Euros

Wales and Los Angeles FC winger Gareth Bale said on Monday he had decided to end his playing career at the age of 33, having reached exceptional milestones in both club and international football.

Bale played a Wales record of 111 games for his country and was a five-time Champions League winner with Real Madrid. He helped the Welsh reach the 2016 and 2020 Euros before leading them in their first World Cup since 1958 at Qatar 2022.

FRANKFURT, Germany - Defending champions Italy will face England in their Euro 2024 qualifying group, a repeat of last year's tournament final, following the draw on Sunday in Frankfurt's Festhalle.

The Italians, who beat England 3-2 on penalties at London's Wembley stadium in 2021 to lift the trophy will also play North Macedonia, who prevented Roberto Mancini's side from reaching the World Cup, and Malta in Group C.

The latest women’s FIFA rankings were released on Friday and, to no one’s surprise, the USWNT remains No. 1. The last time the Americans fell out of the top spot was for a few months in 2017. England and Germany surged up the Top 10, but coming in at No. 10 is yet another baffling appearance from a team that hasn’t played in three years.

The Top 9 of the women’s FIFA rankings include all the usual suspects: USA, Germany, Sweden, England, France, Netherlands, Canada, Spain and Brazil, respectively. 

Willed on by a record European Championship final crowd (men's or women's) of 87,192 inside Wembley, a tired and vulnerable England overcame Germany's late equalizer and found a 110th-minute winner in extra time to earn the nation a first major international trophy since the 1966 World Cup.

Football has finally come home thanks to goals from Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly, although it took something of a charmed performance against a German side that'd never lost a Euro final in eight previous appearances.

LONDON - Thousands of England soccer fans dressed in red and white were descending on London's Wembley Stadium on Sunday for the final of the Women's Euro 2022 tournament that has gripped the country this summer.

Ahead of the sold-out final against Germany, fans including many young girls were dressed in the kit of England's Lionesses, while a helicopter provided television footage of the team's coach making its way to the stadium.

The women's European Championship final between England and Germany is a "fairytale fixture" given the history between the teams, England captain Leah Williamson said on Saturday.

Hosts England and eight-time champion Germany will play at a sold-out Wembley stadium on Sunday, meeting for the second time in the Euro final after the Germans won 6-2 in 2009.

The men's teams also met at Wembley in the 1966 World Cup final, which England won after scoring a goal that was deemed to have crossed the line but is still disputed by many Germans.

BERLIN — Germany on Thursday decided to drop the name die Mannschaft (the team) for its men's national soccer team, saying it may be a recognisable term abroad but was viewed critically at home.

The name was officially introduced a year after Germany won their fourth World Cup crown in Brazil in 2014 and was part of the branding around the national team.

Only three things are guaranteed in this life: death, taxes and Alexandra Popp scoring for Germany in the 2022 Euros.

Popp broke French hearts on Wednesday as she booked Germany’s spot in the 2022 UEFA Women’s Euro final with a brace to defeat France 2-1. Popp has scored in all five of Germany’s games this tournament with her goal tally at six.