Europe

MIDDLESBROUGH, England - A makeshift England side beat Romania 1-0 in their final Euro 2020 warm-up game on Sunday as Marcus Rashford converted a 68th-minute penalty after manager Gareth Southgate made nine changes to the team that beat Austria by the same score on Wednesday.

Rashford left Florin Niță rooted to his line with a perfectly taken spot kick after Tiberiu Căpuşă brought down Jack Grealish but the Romanian goalkeeper did well 10 minutes later when he saved a Jordan Henderson penalty.

England will continue to take a knee during the European Championship and ignore any "adverse reaction" to taking part in the anti-racism gesture, manager Gareth Southgate said on Saturday.

Boos could be heard from sections of the crowd at the Riverside Stadium when players took the knee before England's friendly win over Austria on Wednesday.

A year late and thousands of fans short, Euro 2020 is finally here, and we couldn’t have asked for a more intriguing match to kick off the competition. After a year of uncertainty, the opening match is just as unpredictable as the 16 months that preceded it. Any Italy vs Turkey preview or prediction is mere speculation, as the Euro 2020’s first match is sure to enthrall.

Olympique Lyonnais, one of the best sports dynasties ever, has been dethroned. 

After 14 straight D1 Féminine titles — which coincided with seven Champions League crowns — Lyon will end the 2020-21 season without either trophy, a remarkable end to one of the most dominant teams we’ve ever seen.

It's been a pretty good couple of days for the social media team over at Glasgow-based soccer club Partick Thistle.

First, they made a brilliant signing-announcement video that combined the song "Breakfast at Tiffany's" by 90s one-hit-wonder Deep Blue Something along with a spliced message from manager Ian McCall, which went viral to the tune of 25,000 likes on Twitter.

pic.twitter.com/NXZcjiAZzH

ANKARA — A Turkish court on Friday sentenced a media executive and a former police chief to more than 1,000 years each in prison for conspiring to bring match-fixing charges against top soccer club Fenerbahçe.

Fenerbahçe's president was jailed for match-fixing a decade ago and the club was barred from playing in European competitions for two seasons, but the case was reopened after prosecutors said it was founded on a conspiracy.

ROME - Inter Milan did not think they would need to replace Antonio Conte this year, but in successor Simone Inzaghi, they hope to have found a natural heir.

Conte terminated his deal by mutual consent in May over frustration at Inter's plans to cut costs and sell key players due to financial problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

England coach Gareth Southgate said some fans do not understand the message behind players taking a knee before matches after the gesture was booed ahead of Wednesday's 1-0 friendly win over Austria.

Around 7,000 fans were at Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium for the Euro 2020 warm-up and jeers could be heard from sections of the crowd before they were drowned out by applause from other supporters.

Up until France’s 4-2 victory over Croatia in the final of the 2018 World Cup, Les Bleus were criticized for playing with the sort of pragmatic control that wins you titles but few admirers. 

Half of the front four (Olivier Giroud and Blaise Matuidi) were employed in yeoman’s work, while the left flank of Lucas Hernandez, N'Golo Kanté and Matuidi was there to destroy any fleeting moments of opposition joy.