UEFA

Aug. 16 (Reuters) - It took Ajax 34 penalties to beat Panathinaikos 13-12 in a marathon shootout on Thursday, setting a UEFA competition record after their Europa League third qualifying round tie ended 1-1 over two legs and extra time.

Ajax, who won 1-0 at Panathinaikos last week, conceded in the 89th minute in Amsterdam, leading to the shootout that broke the previous record of 32 attempts at the European U-21 Championship semi-final in 2007 where Netherlands beat England 13-12.

Ajax vs. Panathinaikos full 34-penalty shootout

The UEFA Champions League has long been considered the pinnacle of club football. With the best teams competing to be crowned Europe's elite, players get the perfect stage to showcase their abilities. The competition is where legends are born, and those legends don’t get bigger than the players with the most Champions League goals in history.

The new stoppage time rules that English soccer has introduced this season to avoid time wasting are absurd and will not be used in UEFA competition, Zvonimir Boban, the European governing body's chief of football, said on Wednesday.

Following FIFA's approach at the men's and women's World Cups, England's referees body said in July that officials would add on the exact time lost to goal celebrations, substitutions and injuries.

The aim is to increase the time the ball is in play, with games now routinely going beyond 100 minutes in total.

Paris St Germain will kick off their quest for a maiden Champions League trophy in a strong Group F, which looks to be the Champions League Group of Death, featuring Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Newcastle United following the draw on Thursday. This means American Christian Pulisic will face his former club Dortmund as well as PSG in the opening stage of his quest for a second Champions League trophy.

The UEFA and CONCACAF Nations League finals both took place Sunday, and records fell, legends became immortal and history was written as the world came to a standstill to watch the heroics of goalkeeper Unai Simón and a blonded Gio Reyna.

ROTTERDAM - Serial winner Dani Carvajal converted the decisive spot-kick to hand Spain a first title in more than a decade as they edged Croatia 5-4 in a penalty shootout to win the Nations League in Rotterdam on Sunday.

The 31-year-old, who has won five Champions League titles with Real Madrid, calmly chipped home Spain’s sixth kick of the shootout as they claimed their first silverware since the 2012 European Championship.

ROTTERDAM — Croatia scored twice in extra time to beat the Netherlands 4-2 in their Nations League semifinal in Rotterdam on Wednesday and advance to Sunday’s decider.

Croatia will play either Italy or Spain, who face off in the second semifinal in Enschede on Thursday, for a first major title as they continued their form from last year’s World Cup in Qatar, where they finished third.