Krakow: England striker Jermain Defoe has rejoined the European Championship squad after flying home following the death of his father. Defoe arrived back at the team's hotel in the Polish city of Krakow on Saturday morning, two days before the team faces France in its Euro 2012 opener. The Tottenham player has missed two training sessions since returning to England on Thursday morning after father Jimmy Defoe died. Defoe, Danny...
08:27 PM, Jun 09, 2012
LONDON: Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has said he fears his England career is over after being overlooked for Euro 2012 by manager Roy Hodgson. "You would have to say it might be over with England for me. If I'm not getting picked now, especially when people are out injured, then it's unlikely I will be picked again," said Ferdinand. Ferdinand, capped 81 times, has not played in a major...
03:57 PM, Jun 09, 2012
CNN-IBN panel of experts analyses the teams and other factors ahead of the upcoming Euro 2012 opener. ...
08:43 PM, Jun 08, 2012
The Euro 2012 will kick off on Friday, with 16 nations battling for the most prestigious European football trophy. ...
07:31 PM, Jun 08, 2012
Donetsk: France coach Laurent Blanc believes Rio Ferdinand was left out of the England Euro 2012 squad for reasons other than soccer, he said on Thursday. England boss Roy Hodgson omitted the experienced central defender from his original 23 citing a "footballing decision" and again snubbed him when Gary Cahill was ruled out, calling up Liverpool reserve right back Martin Kelly instead. Critics have said Ferdinand has been dropped because...
04:27 PM, Jun 07, 2012
London: Tottenham striker Jermain Defoe left Poland to return to England on Thursday morning following the death of his father on Wednesday night. The FA have announced that Defoe will rejoin to the squad "in due course" and that there are no plans to call up a replacement player. "Everyone at the Club sends their sincere condolences to Jermain and his family," a statement released by Tottenham read. Defoe arrived...
03:17 PM, Jun 07, 2012
London: England striker Wayne Rooney has claimed that the Three Lions can go all the way at Euro 2012 this summer. The 26-year-old is banned for his side's first two group games following his kick-out at Montengro defender Miodrag Dzudovic in the final game of qualifying. However, he says Roy Hodgson's squad should go into the tournament in Poland and Ukraine with the belief that they can go all the...
02:00 PM, Jun 07, 2012
Paris: France defender Patrice Evra has expressed his surprise at the omission of his Manchester United team-mate Rio Ferdinand from the England squad, but believes the 33-year-old's exclusion is great news for Les Bleus. Ferdinand has won 81 caps for his country since making his debut in 1997 but was left out of Roy Hodgson's initial 23-man squad and snubbed again when Gary Cahill had to withdraw through injury. The...
12:38 PM, Jun 07, 2012
Warsaw: UEFA president Michel Platini promised that referees will stop European Championship matches if players suffer abuse from fans, as questions on racism in Poland and Ukraine dominated a news conference on Wednesday to launch the tournament. Platini said UEFA has empowered referees to "temporarily stop the game and finally cancel the game if this racism keeps rearing its head." Concern was fueled by a British television program last week...
10:11 AM, Jun 07, 2012
Warsaw: Now, finally, UEFA President Michel Platini wants the players to take center stage when the European Championship kicks off on Friday. Football has almost been ignored during a turbulent five years for Poland and Ukraine as they sought to vindicate UEFA's decision to take its showpiece 16-nation tournament to eastern Europe. Now the former France great, who captained and coached his country, wants the teams to seize the headlines....
09:11 AM, Jun 07, 2012
London: England defender John Terry missed the squad's training session on Tuesday after failing to overcome the hamstring strain suffered during Saturdays win over Belgium. Instead, the former skipper continued his recovery work as he battles to be fit for the Three Lions opening game of Euro 2012 against France on Monday. England's cautious approach to Terry's injury is understandable. The Chelsea man has yet to kick a ball since...
03:35 PM, Jun 06, 2012
A low-down on the top minds who will be scheming their way to winning the European Championships. Joachim Low " Germany The German coach has been given assurances about his job, no matter what happens at Euro 2012, but knowing the way 'Jogi' works, he will be focused solely on the title. This is, after all, the man who gambled at the 2010 World Cup by opting for youth over...
03:04 PM, Jun 06, 2012
Paris: France boss Laurent Blanc felt that Tuesday night's 4-0 friendly win over Estonia exposed some defensive deficiencies he needs to work on ahead of their Euro 2012 opener against England. Karim Benzema bagged a brace, while Franck Ribery and Jeremy Menez were also on target as Les Bleus completed their warm-up programme with a comfortable win in Le Mans. However, while Blanc admitted that the victory had been good...
11:34 AM, Jun 06, 2012
London: Capsules on each of the previous 13 European Championship tournaments: France 1960 The Soviet Union scored the first goal in the qualifying tournament for the inaugural European Championship, and then won the maiden title about two years later at Parc des Princes in Paris. Seventeen teams entered the qualifying tournament, which was called the European Nations Cup. After Czechoslovakia eliminated Ireland in a two-leg playoff, the Soviets beat visiting...
10:32 AM, Jun 06, 2012
Warsaw: A brief glance at the 16 teams that have qualified for the European Championship: Group A Poland Euro 2012 Schedule: vs. Greece, June 8; vs. Russia, June 12; vs. Czech Republic, June 16. How the team qualified: Co-host. Euro 2008 Result: First Round. Best Result: First Round (2008). FIFA Ranking: 65th. Coach: Franciszek Smuda (Poland). Top Players: Jakub Blaszczykowski, Robert Lewandowski, Wojciech Szczesny. Greece Euro 2012 Schedule: vs. Poland,...
10:12 AM, Jun 06, 2012
Warsaw: A brief look at the eight stadiums to be used for the European Championship: Warsaw, National Stadium The National Stadium in Warsaw will host the opening match of the Euro 2012 tournament, when Poland plays Greece on June 8. The stadium was built on the site of the Tenth Anniversary Stadium, which hosted football matches and other sporting events from 1955 until the 1980s. The old stadium was partly...
09:53 AM, Jun 06, 2012
Without a coach until May, missing a number of star players due to injury and suspension - Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry, Jack Whilshire, Chris Smalling and most recently Gary Cahill (injured) and Wayne Rooney (suspended for first two matches) " things have gone from bad to worse for England ahead of Euro 2012. Expectations have always been high whenever England play a high profile tournament but with a number of...
09:33 AM, Jun 06, 2012
London: France midfielder Florent Malouda claims the current England crop have something to prove ahead of their opening Euro 2012 fixture against Les Bleus on June 11. The Chelsea midfielder believes that even though expectations are at an all-time low for the Three Lions to win the tournament, they cannot be taken lightly. "I have no doubt that England will be ready on June 11," Malouda told reporters. "There are...
12:21 PM, Jun 05, 2012
London: England and France will resume their long-standing football rivalry at next month's European Championship, with no one knowing exactly what to expect from the traditional powers. England enters the tournament with a new coach and with striker Wayne Rooney suspended for the first two group games. France has been an enigma for years and is still trying to recover from two disastrous major tournaments, but is enjoying a recent...
09:44 AM, Jun 05, 2012
