Stuttgart, July 6 (IANS) In what has been the biggest upset so far in the 2024 Euros, hosts Germany were knocked out by Spain after indulging in a thriller which ended 2-1 after extra time at the MHP Arena.

The loss is of great significance to Germany as one of football’s most loved and cherished midfielders, Toni Kroos has now retired as he had previously stated he will not continue to play after the end of the European Championship. Following the loss, Kroos revealed his dream to win the Euros has been ‘Shattered.’

“To be honest, right now the main feeling is that the tournament is over, because we all had a big goal that we wanted to achieve together. And this dream we all had has been simply shattered now,”said Kroos to reporters in the post game conference.

The 34-year old has been one of the finest players to play in the past decade and possesses a trophy cabinet which many can only dream of. However, the European Championship would have been the last feather in his cap as that remains the only competition he did not win in his career.

German fans will be proud of their side’s performance as a rejuvenated German squad under the leadership of Julian Nagelsmann has significantly improved under a short period of time. The side progressed to the quarter final stage of a major international tournament after eight years.

“We can all be proud because we improved. I am happy to have helped Germany as a football nation to have hope again. In the future I am convinced the team will succeed, but today we are sad because we wanted to stay in this competition a bit longer,” added the German midfield anchor.

Spain and Germany have by far been the two best sides in the tournament and ninety minutes of regular time could not separate the two sides as Florian Wirtz scored the equalizer in the 89th minute before Mikel Merino went on to score a 119th minute winner for the Spaniards.

“I would not say it was the most brutal match, but one where we put everything in. We did not want to lose, we were so close. Now at the moment the exit covers it all. We will realise we played a good tournament, but being so close to reaching the next round is hard,” concluded the Real Madrid veteran.

–IANS

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Arlington, July 6 (IANS) Canada continues to script history as they defeated Venezuela in the quarter finals of the Copa America tournament winning the game 4-3 on penalties after regular time saw the two teams tied at 1-1 at the AT&T Stadium.

Jacob Shaffelburg gave Canada the lead in the 13th minute of the game. The side had many chances to further add to that tally through the game but were not able to breach the opposition’s net again.

Canada held their own against an unbeaten Venezuela side until Salomon Rondon, the man in form scored an audacious chip from over 40 yards out to catch the goalkeeper off his line and level the game in the 64th minute of the game and score his third of the tournament.

The full-time whistle blew at 1-1 taking the game straight into penalties as extra-time is not played in the stage of the tournament.

The penalty shootouts was a thriller to watch as both sides seemed to be mirroring their opponents. Both teams scored their first, third and fifth attempt whilst simultaneously missing their second and fourth shots dragging the shootouts to sudden death.

Wilker Angel’s penalty was saved by Maxime Crépeau and Ismael Kone made no mistake in burying the next chance to win the shootouts 4-3.

Jesse Marsch’s side is making their first ever appearance in the history of the tournament and now find themselves in the semifinals of the tournament. They will face Argentina in the next round. This is a great sign for Canadian football as the United States of America, Mexico and Canada are scheduled to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

–IANS

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Stuttgart, July 6 (IANS) Germany and Spain have been the two best teams in the 2024 European Championship. The two sides clashed in a battle of heavyweights at the MHPArena on Friday with Sprain prevailing 2-1 over the hosts after extra-time.

German Head Coach Julian Nagelsmann spoke on his side’s performance and admitted to having to ‘fight back tears,’ after the loss.

“It hurts because we won’t be able to do better for another two years. And I probably won’t have another home tournament in my career. If we had performed badly, it would have been deserved and then we wouldn’t have to stand here and fight back tears,” said Nagelsmann to reporters in the post game conference.

This was the first tournament being hosted in Germany since the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Despite not performing so well in recent competition, the Deuschland were a dominating unit at the 2024 Euros and were heavy favourites to go on and win it at home had it not been for their fiesty and well performing Spanish opponents.

Nagelsmann went on to admit he has no plans as of now regarding the side and will have to evaluate the team ahead of their nations League fixtures in September.

“So now what? How do Germany move on from here? I don’t even know what the plan is now because I didn’t plan on being eliminated. My team and I have the job of thinking about the squad now and what is the right thing to do in the Nations League in September,” added the German head coach.

–IANS

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Berlin, July 6 (IANS) After Portugal’s heartbreaking loss to France in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, the futures of football icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe looms large in the upcoming years. However, Portugal’s manager has confirmed that “no individual decisions” have been made on the international futures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe after their loss to France at Euro 2024.

Pepe, at 41, made history during the tournament by becoming the oldest player to feature in a European Championship, while Ronaldo, at 39, played every minute of Portugal’s last two grueling matches. The match against France, which ended in a tense penalty shootout, saw Portugal lose to France with a scoreline of 3-5.

Pepe, on the other hand, was seen in tears, his emotions pouring out as he was consoled by Ronaldo. “His tears are frustration,” said Portugal manager Roberto Martinez. “Pepe is a role model in Portuguese football. What he did tonight and in the tournament will stay with us for the next generations.”

When pressed about the future of these two stalwarts, Martinez was clear that no decisions had been made. “No. Everything is too raw. We are still suffering the defeat. There’s no individual decisions at this point,” he stated. The notion of Ronaldo and Pepe not donning the Portugal jersey again was almost too much to bear for their supporters, who had seen them rise to glory and face adversity over the years.

–IANS

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Mumbai, July 6 (IANS) When they line up for their respective events in the Paris Olympic Games, India’s top rifle shooters like Sandeep Singh, Ashwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale, Elavenil Valarivan, Ramita Thapar, Sift Kaur Samra, and Anjum Moudgil will be banking on their newly-acquired skills of mental warm-up to help them to climb onto the podium.

“Mental warm-up”, is a technique to calm their mind and steel nerves, that the shooters have added to their armour in the last three years since they failed in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when an ultra-strong Indian shooting contingent had returned home empty-handed.

In shooting every breath counts. So, if a shooter exhales a millisecond here or there while about to pull the trigger, it will have an impact on his shot, the aim could be off and the shooter may drop crucial points.

“So it’s really about how each of my young athletes is able to have a command and control over every single breath that they’re going to breathe on that day (when they shooting in the final). Because even one breath, if you exhale one second later than usual, is going to cost you a decimal point. And one breath that you exhale earlier can also cost you your point,” says chief national rifle coach Suma Shirur.

Shooting is a mental sport and therefore besides the latest high-class rifle, a shooter requires tremendous focus, a high level of concentration during tournaments, and the ability to control one’s breath and muscles to achieve pin-point accuracy in tough competitions.

It was shortcomings in these mental aspects of the sport that were considered among the reasons for the Indian shooters’ failure to win medals in the 2016 and 2020 Tokyo Games despite a large number of stars earning the quotas.

“So going forward, I think the biggest effort is of the mind and we are really, really focused on that. And with our expert team in place, this is the main stress that we are going to stress mainly on this because all the work, all the other work I can say is kind of done with now it’s only about repetition, repetition, repetition and repeating what they already know, but at the same time, finding tools and developing tactics where they’re able to keep their mind in the present moment,” said Shirur during a panel discussion on India’s chances at the Paris Olympic Games, organized by the Sports Journalists Association a few days back.

Thus in the last three years, the Indian shooters, as per a special programme set in place by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) have worked on the mental aspect of the sport, with the expert coaches introducing “mental warm-up” for the shooters, which they believe will help them climb the podium in Paris.

“So a good physical warm up is what they’ve always been doing. But this time our team has also introduced a good mental warm-up and something that they added, which everyone is doing, and mindfulness meditation. Young kids never like to do it, so, but this is something that has been introduced and each one is into the process,” she added.

Shooting is the second-most successful sport after hockey for India at the Olympics. While India had ruled hockey competitions at the Olympics, winning eight gold medals, one silver, and two bronze medals, the shooters, thanks to Abhinav Bindra’s historic first individual gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, have bagged four medals in all — 1 gold, two silver, and one bronze. Shooting besides hockey and athletics is the only sport in which India has won a gold medal at the Olympics.

In Paris, a 21-member team of shooters will be representing India. The team comprises eight members in Rifle, seven in Pistol, and six in the Shotgun discipline. Including the mixed events, the team will have 28 starts at the quadrennial sporting extravaganza. The team was selected after four grueling rounds of tough trials involving the most talented shooters besides the quota winners in each category.

The entire shooting community has high hopes for this contingent, which has made the country proud in various competitions including the various World Cups and World Championships besides the Asian Games in the last three years.

“So we’ve shooters who have shown their skills over the last three years where we’ve been winning consistently major competitions, and the biggest test for each one of them was during selection trials. And they have come out successful, they’ve all done their best,” said Shirur.

The top shooters of the country have prepared extensively over the last three years, constantly testing themselves in competitions and working out on various aspects of the sports with the experts.

Besides that, the NRAI has last month organised a camp in France, very near the place where the shooting competitions will be held in Paris. They will again be reaching France well before time so that the shooters can get acclimatised to the conditions.

So, the shooters have also worked on managing things on their own when at the shooting station, whether in competition or practice.

“At the end of the day, on that day, the athlete is there all along. And so our effort has been in not making dependent athletes.

“Our effort has been in making them independent so that they can stand out there taking responsibility in their hands and go out there and make those bold decisions and be able to stand tall no matter what the situation is and come out of the that’s what the effort has been. And I’m quite sure that each one will make us proud. Whether we win a medal or not,” said Shirur.

Having spent a few days near the venue, the shooters have a fair idea of what to expect in terms of climate and conditions and in terms of competition too. The shooters are now in a phase in which they can visualize the conditions and competitions in Paris and prepare their minds for the competitions.

Though Shirur said she would not like to comment on the medals that the shooters would win in the Paris Olympics, she was confident that each of them would give their best during the Olympics.

“Today I really can proudly say that we are far ahead technically in terms of the process than what we were four years ago. We work diligently on every detail. And today I can say that they are all working. They are one of the best in the world, and I feel so proud. Now I don’t have to talk about one or two champions. Each one of them is a champion in their own right, and they can win,” she said.

Now that the members of the Indian contingent have prepared well, and have the best equipment and pallets, it now comes down to what the shooter does at the shooting station, how he handles the stress and pressure of a top-level competition.

–IANS

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