Dusseldorf, July 6 (IANS) Switzerland have perhaps been the best team in the 2024 European Championship after Spain and Germany. The team has proved that they are up for a challenge as they defeated defending champions Italy in the Round of 16.

Ahead of their matchup with England, head coach Murat Yakin has promised that side ‘will cause England problems.’

“England have a lot of quality. We don’t know what they plan to do but we have shown already that we can mix it against big teams – against the defending champions [Italy] and the hosts [Germany]. We will cause England problems,” said Yakin to reporters in the post game press conference.

Switzerland were in Group A and their impressive outing saw them finish with seven points and finish second on goal difference. The side then went on to dominate Italy in their first knockout game with a 2-0 victory.

“I assume that England has enough quality to play well in a quarter-final but we are in good shape and have shown that we are ready to upset big teams. Why not give big England a problem and play our game and see what happens?,” added the Swiss head coach.

Switzerland will be playing their fifth ever major tournament quarter-final. They have been eliminated at this stage in all four of their previous attempts, this is the most any European nation has featured in quarter-finals of major tournaments without ever participating in a semi-final.

The winner of the tie will be facing the winner of the Netherlands vs Turkey quarter-final.

“Everyone is working towards a common goal. We’re happy to be here, living the moment. The mood in the camp is very good. We are developing together,” concluded the 49-year old.

–IANS

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Silvis (Illinois), July 6 (IANS) England’s Aaron Rai and CT Pan of Chinese Taipei gave the scoreboard at the John Deere Classic a strong Asian flavour as they shared the lead at the midway stage of the PGA TOUR event.

Rai, whose parents have an Indian origin going back to his grandparents, shot another bogey-free round of 8-under 63 to share the lead with Pan going into the weekend at the John Deere Classic. Rai was 65-63 for two rounds and Pan was the same and the duo was 14-under.

The pair lead by two strokes from England’s Harry Hall (66), while Korean star Sungjae Im also powered into contention following a superb 64 to be tied for fourth with five others, including overnight leader Hayden Springer on 130.

A week ago Rai shared the 54-hole lead in Detroit and wound up one shot begin winner, Cam Davis. Rai, who was bogey free in his first round 65 went two shots better and was still without a bogey on his scorecard. He is looking for his maiden PGA Tour win after a lot of close calls.

Rai’s grandparents from both his mother and father’s side have Indian origins. His mother grew up in Kenya, before they migrated to UK, where Aaron was born in Wolverhampton.

The impressive performance at TPC Deere Run will certainly boost Pan’s confidence ahead of the Olympics where he won the bronze medal in Tokyo, beating the likes of Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa and Hideki Matsuyama in a seven-way playoff for the podium finish.

Pan holed out from 32 yards for an eagle en route to a flawless 8-under 63. The 32-year-old Pan, who won the 2019 RBC Heritage for his sole PGA TOUR victory, pitched in for a two on the par-4 14th hole at TPC Deere Run to post his best score of the season, complemented by six earlier birdies.

Pan’s Paris 2024 Olympic Games-bound compatriot Kevin Yu also delivered an impressive 63, improving 57 places for joint 10th. Yu chalked up 10 birdies, seven of which came on the back nine, offset by two bogeys.

Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune carded a second successive 67 to comfortably progress to the weekend rounds in T32 at 134. He is followed by S.H. Kim of Korea, who shot a 69 to sit one shot further back in T39.

Two-time John Deere winner Jordan Spieth made the weekend with 69-67.

–IANS

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New Delhi, July 6 (IANS) The Copa America and the European Championships are nearing the business end of the tournament. Saturday’s fixtures will see the top four sides in both tournaments be confirmed.

All eyes will be on the battle of the heavyweights with Brazil and Uruguay set to clash at the Allegiant Stadium in Nevada. Brazil have had a topsy-turvy start to their tournament with the side finishing second in their group behind Colombia.

Uruguay on the other hand are tied with Argentina as the record winners of the tournament (15 times) with the side being in top form heading into the game having scored nine goals in their three Group stage games.

Colombia have been on a 25-game unbeaten streak and will be hoping to beat Panama in what is expected to be a one-sided encounter.

With Argentina and Canada already set up for the first semi-final of the tournament, the winners of Colombia vs Panama and Brazil vs Uruguay will face each other in the next round.

England will be facing a tough test in their quarter-final matchup against in-form Switzerland. The Three Lions have been struggling to score and just managed to scrape past Slovakia in their Round of 16 game with a 2-1 win after extra-time.

Reports suggest that Southgate may be looking to switch the formation to a back three to take on the swift counter-attacking side.

Netherlands will be full of confidence heading into their game against Turkey having breezed past Romania with a 3-0 win in the Round of 16. The Dutch have not reached the semi-finals of the Euros since 2004. Turkey on the other hand will hope to continue their dream run and make their first semi-final appearance since 2008.

Euro Cup schedule:

Saturday: England vs Switzerland 9:30 PM IST

Sunday: Netherlands vs Turkey 12:30 AM IST

Copa America schedule:

Sunday: Colombia vs Panama 3:30 AM IST

Sunday: Brazil vs Uruguay 6:30 AM IST

–IANS

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Berlin, July 6 (IANS) Netherlands have managed to carve their way through to the quarter-finals of the 2024 European Championship where they will face Turkey at the Olympiastadion.

The Dutch finished third behind Austria and France in their group and qualified as one of the four best placed third teams in the tournament. They went on to face Roumania in the Round of 16, a game which finished 3-0 and a confidence building victory.

Ahead of their match against Turkey, head coach Ronald Koeman talks about every game at this stage of the tournament being difficult and has stated that the team will have to ‘fight for it.’

“The last match was at a really good level football-wise, if we keep that level then it can be a really good tournament for us. Every match is difficult, all the big teams have struggled in different matches to win them. England scored in the last seconds, Portugal won on penalties. You have to fight for it,” said Koeman in the pre-match press confrence.

The Netherlands have progressed from five of their last seven major tournament quarter-finals, with the most recent being a penalty shootout loss to Argentina at the 2022 World Cup.

Koeman also went on to suggest that the Turkish fans are great and it will be imperative to make them quiet as the game progresses.

“I’ve got some experience against Turkish teams, the atmosphere is always great. We just need to keep the ball and they will become quiet. You need to be cool, business-like and play your game,” added the former Barca head coach.

–IANS

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Morrisville (USA), July 6 (IANS) The Major League Cricket (MLC) 2024 season commenced on Friday as MI New York began their title defence with a commanding six-wicket win over Seattle Orcas at the Church Street Park Stadium.

All eyes were on Nicholas Pooran at Church Street Park in Morrisville as the West Indian wicketkeeper-batter continued his form from the 2023 edition. His unbeaten 62 off just 37 balls helped MI New York chase down a total of 109 runs in just 14.2 overs.

With the early wickets of Ruben Clinton (6) and USA’s national team skipper Monank Patel (8), the initial momentum seemed to be in the Seattle Orcas’ favour. Cameron Gannon was the main bowling aggressor, getting both batters in the third over and giving his team a ray of hope.

But then, Pooran proceeded to hit Gannon for two sixes and as many fours in his next over. This turned the tide in MI New York’s favour.

Eventually, Pooran’s power-hitting abilities proved to be too much for the Seattle Orcas. They got the wickets of Shayan Jahangir (3) and Tim David (12) as well, but the left-handed Pooran and his countryman Kieron Pollard (8*) took their team over the line for their first win of MLC 2024.

Earlier in the day, the skills of the MI New York bowlers were on display as they bowled out the Seattle Orcas for just 108 runs. Rashid Khan and Trent Boult bagged three wickets each, never really allowing their opponents to settle into the match.

New Zealand’s star pacer Boult got the early breakthrough in the opening over itself, sending Nauman Anwar back to the pavilion for a duck. The Pakistan batter’s late attempt to cut the ball away caught a faint edge which travelled to the wicketkeeper and eventual match-winner Pooran.

With Quinton de Kock (5) still at the crease, the Seattle Orcas could still hit a competitive score, but he was also removed by Boult in the next over. His attempt to hit the ball through the leg side was met with a top edge, and Pooran did well to get underneath it and send de Kock back to the pavilion.

From then on, MI New York were in the driving seat, getting the regular wickets. For the Seattle Orcas, Shubham Ranjane ended as the highest run-getter with a tidy innings of 35 runs in 31 balls. Finding the boundary regularly, Ranjane proved to be a threat before he tried to hit Rashid Khan for consecutive sixes but fell short in his second attempt, hitting the ball to Tim David instead.

Harmeet Singh, who recently featured for the USA in the T20 World Cup, played a 20-run cameo as the side set a target that was eventually chased down by the defending champions with 34 balls to spare.

Brief scores: Seattle Orcas 109 in 19.1 overs (Shubham Ranjane 35, Harmeet Singh 20; Rashid Khan 3/22) lost to MI New York 111/4 in 14.2 overs (Nicholas Pooran 62, Tim David 12, Cameron Gannon 2/40) by six wickets.

–IANS

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