Europe

Switzerland ran out of gas in a shootout defeat to Spain in the Euro 2020 quarterfinals on Friday. The Swiss had two tame penalties saved and a third blasted into the stands as Spain won the shootout 3-1 after a 1-1 draw in regulation. But take nothing away from the performance of goalkeeper Yann Sommer, who valiantly gave Switzerland a chance with nine saves. 

Germany midfielder Toni Kroos has announced his retirement from international football after his team's exit from the European Championship, the 31-year-old said on Instagram.

Kroos' announcement came three days after Germany were beaten 2-0 by England in the last 16 of Euro 2020 at Wembley.

In football, as in life, sometimes it's better to be lucky than to be good. And if you were a decent French-speaking footballer in the first half of the 2010s, there was a chance that Newcastle United's bulging pocket book and obsession with Ligue 1 players would make you a very rich man.

The "French Revolution" began after Newcastle's Premier League promotion in 2010, as the club signed French winger Hatem Ben Arfa and Ivorian holding midfielder Cheick Tioté. Ben Arfa and Tioté were just two of the 20+ French-speaking players Newcastle signed over the next half-decade.

This could be the most underrated quarterfinal game of Euro 2020. Denmark and the Czech Republic have surpassed all expectations and have nothing to lose. The Danes have outscored their opponents 8-0 in the past two games and are a runaway train that no one can stop. Meanwhile, the Czechs have become the dark horse of the tournament and have no intentions of bowing out anytime soon. Read on for our Denmark vs Czech Republic prediction, preview and guide.

After defeating Germany in the Round of 16, England appears to have a clear shot to the Euro 2020 Final. Nothing is for certain just yet. The Three Lions will have to play their first game away from Wembley Stadium when they face Ukraine in the quarterfinals. Can Ukraine pull off the ultimate upset? Read on for our England vs Ukraine prediction, preview and guide.

Spain and Switzerland advanced from two of the most exciting matches we’ve seen in years on Monday. Now both have to refocus on the quarterfinal with just three days of rest. The18’s Spain vs Switzerland prediction, preview and how-to-watch guide will have you ready to find out if the Swiss can pull off another memorable upset, or if Spain continues to grow into this tournament. 

For all of our Euro 2020 quarterfinal predictions, click here.

The Euro 2020 quarterfinal between Belgium and Italy on Friday is full of intrigue. Romelu Lukaku goes up against friends and foes from Serie A. The Italian defense is once again looking like an Italian defense, with Gianluigi Donnarumma taking the torch from Gianluigi Buffon. Thorgan Hazard has stepped out of the shadow of his older brother Eden. Italians are pushing for Jorginho to win the Ballon d’Or. And, of course, we have a coaching rematch from the 2013 FA Cup Final. All of these facets will weigh heavily on our Belgium vs Italy prediction and preview.

The18’s renowned data scientist introduced the team to an API (application programming interface) that gave predictions for games in the European Championship. We naturally took that as a challenge to see if we could predict the outcomes of games better than the algorithm. We’ll show the results from the Round of 16 before sharing our Euro 2020 quarterfinal predictions.

Five of our staff, including Grant the data scientist, took the challenge to outsmart the algorithm. After eight games in the Round of 16, this is what the leaderboard looks like.

The England winger Jadon Sancho, the great hope and star of British soccer, is leaving his club Borussia Dortmund to join Manchester United in the English Premier League. This was announced on Thursday by the German club, which revealed that the Jadon Sancho transfer fee was about $100 million, a record figure for this summer market.

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We have agreed a deal in principle for the transfer of Jadon Sancho to United! ⚪⚫#MUFC