FRANCE 0-0 CZECH REPUBLIC (P) GERMANY (P) 1-1 ENGLAND

STORY OF THE DAY For the final time in a World Cup or European Championship, both semi-finals are on the same day. Old Trafford hosts what the Anglophone narrative might call an appetiser, but the French and Czechs would call the main course. It’s far from tasty.

The Czechs are even more of an unknown quantity than usual, missing four first-choice players through suspension, while the French are shorn of Christian Karembeu and skipper Didier Deschamps. With both playing one up top, this game seems destined for penalties.

The fall guy is Reynald Pedros. Petr Kouba watches the poor penalty and then saves it, allowing his captain, Miroslav Kadlec, to score the winner. Pedros is only 24 but his career never recovers. The Czechs are in the final. THE GOOD With another new finalist, the European Championship maintains a proud tradition of showcasing a newcomer to the endgame of a major tournament: Denmark in 1992, France 1984, Belgium 1980, Yugoslavia 1968, Spain 1964, and both the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia back in 1960. By contrast, the previous seven World Cup finals have been contested by the same pool of five nations, with every global final since its inception in 1930 having featured one of those sides. THE BAD If penalty shootouts are sport’s sugar high, Euro 96 is crying out for a little fibre, fat and carbs. Four of the six knockout matches have ended in spot-kicks; notably, three have been lacking in actual football. THEY SAID WHAT?! “There’s nothing more heart-breaking than to go out on penalties in a semi-final. It’s like getting ready to sit down at a wonderful banquet, then somebody takes the chair from under you” – Terry Venables. THE MEDIA “The Sun has always maintained a jingoistic approach rather than a xenophobic one” – Currant Bun editor Stuart Higgins plants a flag in the moral high ground.

IN OTHER NEWS... Veronica Guerin, the Irish crime reporter, is shot dead near Dublin.