Europe

Italy broke English hearts last July as they won the European Championship final but after failing to qualify for the World Cup for the second straight tournament they have left fans thinking their Wembley triumph was a flash in the pan.

For a country who have won the World Cup four times, Italy's recent record is a national embarrassment.

Since lifting their fourth World Cup trophy in 2006, they have not played a knockout game in the showpiece event, having only won one group stage match at the finals in that time. Their recent World Cup record is even more distressing.

North Macedonia pulled off one the biggest upsets in sporting history on Thursday when the minnows took on European champions Italy in a World Cup playoff and somehow pulled off a 1-0 victory in Palermo.

This game could've been played 100 times and Italy wins 99 times.

But I watched this game from start to finish and I must say the North Macedonia win was absolutely deserved. I don’t know if I've ever seen a more valiant display of defending in my life. Italy recorded 32 shots but only five ended up on target. 

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.

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:

With its spot in the World Cup already clinched, the Netherlands is using the March international window for a pair of friendlies against Denmark and Germany in Amsterdam. 

While Virgil van Dijk, Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay were arriving at the KNVB Campus in Zeist on Monday, 70-year-old manager Louis van Gaal was giving a customarily unfiltered press conference on player selection, his choice for national team successor and the prospect of a World Cup in Qatar. 

Van Gaal didn't hold back when asked to discuss the host nation.