FORMER Arsenal and Everton striker Kevin Campbell has died aged 54 after a short illness. Campbell, a popular figure, also played for Nottingham Forest, Trabzonspor and West Bromwich Albion in a career of 548 appearances and 148 goals. A powerful forward, he was often competing with top quality players in his career such as Ian Wright and Alan Smith. With Arsenal he won the Football League, the FA Cup and Football League Cup and the European Cup-Winners’ Cup. His son, Tyrese, is also a footballer and recently played for Stoke City.
MILLWALL are mourning the loss of 26 year-old goalkeeper Matija Sarkic, who has died in Budva, Montenegro. Sarkic was born in Grimsby and came through the Anderlecht and Aston Villa youth systems. He joined Millwall in August 2023 from Wolverhampton Wanderers and made 33 appearances last season. He was capped nine times by Montenegro and recently played Belgium in a pre-European Championship friendly.
EURO 2024 kicked off with Germany thrashing Scotland 5-1 in Munich. The Scots were completely outplayed by the host nation and had just one shot in 90 minutes. Germany had over 72% of possession and could have had more than five goals. They were 3-0 ahead at half-time thanks to goals from Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz. Niclas Füllkrug added a fourth before Antonio Rüdiger scored an own goal. The final German goal came in added time from Emre Can. The 65,000 crowd included a huge presence from Scotland, but their fans left the impressive stadium wondering if their team was good enough to qualify from the group stage. As for Germany, it was exactly the start they were hoping for.
SWITZERLAND beat Hungary 3-1 in the other game in group A. The Swiss were impressive and were in control for much of the 90 minutes. They went ahead with a goal from Kwadwo Duah after 12 minutes and added a second from Michel Aebischer on the stroke of half-time. Hungary, who were disappointing in the first half, pulled a goal back from Barnabas Varga but in added time, Breel Embolo sealed the points for Switzerland with a nicely-timed lob. The attendance in Köln was 41,676.
THE FRIEDKIN Group, owners of AS Roma, are favourites to acquire Everton after agreeing a deal in principle with Farhad Moshiri. Dan Friedkin, who has a net worth of £ 4.8 billion, wants Everton and Roma to sit at the top of a multi-club model. Friedkin bought Roma in 2020 when he paid over £ 500 million for the Serie A club. They moved ahead of other possible buyers, including a consortium that includes a member of the Saudi royal family, MSP Sports capital, John Textor and a pair of Everton fans, Andy Bell and George Downing.
GAME OF THE PEOPLE 