"We got up this morning with the idea it could be a great night." Little did you know, Kylian Mbappe. Little did you know. The France forward was speaking after his side's dramatic penalty shootout victory over Croatia in the Nations League, but in truth it barely even begins to cover the chaos that unfolded across the competition's quarter-final second legs on Sunday. There were 21 goals across four games, three of which went to extra time and two all the way to sudden death in a shootout. As teams piled forward with carefree abandon, there were a whopping 131 attempts on goal in total. It was bedlam. The matches ended as follows: France 2-0 Croatia (agg 2-2, France win 5-4 on pens) Germany 3-3 Italy (agg 5-4) Portugal 5-2 Denmark (agg 5-3) Spain 3-3 Netherlands (agg 5-5, Spain win 5-4 on pens) It all means France, Germany, Portugal and Spain will compete in June's Nations League semi-finals, which are split between the cities of Stuttgart and Munich in Germany. But, first, let's talk you through a night which saw a Portuguese legend miss a penalty, a German ball boy become a hero and very nearly an Italian comeback to end all comebacks....
Newcastle United defender Tino Livramento has been left out of England's squad for Monday's World Cup qualifier against Latvia. The 22-year-old was an unused substitute for the 2-0 win against Albania at Wembley on Friday. Thomas Tuchel selected a 26-man squad for fixtures against Albania and Latvia but Uefa rules state that a 23-man matchday squad must be picked for each match. Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White and Liverpool defender Jarrel Quansah, who both missed Friday's match, return to the squad while Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon drops out after returning to his club following injury. Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale has been left out again as the Three Lions prepare to host Latvia at Wembley (19.45 GMT). "We have to get the process right to find the best group," Tuchel said. "If that means we leave very good and talented players out of the squad this can happen. In the next 16 months it is important we find the right team and not the most talented 26 players. "We need to get the team right. We need to get the team spirit right because it's one thing to play qualifiers, it's another thing to play tournament football."...
Scotland let themselves down on "an embarrassing night" as they were relegated to Nations League B, said midfielder John McGinn. Steve Clarke's side held a 1-0 lead over Greece following Thursday's first leg in Piraeus, but were outplayed and outclassed by the visitors in Sunday's return, falling to a 3-1 aggregate loss. Giannis Konstantelias swept home the opener having been left completely unmarked in the Scotland box before 17-year-old Konstantinos Karetsas curled a second just before half-time, having also been left alone in the penalty area. The interval was much needed for the Scots, a chance to regroup and clear scrambled heads, but they shipped a calamitous third just 13 seconds after the restart - Christos Tzolis profited after Ryan Christie gave the ball away - and from there, the result was never in doubt. "It's an embarrassing night for us, everyone is flat in the stadium, we let ourselves down," McGinn said. "No threat in behind, probably too easy to pick up. Greece deserved to win." With two World Cup qualifiers against Greece to come this autumn, the play-off was a chance for Scotland to make a statement as well as maintaining their top-tier Nations League status. Instead, it was Ivan Jovanovic's side who put a proverbial marker down with a dominant performance. "Greece were just a better side, we had no answer for them," former Scotland defender Willie Miller said on Sportsound. "We had no creativity and no threat, we didn't make it difficult at all for Greece. It's League A we wanted to be in and we failed tonight." The boos on the full-time whistle highlighted the feeling among the Tartan Army, but Clarke backed his team to put the disappointment behind them. "We've had a decent run," he said. "This is a bump in the road. "If there's one thing I've learned over my time in charge of the national team, it's that there are bumps in the road. It's how you react to it. "We have to react to this one and make sure that, come June, we know what we're trying to address, and come September, we know what we're trying to do, which is qualify for a World Cup."...
Chelsea will have to pay Manchester United a £5m fee if they decide not to sign Jadon Sancho on a permanent basis this summer. The 24-year-old joined Chelsea on a season-long loan in August in a deal that included an obligation to buy for between £20m and £25m, providing the London club finish at least 14th in the Premier League this season. Chelsea are fourth, with nine games of the season remaining. However, as initially reported in the Athletic,, external it has now been confirmed by sources with knowledge of the deal that a clause exists that would allow Chelsea to send Sancho back to Old Trafford providing they pay United £5m in compensation. Chelsea have previously stressed they are not thinking of taking that step but doubt persists over whether Sancho will remain at Stamford Bridge beyond the end of the season. Sancho joined Dortmund on loan for the second half of last season following a falling out with former United boss Erik ten Hag over the Dutchman's public condemnation of his performances in training. United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe namechecked Sancho in an interview with BBC sports editor Dan Roan as a player that United are "buying" this summer because of outstanding payments following his £73m move from Dortmund in 2021. "For Sancho, who obviously now plays for Chelsea, and we pay half his wages, we are paying £17m to buy him in the summer," said Ratcliffe. The 24-year-old initially impressed following his move to Stamford Bridge but his form has dipped since. Sancho has contributed just one assist in 18 appearances since scoring the last of his two goals this season against Tottenham on 8 December. Chelsea are known to be targeting the signing of another winger and a striker in the summer. They have also signed Sporting winger Geovany Quenda, 17, for £42m with that move set to go through in 2026. Sancho's present United contract runs to 2026, although United have the option to extend by a further year....
The Thomas Tuchel era is officially under way, but who impressed most in his first game as England head coach against Albania? BBC Sport football news reporter Alex Howell rates how the players performed in Friday's World Cup qualifier - and you can see how BBC Sport readers rated them at the bottom of the page too. Starting XI Jordan Pickford: Barely had a save to make. His distribution was good as always. 6 Kyle Walker: Picked as right-back in a four-man defence and gave England width in attack. His experience helped a backline with two debutants. One key interception but hard to judge defensively as he didn't have much to deal with. 6 Ezri Konsa: Very tidy at the back, dealt with the few Albania attacks when called upon and continues to excel at international level. A positive first start under the new manager ahead of the 2026 World Cup. 7 Dan Burn: A first England start caps a dream couple of weeks for the Newcastle defender. Overall he was solid and made a couple of key blocks. A couple of nervy moments and a slight misunderstanding with Pickford after blocking a shot in the first half, but dealt with the danger afterwards. A threat from set-pieces and hit the bar with a header. 6 Myles Lewis-Skelly: A full England debut caps an amazing breakthrough season for the Arsenal defender. He was tasked, like he is for his club, with stepping into midfield but also ran on the outside at times too. His goal means the 18-year-old is the youngest player to score on his senior England debut. 8 Declan Rice: The deepest of the midfielders and again not really tested defensively. Gave the ball to the attackers and kept play moving. A clever pass set up Kane's goal. 7 Curtis Jones: Just a third start for Jones but showed, in flashes, why he has been a key part of Liverpool's midfield this season. Linked the play well and looked to get into the box when he could. A quiet second half before being replaced in the 74th minute. 6 Phil Foden: A quiet performance from the Manchester City man playing in his unfavoured position on the right wing. Undoubted talent but he found it hard against an Albania side that defended deep and he didn't show enough. 5 Jude Bellingham: A superb pass for Lewis-Skelly's opener. He looked to make things happen with passes or by dribbling past players to get through Albania's low block. 7 Marcus Rashford: Linked well with Bellingham on the left and looked to beat his full-back when the opportunity came. He also pressed well which is something Tuchel wanted him to show. Subbed after a quiet second half. 6 Harry Kane: The instruction to press and stay high up the pitch was clear, a big difference from the Kane that England saw at the Euros last summer. An excellent touch and finish for his trademark goal showed why he is still captain and first choice number nine. 7...
Hassan Nawaz blazed Pakistan's fastest T20 century as his side raced to a nine-wicket victory over New Zealand in Auckland. Chasing a challenging 205, the opener smashed an unbeaten 105 from 45 deliveries to take his side to victory in the third T20 and keep the five-match series alive. The 22-year-old, who was playing in just his third international and made ducks in his first two appearances, reached the landmark in 44 balls. He put on 74 with Mohammad Haris (41 off 20) for the opening wicket, with the partnership ended when Haris was caught behind off Jacob Duffy. Nawaz pushed on after the powerplay, bringing up his half-century off 26 balls with a six. Batting alongside captain Salman Agha (51 off 31), Nawaz closed out with consecutive fours to first reach his century, and then end the game with four overs to spare. Pakistan's fastest century was scored by Shahid Afridi, in 37 balls against Sri Lanka in a one-day international in 1996. New Zealand would have had high hopes of winning the series at the earliest opportunity after Michael Chapman struck 94 from 44 deliveries. However Michael Bracewell (31 off 18) was the only other home batter to pass 20, with Haris Rauf taking 3-29 after Pakistan won the toss and chose to bowl. The hosts lead the series 2-1 going into Sunday's fourth match at Mount Maunganui. It was a chastening day for New Zealand fans, who had earlier watched the women's side fall to an eight-wicket defeat by Australia at Eden Park....
The PGA Tour says "some hurdles remain" in the protracted negotiations with LIV Golf to reunify the sport - although Donald Trump's intervention has "significantly bolstered" the talks. Discussions have been ongoing since June 2023 when the PGA Tour and DP World Tour agreed a shock merger with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF), which funds LIV. The two sides met at the White House last month following the intervention of US President Trump, who is a keen golfer with business interests in the sport. But, speaking before this week's Players Championship, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan could not provide an answer about when a deal might be struck. "We're doing everything we can to bring the two sides together," Monahan said. "That said, we will not do so in a way that diminishes the strength of our platform or the very real momentum we have with our fans and partners." The PGA Tour, represented by Monahan, player director Adam Scott and 15-time major winner Tiger Woods, held "constructive" talks with LIV Golf chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and President Trump on 21 February. Monahan said the involvement of President Trump - who owns several golf resorts around the world - had made a truce "very real". However, no deadline has been set for the saga to be resolved, he said. "While we have removed some hurdles, others remain," Monahan added in a news conference at Sawgrass, where the PGA's flagship event starts on Thursday. "But like our fans, we still share the same sense of urgency to get to a resolution. "Our team is fully committed to reunification."...
Lando Norris and McLaren delivered on their potential with a copybook victory in a demanding Australian Grand Prix in the most difficult of conditions to put their stamp on the start of the new season. Briton Norris described his win as "stressful but rewarding". The first adjective was justified by the conditions in a madcap, crash-strewn, incident-packed race where one small error can spell disaster - as it very nearly did for Norris himself at one point. The second adjective was a recognition of the fact that this was exactly the kind of race in which, last year, McLaren had proved less than perfect, and thrown away at least one potential victory, and perhaps another, too. But in Melbourne they were as perfect as it is possible to be in conditions such as these - even the renowned rain-master Max Verstappen slipped up at one point. And Norris and McLaren came through the chaos unscathed. The fine line between victory and defeat was underlined by an incident with 13 laps to go that defined the race. Norris was leading from team-mate Oscar Piastri and Verstappen as a heavy shower of rain approached the track. It hit as the leaders were negotiating the final corners on lap 44, with 13 to go. Both McLarens ran wide on to the gravel at the exit of Turn 12, and Australian Piastri then spun through Turn 13. Norris was able to continue without losing too much time, but Piastri ended up on the grass on the outside of Turn 12, where he sat with his wheels spinning helplessly for what seemed like an age as his hopes of victory at home evaporated before finally rejoining. He fought back to ninth by the end. Norris immediately pitted for treaded tyres. That decision won him the race, and demonstrated how far he and the team had come since last year - they had planned that they would pit as soon as it rained, and acted decisively on the plan. Verstappen stayed out and took the lead, but as the rain intensified he lost more time, and Norris resumed the lead when the Dutchman pitted himself two laps later....
It's the question everyone is asking. Who will start for England against Albania on Friday in Thomas Tuchel's first game as Three Lions boss. We asked BBC Sport readers who they would select when the squad was announced on Thursday and the results are below. Chelsea midfielder Cole Palmer did make the initial line-up but has been replaced after his withdrawal. Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham was the most picked player, being chosen by 92% of people, with Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane the next most selected. Agree or disagree? You can still pick your team below....
The 2025 Indian Premier League - the world's biggest T20 franchise tournament - starts on Saturday, 22 March. The 18th edition of the competition features 10 teams battling for the title, currently held by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). There will be commentary on more than 35 matches, including the final on 25 May, available across BBC Sounds, BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and the BBC Sport website and app, as well as daily reports on the Franchise Cricket page. Here is everything you need to know. ...
It has been eight weeks since the last Premiership match as the league took a break for the Six Nations throughout February and part of March. The league returns on Friday with a weekend of derby games in round 12, as clubs face the first of seven matches to conclude the regular season. Bath lead the way looking to win their first title since 1996, with five clubs behind them separated by only eight points. Defending champions Northampton have endured a disappointing season but are not out of the running either. BBC Sport examines the state of play as the final third of the 2024-25 campaign begins....
Emma Raducanu's coaching trial with Vladimir Platenik is over after just two weeks. The British number two won her Miami Open first-round match against Japanese teenager Sayaka Ishii in straight sets on Wednesday. However, Platenik was absent from her coaching box, having flown to California two days before Raducanu's first-round defeat by Moyuka Uchijima in Indian Wells earlier this month. The two had been training together in the run-up to this week's tournament, but the brief trial ended on Tuesday. It was Raducanu's decision - the 22-year-old's representatives say she has the "utmost respect" for Platenik but the relationship "wasn't quite heading in the right direction". The 49-year-old recently gave an outspoken interview to the Slovak newspaper Dennik N, in which he suggested they had a tentative agreement to work together until May's French Open. Platenik, who has worked previously with Daria Kasatkina and Dominika Cibulkova, is highly rated as a coach. But one former player described him as a "freight train" - saying he was full of intensity and self-confidence, with a personality that was not always easy to handle. Raducanu did not seem affected on court as she beat Ishii 6-2 6-1 and will face the American eighth seed Emma Navarro in the second round on Friday. Jane O'Donoghue, a friend who has worked with Raducanu on an ad-hoc basis over the past couple of years, was in the coaching box alongside Colin Beecher - who runs the LTA's National Tennis Centre in London. Raducanu said in Indian Wells that Platenik was "very serious and very professional", but stressed it was too early to know how they would get on both on and off the court. They had some previous experience together, having worked for two weeks on a trial basis when Raducanu was 17. The 2021 US Open champion has been without a permanent coach since Nick Cavaday stood down for health reasons after January's Australian Open. Raducanu had previously worked with a wide range of coaches including Nigel Sears, Andrew Richardson - who was in charge during her run to the title in New York - Torben Beltz, Dmitry Tursunov and Sebastian Sachs....
2026 World Cup qualifying: Wales v Kazakhstan Venue: Cardiff City Stadium Date: Saturday, 22 March Kick-off: 19:45 GMT Coverage: Watch on BBC One Wales, iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app, plus S4C via iPlayer. Text commentary and highlights on BBC Sport website and app. Listen live on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru, BBC Radio 5 Sport Extra. Eight games from winning promotion to the Premier League. Eight fixtures standing in-between Wales and the 2026 World Cup. Leeds United's Dan James knows he could about to have the year of his life. Fortunately for club and country, he is having the season of his life. Once widely criticised for lacking end product, he is now on track for a career-best tally of goals and assists in a single campaign. "Outstanding," Daniel Farke has said of someone who has become integral to Championship leaders Leeds' bid to return to the top-flight, a player happy to carry the weighty Elland Road expectations of success. Craig Bellamy will be hoping for just as much attacking influence on the international stage as Wales plot their path to north America. And James is not shying away from it. "I'm not a young player anymore," he says. "I want to try and be that main man." But, even for a player of electrifying pace, getting to that stage has taken some time....
Rangers have described the display by supporters of an anti-woke banner at their Europa League game against Fenerbahce - and which has led to a disciplinary charge from Uefa - as "shameful" and "embarrassing". The Scottish Premiership club also hit out at the throwing of objects on to the pitch, and the continued use of pyrotechnics, saying fans who carry out such acts are not welcome at their matches. While thanking most supporters for their recent backing during games against the Turkish side and Celtic, Rangers state, external it is "deeply saddening and frankly embarrassing that the club is now set to face significant sanctions for the actions of a very small minority". The banner displayed at Ibrox during Thursday's aggregate win over Fenerbahce stated: "Keep woke foreign ideologies out - defend Europe." ...
World number one Scottie Scheffler is confident he is getting back to his best after a relatively slow start to the season as he prepares to defend his Masters title next month. Scheffler has not won a tournament so far in 2025 having won two at this stage last year - the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship. His defence of the latter this year did not go to plan as he finished tied for 20th, although his return to action this year was delayed by the injury he suffered while preparing Christmas dinner. The 28-year-old stabbed himself in the hand with the broken stem of a wine glass, external while using it to make ravioli. "I think it would be silly to say that it didn't set me back a little bit because I had to take a good amount of time off," he said. "I'm a right-handed golfer. So any sort of injury you have to that hand, especially a surgical one, is going to have some sort of effect. "But each day, my hand continues to improve. My body continues to get back to where it needs to be and I think my swing is coming around, as well. "So I'm definitely excited about the improvements that I'm making." Despite no wins yet, Scheffler's results have not been too bad with two top-10 finishes in his five events so far. Scheffler will look to claim back-to-back Masters titles when the major gets under way on 10 April, and he is happy with the improvements he is making as the tournament approaches. "The results this year have been decent," he added. "I feel like I'm really close to playing some really nice golf again. I've got another good week of prep here at home and I felt like we learned a lot last week at Sawgrass. "I'm definitely excited about the things that we kind of figured out when we were in Jacksonville."...