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Polling suggests high turnout for elections in which far-right National Rally could significantly increase share of vote Voting in the first round of parliamentary elections is under way in mainland France. The last polling stations close at 8pm local time on Sunday. Elections for the 577 seats in France’s national assembly are a two-round process. The shape of the new parliament will become clear only after the second round on 7 July. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/Aen6Vjx

Defeat in Ljubljana last March ‘will be good’ for team Last-16 opponents held England to 0-0 draw in Group C Bruno Fernandes has said Portugal will be wary of Slovenia’s counterattacking threat and conceded a friendly defeat by their last-16 opponents in March has put him and his teammates “on their toes”. Fernandes said he expected Slovenia to set up to frustrate in a low defensive block and his manager, Roberto Martínez, stressed the importance of his side keeping their emotions in check. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/xNn7bAy

The incoherence and panic that gripped lethargic players against Denmark shows their problems are deep-rooted Italy won the World Cup in 1982 and Portugal the Euros in 2016 after drawing all three games in the initial group. Spain in 2010 and Argentina in 2022 both began their World Cup-winning campaigns with defeat. This year, Ivory Coast lost group games 1-0 to Nigeria and 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea, qualified for the last 16 only because Ghana conceded twice in injury time against Mozambique and still went on to win the Africa Cup of Nations . Only Brazil, in 2002, have won seven games out of seven at a major tournament. It is possible for a team that has begun poorly to win it. But just because something is possible, doesn’t mean that’s how you should do things. Tournaments are short; average teams sometimes can be mysteriously energised. England haven’t ticked a box by getting in a couple of bad performances when it didn’t really matter. Planning tends to win out over shrugging an...

Scarcely can a crown have weighed more heavily. Italy, the defending champions, are out, and perhaps the most crushing disappointment of all was that they barely seemed to throw a punch in the process. Remo Freuler and Ruben Vargas scored the goals either side of half-time for Murat Yakin’s magnificent Swiss team, and perhaps the most damning indictment of Italy was that by the end, it didn’t even feel like a shock. For the first hour of this game they were overwhelmed, and for the last half-hour, who cared? There will be fingers pointed and searching questions asked. Perhaps Luciano Spalletti will get a little more time, perhaps not. But in a way this was a campaign that deserved to end because it never really began, a title defence that felt off right from the start, that no amount of quirky tinkering and impassioned arm-waving could salvage. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/dVrmZgx

After a fine debut season with Chelsea the winger is unfazed by his late miss on his tournament debut against Slovenia By the time our 20 minutes with Cole Palmer are up, the England winger has managed to rave about Riyad Mahrez’s first touch, reveal that Austria have been one of his favourite teams at Euro 2024, claim Londoners are way moodier than northerners, talk about getting on for 20 minutes against Slovenia, praise Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Chelsea, elaborate on his relationship with Enzo Maresca and, most importantly of all, correct erroneous reports that he has an obsession with baked beans. The answers are short, sweet and often pretty illuminating. Palmer does not skip a beat before revealing that his first position was left-back. It was a throwaway comment, but he suddenly looks horrified. He glances at the press officer sitting to his left and wonders if he has put his foot in it. Is Gareth Southgate about to stumble upon the answer to England’s problem position? “I...

Serbian performance artist tells Pyramid stage crowd to confront cyclical violence in thousands-strong ‘collaboration’ It’s been home to some of the UK’s loudest singalongs, most propulsive rap lyrics and most cacophonous guitar solos. But the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury experienced something almost unprecedented in its history on Friday: total silence. The Serbian artist Marina Abramović, invited by festival organisers Michael and Emily Eavis, led the audience in what she called a “collaboration” called Seven Minutes of Collective Silence, to “see how we can feel positive energy in the entire universe” and act as a bulwark against the horrors of war and violence. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/MsHuIJw

Advisers despair over disastrous display although Biden gives vigorous showing at North Carolina rally on Friday Panicking Democrats were speculating about whether Joe Biden should be replaced as their party’s nominee for US president following a disastrous debate performance that turned whispers about his age and fitness into a roar. Biden’s shaky, raspy-voiced showing against Donald Trump at the first presidential debate in Atlanta on Thursday was widely panned as a disaster that, instead of assuaging fears about his mental acuity, amplified them on the biggest political stage. Continue reading... from The Guardian https://ift.tt/H5E0oU1