Euro 2024 social round-up: Football, eh? Italy snatch a last-16 place and England debate rolls on

By Sports Desk June 24, 2024

Gary Lineker has been at the centre of something of a storm when it comes to England at Euro 2024, and that story was plastered over social media on Monday.

Then, the football took control, with Spain keeping up their winning run and Italy salvaging a draw against Croatia to claim a spot in the last 16.

Here, we unpack the best of the day's social media clips from the tournament in Germany.

 

Football, eh?

Football... It's crazy! 

With a minute to go, Italy - the holders - were on the brink of a possible exit, with Croatia leading 1-0 in Leipzig.

Yet within 30 seconds, Mattia Zaccagni's maiden Azzurri goal had sent Italy through into the last 16, and it's Croatia who are on the verge of an early departure.

Lineker responds

There was a lot left to be desired following England's performance in their 1-1 draw with Denmark, but it is the post-match criticism that has since drawn the most attention.

In particular, Lineker's comments were brought to the attention of Harry Kane in a recent press conference, with the England captain urging the pundits to support the squad.

With the ball back in Lineker's court, he - along with fellow pundit Alan Shearer - had his say on the ongoing debate.

Ferdinand chips into pundit debate

Rio Ferdinand has done his fair share of punditry, and the former England defender had his say on the Lineker debate.

Ferdinand said the England players shouldn't expect pundits to act as "cheerleaders" when the team aren't performing.

Strike a pose

With qualification for the knockout stages already complete, Portugal do not have to worry about any pressure going into their final match against Georgia.

And while taking some time off during training, Joao Felix decided to try his hand at something a little different.

We may even see some of his photos popping up on Portugal's official X account in the coming days.

A family affair

Among the travelling Spanish fans are a family of nine, who have made a 2000km journey to watch their nation at the tournament.

After finally reaching their destination, they got to meet Ferran Torres, Marc Cucurella and Dani Vivian.

Torres subsequently starred for Spain as La Roja stayed perfect in Group B by beating Albania, with the Barcelona forward scoring the only goal of the game.

French cuisine 

Ever wondered what an international footballer does at lunchtime?

Well, fortunately for you, the French team allowed their social admins into the inner sanctum.

Scholes backs Mainoo for big things

More punditry relating to England, and this time it was Paul Scholes who had his say.

Scholes thinks Kobbie Mainoo, who has had an impressive season with Manchester United, could be the player to pull the strings in midfield for the Three Lions.

Vertonghen sees into the future

Jan Vertonghen is playing in his sixth major tournament for Belgium, and his third Euros.

Sitting down at Belgium's 'The Basecamp', the veteran defender was given a glimpse of what he will look like if he chooses to forgo retirement and keep playing with the help of AI.

While Vertonghen was seemingly happy with the results, Maxim De Cuyper was not so impressed.

The grind never stops

Cristiano Ronaldo will make his 50th appearance at a major tournament the next time he features at Euro 2024.

And even though Portugal are already through, the work on the training field never stops for the 39-year-old...

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    The Netherlands international has not played since coming off the bench for his country against Croatia in the Nations League semi-final in June 2023.

    Since that game, Malacia has had knee surgery twice in an attempt to solve an injury that had proved difficult to manage.

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    He played for 45 minutes in Huddersfield and was taken off at half-time, although it was a quiet night for him and he rarely got on the ball.

    Malacia's return to competitive action coincided with the day that new head coach Ruben Amorim met some of United's senior players at the training ground.

    Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Leny Yoro, Kobbie Mainoo and Toby Collyer were all among the players he saw while doing their individual injury rehab.

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    The Netherlands international has not played since coming off the bench for his country against Croatia in the Nations League semi-final in June 2023.

    Since that game, Malacia has had knee surgery twice in an attempt to solve an injury that had proved difficult to manage.

    The 25-year-old made 39 appearances in all competitions for United after signing in the 2022-23 season, but has not featured for the first team since.

    He played for 45 minutes in Huddersfield and was taken off at half-time, although it was a quiet night for him and he rarely got on the ball.

    Malacia's return to competitive action coincided with the day that new head coach Ruben Amorim met some of United's senior players at the training ground.

    Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Leny Yoro, Kobbie Mainoo and Toby Collyer were all among the players he saw while doing their individual injury rehab.

  • Taylor pleased with Man City's physical test during Hammarby win Taylor pleased with Man City's physical test during Hammarby win

    Manchester City head coach Gareth Taylor was pleased with how his team stood up to the physical challenge of Hammarby in their 2-0 Champions League victory on Tuesday.

    Laura Blindkilde Brown and Aoba Fujino were on target in the second half at the Joie Stadium, moving them three points clear at the top of Group D. 

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    The hosts dominated for large parts of the encounter, ending with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.75 from their 16 shots, while also accumulating 73.6% possession. 

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    “Difficult game for us, physical challenge, a physical team in Hammarby. I think they outnumber us a little bit in terms of size, considering when you look at our midfield. But I thought the girls handled it really well," Taylor said after the game

    “I thought we dominated the game. In the early parts we were just a little bit off in our final action. We just needed to speed up a little bit in terms of being on the end of it, and we spoke about that at half-time, and we score with Laura getting into that type of position we’d been talking about.

    “[The physicality was something] we were prepared for, but dealing with it is a different thing. Having Bunny [Khadija Shaw] and Alanna [Kennedy] on the pitch, two of our more physical players, is really important, particularly for set-plays.

    “At 1-0 we were defending a couple of scenarios like that, Yama [Ayaka Yamashita] making a really good save at one point. Then Aoba [Fujino] got the goal that maybe allowed us to change things up a little bit more, get some people off that we’d like to manage.

    “I think the girls have dealt with it really well tonight. We expected it, we thought it would be difficult, and they rose to the challenge.”

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    “We’ve just got an issue with Lauren that we just need to analyse a little bit further, that’s all," he said.

    “It’s something that potentially happened in the Palace game [on 3 November]. She was able to play in the Tottenham game [last Friday] but wasn’t able to tonight, so we’ll just take a little bit longer to assess and find out more.

    “Hopefully [she can play against Chelsea]. There’s an opportunity there, we’ll just have to take a moment tomorrow, have a good conversation and find out where we’re at with the medical staff.”

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