England failed to make absolutely certain of a spot in the knockout phase of Euro 2020 as they were held to a 0-0 draw by bitter rivals Scotland at Wembley on Friday.

The Three Lions went into the contest as favourites, particularly given the two teams contrasting fortunes on matchday one, but Scotland produced a spirited performance to secure a point from what was the first goalless match between the old rivals in 33 meetings at Wembley.

Scotland had more clear chances than England in a gruelling – albeit unspectacular – first half, though the best opportunity came the way of John Stones, who nodded onto the upright.

Otherwise, though, England were largely unimpressive going forward, with Harry Kane particularly disappointing as Gareth Southgate s men were u…

Best Odds: 10/11

Bookmaker:

Two camps who will be looking to make a pre-Euro 24 statement on Saturday evening, Portugal will welcome Croatia to Lisbon.

Portugal

Starting with the hosts, while Portugal might have been left frustrated out in Qatar 18 months ago as they had to settle for a World Cup Round of 16 finish, the Navigators have come roaring back in some style. Continuing to shine under the guidance of Roberto Martinez, the former European champions find the mood in their camp at a red-hot high. With some tipping them as a potential contender when they open their Euro 24 adventure later in the month, the ex-Belgium boss will be calling on his squad to make one final statement of intent here. Last seen earlier in the week picking up an action-packed 4-2 v…

West Ham are still trying to sign Harry Maguire from Manchester United, according to Sky Sports, despite being rejected by the player himself earlier this summer.

Maguire was stripped of captaincy at United this summer, and the prospect of him ever winning back a starting role at the club appears very slim. And that s putting it mildly. Last season, he started only eight Premier League matches.

West Ham and Manchester United had agreed a deal over a transfer for the 30-year-old centre-back, and the Hammers were willing to pay up to £30 million to secure his services, obviously a huge loss after United paid £80m to sign him from Leicester City in 2019, only for Maguire to refuse the move in order to stay and fight for game-time at Old Trafford.

In all competiti…

Best Odds: 8/11

Bookmaker:

Looking to lay down a heavyweight Premier League marker on Sunday afternoon, Manchester City will travel to Stamford Bridge when they meet Chelsea.

Chelsea

Starting with the hosts, eventually grabbing what was an action-packed 4-1 victory away at a nine-man Tottenham earlier in the month, Chelsea have found a route into the top-half of the table. However, while Mauricio Pochettino’s men might have suffered just a single defeat from their previous six domestic appearances across all formats, the ex-Spurs boss is desperate for his squad to find some Premier League stability. Knowing that they face a real uphill battle in their bid to claim a crucial Champions League return this season, the Blues will know that they face a heavyweight …

Nemanja Matic believes Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford s omission from England s Euro 2024 squad can only be good news for Serbia.

Gareth Southgate confirmed his 26-man squad for the upcoming tournament in Germany on Thursday, with a number of high-profile names set to watch the Three Lions bid for a first international trophy in 58 years from home.

From the preliminary squad, James Trafford, Jarrad Branthwaite, Jarell Quansah, Harry Maguire, Curtis Jones, James Maddison and Grealish have all been dropped ahead of the Three Lions final friendly fixture against Iceland.

Manchester United forward Rashford was not included in the initial 33-man party, having managed just seven league goals for Erik ten Hag s side this season.

He will miss his first inter…

Enzo Maresca insisted Chelsea deserved to win their home clash with Nottingham Forest despite having to come back from behind.

The hosts went 1-0 down on 49 minutes when Chris Wood poked home the opener from a free-kick, but Noni Madueke proved Chelsea s saviour just eight minutes later as he fired in the equaliser.

Forest have now taken points from the two top-four opponents they have faced away from home in the Premier League this season, also getting a historic 1-0 win against league-leaders Liverpool.

Chelsea s manager, however, feels his side deserved more from the game, which saw a spate of chances in the 13 minutes of stoppage time after James Ward-Prowse had been sent off for Forest.

I think we deserved to win, he told BBC MOTD2. They are a very …

France manager Didier Deschamps believes Kylian Mbappe should be allowed to do what he wants, playing down rumours of a rift between the two.

The comments came after Mbappe was spotted in a nightclub in Sweden on Thursday, the same night France beat Israel 4-1, having been left out of the squad by Deschamps to recover from an injury.

Mbappe had suffered a muscle injury with Real Madrid last month and was given the international break to rest by the France manager.

But Deschamps was both unconcerned and unaware of the striker s excursion.

I don t follow the news of players who are not here, he said. Kylian is following a programme with Real Madrid. I don t know if he was away or not.

The controversy stems from rumours that Mbappe had asked Desch…

Prediction: Draw

Best Odds: 

Bookmaker: 

While the domestic season may be over across Europe, there s still a lot of football left to be played in the United States as this year s Major League Soccer campaign rolls on. A parade of clubs across both conferences are hoping that they can make it to the post-season and today, we re going to take a look at a clash between two of the very best: Los Angeles FC and New York Red Bulls.

Los Angeles FC

After coming firing out of the blocks as an extension team way back in 2019, even winning the Supporters Shield, LAFC haven t quite been able to live up to the hype since then. They tend to smash the regular season out of the park before crumbling in the play-offs and they ll hope to put an end to that trend this…

Mikel Arteta has hinted that Emile Smith Rowe is nearing a move away from Arsenal after not being involved in their pre-season friendly against Bournemouth on Thursday.

Arsenal needed penalties to get past Andoni Iraola s side in Los Angeles, with Fabio Vieira s strike cancelled out by Antoine Semenyo s deflected effort.

Smith Rowe was due to feature at Dignity Health Sports Park after being listed among the substitutes, but remained on the bench for the entirety of the encounter.

The 23-year-old, who has made 115 appearances for Arsenal, is poised to complete a £35million move to Fulham, as reported by David Ornstein.

Fulham are in the market for a new midfielder, having allowed Joao Palhinha to depart for Bayern Munich earlier this month in a repor…

Atalanta are interested in signing Marc Pubill from Almeria in the summer transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano. The well-known and well-respected Italian journalist has claimed that Serie A club Atalanta have opened talked with Segunda Division outfit Almeria over a deal for Pubill.

Romano wrote on : EXCL: “Atalanta open talks to sign Spanish RB Marc Pubill, request around €20m package deal from Almería, add-ons included.

“15% sell-on clause also request from Almería. Atalanta have already signed Retegui today from Genoa for €22m plus €3m add-ons.”

Pubill has been on the books of Almeria since the summer of 2023 when he joined the club after leaving Levante. The Spain Under-23 international right-back made 22 starts and one substitute appe…