Europe

A beautiful aspect of international football is that it allows you to sample the vibe of a far-flung locale from the comfort of your own living room. Today, I took a trip to Riga, Latvia, to watch a UEFA Nations League D Group 1 meeting between the host nation and visiting Malta.

With Faroe Islands pacing the group on seven points from three matches, this was effectively a must-win game for both 137th-ranked Latvia (three points off three draws) and 186th-ranked Malta (two points). 

The Football Supporters' Association (FSA) on Tuesday raised concerns about the radical proposals to make changes to the English football pyramid, saying the long-term challenges far outweigh the short-term financial benefits.

'Project Big Picture,' a series of proposals put together by the owners of Liverpool and Manchester United along with Rick Parry, the chair of the Football League (EFL), has been likened to a power grab which has been met with opposition.

LISBON — Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for COVID-19, Portugal's Football Federation said in a statement on its website on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old Juventus forward is asymptomatic and will miss Wednesday's UEFA Nations League game against Sweden as he self-isolates.

Unidos dentro e fora do campo!  #todosportugal pic.twitter.com/4bQSUIPm2m

Germany striker Timo Werner is fully fit for their Nations League game against Switzerland on Tuesday but there are still doubts about Julian Draxler, Lukas Klostermann and Marcel Halstenberg, coach Joachim Loew said on Monday.

Germany will need all the attacking power they can get after narrowly beating Ukraine 2-1 on Saturday for their first win in the last four internationals. They drew the previous three games after leading in all of them.

Introducing Shaqueel van Persie, the 13-year-old son of Robin and Bouchra van Persie. Like his father, Shaqueel is moving through the youth ranks of Feyenoord and currently playing for the U-15 team. Like his father, Shaqueel van Persie is a scorer of outlandish goals.

Here he is scoring an incredible volley against Ajax’s youth side… 

Timing, accuracy, skill & power

Wonder where Shaqueel van Persie got that from...pic.twitter.com/4woHx39nHG

Italy coach Roberto Mancini fumed over the state of the pitch after his team were held to a 0-0 draw away to Poland in the Nations League on Sunday.

After a glaring miss by Federico Chiesa early in the game, Italy struggled to create chances and managed only three shots on target despite enjoying 60% of possession. Even so, Italy extended their unbeaten run to 18 matches as they stayed top of League A Group One with five points from three games. The Netherlands and Poland have four each and Bosnia two.

Norway showed Brendan Rodgers levels of character by rebounding from Thursday’s heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Serbia in the Euro 2021 playoffs with a 4-0 win over Romania in Nations League play on Sunday.

It’s obviously small consolation for the nation’s failure to qualify for a first major international tournament since Euro 2000, but today’s victory showed why qualifying for the 2022 World Cup might be within this current generation’s reach. 

Marcus Rashford's penalty and a lucky strike from Mason Mount helped England come from a goal down to overcome top-ranked Belgium 2-1 at Wembley on Sunday and climb above them in their UEFA Nations League group.

Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring for the visitors from the penalty spot in the 16th minute after being brought down by a lunging tackle from England's Eric Dier. It was the Inter Milan striker's 13th goal in his last 11 matches for his country.

KIEV — Germany scored once in either half to beat hosts Ukraine 2-1 in the Nations League on Saturday for their first win in four matches and their first ever victory in this competition.

Matthias Ginter put them ahead in the 20th minutes after good work from Antonio Ruediger, and Leon Goretzka pounced on a mistake by Ukraine keeper Georgiy Bushchan to head in their second goal four minutes after the restart.