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EU’s Kallas criticises Putin’s ‘very cynical’ Ukraine ceasefire calls and rejects suggestion of Schröder as mediator – Europe live | Europe
EU’s Kallas criticises Putin’s ‘very cynical’ ceasefire calls, rejects suggestion of Schröder as mediator on Ukraine
EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas earlier was also dismissive of Putin’s “very cynical” calls for a ceasefire “to protect his parade, whereas they were actually still attacking civilians in Ukraine.”
And the former Estonian prime minister, too, was not particularly keen on Schröder as a mediator on Ukraine.
“If we give the right to Russia to appoint a negotiator on our behalf, that would not be very wise.
And second, I think Gerhard Schröder has been the high-level lobbyist for Russian state-owned companies, so it’s clear why Putin wants him to be the person so that actually he would be sitting on both sides of the table.”
Kallas also warned against broader Russian operations in Europe, warning that “clearly, our adversaries are not sleeping; so clearly, they want to increase the influence in Europe.”
“We unfortunately already see this in sports organisations, where, you know, Russians are let to compete like nothing has happened. And there are discussions there. We also saw this Venice Biennale where they are there like nothing has happened. So clearly they are working all the time and we have to be vigilant as well.”
Key events
Evacuated US and French MV Hondius passengers test positive for hantavirus
Angelique Chrisafis in Paris and Sam Jones in Madrid
Meanwhile, a French woman and an American national evacuated from the cruise ship at the centre of a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested positive for the virus, as the complex operation to repatriate those onboard continued on Monday.
The French woman was one of five French passengers who disembarked from the ship in Tenerife on Sunday before being flown to a hospital in Paris.
The French health minister, Stéphanie Rist, said the woman was in a serious condition on Monday.
Rist said the woman had started to feel very unwell on Sunday night and “tests came back positive”. Rist told France Inter radio: “Unfortunately, her symptoms worsened overnight.” She is being treated in a specialised infectious diseases unit of a hospital in Paris.
Personnel in full-body protective gear and breathing masks began escorting the travellers from ship to shore in Tenerife in the Canary Islands on Sunday, in an effort that was continuing on Monday. More than 100 people of 23 nationalities are being evacuated in less than 48 hours, in an operation described by Spanish authorities as “complex” and “unprecedented”.
Spain’s health ministry said on Monday that “all possible measures had been adopted from the start in order to cut possible chains of transmission”, adding that passengers underwent a health check and had their temperatures taken when the ship arrived off Tenerife on Sunday.
It also said the French woman who had developed a fever on the evacuation flight had not had a high temperature when she was examined onboard the MV Hondius.
‘Extremisms and violence carry consequences,’ EU foreign policy chief says as EU adopts sanctions on Israeli settlers
Let’s bring you a bit more on the long-stalled sanctions on Israeli settlers, which – as expected (10:04) – have now been approved after the change of government in Hungary.
French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot was the first to break the news (14:49), but we now also heard from the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who said:
“EU Foreign Ministers just gave the go-ahead to sanction Israeli settlers over violence against Palestinians. They also agreed new sanctions on leading Hamas figures. It was high time we move from deadlock to delivery. Extremisms and violence carry consequences.”
But Israel has already condemned the move, saying it was adopted in “an arbitrary and political manner.”
“Equally outrageous is the unacceptable comparison the European Union has chosen to make between Israeli citizens and Hamas terrorists. This is a completely distorted moral equivalence.”
“Israel has stood, stands, and will continue to stand for the right of Jews to settle in the heart of our homeland,” foreign minister Gideon Sa’ar said on X.
Kallas will be speaking at a press conference following the ministerial meeting in the next half hour and I will bring you the key lines here.
‘Impossible to speak about culture’ in this noise, Macron tells off attendees at Africa summit
Here we have a clip of the French president, Emmanuel Macron, playing school teacher and asking attendees to quieten down at a youth-focused session at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, interrupting the event as speakers addressed the audience.
“I’m sorry guys, it’s impossible to speak about culture, to have people like that, super-inspired, coming here and making a speech with such noise,” he said.
This is a total lack of respect.
A Swiss crew member of the cruise ship hit by an outbreak of Hantavirus is in quarantine in the Netherlands, and a Swiss national is self-isolating in Switzerland, the Swiss authorities said on Monday.
The cases are in addition to that of a Swiss man who travelled on the cruise who tested positive for the Andes strain of the Hantavirus infection, a spokesperson for home affairs and public health said.
He is now being treated at a hospital in Zurich, and his wife is self-isolating, according to Swiss authorities.
A French woman and an American national evacuated from the cruise ship at the centre of a deadly hantavirus outbreak have tested positive for the virus, as the complex operation to repatriate those onboard continued on Monday.
You can read our earlier report here:
European Union foreign ministers reached a political agreement on Monday on new sanctions targeting violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank.
“It’s done. The European Union is sanctioning today the main Israeli organisations guilty of supporting the extremist and violent colonisation of the West Bank, as well as their leaders,” French foreign minister Jean-Noël Barrot wrote on social media.
A little bit more context to our earlier news that the European Union has imposed sanctions on 16 individuals and seven entities in Russia for systematic unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children.
On Monday, prior the announcement the EU hosted, alongside Canada, a meeting of the 47-country International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children to increase diplomatic pressure on Russia and rally support for work to verify and trace those who are taken.
“War has really many faces, but stealing the children is really one of the most horrific,” EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said ahead of the gathering. “We should stop this, and Russia should pay.”
The officials targeted by Monday’s sanctions include the heads of children’s camps, government representatives and military officers in charge of youth training.
One of the 16 named was Lilya Shvetsova, head of the “Red Carnation” camp in occupied Crimea. The EU said she supervised “activities aimed at shaping the political and ideological views of children present at the facility, including Ukrainian children.”
Like others on the list, she was determined to be “supporting and implementing actions and policies contributing to the deportation, forced transfer, forced assimilation, including indoctrination, or militarized education of Ukrainian minors.”
EU leaders dismisses suggestions Schröder could help mediate between Russia and Europe
Pjotr Sauer
Russian affairs reporter
The EU on Monday dismissed Vladimir Putin’s suggestion that the Kremlin-friendly former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder could serve as a European mediator in peace talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.
Over the weekend, the Russian leader put forward Schröder – a longtime ally – as a possible figure to help restart talks with Europe, saying he would “personally” favour the former German leader for the role.
Schröder, 82, previously held senior positions in Russian energy projects, including work on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and a seat on the board of Russian oil company Rosneft.
He stepped down from the role several months after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine under mounting pressure, but has never explicitly condemned Putin over the invasion.
Putin’s surprise pitch comes as the Russian president suggested the conflict in Ukraine could be drawing to a close – a rare instance in which Putin appeared to hint at a possible timeline for ending the invasion.
But Putin’s top advisers have stressed that the Kremlin continues to demand that Ukraine withdraw its troops from the eastern Donbas region as a precondition for future negotiations.
The Russian president remains determined to seize the remaining parts of the region by force this year before any serious talks begin, people familiar with his thinking told the Guardian.
EU sanctions 16 individuals, 7 entities over unlawful deportation, forced transfer of Ukrainian children
Meanwhile, the European Union has imposed sanctions on 16 individuals and seven entities in Russia for systematic unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children.
It is estimated that Russia “have deported and forcibly transferred nearly 20 500 Ukrainian children,” the statement said.
In a statement, the council said the decision “targets those responsible for the systematic unlawful deportation, forced transfer, forced assimilation, including indoctrination and militarised education, of Ukrainian minors, as well as their unlawful adoption and removal to the Russian Federation.”
The sanctioned entities include “federal state institutions” from Russia and officials and politicians from territories occupied by Russia.
“Those listed today are subject to an asset freeze, and EU citizens and companies are forbidden from making funds, financial assets or economic resources available to them. Natural persons are additionally subject to a travel ban that prohibits them from entering or transiting through EU territories.”
The move comes just hours before a separate discussion on the issue of Ukrainian children this afternoon.
Putin’s Ukraine hints could be attempt to distract critics from Russia’s weaknesses, Germany’s defence minister says
Back to Vladimir Putin’s suggestions of ending his aggression on Ukraine, German defence minister Boris Pistorius said it could be another deception while the Russian president tries to distract from his country’s own weakness, Reuters reported.
Putin could end the war himself if he wanted to, Pistorius said.
“And there’s always the fear – I hope I’m wrong – that this is yet another deception, but it can’t be ruled out.”
“I believe that Putin is ultimately trying to distract from his own weakness with this approach. He can currently point to hardly any territorial gains, and his army keeps losing parts of conquered territory,” he added.
EU in talks with US artificial intelligence giants over their AI models
Elsewhere, the European Commission is in ongoing discussions with US artificial intelligence giants OpenAI and Anthropic about the operation of their models, a spokesperson said at the midday briefing, Reuters reported.
Spokesperson Thomas Regnier said the commission welcomed OpenAI’s proactive engagement, including its intent to grant access to its new AI model.
He added that the Commission has had a four or five meetings with Anthropic though no discussions on a possible access to its AI models have taken place yet.
“With one (OpenAI), you have a company proactively offering to give access to the company. With the other one (Anthropic), we have good exchanges though we’re not at a stage where we can speculate on potential access or not“, Regnier said.
Poland investigates how wanted fugitive former minister left Hungary for US
Jakub Krupa
Meanwhile, Poland’s former justice minister Zbigniew Ziobro, wanted by Polish authorities with allegations of over 20 criminal charges, moved to the US over the weekend, leaving Hungary where he held political asylum granted by the previous government of Viktor Orbán.
Ziobro was one of the most prominent faces of the PiS government and played a central role in its controversial judiciary reforms, which critics say undermined the rule of law and the independence of courts, leading to prolonged conflict with the EU.
He is being investigated on 26 charges, with prosecutors alleging that he ran a criminal group and abused his position through the misuse of resources from a fund designed to help victims of crime. He denies the allegations, and claimed asylum in Hungary in January.
His move to leave Budapest coincides with the inauguration of the new pro-European government of Péter Magyar, who publicly said he would revoke the previous government’s decision to grant him protection and extradite the minister back to Poland.
Ziobro confirmed his whereabouts in an interview with the right-wing broadcaster Republika TV which also announced him as their “political commentator” based in the US.
“I am in the United States, I arrived yesterday,” he said, adding the US was “an extremely complex, beautiful country, the strongest democracy in the world,” and Poland’s “ally, the guarantor of Poland’s security.”
Ziobro had his Polish passports revoked last year as part of the investigation into 26 alleged abuses of power, but given his asylum status in Hungary, he was given an international refugee passport.
“These are well-known procedures associated with granting a citizen the right of asylum, [when] one also uses appropriate documents that allow them to move around the world. I have had such a document all the time and I used it effectively,” he told Republika.
The so-called Geneva passport, however, would require a visa to enter the US, raising questions over whether the broadcaster, with close links to Donald Trump and the US Republicans, may have applied for a US visa for the former minister.
Despite being wanted by Poland under domestic law, a follow-up motion to issue a European Arrest Warrant has yet to be decided by courts.
Ziobro insisted that he “will gladly stand before any court, and an … American court is certaintly an independent court.”
“If they want to bring an extradition case, go ahead; as prosecutor general [in the past], I remember my battles in extradition cases involving the US, and it is a demanding procedure,” he said.
The former minister doubled down on his claims that he could not face a fair trial in Poland, implying that Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk would try to politically interfere with his case.
“That’s the advantage of this situation, this American freedom,” he said. “You can fight [in court] on fair terms, before an independent American court, and certainly, if such a moment comes, I will do so and not have a single bit of fear that Donald Tusk will have an influence on the case by handpicking a judge.”
Poland’s deputy foreign minister Marcin Bosacki told journalists on Monday morning that Polish authorities were “clarifying the matter and looking forward to serious talks with our American partners on how did Zbigniew Ziobro end up in the United States?”
“We very much hope that this matter will not cast a shadow over … traditionally good bilateral relations between Poland and America,” he said.
Bosacki revealed that “not so long ago the American ambassador assured us that the United States had no intention of hosting Zbigniew Ziobro on its territory.”
Separately, Poland’s public prosecutor’s office said it was investigating the circumstances surrounding his travel to the US to determine if anyone helped him to “flee and evade criminal responsibility, thereby obstructing the investigation” into alleged irregularities.
“Everything suggests the suspect, Zbigniew Ziobro, has chosen to continue evading the Polish justice system,” the prosecutor’s office’s spokesperson, Przemysław Nowak, told a press conference.
“Zbigniew Ziobro has not had a passport for many months, so one thing is certain: [he] certainly did not enter the United States under general rules,” Nowak said.
He also said the prosecutors will ask the US to clarify if Ziobro or his deputy, Marcin Romanowski, who also claimed asylum in Budapest but reportedly left over the weekend, were granted US visas.
If the US confirmed it granted Ziobro a visa, prosecutors would seek to request extradition from the US, he said, but warned that it would likely be an extremely complex “and often difficult” procedure and could take even “years”.
“The extradition procedure with the United States is usually lengthy and is not an easy procedure. I am speaking of … ‘a standard’ extradition, when it concerns non-media proceedings and persons … on standard terms. Well, there is a suspicion that perhaps in this case we have certain non-standard rules for crossing the border by the suspect,” he said.
(Amazingly, Nowak said the extradition process was last updated in 2006, when Ziobro was… the justice minister.)
‘Schröder won’t be representing Europe,’ Estonian foreign minister insists
Estonian foreign minister Margus Tsahkna also dismissed Putin’s suggestion that former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder could coordinate talks with the European Union to secure a peace deal in Ukraine.
“Gerhard Schröder is a Putin idea. I think they are very close. Gerhard Schröder won’t be representing Europe,” said Tsahkna, as he arrived for an EU meeting in Brussels.
EU’s Kallas criticises Putin’s ‘very cynical’ ceasefire calls, rejects suggestion of Schröder as mediator on Ukraine
EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas earlier was also dismissive of Putin’s “very cynical” calls for a ceasefire “to protect his parade, whereas they were actually still attacking civilians in Ukraine.”
And the former Estonian prime minister, too, was not particularly keen on Schröder as a mediator on Ukraine.
“If we give the right to Russia to appoint a negotiator on our behalf, that would not be very wise.
And second, I think Gerhard Schröder has been the high-level lobbyist for Russian state-owned companies, so it’s clear why Putin wants him to be the person so that actually he would be sitting on both sides of the table.”
Kallas also warned against broader Russian operations in Europe, warning that “clearly, our adversaries are not sleeping; so clearly, they want to increase the influence in Europe.”
“We unfortunately already see this in sports organisations, where, you know, Russians are let to compete like nothing has happened. And there are discussions there. We also saw this Venice Biennale where they are there like nothing has happened. So clearly they are working all the time and we have to be vigilant as well.”
Germany shots down idea of ex chancellor Schröder as Russia’s mediator on Ukraine
German Europe minister Gunther Krichbaum has just shot down Vladimir Putin’s suggestion that former pro-Russian German chancellor Gerhard Schröder could act as a mediator on Ukraine.
Schröder, 82, has remained close to Putin long after leaving office, standing apart from most western leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
He previously held key roles in Russian energy projects, including work on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and a seat on the board of Russian oil firm Rosneft, which he gave up in 2022.
On Saturday, Putin said he thinks the Ukraine war is winding down and suggested Schröder as a potential key negotiator to help end the conflict.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Krichbaum said:
“As you know, a mediator must be accepted by both sides, and this seems to be noticeably lacking here.”
He said that Schröder “has not necessarily demonstrated in the past that he could act as a neutral mediator, as an honest broker, so to speak,” as he was “heavily influenced” by Putin.
“Close friendships may be legitimate everywhere in the world, but they do not contribute to being perceived as an honest mediating partner.”
With the new government now formally in place in Hungary, the EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas also hopes to finally move on new sanctions on Israeli settlers, which had been stalled by former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán.
“I expect political agreement on the sanctions on violent settlers, hopefully we will get there,” Kallas told reporters.
Morning opening: ‘New momentum’ gives Europe hope on Ukraine
Jakub Krupa
EU foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels this morning to discuss the latest on Ukraine, the Middle East, and the western Balkans.
The talks will focus on the situation in Ukraine, with Kyiv’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha hailing “a new feeling of momentum” as he arrived for discussions this morning.
“We have a new reality on the battlefield. Ukraine became stronger after the most difficult winter. … We stabilised the front and we are also in the position that we closed the sky … [can] shoot down up to 90% of aerial objects by which Russians attack us.”
Somewhat mysteriously, he also added:
“We noticed new some very interesting developments in Russia, not only in the economy. So we are following them.”
But there appears to be very little appetite to take seriously Putin’s claims that the war in Ukraine could be coming to an end, with several leaders saying it was probably the latest of his attempts to deceive European leaders about his intentions.
Latvia’s foreign minister Baiba Braže summed it up best:
“We believe that when we see it in action. For now, even during the so-called ceasefire that he begged for, we have not really seen the cessation of hostilities. So, it’s premature to, to really suggest something like that.”
Sweden’s Maria Malmer Stenergard also acknowledged the changing circumstances in Ukraine, saying it’s clear that Russia is getting weaker.
“It’s difficult for them to recruit soldiers, and we saw the[ir] ‘big victory parade’ that was a very small victory parade, and there was no military hardware display at all, because the Kremlin was afraid of Ukrainian drones.”
There is also lots of Ukraine-related meetings happening elsewhere, with Sybiha going to attend talks at Nato and a separate forum on Ukrainian children abducted by Russia. Germany’s defence minister Boris Pistorius is also expected in Kyiv.
Separately, the EU ministers will also talk about the situation in the Middle East and about the western Balkans.
Elsewhere, I will be also keeping an eye on the latest lines about the virus-hit cruise ship in Tenerife, and other developments across the continent.
I will bring you all the key lines here.
It’s Monday, 11 May 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
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