Euro 2020 finally set for lift-off under Covid cloud

Euro 2020 finally set for lift-off under Covid cloud

The delayed Euro 2020 tournament will finally get underway on Friday, a year behind schedule, with Covid still set to cast a shadow over the event. The continent

Italy take on Turkey in opener at Stadio Olimpico

PARIS: The delayed Euro 2020 tournament will finally get underway on Friday, a year behind schedule, with Covid still set to cast a shadow over the event.

The continent-wide event, first envisaged by then-UEFA president Michel Platini when he announced the tournament would be held across Europe, will be played in front of limited crowds and with strict health restrictions in place.

The action gets under way at Rome's Stadio Olimpico, where Italy take on Turkey in front of 16,000 fans.

Spain's preparations for the month-long tournament have been hit after two players, Sergio Busquets and Diego Llorente, tested positive for the virus, although Llorente on Thursday returned a negative test.

The team even had to name a "parallel" squad of 17 reserve players, fearing a possible wider outbreak in the official 26-man squad.

Although captain Busquets still has Covid, Llorente's test result will allay fears that the first-choice side might have to miss Spain's opening game against Sweden in Seville on Monday.

Two Swedish players -- forward Dejan Kulusevski and midfielder Mattias Svanberg -- have also tested positive for the virus.

But despite the ongoing threat, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin has been bullish, insisting Euro 2020 will be safe.

The clearest illustration of that is set to come from Budapest, where it is hoped the new Puskas Arena will be packed to capacity.

But the majority of the 11 venues, all in different countries, will only be partially-filled for matches, although Denmark on Thursday announced it would lift mask rules and allow 25,000 fans, instead of 16,000, to attend games in Copenhagen.

Munich aims to host a minimum of 14,500 fans -- around 22 percent of the Allianz Arena's capacity, the lowest of the stadiums being used.

Dublin and Bilbao were dropped from the list of hosts after being unable to give guarantees they could meet UEFA's requirement of accommodating limited numbers of spectators, but Seville stepped in for Bilbao while Dublin's games went to London and Saint Petersburg.

On the pitch, France will be firm favourites despite being one of the few traditional giants not to have any games at home. The world champions' first match is in Munich against Germany on Tuesday.

"All the other countries envy us," said a recent front page of French sports daily L'Equipe underneath pictures of Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann.

All eyes will be on 33-year-old forward Benzema, who was recalled after an international exile of five-and-a-half years following a prolific season for Real Madrid.

Holders Portugal, with a star-studded squad led by Cristiano Ronaldo, and Hungary complete a tough-looking Group F.

The other likely contenders among the 24 nations include Belgium, sweating over the fitness of key player Kevin De Bruyne after he suffered facial injuries in the Champions League final, and usual suspects Spain and Italy.

In England, there are hopes Gareth Southgate's young side could take advantage of playing most of their games at Wembley. Agencies

HOST CITIES

City Stadium Capacity

Amsterdam, Netherlands Johan Cruyff Arena 56,000

Baku, Azerbaijan Olympic Stadium 68,700

Bucharest, Romania Arena Nationala 55,600

Budapest, Hungary Ferenc Puskas Stadium 67,889

Copenhagen, Denmark Parken Stadium 38,065

Glasgow, Scotland Hampden Park 52,063

London, England Wembley Stadium 90,000

Munich, Germany Allianz Arena 75,000

Rome, Italy Stadio Olimpico 72,698

Saint Petersburg, Russia Krestovsky Stadium 68,134

Seville, Spain La Cartuja 60,000

Smart Facts :

EXPERIENCED CAMPAIGNER: Belgium not only take their top ranking into the European Championship but they will also be the most experienced of the campaigners at the tournament. Their 26-man squad has a total of 1,338 caps – an average of more than 50 per player and underlining the experience of Roberto Martinez's team. Four squad members have already racked up 100 caps.

MOST CAPPED: Cristiano Ronaldo, who has made his 175th appearance for Portugal. His goal tally is 104, moving closer to becoming the all-time leading goalscorer in men's international football. Ronaldo is already the holder of the record for the most games played at the Euro finals with 21, and he will be participating in his fifth tournament.

OLDEST PLAYER: Dutch goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg is 38, having come out of the international wilderness to win a place back in the Netherlands squad in March. At the start of the tournament, he will be exactly 1-1/2 years younger than oldest ever Euro participant holder Gabor Kiraly, the only over 40-year-old to play at the finals when he kept goal for Hungary in 2016.

YOUNGEST PLAYER: The youngest at Euro 2020 will be Poland's Kacper Kozlowski – one of two 17-year-olds in the tournament, which has never happened before. Jude Bellingham will turn 18 on June 29 and possibly be involved in the round of 16 on his birthday if England progress. Kozlowski only turns 18 in October.

YOUNGEST SQUAD: Spain have the youngest squad with an average age of 24.5 years, while the Swedes are the oldest at 29.2 years on average. The youngest captain, Scotland's Andrew Robertson, is 27 years old.

CLUB RACE: Champions League finalists Chelsea and Manchester City provide the most participants for this tournament with 15 players each, followed by Bayern Munich with 14.

REFEREE CORNER: UEFA have selected 19 refereeing teams from 14 different countries to officiate, including a guest team from Argentina. There are also 22 Video Assistant Referees from eight countries who will be based at UEFA headquarters at Nyon in Switzerland.

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