Europe

Gareth Bale's 2021-22 Real Madrid season was summed up by last Sunday's Clásico, when rumors of a surprise start in replace of the injured Karim Benzema led to nothing more than the Welshman missing out on the matchday squad entirely.

Bale's played a total of just 270 minutes in five appearances across all competitions, including only 77 minutes this calendar year, and his only goal of the campaign came way back in August.

But as we all know, Bale's an entirely different animal when representing his national team: Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order.

Lyon forward Ada Hegerberg returned to the Norway squad for the first time in nearly five years on Thursday, handing a huge boost to the team ahead of this year's European Championship.

Hegerberg, who won the inaugural women's Ballon d'Or in 2018, quit the national team in 2017 because of a dispute with the Norwegian Football Federation over the treatment of women's soccer in the country. The federation's attempts to break the impasse failed.

Lyon has utterly dominated women’s soccer in Europe over the last decade, winning seven Women’s Champions League titles since 2011. On Wednesday, that dynasty looked shaken to its core by a wry wink and a stunning comeback. 

UEFA has received declarations of interest from Britain and Ireland, Russia and Turkey to host the European Championship in 2028, the governing body said on Wednesday.

Russia and Turkey have also declared their interest in hosting Euro 2032, UEFA added, and Italy has also announced its intention to bid for that tournament.

Governing bodies FIFA and UEFA have suspended Russian clubs and national teams from international competition — pending an appeal by the Russian Football Union (RFU) to the Court of Arbitration of Sport — following its invasion of Ukraine.

STOCKHOLM — Sweden's all-time record goalscorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic is preparing to pass the torch to a new generation of young players such as Anthony Elanga as his side prepare for their World Cup playoff semifinal against the Czech Republic on Thursday.

The 40-year-old striker recalled playing with the Manchester United winger's father Joseph for Malmo FF over 20 years ago and he is now sharing a dressing room with his son.

Portugal defender Pepe will miss their World Cup playoff semi-final against Turkey on Thursday after testing positive for COVID-19, the Portuguese Football Federation said.

The 39-year-old's absence means the former European champions will be without their two first-choice centre backs for the clash at Porto, with Ruben Dias ruled out due to a hamstring injury.

Portugal will be without these players against Turkey: