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spring break, potato and lean cows

M.Zack

For the second day in a row, the Euro takes a break on Thursday 1er July, before biting into the quarter-finals with envy on Friday. Like the English substitute Jordan Henderson, Tuesday in the round of 16, you will have to chomp on your brakes.

If by any chance you miss the round ball (which is actually a truncated icosahedron) too much, the only meeting to put your teeth in is a match of the twelfth day of MLS (the American championship) between Austin FC and the Portland Timbers. But you will have to set your alarm clock for 3:30 in the night from Thursday to Friday.

Euro 2021: the quarter-final posters

After three weeks of competition, here is the program for the quarter-finals, which will take place on Friday July 2 and 3.

Switzerland-Spain at 6 p.m. in St. Petersburg (Russia).

Belgium-Italy at 9 p.m. in Munich (Germany).

Czech Republic-Denmark at 6 p.m. in Baku (Azerbaijan).

Ukraine-England at 9 p.m. in Rome (Italy).

All the matches can be followed live on Lemonde.fr.

  • Euro star: Raheem Sterling

Since the start of the competition, he has been the metronome of an English team that is more solid than brilliant. And Raheem Sterling did not shake in the round of 16 when it came to cheating on German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.


He who had scored only two goals in his first 44 capes under the shirt struck of the Three Lions has just made fifteen in his last twenty international games. Honed by English supporters at the last World Cup, where his clumsiness cost the men of Gareth Southgate, Raheem Sterling has never lost the confidence of his coach. Second Englishman to score his country’s first three goals in a major tournament since Gary Lineker at the 1986 World Cup, the still Citizen (even if he is in bickering with his club over his extension) agrees with his coach .

“Raheem proves a lot of people wrong”, launched his teammate Declan Rice after the English qualification for the quarterfinals. Against Ukraine on Saturday, Sterling will want to extend his streak. And besides, the guy doesn’t look bad at water volleyball.

Read also Euro 2021: England, all about the team

  • Meanwhile… Lionel Messi is free

” Calm “. In short, Joan Laporta, president of FC Barcelona, ​​wanted to reassure the Blaugrana supporters. However, the hour is serious on the side of Catalonia: Lionel Messi is free from any contract and has still not accepted the offer of extension proposed by the club. The leaders appear confident about the future of the Pulga in Barcelona. The Argentine number 10 is currently in Brazil, on a mission with his selection to finally win a major title with the blue and white jersey. Argentina will face Ecuador in the quarter-finals of the Copa América, on the night of Saturday to Sunday, at 3 a.m. (French time).


What if the secrets of the Belgian potato since the start of the competition were on their plate? Taking advantage of the Red Devils’ day of rest, the Belgian national team took an interest in an aspect little covered in the preparation of footballers: their food.

Responsible for ensuring that “The players remain in good health” in this regard, Dr. Laurent Bannock, nutritionist of the team, exposes in a video broadcast on social networks the importance “Critical” food suitable for “Reload the players” after high intensity games and a long season, “Just like sleeping well”. If he does not reveal the favorite dishes of Belgian players, the team’s cooks are responsible for treating the Devils, because “To perform, they must enjoy their food”.

  • (Almost) blue patch of sky: the dry source

After elimination, the lean period. Ejected from the competition by valiant Helvetians descended from their mountain pastures, Monday, the Blues are no longer the cash cow watering the French Football Federation (FFF). The latter, who had amassed a record jackpot during the victory of the Blues at the 2018 World Cup (32.5 million euros), will have to do with a much smaller nest egg.

Deficient for the first time in a long time – the global pandemic has also passed through there – the “3F” relied on a good course of the selection, juicy showcase of French football, to seal its budget. If it was not necessarily eyeing the 28.5 million promised to the winner (who would have won all his matches), the uncertainty of the sport prevailing, the FFF expected to pocket more than the 12.75 million reported by the course of the Blues to the Euro. “This elimination is a bit annoying in the economic situation of the Fed. We hoped to go a little further, as you can imagine ”, has also recognized the boss of French football, Noël Le Graët, Tuesday in The team.


“I feel a little Italian! “

He is from a divided country, where the national team has chosen to speak English so as not to have to decide between Walloons and Flemings. Yet Dries Mertens adds a layer in the heartbreak. The pixie of Napoli (1.69 m) expects a warm reunion on Friday July 2 on the occasion of the tantalizing quarter-final between his Belgium and his adopted homeland, of which he adopted some traits. “I sometimes make gestures with my hands like them, Naples brings me a lot of happiness. It’s going to be very special for me to play against Italy ”, he acknowledged at a press conference on Wednesday.

Read also: For Belgians and Swiss, a matter of multilingualism

We bet he would have nothing against singing “It’s me, it’s the Italian, I’ve come back so far, the road was bad” to the Azzurri on Saturday, asking them to open the door. If the most Neapolitan of the Belgians, struggling since the start of the Euro, finds his best level, the Red Devils will easily pass his quest for identity. As long as he doesn’t have the wrong cages.

The Covid-19, twelfth man in the quarter-finals? In his garden (English, of course) since the start of the competition, England will have to do without its audience for the quarter-final of the Euro, Saturday July 3 in Rome, against Ukraine. As a result of health measures between Italy and the United Kingdom (isolation of five days in Rome, ten days on return), the English Football Federation (FA) has in fact given up the 2,500 places reserved for it, and which will be put back for sale. The FA nevertheless ensures “Working with UEFA and the British Embassy in Italy to facilitate the sale of as many tickets as possible to English residents in Italy”.

If successful, the Three Lions will return to Wembley for the semi-finals, against Denmark or the Czech Republic. And this, in front of 60,000 fans heated to white for a possible place in the final.

Our selection of articles on Euro 2021

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