Canada Crushes Qatar, Mexico First Into the Knockouts

The World Cup in North America is already showing its first clear images. Canada demolished Qatar's national team 6-0, with Jonathan David, Juventus striker, scoring a hat-trick and becoming only the second player at this World Cup to net three goals in one game, after Messi. Qatar were reduced to nine men by two direct red cards, and the match was effectively over long before the final whistle. Simultaneously, Mexico with a 1-0 victory over South Korea became the first side to advance to the last 16, with Luis Romo's goal in the second half in front of a home crowd. Those who decide things early while others are still asleep - a script we know from our own qualifying campaigns.

Real Madrid Gets Konate Free, Mourinho Builds Against Barcelona

While the English clubs haggle over contracts, Madrid takes a top centre-back without paying a transfer fee. Ibrahima Konate, the French stopper, leaves Liverpool as a free agent and signs a four-year deal with Real Madrid until 2030. Liverpool wanted a new contract signed early and in good form; the player wanted a deal reflecting his value - and when the two sides couldn't agree, Real simply opened the door. Konate is the fourth signing for Jose Mourinho this summer, after Dumfries, Bernardo Silva and Cucurella. The goal is clear: break Barcelona's dominance in La Liga. A free transfer for a player worth 35 million pounds - someone at Liverpool will have to explain how that happened.

Liverpool Chasing Signings, Prices Soaring

On the other side, Liverpool are running after new names to plug the gap. The club, alongside Barcelona, have made enquiries about Micky van de Ven from Tottenham, and are simultaneously pursuing Jan Dioumande from Leipzig. The Germans, according to sources, will reject offers of over 100 million euros for the young striker - a figure that just a few years ago would have looked like a typo. Yankuba Minteh from Brighton is also mentioned as a backup option. The market again shows that in European football there is no ceiling on price, only a ceiling on buyers' patience.

Bojan Dimoski Signs for Shkendija

In domestic football, Tetovo's Shkendija announced the signing of defender Bojan Dimoski, a national team reinforcement for the new season. After medical checks were mentioned, the 24-year-old put pen to paper on a two-year contract. For a club that wants to stay at the very top and compete in Europe, an experienced international at that position is not a luxury but a necessity. The question is whether Shkendija is building a title-winning squad or just patching an open gap in defence.

Gashtarov Scores for Crvena Zvezda

Macedonian youth international Matej Gashtarov gets on the scoresheet in Crvena Zvezda's friendly against lower-league side Jedinstvo, which ended 5-0 for the Serbian champions. A goal in a friendly against weak opposition doesn't mean much on its own, but for a young player fighting for minutes at a big club, every name on the scoresheet is a message to the manager. Whether this is the start of a real breakthrough or just summer statistics - we'll see when the season begins for the paid squad.