Romania defeated Kosovo 2-0 in a EURO 2024 qualifier on Tuesday, but the match was suspended in the 18th minute after “discriminatory behavior from some supporters,” according to UEFA’s website.

A section of Romanian fans held up a banner that read ‘Kosovo is Serbia,’ while some members of the home end chanted “Serbia, Serbia,” according to Reuters.

The game was temporarily paused, with the referee taking the players off the field.

It also said it “firmly condemns provocative messages of a political, ideological, religious or insulting nature” and confirmed law enforcement had identified those involved.

“A legal investigation will be conducted according to the facts committed,” it added.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, following the 1998-99 war in which Kosovar Albanians attempted to break from what was then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, made up of today’s Serbia and Montenegro. NATO intervened in the war to protect Kosovo’s Albanian majority.

Serbia views Kosovo as a breakaway state and does not recognize its independence. Kosovo’s Serbs view themselves as part of Serbia, and see Belgrade as their capital, rather than Pristina.

Meanwhile, Romania does not recognize Kosovo, which has caused tension between the two.

The game was eventually restarted, with Kosovo being reduced to 10 men just before the half-time interval when Vedat Muriqi was sent off after receiving a second yellow card for a foul.

Although it took much of the second half for the hosts to break the deadlock, Romania finally exploited its numerical advantage and moved ahead in the 83rd minute through Nicolae Stanciu, before Valentin Mihăilă doubled the lead in added time.

Romania moves into second place on 12 points in Group I, while Kosovo dropped to fifth position and remain winless on four points.

Jude Bellingham, Robert Lewandowski, Luka Modrić – those are just some of the big names currently playing in LaLiga.

Now, the Spanish soccer league has linked up with the biggest name in the sport. Or, more accurately, the longest name: Welsh team Clwb Pêl Droed Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch Football Club.

The team, based in North Wales and more commonly known as CPD Llanfairpwll FC, is set to be sponsored by LaLiga throughout the current season.

The league’s “LL” logo will appear on the front of Llanfairpwll’s jerseys, which also bear the town’s full, 58-letter name on the club crest.

“This really is an outstanding partnership for us,” Samantha Jones-Smith, the club’s chairwoman, said as part of a LaLiga press release. “Not only is it the most exciting collaboration the club has ever had, but it also allows us to improve both on and off the field.”

According to the press release, the jersey will debut on Saturday as Llanfairpwll, currently playing in the fifth tier of Welsh soccer, faces Holyhead Town.

“We’ve got a great group here who are really committed to bringing success to the club,” said manager Gwydaf Hughes.

“This new partnership with LaLiga brings further professionalism to our side, and I know the lads can’t wait to wear the new kit with pride from this Saturday and throughout the season.”

The coastal village, located on island of Anglesey, is said to have the longest town name in Europe. It’s not the original name, but was devised in the nineteenth century by a local cobbler as a way to attract tourists to the area.

Llanfairpwll, which next year celebrates its 125th anniversary, isn’t the only Welsh team to achieve international distinction. Wrexham, under the ownership of Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, has become a globally recognized name in recent years and last season gained promotion to League Two, the fourth tier of English soccer.

Hurricane and tropical storm watches are now in effect for much of coastal New England as Hurricane Lee threatens to deliver a blow to parts of the region as well as Atlantic Canada later this week and into the weekend.

“Hurricane conditions, heavy rainfall, and coastal flooding are possible in portions of eastern Maine on Saturday,” the National Hurricane Center said. A hurricane watch has been issued for the area, it said.

The center also warned there is potential for “life-threatening storm surge flooding” in parts of southeastern Massachusetts, including Cape Cod and Nantucket late Friday and Saturday. A storm surge watch has been issued there.

A tropical storm watch has also now been issued for a large part of coastal New England, the center added.

Lee’s winds could arrive as early as Friday evening for portions of New England.

The massive storm, which remained a Category 2 hurricane Wednesday evening, was churning about 380 miles south-southwest of Bermuda, according to a 5 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 105 mph.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect for Bermuda ahead of Lee’s brush with the island Thursday.

Lee will weaken, but the storm’s impacts beyond its center will be significant because of its colossal size, which has grown considerably since the weekend. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles from the center, and tropical storm-force winds extend out up to 265 miles.

And that’s why a weaker storm isn’t less hazardous. A larger storm carries the potential to impact a more widespread area, increasing the likelihood that Lee will affect New England. And the waterlogged region is particularly susceptible to damage from strong winds and additional rainfall.

Regardless of its exact track, the storm’s impacts are expected to be widespread in New England, even if it doesn’t make landfall.

“Due to Lee’s large size, hazards will extend well away from the center, and there will be little to no significance on exactly where the center reaches the coast,” the hurricane center has said.

The soil across much of New England is already soaked. Rainfall in parts of Massachusetts and New Hampshire is more than 300% above normal values over the past two weeks, according to weather service data. Destructive flooding already occurred in parts of Massachusetts earlier this week.

More rainfall this week ahead of Lee will prime the environment for flash flooding, so even moderate amounts of rain from Lee could be dangerous.

The combination of tropical storm-force wind gusts and saturated soil will also bring down trees more easily, especially since trees across New England are still in full leaf. This raises the risk of a higher number of power outages across the region.

Meanwhile, dangerous surf is affecting the southeastern US coast from Florida through the Carolinas. The risk of rip currents now spans the East Coast from Florida to coastal Massachusetts.

For New York Jets fans, it was a feeling of sadness, despondency and familiar memories; a star quarterback injures his Achilles tendon in the first game of the season for a team that has Super Bowl aspirations.

While Vinny Testaverde’s 1999 season-ending injury hurt, for a team with realistic dreams of lifting a first Super Bowl title since 1968, Aaron Rodgers’ complete tear of his left Achilles felt like being punched in a still sore gut yet again.

For many neutrals, it was a feeling of disappointment at seeing an NFL great being ruled out until September next year, if he decides to return at all.

But for some of Rodgers’ fellow NFL players, the reaction to the 39-year-old’s season-ending injury was more visceral.

Watching one of their ranks be so cruelly struck down just four plays into a debut season with a new team, especially with so much excitement around the Jets, was gut-wrenching, and criticism has begun to rain down on league officials in an ongoing debate about playing on artificial turf rather than grass.

The most vociferous of those calls came from Rodgers’ former Green Bay Packers teammate and close friend David Bakhtiari who published a series of posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, suggesting that the artificial turf used at MetLife Stadium – the Jets home stadium where Rodgers sustained the injury – played some role in the four-time MVP’s Achilles tear.

“Congrats [NFL]. How many more players have to get hurt on ARTIFICIAL TURF??!” the five-time All-Pro left tackle posted. “You care more about soccer players than us.

“You plan to remove all artificial turf for the World Cup coming up. So clearly it’s feasible. I’m sick of this..Do better!”

In another post, Bakhtiari said: “Can we put an end to this sh*t already.”

Although six MLS teams play their home matches on artificial turf, all matches at the 2026 World Cup will be played on natural grass. In the NFL, 17 of the 32 NFL franchises play on an artificial surface of one form or another.

Bakhtiari’s calls were echoed by his fellow long-time Packers teammate and now Jets wide receiver Randall Cobb.

“We wanted the NFL to protect the players with grass fields, but the NFL is more worried about making money,” Cobb told reporters after the Jets’ win over the Bills, per The Athletic.

“Profit over people, it’s always been the case. I’ve never been a fan of turf. That’s my stance.”

In an ESPN interview on Wednesday, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league would rely on science to figure out the turf debate.

“That’s where we make decisions on the basis of science, not because I see an injury that I don’t like. Ultimately, I want our experts to come back and give it to us,” he said.

“When you look at the turf, you’ve also got to look at the cleats, and there are a lot of factors and it’s a complex issue.”

After the game on Monday, Jets head coach Robert Saleh downplayed speculation about the role the new turf field at MetLife Stadium played in Rodgers tearing his left Achilles tendon.

“If it was a non-contact injury, I think that’d be something to discuss obviously, but that was kind of a forcible – I think that was trauma induced,” Saleh told reporters on Tuesday, though he added: “I do know the players prefer grass and there’s a lot invested in those young men.”

Real or artificial

Synthetic turf was first introduced in the mid 1960s when the Houston Astrodome, known as the “Eighth Wonder of the World,” was opened as the home to the Houston Oilers.

Because it was cheaper and required less upkeep than grass, synthetic turf became popular across the league in the 1970s and 80s. The springier surface also allowed for faster, more explosive levels of action.

However, a desire to shift away from artificial turf to natural grass has been advocated by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA), whose president, JC Tretter, wrote in April: “For more than a decade, players have been speaking out about their strong preference to work on natural grass over synthetic playing surfaces.

“Players have shared stories about how their bodies feel after playing on turf compared to grass, and the injury data for nearly a decade supports those anecdotes.”

In the article, the NFLPA referenced a “large media offensive” by the NFL to “push back against the historical data and players’ experiences” on artificial turf.

Tretter highlighted analysis shared by the NFL and collated by IQVIA – a third-party company that provides results to the league, the NFLPA and medical and football committees – indicating that injury rates between the two surfaces had gotten better from 2018 to 2021.

However, he argued, looking at data further back showed injury rates on synthetic surfaces were higher than on natural surfaces.

In 2021, the difference between the number of injuries sustained on the two surfaces was significantly smaller than previous years. However, the NFLPA president believes that single year is an anomaly and that there is a need for change.

Tretter also cited a study published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine in 2018 that showed higher rates of lower body injuries sustained on artificial turf than on grass.

In the study, injuries were studied between 2012 and 2016 and it found that play on synthetic turf resulted in a 16% increase in lower extremity injuries per play than that on natural turf.

“Instead of following the long-term data (which is clear on this issue), listening to players and making the game safer, the NFL used an outlier year to engage in a PR campaign to convince everyone that the problem doesn’t actually exist,” the former Packers and Cleveland Browns center said.

Tretter concluded: “The NFL and team owners have the resources to fix these safety issues with fields, and it is inexplicable why there is such a failure to protect players on an issue that EVERYONE knows is a problem.

“It makes absolutely no sense for European soccer clubs to visit the US every year … and play exhibition games at NFL stadiums on high-quality natural grass while NFL players are subjected to greater risk on artificial surfaces.

“And it is absolutely appalling that owners are more willing to provide safe fields for soccer players than for the football players who are the primary workers on those fields – and who, in many cases, helped pay for the stadiums where those fields lay.

“As much as the NFL wants to ignore the grass field issue, the data and their actions will continue to demonstrate their callous hypocrisy.”

At a virtual news conference on Tuesday, Jeff Miller – NFL executive vice president of communications, public affairs & policy and health & safety – said there was no difference in rates of Achilles injuries between natural grass and synthetic surfaces dating back to 2015.

“Because an injury happens on a surface doesn’t mean that it’s actually caused by that surface and, in this case, we haven’t seen a data difference for Achilles injuries,” Miller said.

“There’s a lot more work to do. We don’t want those injuries in the game. We want to prevent those that we can, especially major injuries like those and we’ll continue to do that through the data, through the research and through a great deal of effort.”

When asked on Tuesday what message it sends to league players that a few stadiums change their surface from artificial to grass for soccer and then revert back to the synthetic field for football, Miller said: “We do spend a lot of time thinking about surfaces and their injury rates and how those relate to how our game is played in the particular use cases for football.”

He added: “There are certain natural grass surfaces that from an injury rate perspective have a lower injury rate than synthetic surfaces and some synthetic surfaces that have a lower injury rate than natural grass.

“We want to drive all of those down and the only way to do that is to understand the characteristics of each of those surfaces and how they contribute to injury or don’t contribute to injury.”

In a statement on Tuesday, NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell questioned why “inferior artificial surfaces” were acceptable for the NFL.

“Moving all stadium fields to high quality natural grass surfaces is the easiest decision the NFL can make,” Howell said.

“The players overwhelmingly prefer it and the data is clear that grass is simply safer than artificial turf. It is an issue that has been near the top of the players’ list during my team visits and one I have raised with the NFL.

“While we know there is an investment to making this change, there is a bigger cost to everyone in our business if we keep losing our best players to unnecessary injuries.

“It makes no sense that stadiums can flip over to superior grass surfaces when the World Cup comes, or soccer clubs come to visit for exhibition games in the summer … This is worth the investment and it simply needs to change now.”

Discussions over the injury risk of playing on artificial turf or grass isn’t confined to the NFL.

A review of studies published in eClinicalMedicine in April concluded that the overall incidence of injuries in soccer “was 14% (7%–21%) lower on artificial turf than on grass” and that “men and women both had lower injury incidences on artificial turf.”

While the debate is sure to rage on in the NFL between the players and the league, what remains is a shocked fan base, team and a player whose dreams of raising the championship trophy have been deflated by a major injury.

Ruben Flowers stumbled across the photo by accident.

It was early 2023 and he was thumbing through photo albums at his grandmother’s house. Suddenly, there it was: a snapshot from 1994, taken in an airplane flight deck, depicting him as a toddler, sitting next to his pilot dad.

In this picture, Flowers is looking at his dad in admiration. His father smiles at the camera, ready to fly the plane.

Flowers had forgotten the photo existed, but seeing it again, he was flooded with memories of growing up, inspired by his father. He’d loved their trips to the airport, tagging along to the training center, taking a go on the simulators. He’d beamed with pride when his dad talked about his job at the school careers day.

And the timing of the rediscovered photo was perfect: Flowers, now 30, was just about to follow in his father’s footsteps and begin flying as a First Officer for Southwest Airlines.

Meanwhile Flowers’ father – also called Ruben Flowers – was nearing retirement and readying for his final Southwest flight as Captain.

The two men were excited to briefly overlap at Southwest and hoped they’d get an opportunity to fly together.

“It was a dream of mine to make it to this point to fly with my dad, it was probably my number one aviation goal.”

First Officer Ruben Flowers

After rediscovering the old photo, the two Flowers men added a coda to the goal: not only did they want to fly together, they wanted to recreate the 1990s flight deck photo, over two decades later. Not just as father and son, but as colleagues and co-pilots.

Cut to March 2023 and the older Flowers was flying his final Southwest flight, piloting an aircraft from Omaha, Nebraska to his home city of Chicago, Illinois. His son was by his side, as his first officer.

“That was an awesome feeling,” says the older Flowers. “To look over there and see my son, next to me, for my last landing.”

And, naturally, they recreated the 1994 photo, both grinning happily in the 2023 version.

“It was just great to be able to recreate that moment,” says the younger Flowers. “It was a dream come true moment.”

Family affair

Also on board the older Flowers’ retirement flight was his brother and his cousin, who both work for Southwest too. In case you hadn’t realized by now, flying truly is a family affair for the Flowers.

“There are seven of us,” explains the older Flowers. “Me. My brother’s a pilot. I have three kids, all pilots. And my brother’s son is a pilot and my cousin is a pilot. And it’s just amazing to me that they all wanted to be pilots.”

At family events and on holidays, the Flowers family try to keep work talk to a minimum “but there’s always a story that sparks it off, and then it gets into aviation,” as the younger Flowers puts it.

The Flowers family aviation legacy began when the older Flowers was a kid growing up in Michigan in the 1960s and 70s.

“A pilot one day asked me if I wanted to come up to the cockpit. And I did it,” he recalls. “And oh, my God, it was like the bug bit me – I wanted to be a pilot. And from that point on, I just focused on being an airline pilot.”

Once he qualified, the older Flowers made it his mission to inspire others to follow in his footsteps. The fact that ended up including many of his loved ones was accidental. He says he always encouraged his kids to explore whatever they loved, whatever that might be.

The younger Flowers says that while he grew up in awe of his dad and proud of his work, he didn’t officially decide to become an aviator until midway through college.

Looking back now though, he thinks the signs were always pointing in that direction.

“It was always something that was probably in the back of my head that I probably wanted to do all my life,” he says.

Working as a team

The older Flowers’ retirement flight was always going to be emotional, and having his son by his side only made it more so. He says it’s not surprising that when they pulled into the gate “some tears came down.”

The younger Flowers says the in-air, father-son working dynamic wasn’t dissimilar from “doing the lawn together, or something of that nature.”

“It just worked out smooth and naturally, and it went great,” he says, although he adds he was definitely trying to “impress” his dad with his skills and competency.

The older Flowers says he was aware the flight was a one-off opportunity for him to pass on flying intel to his son in situ.

“It went really well, it was nice and smooth,” he says of the experience. “And it was an awesome feeling – making a PA to the passengers, and they find out there’s a father and son up there in the cockpit. Everybody clapping…”

Continuing legacy

While the older Flowers has now left Southwest, his legacy lives on at the airline – not only via his son, but via other aviators he worked with and mentored over the years.

Flowers speaks fondly of his own mentor, Louis Freeman, who became Southwest Airlines first Black pilot when he was hired in 1980.

“He was a mentor to me,” says the older Flowers of Freeman. “And now I’m trying to be a mentor to others. And I hope my son can be a mentor to others, not just family members.”

While at Southwest, Flowers was part of the airline’s Adopt-A-Pilot program, working with elementary school kids to inspire them to explore careers in aviation.

He’s also a longtime member of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP), where he works to uplift Black aviators.

He encourages prospective pilots to do their research online, look out for programmes, and speak to anyone and everyone they can to get inspiration, information and advice.

The younger Flowers echoes this – he’s actively involved in mentoring young pilots via social media, but he’s also had the occasional in-person conversation with a prospective pilot while transiting through the airport. He says if he can, he’ll always stop and pass on a few words of wisdom between flights.

“That was an awesome feeling. To look over there and see my son, next to me, for my last landing.”

Captain Ruben Flowers

As for his own personal goals, now that he’s achieved his dream of flying with his father, the younger Flowers next dream is to fly side-by-side with his younger brother, who has just recently completed pilot training.

He’s already had the pleasure of flying with his pilot sister several years ago and says it would be incredible if he could complete the family trifecta.

“That’s what I’m looking forward to, is to be able to fly in the plane with my brother,” he says.

The older Flowers is excited for that day too, and says he’s unendingly proud of his three children.

“It’s unbelievable,” he says. “It’s an awesome feeling to know that my son is flying, and my daughter and my youngest son, all three of them are flyers.”

Romania beat Kosovo 2-0 in a Euro 2024 qualifier that was suspended on Tuesday for just under an hour after Romanian fans repeatedly shouted pro-Serbia chants.

The game in Bucharest was stopped in the 18th minute after some of the crowd chanted “Serbia, Serbia” and a player confronted people in the stands displaying a sign saying “Kosovo is Serbia,” with the referee sending the players back to the changing rooms.

“The match has resumed after play was suspended due to discriminatory behavior from some supporters,” UEFA said on its website after an interruption of 50 minutes.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008 and won recognition from more than 100 countries, but not from Romania.

The game restarted and, shortly before the break, Kosovo’s Vedat Muriqi was sent off for a second yellow card after a foul on midfielder Vladimir Screciu.

The Romanians capitalized in the second half with goals from Nicolae Stanciu in the 83rd minute and Valentin Mihaila in stoppage time.

The victory moved Romania into second place in Group I with 12 points, two points behind leaders Switzerland. Kosovo dropped to fifth place.

Aaron Rodgers’ arrival in the MetLife Stadium on Monday night signaled that change and hope were on the way for the New York Jets, but it turns out that this season’s long-awaited new era has suffered a significant setback.

The 39-year-old made his Jets debut against the Buffalo Bills after arriving from the Green Bay Packers, with whom he had spent the previous 17 seasons, via a trade during the offseason.

Armed with a four-time MVP at quarterback and having reworked their roster in order to ‘win-now,’ there was a sense of optimism amongst Jets supporters as the team seeks its first playoff appearance since 2010.

However, just four snaps into Rodgers’ New York career, disaster struck. He was sacked by Bills defensive end Leonard Floyd and appeared to be in much discomfort, remaining on the ground for several minutes before being helped off the field.

Rodgers has since been confirmed to have suffered a complete tear of his left Achilles, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.

“I hurt for Aaron and how much he has invested in all of this. I’m still going to hold out hope,” said Jets head coach Robert Saleh, shortly after the game before the severity of the injury was confirmed. “But my heart’s with Aaron right now, nobody else.”

If the shift in tone was noticeable and the outlook for the Jets immediately seemingly somewhat bleak, Rodgers’ supporting cast proved that all was not lost as they battled the Bills all the way into overtime.

Zach Wilson, the Jets’ starting quarterback for the last two seasons, checked into the game and threw for 140 yards, going 14-21 on passes, completing one touchdown and one interception.

Breece Hall rushed for 127 yards on 10 carries, Garrett Wilson tipped the ball to himself for an impressive touchdown in the fourth quarter and kicker Greg Zuerlein chipped in with three field goals.

However, it was on the defensive side where the Jets really shone. Gang Green forced four turnovers from Bills quarterback Josh Allen – a fumble to go along with three interceptions by Jordan Whitehead. That’s a career-worst statistic for Allen.

The star of the show on Monday ended up being Xavier Gipson. Just under a minute into overtime, the undrafted rookie wide receiver out of Stephen F. Austin University returned a punt 65 yards for a walk-off touchdown. That was just the third overtime punt return touchdown in NFL history.

The MetLife Stadium was jubilant as the Jets celebrated their 22-16 victory, a stark contrast to the atmosphere during the first quarter.

Where do the Jets go from here?

It is worth noting that New York essentially improvised much of their offensive display, having expected to go into the season with their future Hall of Famer running the show.

Producing this type of performance on the fly was genuinely impressive and lends hope to the idea that this Jets side will be able to improve further after they have fully adjusted to this nightmare scenario of playing without Rodgers via revamped practice sessions.

It may seem unthinkable to already be faced with the prospect of life without Rodgers, but the NFL does not wait for anyone.

The Jets’ defensive core proved that they could do more than hold their own on Monday and it shouldn’t be forgotten that New York boast the reigning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, Sauce Gardner, amongst its ranks.

Their pass rush put pressure on Allen all night, while the likes of D.J. Reed and Quincy Williams racked up the tackles. It is unlikely that they will be able to frustrate NFL offenses to this extent across the entire season, but this was a promising start.

Hall’s return from the ACL injury that he suffered last season was also encouraging, with his 127 yards including an 83-yard dash. The Jets will hope that they can count on more from Wilson and Dalvin Cook, while Gipson continuing to contribute would be an added bonus.

Quarterback conundrum

Back in January, Wilson was asked about what his reaction would be if the Jets were to add a new quarterback. He responded: “I’m gonna make that dude’s life hell in practice every day.”

Saleh confirmed after the victory over the Bills that Wilson will be “the guy” going forward. The only other quarterback on the Jets’ roster is Tim Boyle, who is currently listed amongst the practice squad and was not active last night.

After entering the league to much fanfare as the second overall draft pick in 2021, Wilson’s first two years in the league did not go as planned, with the Jets falling to a losing record in both of his seasons as a starter.

He spent time as the second and third-string quarterback behind Mike White and Joe Flacco in his sophomore year, before the keys were handed over to Rodgers.

The 24-year-old Wilson now has the opportunity to take control of an offense that he is familiar with whilst also acknowledging that it is no longer built for him.

Despite Boyle being the only other quarterback on the roster, Saleh’s comments indicate that the Jets will not pursue an quarterback in that position in the trade market, nor will they look to recruit a veteran free agent such as Matt Ryan or Carson Wentz.

However, despite the Jets’ perceived loyalty to him, it will likely take personal improvement from Wilson for the franchise to retain their faith in him throughout the year.

Germany snapped its five-game winless streak with a shock 2-1 victory against France on Tuesay.

Versatile veteran Thomas Müller opened the scoring for Germany inside the opening five minutes of the match in front of a lively Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund.

As the game was nearing its conclusion, Leroy Sané latched on to a Kai Havertz pass to make it 2-0 before Antoine Griezmann’s late penalty gave the France fans something to cheer about.

The 2-1 win was much needed. Germany has been lackluster of late and will need to shake off this malaise before hosting next summer’s European Championships.

Germany’s woes

Coming into the game, Germany was at rock bottom, having lost its previous match in humiliating fashion after being thrashed 4-1 by Japan in front of their home fans.

Following the result, head coach Hansi Flick was relieved of his duties by the German Football Association (DFB) and national team director Rudi Völler was placed in charge on an interim basis.

Flick was appointed head coach in August 2021, succeeding Joachim Löw after Germany’s disappointing early exit from the delayed 2020 European Championship.

However, Flick’s appointment did not go as planned. Germany won just four of its last 16 matches while the head coach was in charge – a streak stretching back to March 2022.

In the former Bayern Munich coach’s first major tournament, Germany was surprisingliy eliminated in the group stages at the 2022 World Cup.

In Qatar, Germany won just one game – a 4-2 victory against Costa Rica, losing to Japan and drawing with Spain in its two other matches.

While this Germany squad is arguably weaker than former, more successful, iterations the performances and results have been below par for a powerhouse of world soccer.

Germany has won the European Championships three times and as hosts of the tournament next summer the team will have huge home backing.

New beginnings

“Going into the European Championship next summer, we need confidence and optimism in the country regarding our team,” DFB president Bernd Neuendorf said in a statement regarding Flick’s exit.

“This has been one of the most difficult decisions I have had to make during my time in this role because I really respect Hansi Flick and his assistants, both on a professional and personal level.

“Sporting success is of the upmost importance to the DFB, which is why this decision had to be made,” Neuendorf continued.

Team director Völler admitted that the DFB had run out of patience with Flick.

“The Japan game clearly showed us that we couldn’t carry on like this,” Völler’s statement read.

“Our most pressing task then will be to find a new coach that can help provide the team with a fresh impetus and can then prepare them for EURO 2024 next year.”

The next generation

Germany fans will be hoping that a squad built around some of its younger stars will be able to upset the odds at next year’s tournament.

Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz will surely be among some of Germany’s most important players by the time the tournament comes around.

With both players aged just 20 years old, they will be stars of the German national team for years to come and a home European Championship will give them a chance to shine in front of rapturous home support.

It will be up to the new head coach to get the best out of these talented youngsters while also trying to extract every last ounce of energy out of Germany’s veteran players.

Alongside its wonderkids, experienced stars Müller, Sané and Serge Gnabry, should provide an attack that can cause opposition teams serious trouble if utilized properly.

“We hope the tournament can have a positive impact on both German football and the country as a whole,” Völler added.

Massachusetts cities devastated by floodwater could face new perils as more rain is on the way and officials wonder whether a “very sensitive” dam in will hold up.

Gov. Maura Healey has declared a state of emergency across Massachusetts on Tuesday due to “catastrophic flooding” that began Monday and inflicted damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure, including bridges, dams and railways.

About a dozen homes in the town of North Attleborough were completely under water Tuesday, said Chris Coleman, the town’s fire and emergency management chief.

And about 200 homes were damaged in and around North Attleborough after a storm Monday quickly dumped about 5 inches of rain on ground already saturated from a weekend storm, officials said.

“It was really scary, the amount of water that fell in just a short amount of time and the incredible devastation that it caused,” the governor said.

No civilian injuries have been reported from the North Attleborough flooding, but a firefighter was injured overnight and was in stable condition, Coleman said Tuesday.

She also said the massive flooding that hit various regions of Massachusetts “severely impacted” two dams, damaged railroad tracks and forced a number of seniors to be evacuated by boats in the middle of the night.

“One of those dams has been shored up already and the other will be shored up by the end of the day,” said Healey, who toured the damage on Tuesday.

Leominster was another city in Massachusetts to face a torrential downpour this week. The city got pummeled by roughly 11 inches of rain in just six to seven hours, Mayor Dean Mazzarella said Tuesday.

Some basements in Leominster “probably have feet of water inside of them,” Mazzarella said.

“We have several homes where the water washed out … you can see the foundation of the home.”

While no serious injuries have been reported, the mayor said, “We had to evacuate people last night … with hovercrafts and boats to get people out to safety.”

Leominster was quickly inundated not just by torrential downpours, but also from water gushing downhill.

“Leominster is about 26 square miles. We have 12 hills, and obviously from those hills comes the water,” the mayor said. “And with 11 inches of rain, it just adds to the … water (going) downhill.”

The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has urged some residents to evacuate due to “a potential issue at the Barrett Park Pond Dam,” MEMA said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“This particular dam is one that we’re actually about to replace,” Mazzarella said. “It is very sensitive. It’s water saturated. And we’re worried about that downstream. So, we’ve put out a code red and notified everyone along that stream bank, along that river base … to evacuate.”

And it’s not clear when children in Leominster will be able to go back to school.

“Our schools are closed” Tuesday, the mayor said. “We have a couple of schools that experienced severe damage and flooding. And the other schools are open for shelters.”

The deluge has also washed away roads and created a large sinkhole, Mazzarella said.

“That was the road … it’s gone,” the mayor said in a Facebook video showing the massive sinkhole.

MEMA staff have been on-scene in #Leominster since last night supporting the local flood response & coordinating requests for assistance, including 3,000 sandbags, additional shelter staff, traffic sign boards & shelter equipment to support residents with disabilities. #ThisIsEM pic.twitter.com/uQbmYQhlUQ

— MEMA (@MassEMA) September 12, 2023

Videos posted on social media showed vehicles submerged by dark floodwater covering a highway. Other footage shows emergency vehicles trying to navigate a street overtaken by rapidly moving water as rain keeps falling. Another video shows water filling a gaping sinkhole in the middle of a street lined with houses.

The torrent was so intense that a packed, 8-foot by 8-foot dumpster traveled down a local river and ended up in the middle of a riverwalk trail, Mazzarella said. Officials have no idea where the dumpster came from.

While the rain has largely subsided in Leominster, “it’s going to take a while for the rivers to reach their peak,” Mazzarella said Tuesday morning.

While the impacted regions get a reprieve from heavy rain Tuesday, but another round of storms could move through Wednesday.

Most of the Northeast – including central Massachusetts – faces a slight risk of excessive rainfall late Wednesday and early Thursday, according to the Weather Prediction Center.

And more rain could thrash Massachusetts and eastern New England this weekend, depending on the track of Hurricane Lee.

The governor said local and state agencies are working to address damages in zones impacted by the storms and that her office is preparing an emergency declaration that will be issued later Tuesday.

Hurricane Lee’s threat to portions of New England and Atlantic Canada is growing, with a track closer to the coast becoming more likely and a massive wind field which could reach these areas regardless of where the storm finally tracks later this week and this weekend.

The massive storm, which remains a Category 3 hurricane as of Wednesday morning, continued to churn northwest in the open Atlantic and was about 460 miles south-southwest of the island with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.

A tropical storm warning remains in effect for Bermuda ahead of Lee’s brush with the island.

“On the forecast track, the center of Lee will pass west of Bermuda Thursday and Thursday night and then approach the coast of New England or Atlantic Canada late this week,” the hurricane center said in its 5 a.m. advisory.

Lee could become a Category 2 hurricane later Wednesday, but the storm’s coastal impacts beyond its center will be significant because of its colossal size and slow movement.

The hurricane’s size grew steadily since the weekend, bringing hurricane-force winds that extend outward up to 115 miles from the center, the hurricane center said. Tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 240 miles.

“Some slow weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours,” forecasters at the hurricane center said late Tuesday. “However Lee is likely to remain a large and dangerous hurricane for the next couple of days.”

And that’s why a weaker storm isn’t necessarily less hazardous – a larger storm carries the potential to impact a more widespread area, increasing the likelihood that Lee will affect the Eastern Seaboard.

As of Wednesday morning, the exact timing and extent of Lee’s winds and rainfall if it hits the US and possibly Canada were still uncertain. But the hurricane’s track may become clearer Thursday as it’s forecast to turn north and increase in forward speed.

“A turn toward the north-northwest is expected later (Wednesday), followed by a northward turn and an increase in speed on Thursday and Friday,” the hurricane center said.

By the end of the week, the northeastern US could see high wind gusts, even while Lee’s core remains hundreds of miles away. Tropical storm-force wind gusts could impact portions of Connecticut and eastern Massachusetts Friday night when Lee’s center is expected to be about 200 miles to the southeast.

High winds, heavy rainfall and storm surge could impact other parts of New England and eastern Canada this weekend.

Growing threats along shorelines

Beginning Wednesday night or early Thursday, heavy rainfall along with high surf are expected to sweep across Bermuda, where the island’s weather service issued a tropical storm warning.

Swells from Lee were already affecting parts of Bermuda. “These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions,” the hurricane center said Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, dangerous surf was already seen along the southeastern US coast from Florida through the Carolinas. The National Weather Service office in Charleston, South Carolina, warned of a high risk for rip currents along the shores of Georgia and South Carolina for Wednesday.

“Dangerous rip currents are possible and can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore,” the office said.

Some Caribbean islands, including the British and US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas have already faced similar conditions as Lee passed to their north.

By Thursday night, Lee could weaken to a Category 1 storm as its center makes its closest pass near Bermuda on Thursday. Heavy rainfall may cause localized flash flooding.