Euro 2012 daily: Tuesday 19 June

Published on 19/06/2012 12:57

Wayne Rooney returns from his ban for England as Ukraine sweat over the fitness of Andriy Shevchenko, while France aim to finish top with a victory over Sweden.

LATEST NEWS

• Roy Hodgson is toying with the idea of handing a starting place to Theo Walcott after the Arsenal winger was passed fit. He could replace James Milner, with Wayne Rooney coming in to replace Andy Carroll. (Independent)

• Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko has been given only a 50-50 chance of being fit for tonight’s Euro 2012 Group D clash with England by his coach Oleg Blokhin. (Various)

• One look into the eyes of Wayne Rooney has convinced England captain Steven Gerrard that the striker is ready to make an impact at Euro 2012 after ending his two-game suspension. “I know Wayne quite well,” he said. “I am very close to him and I can see in his eyes that he is itching to get out there and perform.” (Scotsman)

• England manager Roy Hodgson has compared Wayne Rooney to Brazil legend Pele. He said: “If you look back through the years, if you take Pele for example, he was capable of producing his very best football when it really mattered to help Brazil win World Cups. Let’s hope that Wayne Rooney can start to do that for us on Tuesday night and then, if we win, who knows?” (Times)

• France coach Laurent Blanc has warned his players about the perils of underestimating Sweden and insisted that his team’s only focus should be on victory, rather than on winning by a wide enough margin to ensure they finish top of Group D on goal difference. (Guardian)

• Giovanni Trapattoni has hit back at claims that he was too loyal to his senior players during the Republic of Ireland’s disappointing Euro 2012 campaign. He said: “When you do your job well – until now, I think they have played well for our country, and we must have a reason. In your job, when you get old, if they gave you a pension and say: ‘Go without respect’, what would you think?” (Guardian)

• Italy’s Leonardo Bonucci has explained why he “gagged” Mario Balotelli after the Manchester City striker scored the second goal in the 2-0 victory over Ireland last night. “What he said [when he scored], he said in English and I didn’t understand,” the defender said. “So I put my hand in front of his mouth just in case, because Mario is instinctive but that is also his strength.” (Various)

TODAY’S MATCH SCHEDULE

Sweden v France

Olympic Stadium, Kiev, 7.45pm, ITV4

England v Ukraine

Donbass Arena, Donetsk, 7.45pm, ITV1

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS

Croatia 0 - 1 Spain

SUBSTITUTE Jesus Navas scored a late goal to send Spain through to the Euro 2012 quarter-finals as Group C winners but only after a mighty scare against Slaven Bilic’s unfortunate Croatia. (match report)

Italy 2 - 0 Rep of Ireland

ANTONIO Cassano and Mario Balotelli fired Italy into the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 after a tense victory over the Republic of Ireland. The AC Milan striker headed home from Andrea Pirlo’s 35th-minute corner before substitute Balotelli added a second at the death to finally kill off Ireland’s brave resistance. (match report)

ONE TO WATCH - Andriy Yarmolenko, Ukraine

With Ukraine coach Oleg Blokhin admitting that star striker Andriy Shevchenko is only a 50-50 chance of starting tonight against England, the hopes of the host nation may fall on the shoulders of his strike partner and namesake Andriy Yarmolenko. With Ukraine needing goals, the Dynamo Kiev attacker, who has been tipped to follow in the footsteps of Shevchenko to AC Milan, could be the man to test the English rearguard.

EURO FACTS

Donetsk, which hosts Ukraine’s match against England tonight, is the coal mining and steel industry base of the former Soviet country, and is twinned with Sheffield.

MEMORABLE GOAL OF EUROS PAST

Rui Costa, Portugal v England, Euro 2004

With their quarter-final hanging in the balance at 1-1, midfield maestro Rui Costa produced one of his trademark flashes of brilliance to put the hosts in the lead when he smashed the ball in off the crossbar from 20 yards. Frank Lampard did snatch an equaliser, but Portugal prevailed on penalties to reach the semi-finals.

LATEST ODDS

TOURNAMENT WINNERS

Germany 9/4

Spain 12/5

France 7/1

Portugal 15/2

TOP GOALSCORER

Mario Gomez 7/4

Cristiano Ronaldo 7/2

Fernando Torres 5/1

Cesc Fabregas 16/1

Odds from paddypower.com

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