European Super Football

Croatia 1 - 2 Spain Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino scored twice as world champions Spain recovered from a goal down to beat Croatia in the Nations League and book their place in the quarter-finals. Author | Jack L Stadium | Stadion Poljud Luis de la Fuente's side went into the game seeking an 11th consecutive victory, but found themselves behind in the 17th minute when Ivan Perisic headed home. Croatia had been thrashed 7-0 by England in their previous Nations League fixture but earned a standing ovation at half-time after producing a much-improved display. Spain, though, grew stronger after the break and levelled in the 61st minute when Dani Olmo capitalised on a poor clearance and picked out Merino, who made no mistake. READ MORE | Nations League news on European Super Football Lamine Yamal saw a goalbound effort blocked as Spain pressed for a winner, before Perisic was sent off for Croatia moments after seeing a powerful shot saved. The 37-year-old was shown a second yellow ca...

Croatia 0 - 7 England England produced arguably their most impressive performance under head coach Thomas Tuchel as they delivered a devastating attacking display to thrash Croatia Author | George B Stadium | Stadion HNK Rijeka The game was officially staged behind closed doors as a sanction against Croatia supporters for previous bad behaviour, although 6,000 schoolchildren and 100 visiting fans were in attendance as rampant England ran riot to humiliate Slaven Bilic's side. England had bounced back from their opening defeat by Spain at Wembley with a deserved victory against the Czech Republic in Prague, but they moved to another level to dismantle Croatia, 108 days after beating the same opposition 4-2 at the World Cup in Dallas. A closer analysis of a great night for England and Thomas Tuchel Harry Kane put England ahead after eight minutes, ruthlessly punishing a mistake by Manchester City defender Josko Gvardiol. He took Jude Bellingham's pass in his stride before firing ...

Ukraine 0 - 3 Northern Ireland Northern Ireland produced one of their best away performances under Michael O'Neill as they beat Ukraine in Slovakia in the Nations League. Author | Mark Lee Stadium | City Arena Ciaron Brown scored his first international goal to open the scoring before Isaac Price headed home a second in an excellent first half for Northern Ireland. Brown added his second in bizarre fashion in the 61st minute when Ukraine goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk came out of his area and missed his header, allowing the ball to roll into an empty net. The victory preserves Northern Ireland's unbeaten start to the Nations League and leaves them top of Group B2 with two wins and a draw from their three matches. They can complete the opening set of four games unbeaten if they avoid defeat against Georgia at Windsor Park on Monday. Having secured their first away Nations League victory in Tbilisi, Northern Ireland made a bright start, with Jamie Donley and Terry Devlin both going clo...

England 2 - 3 Spain England were beaten 3-2 in an entertaining game by world champions Spain Author | George B Stadium | Wembley Stadium Lamine Yamal put Spain ahead before goals from Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane turned the game around for England. Kane then missed a penalty before Alex Baena curled in an equaliser, with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring the winner. Here's how the England players rated? Did James Trafford impress on a rare England start? James Trafford: Showed early on that he was comfortable playing out from the back but conceded after just two minutes when Guehi gifted the ball to Lamine Yamal. Produced an important save to deny Torres making it 2-0 in the first half. 6 Did one defender have something else on his mind? Jarell Quansah: Continued at right-back after showing his ability in the position at the World Cup. A physically commanding performance and came close to scoring but headed over. 6 Ezri Konsa: Had some shaky moments alongside England's back four but the...

Italy 0 - 2 Belgium Mark van Bommel's Belgium began their Nations League campaign with a victory over Roberto Mancini's Italy in Rome. Author | Ed  Stadium | Stadio Olympico  The former Netherlands midfielder was taking charge of the Red Devils for the first time, while Mancini was beginning his second spell as Italy manager. Mancini spoke with the media after the match, saying: "We need to think positively and not keep banging on all the time about what has happened in the past," Mancini said when asked whether Italy's failure to qualify for the World Cup was still hanging over the country. Mancini previously managed Italy between 2018 and 2023, guiding them to victory at Euro 2020. A closer analysis of what happened here Paris St-Germain's Mika Godts opened the scoring with his first Belgium goal, cutting inside two defenders in the penalty area before firing into the net. Benfica's Dodi Lukebakio then doubled the lead after carrying the ball from his ow...

Manchester City have been found guilty of breaking the majority of the 115 financial rules they were accused of breaching. It has been reported that sanctions have yet to be decided, but that the independent panel has reached its verdict, finding the club guilty on all but one count. Author | Josh T The Premier League declined to comment. City also declined to confirm or deny whether the report was accurate. In February 2023, City were charged with more than 100 alleged breaches of the Premier League’s financial rules following a four-year investigation. The club was referred to an independent commission over allegations that it had breached financial regulations between 2009 and 2018. The hearing began behind closed doors in September 2024 and concluded in December after around 12 weeks. The Premier League alleged that City had breached rules requiring clubs to provide “accurate financial information that gives a true and fair view of the club’s financial position”. City have strongly...

Real Sociedad 1 - 2 Bournemouth  Bournemouth held on to claim a famous victory at Real Sociedad in the first European match in the club's history. Author | Ajay Stadium | Estadio Municipal de Anoeta Goals from Justin Kluivert and Rayan put the Cherries in control as their relentless pressing overwhelmed their Basque opponents during a dominant first half. Sociedad improved considerably after the break, pulling one back through Sergio Gomez and pushing hard for an equaliser late on, but Marco Rose's side held firm to secure victory and make a winning start to their Europa League campaign. A closer analysis of what happened In a remarkably open start to the game, both sides found dangerous positions, but the first chance of note came in the 11th minute and was converted by Kluivert at the end of a fine move. The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but the video assistant referee intervened and, after a two-minute delay, it was confirmed that the Netherlands international h...