in January. 

Others under consideration include Brighton and Hove Albion head coach Graham Potter, former Lille coach Christophe Galtier and former Toffees boss Roberto Martinez. 

ROUND-UP

- Chelsea have matched Paris Saint-Germain's offer of about €65million (£56.1m) to Inter for Achraf Hakimi, according to Sky Sport Italia, though Inter value the 22-year-old at €81m (£70m).

- Barcelona see Manchester City's Raheem Sterling as a potential replacement for Ousmane Dembele should the France international depart, according to Sport, and Marca says PSG have interest in Dembele. 

- David de Gea seems inclined to extend his stay at Manchester United and expects to be the first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Dean Henderson, The Sun reports. 

- Atletico Madrid rejected United's £10m bid for England right-back Kieran Trippier, according to Football Insider. 

- Roma are close to completing their long-rumoured signing of Arsenal's Granit Xhaka, Corriere dello Sport claims. 

- West Ham would like to sign Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard on a permanent deal, The Sun reports. 

- Tottenham have had discussions with Borussia Monchengladbach winger Marcus Thuram, RMC Sport reports, and The Athletic says Spurs could also be eyeing RB Leipzig's Marcel Sabitzer. 

- Former Roma coach Paulo Fonseca has emerged as Spurs' preferred option to replace Jose Mourinho and the sides have discussed a three-year contract, the Guardian reports. 

- Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard could be in the mix for the Crystal Palace opening, the Daily Mirror reports. 

A youthful United States side had no trouble with Costa Rica on Wednesday, rolling to a 4-0 friendly victory at Rio Tinto Stadium in Utah. 

USA head coach Gregg Berhalter made nine changes from the side that defeated Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League final on Sunday, naming a starting XI with an average age of 23 years, 278 days. 

With stars Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie resting on the bench, two USA players scored their first international goals in a match that was never in doubt. 

Brenden Aaronson opened the scoring after eight minutes, rushing into the area to drive a rebound past Leonel Moreira after Daryl Dike's shot attempt was blocked by a Costa Rica defender. 

Three minutes before the interval, Dike slipped behind the Costa Rica defense and eased a shot past the onrushing Moreira for his first international goal and a 2-0 USA lead at the break. 

Early in the second half, Reggie Cannon opened his international account as well, slotting home a left-footed shot after intercepting a careless Costa Rica pass. 

Moments after coming on as a substitute in the 75th minute, 18-year-old Gio Reyna drew a penalty on a foul by Keysher Fuller in the box and converted for his fourth USA goal. 

Ethan Horvath got the start in goal for the USA on his 26th birthday after his stunning 120th-minute penalty save on Mexico's Andres Guardado on Sunday and turned in a clean sheet. 

Costa Rica are now winless in their last 11 matches (2D, 9L) dating to a 2-1 victory over Curacao in November 2019. 

Portugal boss Fernando Santos insisted his side have "many things to improve" despite securing a 4-0 win over Israel in their final pre-Euros warm-up game.

Bruno Fernandes got on the scoresheet either side of Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Cancelo strikes as the defending champions prepared for this summer's tournament with an emphatic win.

But, speaking after full-time, Santos shared concerns over elements of the performance, including a lull during the first half.

“The first part, not being extraordinary, was good," he told RTP.

"We did very well in the first 20 minutes, with great intensity in the various moments of play, circulating the ball well and looking for the flanks. 

"Then we had a quarter of an hour with less [urgency], but we accelerated towards the end and ended up scoring two goals."

The 66-year-old went on to reveal that he tried out a new tactical approach in the second period at Jose Alvalade Stadium.

But, while he didn't feel that his changes worked particularly well, the veteran boss struck a positive note ahead of Portugal's defence of their title starting against Hungary next Tuesday.

He added: "In the second I changed things a little, I tried to put one more man next to Ronaldo and two midfielders coming in from the inside, but it didn't work. 

"We started to miss a lot of passes and the ball circulation was not so good. There are many things to improve, certainly. 

"Now let's rest and calmly prepare for the Euros. This team has a huge will and an excellent team spirit."

Portugal warmed up for the start of the European Championship with a convincing 4-0 win over Israel.

In their final friendly game before the delayed tournament gets under way, Fernando Santos' side sent out a warning to their rivals with a dominant performance.

Bruno Fernandes was on target with a double, while there were also goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Cancelo to give Portugal a boost ahead of a Group F campaign that will see them face world champions France and Germany.

The Portuguese were at it from the first whistle, with Ronaldo producing an uncharacteristically weak shot after working space in the box less than a minute after kick-off.

And Diogo Jota was equally wasteful in powering a left-footed effort wide from a similar position before heading over a Cancelo cross shortly after.

But the hosts had their breakthrough just before half-time, Fernandes controlling Cancelo's low cut-back into the bottom-left corner.

The Manchester United man then turned provider, playing Ronaldo in behind for a powerful finish that squeezed through Israel goalkeeper Ofir Marciano to give the hosts a deserved 2-0 half-time lead.

Santos' men should have been three clear on the hour mark but Bernardo Silva fluffed his lines in attempting a dinked finish after being played in by Ronaldo.

However, Cancelo capped a good night for the hosts in the 87th minute as he cut inside off the right before powering a low left-footed shot home.

And Fernandes added deserved gloss to the scoreline with a wonderful strike from long range in injury time that left Marciano rooted to the spot.

What does it mean? Portugal in with a shout

Amid all the hype around the likes of England, France and Belgium, Portugal seem to be consistently overlooked as potential winners of this year's European Championship.

But the defending champions have a fine mix of experience and youth, the guaranteed goals of Ronaldo, and plenty of tournament know-how from 2016.

As they proved in dominating Israel here, they will be a force to be reckoned with in defending their crown.

Cancelo brings club form

Portugal aren't short of quality in forward areas but, if any opponent manages to somehow shut that down, it is good for the manager to know he has threats elsewhere on the pitch.

As he proved here, right-back Cancelo is one of them, the Manchester City man grabbing a goal and an assist as well as laying on three key passes.

Jota place under pressure

A two-game goalless run in a Portugal shirt hardly counts as a drought, but Jota will know he cannot waste chances as he did on Wednesday and hope to keep his place during the Euros.

The Liverpool forward failed to find the target with two big opportunities in his 45 minutes on the pitch and, with the likes of Joao Felix, Goncalo Guedes and Andre Silva behind him in the pecking order, is by no means a guaranteed starter.

What's next? 

Portugal get the defence of their title under way against Hungary in Budapest on Tuesday. Israel, meanwhile, are without a competitive game until World Cup qualifying resumes in September.

Jordi Alba is adamant Ronald Koeman deserves at least another season at Barcelona after president Joan Laporta confirmed the Dutchman will be in charge for 2021-22.

Koeman was appointed last August as Quique Setien's successor following a crushing end to 2019-20, which saw Barca demolished 8-2 in the Champions League, the first time they had conceded so many goals in one game since 1946.

After a shaky start to 2020-21, Koeman eventually got Barca looking capable of challenging for the league title as he got the best out of Lionel Messi, who scored 30 league goals to win an eighth Pichichi trophy of his career.

While Barca did go on to win the Copa del Rey, their challenge to Atletico Madrid wilted in the final weeks of the season and they ultimately finished third.

Their tally of 79 points was their lowest total since 2007-08, when they managed 67. Indeed, the last coach to earn 76 or fewer points in his first 38 games with the club was Frank Rijkaard in 2003-04 (72).

With Atletico winning the title and Real Madrid doing so the previous year, it meant Barca have failed to win LaLiga in two successive seasons for the first time since 2008.

Perhaps it was unsurprising to see Koeman's future come under so much scrutiny, but after several weeks of uncertainty – what Laporta called a "reflection period" – the club eventually opted to keep Koeman, which was the right decision in the eyes of Alba.

Speaking to Radio Marca, Alba said: "Ronald has done a great job since he arrived.

"We had been improving throughout the season and he deserved to continue at the club."

The left-back, who is currently away preparing for Euro 2020 with Spain, also saluted Barca's early dealings in the transfer market, with Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia – a national team colleague of Alba – arriving on free transfers from Manchester City.

"The arrivals of Aguero and Eric Garcia seem very good to me," he added. "We already knew Kun [Aguero] in football terms and they [those in the team who know him] have spoken very well of him to me from a human perspective.

"And Eric is a humble boy who wants to learn, and it is good that people from La Masia come back. In the Spain squad we have already seen his quality."

Spain have confirmed no more players nor coaching staff have tested positive for coronavirus after a recent outbreak in their camp.

Defender Diego Llorente tested positive on Tuesday and was put into isolation, two days after Sergio Busquets was confirmed to have contracted the virus.

Spain suspended all training activity and fielded their Under-21s for Tuesday's final pre-Euro 2020 friendly with Lithuania, which they won 4-0 in Leganes.

Luis Enrique has created a parallel training bubble made up of standby players, including Rodrigo Moreno, Pablo Fornals, Carlos Soler, Brais Mendez, Raul Albiol, Kepa Arrizabalaga and 11 of their Under-21s squad.

There had been fears the virus could spiral out of control, but all other members of the squad and coaching staff – plus those in the parallel bubble – returned negative tests on Wednesday.

The Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed the news in a statement on its official website, with further tests to be conducted in the coming days.

Spain begin their Euro 2020 campaign against Sweden in Seville next Monday, before facing Poland and Slovakia in their other two Group E fixtures.