Referees taking stricter action on tactical fouls drove a spike in yellow cards shown at the European Championship, UEFA's head of match officials said Friday.

A crackdown on backchat to the referee — including a booking for Cristiano Ronaldo — also pushed up the number of yellow cards to 166 shown during the 36 group-stage games, compared to 98 at the same stage of the previous edition.

Defending champion Italy aims to continue its dominance over Switzerland to reach the quarterfinals of the European Championship on Saturday. Switzerland hasn't beaten Italy for 31 years and has only eight wins from their previous 61 meetings. But the Swiss are unbeaten so far this year and their only loss in 2023 came in the last game of qualifying. Kickoff is at 6 p.m. local (1600 GMT) on Saturday. Here's what to know about the match:

Match facts

The group stage of Euro 2024 offered exciting soccer and colorful celebrations among fans criss-crossing Germany to support their national teams. AP photographers captured the drama on and off the field of play.

Some fans thought Kylian Mbappé looked like a superhero when he played with a mask after breaking his nose in France's first game. But his superpowers only went so far: even though he scored in the final group-stage match, the French team could only achieve a draw against already eliminated Poland and finished second in their group.

From smart-enabled match balls and artificial intelligence to cryogenic recovery chambers, football is being transformed by the cutting-edge technology available to players, coaches and officials.

That much has been evident at Euro 2024, where advancements in areas such as equipment and sports science have been deployed on and off the field, designed to improve the game, the fan experience and player welfare.

Israeli authorities say 68 people — 19 sick or wounded children plus their companions — have been allowed out of the Gaza Strip and into Egypt in the first medical evacuation since early May, when the territory's sole travel crossing was shut down after Israel captured it.

The nearly nine-month Israel-Hamas war has devastated Gaza's health sector and forced most of its hospitals to shut down. Health officials say thousands of people need medical treatment abroad, including hundreds of urgent cases.

French voters are being called to the polls on Sunday for an exceptional moment in their political history: the first round of snap parliamentary elections that could see the country's first far-right government since the World War II Nazi occupation — or no majority emerging at all.

The outcome of the vote, following the second round on July 7 and an exceptionally brief campaign, remains highly uncertain as three major political blocs are competing: the far-right National Rally, President Emmanuel Macron's centrist alliance and the New Popular Front coalition that includes center-left, greens and hard-left forces.

A halting Biden tries to confront Trump at debate but sparks Democratic anxiety about his candidacy

By ZEKE MILLER, MICHELLE L. PRICE, WILL WEISSERT, BILL BARROW and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press

Israel’s military said Thursday that it killed a Hezbollah member who was involved in firing explosive drones into Israel.

The Israeli army posted a video of Thursday’s drone strike that killed the Hezbollah member while riding a motorcycle in the village of Sohmor in West Bekaa.

When COVID-19 hit, long lines formed outside shops selling gold in Poland. Then came Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, triggering another rush for gold.

Piotr Kozik, the manager of a Warsaw shop selling gold bars and coins produced by the Mint of Poland, remembers how the day of Russia's invasion, Feb. 24, 2022, was Fat Thursday, when Poles gorge themselves on paczki, jam-filled donuts.

It's a scenario that terrifies America's auto industry.

Chinese carmakers set up shop in Mexico to exploit North American trade rules. Once in place, they send ultra-low-priced electric vehicles streaming into the United States.