Tournament football has well and truly arrived, with EURO2024 finally getting underway in Munich on Friday night.
Catch up on all of the day’s main events with our handy recap, which will be published daily throughout the tournament.
The key press conference quotes
Poland’s Michał Probierz addressed the media on Friday morning, giving an update on Robert Lewandowski’s return to fitness.
The head coach expressed that “our hope is that Robert will be back for the meeting with Austria”. You can read the full article here.
Elsewhere, Vitinha carried out Portugal’s first media conference since the Seleção arrived in Germany.
Portugal are widely regarded as amongst the favourites to lift the Henri Delauney cup on July 14, but the midfielder suggested that “the key is to manage expectations.” You can read more from the PSG star here.
Embed from Getty ImagesDušan Vlahović was the Serbian representative tasked with facing the media on Friday, and addressed comparisons that had likened him to Harry Kane.
Serbia will meet England on Sunday in Gelsenkirchen, and Vlahović hopes that the match will be “a good chance for me to play without pressure.” Read more from the 24-year old here.
Jordan Pickford spoke from the England base camp in Blankenhain, and insisted that the Three Lions have “got the right balance” within the squad.
Speaking on England’s status as pre-tournament favourites, he quipped that “you have got to enjoy that pressure.” You can read more from the goalkeeper here.
Joshua Zirzkee was the main topic of conversation when Jerdy Schouten and Denzel Dumfries spoke to the media.
Schouten commented that “his level is already really high.” You can catch up with more of the press conference quotes here.
Germany 5-1 Scotland
Scotland’s EURO2024 campaign got off to the worst possible start in Munich, as Steve Clarke’s men fell to a 5-1 defeat against the tournament hosts.
The scoreline was reflected in the player ratings, with Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz both afforded an 8/10 for their respective outings.
Ryan Porteous was lucky to be handed a 3/10 for his involvement, after being shown a red card for a reckless challenge. You can check out the rest of the player ratings here.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Steve Clarke admitted that he felt that Scotland are “a better team than we showed,” and stressed the important of picking up four points in the remaining two games.
But it wasn’t all bad for the Tartan Army, with their tremendous support coming as one of the five key takeaways from the match in Munich. Find out what the other four things we learnt are here.
MD-1 press conferences
Luciano Spalletti was joined by Gianluigi Donnarumma for Italy’s official MD-1 press conference ahead of their opener against Albania.
The goalkeeper assured fans that the Azzurri “will try and reproduce those magical nights from 2021.” Read more from Spalletti and Donnarumma here.
Sylvinho and Berat Gjimshiti are preparing for Albania’s second-ever EUROs campaign, and their baptism of fire will commence on Saturday evening when they meet the Italians.
“They are a team that are always trying to win competitions such as these, so we need to be careful,” suggested Gjimshiti. Read more from the Albanian camp here.
Croatia were represented by Zlatko Dalić and Luka Modrić for their pre-Spain press conference.
“I don’t really care if people consider us a favourite or not,” admitted the midfielder. You can read more from that press conference here.
The mood in the Spanish camp is perhaps a little different, as seen when Luis de la Fuente and Rodri addressed the media.
“We want to transmit that confidence that we are capable of achieving something big,” said de la Fuente. Read more from that press conference here.
Murat Yakin was accompanied by Granit Xhaka during Switzerland’s MD-1 press conference, with la Nati preparing to face Hungary.
Yakin commented that “it will be a very open duel with a lot of quality players on the pitch for both teams.” You can read more from the Swiss pair here.