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• Shaw does not understand Southgate criticism as England eye Euro 2024 final

  Luke Shaw does not understand criticism of England manager Gareth Southgate, who is looking to lead the Three Lions to successive European Championship finals.

  Having lost the final of the delayed 2020 edition on penalties to Italy, England are just one game away from the Euro 2024 showpiece game after beating Switzerland on spot-kicks on Saturday.

  They face the Netherlands in the last four on Wednesday, with Southgate looking to become the first Three Lions manager to lead the team to a tournament final on foreign soil.

  Saturday's quarter-final was Southgate's 100th game in charge of England. He has led the team to three semi-finals in four tournaments at the helm, after they reached two semi-finals in their previous 17 competitions before his appointment.

  His 13 major tournament (World Cup/Euros) wins are the most of any Three Lions boss, while only Walter Winterbottom (383) and Alf Ramsey (224) have overseen more England goals as manager (210).

  Despite his record, Southgate has continued to be criticised over a perceived negative approach in Germany, with some fans throwing cups at him after a goalless group-stage draw with Slovenia.

  "I don't understand the criticism," Shaw said on Monday. "What he's done for the country and us players, he's taken us to the next level. 

   

  "No manager has been as successful as he has recently. Us players love him, he's exactly what we need. 

  "He allows us to go out on the pitch and be our best. He's shown a lot of faith and trust in picking me."

  Shaw made his first appearance of the tournament off the bench against Switzerland, having seen his 2023-24 season ended in February by a hamstring injury.

  While the Manchester United man has not enjoyed watching on from the sidelines, he was always convinced England would progress despite falling behind in both of their knockout ties thus far, against Slovakia and Switzerland.

  "It was tough. I felt more nervous watching than playing, it is quite tough," he said. "I never once thought that we were going to go out, we have to believe right to the end.

  "Good moments like Jude Bellingham's [overhead kick versus Slovakia] can happen, but it's down to us to deliver that on the pitch. Game by game we are getting better, there's things we can still improve on but we're looking good."

• Gerrard calls on Messi to join Ronaldo in 'dream' Saudi Arabia move

  Al-Ettifaq boss Steven Gerrard says it would be a "dream" for Lionel Messi to follow Cristiano Ronaldo to the Saudi Pro League for one last head-to-head battle.

  Messi and Ronaldo both turned their backs on European football in 2022-23, the Portugal great swapping Manchester United for Al-Nassr and the Argentine moving to MLS outfit Inter Miami.

  Those moves look to have ended one of the most iconic rivalries in football history, with both players unlikely to represent their national teams at the 2026 World Cup.

  Al-Hilal attempted to lure Messi to Saudi Arabia before he opted to move stateside, but Gerrard has not given up hope of seeing him play in the country, even suggesting his club as a landing spot.

  "It would be a dream for me to have Messi at Al-Ettifaq. He is an incredible player and would be a great asset for the club," the former Liverpool captain told MBC Masr 2.

  "I know it's difficult for him to move to Saudi Arabia, but there's nothing wrong with dreaming."

  Gerrard refused to be drawn on which of the pair was the greatest player of their generation, however, saying: "Both Cristiano and Messi are incredible players with incredible stories in football. 

  "Ronaldo is a great individual goalscorer, while Messi is a more complete team player. I can't really choose between them, they are both legends."

   

  Ronaldo top-scored in the Saudi Pro League with 35 goals in just 31 games in 2023-24, though he endured a miserable Euro 2024 campaign with Portugal.

  The five-time Ballon d'Or winner failed to score at a major international tournament for the first time in 11 attempts, despite recording a competition-high 23 shots worth 3.6 expected goals (xG).

  Messi, meanwhile, has yet to score in three appearances for Argentina at this year's Copa America, though he could yet win a third straight international tournament with La Albiceleste set to face Canada in the semi-finals on Tuesday.

• Spain flexibility has made them team to beat at Euro 2024, claims Rodri

  Spain's tactical flexibility under Luis de la Fuente has been the key to their emergence as the outstanding team at Euro 2024, believes Rodri.

  Some felt Spain could struggle after being drawn with Italy, Croatia and Albania in Group B, but they won all three group games and have continued to impress since then.

  They thrashed Georgia 4-1 in the last 16 before overcoming hosts Germany 2-1 in extra time in the quarter-finals, teeing up Tuesday's semi-final meeting with France.

  The Opta supercomputer makes France (30%) and Spain (30%) favourites to lift the trophy on Sunday, ahead of England (23%) and the Netherlands (16%) on the other side of the draw.

  Many believe Spain have played the best football at the tournament, and they lead all teams in Germany for expected goals (10.3 xG), shots (76) and shots on target (36).

  However, La Roja only rank third for their average possession share (57%), behind Portugal (66%) and Germany (62%), with England joining those two teams in completing more passes than De la Fuente's men.

  Rodri believes being prepared to sacrifice the country's traditional 'Tika-Taka' ideals against better opponents has been a key factor in their success this year.

   

  "You have to know what you're facing, what you can and can't do. That's what we have done best so far, we've played different teams and understood," he told The Guardian.

  "We've played a lot of teams that are good collectively: Italy, Croatia, Germany, teams that like to have the ball like we do, where we have had to understand and interpret, to accept that there are moments we won't have it. 

  "In fact, we had less possession than some opponents. There were moments when we had to suffer, resist, be together.

  "It's important to see those moments, to understand them. Knocking out the hosts, Germany, is one of the hardest things there could be. In the end, we did it."

  The Manchester City star believes being prepared to suffer without the ball will also be key against pre-tournament favourites France, saying: "We have to approach this with the same mentality: play like a big team with the ball and a small team without it. 

  "They're very strong physically, hard to overcome, great individuals. They play the way they want to play."

   

  Spain suffered a surprise defeat to Scotland early in their qualification campaign, but Rodri always had faith former under-21 boss De la Fuente would get things right.

  "I always had a lot of confidence in this group. I knew the coach and I was convinced that with work and effort we would get it right," he said. 

  "He understood that the team needed time to assimilate the ideas, two or three key concepts. Spain and City are similar philosophies but you adapt to the coach. 

  "Here we try to be a bit more vertical, without so much possession, but with enough possession to do damage to the opponents."