Curlinov stuck in Schengen: the club forgot to file the documents, Macedonia is left without its best winger

This is not an injury. It is not a suspension either. Darko Curlinov will not play against Switzerland, Slovenia and Scotland because his club Pogon Szczecin started the process for a work and residence permit in Poland too late. The player is close to exceeding the limit of 90 days of stay within a 180-day period without an official work visa - if he leaves the EU now to come to Skopje, returning to Poland would mean border checks, sanctions, possibly even an entry ban. The federation's call-up was sent to the club three weeks ago. The Poles got in touch literally on the eve of the camp. Completing the process takes them at least two weeks.

Switzerland comes to Skopje, and Macedonia is the underdog in its own house

On 26 September at 20:45 the new Nations League cycle begins at the Todor Proeski arena. The opponent reached the World Cup quarter-finals this summer and went out there to Argentina after 120 minutes. Bookmakers are offering odds of 1.40 on an away win - in Skopje, in front of a home crowd. Then come Slovenia away on 29 September, Scotland at home on 3 October and Switzerland again in Lucerne on 6 October. Four matches, a thin roster, and one winger fewer because of a stamp that was never applied. Agon Elezi, in excellent form for Sarajevo, put it calmly: "We all know their qualities and we have to focus only on ourselves, not to make mistakes, because every mistake of ours can cost us a lot." He is talking about mistakes on the pitch. This one already happened before he got there.

Real Madrid demands Tebas resign: from a derby defeat to an institutional collision

After a 2:1 defeat in the city derby at Atletico, Real complained about the refereeing. La Liga president Javier Tebas replied with: "When it is not Negreira, it is the referee. Take off the blindfold!", and called Real TV "regime television". The club hit back some ten hours later with an official statement describing Tebas's conduct as "intolerant", "absurd and irresponsible", and openly demanding his removal - the league, they say, needs "a leader who understands that the role is to serve the member clubs". We are watching the richest club in Europe demand the resignation of a league president because he disagreed with them about one refereeing duel. Who is regulating whom here?

Gary Neville on United: "Mannequins on the pitch" - and the numbers back him up

Manchester United drew 1:1 at Fulham. Under Michael Carrick the team has one win, two draws and two defeats in the first five rounds, twelfth place and five points. Carrick praised the players' energy. Gary Neville called them "mannequins" and said he had never seen United walk around the pitch so much without the ball. The data is not on the manager's side: United are last in the Premier League for distance covered at high intensity, twentieth for time spent at high intensity, last for number of sprints, twentieth for sprint duration and seventeenth for percentage of walking in the defensive phase. When a manager praises what the numbers refute, that is not motivation - it is a refusal to look at the board.

The Nations League opens with fixtures past World Cups would envy

The cycle starts on Thursday and immediately offers a schedule that looks like a knockout stage. Netherlands - Germany on 24 September, with Xavi on the Dutch bench and Klopp on the German one. Italy - Belgium on 25 September at the Olimpico, Mancini's first match of his second spell. Turkey - France the same day, Zinedine Zidane's debut as France manager. England - Spain on 26 September, the first meeting since the Euro 2024 final - Spain go in on 38 matches unbeaten, their last loss coming in March 2024. And Belgium - France on 28 September in Brussels, where the hosts have not beaten the French since a qualifier back in 1981. Macedonia plays in the same calendar, in the B tier, without one of its best - over paperwork.