The Latest: Lineup set for round of 16 at Euro 2020

Updated Jun. 23, 2021 5:22 p.m. ET
Associated Press

The Latest on soccer’s European Championship:

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The lineup for the round of 16 at the European Championship has been completed with some standout matches.

England will play Germany at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday and defending champion Portugal will face top-ranked Belgium in Seville on Sunday.

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World Cup champion France will play Switzerland in Bucharest on Monday, Spain will face Croatia in Copenhagen on Monday, the Netherlands will play the Czech Republic in Budapest on Sunday and Sweden will face Ukraine in Glasgow on Tuesday.

Two matches had already been set before the day’s final group games. Italy will face Austria in London on Saturday and Wales will take on Denmark in Amsterdam on the same day.

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Cristiano Ronaldo scored two penalties to tie the overall men’s scoring record with 109 goals and give Portugal a 2-2 draw with France and a spot in the round of 16 of the European Championship.

Ronaldo scored in the 31st minute and then equalized in the 60th after France forward Karim Benzema netted twice in between for the World Cup champions.

They were Benzema’s first goals at the tournament after failing to find the target at Euro 2008 and 2012.

France was already assured of a spot in the next round.

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Leon Goretzka scored late to keep Germany in the European Championship with a 2-2 draw against with Hungary.

Ádám Szalai and András Schäfer both scored for Hungary. But Kai Havertz equalized for Germany the first time and Goretzka got the second.

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A person with a rainbow flag ran onto the field and held it up in front of the teams during the Hungarian national anthem before the European Championship game against Germany.

The person was quickly tackled by stewards and pinned to the ground. The person was then led away to cheers and applause.

Buildup to the match has been overshadowed by a spat over the Munich city’s council’s request to illuminate the stadium in rainbow colors. UEFA refused on the grounds that it was a political statement directly addressed against Hungary.

Hungary introduced a law last week that has been denounced as anti-LGBT discrimination by human rights groups.

Many German fans are carrying small rainbow flags that were distributed by activists before the game.

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This year’s European Championship is breaking tournament records for own-goals.

Two own-goals scored by Slovakia in Spain’s 5-0 victory made it eight so far in the group stage at Euro 2020.

There had been only nine own-goals in 40 years from the 1976 tournament through Euro 2016. The previous record for a single tournament was three in 2016.

There also had never previously been a tournament game with two own-goals but there have been two in the past week. Portugal also scored two on Saturday.

The first goal of Euro 2020 was an own-goal. Turkey defender Merih Demiral intercepted a cross with his chest and the ball ricocheted into Italy’s net in a 3-0 victory.

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Two goals from Robert Lewandowski couldn’t stop Poland from exiting the European Championship.

Viktor Claesson scored in stoppage-time to give Sweden a 3-2 victory over Poland and first place in Group E.

Sweden will play a third-place finisher in the round of 16. Poland has been eliminated.

Lewandowski scored in the 61st and 84th minutes. Emil Forsberg scored twice for Sweden before that.

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A bizarre own-goal by the goalkeeper put Spain on the way to a 5-0 victory over Slovakia and gave the team a spot in the round of 16 of the European Championship.

Martin Dúbravka saved an early penalty kick from Álvaro Morata but then clumsily knocked the ball into his own net a few minutes later after it ricocheted high into the air off a shot by Pablo Sarabia.

Dúbravka struggled to get into position as the ball started to come down. He jumped to swat the ball away but it instead rolled off his hand and into the net.

Aymeric Laporte added to Spain’s lead before halftime and Sarabia, Ferran Torres and another own-goal in the second half made it five.

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Emil Forsberg has scored the second quickest goal in the history of the European Championship to give Sweden a 1-0 lead against Poland after 81 seconds.

Only Russia player Dmitry Kirichenko has scored a quicker goal. He scored after 65 seconds against Greece at Euro 2004.

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North Macedonia faces UEFA punishment for a possible breach of health rules by its players even though the team has already been eliminated from the European Championship.

UEFA says a disciplinary investigator was appointed to look into “misbehavior and potential violation” by players of Euro 2020 health protocols.

It relates to taking samples from players in Amsterdam on Saturday for mandatory COVID-19 tests ahead of playing the Netherlands. North Macedonia lost 3-0.

Any UEFA disciplinary charge will be against the North Macedonian soccer federation. It will not be against the individual players.

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Numerous German newspapers and broadcasters have displayed rainbow flags on their front pages, social media profiles or on-screen logos.

It follows UEFA’s refusal to let Munich illuminate its stadium in rainbow colors in a show of support for LGBT people for a European Championship match between Germany and Hungary.

The decision by the governing body of European soccer was widely criticized in Germany.

Left-wing daily taz showed an edited archive picture of West Germany’s historic match against Hungary in the 1954 World Cup final in Bern but with the captains wearing rainbow armbands. The caption reads “A dream: Germany-Hungary now in color.”

The mass-selling tabloid Bild offered readers a double-page spread showing Germany’s black, red and gold flag transforming into the LBGT symbol.

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Germany’s government says the decision by UEFA not to allow the stadium in Munich to be illuminated in rainbow colors during the European Championship should be “respected.”

Government spokesman Steffen Seibert says “that doesn’t change the fact that the vast majority of people in Germany reject discrimination and intolerance.”

Seibert also also referred to German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s comments in parliament about the new Hungarian law at the heart of the issue. He notes the Hungarian national team has nothing to do with the law.

Seibert says “we should look forward to a great game and receive the Hungarian team ... in a friendly, sporting and fair way.”

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Netherlands striker Luuk de Jong’s European Championship is over.

The Dutch soccer federation says De Jong injured his knee in training on Tuesday and has left the team’s training camp.

The Sevilla forward has played 38 times for the Netherlands. He did not start any of the team’s Group C matches but came on as a late substitute in the first two games of Euro 2020.

Netherlands coach Frank de Boer started twice with Wout Weghorst next to Memphis Depay in a two-man forward line and once with Donyell Malen.

The Netherlands won all three of its group matches but is still waiting to learn who it will face in the round of 16 on Sunday in Budapest.

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The final group games at this year’s European Championship will decide the lineup for the round of 16.

Spain is still looking to assure itself of a spot in the next round at Euro 2020 and will face Slovakia in Seville. Sweden will take on Poland in St. Petersburg at the same time. The Swedes are already assured of a spot in the round of 16.

The late games have the biggest names.

World Cup champion France has already qualified and will face Portugal in Budapest. Germany will play Hungary in Munich needing a draw to make sure it continues on at the tournament.

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