“Spain beat England 3-2 in a highly entertaining and open Nations League game at Wembley, with the World Cup winners extending their record unbeaten run to 39 games. Thomas Tuchel’s side did have the visitors rattled for the middle period of the game and could have gone 3-1 up had Harry Kane not missed a second-half penalty. England’s first outing since finishing third at the World Cup started terribly for Tuchel — within two minutes, his side were behind. Marc Guehi received the ball from Nico O’Reilly and seemed surprised that Lamine Yamal was closing him down. The Barcelona forward stole the ball with ease and squeezed a crisp finish past goalkeeper James Trafford. …”
NYT/ATH (Video)
YouTube: England vs Spain Highlights ⚽ UEFA Nations League
England lose thrilling game to Spain but has Tuchel found a more confident approach? Did Yamal outshine Kane?
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“The qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations begin on Thursday, with 48 countries competing to earn spots in Africa’s biggest football tournament. Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda will cohost AFCON 2027, as the competition returns to East Africa for the first time in 51 years. Divided into 12 groups, the teams will be involved in a six-round qualifying process that runs to March next year. Here’s everything to know about AFCON 2027. …”
“In the end, Steve, Brian, Gaz or similar, he’s just not done the job he was hired to do. The job? The one he was hired to do? He’s not done it. How can I put this? There are three things here. The job. The being hired. The doing it. And him. Four things. And if you put those things together, there is no clear equation of … no linear semiotic cluster, he’s not, he’s just not, what I’m saying is … How many times have you heard variations on this statement in the few short, tender weeks since 
“Xavi Hernandez and Jurgen Klopp shared the points as they got their careers as international managers underway, in a frenetic Nations League game between the Netherlands and Germany that ended 1-1 The Dutch began with a spring in their step and thought they’d taken the lead when Virgil van Dijk headed home an early Tijjani Reijnders corner, only for VAR to rule it out for an extremely-soft looking Brian Brobbey block. But it was Klopp’s team that went 1-0 up when Felix Nmecha scored from close range just after the half hour mark. The Dutch were furious, as Brobbey had gone down with a hamstring injury, but there was no reason for Germany for stop playing — and, to be fair, they didn’t. Brobbey had to be substituted, as did Kai Havertz a few minutes earlier — news that will concern Sunderland and Arsenal fans respectively. …”
“Three months ago, Iran was one of the biggest stories in football as Team Melli arrived at the World Cup to try to play in the US, a country that had been bombing and firing missiles at Tehran and other targets. A disallowed goal and a last-minute effort that hit the bar in the final group game against Egypt confirmed Iran’s group‑stage exit – 
