Euro 2024 touchlines: Mourinho surprised by Spain, and Foden hails Hasselbaink

Mourinho feels Spain are biggest surprise of Euro 2024

Jose Mourinho has said that for him, semi-finalists Spain have been the biggest surprise of the tournament so far.

Now in charge of Fenerbahce, the 61-year-old also joked that Turkey’s run to the last eight posed some problems for him with five of his players involved in the national side as club pre-season begins this month.

But speaking ahead of Spain’s last four clash with France tonight, Mourinho is tipping Luis de la Fuente’s side to go all the way this summer in Germany.

“I wasn’t far off the mark when I said that Portugal, France and England were the favourites. Two of them are in the semi-finals. Spain is the biggest surprise for me, in the way the team has evolved, they are practically a new team,” said Mourinho, who led Real Madrid to the 2011/12 La Liga title during his spell in Spain.

“For me, at the moment, they are the team that plays the best and the one that has played the best throughout the tournament.”

Having also led Porto to two league titles and a famous Champions League triumph in 2004, Portugal native Mourinho added: “Portugal weren’t fantastic, despite reaching the quarter-finals. We expected more. I was at the National Stadium (in Lisbon) for the Portugal v Croatia match (in June) and it didn’t smell good. I didn’t get a great feeling.

“I watched the tournament from a professional perspective. Every time Turkey won it was a problem for me, and every time Portugal won it was a joy.

“During the tournament, we were the team that was making progress but we weren’t convincing. Often, when the moment of truth comes, these teams are stronger.

“But it’s a young team, apart from the two veterans, a team with years ahead of them. The World Cup is just around the corner.”

Foden hails Floyd Hasselbaink for penalty preparation

England forward Phil Foden has credited former Dutch striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink with helping the Three Lions prepare for penalty shoot-outs, following their quarter-final victory over the Swiss last weekend.

Speaking ahead of their huge semi-final clash against the Netherlands tomorrow night, the Manchester City star has opened up on how his side have been preparing for another potential shoot-out and how it’s a case of how less is more.

“I feel like when I first came into the England side, maybe we were practising too much. So as you see now, we have Jimmy for that reason, to only take a couple, not overdo it, practise your spot and sticking with it,” said Foden.

“He (Floyd Hasselbaink) is helping us a lot. Jimmy's got a lot of experience in the game, so he knows his stuff.

"They've been taking a few of us after training to practise penalties, because as you see now a lot of games are going to be penalties and it's a big part of it. If it ever gets to a shootout, we're more than ready to take them."

As they aim to reach back-to-back European finals for the first time ever, and just a third major tournament decider in their history, Foden feels there are still more levels left in his side.

“I think you've seen it as well in the last game, our pressing was unbelievable. I would say it was so much better than the other games. I feel like there's so many gears to go, I feel like we can get so much better,” added the 24-year-old.

“That's a big positive because we're still reaching the semi-final. It just shows even when we're not playing at our best that we can grind out results, which is nice to see.

“If we show the other side now, our pressing and keeping the ball a lot better, (it can be) a dominant England I would like to say.”

Video of the day

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Where can I read the latest?

Bukayo Saka moves past England heartbreak to become heartbeat of Euro 2024 team, writes Miguel Delaney here.

Daniel is on the ground in Germany for the Irish Independent this summer and his piece on how Switzerland’s mental block helped England into an old-school final four is here, following the Three Lions quarter-final win last Saturday.

Four semi-finals in 67 years, then three in the last six – Gareth Southgate might have a point, writes Richard Jolly here ahead of their last four clash tomorrow.

Ireland may not be featuring at this summer’s Euros but you can reminisce on the glory days with John Aldridge’s Euro 88 memories here, including Ray’s goal, a sing-song with The Dubliners and the genius of Jack.

Quote of the day

“I was a bit surprised myself to be honest, to see the five takers, how confident they were. You've got the world on your shoulders if you like, but they were just full of confidence and slotted them away.” - Phil Foden admits he was surprised at how confident England’s penalty takers were in their last eight win last weekend.

Number of the day - 3

On the three occasions Spain and France have met in the European Championships knockout stage, the winner has gone on to lift the trophy. They first met in 1984 when Les Blues went on to lift the Henri Delaunay trophy, doing so again in 2000, while Spain defeated France on their way to their 2012 win.

Fact of the day

Nations from this year’s four Euro 2024 semi-finalists were also the joint winners of the 1969 Eurovision competition. As they were all tied on 18 points after the voting was completed, Spain, the UK, the Netherlands and France all shared the trophy. It was the first time in Eurovision history where a tie occurred.

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When are the games?

SEMI-FINALS

Tuesday July 9

Spain v France, 8pm, Munich

Wednesday July 10

Netherlands v England, 8pm, Dortmund

FINAL

Sunday July 14: Berlin (kick-off 8pm)