Italy's forward Lorenzo Insigne celebrates scoring their second goal during the UEFA EURO 2020 quarter-final football match between Belgium and Italy at the Allianz Arena in Munich on July 2, 2021. ANDREAS GEBERT / POOL
Italy striker Lorenzo Insigne credited coach Roberto Mancini for building a "fun" atmosphere around the national team squad that has allowed him to put in his best performances at the European Championship.
Insigne scored a curling strike as the Italians reached the Euro 2020 semi-finals with a 2-1 win over top-ranked Belgium on Friday.
"I'm really having a lot of fun. I've never played with such a big smile on my face, it's like playing with my mates back home when I play during the week," he said.
"The head coach deserves credit for that because he really has allowed us to produce our best football. And everyone, myself included, is really playing with a smile on their faces. And that's our secret.
"I'm very pleased for the team as a whole because we're proving that we're a great squad and the head coach deserves a lot of credit for that. We simply need to kick on because we haven't achieved anything yet. We still have plenty to do.
"We need to kick on ... we haven't achieved anything yet. We need to put in this last effort, keep our head down and graft."
Italy will take on Spain in the semi-final at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.
Sherfane Rutherford struck an unbeaten half-century and Gudakesh Motie produced a brilliant display of spin bowling as West Indies thumped England by 30 runs in a Twenty20 World Cup Group C encounter on Wednesday.
Australia launched their Twenty20 World Cup campaign with a commanding 67-run victory over Ireland in Colombo on Wednesday, powered by four-wicket hauls from Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa.
Tottenham Hotspur have sacked manager Thomas Frank after eight months in charge, the Premier League club said on Wednesday, after a woeful run of results left the north London club hovering five points above the relegation zone.
South Africa survived Kagiso Rabada's final-over meltdown against Afghanistan and then a double Super Over drama before prevailing in a heart-stopping Group D match of the Twenty20 World Cup on Wednesday.
Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan has hit a swift half-century as the 2009 champions comfortably beat the US by 32 runs on Tuesday, clinching their second straight Group A win in the Twenty20 World Cup.
The UAE's Federal Authority for Government Human Resources has announced the official working hours for federal entities during the holy month of Ramadan.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, attended the final day of the seventh UAE SWAT Challenge at the Al Ruwayyah training ground in Dubai.
The UAE has chaired an emergency meeting of the Arab League in Cairo to address recent Israeli decisions to expand settlements in the Palestinian territories.