A summary of the Euro 2024 qualification matches played on Saturday.
Thorgan Hazard's first-half goal enabled Belgium score a 1-0 victory over defending champions Portugal in Euro 2020 last 16 match at Estadio La Cartuja in Seville, Spain, on Sunday. The victory set up a quarter-final against Italy.
Didier Deschamps is confident he has prepared his players for any tactical surprises his opposite number Roberto Martinez might spring
Injured Lukaku likely to sit out
The tournament debutants held their own against a highly rated Belgian side in the first half in Sochi before a stunning volley from Dries Mertens and a Romelu Lukaku brace after the break helped the Europeans climb to the top of Group G.
Croatia's head coach Zlatko Dalic said as he prepares his side for Thursday's decisive Group F showdown.
Arouna Kone grabbed a hat-trick as Everton piled on the Premier League relegation worries for Sam Allardyce's Sunderland with a 6-2 demolition job at Goodison Park on Sunday.
It took a great escape in injury time to get there after being two goals down to Japan, but Belgium can now view their quarter-final against Brazil free of the weight of expectation.
Alvaro Negredo and Sergio Aguero combined to help ManchesterCity bounce back from their Bayern Munich mauling by beating Everton 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday.
Here is an overview of the teams that have been eliminated
The Chelsea playmaker gave Lukaku a piece of his mind in Sochi on Monday after Belgium had huffed and puffed but failed to blow Panama's modest defensive fortress down before the interval.
Belgium go into Monday's World Cup last 16 match against Japan full of confidence but wary that relying on individual talent against similarly well-organised but less fancied teams has cost them dear in the past.
Germany expects 2.7 million people to attend matches in stadiums across the country and some 12 million in its fan zones for outdoor viewing, including on a long stretch of turf laid out in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
Benzema, who has scored 30 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid this season, has not played for France since 2015 after a blackmailing scandal over which he faces a trial in October.
'But he is someone I really appreciate, I'm happy for him.'
I don't think we can do a Leicester. I am realistic, says Everton manager
Aguero is expected to be the first of a number of arrivals at the Camp Nou this summer
Arsenal sent Liverpool crashing out of the FA Cup, avenging last weekend's rout at Anfield, when they beat Brendan Rodgers's high-flyers 2-1 in a full-bloodied fifth round tie at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Belgium passed a test of character with a display of true grit that bodes well for a World Cup quarter-final against Brazil, coach Roberto Martinez said after they came from 2-0 behind to beat Japan 3-2 in injury time.
Brazil lived up to expectations by smashing Bolivia 5-1 at home in their 2026 World Cup qualifiers opener on Friday.
The youngest at Euro 2020 will be Poland's Kacper Kozowski - one of two 17-year-olds in the tournament, which has never happened before.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa needs to learn to show respect to opponents after the Spaniard goaded Everton players during their pulsating 6-3 English Premier League win on Saturday, Toffees coach Roberto Martinez said.
Belgium used a combination of daring, intelligence, resilience and not a little luck to oust World Cup favourites Brazil 2-1 in a memorable quarter-final tie on Friday that would have made a worthy final.
Belgium and England have already met during the World Cup in a match both teams seemed reluctant to win and on Saturday they will face each other again in a game they both seem reluctant to play. The two sides must pick themselves up and dust themselves down after suffering the crushing disappointment of semi-final defeats to play for the modest prize of third place in a fixture often criticised as pointless.
England and Belgium face a World Cup conundrum ahead of Thursday's crunch in Kaliningrad
Dries Mertens and Michy Batshuayi were also on target for Belgium while Eden Hazard impressed with creativity and speed for the hosts, who start their World Cup campaign on Monday against Panama in Sochi.
England and Belgium, already qualified from World Cup Group G, meet on Thursday in what Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini says could be a "strange match". Depending on the outcome of other games, it may not be an advantage to finish top of the group, but both sides insist they won't take such calculations into account.
Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard is in the best form of his life but Belgium need all their top players to be better than ever if they are to have any chance of winning the World Cup, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said.
Brighton midfielder James Milner, who made his Premier League debut in 2002 at age 16, passed Ryan Giggs into second in all-time league appearances on Monday with 633 matches. He needs 20 more to equal Gareth Barry's record.
Swansea City equalled their highest ever points tally in a Premier League season following a 1-1 draw with Everton in the early game at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday.
Top-ranked Belgium slammed eight goals against Belarus and the Netherlands crashed seven past Gibraltar
Everton now go to up to fifth in the table with 12 points from seven games
Follow the latest developments from all the on-field and off-the-field action in the Premiership.
Manchester United's new winger Angel Di Maria will not change the course of their troubled season straight away following his British record transfer from Real Madrid, manager Louis van Gaal said on Tuesday.
Kevin Mirallas' first-half penalty miss proved costly as Everton's dismal run continued with a 0-0 Premier League draw at home to West Bromwich Albion on Monday.
Everton's Romelu Lukaku spared his side a fifth straight defeat by snatching an added-time equaliser to salvage a 1-1 home draw with West Ham United in the FA Cup third round on Tuesday.
Newcastle United striker Papiss Cisse has been charged with violent conduct, the FA said in a statement on Monday referring to an incident in the Premier League match against Everton.
Belgians tasted bitterness in their beer on Tuesday after their dreams of a first World Cup final were ended by the narrowest of margins by their bigger French neighbours.
Arsene Wenger said staying as Arsenal manager for nearly 22 years may have been the biggest mistake of his career and that he regrets sacrificing 'everything' for the job.
"I'm very happy for my players, we showed character and the right mentality, it was very hard for us tonight. We worked hard defensively."
