Football news

As already reported, 35-year-old Swede Glenn Nyberg was appointed as the chief referee of the first match of the 1st round of the group stage of Euro 2024 in the group "E" Romania - Ukraine.

This referee has been officiating international matches since 2016. For all this time he has already worked 69 such matches (total at club level and at the national team level in competitions of all age categories).

Nyberg will referee a match of the Ukraine national team for the first time in his career. Moreover, this referee has been appointed only twice before for matches involving Ukrainian representatives.

In the summer of 2022, the Swede worked as the chief referee of the first match of the 2nd qualifying round of the Champions League season-2022/23 between Dynamo Kyiv and Turkish Fenerbahce (0:0). In that meeting Nyberg showed six yellow cards (3 to Dynamo players, 3 to Fenerbahce players).

And in the same season, on September 14, Nyberg served the Champions League group stage match between Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic (1:1, one yellow card).

The last time Nyberg worked at an international match was in March this year, when he served the return match of the 1/8 finals of the Europa League between Prague "Slavia" and Italian "Milan" (1-3, 6 yellow cards, one suspension).

Nyberg is considered an extremely loyal referee who allows teams to play: he shows an average of 3 yellow cards per match, and direct penalties are noted in about every 17 matches. The Swede awards penalties on average in every sixth match.

Former Ukraine midfielder Oleh Shelayev told us what he expects from the Ukrainian national team's performance at Euro 2024.

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Barcelona winger Lamin Yamal appeared in the starting lineup of the Spanish national team in the Euro 2024 group stage match against Croatia.

This game will definitely go down in the history of the tournament, as Yamal became the youngest player in the history of the European Championships. The young Spaniard was 16 years and 338 days old at the time of his appearance. The previous record belonged to Polish midfielder Kacper Kozlovski, who played at Euro 2020 at the age of 17 years and 246 days.

Former Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Dudu will continue his career at his hometown club, Cruzeiro, who have announced the signing of the 32-year-old.

Dudu was in the structure of "Cruzeiro" since the age of 10, reached the first team of the club, and in 2011 he moved to Dynamo Kyiv, a player of which he was until 2015 (for the "white-blue" Brazilian played until the end of 2013, after which he was loaned to Gremio).

After leaving Dynamo, Dudu played in his homeland for Palmeiras until recently. In 2024, the midfielder has not yet appeared on the field, as he continues to recover from a cruciate ligament injury of the knee.

Goalkeeper of the national team of Montenegro Matija Šarkić died at the age of 26. This was announced by the club of the player - English "Millwall".

According to Montenegrin media, Sharkic became ill in the night from Friday to Saturday, and at the moment there are no additional details about what caused his death.

It should be noted that the last time Šarkić was on the field recently, when on June 5 he defended the gates of the Montenegrin national team in a friendly match against Belgium (0:2) and reflected 8 out of 10 accurate shots of the opponent. In total for his professional career goalkeeper managed to spend at the club level and for national teams of different ages 140 matches.

Former Dynamo Kyiv head coach Mircea Lucescu on the eve of the match of the 1st round of the group stage of Euro-2024 Romania - Ukraine spoke about the potential of the Romanian national team and the special motivation of its opponent.

"Every team that is present at Euro-2024 has a chance to go through the groups. Napoleon said that "every soldier has a marshal's staff in his satchel". The Romanian national team has something similar, every single one of its players. We have the right to expect that any of them will become a marshal.

The most valuable thing about this Romanian national team is the team itself. After many years we are back at the European Championship, this result was achieved thanks to the common efforts. Personalities are important, but without the strength of the team behind them, they will not be able to decide the fate of the matches.

It is also good that we do not start the Euros from the position of favorites. The pressure on the team will be less.

As for the Ukraine national team, the war in that country will surely be a special motivation for the national team. Both for those who play abroad and constantly think about those who stayed at home, and, of course, for those who play in Ukraine. Believe me, it is not easy to play in the national championship, the matches of which are interrupted due to air raids, are held without spectators. And between matches - traveling only by bus. Plus there is constant fear and apprehension. And most importantly, it is not easy to play soccer knowing that your compatriots are dying somewhere," iAMSport quoted Lucescu as saying.

Romania midfielder Valentin Miheila told what he thinks about his team's prospects at Euro 2024, and touched on its rival for the first match at the tournament - the Ukraine national team.

"As for the Belgian national team, which is considered the favorite of our group, this team certainly has great players, but I think that our national team can stop any team. I am sure that we can beat anyone at this European Championship.

The match with Ukraine? The first game at such a tournament is the most important. But we have no excitement: I see our team at every training session, I see them every day at the training camp off the pitch, and I can say that we are all looking forward to the first match.

I have seen many games of the Ukraine national team, analyzed every player of this team. Ukrainians managed to qualify for Euro 2024 due to the fact that they were a united team. So I do not want to talk about any individual players of the Ukraine national team. We are somewhat similar to our opponent in the first match at the Euros: the team progress of the Ukrainian national team also had a positive impact on its game and results," Miheilä said in an interview with FRF.tv.

Translation and stylistic adaptation - Dynamo.kiev.ua, when using the material hyperlink is mandatory!

On Sunday, June 16, the next matches of the 1st round of the group stage at Euro 2024 in Germany will be played. Here is their schedule.

Group "D". 1st round

Poland - Netherlands (16:00, Hamburg, Volksparkstadion)

Group "C". 1st round

Slovenia - Denmark (19:00, Stuttgart, "MHP Arena")

Serbia - England (22:00, Gelsenkirchen, "Feltins-Arena").

The kick-off times are given in Kiev. In Ukraine, you can watch all the matches of Euro 2024 in live broadcast via the streaming service MEGOGO.

Famous commentator Igor Tsyganik shared his vision of the performance of the national team of Ukraine at Euro-2024.

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Ukraine midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko said what he thinks about his national team's prospects at Euro 2024.

"Many expect a good result from us. We have a good national team, but I do not like to make loud statements. We need to prove everything on the pitch. The pressure is always there, and now it's a little bit on a higher level. But I hope that each of us will give our all, and it will be seen by every fan.

I repeat, we have a very good national team, and we have everything to develop and grow both individually and as a team. We have a very good atmosphere, it's a pleasure to work with this coaching staff. So I don't see any reason why we can't be very successful. Our people deserve it. But for this we need to work hard, prepare as best as possible, and then we'll see what will come out of it.

We need to be as focused as possible and show our best game. There is a moment - you need to score. Otherwise you will bite your elbows later. Soccer at the national team level is very leveled, many teams show a good game. Yes, you can single out those teams that have top players, who cost 150-200 million and make the difference. But all the other teams are fighting for themselves and their countries, so it will be difficult for us with any opponent in the group," - Zinchenko quotes the official website of UEFA.

Argentina striker Lautaro Martinez thanked Lionel Messi for the opportunity to score a penalty in a 4-1 friendly against Guatemala.

"I looked at the ball and he gave it to me. I thanked him, and now I thank him publicly. This is a gesture of a great man.

He is a gentleman both on and off the field. It helps us a lot and it's very important for me personally," TyC Sports quoted him as saying.

"Brighton have announced on their official website that they have signed a contract with head coach Fabian Gürzeler.

The former Saint Pauli coach signed the agreement, which will run until June 2027.

Thus, Gürseler became the youngest coach in the history of the English Premier League, taking up the position at the age of 31.