GERMANY and Switzerland are the first teams through to the last eight of the 2024 European Championship. Switzerland beat a poor and punchless Italy side 2-0 and looked very menacing. Their goals came from Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas. Once again, Granit Xhaka, their captain, underlined that he is one of the players of the tournament so far. Germany rode their luck in Dortmund against the Danes in a game that was suspended for around 20 minutes due to a fierce thunder storm accompanied by fork lightning. Denmark had a goal disallowed from Joachim Andersen and then within minutes, the same player was adjudged to have handled a cross, resulting in a controversial penalty. Germany went ahead in the 53rd minute with a Kai Havertz penalty. The impressive Jamal Musiala wrapped the game up with a 68th minute breakaway goal. Denmark were unfortunate but they made life difficult for the hosts.
SHELBOURNE, managed by former Irish international winger Damien Duff, are on top of the Irish Premier Division, just ahead of Derry City. Shelbourne maintained their leadership with a 2-0 win against Galway United, while Derry won 5-1 against struggling Drogheda. Shelbourne recently announced they have had fresh financial investment in the club by the Doyle family. They also have an ambitious five-year plan in place. The top two are pulling away from their nearest competitors, Waterford and Shamrock Rovers. Up next for Shelbourne are Drogheda, while Derry will travel to Sligo.
BRAZIL have shown their form with a 4-1 win over Paraguay in the Copa America in Nevada. Two goals from Vinícius Júnior, one from Sávio and a penalty from Lucas Paquetá went some way to compensate for Brazil’s tame display against Costa Rica in their first group game. Vinícius was in fine form, his pace causing the Paraguayan defence huge problems. Towards the end, the game became a little heated and Paraguay’s Andres Cubas was sent off for kicking Douglas Luiz. In the same group, Colombia, who play Brazil in the last round of group games, beat Costa Rica 3-0.
ASTON Villa have been busy in the transfer market as Premier League clubs battle to meet the June 30 deadline to comply with Profit & Sustainability Rules. They have sold Douglas Luiz to Juventus for € 50 million. The 26 year-old, who joined Villa from Manchester City in 2019, began his career with Vasco da Gama in Brazil. He scored nine goals in 35 Premier League games last season and made over 150 appearances for Villa. The club have also sold 19 year-old Omari Kellyman to Chelsea for £ 19 million and Tim Iroegbunam (21) to Everton for £ 9 million.
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