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CNA
an hour ago
- Sport
- CNA
Spain out to finally end winless run against Germany in Euro semi
ZURICH :World champions Spain will aim to secure a first-ever win against Germany in their Euro 2025 semi-final on Wednesday, though the Spaniards insist reaching their first European Championship final matters more than settling old scores. Spain have never beaten eight-times European champions Germany, most recently losing to the Germans for bronze at last year's Paris Olympics. "Personally I see it more as an opportunity, not so much a revenge or a thorn in my side," Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas said in Tuesday's pre-game press conference. "The Olympics are a completely different competition and any player who has been able to play the Olympics and a European Championship or a World Cup, I think we all agree, it is a totally different context, other stadiums, another way of competing. "So I think that the Olympic Games will have nothing to do with the European Championship, with tomorrow's game, but, well, in the end it was a rival against whom we lost and tomorrow we have the opportunity to win it for the first time." Spain coach Montse Tome would love to end their winless run against Germany. "We have not been able to beat them, but we have been closer and closer to beating them," Tome said. "In the Olympic match, we had a chance to do so, it was good and now we are at another point. "I think they are also another team, they have another coach, but Germany is Germany and they have eight European Championships. Their essence is the same, regardless of who is in charge, and we are very clear about the game we want to play tomorrow, how we want to condition it and where we want to take it." Spain won their three group stage games by a combined score of 14-3 before defeating a spirited Swiss side 2-0 in the quarter-finals. "My feelings are good, full confidence in what we are creating, in the mentality we have, in the game we have played throughout the European Championship," Putellas said. "It will be a very tough game, like any semi-final of a major tournament, but with maximum enthusiasm and maximum motivation to move forward and make history once again."
Reuters
an hour ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Spain out to finally end winless run against Germany in Euro semi
ZURICH, July 22 (Reuters) - World champions Spain will aim to secure a first-ever win against Germany in their Euro 2025 semi-final on Wednesday, though the Spaniards insist reaching their first European Championship final matters more than settling old scores. Spain have never beaten eight-times European champions Germany, most recently losing to the Germans for bronze at last year's Paris Olympics. "Personally I see it more as an opportunity, not so much a revenge or a thorn in my side," Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas said in Tuesday's pre-game press conference. "The Olympics are a completely different competition and any player who has been able to play the Olympics and a European Championship or a World Cup, I think we all agree, it is a totally different context, other stadiums, another way of competing. "So I think that the Olympic Games will have nothing to do with the European Championship, with tomorrow's game, but, well, in the end it was a rival against whom we lost and tomorrow we have the opportunity to win it for the first time." Spain coach Montse Tome would love to end their winless run against Germany. "We have not been able to beat them, but we have been closer and closer to beating them," Tome said. "In the Olympic match, we had a chance to do so, it was good and now we are at another point. "I think they are also another team, they have another coach, but Germany is Germany and they have eight European Championships. Their essence is the same, regardless of who is in charge, and we are very clear about the game we want to play tomorrow, how we want to condition it and where we want to take it." Spain won their three group stage games by a combined score of 14-3 before defeating a spirited Swiss side 2-0 in the quarter-finals. "My feelings are good, full confidence in what we are creating, in the mentality we have, in the game we have played throughout the European Championship," Putellas said. "It will be a very tough game, like any semi-final of a major tournament, but with maximum enthusiasm and maximum motivation to move forward and make history once again." The winner meets either England or Italy in the final on Sunday in Basel.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
England's goalkeeping hero Hampton continues to prove people wrong at Euro 2025
ZURICH, July 18 (Reuters) - As a bloodied Hannah Hampton saved two penalties to send England into the Euro 2025 semi-finals, it was all the more impressive given she was advised at a young age against pursuing football because of an eye condition that affects her depth perception. The 24-year-old, who had gauze stuffed up one nostril throughout Thursday night's wild shootout against Sweden after an earlier collision, was born with strabismus, a condition that prevents the eyes from properly aligning. She underwent three surgeries before the age of three. She has broken fingers and suffered bloody noses from misjudging the ball's trajectory. Even pouring a drink, she has said, is problematic. But Hampton is not easily deterred, and enjoys proving people wrong. "I'm here right now. You can't let all the scrutiny win," Hampton told reporters recently. "I think if you do that it just adds fuel to the fire and I wasn't willing to accept that." Hampton was thrust into the spotlight after the experienced Mary Earps announced her international retirement just weeks before the tournament. She has shone at the Euros in Switzerland, making a couple of diving saves in normal time on Thursday before her shootout heroics, made more remarkable by the fact she had taken an elbow to the face minutes earlier. "I said to her, you only need one nostril," teammate Chloe Kelly said. The Chelsea keeper also made headlines last week when her brilliant long ball led to a goal in their 4-0 thrashing of the Netherlands in the group stage. "She made a massive contribution to a very good team performance," coach Sarina Wiegman said. "The outcome was really good and how the team stuck together, but she had a big contribution to that." Hampton was a backup to Earps when England won the 2022 European title, but was dropped from the squad soon after amid media reports about her attitude and behaviour. She said the negative commentary almost made her quit. Hampton was all smiles on Thursday, even taking a Facetime call with family and friends during her post-game press conference. "I'm in a presser!" Hampton yelled to a family member, before turning the phone screen so they could see the packed media conference. Her family and friends cheered. The Birmingham-born keeper spent much of her childhood in Spain, attending the British School of Vila-real where her parents worked as teachers. She played as a striker for Villarreal's academy team. Sweden's goalkeeper Jennifer Falk saved four of England's shots in Thursday's shootout before stepping up to boldly take one of her own. A goal would have clinched victory for Sweden, but Falk fired her shot over the crossbar. Asked if she had considered taking a penalty herself, Hampton laughed. "They told me to focus on the saving part first and then when it comes to it I would've taken one," Hampton said. "I get a bit excited – my striker instincts come out." England face Italy in the semi-finals on Tuesday in Geneva.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
England, Sweden players proud of penalty shootout performance despite criticism
ZURICH, July 18 (Reuters) - Players from England and Sweden heaped praise on each other for their bravery in a penalty shootout at the Women's European Championship on Thursday, despite a record-low conversion rate and criticism from fans. England's 3-2 shootout victory over Sweden, which secured the reigning champions a place in the Euro 2025 semi-finals, featured missed efforts and saves by both goalkeepers. Yet with England missing four and Sweden missing five of their seven efforts, the players drew plenty of online criticism. "For anyone to step up, it takes a lot, so credit to anyone who takes a penalty in those moments," England forward Alessia Russo said. After what was described on the BBC website as the "greatest and worst shootout of all time", Sweden defender Smilla Holmberg received comfort, not criticism, from players on both sides after missing the decisive kick. "(We told her) that she should be proud of herself, that she is brave, that she has played a great championship and that she is awesome," an emotional Sweden keeper Jennifer Falk told reporters. The meagre 36% conversion rate was the worst combined penalty shootout rate in UEFA Women's Euro history, according to ESPN, the only other one under 50% was the 2017 semi-final between Denmark and Austria (43%). However, former Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl, who suffered a similar 3-2 shootout defeat in the 2021 Olympic final against Canada, told Reuters on Friday that Falk and England keeper Hannah Hampton deserved praise in the shootout. "We have to give credit to the goalkeepers who really owned that moment last night ... with each save that Falk made, she grew in the eyes of the penalty-takers, and so too did Hampton," she said after Falk made four stops to Hampton's two. "Take Magda Eriksson's penalty - it's not a bad penalty just because she hit the woodwork. That happened because she wanted so much of a margin against Hampton in goal that she aimed to put it closer to the post than she would normally have done. That's good goalkeeping," Lindahl explained. The shootout drew scathing criticism from fans on social media, with many using it as an argument against the women's game. Studies have shown, however, that the conversion rates in penalty shootouts are similar between women and men, with both achieving success rates around 75 to 80%. Lucy Bronze converted her first ever penalty for England -- and her team's decisive shot -- despite being hampered by hamstring tightness, with a rocket that measured 102.51 kph, the third fastest goal of the tournament so far.
Free Malaysia Today
5 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Swatch profits plunge on weak China sales
Sales to Chinese wholesalers fell by 30% during the first half of the year and were down by 15% in Swatch's retail stores.(EPA Images pic) ZURICH : Swatch Group said today that weak sales in China wiped out growth elsewhere in the first half of the year for the world's top watch company, leaving it barely profitable. Net sales fell 11.2% to CHF3.1 billion (US$3.8 billion), while net profit plunged 88% to CHF17 million. 'The decline in sales is exclusively attributable to China,' the company said, adding that sales in other regions reached record levels set in 2023 and 2024. Besides its eponymous Swatch watches, the company owns high-end brands such as Omega, Longines and Tissot, and like other luxury firms the demand of Chinese consumers for Western goods has made it a top market. However, Swatch said the region's share in total sales have fallen from a third to just under a quarter as China's economy has struggled, with a real estate crisis hampering consumption by many households. Sales to Chinese wholesalers fell by 30% during the first half of the year and were down by 15% in Swatch's retail stores. However, Swatch said it has seen the first signs of improvement in China and expects an improved market environment in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, first half sales growth reached double digits in North America, India, Turkey, Middle East and Australia. 'The US, Japan and India continue to have great growth potential,' it said, adding it expects utilisation of its production capacity to rise in the second half of the year thanks to new product launches.
