Euros

Portugal will benefit from the wealth of experience veteran Cristiano Ronaldo brings to their squad, manager Roberto Martinez said ahead of this month's European Championship in Germany.

Ronaldo, the leading scorer in men's international football with 128 goals in 204 official matches, will be playing in his sixth Euros, having reached the final in his tournament debut in 2004 and winning the competition in 2016.

Germany and Real Madrid midfielder and legend Toni Kroos is hanging up his boots he announced on Tuesday. One of the greatest midfielders to ever do it will compete for his sixth UEFA Champions League trophy and Euro 2024 before he finishes playing.

Kroos began his career with Bayern Munich, played with the club until 2014 winning a Champions League title and then made his big move to Madrid.

The rest is history.

Toni Kroos retires

Portugal's 39-year-old forward Cristiano Ronaldo will play in his sixth European Championship and veteran defender Pepe also made the cut as coach Roberto Martinez named his 26-man squad on Tuesday.

Ronaldo, who has scored in every Euro since his first appearance in 2004, has netted 14 goals in the tournament. He also scored 10 times in European qualifying matches last year.

Cristiano Ronaldo Euro 2024

Captains will be the only ones allowed to speak to the referee and discuss a decision during matches at the upcoming European Championship in a bid to facilitate clearer communication, UEFA's managing director of refereeing Roberto Rosetti said.

If any other player is found to approach the referee showing any sign of disrespect or dissent they will be shown a yellow card, Rosetti said.

Euro yellow card rule

"Being a referee in the modern game is very difficult," Rosetti said in an open letter on Tuesday.

WROCLAW — Ukraine's qualification for the Euro 2024 soccer finals has cheered a country suffering hardship in its conflict with Russia and for a few weeks in June and July the tournament will provide a welcome distraction from the harsh reality of war.

The team came from behind to defeat Iceland 2-1 in their playoff final in neutral Poland on Tuesday and book a fourth successive appearance in the continental finals.

Belgium's number one goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said he will not go to next year's European Championship in order to fully recover from a knee injury, he told Belgian TV station VRT broadcast on Tuesday.

"I need to recover fully, so it's better to provide clarity now," the Real Madrid player said.

"If I'm lucky, I might be able to play a match come May, but I'll never be ready for the tournament. I can't be in the goal at 80% or 85%, I should step aside for other good players."

Courtois Euro 2024

FELCSUT, Hungary, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Israel scored an 88th-minute equalizer to grab a 1-1 draw with Switzerland in their European Championship qualifier in neutral Hungary on Wednesday to keep alive their hopes of reaching next year’s finals in Germany.

The match was due to be played last month but was postponed because of the security situation in Israel following the conflict with the Palestinian group Hamas.

BERLIN — Organizers of Euro 2024 on Wednesday unveiled the official ball for the continental tournament next year, with its colorful pattern designed to reflect the energy of the event and with built-in technology to assist in VAR decisions.

Tournament director Philipp Lahm, along with others including Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, led the reveal of the Adidas-made "Fussballliebe" (love of football) on the Maifeld, next to Berlin's Olympic stadium, where the final will be played on July 14.

Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali has been banned from soccer for 10 months over breaches of rules on betting on matches in Italy, the head of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said on Thursday.

Tonali was sanctioned with an 18-month ban, eight of which will be commuted to alternative treatment, after an agreement was reached with the Federal Prosecutor's Office, the FIGC confirmed.

It will rule Tonali out for the remainder of the club season and next summer's Euro 2024 tournament should Italy qualify.