Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman insisted that travel delays experienced by his team will not affect them ahead of their Euro 2024 semi-final with England on Tuesday.
The Netherlands were due to travel from their tournament training base in Wolfsburg to Dortmund, but those plans were disrupted by a blockage on the route that caused their service to be cancelled.
Instead, Koeman and his squad flew to Dortmund, arriving at their hotel on Tuesday evening.
"It was not a problem, we had a good rest this afternoon, we were on the plane for just 30 minutes, arrived at our hotel and we can have a good rest tonight,” Koeman said in an interview with UEFA after his scheduled pre-match press conference had to be cancelled because of the delay.
This will be the fourth meeting between the two sides at a major tournament, with England and the Netherlands both winning once.
England have triumphed just once in their last nine meetings with the Netherlands in all competitions, but Koeman is expecting a tough encounter against the Three Lions.
“We know that there is really not much difference between the two teams, it’s really 50-50 in my opinion,” Koeman said. “But we will need the perfect game to win.
“We know they have a lot of individual qualities but both teams are really strong and it will be a good fight,” he predicted.
The Netherlands came from a goal behind to secure their place in the semi-finals of the competition, beating Turkiye 2-1 in Berlin last Saturday.
England, meanwhile, needed penalties to edge past Switzerland, something Koeman believes could be an advantage ahead of kick-off.
“England had to play extra time in their last game (against Switzerland) so maybe that could be a difference in the latter stages of the match," Koeman said.
"We are sharp, we are focused and we are looking forward to playing a good match against them."
Raphinha hails Barcelona after statement win over Valladolid
Barcelona forward Raphinha believes the team have laid down a statement of their intent by starting the season with four straight wins in LaLiga.
Raphinha scored the first hat-trick of his career and also delivered two assists on Saturday, as Barca crushed Real Valladolid 7-0 at Camp Nou.
Hansi Flick's side already possess a four-point cushion at the top of the table after also recording victories over Valencia, Athletic Bilbao and Rayo Vallecano.
Raphinha believes their results have demonstrated the club got things right in the transfer market, telling Movistar: "Today's game has shown that there is no need for anyone else to come. We are very happy because of that.
"We are in very good shape. The team is working hard. Today's result shows what we are working for.
"We saw that the coach was on the sidelines asking for more goals and that's our mentality.
"We are hungry and want to score as many goals as we can. When we are dominant like we have been, the best way to respect our rivals is not taking the foot off the gas."
Raphinha was one of the players who faced criticism during Barca's trophyless 2023-24 campaign and was rumoured to be on his way out ahead of the new season.
The Blaugrana again battled financial restrictions throughout the window, allowing Ilkay Gundogan to leave in order to secure the registration of new arrival Dani Olmo.
With his future now certain, Raphinha is keen to nail down a starting spot and contribute on a regular basis.
"I don't know if today's was my best game, but it's certainly among my best. I will try to play even better and as much as I can," the Brazilian said.
"I'm very happy to be able to help the team. I feel good. I knew that this season would be very important for me. I'm looking for my best version to help my team-mates and be more confident."
Lazio 2-2 Milan: Leao salvages draw but Rossoneri still winless
Rafael Leao came off the bench to earn Milan a 2-2 draw with Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico on Saturday, but Paulo Fonseca's side are still without a Serie A win this season.
Milan were in front at the break through Strahinja Pavlovic's eighth-minute goal, the Serbian rising highest to power home a header from Christian Pulisic's corner.
However, Lazio hit back in the second half with Valentin Castellanos and Boulaye Dia scoring in quick succession.
Nuno Tavares' first-time ball into the centre was met by the unmarked Castellanos to level in the 62nd minute, then Dia tapped another Tavares cutback home to put the Biancocelesti ahead four minutes later.
Fonseca reacted by sending on four substitutes, and those changes had a swift impact as three of them combined for the leveller.
Theo Hernandez – who joined Leao in being dropped from the start – picked out Tammy Abraham, and his lay-off allowed Leao to escape Tavares to fire past Ivan Provedel.
The game was preceded by an emotional tribute to the man who led Lazio to their last league title, Sven-Goran Eriksson, who died at the age of 76 on Monday.
A Lazio shirt bearing the Swede's name was displayed on the home bench, while a banner held up by the home fans read: "You brought us to the top of the world... Have a good trip Mr. Sven."
Data Debrief: Milan's slow start continues
New Milan boss Fonseca is already under pressure after overseeing a return of two points from his first three league games at the helm.
It is the first time the Rossoneri have drawn two of their opening three matches in a Serie A season since 2011-12, when they also drew two and lost one,
They went on to finish second that season, just four points adrift of champions Juventus. If a title challenge is to take place this term, rapid improvements are needed.
Napoli 2-1 Parma: Lukaku and Anguissa fire Conte's men to last-gasp win
Romelu Lukaku and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa scored in second-half stoppage time as Napoli fought back for a thrilling 2-1 victory over Parma in Serie A.
Newly promoted Parma, who stunned Milan last week, looked set to claim a second surprise win in as many games when Ange-Yoan Bonny won and converted a 19th-minute penalty.
The momentum of the game changed, however, when Parma goalkeeper Zion Suzuki was shown his second yellow card for a foul on David Neres with 15 minutes of the 90 remaining.
With no further substitutions available to the visitors, defender Enrico Del Prato took over in goal and went close to getting his team over the line with a clean sheet intact.
However, new signing Lukaku came off the bench to equalise for Napoli in the second minute of stoppage time, shortly after the Partenopei had seen a penalty overturned following a VAR review.
There was more drama to come at the death as Anguissa headed home in the sixth minute of stoppage time, though Napoli also had to survive one last scare as Pontus Almqvist was denied by Alex Meret at the other end.
Data Debrief: Flying start for Lukaku
Just as Napoli's hopes seemed to be slipping away, up stepped debutant Lukaku to level with a low strike, setting the stage for the most remarkable of comeback victories.
Across the last five Serie A campaigns, Lukaku has 29 goals in 48 home games for Inter, Roma and Napoli. That is the fewest home games required by any player to net over 25 goals in the competition during that span.
Parma, meanwhile, were left to rue the sending-off of Suzuki, who became their first goalkeeper to see red in Serie A since Antonio Mirante against Sassuolo, back in March 2015.
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