02/07/2016 MOTD Kickabout

Good morning, everyone!

46 matches down and just five to go.

We at the business end of Euro 2016 and here on Kickabout,

we've got everything covered.

Wales played Belgium last night in one of the biggest matches

in their footballing history.

Highlights of that quarterfinal coming right up.

Direct running with the ball has been a big theme this tournament.

John Farnworth has three top tips to help you playing

like Bale and Hazard.

And twin brother and sister Dom and Ruby give us the lowdown

on their favourite team, tournament favourites Germany.

Let's start with that huge match in Lille yesterday evening.

Could Wales make it through to their first ever

semifinal against star-studded Belgium?

Your commentators are Steve Wilson and Robbie Savage.

COMMENTATOR: A little bit of room.

And he took the shot and he scores magnificently!

Here's Bale.

And now Aaron Ramsey!

He's onside, red shirts in the middle.

Oh!

Neil Taylor is denied!

Ramsey's corner...

Williams!

Ashley Williams for Wales!

The captain has shown the equaliser.

Bale.

Good run from Aaron Ramsey.

In towards Robson.

Taylor's available, what a turn!

What a goal!

What a goal from Robson-Kanu!

What a moment for Wales!

In towards Vokes!

Vokes!

Wales are heading into the semifinal of the European Championship!

History boys indeed!

Wales have done it.

They've come from behind to beat the mighty Belgium.

Their dream, their summer continues.

Unbelievable!

Wales march into the semifinals of the European Championships.

Their opponents for a place in the final will be Portugal.

So it's going to be Bale versus Rinaldo.

I can't wait!

Let's remind ourselves of how Portugal made it

through against Poland on Thursday night.

Now a chance to run at the defence into the centre...

Lewandowski has scored!

Inside two minutes!

The captain delivers in a big game for Poland!

Just outside.

Takes the return.

And shoots!

Portugal level!

Sanches finds the corner of the net!

This is decisive.

This is his moment for Portugal.

He takes his time and he finds the back of the net!

And Portugal have done it on penalty kicks!

The two remaining quarterfinals are taking place this weekend.

England's conquerers Iceland face the hosts, France, tomorrow.

More on that match a bit later.

But before that, there's a battle between two

heavyweights of world football.

Germany versus Italy.

The Italians are full of confidence after breezing past Spain.

And as for Germany, they really hit their stride in their last-16

match against Slovakia.

Let's find out more about the current world champions

with the help of two of their biggest fans, Dom and Ruby.

THEY SPEAK GERMAN.

Germany's the second-biggest country in Europe, with over 80 million

people living there.

German people love eating curry-wurst, which is a big

sausage with curry on it.

There are loads of big football teams in Germany,

like Bayern Munich, but our favourite team

are Borussia Dortmund.

The German squad has some amazing players but my favourite is Moller,

even though he hasn't scored a single goal in the Euros yet.

I like this player because he's a good defender and he

plays for Dortmund.

There are also three players who play in England.

COMMENTATOR: It's Ozil.

It's in!

With his first goal for the club!

We're world champions have already won the Euros three times.

We haven't conceded a single goal yet and we are amazing.

If it goes down to penalties, I'm pretty confident

because we haven't lost one since 1976.

With Cruz and Ozil, they'll tear Italy apart for sure.

Thanks, Dom and Ruby.

I'm sure you'll be asking to stay up late to night to watch Germany

versus Italy on the BBC.

At this stage of a major tournament, hard work and nerves are just

At this stage of a major tournament, hard work and nerves aren't just

confined to the football pitch.

Oh, no.

For a TV presenter, you're broadcasting in front of millions

of millions of people.

Dan Wilcock is a regular on our screens and gives us

an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at BBC sport HQ in Paris.

Hello, Kickabout, and welcome to the BBC sport Paris

office.

These are the people who really make it.

Say hello, everyone.

Look at them all, they're really enjoying themselves!

That was so unenthusiastic!

But come in here, because I'm going to show you the

technical hub.

We make all these people sit in the dark because they

are very strange and incredibly ugly.

Hello, you lot!

You can see why we keep them in this room.

This is pretty much the nerve centre, so

everything you see on your telly is controlled in here.

The editor of the programme, the director and all

the little graphics and funny team line-ups you see on your TV or

controlled from here.

One other thing to show you - the studio!

Come with me.

And here we are in the studio.

Hello.

We've got pundits here.

There's Dean Saunders and Danny Murphy.

All right?

Emma is on sound, just getting them miked up,

making sure they sound beautiful.

So this is our studio.

That is the actual Eiffel Tower.

Not the Blackpool Tower!

That's the proper Eiffel Tower.

Only 500 yards away.

These are our studio cameras over there.

Number one, with our flags of the various home nations as well.

Watch camera four swoop magnificently into position.

That's where we do all our funky graphics.

And John is the closest man to us, you is operating...

And John is the closest man to us, he is operating...

He's so good, he's operating two cameras.

Camera two and camera three.

So you can see it's not as big as you may be

thought it might be on television but we are actually very busy.

Look, Murphy is making notes, Saunders is

dressing off.

We're ready to do some proper television.

So enjoy.

Goodbye!

Now it's time to improve our own footy skills,

with the help of football wizard and master technician

John Farnworth.

Hello, Kickabout fans.

I hope you're enjoying the Euros.

As much as I am.

I've noticed something this year.

That the teams that use the most possession and the most build-up

play aren't really working, teams like England and Spain,

they've crashed out.

COMMENTATOR: England are out of the European Championship!

It's very clear to me the teams that are the most dangerous

use pace on the break.

COMMENTATOR: Away comes Nani.

Those guys make it look so easy.

But, believe me, it ain't that easy.

In fact, I feel a little bit out of my comfort zone trying it

as well, so I've come down to my local athletics track to give

it a try.

Here goes.

I've been practising and it's so difficult but I've actually

figured out there's three steps to it.

Step one is to keep your head up.

The best players always keep their head up while keeping

the ball at pace, even while kicking it.

Step two, while running with the ball at pace,

use the outside toes of your foot.

It's more of a nudge than a kick, which enables you to keep more

control and will prevent a defender taking the ball from you.

Step three, don't break your stride.

The best players in the world, they don't hesitate.

They can run as fast with the ball as they can without it.

It's all about stride pattern and speed.

There you have it.

How to run with the ball at pace.

It's quite difficult but if you follow those three steps

and practise a lot, you'll soon see amazing results

on the football pitch.

Right, I'm almost done.

But I couldn't leave without setting myself a challenge.

I'm going to try to complete this whole lane while keeping the ball

under control at pace.

Here goes!

Yes!

Woo!

Plenty to start practising there, and whilst you're in the garden

or down the park, why not ask a parent or guardian to film

you and upload it via the Kickabout area of the sea BBC website?

That's exactly what this lot did.

Gareth Bale!

The Kickabout website is also your one-stop shop

for quizzes, match predictions, dream fire teams and

the Euro 2016 video diary.

Conor has commentated on loads of matches and goals out in France,

yet he still finds the time to give the famous Parisian

tourist spot a Kickabout football style twist.

Hello.

This is Conor at Euro 2016 just continuing my tour around

Paris and the tournament, and of course the easiest way

to get around this city is by using the Metro.

It's like the Tube in London but is even bigger and more complex.

There are 300 different Metro stations serving 16 different lines.

The Paris Metro carries about 1.5 billion passengers every

year but if you take just one day, combined total mileage

of the Metro trains, that's 600,000, that's the same

as travelling around planet Earth almost ten times.

So which footballer at Euro 2016 would we pick

to represent the Metro?

Well, let's see.

It's very fast-moving, it crosses line in different directions,

it's got a low centre of gravity.

I've got to say that the Wales midfielder Joe Allen

is the Metro of Euro 2016.

Now, next up it's the Champs-Elysees.

This is the wide avenue that stretches from Place de la Concorde

all the way up to the Arc de Triomphe.

This is full of glamorous restaurants and very

expensive-looking shops.

The most beautiful avenue in the world.

So which footballer best represents this at Euro 2016?

Who stays firm in the middle of the field and just allows

all the hustle and bustle to go on around it?

Who looks like they've got eyes in the back of their head?

And can send the traffic in different directions?

I'm going to say it is this German player who is the Champs-Elysees

of the Euro 2016.

Finally, the George Pompidou centre.

This is a huge, enormous public library and museum

in the heart of Paris.

The fact that this building was created over 40 years ago

and still looks futuristic today just shows how forward-thinking

it was, even when it was built back in the 1970s.

So which footballer does this building remind me of?

Well, it's unorthodox yet it's elegant, there's plenty

of abstract designs on show, it's not afraid to try

something new, this place, it pretty much shoots from anywhere.

I'm going to say this Belgian player is the George Pompidou Centre

of Euro 2016.

Thanks.

Whenever I see a famous landmark now I'm just

going to compare it to a footballer.

Genius game!

Hands up anyone who thought Iceland would be

in the quarterfinals.

Nobody?

No.

Thought not.

It's been a tough week for England fans but there is something

amazing about seeing an underdog march on.

Especially as it means their commentator has been at it again.

HE SCREAMS.

Not only that, they've got the best football celebration ever.

It's so simple.

Let's do it.

Ready?

Come on!

COMMENTATOR SHRIEKS.

Come on!

So, it's the rank outsiders against the hosts tomorrow.

David versus Goliath.

Who do you think will come out on top?

I'm going out on a limb with my prediction.

Iceland to emerge victorious again for one of the biggest

football stories ever.

So that's it.

You're right up-to-date on all things Euro 2016.

And just before we go, I want to pay tribute

to some of the incredible defending we've seen so far.

It's not all about the goals, you know.

See ya!

COMMENTATOR: Lovely ball in!

They're claiming it's over the line.

Remarkable clearance!

What a great challenge!

Superb challenge!