Plus: chants celebrating old memories, Trevor Wood from Jersey and ‘a Genghis Khan-like thick moustache’ Mail us with your questions and answers “England qualified for the World Cup in perfect style, winning all eight games without conceding a goal,” writes Charlie Wilson. “How many teams have done this?” This isn’t the first time England have qualified for a World Cup without conceding a goal. They did the same ahead of Italia 90 – but three of their six group games were 0-0 draws and they might not have qualified had Poland’s Rysard Tarasiewicz scored in the last minute of their final game in Chorzow. Instead his heatseeker hit the crossbar and England were through. Switzerland (A) 5-0 Wales (H) 12-0 Wales (A) 12-0 Croatia (A) 7-0 Croatia (H) 8-0 Switzerland (H) 11-0 Continue reading...

Slovakia beat Northern Ireland at the last to set up a winner-takes-all Group A encounter with Germany on Monday Thomas Tuchel wants his England substitutes to channel any anger they feel at not starting into making the difference when they can because the team that win the World Cup will be defined by productivity off the bench. The head coach will prepare a heat-proof gameplan for the finals next summer when temperatures at many of the venues in the United States, Mexico and Canada are expected to be stifling and a major part will involve how best to use his substitutes. Continue reading...

Wales boss Rhian Wilkinson expects a tough test from Poland on Tuesday night in Newport as her side seek to end a 10-game winless run.

Qualification has been so easy it gives little indication how the side will fare against big hitters at the World Cup As Harry Kane stepped up to make it 3-0 to England with the final kick of the first half at a wet, chilly and deflated Daugava Stadium it was strange to think that there was a time when the very act of reaching a major tournament was an event in its own right. It is not supposed to be this much of a doddle. Qualifying was once a nerve-shredding experience. It could make or break reputations and even provided some of the most iconic moments in the history of English football: the euphoria of David Beckham’s free-kick against Greece in 2001, the bloody‑minded defiance of Paul Ince in Rome in 1997 or, at the other end of the spectrum, the farce of Steve McClaren’s umbrella at Wembley in 2007, the agony of Graham Taylor in Rotterdam in 1993 and the shock of Jan Tomaszewski’s heroics in goal for Poland against Sir Alf Ramsey’s England in 1973. Continue reading...

Former Arsenal forward opens scoring in 4-1 thrashing Rashford on target but Lewandowski misses penalty Sevilla thrashed Barcelona 4-1 on Sunday, ending the champions’ unbeaten start in La Liga and denying them an opportunity to return to the top of the table. Sevilla took the lead in the 13th minute, after Isaac Romero went down while jostling for the ball with Ronald Araújo near Barcelona’s six-yard box. Alexis Sánchez sent former Arsenal teammate Wojciech Szczesny the wrong way to convert the spot kick. This story will be updated Continue reading...

⚽ News, previews and discussion before the action starts ⚽ Fixtures | Tables | Bournemouth go second | And mail us Jean-Philippe Mateta has described his first call-up to the senior France squad as “a dream come true” after the Crystal Palace striker was selected by Didier Deschamps for the World Cup qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Iceland. The 28-year-old was one of France’s overage players at last year’s Olympics and scored five goals as Thierry Henry’s side won a silver medal. Mateta, who played the first half of Palace’s win over Dynamo Kyiv on Thursday night in Poland, has also represented Les Bleus at various youth levels. Continue reading...

The Crystal Palace juggernaut is showing no signs of letting up. Goals from Daniel Muñoz and the substitute Eddie Nketiah ensured Oliver Glasner’s side marked their first appearance in the main phase of a European competition with a comfortable victory over Dynamo Kyiv despite a late red card for Borna Sosa. It was the perfect reward for the 3,500 supporters who had made the pilgrimage from south London to southern Poland as Palace made it 19 games unbeaten in all competitions to establish a new club record that dates back more than 50 years. Against opponents who have enjoyed plenty of famous European nights in their storied history but are no longer the same force of old due to the ongoing war with Russia, there was only ever going to be one winner as Glasner’s side showed they are well equipped to go all the way to Leipzig despite their inexperience at this level. Continue reading...

BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team explains why Crystal Palace's Conference League debut is taking in place in Poland

After a magical first 18 months in south London, Austrian manager is looking to conjure up Conference League glory Crystal Palace supporters may have waited a lifetime for this moment but, for Oliver Glasner, it’s business as usual. After winning the FA Cup and Community Shield – the first major silverware in the club’s history – the Austrian manager who arrived in south London 18 months ago promising he was “no David Copperfield” is preparing his next trick: guiding Palace to the Conference League final next May. Having been demoted from the Europa League after Uefa deemed Palace part of a multi-club network, Glasner’s side edged past Fredrikstad in the qualifying round and the road to Leipzig starts for real against Dynamo Kyiv in Poland on Thursday evening. It is a fixture that has been greatly anticipated by 3,500 travelling fans, with an extra 900 tickets quickly snapped up for the match at Lublin Arena, which has hosted the Ukrainian side’s home matches in Europe since Russia’s invasion in 2022. Continue reading...

Hansi Flick’s side come from behind for nervy win Milan go top after 2-1 victory against Napoli Barcelona secured a 2-1 comeback win over Real Sociedad on Sunday that sent them top of the LaLiga standings after they turned the match around with goals from Jules Koundé and Robert Lewandowski either side of half-time. Barcelona’s sixth win in seven matches moved the champions on to 19 points, one point above Real Madrid, as Real Sociedad remained on five points after their fourth loss of the campaign. “It was a team victory. They knew how to play and it was hard work, but we deserved it,” said the Barcelona coach Hansi Flick. Continue reading...

Wales will play their first game in front of a Rodney Parade crowd for six years when they host Poland in a friendly on Tuesday, 28 October.

López, Raphinha and Lewandowski each score twice Ethan Mbappé, Kylian’s brother, scores Lille’s winner Barcelona turned on the style in their first home game of the season on Sunday, with Fermín López, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski each netting twice in a 6-0 thrashing of Valencia. The emphatic victory propelled Barcelona to second place in La Liga on 10 points, two points behind leaders Real Madrid. Valencia slumped to 15th position. López opened the scoring in the 29th minute with a strike from inside the box assisted by Ferran Torres but it was after the break that Barça ran amok. Raphinha made an immediate impact off the bench in the 58th minute, converting a cross from Marcus Rashford with a right-footed volley while López doubled his tally three minutes later with a shot from long-range, before Raphinha completed his double in the 66th minute. Lewandowski, introduced in the 68th minute, wrapped up the rout with two close-range strikes to complete a perfect afternoon for the Catalan side. Continue reading...

Forward spares Ronald Koeman’s blushes with double Goals move him above Van Persie to top of all-time list Memphis Depay set a new scoring record for the Netherlands as his double ensured they survived a scare in beating Lithuania 3-2 away in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday. Two goals for the 31-year-old Depay took his national team tally to 52, going ahead of Robin van Persie’s previous record, and putting the Netherlands top of the Group G standings with 10 points from four games, three ahead of Poland, who are hosting Finland later on Sunday. Continue reading...

Olise also on scoresheet for Les Bleus in Wroclaw Sesko sets up late leveller for Slovenia against Sweden France struck early through Michael Olise and sealed the points with a late Kylian Mbappé breakaway to open their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory over Ukraine in Wroclaw, Poland. Mbappé’s 82nd-minute strike, set up by his Real Madrid teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni at the end of a rapid counter attack, took the forward to 51 international goals, drawing him level with Thierry Henry in second place on France’s all-time scoring list behind Olivier Giroud, who has scored 57. Olise gave them the lead after 10 minutes, sliding in a Bradley Barcola pass, and only Ukraine goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin’s sharp reflexes prevented further damage as he denied Olise a second. Continue reading...