Ken Early was far from pleased with England’s performance in their stalemate against Denmark last Thursday, characterising it as alarmingly lacklustre. He remarks that they were the first team in the present Euros to face the dishonour of their own fans’ boos. Ken comments that it’s the usual narrative: England taking the lead, then somehow forgetting the rules of football. Nonetheless, they managed to survive to the second stage, similar to Spain, who overcame Italy, in what Gavin Cummiskey dubbed a battle of “global football elites” and “blue bloods of the beautiful game”, ensuring their progression to the eliminatory stages.
In Leipzig on Tuesday, during the Portugal-Czechia match, Gavin paid a visit to the old Stasi headquarters in the city. Here, he encountered fragments of a ghastly post-war history within the impeccably conserved dwelling of East Germany’s undercover police. Invoking the French captain Kylian Mbappé’s recent comments on the worrying trend towards far-right governments in Europe, he states, “Ignoring history undoubtedly causes a repeat of it.”
Elsewhere, Johnny Watterson is asking whether “Irish rugby is gasping for breath”, given that its players haven’t had a proper pause since the start of their pre-world cup training a year ago this week. He posits the thought-provoking question: “What amount of rugby is excessive?” On a similar note, John O’Sullivan has a conversation with Jack Murphy about his transfer from Leinster to Ulster, where his father, Richie, has now taken over as head coach.
As far as hurling is concerned, Joe Canning is enthusiastically looking forward to this Saturday’s quarter-finals between Cork & Dublin and Clare & Wexford. From Waterford’s camogie star Niamh Rockett, Paul Keane gets some insight while Vinny Corey, the Monaghan manager, discusses his aspirations for the upcoming Saturday’s preliminary football quarter-final against Galway.
Sonia O’Sullivan is holding out hope that all recent victors from Rome will participate in the National Championships in Santry at this month’s end. Simultaneously, Danielle Hill will proudly return home with a medal following her win in Ireland’s first European long-dive gold in 27 years last Thursday. Meanwhile, in golf, Leona Maguire has made a promising beginning in her pursuit of her debut Major, trailing the leader Nelly Korda by a single stroke following the first round of the KPMG PGA Championship.
At the prestigious Royal Ascot, Kyprios has breathed new life into Aidan O’Brien’s successful history, bringing his Gold Cup victories to a total of nine. This serves as welcome news for the sport amidst the horrific findings of a recent RTÉ Investigates documentary, which uncovered acts of extreme cruelty towards horses, causing a wave of public outcry. Brian O’Connor opines that both the racing and breeding sectors need to thoroughly evaluate their responsibility to the welfare of these animals once their careers come to an end.
In terms of televised sports, the Euro 2024 match of the day features France and Netherlands facing off in Leipzig, and this can be watched on RTÉ 2 and BBC 1 at 8pm. Earlier in the day, Slovakia will be playing against Ukraine (RTÉ 2 and BBC 1, 2pm), followed by Poland locking horns with Austria (RTÉ 2 and UTV, 5pm). Moreover, additional updates will be provided in the evening from the LPGA Championship in Washington state, noteworthy is that Leona Maguire is trailing by merely one shot after the first round. This can be viewed on Sky Sports Golf between 11pm to 3am.