Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois may wonder whether he even needs to turn up to face Sweden on Wednesday given his opponents' dismal attacking record at Euro 2016. The Swedes have failed to muster a single shot on target in their first two games, a statistic made all the more embarrassing by the presence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in their attack.
Luka Modric pulled one back for Zinedine Zidane's shellshocked side with a brilliant strike from distance early in the second half before substitute Vinicius Jr reduced the deficit to one goal.
Such is the level of consistency of Manchester City (nine straight wins) and Liverpool (five straight victories), that it can be easy to lose sight of just how good this title race is.
Images from Saturday's action in the English Premier League.
Valverde said he was concerned about the team's away form after they were comprehensively beaten 2-0 by promoted Granada
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
IMAGES from the EPL matches played on Wednesday
Chelsea a 1-0 win over Manchester United in a compelling Premier League clash on Sunday
Belgium paid the price for failing to take their chances against France
Belgium struck early and held off a late Brazil fightback to send the five-time champions tumbling out of the World Cup with a 2-1 victory in an end-to-end thriller on Friday that earned them a semi-final against France.
Real Madrid's French duo Karim Benzema and Ferland Mendy struck in the second half as the Spanish champions overcame an injury crisis to beat Getafe 2-0 at home on Tuesday and close the gap to La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid to five points.
Chilean forward Alex Sanchez returned to haunt his old club with the opening goal in Manchester United's 3-1 victory at Arsenal in a heavyweight FA Cup fourth-round clash.
Marcus Rashford scored twice as holders Manchester United brushed aside second-tier Burton Albion 4-1 at Old Trafford to reach the fourth round of the League Cup on Wednesday.
Belgium hammered the final nail into Egypt's halting World Cup warm-up campaign with an assured 3-0 win in Brussels on Wednesday that settled some nerves among the fancied hosts.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
A stunning strike by Romelu Lukaku gave Inter Milan a 2-1 win at Brescia on Tuesday although they had to cling on for three points in the face of heavy pressure from the promoted side.
Real Madrid beat Manchester United 2-1 on Tuesday to lift the European Super Cup for the fourth time as they became the first team to retain the trophy since AC Milan in 1990.
Photos from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday
For however much or little it counts, Belgium have history on their side in not having lost to the Irish for 50 years, which includes beating them by a single goal in the playoffs to win a place at the 1998 World Cup in France.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho unleashed an impassioned defence of his work on Friday as he responded to critics of his team's failure to make the last eight of the Champions League.
With dreams of European glory in tatters, Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur turn their attention to the FA Cup quarter-finals this weekend clinging to their last chance of silverware this season.
IMAGES from the English Premier League match played at Selhurst Park in London on Monday
Liverpool started the ball rolling with a convincing 4-1 win at home to promoted Norwich and City responded a day later with an even more emphatic 5-0 victory at West Ham United.
Everton moved up to third place in the Premier League despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace as Belgium strikers Christian Benteke and Romelu Lukaku both got on the scoresheet in a battling encounter on Friday.
Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League following a 3-0 defeat at Bayern Munich on Wednesday, failing to make it past the group stage of the competition for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Juventus strolled to a 3-0 home win over bottom side Crotone in the Italian Serie A on Monday, with the victory taking the champions up to third in the standings.
Lucas Moura scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur romped to a 3-0 English Premier League win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday as Jose Mourinho's team's defensive frailties were brutally exposed once again.
Virgil van Dijk made a dream start to his Anfield career, scoring the winning goal on his debut for Liverpool, as they beat city rivals Everton 2-1 in a pulsating FA Cup third round tie on Friday.
Two goals in the first half from Roberto Firmino and Neymar gave Brazil an easy 2-0 victory over the United States in a friendly match in New Jersey on Friday.
IMAGES from the EPL matches played on Saturday
United are unbeaten in all competitions since Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho in December and their improvement is down to the Norwegian's insistence on an attacking style of play, as opposed to the defensive fare served up by his predecessor.
A summary of Saturday's action in La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Manchester City's eight point advantage after 11 games is leading to talk of the Premier League title race being over in November, but as Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho noted - English football has a habit of throwing up surprises.
A summary of Sunday's action in Serie A and Bundesliga.
A round-up of Thursday night's matches from the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Kane takes to world stage as England edge past Tunisia
Tottenham Hotspur climbed to third with a 3-1 win over Southampton while Chelsea hung on to fourth spot, above Arsenal on goal difference, despite a 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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