The Stagcom 4th July Round Up
Monday is upon us again, and the first weekend in July is already over. This month should bring us some fantastic action, and the weekend started off on the right note.
As appears to be the theme of 2016 (think Leicester City) it was a weekend with some huge shocks and upsets. If you were manning the barbecue over the weekend or on in-law duty - not to worry - we have everything covered for you in our weekend round up...
The Dream Continues
Wales continued to defy the odds by reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2016 with a 3-1 win over Belgium on Friday night! Radja Nainggolan gave Belgium an early lead with a thunderous strike, and Belgium looked like they may have had too much for Wales at that point.
Wales captain Ashley Williams levelled the match on the half-hour mark with a thumping header, and Hal Robson-Kanu scored shortly after the break with a neat turn and finish to make it 2-1. Belgium pushed for an equaliser but couldn't break the resilient Welsh defence down, and Sam Vokes sealed the victory with a late header. Chris Coleman's side will now face Portugal on Wednesday evening for a place in the European Championship Final!
Giants Set to Meet
Euro 2016 hosts France will play Germany on Thursday evening in the other semi-final after both nations progressed over the weekend.
Germany overcame Italy on Saturday night in a tightly contested quarter-final; Mesut Ozil gave the World Cup holders the lead on the hour, before Leonardo Bonucci levelled things up from the penalty spot. Neither side could find a breakthrough, so the game went to penalties where Germany did what they always do and won, 6-5.
Sunday night saw England's conquerors Iceland come up against France who ran out comfortable 5-2 winners in the end. Olivier Giroud scored twice as well as goals from Paul Pogba, Dmitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann gave the favourites an easy passage into the semi-finals.
Double Reason to Celebrate for Murray
Andy Murray had more than just his straight sets win over John Millman to celebrate on Saturday evening! Number one seed Novak Djokovic suffered a surprise defeat against Sam Querrey to leave Murray as the highest ranked player left at Wimbledon.
Murray put in an impressive performance against his Australian opponent to set up a fourth round tie against another Aussie - Nick Kyrgios. It will be Murray's toughest test so far, and will go a long way to proving whether he can go on and claim his second Wimbledon title. One thing is for certain though; the draw looks far more favourable with Djokovic's name absent!
Hamilton and Rosberg Continue to Collide
Lewis Hamilton won the Austrian Grand Prix to close the lead in the standings to 11 points, but the race was once again surrounded by controversy.
Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg was given a ten second penalty for causing a collision between himself and Hamilton on the final lap. The incident caused damage to Rosberg's car and the German fell back to fourth, which allowed Hamilton to win the race.
Yet again, tension will be high between the two drivers ahead of the British Grand Prix this weekend, so it should be a cracker at Silverstone!
England Thrash Sri Lanka
England completed a 3-0 series win with a convincing victory over Sri Lanka in the final ODI. An inspired 93 from Joe Root helped England record a score of 324-7, and Sri Lanka failed miserably in their run chase and were all out for 202.
The final match of this tour between the two sides is a Twenty20 game on Tuesday, and then attentions for England will turn to the First Test against Pakistan on 14th July.
Image credits: UEFA Euro 2016, US Bayern Munich, Sky Sports Tennis, Sky Sports F1, ICC