Category: Football

Jude Bellingham scored his third goal in as many Champions League appearances for Real Madrid as the Spanish side won 2-1 away to Braga in Portugal on Tuesday.

Rodrygo put Real ahead and England star Bellingham made it 2-0 just after the hour mark, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side then holding on after Alvaro Djalo pulled one back for Braga.

“Overall, I really think we produced a good game,” said Ancelotti.

“I didn’t enjoy that they scored because before that we were well in control and the win was in hand.”

The result leaves Madrid in a strong position with the maximum nine points from three games in Group C, three ahead of Napoli who beat Union Berlin 1-0 away in Germany.

After a cagey start, Nacho released Vinicius down the left flank and the Brazilian stood Serdar Saatci up before squaring for a sliding Rodrygo to give Madrid the lead on 16 minutes.

Madrid briefly thought they had doubled their lead 10 minutes before half-time when Rodrygo slotted the ball into an empty net, but Vinicius had strayed offside as Eduardo Camavinga played him in near the halfway line.

Bellingham doubled Madrid’s lead on 61 minutes when he stroked the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the box after being teed up by Vinicius.

It was Jude Bellingham’s 11th goal in all competitions for Real since joining the record 14-time European champions from Borussia Dortmund ahead of this season.

However, the home side halved the deficit just two minutes later when Djalo powered a near-post drive past Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Braga then introduced the dangerous Bruma, who was only deemed fit enough to start on the bench. The change nearly paid off at the 70-minute mark when a Ricardo Horta drive was spooned just wide by Arrizabalaga.

Vinicius thought he had added a goal to his two assists in 82 minutes, but the assistant’s flag denied him with Madrid looking to kill off the game.

A VAR check for a penalty in the 89th minute was Braga’s last hope for an equaliser as Madrid ground out a hard-fought victory.

The Spanish side will be looking to book their place in the round of 16 when they host Braga in the return fixture on November 8.

Given the nod to start up front, Brazilian attacker Rodrygo will be hoping his goal will ensure his place in the starting XI for Saturday’s Clasico away to Barcelona.

Speaking to UEFA after the match, compatriot Vinicius said of the striker “I’d say it was good for his confidence to get a goal – particularly ahead of the Clasico”.

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Cristiano Ronaldo rolled back the years to score two stunning goals and propel his Al Nassr side to a thrilling 4-3 victory over Al Duhail of Qatar in the AFC Champions League.

Former Liverpool striker Sadio Mane and Anderson Talisca also scored for the Saudi side late Tuesday as they made it three wins from three in the group stages of the premier Asian club competition.

Talisca opened the scoring in Riyadh from the edge of the box in the 25th minute after being teed up by the 38-year-old Ronaldo’s clever back-heeled flick as the Portuguese talisman went through his full repertoire of tricks.

Mane turned and drilled home to add a second 11 minutes after the break and Al Nassr appeared to be cruising when Ronaldo curled home a sumptuous third from outside the box to make it 3-0 five minutes later.

But the Qatari side, inspired by former Barcelona and Liverpool winger Philippe Coutinho, scored twice in the next six minutes through Ismail Mohamad and Almoez Ali to leave the game on a knife-edge.

With nine minutes remaining, Ronaldo appeared to have had the final say as he sprinted onto a long ball from Sultan Al Ghannam and lashed home a superb left-foot volley without breaking stride.

There was still time for another twist as Michael Olunga pulled it back to 4-3 in the 85th minute to ensure a nervous final few minutes.

“When you face Ronaldo, there isn’t much you can do,” said Al Duhail manager Christophe Galtier, who was in charge of French giants Paris Saint-Germain last season.

“He scored two beautiful goals. I’m at a loss for words to describe him. What he did today is extraordinary for a 38-year-old. He’s still the best player in the world.”

Another Riyadh-based side, Al Hilal, made light of being without their injured superstar Neymar as they thrashed India’s Mumbai City 6-0 with two goals from former Fulham frontman Aleksandar Mitrovic.

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Teenage debutant Marc Guiu snatched champions Barcelona a 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao just seconds after coming on from the bench in La Liga, taking the Catalans up to third.

Xavi’s Barca will face La Liga table-topper Real Madrid next Saturday in the El Clasico just one point behind their bitter rivals, and second-placed Girona, who beat Almeria 5-2 earlier on.

For a long time, it seemed like Barcelona would not find the breakthrough against their Basque visitors but striker Guiu, 17, netted under a minute after being thrown on by Xavi.

The forward was slipped in by the silky Joao Felix and slotted past Unai Simon, who got a hand to his shot but could not keep it out.

Guiu became the latest on a conveyor belt of youths to make their debuts for Barca as their La Masia academy continues to produce gems.

“He’s been training with us for the whole season, it’s important that everyone who comes brings something,” Barcelona defender Inigo Martinez told DAZN.

“We’re happy for him, for the goal, and above all, for winning.”

Xavi started Martinez against his former club in La Liga and 20-year-old Fermin Lopez on the left of the attack, another academy product, with Barcelona down to the bare bones.

Several regular starters, including key striker Robert Lewandowski, are out injured.

Felix clipped the top of the crossbar with a shot from Ferran Torres’ cut-back as Barcelona looked to get started quickly ahead of a tricky week.

The Catalans host Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday before welcoming rivals Madrid to Montjuic.

However, the hosts were negated by former Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic, who took the sting out of the game and occasionally sprang forward with both Williams brothers threatening from the flanks.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen tipped over an Inaki Williams effort and then parried a strike from the Ghana international, with Martinez producing a sublime block to deny his sibling Nico from the rebound.

Approaching the hour mark Barcelona carved out their best chance, when Simon brilliantly denied Lopez from close range, after initially saving from Felix’s low strike.

Another followed when Felix fed substitute Lamine Yamal in the area but the 16-year-old starlet dragged his shot wide of the near post.

The teenager’s arrival helped Barcelona gain the upper hand and Joao Cancelo was the next to draw a save from the watchful Simon.

Xavi brought on Guiu in the 79th minute and with his very first touch he broke into the area and then confidently fired past Simon.

Full of energy, the striker was soon booked for an attempted slide tackle which caught the goalkeeper as he tried to stop him clearing his lines, as he was roared on by the jubilant home fans.

Barcelona’s victory takes them above Atletico Madrid, fourth, while Valverde’s Athletic are sixth.

“I’m annoyed because it went just past me and maybe I could have done a bit more,” Simon told DAZN.

“We really wanted to get three points to make a big gap above seventh place.”

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Kylian Mbappe scored one goal and made another as Paris Saint-Germain beat Patrick Vieira’s Strasbourg 3-0 in Ligue 1 on Saturday but it is unbeaten Nice who are top of the table after a 1-0 victory over Marseille.

Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring for PSG with a 10th-minute penalty and set up Carlos Soler to make it 2-0 just after the half-hour mark on a wet and windy day in Paris.

The reigning champions added a third in the 77th minute courtesy of Fabian Ruiz to wrap up a routine victory.

It was a second straight win for PSG following their 4-1 defeat away to Newcastle United in the Champions League earlier this month, and they sit a point behind Nice in second place.

“The logical concern with these games straight after an international break is that it is clearly not easy for the players to switch their mentality but the team played well and managed the game very well,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique.

He rested several regular starters with this game also coming just before a key Champions League meeting with AC Milan.

Achraf Hakimi and Ousmane Dembele were among those to be left out at kick-off, while Soler and Ruiz came in, as did Lee Kang-in.

South Korean international Lee was making his first appearance for PSG in over a month, having helped his country win football gold at the Asian Games in the meantime.

“In general all those players who have been involved less up to now this season did well. They got an opportunity today and made the most of it,” said Luis Enrique.

However, there was no question of Kylian Mbappe being rested, and he opened the scoring from the penalty spot in front of an empty end of PSG’s stadium, closed by the French league for this encounter as a punishment after homophobic chanting during a win over Marseille last month.

The penalty was awarded for a foul on Goncalo Ramos, and Kylian Mbappe converted for his ninth club goal this season.

South African striker Lebo Mothiba then thought he had equalised for Strasbourg, only for his goal to be disallowed for offside following a VAR check.

Instead, PSG doubled their lead on 31 minutes as Mbappe produced a step-over to beat his marker before cutting the ball back from the byline for Soler to prod in.

Soler set up the third goal late on for his fellow Spaniard Ruiz, not long after PSG suffered a scare when Mbappe went down needing treatment after Gerzino Nyamsi appeared to tread on his left foot.

However, France captain Kylian Mbappe managed to carry on.

Having sent out a team loaded with attacking players, just as he did in the defeat by Newcastle, Luis Enrique must decide whether to play the same way against Milan.

“Each match is different,” he insisted, “but my objective is to have 11 players attacking and 11 defending.”

It was a third straight loss for Strasbourg, with the club who were recently bought by Chelsea’s owners BlueCo struggling for goals and having won just once in six games now.

“My young players need to learn and learn very quickly,” said Vieira, whose line-up featured five outfield players aged 22 or under.

“We competed but we made too many mistakes to stand a chance.”

Later, the Mediterranean derby was decided when Marseille defender Leonardo Balerdi was sent off for a second yellow card and substitute Evann Guessand headed in the resulting free-kick in the 79th minute.

The result maintained Nice’s unbeaten record this season under 34-year-old Italian coach Francesco Farioli and left them top, although Cote d’Azur rivals Monaco will replace them at the summit by beating Metz on Sunday.

Nice have enjoyed a fine start to the season despite British owner Jim Ratcliffe being focused on acquiring a stake in Manchester United.

“We need to look at the league table as little as possible, but it has been a very positive start to the season,” said Farioli.

Marseille have won only once in four games under new coach Gennaro Gattuso and are seven points behind the leaders.

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Sergio Ramos has not played against Real Madrid since 2005 but on Saturday, his Sevilla team will welcome the La Liga leaders to the Sanchez-Pizjuan for a reunion.

New Sevilla coach Diego Alonso faces a stern test in his first game at the helm and in veteran centre-back Ramos who can offer plenty of insight into Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid side.

Ramos controversially left Seville for the Spanish capital at the age of 19, which some fans have never forgotten, even though the majority welcomed him back with open arms this summer.

“We believe that the mere proposal of this signing was already a lack of respect for the values that have made us great… and for the thousands of Sevilla fans who have suffered the scorn of this player in the past,” wrote Sevilla ultras group Biris Norte in an open letter.

In the years after his departure, Ramos was keen to goad his former side, while he was roundly booed on visits to face Seville.

However, the defender said he could “die happy” after playing for his boyhood club again, and has impressed since returning even though the team was struggling under Jose Luis Mendilibar.

“I had a few doubts at first but the reception I had on my arrival, I will take to the grave … now I can die happy,” said Ramos after his first match back at the Sanchez-Pizjuan, a win over Las Palmas.

One sour note was his own goal against old rivals Barcelona, handing the champions a 1-0 win at the Catalan club’s temporary Olympic Stadium home at the end of September.

Ramos will hope his first clash with Real Madrid goes better, although it promises to be an emotional affair for him.

He left Madrid for French side Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 but was injured when the sides met in the Champions League in March 2022.

The last time Ramos faced Madrid was for Sevilla in May 2005, and he scored in a 2-2 draw, hammering home a long-range drive after a free-kick was laid off to him.

Ramos has never lost a game against Real Madrid — the other time he faced them Sevilla won 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Madrid will want to keep, or even extend, their three-point advantage over Barcelona ahead of the Clasico on October 28.

Barcelona host former coach Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic Bilbao on Sunday in another reunion, with the Catalans currently third.

Girona, second, welcomes bottom-of-the-table Almeria on Sunday and will be confident of staying ahead of their more illustrious Catalan neighbours.

Sevilla are 14th, with only two wins in their first eight games and only two points clear of the relegation zone.

The Madrid clash is only the start of a tough run of games for Alonso and his side, with Arsenal visiting on Tuesday in the Champions League, and a derby clash against Real Betis in La Liga on the horizon.

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Harry Kane celebrated England’s qualification for the Euro 2024 finals after a 3-1 win against Italy on Tuesday, saying “it’s never as easy as it looks”.

The England captain scored twice as Gareth Southgate’s men came from behind at Wembley to stun Italy.

Gianluca Scamacca put the European champions ahead early but Kane scored from the penalty spot to level.

Marcus Rashford put England ahead after the break and Harry Kane scored again to seal the three points.

England top Group C on 16 points from six games and cannot now be caught, leaving Italy and Ukraine to scrap it out for second place.

“It’s never as easy as it looks,” Kane told Channel 4. “We have had a really tough group this time but credit to the lads, some of the results we’ve had, performances and we topped it off here today.

“We went 1-0 down, we stayed calm and we stayed steady, we knew we had enough to get the win and we did it.

“It has been a tough journey and to qualify with two games to go is a credit to everyone involved.”

Harry Kane is now England’s top goal-scorer at Wembley with 24 goals, overtaking Bobby Charlton, who scored 23.

“I love it, it’s our home, we’ve made it a real fortress over the years and with a full house here, the fans are loving it, we wanted to repay them with good victories and good performances and we did that today,” he said.

READ: Messi brace helps Argentina stay perfect in World Cup 2026 qualifiers

Lionel Messi scored two goals as Argentina extended their perfect start to South American qualifiers for the World Cup 2026 on Tuesday with a 2-0 victory over Peru.

The Inter Miami star took his international goal tally to 106 with strikes in the 32nd and 42nd minutes at Lima’s Estadio Nacional.

Messi’s first-half brace left reigning world champions Argentina on top of the South American qualifying table with 12 points from four games, five points clear of Uruguay, Brazil and Venezuela, who all have seven points.

Restored to the starting line-up after coming off the bench in last Thursday’s 1-0 win over Paraguay, Messi showed no sign of the injuries that have recently limited his appearances in Major League Soccer.

The 36-year-old crashed home an emphatic opener just after the half-hour mark, then added a second 10 minutes later after good work by Enzo Fernandez down the left flank.

The win leaves Argentina firmly on track to return to the World Cup finals in 2026, which are being expanded to include 48 teams and will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The top six teams in South America’s 10-team qualifying competition will be guaranteed a place in the finals.

While Argentina continued their serene progress through qualifying, arch-rivals Brazil suffered a nightmare 2-0 defeat in Montevideo, crashing to a first loss against Uruguay in 22 years.

The defeat was compounded by the sight of veteran forward Neymar being stretchered off just before half-time with what appeared to be a knee injury.

Uruguay’s Darwin Nunez struck with a bullet header in 42 minutes to open the scoring in a dour first half at the Estadio Centenario.

The Liverpool striker then played a pivotal role in Uruguay’s second, holding up the ball well from a throw-in and cutting back for Nicolas de la Cruz to fire past Brazil goalkeeper Ederson on 77 minutes, sealing a 2-0 victory.

The win was Uruguay’s first over Brazil in a World Cup qualifying fixture since a 1-0 victory over the Selecao in Montevideo in July 2001.

The defeat marked another disappointing result for five-time world champions Brazil, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Venezuela last week in the previous round.

Brazilian team officials said Neymar would undergo examinations in Sao Paulo on Wednesday to assess the nature of his injury.

Venezuela meanwhile boosted their hopes of reaching the World Cup for the first time with an impressive 3-0 rout of Chile in Maturin.

Winger Yeferson Soteldo was the star for La Vinotinto, scoring the opening goal and setting up second-half goals for veteran strikers Salomon Rondon and Darwin Machis.

Soteldo opened the scoring in stoppage time at the end of the first half, stabbing a low-angled shot into the bottom corner to the delight of a raucous home crowd.

The Santos winger turned provider for Venezuela’s second, bursting down the left flank and cutting back for Rondon to sweep home from close range on 72 minutes.

Soteldo was also involved in Venezuela’s third, once again finding space on the left wing and crossing for an unmarked Machis to make it 3-0.

Elsewhere Tuesday, Paraguay got their first win of the qualifiers, defeating lowly Bolivia 1-0 in Asuncion with a 69th-minute strike from Antonio Sanabria.

Bolivia remain bottom of the standings while Paraguay are seventh with three points from four games.

In Quito meanwhile, Colombia maintained their unbeaten start to qualifiers with a 0-0 draw away to Ecuador.

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan defeated Cambodia 1-0 to register their first-ever victory in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers at Jinnah Stadium on Tuesday.

Pakistan football team has now qualified for the second round of FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers, for the first time.

Harun Hamid scored the only goal of the match in the 67th minute to edge Cambodia.

The first leg of the first round of qualifiers which was played in Cambodia was ended without a single goal being scored.

Pakistan team is now placed in Group G in round two of the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers along with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Tajikistan. The winner and the runner-up teams from the group will progress to the third round.

A total of 18 nations that reach the third round will be divided into three groups of six, via a draw conducted at a later date, with the top two nations in each group qualifying for the FIFA World Cup.

The remaining six teams that finished third and fourth in the third round will then be divided into two groups of three teams for the fourth round, with the victor of each group earning a direct entry ticket to the FIFA World Cup.

Finally, in the fifth round, Asia’s representative in the FIFA play-off competition will be decided by a two-legged, home-and-away match between the two runners-up from the fourth round.

Notably, in the 2019 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Pakistan took on the same opponent and received a 1-4 thrashing.

Pakistan Squad

Goalkeepers: Usman Ali, Salman ul Haq and Yousaf Butt.

Defenders: Mamoon Moosa Khan, Mohibullah, Sohail Khan, Juniad Shah, Ali Khan Niazi, Rao Umar Hayat, Abdullah Iqbal and Easah Suliman.

Midfielders: Alamgir Ghazi, Ali Uzair, Rajab Ali, Nizamuddin, Harun Hamid and Rahis Nabi.

Forwards: Waleed Khan, Mohammad Waheed, Yousuf, Fareed Khan, Abdul Samad, Otis Khan, Moin Ahmed and Shayak Dost.

READ: Ronaldo hits two as Portugal thrash Bosnia and Herzegovina

Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice as Roberto Martinez’s relentless Portugal thrashed Bosnia and Herzegovina 5-0 on Monday in Euro 2024 qualifying.

Portugal, who booked their place at the tournament in Germany next summer with a win over Slovakia last Friday, continued their superb form under the Spanish coach with their eighth victory in eight games since he arrived.

Ronaldo netted his 126th and 127th Portugal goals, further extending his record as the top all-time men’s international goalscorer.

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes added the third before Barcelona duo Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix joined in the fun, all before half-time.

Bosnia, led by veteran target-man Edin Dzeko, languish fifth and can no longer progress from the group, after Slovakia beat Luxembourg 1-0.

Bosnia have two games remaining and are seven points behind second-placed Slovakia in Group J, with Portugal the runaway leaders.

Martinez’s side have scored 32 goals and only conceded twice, racking up all 24 points possible so far.

Al-Nassr striker Ronaldo, 38, opened the scoring from the penalty spot and dinked home his second with a neat finish, but was replaced by Martinez after 65 minutes, while still in search of his hat-trick.

The former Real Madrid forward was also confronted by a pitch invader shortly before half-time, but stewards swiftly intervened.

Fernandes and Cancelo finished with sublime accuracy and power as the hosts’ defence crumbled miserably, while Felix stroked in the fifth.

Bosnia tightened up in the second half but it was far too little, far too late.

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Italy return to the scene of their Euro 2020 triumph at Wembley on Tuesday to face an England side enhanced by the emergence of Jude Bellingham as one of the world’s best players.

Bellingham was an unused substitute when the Azzurri broke English hearts on home soil just over two years ago, winning a penalty shootout to extend the Three Lions’ wait for major tournament glory.

The 20-year-old Bellingham is now central to Gareth Southgate’s plans as England look to seal qualification for Euro 2024 with revenge over the Italians.

Bellingham announced himself on the international stage with a series of eye-catching performances at last year’s World Cup.

Despite more pain in Qatar as they exited in the quarter-finals to France, a frightening array of talent available to Southgate makes England among the favourites for next year’s Euro.

Bellingham is the star attraction after scoring 10 goals in his first 10 games for Real Madrid since a 103 million euro ($112 million) move from Borussia Dortmund.

The former Birmingham midfielder has earned comparisons with Madrid greats Alfredo di Stefano and Zinedine Zidane for his blistering start in the Spanish capital.

England full-back Kieran Trippier knows the scrutiny that comes with playing in Madrid from his time with Atletico and believes Bellingham can now be the difference in delivering a major tournament for his country.

“He can be the difference. At such a young age, with the maturity, the quality and the aggression he’s got, he’s frightening,” said Newcastle’s Trippier.

“It’s not a surprise at all, the standards that he’s set in Madrid.

“You can see he’s playing with freedom and the players around him are going to make him even better. The scary thing is he’s only 20 years old.”

Bellingham is also far from England’s only weapon as they aim to conquer Europe in Germany next year.

Bukayo Saka missed the decisive spot-kick in the Euro 2020 final but has bounced back to lead Arsenal’s renaissance and become undroppable at the international level.

Jack Grealish, Declan Rice and Harry Kane have also all moved clubs for more than 100 million euros over the past two years.

Grealish, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker and John Stones were treble winners with Manchester City last season, while James Maddison has flourished since his summer move to Tottenham.

“We lost in the Euros final but the most important thing is we’re progressing and doing very well,” added Trippier.

“We’ve got goals from all over the pitch. Jude, Maddison, Bukayo, Phil are still young but can all change games in certain moments.”

Kane remains the most reliable source of goals and became his country’s all-time leading scorer as England won in Italy for the first time since 1961 in March.

That result and four points from a possible six against Ukraine have put Southgate’s men in pole position to qualify.

By contrast, Italy followed up their Euro success by failing to qualify for a second consecutive World Cup and still have work to do to reach Germany.

Defeat in London would leave Luciano Spalletti’s men level on points with Ukraine and facing a decisive showdown with the war-torn nation next month to qualify.

Spalletti has only been in charge since August after Roberto Mancini departed to take the riches on offer as boss of Saudi Arabia.

Italy’s chances of another famous victory at Wembley have not been helped by two of their English-based players being sent home in a betting scandal.

Newcastle’s Sandro Tonali and Nicolo Zaniolo of Aston Villa were released from the squad after being investigated by criminal prosecutors for alleged gambling offences.

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