Scotland with 24 shots, Macedonia without a single big chance

At the "Toše Proeski" National Arena Scotland celebrated a 2:0 win, handing new head coach Sébastien Pocognoli his first victory. Kieron Bowie opened the scoring in the first minutes with a powerful shot into the bottom corner, and McGinn converted the penalty after VAR awarded handball against Bojan Miovski. The numbers are brutal: 24 shots for the visitors against six for the hosts, zero big chances for Macedonia and just 0.43 expected goals. Without five key saves from Stole Dimitrievski, including one against Andy Robertson on his 100th cap, the scoreline would have looked like a rout. Not even Scott McKenna's red card in the 83rd minute helped, so after three rounds of the Nations League Macedonia are without a point. The biggest applause of the night went to the dog that ran onto the pitch and briefly stopped the game.

697 minutes without a goal: "This is an abyss"

This is the longest goalless run in more than three decades of the national team's existence: seven matches in a row and 697 minutes without scoring. Against Scotland, just as against Switzerland, Macedonia didn't manage a single shot on target, and in the last three games - Switzerland, Slovenia and Scotland - they managed one in total. Defender Visar Musliu didn't look for excuses: "This is the highest level of European football... We urgently need to change a lot of things, because it can't go on like this." Eljif Elmas was even more direct: "Seven games, seven defeats and not a single goal scored - this is an abyss!" Head coach Goce Sedloski says he isn't used to defeats like these. The players admit the crisis publicly - who at the Federation will do the same?

England crush Croatia 7:0 in Rijeka

At Rijeka's stadium Croatia suffered a night that will be remembered for years. Harry Kane scored as early as the 8th minute from a Bellingham pass, then Bellingham, Anthony Gordon with a header and Bukayo Saka made it 4:0 by half-time. In the second half Kane scored his second, Saka added his second, and Morgan Rogers rounded it off at 7:0. Kane became the first English player with at least ten goals in three different calendar years, and England equalled a 59-year-old record for away matches outside major tournaments. The Croats had only one moment: Kovačić went round Pickford, then shot wide. The finalists of the World Cup in Russia looked, in front of their own fans, like a team that had forgotten its job - if they can concede seven, nobody in the Balkans has the right to feel safe.

City file an appeal: "material errors" in the ruling

Manchester City are officially appealing the ruling of the independent commission that found them guilty of serious financial breaches in the seasons from 2009/10 to 2017/18. The appeal was filed a day before the Premier League deadline, and the club claims the decision contains "clear material errors of law, principle and fact". The commission found that City used "sham" commercial agreements to artificially inflate revenues and reduce costs by more than 900 million pounds, breached Premier League and UEFA limits and submitted inaccurate accounts. The sanction has not yet been determined, and the Football Association is considering further steps. The hearing should take place within 12 weeks, with a decision in the following 30 days. The investigation began in December 2018. Since then City have won piles of trophies, and the question of with what money is still waiting for a final answer.

Barcelona knocked for Gvardiol, the door in Manchester stayed shut

This summer Barcelona seriously considered signing Joško Gvardiol. The Catalans saw the 24-year-old Croat as the ideal reinforcement, since he plays both centre-back and left-back. But Gvardiol had no desire to leave, and City considered him untouchable, so in July the Croat signed a new contract until 2031. He arrived in Manchester from Leipzig in 2023 for 77.6 million pounds and under new head coach Enzo Maresca has started all five Premier League games this season. This summer Barcelona brought in Gordon, Rodri, Adeyemi and Gabriel Jesus, and after failing with Gvardiol they also tried for Inter's Bastoni - without success. Barcelona are used to doors opening when they knock. This time the Croat replied that he is busy until 2031.