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So, in a week’s time England could be European champions and a second major trophy could be added to the Wembley trophy cabinet after 55 years of hurt. After their performance against Ukraine on Saturday night it’s hard to bet against Gareth Southgate’s side who look like they’re improving as the tournament goes on. As Ken Early writes this morning, a sense of foreboding washes over all “whose blood teems thickly with It’s Coming Home antibodies,” but it’s not all bad - we do at least have all those years of misery to remember and enjoy. If Gareth Southgate is going to lead his team to next Sunday’s final, however, they will first have to get past a Denmark side who have looked inspired since the collapse of Christian Eriksen during their first game of the tournament. How the game will be analysed on GB News is another thing but over the weekend Mary Hannigan cast an eye on the new channel to see what they thought of England winning the tournament (note: they may only have reached the semi-finals). Don’t forget you can keep up to date with all coverage of the tournament on our Euro 2020 website.
Moving on to GAA and it was an extraordinary weekend of hurling as the Munster and Leinster semi-finals threw up endless drama. Yesterday it was the turn of Tipperary and Clare with Tipp eventually coming out on top but not without controversy. Afterwards, Clare manager Brian Lohan was furious with the referee after Tipp were awarded a penalty despite the fact that Jake Morris looked to be far from a clear goalscoring opportunity. Writing in his column this morning Nicky English says that the decision to award a penalty was a ridiculous one and it may well enforce a rule change as “it’s simply unreasonable to expect a referee or any human being to adjudicate on a goal scoring opportunity when the action is in the corner, well away from the goal.” On Saturday, All-Ireland champions Limerick came past Cork to reach the Munster final but manager John Kiely knows that their staggering wide count of 20 needs to be addressed. In the football yesterday Dublin looked well off the pace as they laboured to a victory over Division Four Wexford with Dessie Farrell confirming afterwards that Stephen Cluxton is not currently with the panel but the Dublin manager says the goalkeeper has not retired. In his column this morning, Malachy Clerkin writes that the performances from both the Wexford footballers and hurlers over the weekend proves that a GAA summer is made all the better when the men from the southeast step up to the fight.
On to rugby and Ireland eventually came through against Japan on Saturday after what was a breathless encounter at Lansdowne Road and further served to underline just how much of a threat Japan now are at the top level. Afterwards, Andy Farrell paid tribute to Ireland’s opponents and also said he will likely blood some inexperienced players against the USA this weekend although the head coach did say that some have found it difficult to step up to the intensity of international rugby since they came into the squad.
Finally to golf and Séamus Power made another strong move towards securing his PGA Tour card for next season when he closed with a bogey-free 67 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic to secure a tied-eighth finish and move up to 140th in the latest FedEx Cup standings. At Mount Juliet, Lucas Herbert came out on top after a dramatic final day at the Irish Open, claiming his second European Tour title in the process. Afterwards Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell all said that they would like to see the tournament moved to a different date in the calendar - perhaps the week after the British Open - in order to attract a stronger field.