
As he prepares to face his home nation, the Canada manager reflects on his adopted country’s soccer, its prime minister, and its place in the worldPeak leaf hasn’t yet arrived in Montreal but the bursts of gold and butterscotch up on the hill that gave this place its name still mushroom out by the hour.Sitting in a glass-panelled hotel mezzanine at the foot of Mount Royal, Canada men’s coach Jesse Marsch has his mind on another harvest. When this extended autumnal international window ends he will decamp to Italy, where the olive crops at his Tuscan villa are ready for reaping. Continue reading...

Croatia captain Luka Modric says he was "ashamed" of his side's performance on a "catastrophic night" against England.

Former Rangers boss hopes current Ibrox manager can be so successful that there will be no need for him to return...

BBC Scotland speaks to Kieron Bowie after he scored his first goal for his country against North Macedonia.

Latest news before Nations League fixturesShare your thoughts with John via emailSpain continue to march on, with Lamine Yamal hitting his straps.Lamine Yamal had scored after 104 seconds at Wembley and 70 in Seville, as Spain defeated England and Croatia. And the silly thing was that here, his goal might have come even sooner. Fifteen seconds in, the first frisson of excitement went round this place as he chased down the goalkeeper and after just fifty-seven Oviedo almost exploded. But, running on to a Dani Olmo pass, Lamine Yamal calmly guided a shot past the goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky … and past the post.He would just have to wait until the sixth minute was up instead. Playing a quick one-two with Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal took possession on the top right corner of the area and curled another outrageous shot into the far corner, the ridiculous becoming routine. They had been playing five minutes 20 seconds, another stadium letting out a roar that spoke of delight but also a kind of disbelief. 320 seconds he had been out there, taking him to 494 seconds to score three.It is at the very least a confusing message. It seems to say: racism and children, this is a good combination. And given this seems to happen quite regularly, that racism is now a kind of children’s holiday event around here, football Christmas. And here’s your bonus bag of free tickets, brought to you by today’s matchday sponsor, racism. Continue reading...