EURO 2024

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⚽️ ACROSS THE POND

EURO 2024 HAS ARRIVED

(Gregory Hodge/Yahoo Sports)

The 17th European Championships begin today in Germany, where 24 nations will spend the next month fighting for continental soccer supremacy, Jeff writes. ‌ Venues: Stadiums in Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich and Stuttgart will host all matches. Schedule: Group stage (June 14-26) followed by a 16-team knockout round featuring each group's winner and runner-up, plus the four best third-place teams. The final will take place on July 14 at Berlin's Olympiastadion. The contenders: England, seeking its first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup, is the favorite (+350 at BetMGM), followed by France (+400), Germany (+550), Portugal (+650), Spain (+700), and defending champion Italy (+1400). ‌ Group A: Germany (world No. 16), Switzerland (19), Hungary (26), Scotland (39) Group B: Spain (8), Italy (9), Croatia (10), Albania (66) Group ? England (4), Denmark (21), Serbia (33), Slovenia (57) Group ? France (2), Netherlands (7), Austria (25), Poland (28) Group E: Belgium (3), Ukraine (22), Romania (46), Slovakia (48) Group F: Portugal (6), Turkey (40), Czechia (36), Georgia (75) Players to watch: France's Kylian Mbappé is favored to win player of the tournament over a trio of English stars in Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Harry Kane. German legend Toni Kroos will retire after Euros, while Croatia's Luka Modrić, 38, and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, 39, continue defying father time. ‌ Summer of soccer: The next month is absolute soccer bliss, with Copa América kicking off in six days and the two tournaments crowning champions hours apart on July 14. It's not the World Cup, but with 23 of the world's top 25 teams in action, it's the next best thing.

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⚽️ MINI WORLD CUP

COPA AMÉRICA HAS ARRIVED

(Henry Russell/Yahoo Sports)

The 2024 Copa América, a mini World Cup for the Western Hemisphere, kicks off tonight in Atlanta with Argentina vs. Canada (8pm ET, FS1). ‌ Expanded field: Copa América is a century-old competition among South America's 10 national teams. But this year, the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and Jamaica will also be competing. ‌ Groups: ‌ Group A: Argentina, Canada, Chile, Peru Group B: Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Venezuela Group ? Bolivia, Panama, USA, Uruguay Group ? Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Paraguay Venues: Matches will be played in 14 U.S. stadiums, five of which are home to MLS clubs. The final will be held July 14 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. ‌ To set the stage: Here's Yahoo Sports' Henry Bushnell… ‌ For nearly a quarter-century, the story of Copa América was a tale of two constants: Brazil, and an entire continent's soccer obsession. ‌ From 1997 through 2019, the South American championship was played nine times; and nine different nations — eight of CONMEBOL's 10 members, plus an invitee, Mexico — made at least one final. Dating back to 1967, eight of the 10 have won it. ‌ Cadences and formats have varied. Chaos has regularly reigned. But for decades, unless Brazil was romping to a title, the tournament would always showcase South American soccer's breadth of passion and talent. ‌ Even teams who failed to qualify for World Cups could — and did — win Copa América. Such was the depth of the field, and the unpredictability of a sport that can be so volatile when so hotly contested. ‌ But here, in 2024, at the 48th Copa América, the story feels different. The superpower, Brazil, has fallen; and depth has dried up. The declines of Chile, Paraguay and Peru — not to mention Mexico — have shaped a top-heavy field that looks more predictable than usual. ‌ Power rankings: ‌ Argentina Brazil Colombia Uruguay USA Ecuador Mexico Venezuela Chile Canada Jamaica Panama Paraguay Peru Bolivia Costa Rica Good read: How Copa América changed Lionel Messi forever

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FACT FOCUS: Associated Press video manipulated to make it appear Slovak flags banned at soccer match

Manipulated video from an Associated Press report circulated on the eve of the match between Slovakia and Ukraine at this year’s European Championship, with the false claim that Slovak flags had been banned from all games because of their similarity to the Russian flag.

https://apnews.com/article/video-manipulated-slovakia-flag-associated-press-9d6c62c4743abd4ba2f2b5e4d184e11f?