The year-long delay to Euro 2020 has shifted the narrative for a host of stars, and meant the long wait for a return to the big stage has been extended for others.
Now, though, Europe's elite are set to battle it out as Portugal defend the title they won in France five years ago.
Some players enter the competition in great form and with little baggage, but for others this month-long tournament is a chance to make a big splash, or live up to long-held expectations.
Here, Stats Perform looks at two famous footballing nations, four big-name stars and a coach who bows out of his current job and may have designs on his next assignment.
Gareth Bale: Finished or a new beginning?
The wing wizard can do little wrong in the eyes of Wales and Tottenham supporters, and perhaps now there is a glimmer of hope for his Real Madrid career.
At the end of a season-long loan at Spurs, it seemed likely Bale would head back to Madrid and spend the final year of his contract largely on the sidelines. His future looked to be one of training, playing the odd Copa del Rey game and making fleeting LaLiga appearances, and spending his happiest hours on the region's best golf courses.
Now that Zinedine Zidane has moved on, that could change all of a sudden, and Bale has an immediate chance to make an impression on new Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti when he captains Wales at the Euros.
Bale joined Madrid in 2013, when Ancelotti was embarking on his first spell at the Santiago Bernabeu, but his career in Spain looked to have all but conked out 12 months ago.
The door certainly seems open for the 31-year-old to do just that as, in his presentation news conference at Madrid, Ancelotti said: "Gareth has not played much in the Premier League [in 2020-21], but he scored lots of goals, and was very effective in recent games when he had a chance to play.
"He is coming back, I know him very well, he will be motivated to play better and have a great season, no doubt."
At Spurs, he scored 16 goals across all competitions at an average of one every 104.44 minutes, and his match fitness appeared to be building up nicely when the season ended.
Bale exceeded his expected goals (xG) total of 11.07 quite handsomely, and for the first time since the 2015-16 season he scored more goals than he had big chances.
He had 15 such chances, defined by Opta as situations "where a player should reasonably be expected to score".
Bale is said by some observers to be considering retiring after Euro 2020, but that could be a waste of a still-luminous talent and Ancelotti is sure to be closely watching.
Eden Hazard: Brilliant Belgian has been a Real disappointment
So often sparkling for Belgium and Chelsea in the past, Hazard has left Madrid supporters wondering what has happened to that fizz since he landed in Spain.
He started just seven games in LaLiga in the season just ended, a string of muscle injuries and a spell out with COVID-19 ruining his campaign.
When fit enough to feature, the forward's numbers have been way down on those that he produced – to take a pertinent example – during Belgium's Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.
A fair way of assessing his figures is to look at how Hazard contributes for every 90 minutes he is involved with club and country, and the comparison between his displays in Belgium's run to reach this tournament and in 2020-21 at Madrid shows an alarming dip.
His chances created total per 90 minutes falls from 4.6 to 1.0, his number of touches of the ball slides from 95.1 to 73.8, and his dribbles attempted plummet from 7.4 with Belgium to 4.2 in Madrid's season.
His involvements in shot-ending sequences of play fall from 10.8 to 4.9 per 90 minutes, and analysis of goal-ending sequences shows his contribution drops from 1.9 with Belgium to 0.8 per 90 minutes with Madrid.
It bears remembering that Hazard has not had the run of games that would give him full match fitness. If Real Madrid fans want any succour, they can find it in his Belgium statistics and must hope the coming month sees the 30-year-old roll back his form a couple of years.
A fit and firing Hazard would be a huge asset to Ancelotti, who is expecting the former Chelsea star to have an impact next term.
"Hazard is a top player, he has had injury problems, and not shown his top potential yet here," Ancelotti said. "I believe he can do that next year, he wants to, is motivated."
Karim Benzema: Have France really missed him?
Nobody doubts Benzema's ability or his current form. Firing 23 goals for Real Madrid in LaLiga showed he is coming into Euro 2020 in great shape.
The thing is: few expected him to play any part in this tournament.
Off-field matters and an impending court case have seen Benzema frozen out by France, the 33-year-old sidelined from international duty since 2015 following allegations he had a part in a plot to blackmail former Les Bleus player Mathieu Valbuena.
Benzema strenuously denies any wrongdoing and for the duration of Euro 2020 he will aim to show what France have been missing in his absence. They managed to win the 2018 World Cup without him, and reach the final of Euro 2016, yet coach Didier Deschamps has decided his team need Benzema's presence for the coming month.
It could be a masterstroke or could go disastrously wrong, with France a national team who have combusted before during a big tournament.
Benzema last year made the snippy remark that Olivier Giroud was a go-kart and he, by contrast, was a Formula One car, but now they are rivals for selection.
Squad harmony is vital at any major championship, and Benzema's presence brings that little extra frisson. This gamble could go either way. Watching him and France will be fascinating.
Marcus Rashford: Making his pitch for a better England
Manchester United striker Rashford has been a pandemic social justice warrior, emerging as an inspirational figure as he battled for school children to avoid food poverty.
There is so much to admire about the 23-year-old Mancunian, who has also faced – and faced down – appalling racism on social media.
It would take a cold, cruel heart to begrudge Rashford a major moment on the pitch now, and that could come with England over the coming weeks.
On the international scene since just before Euro 2016, Rashford is now fixtures-and-fittings within the Three Lions set-up, but he has still yet to score at a World Cup or European Championship.
Before June's pre-Euros friendlies he had 40 caps and 11 goals and will want to improve his so-so goals-to-games ratio, which is partly explained by the fact only 20 of those caps came as a starter.
Golden Boot winner Harry Kane carried so much of the scoring burden for England at the last World Cup, and sometimes it takes two. Rashford scored three times in Euro 2020 qualifying and is coming off a 21-goal campaign with United, scoring on average once every 197.76 minutes.
The man who is effecting positive change in the way many live their lives, influencing politicians and shaping a better future for millions, could now do his country a massive favour on the football field.
Scotland: They're back, thanks to Mourinho's former right-hand man
Few in the Scotland team are long enough in the teeth to remember the last time the Tartan Army descended on a major tournament.
It was 1998, with the Scots giving Brazil a major test in the opening game at the Stade de France. A draw followed against Norway followed the 2-1 loss to the Selecao, before a dismal defeat to Morocco meant the campaign ended in crushing disappointment.
Hopes have flickered and foundered in the decades since, but Steve Clarke, once an assistant boss to Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, has led his team back to the big time.
With the likes of Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay and Che Adams, they possess Premier League quality, and two games Hampden promise to be nourishing for the soul.
Scotland is an expectant nation. That tends to end in intense disappointment at major tournaments, but optimism abounds as the games approach, the June 18 clash with England at Wembley ringed in the diary.
Italy: Blue skies again for Azzurri
It felt absurd that Italy should be absent from the 2018 World Cup, but they failed the meritocracy test of qualification when losing a play-off to Sweden.
That meant they were absent from football's great global gathering for the first time since 1958, and coach Gian Piero Ventura was swiftly given the heave-ho.
Enter Roberto Mancini, the former Inter and Manchester City boss who has led a scorching revival of the Azzurri, a team who won all 10 of their qualifiers and headed into June on a 26-game unbeaten run.
Wales, Turkey and Switzerland are the group-stage opposition for Italy, and the Turkey game in Istanbul gets the tournament underway.
They are a team perhaps without a superstar, but as Paolo Rossi and Toto Schillaci would attest, iconic Italian figures can emerge on the big stage.
Joachim Low: Hit for six, Germany go back to the future
After 15 years, Low will step down as Germany head coach following these finals. Many in Germany think he should have stepped aside already, but Low has powerful support within the DFB, the national federation.
A 6-0 defeat to Spain in the Nations League last November felt like an appalling nadir, with Germany outshot 23-2 in Seville and having just 30 per cent of possession.
Something had to change and it has, with Low summoning Thomas Muller and Mats Hummels out of the international exile he harshly imposed on the experienced pair over two years ago.
Low felt he could do without their talents but it proved a major misstep, and for Germany's sake they are back. What Low does next remains to be seen, but a strong Euro 2020 campaign with Germany would bolster his chances of landing any elite club job.
The 61-year-old was a World Cup winner seven years ago, but the most immediately telling part of his legacy will be written during this European summer.
Sam Curran and Jos Buttler return to form as England level series in Antigua
Sam Curran redeemed himself after his weekend drubbing and England captain Jos Buttler rediscovered his Midas touch in his side’s series-levelling victory over the West Indies in Antigua.
Chasing 203, Will Jacks put England into the ascendancy with a sparkling 73 off 72 balls, including four sixes and six fours, but his downfall left the tourists wobbling on 116 for four in the 20th over.
Buttler, who had been averaging 14.1 since the start of a miserable World Cup for himself and his team, gradually bloomed and his unbeaten 58 off 45 deliveries – his first fifty in 14 ODIs – sealed England’s six-wicket win.
Harry Brook finished on 43 not out as England prevailed with 17.1 overs to spare although the architect of them ensuring a decider in Barbados on Saturday was Curran, who took three for 33 in seven overs.
Having recorded the most expensive figures by an England bowler in Sunday’s four-wicket defeat, leaking 98 runs in 9.5 overs, the left-arm seamer snared top-order trio Keacy Carty, Brandon King and Shimron Hetmyer.
After the Windies lurched to 23 for four, captain Shai Hope did his bit for nominative determinism, following up his match-winning ton a few days ago with a run-a-ball 68 and rookie Sherfane Rutherford chipped in with 63 before the pair were dismissed by Liam Livingstone, who took three for 39.
Curran was initially wayward again and belted for three fours by King but an opening stand that put on 104 on Sunday was snuffed out for 15 here after Gus Atkinson scythed through Alick Athanaze, with England’s review for caught behind showing a big snick on UltraEdge.
Curran’s fortunes shifted as angled deliveries took the edges of Carty and King to Zak Crawley before Hetmyer was rapped on the back pad by a fuller ball. The not-out verdict was overturned after Ben Duckett seemed to persuade Buttler into sending the decision upstairs.
Curran’s three wickets in eight balls left Hope and Rutherford, in his second ODI, with a mountainous rebuild. A 129-run stand followed as smoke from the barbecue vendors beyond the stands occasionally drifted across the ground, Hope settling with three straight driven fours in an Atkinson over.
Brydon Carse was taken the distance by Hope as the partnership grew, with both Windies batters going past fifties, Rutherford doing so with a mighty heave off the otherwise parsimonious Rehan Ahmed.
Having been held back until the 26th over, Livingstone broke the union when Rutherford drove loosely to Phil Salt in the ring while Yannic Cariah was castled through the gate by a floaty off-spinner.
Livingstone had the big fish with a precision piece of bowling, his leg-spinner leaving Hope in two minds, missing an indeterminate prod and his off-stump as a consequence.
Livingstone’s figures were dented by Romario Shepherd’s four fours in an over but the Windies subsided after he holed out to Rehan, whose figures of 10-1-40-2 were identical to what he recorded on Sunday.
Despite tricky conditions, Salt and Jacks were authoritative from the off, evoking the spirit of predecessors Jason Roy and first Alex Hales then Jonny Bairstow.
The pair rode their luck, edging wide of slip off Alzarri Joseph before Salt’s luck ran out on 21, bowled by Shepherd, after a 50-run stand.
The early battle between Joseph and Jacks was worth the entry fee alone. A rising snorter took Jacks’ glove and ballooned over Hope but the opener responded by hammering over backward square-leg and then repeated the trick off Shepherd. Jacks then smeared Oshane Thomas over backward point for a third six.
Crawley chopped on off Gudakesh Motie, who found the glove when Duckett went for a customary sweep before Brook edged agonisingly short of slip from his first ball as tension crept in.
Nerves may have been jangling when Jacks was lbw to one that kept low from Rutherford, bringing out Buttler, who had been dismissed for single figures in five of his previous eight innings.
He made a cagey start and was beaten twice on the outside edge by leg-spinner Cariah but he steadily grew in confidence alongside Brook.
A whipped four off Joseph was followed by a skip down the track and thump for back-to-back sixes off Cariah as Buttler started to find some rhythm.
The second of those monstrous blows was measured at 94 metres before another mighty mow off Thomas brought up a 43-ball half-century. Buttler took 16 off that Thomas over to level the scores.
It was left to Brook to get over the line and he did so by sweeping Motie behind square for four in the 33rd over.
Roy Hodgson sends message to unhappy Crystal Palace fans after Bournemouth loss
Roy Hodgson pleaded for Crystal Palace supporters to stay onside after a 2-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth ended in a chorus of boos and an object being launched by a disgruntled fan in the boss’ direction.
Headers in each half from Marcos Senesi and Kieffer Moore extended the Cherries’ unbeaten Premier League run to four matches, while Palace remain in search of just their second home victory this season after a promising start to the campaign.
Palace, who dropped to 14th place with the loss, were hoping to pick up points ahead of a difficult run of fixtures, beginning with Liverpool on Saturday followed by a trip to Manchester City before meetings with Brighton and Chelsea.
Hodgson said he was unaware of being targeted by the projectile until after the fact, joking: “So you mean to say there was a fan out there who doesn’t like me? That will definitely stop me sleeping.”
The boyhood Palace fan also addressed earlier comments made to broadcaster Amazon Prime Video, in which he had suggested Eagles supporters might be “spoiled” by positive results in recent years.
He explained: “The fact is if I said that in the spur of the moment, to some extent there’s truth in it, yes.
“I mean we’ve punched above our weight for a number of years now. We’ve kept this team in the league for a number of years, but the fact is we are still in a situation where every game for us has got to be a fight. Every game for us has got to be street fighting.
“We need the fans of Crystal Palace as we know them, because without them it will become really, really hard for us, because the players need them, so I suppose my point, if I’m making a point at all, is don’t desert us because it’s a bad moment.
“We’re as sad as you are. We aren’t giving you what you want. If I say you’ve been spoiled, well, that’s pretty harsh. I mean, what is spoiled?
“But for me you have to remember that my relationship with the club is basically a fourth division club, a third division club, a Championship club. The first division of the football league when I was growing up was beyond my wildest dreams.
“Now it’s not. Now I think we are a bona-fide Premier League team. I think we’ve earned that right.”
Brendan Rodgers delighted as Oh Hyeon-gyu seizes Celtic chance
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers praised Oh Hyeon-gyu for seizing his chance after the South Korea striker hit a double in a 4-1 win over Hibernian.
Oh got the final touch as Celtic opened the scoring from a fifth-minute set-piece and he ran on to Callum McGregor’s ball down the channel, brushed off Will Fish and slotted home in the 55th minute, shortly before making way for Kyogo Furuhashi.
It was only the 22-year-old’s second start under Rodgers while the Celtic manager brought holding midfielder Tomoki Iwata and winger Mikey Johnston into his line-up for the first time.
After his side maintained their eight-point lead over Rangers in the cinch Premiership, Rodgers said: “I said this was a month where players would get a chance. Tommo came in and did really well, Oh was excellent.
“He was a really good reference for the team, his hold-up play, in the box he’s there and obviously his second goal shows he can also run in behind.
“Great strength and then really good composure. I was really pleased with him. He came into the game and did really well.
“Mikey has been better off the bench but he deserved his start because of the impact he has had. It’s just being more aggressive in his running but he deserved his start.
“Especially in this period of the season, you need to have freshness at the top end of the field in particular. Changing two out of the front three gave us that freshness.
“Kyogo can’t play every game but when you have someone like Oh who can come in and make an impact, it’s good.”
Rodgers also handed Cameron Carter-Vickers a rest in the second half after the defender reported a minor hamstring issue, while Greg Taylor came off after playing through illness.
The champions also netted through Matt O’Riley’s header and Luis Palma’s penalty but Hibs deserved some reward for their enterprising play and got it when substitute Christian Doidge netted from close range.
Hibs head coach Nick Montgomery had some frustration over referee John Beaton’s VAR-assisted penalty award for Lewis Stevenson’s challenge on Alistair Johnston.
“I said to the boys at half-time, both the goals were really avoidable,” he said. “I think we probably had the two best chances of the first half, two one-on-ones, two big saves from Joe Hart.
“Second half we started quite brightly and for me it’s a soft penalty. The crowd shout for it and he goes to the VAR and he looks at it in slow motion.
“We have probably had five or six of those incidents in my time at the club and we have never had a penalty. It never goes to VAR.
“The player that went down didn’t think it was a penalty, he said that to the boys.
“If we are going to go to VAR and have a look at every incident, there’s going to be a lot more free-kicks, a lot more cards, a lot more penalties, because when you slow everything down there is always some element where you could change your decision.
“Three-nil away at Celtic, two soft goals and a penalty, and we didn’t take our chances, so it’s an uphill task.
“But I was really proud of the effort, the way we played. The boys were brave and we had some really good passages of play.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
