Euro 2024 / Copa América international diary

A large number of the FC Barcelona squad still had some football to play this season, as the blaugrana commitments gave way to national team duty for Euro 2024 (June 14 to July 14) and the Copa América (June 20 to July 14).

Monday 15 July 

The Copa América ends with ex-blaugrana Leo Messi and Argentina taking the title with a 1-0 win over Colombia in the final in Miami. 

Sunday 14 July

Spain 2-1 England
Lamine Yamal played 88 minutes of the final win over England in the European Championships, producing an assist for Nico Williams' opening goal in the game in Berlin. Palmer equalised in the second half for Gareth Southgate's team but Mike Oyarzabal's winner with four minutes left handed Spain a record fourth win in the tournament. Pedri, Fermín and Ferran Torres also played their part in the Spanish national side's victory in the competition. A day after celebrating his 17th birthday, Lamine was handed the present of being named 'Best Young Player of the Tournament' for his part in Spain's success after also becoming the youngest player ever to play in a major tournament final. 

Canada 2-2 Uruguay (Uruguay win 4-3 on pens)
Ronaldo Araujo and Uruguay have finished in 3rd place in the Copa América after beating Canada on penalties. The match ended 2-2 in normal time as former blaugrana Luis Suárez scored late for Uruguay to force a penalty shoot out.

The final featuring Argentina and Colombia kicks off at 1.00am CEST on July 15.

Wednesday 10 July 

Uruguay, without the injured Ronald Araujo, were eliminated from the Copa America by Colombia, who will now face Argentina in a final without Barça representation. Jefferson Lerma's headed goal gave Colombia a first-half lead, but they had a man sent off shortly before the break. But Uruguay failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage.

Tuesday 9 July 

Spain 2-1 France 
Lamine Yamal set new records in Munich as he became the youngest player ever to play in a major tournament semi-final and the youngest player to score in the tournament's history with his equaliser in Spain's 2-1 win over France. Jules Kounde played all 90 minutes for the defeated French side. 

Sunday 7 July 

Uruguay 0-0 Brazil (4-2 pens.)
Uruguay and Ronald Araujo are through to the Copa América semi-finals to play Colombia. Barça's centre-back was substituted with a injury in the first half, while Raphinha played 82 minutes for Brazil in a match of few real opportunities that had to be decided from the spot. 

Saturday 6 July 

No Barça involvement in the remaining Euro 2024 quarter-finals but Raphinha's Brazil are in action in the Copa América quarter final against Ronald Araujo's Uruguay. Kick off is at 6pm local time in the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, which is Sunday morning 3am CEST. 

Friday July 5

Portugal 0-0 France (4-5 pens.) 
Jules Kounde and France are through to the semi-finals to face Spain after a nail biting win on penalties in the quarter-finals against Portugal. For Roberto Martínez's team João Cancelo started the game and was substituted near the end of the second half. João Félix came on in extra time and then missed a crucial penalty in the shoot out with Portugals' Euro 2024 campaign now at an end. 

Spain 2-1 Germany
A goal from Mikel Merino just in the nick of time saved Spain the lottery of a penalty shootout and sent them into the Euro semi-finals with a 2-1 extra time win over Germany. Spain had looked like they were on their way through in normal time, but Dani Olmo's goal was cancelled out by Florian Wirtz right at the very end. The downside, especially from a blaugrana point of view, was Pedri getting injured after just 12 minutes. 

As for the other Barça players, Lamine Yamal also started but was rather surprisingly substituted in the second half, with Ferran Torres coming on his place, while Fermin Lopez didn't feature in this one. And the result also spells the end of the road for Germany, for whom Ilkay Gundogan played the first 57 minutes today, while Ter Stegen once again watched on from the bench.

Thursday July 4

Both competitions are now at the quarter-final stage and will resume on July 5. Here's a recap of who is playing when and where.

Euro 2024

Friday July 5 at 6pm CEST in Stuttgart
Spain (Fermin Lopez, Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal & Pedri) v Germany (Ilkay Gundogan and Ter Stegen) 
Friday July 5 at 9pm CEST in Hamburg
Portugal (Joao Cancelo & Joao Felix) v France (Jules Kounde)
Saturday July 6 at 6pm CEST in Berlin
England v Switzerland
Saturday July 6 at 9pm CEST in Dusseldorf
Netherlands v Turkey

Copa América

Friday July 5 at 3am CEST in Houston
Argentina v Ecuador
Saturday July 6 at 3am CEST in Dallas
Venezuela v Canada
Sunday July 7 at 12am CEST in Phoenix
Colombia v Panama
Sunday July 7 at 3am CEST in Las Vegas
Uruguay (Ronald Araujo) v Brazil (Raphinha)

Wednesday July 3

Brazil 1-1 Colombia
The spoils were shared in one of the most eventful games of the Copa América so far as Brazil got the point they needed to ensure qualification for the quarter finals, but they'll be doing so as runners-up in Group D, which means an enticing encounter with Ronald Araujo's Uruguay in Las Vegas. Raphinha played a crucial role by scoring an absolute screamer of a free kick to give his side the lead after just 12 minutes, but Daniel Muñoz was able to level the score on the edge of half time.

Tuesday July 2

USA 0-1 Uruguay
It's three wins out of three for Uruguay, for whom Ronald Araujo featured in all 90 minutes of a 1-0 victory over the USMNT, in doing so eliminating the host nation from the competition. Napoli's Mathías Olivera scored the only goal of today's game to ensure La Celeste top the group, with Panama joining them in the last eight.

Monday July 1

Portugal 0-0 Slovenia (3-0 penalties) 
To round off the day in Europe, João Cancelo played all but the last three minutes of extra time for Portugal as they squeezed past Slovenia on penalties. Goalkeeper Diogo Costa was the hero saving all three penalties in the shoot out to send his side into a quarter final against the day's other winners France. 

France 1-0 Belgium
In a game that was a lot less exciting than most had expected, Jules Kounde's eventually got the job done against their Belgian neighbours in Dortmund, with Kolo Muani's late strike taking a deflection off Jan Vertonghens to thwart Koen Casteels in the Belgian goal. The Barça defender was named man of the match by UEFA as France advance to the semi-finals despite having yet to score a single goal from open play... two of their three goals having been own goals and the other was a penalty!

Sunday June 30

Spain 4-1 Georgia
Lamine Yamal played all 90 minutes of Spain's win in the last 16 of the competition with the 16 year old providing an assist for Fabián Ruiz goal which put Spain 2-1 in front. Fellow blaugrana Pedri was also in the starting line up and played 52 minutes of the game before being replaced by Dani Olmo. Luis de la Fuente's team will now meet Germany in the quarter finals on Friday, kick off 5pm CEST in Stuttgart. 

Saturday June 29

Germany 2-0 Denmark
This round of 16 match at the BVB Stadion in Dortmund was quite eventful, not least the 25 minute break in play for safety reasons due to adverse weather conditions. Both teams competed well, but two second half goals proved sufficient to defeat Denmark, with Andreas Christensen and İlkay Gündoğan playing 81 and 65 minutes for their respective sides. Marc-André ter Stegen was an unused substitute. As such, both Gündoğan and Ter Stegen continue in the tournament with Germany and will now face the winner of Spain v Georgia (9pm CEST Jun 30).

Paraguay 1-4 Brazil
Barça winger Raphinha played the last 18 minutes of the seleção's first win of the tournament which leaves them in second place in Group D ahead of a decisive final fixture in the initial phase against leaders Columbia.

Friday June 28

Uruguay 5-0 Bolivia 
Ronald Araujo played all 90 minutes in Uruguay's demolition of Bolivia in Group C in the Copa América. The Barça defender provided an assist with a far post header to set up Facundo Pellistri's opening goal after just eight minutes of the game in the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Barça Atlètic's Jaume Cuéllar came on for the last 16 minutes of the second half for Bolivia. The comfortable victory for Marcelo Bielsa's team means that they now just need a point from their final group game against hosts USA to secure a place in the last eight of the competition. 

Thursday June 27

No games played featuring blaugrana players today.

Wednesday June 26

Georgia 2-0 Portugal 
Barça man João Félix played all 90 minutes of Portugal's defeat in their final fixture in Group F against Georgia. Despite the loss, Roberto Martínez's team topped the group and now will face Slovenia in the last 16 on Monday 1 July at 9pm CEST. 

Tuesday June 25

France 1-1 Poland
Kounde and Lewandowski both played the full ninety minutes of this round 3 Group D match at Euro 2024. A tale of two penalties, Mbappé scored the first for France after former blaugrana Dembélé was upended just inside the box, before Polish skipper Lewandowski scored his penalty, which had to be retaken because the French keeper had moved off his line before saving his initial effort. Although already through, France miss out on top spot in the group, as that went to Austria, who beat The Netherlands 2-3.

Denmark 0-0 Serbia
A point proved enough to see Denmark and Andreas Christensen through to the last 16 of Euro 2024, while opponents Serbia are out after finishing bottom of Group C. The other match in the group between England and Slovenia also finished 0-0, meaning the table remained unchanged after today's fixtures.

Brazil 0-0 Costa Rica
The SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles was the venue for Brazil's first game at the Copa América, and it wasn't the most brilliant of starts for Raphinha's side, as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Costa Rica. The Barça player was on for the first 70 minutes of the game and had chances to score against an opponent that relied heavily on defence-first tactics and got away with it. After the first round of matches, Colombia top Group D thanks to their 2-1 defeat of Paraguay.

Monday June 24

Uruguay 3-1 Panama
The Copa América has got off to a good start for Ronald Araujo's side, who collected three points in Miami. Uruguay scored early on through his namesake Maxi, but despite dominating the match couldn't put it to bed until a flurry of goals arrived in the final minutes, two more for Uruguay and a late consolation for the Panamanians. However, there was a nasty shock at half-time when the Barça centre back had to be replaced, later explaining that he wasn't feeling well, putting it down to the heat and insufficient hydration.

Albania 0-1 Spain
Qualification and top spot were already assured for Spain before a ball was kicked in Dusseldorf, but they still went out and got the job done, Barça's Ferran Torres scoring the only goal of a 1-0 win over Albania, who are eliminated from Euro 24. Torres was rewarded for his goal and all-round brilliance with the MVP award. It was also a special day for Fermin Lopez, who finally got to make his big tournament debut when he came on for Mikel Oyarzabal to play the last half-hour. Torres was substituted by club colleague Lamine Yamal for the final part of the game.

France qualified
The draw between Croatia and Italy in the other game has the knock-on effect of Jules Kounde's France (along with England and the Netherlands) being assured of a place in the last sixteen.

Sunday June 23

USA 2-0 Bolivia
In the Copa América group stage, Jaume Cuéllar of Barça Atlètic was an unused substitute as his team were soundly beaten by the USMNT in Arlington, Texas.

Switzerland 1-1 Germany
A late header by substitute Füllkrug saw Germany win Group A after opponents Switzerland had been in top spot for most of the match since taking the lead during the first half. Captain Gündoğan played the entire game, while Ter Stegen remained on the bench. The other game in the group saw Hungary also score a late goal to beat Scotland and finish in third place.

Saturday June 22

Turkey 0-3 Portugal
A surprisingly comfortable victory makes it two wins out of two for Portugal, and what's more, they are guaranteed top spot in Group F. Goals from Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes either side of an own goal earned three more points, and João Cancelo on for the first 68 minutes and João Félix once again an unused substitute. Portugal will close the group against Georgia, who drew 1-1 with Czechia, but the outcome of that match will have no bearing on where they finish, which can only be first.

Friday June 21

Netherlands 0-0 France
The first goalless stalemate of Euro 2024 featured Jules Koundé playing all 90 minutes. Both sides were keen to give it a go early on, and the Dutch were seething when a Xavi Simons goal was chalked off for a controversial offside. But with a point each generally serving both sides' interests, the action petered out in the final minutes. Four points will probably be enough for both teams to advance to the next round, and France will have the chance to make absolutely sure of that when they face Poland in the final group game.

Poland 1-3 Austria
Having lost their first two games at Euro 24, things are looking bleak for Poland and Robert Lewandowski. With the Barça striker starting on the bench, the Poles managed to pull back through Piątek after going behind after just nine minutes. However, with Lewandowski on for the last half hour, Austria scored twice more, the second from the penalty spot to claim a win that left Poland on the verge of elimination, a fate that was confirmed by the draw between France and the Netherlands later in the day.

Thursday June 20

Spain 1-0 Italy
A dominant performance by a Spain side featuring Lamine Yamal and Pedri as starters saw them edge out reigning champions Italy in a match when the scoreline did not reflect the on-field play. Both blaugranes got some deserved rest after a fine match, with Ferran Torres one of the substitutes to replace them for the final 19 minutes plus added time. Fermín was an unused substitute this time, but they and the rest of the Spanish squad have confirmed their place in the last 16 with a group stage game to spare.

Denmark 1-1 England
Andreas Christensen played the full 90 minutes for Denmark in this draw against early group leaders England. The Danes were good value for their point after coming back from a goal down and looked more likely to find the winner as the game went on. A win against Serbia in the final group stage game is likely to see Denmark finish in either of the top two spots to automatically qualify for the knockout stages.

Wednesday June 19

Germany 2-0 Hungary
Captain İlkay Gündoğan scored and assisted as Germany dominated both possession and this second Group A game to overcome Hungary 2-0 and become the first team to qualify for the knockout stage. Ter Stegen watched his teammates win from the bench.

Tuesday June 18

Portugal 2-1 Czechia
João Cancelo played almost the entire time as Portugal came back to win in added time to go into second behind Turkey in the fledgling Group F table. João Félix was an unused substitute.

Monday June 17

Austria 0-1 France
In perhaps the most intense battle of the tournament so far, France edged it against a highly combative Austrian side, a 38th minute own goal from Wöber eventually splitting the sides at the Düsseldorf Arena. Jules Kounde was on for the full ninety minutes.

Sunday June 16

Slovenia 1-1 Denmark
Andreas Christensen played all 90 minutes of Denmark's opening fixture of the tournament in Hamburg- The Danes took the lead early in the first half, but Slovenia fought back to equalise in the second half. 

Poland 1-2 Netherlands
With Robert Lewandowski watching from the sidelines, the Polish national side went down to defeat in Hamburg in their opening fixture in Euro2024. The side coached by former blaugrana player and boss Ronald Koeman came back from behind against Poland after Buksa put Lewandowski's team ahead early in the first half. The Netherlands equalised through Gakpo before half time and substitute Wout Weghorst grabbed the winner with seven minutes remaining. 

Saturday June 15

Spain 3-0 Croatia 
Lamine Yamal and Pedri were in the starting XI for Spain's comfortable win in their opening fixture in the 2024 European Championships. Winger Lamine set a record for the tournament, becoming the youngest player ever to play in the final stages in a game in which he also provided an assist for Dani Carvajal to make it 2-0 in the first half. Pedri played almost an hour of the contest, Lamine 85 minutes and blaugrana striker Ferran Torres came on for the final five minutes of the victory. 

Friday June 14

Germany 5-1 Scotland
İlkay Gündoğan captained the hosts to a perfect start in the opening game of the tournament in front of an amazing atmosphere in Munich. Quick goals from Wirtz and Musiala meant Germany were already comfortably ahead before a blatant foul on Gündoğan not only resulted in Havertz converting a penalty to make it 3-0, but also in a red card for the offender, Porteous. Against ten men, Germany rarely looked troubled, and Füllkrug and Can took the night's tally up to five. Rüdiger's own goal was scant consolation for the outplayed Scots. Barça's other representative in the German squad, Marc-André Ter Stegen, watched the game from the bench.