Kane breaks Tunisian hearts

With exciting football and vibrant fans lighting up cities across Germany, Euro 2024 has thrilled even though the European game's biggest stars have failed to take the tournament by storm.

Between injury struggles, shaky form and bad luck, many of football's leading lights have underwhelmed in the group phase.

Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo, playing at a record sixth Euros, is yet to strike in three appearances -- if he manages to, the 39-year-old will become the oldest ever goalscorer at the tournament.

Arguably the best player in the world, Kylian Mbappe is only off the mark for France with a penalty against Poland in a disappointing 1-1 draw that resulted in the favourites finishing second in Group D.

Mbappe spurned a golden opportunity against Austria, missing a draw against the Netherlands with a broken nose before returning with a mask in Les Bleus' third outing.

"He's hungry to play and the game would have done him some good," said France coach Didier Deschamps, hopeful the forward will quickly find his devastating best with a last 16 clash against Belgium beckoning.

Poland's talisman Robert Lewandowski could not feature in their opening defeat against the Netherlands because of a thigh problem.

The Barcelona striker and his country were eliminated as he was ineffective when he came off the bench against Austria, before he netted a penalty in the France draw.

England duo Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane scored from open play against Serbia and Denmark respectively but have vastly under-performed after thriving at Real Madrid and Bayern Munich this season.

England coach Gareth Southgate hooked Kane in a drab 1-1 draw against Denmark, but the subsequent 0-0 against Slovenia was even more dour.

"Not every player is going to star in every game," said Southgate afterwards.

France's Antoine Griezmann and England's Phil Foden have also fired blanks after strong seasons for Atletico Madrid and Manchester City.

"Sometimes (Griezmann's) generosity means he doesn't have as clear a head as he should have," said Deschamps, who benched the midfielder in the final group match.

Belgium's all-time top scorer Romelu Lukaku is also without a goal, albeit not for want of trying, having had three disallowed by VAR as his team slunk through in second from Group E.

Veteran Luka Modric, 38, usually a key figure in Croatia's frequently impressive exploits, did score against Italy but only after missing a penalty and struggling in the first two matches, with his country eventually eliminated.

Own goals galore 

Remarkably there have been seven own goals, making up 26 percent of the 27 inadvertently netted in the competition's history.

Even the players who have shone thus far have largely been surprises for one reason or another.

N'Golo Kante is proving key for France despite moving a year ago to play in Saudi Arabia, while talented youngster Jamal Musiala has been hosts Germany's leading light ahead of veteran stars Toni Kroos, Ilkay Gundogan and Kai Havertz.

Target man Niclas Fuellkrug has scored twice for Germany like Musiala, while Slovakia's Ivan Schranz and Romania's Razvan Marin also have a pair of goals to their name.

Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo finished neatly for his second goal in a 3-2 defeat by Austria, in a performance their coach Ronald Koeman labelled "appalling".

The tournament's current top scorer is debutants Georgia's Georges Mikautadze with three goals, two of those from the penalty spot.

Spain qualified top of Group B with a game to spare and have arguably been the team of the tournament so far, but two of their key players have been unlikely candidates in Fabian Ruiz and Marc Cucurella.

With 15 matches still to play before one of the 16 remaining sides is crowned champions in Berlin on July 14, fans are still waiting for the tournament's star names to join the party.

England were in a commanding position as they took a 94-run first innings lead over the West Indies and then had the tourists 33-2 at stumps on the second day of the third and final Test on Saturday.

England, 38-3 overnight, scored 376 at Edgbaston before making inroads into the West Indies top order with the wickets of captain Kraigg Brathwaite and the struggling Kirk McKenzie in the last 80 minutes of play.

Mikyle Louis (18 not out) and Alick Athanaze unbeaten on five, will resume the Windies' second innings on Sunday, with the tourists trailing by 61 runs.

England took six balls to make a breakthrough with Chris Woakes bowling Brathwaite without scoring while McKenzie's poor form continued as he was caught behind off Gus Atkinson for eight.

Earlier, Jamie Smith and Joe Root both fell agonisingly short of a Test century while Ben Stokes and Woakes also scored half centuries on a day that started poorly for England but which they quickly turned around to dominate as they look for a clean sweep of the series.

Smith was bowled five runs short of a maiden Test ton while Root scored 87 as England fought back from 54-5 to move ahead of the Windies' first innings total of 282.

ATTACKING SHOTS

The 24-year-old Smith, playing his third Test, looked a consummate veteran with an array of attacking shots as he sped towards the milestone, only to be undone by an off cutter from Shamar Joseph that stayed low and took out his stumps.

The unfortunate Smith took 109 balls to score his 95, helping England to move past the West Indies score and begin to build up a useful lead.

Smith came in after Root and skipper Stokes put on a 115-run sixth wicket partnership that hauled England back from a precarious position after they lost two early wickets.

Stokes was dismissed for 54 in the third over after lunch, caught by Brathwaite off Alzarri Joseph, his 100th Test wicket, after a miscued pull from the skipper, offering an easy catch to square leg.

Smith and Root then added 62 runs for the seventh wicket, with their partnership ended when Root was trapped leg before wicket by a ball that slid on from left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie.

Smith and Woakes continued the tempo, with Woakes scoring 62 on his home ground.

Alzarri Joseph was the best of the tourists' bowlers with 4-122.

England have secured the series after convincingly winning the first two Tests, by an innings and 114 runs at Lord's and 241 runs at Trent Bridge.

Can Croatia cross one final hurdle come Sunday night and become the ninth nation to win the World Cup? Standing in their way are France, whose sole ambition will be to claim that coveted piece of glory for the second time at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

As an independent nation, Croatia might not have a rich history as far as their participation in the biggest show on Earth is concerned but since their World Cup debut in 1998, eight years after being liberated from Yugoslavia, it has been a spectacular journey for them.

Coincidentally, it was also the year that France became the seventh nation to win the World Cup, which was on their home soil, by defeating Brazil 3-0 in the final.

More interestingly, it was France who shattered Croatia's dreams by defeating their first 'golden generation' in the semifinal of that tournament 2-1, thanks to two quick blows from Les Bleus defender Lilian Thuram after Croatia's Davor Suker had scored in the 46th minute.

Even in that defeat, Croatia became only the second team after Portugal to have the best finish as debutants. They were placed third following a 2-1 win over Holland in the position deciding game, where Suker scored his sixth goal to win the Golden Boot.

If that was a big statement by an up and coming footballing nation, then the exploits of their next generation, now marshalled by Luka Modric, is no less spectacular as they have reached the finals despite a below-par qualifying campaign.

Croatia launched their campaign in Russia with a 2-0 win against Nigeria before pulling off a magnificent 3-0 win against two-time winners Argentina. They beat Iceland in the last group league game to move into the round of 16 with the maximum number of points.

And in the last three knockout games, where they had to battle it out beyond regulation time, Croatia showed tenacity and the will to fight till the end.

Croatia's round of 16 game against Denmark was a classic example of their never-say-die attitude. After conceding an early goal, they equalised and took the game to extra time, where Modric missed a penalty. However, the Real Madrid midfielder showed courage and stepped up in the shootout to convert his spot kick.

In the quarterfinal against hosts Russia, which they won in the shootout after a 2-2 draw, they faced a similar scenario. This was also the case in the semifinal against England before Mario Mandzukic hit the winner in the 109th minute.

The Juventus forward might not be as prolific as Suker was on the big stage but he has the knack of scoring goals from out of nowhere. Croatia actually have individual winners in Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ante Rebic and Ivan Perisic, the Inter Milan forward who has been in fine form.

Croatia's last three games might have started slowly but gradually picked up with the progression of the game, which is a hallmark of a good team.

They also showed how athletically fit they are as they had to play for 120 minutes in all three previous games.

Against England at Saint Petersburg, many thought it would be impossible for them to survive if the game went beyond regulation time. Surprisingly though, it was England who slowed down as the game progressed. In addition, when the Turkish referee blew the final whistle, Croatia were heading for another crack at the goal.

France midfielder Paul Pogba previously said that he wants to earn his own star on the shirt on Sunday. However, the world will not be surprised to a see the birth of a new star.

Tunisian forces killed 28 jihadists who attacked police and army posts near the Libyan border on Monday in a new spillover of violence that also saw four civilians killed.

Authorities ordered a nighttime curfew as troops deployed across the border town of Ben Guerdane to hunt for others involved in the coordinated pre-dawn attack.

It was the second deadly clash in the border area in less than a week as Tunisia battles to prevent the large number of its nationals who have joined the Islamic State (IS) jihadist group in Libya from returning to carry out attacks at home.

The jihadists have taken advantage of a power vacuum since the NATO-backed overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011 to set up bases in several areas of Libya, including the Sabratha area between Tripoli and the Tunisian border.

The government said that an army barracks and police and National Guard posts in Ben Guerdane came under simultaneous attack.

A soldier was also killed in the fighting and six wounded militants were captured, the defence ministry said.

Hospital official Abdelkrim Chafroud said a 12-year-old was among the dead civilians, and two security agents were also killed.

An AFP correspondent reported that schools and offices in Ben Guerdane were closed and troops had taken up position on rooftops across the town.

Residents were being urged to stay indoors even before the 7 pm (1800 GMT) start of the nighttime curfew.

Authorities closed the border crossings with Libya. They also closed the main road north to the rest of Tunisia, the correspondent said.

Prime Minister Habib Essid ordered the defence and interior ministers to head to Ben Guerdane to oversee operations against the jihadists.

Last Wednesday, troops killed five militants in a firefight outside the town in which a civilian was also killed and a commander wounded.

Troops have been on alert in the border area following reports that militants had been slipping across since a US air strike on an IS training camp in Libya on February 18 killed dozens of Tunisian militants.

At least four of the five militants killed in last week's firefight were Tunisians who had entered from Libya in a bid to carry out attacks in their homeland, the interior ministry said.

Deadly attacks by IS on foreign holidaymakers last year, which dealt a devastating blow to Tunisia's tourism industry, are believed to have been planned from Libya.

Tunisia has built a 200-kilometre (125-mile) barrier that stretches about half the length of its border with Libya in an attempt to stop militants infiltrating.

JIHADIST PRESENCE GROWING

February's US strike on the IS training camp outside Sabratha targeted the suspected mastermind of two of last year's attacks, Noureddine Chouchane.

Washington has said Chouchane was likely among the dozens of militants killed, and that the strike probably averted a mass shooting or similar attack in Tunisia.

Western governments have been increasingly alarmed by the growing IS presence in Libya just 300 kilometres (185 miles) across the Mediterranean from Europe and have made contingency plans for intensified military action.

Rival administrations which have vied for power since mid-2014 are being urged to sign up to a UN-brokered national unity government to facilitate the fight against the jihadists.

Handfuls of US, British and French special forces have already been reported in Libya.

A contingent of around 50 Italians is about to join them, Il Corriere della Sera reported last Thursday, citing a classified order signed by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi last month.

Britain announced last week that it was sending a team of around 20 soldiers to Tunisia to train troops patrolling the border with Libya.

Thirty Britons were among 38 foreign holidaymakers killed in a gun and grenade attack on a beach resort near the Tunisian city of Sousse last June.

And last March, jihadist gunmen killed 21 tourists and a policeman at the Bardo Museum in Tunis.

According to a UN working group on the use of mercenaries, more than 5,000 Tunisians have travelled abroad to join jihadist groups, many of them in Libya.

The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for a massacre in a Tunisian seaside resort that killed nearly 40 people, most of them British tourists, in the worst attack in the country's recent history.
Dozens more were wounded when a man pulled a gun from inside a beach umbrella and opened fire on crowds of tourists at the five-star Riu Imperial Marhaba Hotel in the popular Mediterranean resort of Port el Kantaoui.
Tunisian Prime Minister Habib Essid said 38 people had been killed, revising down an earlier toll of 39 given by the health ministry. An official there told AFP the original figure had included the dead gunman.

Most of those killed were from Britain -- implying this could be the biggest loss of British life in a militant attack since the July 2005 bombings in London when 52 died -- while Germans, Belgians, French were also among the dead, the premier said.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said earlier five Britons had been killed and he expected the toll to rise, while his Irish counterpart confirmed an Irish woman was among the dead.
The attack, the second against tourists in Tunisia this year, comes on the same day that 27 people were killed at a Shiite mosque in Kuwait and a suspected Islamist attacked a factory in France.

IS claimed both the bombing and the attack in Tunisia, which came at the start of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan and just days before the first anniversary of the group declaring its territory in Iraq and Syria a "caliphate".
IS said the gunman, who they identified as Abu Yahya al-Qayrawani, was a "solider of the caliphate" who had targeted enemies of the jihadist group and "dens (of...) fornication, vice and apostasy".
Most of those killed were "subjects of states that make up the crusader alliance fighting the state of the caliphate", the group said in a statement released on Twitter, referring to the group of countries that have been bombarding its positions in the Middle East.
The attack, along with the killings in France and Kuwait, sparked a chorus of international condemnation with the White House vowing to "fight the scourge of terrorism" and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon saying those responsible for the "appalling" attacks "must be swiftly brought to justice".
Tunisian Secretary of State for Security Rafik Chelly told Mosaique FM the gunman was a Tunisian student previously unknown to the authorities.
"He entered by the beach, dressed like someone who was going to swim, and he had a beach umbrella with his gun in it. Then when he came to the beach he used his weapon," Chelly said.

'I saw someone get shot'

Witnesses described scenes of panic after the shooting at the hotel on the outskirts of Sousse, about 140 kilometres (90 miles) south of the capital Tunis.

"All I saw was a gun and an umbrella being dropped," British tourist Ellie Makin told ITV television.
"Then he started firing to the right-hand side of us. If he had fired to the left I don't know what would have happened, but we were very lucky."

The shooting was the worst in modern-day Tunisia and followed a March attack claimed by IS on Tunis's Bardo National Museum that killed 21 foreign tourists and a policeman.
British tourist Gary Pine told Britain's Sky News television Friday's attack happened when the beach was packed. He counted 20-30 shots.
"My son was in the sea at the time and of course my wife and myself were shouting for him to get out the sea quick and as we ran up the beach he said: 'I just saw someone get shot'."
Briton Olivia Leathley, 24, heard "loud bangs" and when she went to the lobby to find out what was happening, she saw a woman whose husband had "been shot in the stomach in front of her".

"All she said was that he'd been shot and that he was there bleeding on the beach and he was just saying, 'I love you, I love you', and then his eyes rolled back into his head."
Another woman described how her fiance was shot three times while trying to protect her and was in intensive care in hospital.
"I owe him my life because he threw himself in front of me when the shooting started," 26-year-old holidaymaker Saera Wilson told the BBC.
By the early hours of Saturday morning, hundreds of tourists were arriving at Enfidha airport in a mad scramble to leave the country, according to an AFP journalist on the scene.

New security measures

Essid on Saturday announced new anti-terrorism measures, including the deployment of reserve troops to reinforce security at "sensitive sites... and places that could be targets of terrorist attacks".

The "exceptional plan to better secure tourist and archaeological sites" will include "deploying armed tourist security officers all along the coast and inside hotels from 1 July," he added.
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi told AFP that his country cannot stand up to the jihadist threat alone, and urged a unified global strategy.
In Cairo, leading Sunni Muslim institution Al-Azhar called the "heinous" shooting a "violation of all religious and humanitarian norms".
Tunisia, birthplace of the Arab Spring, has seen a surge in radical Islam since veteran president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was ousted in the 2011 revolution.
Dozens of members of the security forces have been killed in jihadist attacks since then.
In October 2013, a suicide bomber blew himself up in a botched attack on a Sousse beach while security forces foiled another planned attack nearby.
Even before the latest attack, Tunisia's tourism industry had been bracing for a heavy blow from the Bardo shooting, but was determined to attract tourists with new security measures and advertising.
Tourism accounts for seven percent of Tunisia's GDP and almost 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.