Ballon d´Or 2019: Real Madrid´s Modric puts aside rivalry to congratulate Barcelona´s Messi

England complete their group games in the inaugural Women’s Nations League over the next few days, playing the Netherlands at Wembley on Friday and then Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the talking points ahead of the double-header.

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NEXT UP: A big clash at Wembley. |

— Lionesses (@Lionesses)

This competition provides England with the chance to secure Paris 2024 Olympic qualification for Great Britain, should they first finish top of Group A1 – something they are in considerable danger of failing to do. Lying third with six points from four games, three points behind the Dutch and one behind Belgium, they have to win on Friday to stay in contention. They lost 2-1 in the Netherlands in Septe…

Inter kept themselves on course for a top-four finish in Serie A after they defeated Roma 2-0 in an ill-tempered clash on Saturday.

The Nerazzurri seized a first-half lead through Federico Dimarco s close-range finish before Romelu Lukaku s breakaway strike 16 minutes from time sealed the three points at Stadio Olimpico.

Ahead of a Champions League semi-final with arch-rivals Milan on Wednesday, Simone Inzaghi s team returned to the top four and boosted their hopes of qualifying for next season s competition.

For Jose Mourinho s Giallorossi however, defeat leaves them five points off the top four with just four games left to play, leaving them with an uphill battle in hand.

Several stoppages due to injuries meant chances were at a relative premium during …

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With many around Manchester believing that this could be the year they deliver European success, City will be looking to make a statement when they welcome Lyon to the Etihad on Wednesday night.

Manchester City

Starting with the hosts, although they may have failed to come past Liverpool in a 5-1 aggregate loss last season, Pep Guardiola s side believe this could be their year. Yet to be beaten in any competition this season, Manchester City also boast a stellar record on home soil, winning every game at home this season, they have also scored 11 in their last three match in Manchester. In fact, they have now not lost a Champions League game at home since September 2015. Known for their goalscoring re…

No one man can boast more success at the World Cup than Brazilian Mario Zagallo, who died at the weekend at the age of 92. Zagallo played alongside a 17-year-old Pele in the 1958 final as Brazil won the title for the first of three times in 12 years in 1958 with a 5-2 victory over hosts Sweden, and repeated the feat four years later in Chile, when they beat Czechoslovakia 3-1 in the final. He was in the dugout by the time arguably the greatest side to have graced the competition completed a treble in 1970 with a 4-1 demolition of Italy in Mexico City, and served as assistant to Carlos Alberta Parreira when they got the better of the Italians on penalties at Pasadena’s Rose Bowl in 1994.

Franz Beckenbauer

West Germany’s Beckenbauer – or ‘Der Kaiser’ as he was known to …

Patrick Kluivert has been appointed director of youth football at Barcelona on a two-year contract.

The role marks a return for the former Netherlands international to the club where he spent six seasons as a player.

Kluivert will be responsible for overseeing the famed La Masia academy, which produced Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique and Sergio Busquets.

I am very happy to be back home and looking forward to this new era, with the challenge of keeping Barca among the top teams in the world, Kluivert said.

I grew up at the Ajax academy, which is very similar to La Masia, and I think I can do a lot for the development of young Barca players.

[ÚLTIMA HORA]

Patrick Kluivert, nou director del futbol formatiu.

— FC Barcel…

The safety plans of every organisation responsible for staging next year’s Champions League final at Wembley must be “tested to destruction”, Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt has said.

There is immense pressure on the FA and UEFA for the event to be a success after problems arose at the last two finals.

The 2022 match in Paris almost became a “mass fatality catastrophe” according to an independent report commissioned by UEFA. Liverpool fans found themselves penned against stadium perimeter fences ahead of the match against Real Madrid due to organisational failings, and were then tear-gassed by French police.

While the problems around this year’s final in Istanbul were less severe, UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin admitted last week that “n…

Leeds United suffered their first defeat of the Championship season as they were beaten 1-0 at home by fellow promotion hopefuls Burnley.

Daniel Farke’s side came into Saturday s encounter having won back-to-back matches against Sheffield Wednesday and Hull City, but their momentum was halted by their clinical visitors.

Burnley forward Luca Koleosho scored the only goal of the game the day before his 20th birthday.

Koleosho took advantage of a slip from Manor Solomon after 18 minutes, before sprinting 70 yards and drilling a shot past Leeds goalkeeper Ilan Meslier.

That proved to be enough to inflict on Leeds a third home league defeat in six matches going back to last season, despite the hosts applying plenty of pressure as they sought an equaliser.