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Copa del Rey

Copa del Rey news

Diego Simeone Lamine Yamal Atletico Madrid Barcelona 2025-26

Yamal ridiculed by Simeone during disastrous Barcelona defeat

Barcelona wonderkid Lamine Yamal was ridiculed by Diego Simeone during the Blaugrana’s disastrous Copa del Rey defeat to Atletico Madrid. Hansi Flick’s side, who sit top of the Liga table, found themselves four goals down by half-time in the first leg of an epic cup clash at Riyadh Air Metropolitano. Simeone took great delight in reminding Yamal of the scoreline.

L. YamalBarcelona
Julian Alvarez Atletico Madrid GFX

Alvarez a wanted man despite two-month goal drought

The Metropolitano pitch has become a major talking point ahead of Atletico Madrid's Copa del Rey semi-final first leg against Barcelona. "Honestly, it's not in good condition," Koke admitted after Sunday's home defeat to Real Betis. "We slip, the turf comes up. Clearly, we have to play better, so it's not an excuse, but we're expected to perform at a high level and we need a pitch of that same quality to be able to do so."

AnalysisAtletico Madrid
Ademola Lookman

Simeone heaps praise on 'different' Lookman after debut wonder goal

Diego Simeone has hailed the "different" qualities of Ademola Lookman after the Nigerian international marked his Atletico Madrid debut with a stunning strike. The former Atalanta star joined the Spanish giants in the final days of the January window and wasted no time making an impact during a 5-0 rout of Real Betis. Simeone believes the attacker offers a unique threat to his squad.

Atletico MadridA. Lookman
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Lamine Yamal Barcelona 2026

Yamal's on fire! Teen leads Barca into Copa semis

Barcelona secured safe passage through to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey with a 2-1 win over Segunda Division outfit Albacete on Tuesday. The Catalan giants were made to wait until the 39th minute before Lamine Yamal opened the scoring, and Ronald Araujo later netted the second of the night, though Javi Moreno's strike set up a nervy ending to the encounter.

Player ratingsBarcelona
Racing de Santander v FC Barcelona - Copa del Rey

Barcelona stars label Garcia the 'best in the world' after Copa heroics

Barcelona stars were queuing up to praise goalkeeper Joan Garcia after his stoppage-time heroics saved the Catalan giants from a potential Copa del Rey disaster against Racing Santander. The Spanish champions scraped through to the quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory, but the scoreline masked a nervy evening where only the brilliance of their shot-stopper prevented them from suffering the same humiliating fate as arch-rivals Real Madrid.

BarcelonaJ. Garcia

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Barcelona Racing

Yamal finishes the job as Barca avoid Copa del Rey shock

Barcelona avoided a Copa del Rey upset thanks to second-half goals from Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal in a 2-0 win. A day after bitter rivals Real Madrid were dumped out of the competition by second division side Albacete, Hansi Flick's men overcame a stern examination against similar opposition on Thursday. The cup holders were indebted to substitute Fermin Lopez as they reached the quarter-finals in battling fashion.

Player ratingsBarcelona
Guler Arbeloa Real Madrid Albacete

Was Alonso the problem?! Madrid embarrassed in Copa del Rey

Real Madrid were woeful defensively, and despite goals from Franco Mastantuono and Gonzalo Garcia, succumbed to second division Albacete in the Copa Del Rey, losing 3-2 on Wednesday to get Alvaro Arbeloa's reign off to a forgettable start. Los Blancos had most of the ball throughout, but created few clear cut chances. The home side, meanwhile, were clinical - and good value for the win.

Player ratingsReal Madrid
Kylian Mbappe Real Madrid 2025-26

Mbappe absent from first Real training session after Alonso axe

Kylian Mbappe played no part in Real Madrid’s first training session since taking the decision to part with head coach Xabi Alonso. He was relieved of his duties in the wake of a Spanish Super Cup final defeat to Barcelona, with the axe falling within 24 hours of that setback in Saudi Arabia being suffered. Reins have been passed to Alvaro Arbeloa on an interim basis, but he is not yet working with French superstar Mbappe.

K. MbappeReal Madrid
Real Madrid win in the Copa del Rey

Mbappe stars again & Endrick impresses in Copa win

Kylian Mbappe scored two and set up another as Real Madrid unconvincingly saw off Spanish third-tier side Talavera 3-2 to reach the last-16 of the Copa del Rey. The 26-year-old converted a penalty, forced the hosts into an own-goal, and scored a fortuitous long-range strike, but that nearly wasn't enough as the underdogs made it a tense finish with two late goals on Wednesday.

Player ratingsReal Madrid
CD Guadalajara v FC Barcelona - Copa del Rey

Flick praises Ter Stegen after Barcelona return

Hansi Flick has explained his shock decision to hand Marc-Andre ter Stegen a first start in months, insisting the veteran goalkeeper deserved the "opportunity" to step back between the sticks. The Barcelona boss hailed the German’s attitude after a morale-boosting victory, though he was quick to clarify the keeper’s immediate status in the pecking order.

M. ter StegenBarcelona
CD Guadalajara v FC Barcelona - Copa del Rey

Rashford on target as Barca struggle past minnows

Andreas Christensen and Marcus Rashford were on target for Barcelona in the second half as the La Liga champions secured a hard-fought 2-0 win over third-tier Spanish side CD Guadalajara in a Copa del Rey round of 32 clash on Tuesday. The minnows fought tooth and nail throughout the match and had successfully kept a clean sheet until the 76th minute but Hansi Flick's side eventually prevailed.

BarcelonaM. Rashford

Frequently asked questions

Spain are the most successful side in the European Championship, having lifted the coveted title four times. Their first-ever title came in 1964. After a long wait of 44 years, La Roja won the trophy in 2008 and successfully defended it in 2012 under the-then boss Vicente del Bosque. They won the most recent edition in 2024 and set a record of winning every single game en route to glory.

There are 24 teams in the European Championships ever since the expansion in 2016. Initially there were only four teams in the Euros, before that number was doubled to eight in 1980, and then to 16 countries in 1996.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo has made 30 appearances in the European Championship, having featured in six consecutive editions. He won the tournament in 2016.

No player has scored more goals in the European Championship than the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo. The 39-year-old has scored 14 goals in 30 games in total, five more than any other player.

Portugal centre-back Pepe was aged 41 years and 130 days when his team took on France in the quarter-final of the 2024 edition, thus becoming the oldest player to ever feature in the European Championship.

Spanish sensation Lamine Yamal has been creating a host of records since breaking out at Barcelona in 2023. He was a crucial contributor in Spain's EURO 2024 victory, and also became the youngest player ever to feature in the European Championship finals, making his debut in the tournament at the age of 16 years and 338 days.

Paolo Maldini, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry, Manuel Neuer, Andres Iniesta, Iker Casillas, Eden Hazard, Michel Platini, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Gareth Bale are some of the most prominent names to have represented their nations at the European Championship.

Roberto Mancini, Ronald Koeman, Guus Hiddink, Dino Zoff, Antonio Conte, Andriy Shevchenko, Luis Enrique, Miguel Munoz, Kevin Keegan, Frank Rijkaard, Arrigo Sacchi, Julian Nagelsmann, etc are some of the most famous managers to have managed in the European Championship.

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