England put seven past Croatia in Rijeka

Croatia - England 0:7 in the Nations League, and at the stadium in Rijeka, in front of a Croatian crowd. It is the heaviest defeat in the history of the Croatian national team - the side that got Europe used to finals and medals. Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka scored two each, with Bellingham, Gordon and Rogers also on the scoresheet. Thomas Tuchel's team pressed high and punished Croatian mistakes one by one, and debutant Alex Scott of Bournemouth played as if he had been there for years. For years our neighbours were the yardstick for what a small Balkan country can achieve in football. How fast does that yardstick melt once a generation moves on?

City guilty on 114 charges, the punishment still pending

Manchester City have been found guilty on 114 of 115 charges of breaching Premier League financial rules. The club still insists it did nothing wrong, and the sanction is yet to be decided. In England there are already fears the scandal will damage Manchester's bid for the 2040 Olympic Games. Sponsors aren't running for now - on the contrary, Etihad was reportedly considering legal action against the league itself. Years of proceedings and 114 confirmed breaches, and the punishment still has no date. If justice in the world's richest league waits this long, who still believes money doesn't buy time?

Klopp stuck at the Toumba in Thessaloniki

Greece - Germany 0:0 at the Toumba in Thessaloniki, and Jürgen Klopp's poor start on the German bench continues. The Germans had 21 shots, and goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis made four key saves. Germany thought they had scored after half an hour through Jonathan Burkardt, but VAR ruled it out for a handball by Tom Bischof in the build-up. Greece have Serbian coach Ivan Jovanović on the bench, who showed once again that a disciplined defence can ground even the most expensive line-up. The Balkan recipe against a favourite worked again: a locked-down defence and a goalkeeper in form.

Macedonia in Lucerne tonight: Sedloski takes the criticism on himself

The Macedonian national team play Switzerland in Lucerne tonight (Tuesday) at 20:45, in round four of League B of the Nations League. After three rounds Macedonia are still waiting for a first point and a first goal, with Scotland the third opponent to leave us empty-handed. This is only the second meeting between the two sides, and the first, in Skopje just over a week ago, ended in a heavy defeat. Head coach Goce Sedloski is promising changes and "fresh blood" because of four matches in 12 days, and said: "Let the criticism come to my address - right now the players need a tailwind." Ezgjan Alioski is back after his calf problems, and Visar Musliu was even more blunt: "We have to put a finger to our heads, look at what we're doing and how we treat the shirt." The admission is welcome - but will it make it onto the pitch against the group leaders?

Under-21s end qualifying with a seventh defeat

The under-21 team closed their qualifying campaign for the 2027 European Championship with a 2:0 defeat away to Sweden. Svensson scored in the 15th minute and Nije doubled the lead early in the second half. It could have been worse - in the second minute goalkeeper Ljupče Džekov saved a big chance, and the Swedes also hit the crossbar. Final tally: two wins, one draw and seven defeats, seven points and fifth place in Group E. When both the under-21s and the senior team go through the autumn without a single reason to celebrate, it is worth asking what is being done with talent long before it ever pulls on the senior shirt.