Germans give no quarter

LILLE, June 26

Germany thumped Slovakia 3-0 with goals from Jerome Boateng, Mario Gomez and Julian Draxler to cruise into the quarterfinals and confirm their status as tournament favourites with a sparkling performance. Central defender Boateng connected perfectly with a clearance in the eighth minute to volley home from 25 metres for his first international goal as the world champions took control from the start.

The Germans saw Mesut Ozil’s weak 13th minute penalty saved but Gomez made no mistake two minutes from halftime when he tapped home a perfect cut back from the marauding Julian Draxler. Draxler was then left with far too much space at the far post to volley in their third just past the hour as the Germans kept a fourth straight clean sheet at the finals.

Comfortable with either foot, the winger utilised his speed and intelligence to good effect, helping his side pin the Slovaks in their own half for much of the opening period. Slovakia may have got the better of the Germans in a pre-Euro 2016 friendly but, apart from a few forays forward, they were all at sea. Five minutes before halftime, Juraj Kucka forced a flying save from Manuel Neuer as he sent Peter Pekarik’s cross toward the top corner. Slovakia were marginally better in the second half, but when the excellent Draxler hooked a volley into the top corner in the 63rd minute there was no way back. 

Draxler and Boateng were replaced by Lukas Podolski and Benedikt Hoewedes nine minutes later as the game took on the air of a friendly. — Reuters

Short  passes

Hodgson happy to continue but will not 'beg' to stay

England manager Roy Hodgson has said he is prepared to remain in the job after Euro but will not be 'begging' for a new deal. Hodgson's contract expires after the tournament and Football Association chairman Greg Dyke indicated that the 68-year-old may have to lead the team to the semifinals to guarantee staying on. "I'm not begging for the job. I am prepared to carry on," Hodgson said ahead of the  match against Iceland. "It is different to wanting it. I'm prepared to carry on if the FA want me to."

Pirlo says he is done with Italy

Veteran playmaker Andrea Pirlo assured that the Italian football team does not need him and said he has done his job he needed to do for the national team. The 2006 World Cup winner was not picked by Italy chief coach Antonio Conte even though the likes of Riccardo Montolivo, Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti were ruled out by injury. 

Xhaka says penalty miss will make him stronger 

Granit Xhaka said his miss in Switzerland's penalty shootout loss to Poland would make him stronger and promised he would not back down from taking penalties in the future. “I'm sorry for my teammates, for the travelling fans, for Switzerland," he told Swiss television. 

Size means nothing with Iceland, says Rooney

England captain Wayne Rooney says size will not mean anything  when his team take on tiny Iceland. "We respect Iceland in what they've done in this tournament," Rooney said. "I think the size of the country is a number. They put the same amount of players on the pitch as we do, so it's a fair game.” England's population of around 55 million is 165 times more than Iceland's of 332,000, but Rooney said that ultimately both teams would field 11 players each in Nice. — Agencies

Tonight Live on Sony Six, Sony ESPN  

9.30 PM Italy vs Spain  
00.30 AM England vs Iceland