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Ammon News - Host Germany and England kicked off the true buildup to the European Championship with their first warmup games on Monday, only after Real Madrid capped the club season by signing Kylian Mbappé.

About 90 minutes after France captain Mbappé finally confirmed he was joining the new Champions League winner, Germany put national team action on midsummer’s center stage in an enterprising 0-0 draw with Ukraine.

England got off to a slow start before a second half surge in a 3-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina, including a national record-extending 63rd goal for Harry Kane, who went on as a substitute.

Croatia, another of the European powers, eased to a 3-0 win over North Macedonia.

All three Euro 2024 contenders were without their Madrid stars — Toni Kroos, Jude Bellingham and Luka Modrić — who are resting this week after their title win on Saturday against Borussia Dortmund.

The roster deadline is one week before Germany opens its home tournament against Scotland in Munich on June 14.

Scotland stepped up its preparations with a modest 2-0 win against Gibraltar, which extended its run of losses to 13 games.

Albania, which is in the same Euro 2024 group as Croatia, cruised past Liechtenstein 3-0.

Both Germany and Ukraine start their tournament in Munich. Ukraine begins against Romania on June 17, three days after Germany meets Scotland in Bayern’s home stadium.

AP