A Hungarian attacker suffers a brutal knockout in his team's victory over Scotland, an Albanian is banned for two matches over nationalist chants, and England's Harry Kane hits back at former players criticising the team's lacklustre start to the tournament.
Here's the five quick hits from the Monday morning action in the Euro 2024 competition.
1. Hungarian attacker Varga knocked out cold
Hungary forward Barnabás Varga suffered a serious-looking injury at his team's final group match at the European Championship.
The Group A game against Scotland was halted for nearly 10 minutes so Varga could get treatment after colliding with opposing goalkeeper Angus Gunn.
Varga's teammates held up blankets to shield the player as he was tended to by medical staff, while everyone looked on in concern.
On the live coverage, the worst of the collision seemed to be between Gunn and Scottish teammate Anthony Ralston, with the cameras not initially picking up that Varga was down in the goal mouth knocked out.
Stills of the incident showed Varga had been collected by Gunn's elbow on the way through as he attempted a flying header, appearing to be out before he even hit the ground.
It was a scary-looking incident and fans from both sides applauded as Varga was stretchered off.
2. Albanian player banned for two matches over nationalist chants
Albania player Mirlind Daku was banned for two games after leading fans in nationalist chants, that UEFA said brought soccer into disrepute.
Daku took a megaphone after Albania's 2-2 draw with Croatia on Wednesday in Hamburg and joined in chanting slogans against Serbia and North Macedonia.
The incidents and fallout from the game in Hamburg have been the most serious involving Balkan politics at a Euros with the most-ever teams from the region playing — and offering a stage for some fans to air its issues.
It also has highlighted rifts in soccer between Albania and Serbia at a time when their soccer federations have tried to heal them by teaming up, despite opposition from many fans, in a bid to co-host the Under-21 Euros in 2027.
On Sunday, UEFA said its disciplinary judges found Daku guilty of "failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sports events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing the sport of football into disrepute".
UEFA also ordered the Albanian soccer federation to pay fines totalling 47,250 euros ($76,000) for incidents at the game where its fans chanted an anti-Serb slogan, reportedly "kill the Serbs".
The Serbian soccer federation said it would quit the tournament if UEFA did not punish the incidents.
3. Germany scores late equaliser to ensure it finishes top of its group
Germany found a stoppage-time goal from substitute Niclas Füllkrug to draw 1-1 with Switzerland and ensure the host nation finished top of its group.
Füllkrug rose high in a crowded penalty area to head into the far corner of the net past Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer.
Switzerland had impressed while protecting a 28th-minute goal from Dan Ndoye’s clever volleyed shot.
The point for each team ensured Germany finished top and Switzerland second in Group A.
In the other match from the group, a dramatic stoppage-time goal saw Hungary beat Scotland 1-0 to wreck its opponent’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage of a major tournament for the first time in its history.
Late substitute Kevin Csoboth scored his first international goal in the 10th minute of stoppage time to see Hungary secure third spot in the group.
Hungary now faces an anxious wait to see if its three points will be enough to reach the round of 16 at Euro 2024 as one of the four best third-place teams.
They might not find out until Thursday morning (AEST) when the final round of group games finishes.
4. Mbappé getting used to mask after breaking nose in Euro opener
France captain Kylian Mbappé is getting used to wearing his new protective mask ahead of a possible return to play at Euro 2024 against Poland on Tuesday, his teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni said.
Mbappé sat out France's 0-0 draw with the Netherlands on Friday after breaking his nose in the team's opening 1-0 win over Austria and has been fitted with a protective mask as the injury heals.
"It's no secret that he's really looking forward to the next game, and as far as the mask is concerned, he's starting to get used to it," Tchouaméni said Sunday.
"Obviously he would have preferred to play without it, but I think if you ask the doctor, he's not going to give him the choice. It's not going to change anything for him, we know he'll be ready as soon as he's on the pitch, and he's going to bring us a lot."
Midfielder Tchouaméni and Mbappé will also be club teammates after the European Championship when the striker joins up with his new club Real Madrid.
Tchouaméni suggested France was working on its finishing after the World Cup runner-up scored just one goal in its first two group-stage games at Euro 2024.
"We know we've got world-class strikers, and after a while they're going to score goals, and it's not necessarily just the strikers, it's up to us too, whether it's the midfielders or even the defenders, it's a collective effort," Tchouaméni said.
"But being more clinical in front of goal is one of our areas for improvement."
5. Kane hits back at critics of England's performances
Harry Kane says former England stars should remember how hard it is to play for their country before criticising the team’s lacklustre performances so far at Euro 2024.
"I always feel like they have a responsibility," the England captain said at the team’s training camp on Sunday.
"I know they have got to be honest and give their opinion but also they have a responsibility of being an ex-England player that a lot of players look up to, that people do listen to them and people do care what they say."
Kane was responding to strong criticism from former England internationals Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer, among others, after England’s 1-0 win over Serbia and a 1-1 draw with Denmark.
Lineker, who scored 48 goals in 80 games for England, had described the draw against Denmark with an expletive and said Kane "needs to do a lot better" despite scoring England's opener.
Kane, who scored 36 goals in 32 Bundesliga appearances for Bayern Munich last season, said he never wants "to be disrespectful to any player, especially a player who has worn the shirt and knows what it is like to play for England", but, "the bottom line is we haven’t won anything as a nation for a long, long time and a lot of these players were part of that as well and they know how tough it is".
Next games (all AEST times):
Tuesday, 5am — Albania v Spain
Tuesday, 5am — Croatia v Italy
AP/ABC
