The British heir to the throne, Prince William, wants to travel to Germany during the European Football Championship to watch England’s second group match against Denmark. Kensington Palace announced this on Wednesday. The match in Frankfurt am Main will take place on June 20 (6 p.m./ZDF/MagentaTV), one day before the Prince of Wales’ 42nd birthday. England, which reached the final three years ago at the 2020 European Championship, which was held one year late, will also face Serbia and Slovenia in Group C.
Football fan William, who is also the President of the English Football Association (FA), visited the team of national coach Gareth Southgate at the training ground in St. George’s Park before their departure for Germany to wish the players good luck at the European Championships.
The Three Lions start the tournament on Sunday (9 p.m.) in Gelsenkirchen. The match in Gelsenkirchen against Serbia was classified as a high-risk match due to the possible arrival of violent fans.
3.30 p.m.: Deutsche Bahn honours national players with plaques at train stations
During the European Championship, Deutsche Bahn (DB) passengers will know exactly whether they are in the hometown of a German national player. In honor of national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s players, DB wants to put up a plaque at the train station in their hometown, a DB spokeswoman said on Wednesday in response to a dpa query. As part of the “Hometowns of Football Stars” campaign, a total of 24 train stations in Germany will be equipped with the signs. The “Stuttgarter Nachrichten” was the first to report on this.
15:14: Pavlovic after European Championship exit: “I am very sad at the moment”
Aleksandar Pavlovic reacted to the European Championship exit with a social media message to his colleagues. “At the moment I am very sad that the dream of the home European Championship has been shattered! I wish the boys the greatest possible success! And I will come back stronger!” wrote the 20-year-old in an Instagram post on Wednesday. The post had a black background like a message of condolence.
14:52: Only light beer at the England vs Serbia match
Strict measures at the European Championship preliminary round match: During the match on Sunday (9 p.m., ZDF live) between England and Serbia, no normal stadium beer (4.8 percent) will be served. Fans can only buy light beer (2.8%). The reason: the security risk has been upgraded from “high” to “very high”. Fans are only allowed to order two beers at a time in the 62,000-seat Veltins Arena in Schalke. It is the only group match at this European Championship with such a measure.
Preparations are in full swing in the Gelsenkirchen stadium. At the start of the week, the prices were already visible on a sign above a drinks stand: half a liter of beer will cost fans seven euros – in the alcoholic, non-alcoholic and shandy versions.
2.11 p.m.: Fan mile for the European Football Championship: Huge goal comes from Saxony-Anhalt
The huge soccer goal that was erected in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin for the European Championships comes from Saxony-Anhalt. It is a wonderful prestige project, explained Verena Pagels, project manager at the steel construction company FSE from Straach near Lutherstadt Wittenberg.
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With a width of 64.4 meters and a height of 22.5 meters, the object frames the Brandenburg Gate and is an eye-catcher on Berlin’s fan mile. The width was a particular challenge because the crossbar would sag under its own weight, explained Pagels. The tube was therefore rolled with a curve upwards so that it would lie flat in the finished structure.
Sunrise view of the fan zone for the European Football Championship in front of the Brandenburg Gate
Source: dpa/Jörg Carstensen
13.30: Pavlovic misses the European Championship – Nagelsmann nominates BVB professional after
Bitter news shortly before the start of the tournament. Aleksandar Pavlovic (20) will miss the European Championship at home due to illness. The Bayern Munich midfielder is out with tonsillitis and is therefore not available to national coach Julian Nagelsmann for the tournament starting on Friday.
In the past, Pavlovic has repeatedly had problems with his tonsils – which is why he missed the March international matches against France (2:0) and Holland (2:1). Emre Can will replace Pavlovic, the DFB announced on Wednesday. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder is to join the DFB team as soon as possible.
11.43 a.m.: Frenchman to referee DFB team in European Championship opening match
He is the man who once showed Thomas Müller the red card. Clément Turpin has been appointed referee for the opening match of the European Championship between hosts Germany and Scotland. As UEFA published in the match report on its website, the 42-year-old will referee the match in the sold-out Munich European Championship Arena on Friday. The Frenchman brings back some unpleasant memories for the Bayern faction in the national team. Veteran Müller was shown the red card by Turpin in the Champions League match against Ajax Amsterdam in December 2018. However, this was justified after an unintentional kung fu kick by the Munich player against his opponent.
Turpin has been refereeing at the top international level for many years. His paths crossed with the German national team at the 2016 European Championships, when he refereed the DFB team’s last group match against Northern Ireland (1:0) in the Parc des Princes in Paris. The Frenchman is considered a meticulous referee who is quick to issue yellow cards. The national players have therefore been warned. Turpin will also consistently apply the new UEFA rule, according to which only captains are allowed to intervene with the referee on the pitch.
10.07 a.m.: 110 kilograms – Süle to report because of overweight
Niklas Süle is becoming more and more of a problem case at Borussia Dortmund. In the Champions League final, the top earner sat on the bench for 90 minutes. Before he goes on holiday, he was given a clear message. Once again, it’s about his weight. Read the full story here.
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9.59 a.m.: Germany against Hungary in pink jersey
The German national team will play in their white home jerseys twice in the preliminary round of the European Championship and will play in their pink away kit once. According to information from the German Press Agency, a corresponding agreement has already been made. In the opening game on Friday in Munich against Scotland and in the final group match on June 23 in Frankfurt against Switzerland, Germany will play in white – against Hungary in Stuttgart on June 19 in pink.
The new jerseys were presented last March. The new away jersey, which was widely discussed on social media, became a bestseller in the following weeks, according to supplier Adidas.
9.01 a.m.: Munich Arena in rainbow colours on two European Championship days
The Munich Arena will be lit up in rainbow colors during the European Championship on June 22 and 23. The occasion is Christopher Street Day in the Bavarian capital, and the European Championship organizers confirmed a corresponding application. A European Championship game will not be held in Munich on those two days. The lighting was a major controversial issue during the 2021 European Championship. UEFA had rejected a request from the city to have the arena lit up in rainbow colors for the third group game against Hungary. The background to the application was the protest against a law passed in Hungary at the time that restricted the information rights of young people with regard to homosexuality and transsexuality.
This is what the stadium will look like on Christopher Street Day
Source: dpa/Sven Hoppe
UEFA justified the decision with the political background of the application, which was also directed against the Hungarian team and the Hungarian fans. Munich will host six matches at this European Championship, including the opening match this Friday between Germany and Scotland. This will be followed by three further group matches on 17, 20 and 25 June, as well as a round of 16 match (2 July) and a semi-final match (9 July). The DFB selection will play against Hungary on 19 June in Stuttgart.
8.33 a.m.: Personnel concerns in Italy
Italy has personnel problems. At the first training session of the selection in Iserlohn, three midfielders were unable to complete the full session. Coach Luciano Spalletti is most worried about regular player Nicolò Barella, who has been suffering from muscular problems since the beginning of June. The 27-year-old from Inter Milan completed an individual program.
In addition, Davide Frattesi and Nicolò Fagioli were injured during the first training session on Tuesday. Barella’s Inter team-mate Frattesi, who scored the 1-0 goal in the last European Championship test against Bosnia-Herzegovina and was also an important player for Spalletti, ended the session early. Fagioli also completed an individual program. The 23-year-old played his first game for the national team on Sunday against Bosnia-Herzegovina after his seven-month ban for his involvement in the betting scandal.
