Watch as Adam Buksa heads Poland in front against Netherlands in the opening Group D match at Euro 2024.

The captain has a newfound confidence as a result of his move to Bayern Munich and his stunning goalscoring form As Harry Kane acknowledged last September, as he settled into his new life at Bayern Munich, there was certainly a script to be written. The Champions League final was in his home city of London. The European Championship was in Germany. The dream double was on. “If there’s someone out there writing a movie … I will try and do my best to make it happen,” Kane said on the eve of England’s qualifying tie against Ukraine in Poland. Nobody even mentioned the Bundesliga title to him because Bayern had won 11 in a row and, well, you know … Continue reading...

Squad has been rocked by injuries to key midfielders but coach is quietly optimistic going into opener against Poland “Welkom Oranje!” is the loud Dutch welcome on billboards dotted around the factory town of Wolfsburg, home to the Netherlands for the next few weeks; many of Ronald Koeman’s side have a direct view of the steaming chimneys of the mammoth Volkswagen plant – the size of about 700 football pitches – from their plush hotel rooms opposite. Those words sit above what can only be described as a little friendly one-upmanship from the locals. “Aber nach Berlin fahren wir”, but we are going to Berlin, which will host Euro 2024’s showpiece finale. That all feels a while away yet but the Netherlands will board a Deutsche Bahn train – hopefully theirs runs on time – to the capital for their final Group D match, against Austria, by which point they will hope to have proved why they, too, can go the distance despite the endless injury-shaped hiccups that hampered preparations. First they have an opener against Poland in Hamburg on Sunday to navigate. Regardless, back home the mood is bright if not realistic, evidenced by the colourful Marktwegt street in The Hague, which has been given considerably more than a lick of paint by residents intent on showing their support. Continue reading...

Head coach Vincenzo Montella has transformed the team, trusting in youngsters such as Arda Guler This article is part of the Guardian’s Euro 2024 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 24 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from two countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 14 June. Continue reading...

Barcelona star had hoped to recover for tournamentRobert Lewandowski limps off in Poland’s victory Netherlands’ delight with an emphatic 4-0 win over Iceland in their last warm-up match on Monday before heading to the Euros turned to despair when it was announced that the playmaker Frenkie de Jong would not be going to the tournament in Germany. The 27-year-old had been battling to be fit in time after suffering several ankle injuries this season playing for Barcelona. De Jong attempted training for the first time with his teammates on Sunday, after a week of individual work, but after examinations on Monday doctors said he would not be ready in time. Continue reading...

Boring, predictable … but with spirit to burn and in Lewandowski they still boast one of the best No 9s in world football This article is part of the Guardian’s Euro 2024 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 24 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from two countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 14 June. Continue reading...