Euro 2016: Iceland follows the footsteps of Greece

Iceland has shocked the world by beating England, the home of football, in the Euro 2016’s Round of 16. All eyes are on whether Iceland will reproduce Greece’s "underdog triumph" at Euro 2004. Iceland and Greece, the winner of Euro 2004, have many things in common.

Iceland, ranked 34th by FIFA, was considered weak among 24 teams and was given the fourth seed in the group draw. Greece, ranked 35th at that time, also received the fourth seed at Euro 2004. However, both teams finished second in the group and moved on to the next round. They also had the same number of wins in the qualifying round. Greece recorded six wins and two defeats, while Iceland recorded six wins, two draws and two defeats.

Iceland and Greece both played against Portugal in the opening group match. The two national teams also made four goals each in the three group matches. No player in their teams made two or more goals. Four players made one goal each. It is also the same that both teams were put against France in the quarterfinals.

At Euro 2004 joined by 16 teams, Greece defeated defending champion France and stunned the world to win the championship. At that time, Greece defeated Portugal in the final. If Iceland beats France on July 4, and moves onto the semifinal, it might face Portugal in the final as Greece did in 2004.

Euro 2016: Portugal qualifies for semifinals after penalty shootout win over Poland

Ricardo Quaresma scored the winning penalty moments after Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio dived to his left to save Jakub Blaszczykowski's spot kick.

Portugal have stalemated their way to the semi-finals of the European championship. If that sounds a little negative, it need not be because there is lurking in this Portuguese team the potential for flamboyance and clearly, where there is Cristiano Ronaldo, there is the possibility of more goals than they have managed in most of their outings in this competition.

They won their quarter-final on penalties against Poland, having come back from 1-0 down in only the second minute of the contest, when Robert Lewandowski, Poland’s captain, leading scorer in the qualifying phase, broke his duck in Euro 2016 itself.

The Portguese equaliser, from 18-year-old Renato Sanches, was quite a goal, but their conspicuous strength after that, once again was their defence. On a muggy night in Marseille, they tired Poland with strangulation at the back. Up front, Ronaldo had an off night.

He has compiled a few of those in France over the last three weeks, but he struck a successful first spot-kick when, at 1-1 after 120 minutes, spot-kicks decided the outcome. Portugal converted all five of theirs, poor Jakob Blaszczykowski saw his come back off the left hand of Rui Patricio.

Blaszczykowski has been Poland’s player of the tournament in many eyes; penalties are cruel. Switzerland can tell Poland all about that, and there will be a few Swiss, who were beaten on a shoot-out in the previous round, who will remember how ungraciously the Poles celebrated that win five days earlier.

So Portugal stand 180 minutes from winning the European Championship. They have yet to be ahead after 90 minutes in any of the five games they have played in France. You might call that luck. It is austere but not that efficient. They looked whacked at the end of their second two-hour contest — they beat Croatia late in extra-time last Saturday — on the trot.

Their brightest moment, apart from the five impeccable spot-kicks had come two hours before Ricardo Quaresma converted their winning penalty. It was the Renato goal. The teenager came into the tournament having claimed one thing off Cristiano Ronaldo, and come the crisis of Portugal’s early setback, he was ready not to bow to the authority of his captain.

Sanches has undercut Ronaldo’s record of precociousness — Ronaldo had been the youngest Portuguese to appear at a European Championship when he took part in the opening match of Euro 2004 — by making his first appearance in this event at 18 years and 301 days old; and after half an hour of his first start of the competition, he paid no attention to Ronaldo, who was making towards the far post and gesturing for a pass there.

Renato, ball at his feet, glimpsed Ronaldo’s run, but saw Nani making a more enterprising move across the Polish defence. Renato, approaching the edge of the penalty area, slipped the ball to Nani.

Nani gave it him back, via a backheel, to the surprise of everybody, except, apparently the cool-headed Sanches: a touch with his right foot, a rocket with his left. He had chosen his spot superbly, powering a drive beyond the reach of Lukasz Fabianski’s left palm.

Everybody in the Portugal camp, talks of Renato’s fearlessness. “It doesn’t matter how old he is," said Ricardo Carvalho, the defender, a colleague more than twice Renato’s age. “When he comes onto the pitch, he is a man, and he brings with him intensity." Soon after he had scored, he was driving goalwards again, his surge snuffed out by Krzysztof Maczynski

Explosions hit main airport in Istanbul (Κonstantinopolis), several wounded

Two explosions hit Istanbul's main international airport on Tuesday, wounding several people, a Turkish official said, in what appeared to be the latest in a string of attacks in Turkey's biggest city this year.

The blasts hit Istanbul Ataturk, Turkey's largest airport and a major transport hub for international travelers. Witnesses also reported hearing gunshots.

The official said there had been two blasts and multiple injuries, without giving further details. Pictures posted on social media from the site showed wounded people lying on the ground inside and outside one of the terminal buildings.

Broadcaster CNN Turk said Turkish officials suspected that suicide bombers were behind the attack but there was no official confirmation of this.

Footage from broadcasters, including CNN Turk, showed ambulances rushing to the scene. One witness told CNN Turk that gunfire was heard from the car park at the airport. Taxis were ferrying wounded people from the airport, the witness said.

Turkey has suffered a spate of bombings this year, including two suicide attacks in tourist areas of Istanbul blamed on Islamic State, and two car bombings in the capital, Ankara, which were claimed by a Kurdish militant group.

In the most recent attack, a car bomb ripped through a police bus in central Istanbul during the morning rush hour, killing 11 people and wounding 36 near the main tourist district, a major university and the mayor's office.

Turkey, which is part of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, is also fighting Kurdish militants in its largely Kurdish southeast.

England Under-21 coach Gareth Southgate Tipped to Replace Roy Hodgson

England Under-21 coach Gareth Southgate is the early favourite of a not very long list of mooted candidates to replace Roy Hodgson as coach ofEngland following their embarrassing exit at Euro 2016.

Having flirted with foreign coaches such as Sven-Goran Eriksson and then autocratic Italian Fabio Capello before bringing in the vastly-experienced Hodgson, the Football Association (FA) are likely to go for an Englishman if the bookies are to be believed.

However, the list is not very long and of the Englishmen mentioned not one has won a trophy which hardly augurs well in rebuilding the morale of a side that lost 2-1 in such abject fashion to minnows Iceland on Monday -- a defeat likened to the shock loss to the largely amateur USA at the 1950 World Cup.

Southgate -- perhaps best known for missing a penalty in the Euro 1996 semi-final penalty shoot-out against Germany at Wembley -- restored some of his reputation with victory at the prestigious Toulon tournament last month having had a disappointing European U-21 campaign last year.

The 45-year-old -- who has been in charge of the U-21 side since 2013 -- has managed just one club Middlesbrough whom he kept in the Premier League for two seasons before they were relegated in the 2008/09 campaign.

Southgate is now 6/4 favourite with the bookies having been 6/1 on Monday night once Hodgson's assistant, former Manchester United star Gary Neville, also resigned in the wake of the Iceland defeat.

Others in the frame include the combative Alan Pardew, who guided Crystal Palace to the FA Cup final last term, losing 2-1 to Manchester United in extra-time. However, with no silverware in his cabinet over his career as a manager and his straight-talking he may not fit the FA's ideal image of the England manager, although Hodgson could have been in public anyway too mild-mannered.

The young hope is Eddie Howe, who has impressed at Bournemouth, the 38-year-old taking them into the Premier League for the first time in their history and retaining their status last season. However, by the same token his inexperience at the top level may mark him out as one to watch for the future.

Former England captain Alan Shearer has indicated he would like a go but his sole experience at managerial level is an unhappy spell at his beloved Newcastle United.

Scotsman David Moyes and Northern Irishman Brendan Rodgers have also been mentioned, but the former has not flourished since early promise at Everton -- Manchester United and Real Sociedad being notable failures -- whilst Rodgers has just taken over the reins at Scottish champions Celtic.

Perhaps the man that a few years ago England and the FA would have yearned for, Arsenal's longserving Frenchman Arsene Wenger, still figures on the bookies lists but the feeling is largely his time has passed and would he at 66 really want to take on the extraordinary pressure that the job brings.

Sexiest and Hot Fans of Copa America 2016

EURO 2016: Italy knocks out Spain

Before the European Championships began, some pundits declared that this edition of the Italian national team was “the worst ever” sent to the tournament.

It may be time to reconsider that notion.

Italy topped Group E and found itself matched up against the two-time defending champions, Spain, in Monday’s Round of 16 match.

The Azzurri used Antonio Conte’s 3-5-2 formation to perfection to stymie the Spanish short-passing attack in a convincing 2-0 victory at the Stade de France.

“I knew the lads had something in them that was outside the ordinary. I said it before, because it’s easy to say that afterwards,” Antonio Conte said after the match. “The lads were remarkable. Now we have to recover, as there’s another very tough game against Germany, but we proved that Italy are not about Catenaccio.”

Catenaccio means door-bolt in Italian, and it’s a word used to describe a defense-first brand of soccer often associated with Italian sides. The win against Spain featured plenty of defense for Italy, coupled with some lethal counter attacking.

It was a free kick that finally unlocked the Spanish defense in the first half, as Eder powered a free kick towards David De Gea. The Manchester United man saved it, but the rebound found its way to Giorgio Chiellini, who bundled it over the line for the game’s opening goal.

While some will fault De Gea for the goal, without his heroics, Italy may have been two or three goals up before halftime.

It was a first half that saw Spain manage only a 53-47 percent edge in possession, as it struggled to put passes together against Conte’s swarming defense.

The defending champions picked up the pace in the second half, forcing Italian keeper Gigi Buffon into a couple of decent saves. But, as they chased the game in the closing moments, Italy caught the Spanish on the counter for the game’s other goal.

The win for Italy over Spain was the first in a competitive match since the 1994 World Cup, and it sets up a date with Germany Saturday in Bordeaux.

Euro 2016 : Iceland shock England

England were dealt a humiliating 2-1 defeat by minnows Iceland on Monday as Roy Hodgson’s side crashed out of Euro 2016 in one of the most stunning upsets in the history of the game. Ragnar Sigurdsson cancelled out Wayne Rooney’s fourth-minute opener before Kolbeinn Sigthorsson’s tame shot squirmed past England goalkeeper Joe Hart for an 18th-minute winner. 

Three days on from Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, England followed the country’s lead by exiting Europe, their quest for a first title since the 1966 World Cup doomed to continue. It ranked alongside their 1-0 loss to the part-timers of the United States at the 1950 World Cup and sent Iceland, appearing at their first major tournament, into a glamour quarter-final with hosts France. England manager Roy Hodgson is now almost certain to lose his job, with Football Association chairman Greg Dyke having said recently that the team would have to “do well” in France for him to be offered a new contract. Ironically, Hodgson’s fate was sealed by his former protege Lars Lagerback — Iceland’s joint coach alongside Heimir Hallgrimsson — who began his coaching career under the Englishman’s tutelage in Sweden in the late 1970s. As expected, Hodgson made six changes to his starting XI at a muggy Stade de Nice, which included a recall for Raheem Sterling. The Manchester City forward was criticised for some insipid group-stage displays, but he made an excellent start, racing onto Daniel Sturridge’s fine pass and drawing a foul from Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson. Rooney planted the penalty into the bottom-left corner to crown his 115th England appearance — which tied David Beckham’s record for an outfield player — with a 53rd international goal. – Attacking changes – Remarkably, his side’s lead was to last only 34 seconds. Hodgson had warned of the dangers of Aron Gunnarsson’s long throw-ins prior to the game, but from the Iceland captain’s right-wing missile, Kari Arnason headed the ball on and Sigurdsson charged in behind a dosing Kyle Walker to volley home from close range. It drew a roar from the blue-shirted fans in the Iceland end and after Dele Alli and Harry Kane had fired narrowly over for England, they were screaming with disbelief in the 18th minute. Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson worked the ball to Sigthorsson and with England’s defenders standing off, the Nantes striker rolled a shot goal-wards that Hart could only palm into his bottom-left corner. Having also allowed a Gareth Bale free-kick to squirm past him in the 2-1 win over Wales, it was the City goalkeeper’s second major blunder of the tournament. Kane threatened to provide an immediate riposte with a stinging volley that was brilliantly palmed over by Halldorsson, but in the main Hodgson’s men were reduced to long-range potshots. Hodgson made two attacking changes — Jack Wilshere replacing Eric Dier at half-time, Jamie Vardy taking Sterling’s place on the hour — but despite their firepower, there was no craft whatsoever to England’s approach play. Had Ragnar Sigurdsson’s overhead bicycle kick not flown straight at Hart early in the second half, meanwhile, England would have had a mountain to climb. But Sigthorsson’s goal was to prove enough, with Alli hooking over and Kane heading straight at Halldorsson before the final whistle brought England’s players to their knees and sent the Iceland bench tearing onto the pitch in celebration.

COPA AMERICA: Chile beats Argentina in shootout penaltys to win Copa America again

After last year’s thriller in Chile, it was only fitting that the 2016 Copa America Centenario final would be decided by penalty kicks.

Claudio Bravo played hero for Chile once again on Sunday, defeating rivals Argentina 0-0 (4-2 on penalty kicks). Francisco Silva netted the final penalty attempt for the Chileans, giving them their second straight Copa America title.

Arturo Vidal had Chile’s first attempt saved by keeper Sergio Romero, before Lionel Messi skied his effort into the crowd to open the shootout.

The game’s first quality chance came in the 21st minute, when Gary Medel‘s mistake at the back led to a Gonzalo Higuain breakaway. The Napoli striker found his way in on goal, chipped the ball past Bravo but missed just wide. Medel, trying to make up for his mistake, came crashing into the post as the ball traveled out of play.

From there, the game took a drastic dip in chances, as referee Heber Lopes stole the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Chile’s chances of repeating took a massive hit just before the half hour mark, when Marcelo Diaz received his second yellow card in a span of 12 minutes, reducing La Roja to 10 men for the remainder of the match. However, Argentina was forced to play with 10 players as well, after Marcos Rojo was sent off just prior to halftime.

Opportunities in front of goal were scarce throughout regulation, with three combined shots on net from Chile and Argentina during the 90 minutes

Euro 2016: Euro 2016: Germany defeated Slovakia 3-0 in their Round of 16 match in Lille

Jerome Boateng scored his first international goal to set Germany on their way to a 3-0 win against Slovakia at Euro 2016 on Sunday as the world champions cruised into the quarter-finals.

Boateng opened his account eight minutes into his 63rd international appearance and Joachim Low’s side never looked back against outclassed opponents.

Mesut Ozil had a penalty saved soon after but Julian Draxler set up Mario Gomez to double the lead two minutes before half-time and the impressive Draxler then completed the scoring just after the hour mark.

There was never any threat of a repeat of Slovakia’s 3-1 win when the teams met in a friendly just four weeks ago and Germany move on to a last-eight tie against either reigning champions Spain or old rivals Italy next weekend.

Low had been unhappy with his team’s finishing during the group stage and he opted to drop the underperforming Mario Gotze as Draxler, ofWolfsburg, started in the only change from their 1-0 win against Northern Ireland.

Slovakia have a recent history of pulling off surprise results, from their defeat of Spain in qualifying to the recent friendly victory in Germany and the goalless draw with England that saw them progress from the group stage.

But their hopes of another day to remember were rapidly nipped in the bud by the world champions, who underlined their credentials and sent a clear message to their Euro rivals.

Sami Khedira was first to threaten with a header from a Toni Kroos free-kick that was tipped over by Slovakian keeper Matus Kozacik, and from the corner that followed Germany were in front.

Kroos’ delivery from the German left was headed out by Milan Skriniar but the ball fell for Boateng on the edge of the box and the Bayern Munichstopper met it on the volley, finding the bottom-left corner with the aid of a small deflection off the unfortunate Skriniar.

Slovakia were overwhelmed and they conceded a penalty in the 13th minute when skipper Martin Skrtel grappled with Gomez as the two went for a high ball in the box.

Skrtel was booked for his intervention, but Slovakia were let off the hook as Ozil’s kick was well saved by Kozacik diving to his left.

Excluding shoot-outs, it was the first penalty missed by a German player in a European Championship finals match.

The miss did nothing to halt Germany’s momentum, though, and it remained one-way traffic after that with Ozil fizzing a half-volley inches past as the ball dropped after Gomez and Jan Durica had gone up to contest another cross into the area.

Draxler shot wide on the turn from 18 yards before Jan Kozak’s side finally worked Manuel Neuer four minutes prior to the break.

Peter Pekarik’s cross from the right found AC Milan midfielder Juraj Kucka six yards from goal but his header was tipped over the bar by the Germany captain.

And Germany went on to increase their lead two minutes after that as Draxler combined with Jonas Hector down the left before heading for the byline and cutting the ball back for Gomez to finish at the near post.

Any hope of a contest in the second half depended on Slovakia quickly pulling a goal back but a neat 49th-minute move ended with Marek Hamsik – otherwise nullified as a threat – teeing up Kucka for a shot that went straight to Neuer.

And, if there were any lingering doubts about the outcome, Germany put the game to bed on 63 minutes, Mats Hummels heading down a corner for Draxler, who volleyed in at the back post to get the goal his performance deserved.

Euro 2016 :Eden Hazard orchestrates Belgian masterclass

Belgium produced their best performance of Euro 2016 to power into the quarter-finals with a convincing 4-0 win over Hungary.

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Toby Alderweireld set up victory with an early header before the brilliant Eden Hazard teed-up substitute Michy Batshuayi for the second after 78 minutes and then scored a superb solo goal himself.

Yannick Carrasco wrapped up victory in Toulouse in injury-time.

After some disjointed performances earlier in the tournament, this was a display that marked out the highly-rated Belgium as serious contenders in France.

Hungary did trouble them in spells, but they were generally outclassed.

Belgium went straight onto the offensive with the impressive Kevin de Bruyne, revelling in a central role behind Romelu Lukaku, shooting wide after four minutes.

De Bruyne linked superbly with Lukaku throughout and the Everton striker twice went close early on after being played in by the Manchester City man.

Hungary goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly kept out one of them and he also blocked another De Bruyne shot before the opener came.

Again De Bruyne was the key figure, swinging in a curling free-kick that Alderweireld rose above Lukaku to head powerfully past Kiraly.

Hungary tried to tighten up and they did launch some sporadic attacks, with Balasz Dzsudzsak getting in one shot at Thibaut Courtois, but Belgium remained on the front foot.

De Bruyne headed at Kiraly from a Lukaku cross and then forced a brilliant save from Kiraly from a free-kick, with the former Crystal Palace goalkeeper tipping onto the crossbar.

The wider forwards, Hazard and Dries Mertens, were also heavily involved in the attacks and the former teed-up the latter but again Kiraly produced a good save.

Belgium were almost caught out when Gergo Lovrenesics thundered a fierce drive just over but normal service seemed to be resumed when Hazard tested Kiraly after a powerful run straight after the break.

But Hungary, summoning the spirit of their dramatic 3-3 draw with Portugal, fought back and worried Belgium for a spell.

Adam Szalai shot over and Courtois needed to back-pedal to push over a deflected effort from Adam Pinter. Roland Juhasz then twice went close as he flashed a low shot across goal after a free-kick found its way to him on the right and he headed a corner wide.

Belgium decided to send on Batshuayi for Lukaku and it paid instant dividends, although his goal owed much to the brilliance of Hazard.

Hazard lost his man on the left with a superb change of pace and his low ball into the box presented Batshuayi with an unmissable chance in front of goal.

Hazard was not finished there and went even better two minutes later, easing past defenders as he cut in from the left and then curled a low shot inside the far post from 18 yards.

In those two moments the game was won and Hazard was taken off to a huge ovation shortly afterwards.

Hungary might have had a consolation in the last minute but Courtois saved from Akos Elek and Belgium broke upfield to score again with Carrasco racing on to a Radja Nainggolan pass to tuck home the fourth.

EURO 2016: Antoinete Griezmann double ensures France survive scare to reach Euro quarters

A second half double from Antoine Griezmann allowed France to survive a huge scare against 10-man Ireland and fight back to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 thanks to a 2-1 win in Lyon Sunday.

Griezmann headed home a 58th minute equalizer to get a previously uninspired France back on level terms and then guided home the winner three minutes later. Ireland's Shane Duffy was red carded in 66 for hauling down Griezmann as he broke clear in search of his hat-trick.

Ireland had taken a second minute lead when Paul Pogba was deemed to have tripped Shane Long and Robbie Brady - whose late goal against Italy carried Ireland into the knock-out stage - converted from the spot.

France face the winner of Iceland v England in the quarter-finals in St Denis on Sunday.

A packed Stade de Lyon welcomed France onto the field with the handful of Ireland fans - a mere 5,000 in a capacity 56,000 crowd - stood out brightly in their block of green surrounded by blue.

And it was the minority who were celebrating after seconds when France failed to clear an attack down the left and Pogba brought down Long from behind as he chased a loose ball.

Referee Nicola Rizzoli pointed to the spot and after calm was restored, Brady found the net in emphatic style by firing in off the post with keeper Hugo Lloris going the wrong way. UEFA said the goal was the second-fastest at a Euro finals.

France responded immediately and brilliant work by Pogba, looking to atone for his error, produced a cross for Griezmann to head over.

But until the last minute of the half that was the only chance France created against the superbly marshalled Ireland defence. Finally Dimitri Payet had a sight of goal but, in a terrific scramble, he had two shots blocked before a third challenge denied Griezmann.

In between Ireland soaked up pressure and posed problems for the shaky France defence on the break when they could. Lloris produced the save of the half to tip away a clever hooked half-volley from Daryl Murphy.

Rizzoli flashed his yellow card to France pair N'Golo Kante and Adil Rami meaning they are ruled out of the quarter-final.

France coach Didier Deschamps introduced Kingsley Coman for Kante at the break and his fired-up side immediately created a chance as Laurent Koscielny headed wide from a set piece.

Ireland seemed to have weathered the storm and when France levelled it was out of the blue. They finally found a quality cross into the box from Bacary Sagna and Griezmann sent an unstoppable header past Randolph.

By the 61st minute France had turned the game completely as the Ireland defence flocked to Olivier Giroud who towered to win a header and set up Griezmann for a simple finish past Randolph.

Giroud again fed Griezmann to get behind the Ireland defence but with a hat-trick beckoning, he was denied on the edge of the box by a cynical foul from Duffy which saw him dismissed.

Andre-Pierre Gignac curled onto the bar and Randolph made a string of saves as France tried to make the game safe but with a man less Ireland were unable to threaten an equalizer.

And Randolph made one final save in injury-time to deny Griezmann his hat-trick again.

COPA AMERICA: Colombia finish 3rd, beat USA 1-0

Carlos Bacca scored the only goal as Colombia defeated the United States 1-0 to clinch third place in the Copa America Centenario on Saturday.

Bacca, 29, bundled home the winner on 31 minutes, nudging in from close range to settle a hard-fought contest.

The US, beaten 4-0 by Argentina in the semi-finals on Tuesday, rallied desperately to get back into the game but ultimately were frustrated by some superb goalkeeping from David Ospina.

It was the second time the US had been beaten by Colombia in this tournament. The Colombians also defeated them 2-0 in the tournament’s opening match.

US coach Jurgen Klinsmann had blamed his side for being “too nice" against Argentina in the semi-finals, when they failed to register a single shot either on or off target.

However they were unlucky not to score during an entertaining game in Arizona.

Colombia had gone closest to scoring first, Real Madrid star James Rodriguez being denied by a fine Tim Howard save on 12 minutes.

Rodriguez was the architect for Colombia’s goal just after the half hour mark, chipping a wonderful pass into the path of Santiago Arias, who headed across the six yard box for Bacca to score.

The US responded gamely to the setback however, with Jermaine Jones almost equalising when his low shot deflected off Arias and just missed the target.

Seattle Sounders veteran Clint Dempsey, arguably the best US player of the tournament, had another good game but was unable to add to his Copa tally of three goals and three assists.

Dempsey almost laid on a goal for Hamburg’s Bobby Wood, but the Bundesliga-based striker was unable to get his shot away cleanly.

Dempsey produced the best American chance of the second half, with his long-range curling free-kick drawing a brilliant save from Ospina, clawing the ball away one-handed as it rocketed towards the top corner.

US coach Klinsmann later bemoaned his team’s inability to finish off any of the several chances created throughout.

“Ultimately they were clinical," Klinsmann told reporters.

“They took their one chance in the first half – we couldn’t take ours. There were enough chances for us to put one in but we just weren’t clinical enough and the players know that."

However Klinsmann was satisfied with what he described as a successful campaign.

“The players realised tonight that if they raise the level of commitment and aggressiveness they can compete with these kinds of teams," Klinsmann said.

“Getting in the final four of such a huge competition is a wonderful achievement and they should be very proud of themselves."

The final of the Copa America takes place on Sunday, with Argentina facing Chile in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Euro 2016:Wales bring Northern Ireland’s Euro 2016 adventure to an end

Northern Ireland’s vivid, dramatic Euro 2016 adventure came to an end in Paris in a manner undeserving of what Michael O’Neill’s inspired and inspiring squad have contributed to the competition.

Gareth McAuley, who scored that soaring header in Lyon against Ukraine to set up the three points that took the North into the last 16, scored a 75th minute own goal, diverting a Gareth Bale cross past the helpless Michael McGovern.

The tiring Irish were on the back foot for the first time in a game they were better in from the first minute.

Aggressive, skilful and committed, Wales were confronted with a team in the true sense. The talents of Bale and Aaron Ramsey did not fully blossom at any time but Ramsey in particular emerged in the second half.

On the final whistle O’Neill could not conceal his disappointment and it was both telling and touching that when the Irish players walked back towards the tunnel that they were given an ovation from Chris Coleman’s staff.

O’Neill’s Northern Ireland have much to be proud of.

O’Neill made one change from the XI who started here against Germany four days ago. That was Kyle Lafferty for Conor Washington. Anticipated other tweaks such as Chris Baird coming back into midfield to patrol in front of the back four did not happen.

When the game kicked off it was apprarent that Corry Evans had that task, in a 4-4-2 formation. But this was fluid - just like Bale - and Stuart Dallas would quickly drop back to help Jonny Evans on the left. That made it a back five.

Wales, who had one day more rest, kept the same team that had glided by Russia in what was seen as the best Welsh performance in years, perhaps decades.

But it was the Irish who started better. And they kept it up. That “intensity of spirit” O’Neill speaks of was again obvious, though maybe “controlled” should preface it.

With Lafferty joined by Jamie Ward in attack, the two pressed the Wales back three. Bale and Ramsey can only prosper if they have the ball and the clear aim was to shut down the supply line to the danger men in red.

The tone set by Lafferty and Ward was matched by Corry Evans, Oliver Norwood and Steven Davis in midfield.

Behind them Jonny Evans was getting as close to Bale as fast and as often as possible. Evans has had a marvellous tournament. He looks like the kind of defender Manchester United should buy.

It was his brother Corry who initiated the game’s first chance, nicking the ball off Joe Ledley in the Irish final third. There were 70 yards to goal but via Davis, Lafferty, and Ward the ball came to Dallas whose left-foot shot on the run was palmed away by Wayne Hennessey.

That was the tenth minute. This was promising. Twelve minutes later a Ward shot was tipped over by Hennessey, then Lafferty floated a header over. Northern Ireland were the better team.

Wales did get the ball in the Irish net - a Ramsey flick - but he was well offside.

Coleman’s team were struggling to find previous fluency. Passes were being knocked into touch. Bale still possessed the potential to worry but Ramsey was a vague presence and Joe Allen was unable to dictate the midfield.

The one downside for the Irish was Dallas’s yellow card - collected for a minimal foul on Bale.

The question for O’Neill at half-time was if his players could maintain this effort.

The immediate answer was: yes. The second half began as the first had, with Northern Ireland pushing on, winning free-kicks and corners and pressurising Wales. To O’Neill’s irritation on the touchline the deliveries were unusually short of their normal accuracy.

Wales, meanwhile, were playing their way slowly back into a contest they thought they would be controlling.

There was a 53rd minute header from Sam Vokes that was sent wide when it should have hit the target; then Bale ‘won’ a free-kick 25 yards out. The Real Madrid winger took it but Michael McGovern, the Hamilton Academical keeper, saved it.

It was a sign of things to come. Now Ramsey, dropping deeper, was beginning to grow and it was the Arsenal midfielder who created the goal.

First Ramsey probed forward and found Vokes’ replacement Hal Robson-Kanu on the edge of the area. The ball was returned to Ramsey who slid it wide to Bale on the left. Bale, in space at last, wrapped that great left foot around the ball and sent a speeding low cross into McGovern’s six-yard box.

McAuley, back-tracking and with Robson-Kanu behind him, had to intervene. Unfortunately McAuley’s touch took the ball in. It was over and it was harsh way to end.

EURO 2016: Shaqiri stunner not enough as Poland hold nerve

Poland reached their first-ever European Championship quarter-final with a penalty shoot-out victory over Switzerland.

A Jakub Blaszczykowski strike had looked to be enough in normal time for Poland only for Stoke’s Xherdan Shaqiri to make it 1-1 with a tremendous athletic volley to send the game into extra-time.

With no winning goal found, the tie was decided on penalties with new Arsenal signing Granit Xhaka missing and Sevilla’s Grzegorz Krychowiakhammering home the winning penalty as Poland scored all five efforts.

Poland should have been ahead inside 30 seconds when Swiss goalkeeperYann Sommer bowled the ball out to Johan Djourou who passed it back across his box, only for Robert Lewandowski to pounce.

Sommer did enough to nick the ball off the toe of the Bayern Munich forward but it fell to Arkadiusz Milik, who could only fire over the crossbar with the goal at his mercy.

The game lacked any real quality and Poland missed another good chance when Krychowiak headed over a corner just before the half-hour mark when completely free inside the box.

Moments later Kamil Grosicki and Milik wasted further good chances for Poland, with Switzerland getting a rare effort on goal but Fabian Schar’s header was easily saved by Lukasz Fabianski.

The Swansea stopper was then forced to tip a deflected Blerim Dzemaili strike behind for a corner from which Poland broke forward to open the scoring.

With six minutes to go before the break, Grosicki led a counter-attack which was swept home by Blaszczykowski to give Adam Nawalka’s side a deserved half-time lead.

Shaqiri looked to give Switzerland a strong start to the second half as he burst into the box before seeing his cross cleared behind, with Poland defender Michal Pazdan almost turning the resulting corner into his own goal.

Blaszczykowski came close to adding a second as he cut inside before hammering in an effort which Sommer pushed away.

Switzerland began to push forward and Fabianski made a great save from Ricardo Rodriguez’s free-kick as Poland continued to defend their clean sheet.

Haris Seferovic had been very quiet in attack for the Swiss but he came close to levelling as his effort from 12 yards crashed against the crossbar.

Their change of emphasis finally paid off as Shaqiri’s acrobatic scissor-kick from the edge of the box beat Fabianski to equalise with eight minutes remaining.

Neither side could find a winner in the closing stages with some players showing signs of tiredness as referee Mark Clattenburg blew the full-time whistle to signal a period of extra-time.

The first 15 minutes of extra-time followed suit as there were no clear-cut chances for either side and Fabianski again made a good save in the second period, pushing out substitute Eren Derdiyok’s effort after he had been found by the impressive Shaqiri.

No winning goal was forthcoming and the first round of 16 tie was decided on penalties, with captain Stephan Lichtsteiner tucking away the opener for Switzerland.

Poland skipper Lewandowski was next and converted with aplomb before new Arsenal signing Xhaka blazed wide.

Milik put Poland in charge despite Sommer getting a hand to his kick, with Shaqiri scoring next for the Swiss.

Kamil Glik, Schar and Blaszczykowski all scored to put the pressure on Rodriguez, with the full-back tucking his spot-kick away only for Krychowiak to bury the decider and take Poland through.

Euro 2016:Late extra-time goal sees Portugal through in dour Lens affair

Substitute Ricardo Quaresma put Portugal into the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 with the only goal three minutes from the end of extra time.

It was the first time either goalkeeper had been remotely threatened by either side who both struggled to create chances and the fact the Portuguese are into the last eight having not yet won a match in 90 minutes speaks volumes about the quality on show.

Cristiano Ronaldo cut a peripheral figure throughout until a quick counter-attack immediately after Ivan Perisic headed against the foot of a post saw his shot — the first on target all evening was saved by Daniel Subasic only to pop up to Quaresma two yards out.

Even the goal had an element of luck as it looked like it was a mis-hit shot from Nani which fortuitously found its way to Ronaldo, who put in yet another disappointing performance at this tournament.

He managed just 19 touches in the first half — none in Croatia’s penalty area — and that was symptomatic of the opening 45 minutes which saw Pepe head over a Joao Mario free-kick and Perisic fire into the side-netting.

There was little improvement after the break as Marcelo Brozovic fired over from quickly-taken corner after Portugal’s defence switched off and Domagoj Vida headed wide a Darijo Srna free-kick.

Even in extra-time there was little ambition with Perisic volleying wide a Luka Modric cross and Vida heading over a corner.

The match turned on 30 seconds in the dying moments as Perisic headed against the upright and Portugal launched an attack up field.

Renato Sanches carried it forward, offloaded to Nani, becoming the fourth Portugal player to win 100 caps, whose toe-poked effort seemed to be an intended shot but somehow found its way to Ronaldo at the far post.

His strike rebounded off Subasic to present Quaresma with the easiest of chances.

Croatia had one last chance to force penalties but Vida hooked a shot across the goal and wide of the far post.