Watford boss Gracia hails milestone man Deeney

A Dominik Szoboszlai penalty ended England s record 22-game unbeaten run as Gareth Southgate s side suffered a 1-0 loss to Hungary in their Nations League opener.

The Three Lions had not lost since 2020 outside of penalty shoot-outs – their best ever sequence – but left Budapest empty-handed in their first competitive match of a World Cup year.

The decisive goal came from the spot after substitute Reece James was penalised for a trailing arm on Zsolt Nagy in the box, allowing Szoboszlai to score 24 minutes from time and earn Hungary s first win against England since 1962.

It was a result welcomed by around 35,000 fans in a behind-closed-doors match, as children were allowed to attend in line with UEFA sanctions despite a stadium ban for racist behaviour at Eu…

With another stacked schedule on the cards this weekend, Saturday promises a host of noteworthy meetings from across England. So, for those of you looking to stick on a weekend acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.

Saturday October 23rd

BST 15:00 Leeds United vs Wolves

Starting with Saturday s guests, managing to mount what was a stunning comeback on their travels last weekend, the mood in Wolves camp should be at a red-hot high. Despite falling 2-0 down away at local rivals Aston Villa when returning from the international break, the Oranges snatched a last-gasp 3-2 win on the road, a result that really laid down a marker. While the former Europa League outfit might have initially struggled to find their feet und…

Lionel Messi, one of the greatest football players of all time, has stunned Barcelona by telling the club he wants to leave. 

The Argentina superstar has spent his entire career at the Catalan giants, but now looks likely to start the 2020-21 campaign with a new club. 

Where Messi goes remains to be seen but any deal for the 33-year-old will rank as one of the most dramatic in the history of sport. 

Here, we look at a selection of other sporting deals that shocked the world. 

Neymar: Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain, 2017

The Brazilian had formed a potent attacking trio with Messi and Luis Suarez at Camp Nou but a move to PSG was inevitable when the French side met his world-record buyout clause of €222million. He has played an i…

With the Europa League stealing centre stage on Thursday night, we are treated to a bumper schedule from across the continent.

With both Liverpool and Brighton looking to lay down their own respective markers on Thursday night, we have found a pair of Europa League markets that are worth keeping an eye out for.

20:00 Liverpool vs Toulouse

Suffering real frustration last season as they eventually missed out on the chance to book a top-four finish, Liverpool certainly haven’t shown any signs of a hangover this time around. Enjoying what has been an eye-catching start to the 2023/24 campaign and looking to lay down another marker on Thursday night, it is no secret that Jurgen Klopp’s side are tipped as a leading Europa League contender.

Marking their …

Gillingham handed a lifetime stadium ban to a supporter who appeared to racially abuse Omar Bogle during the side’s 2-0 home defeat to Newport, in which the striker scored twice from the penalty spot.

Bogle won County’s first spot-kick in the 20th minute when he was fouled by Gills goalkeeper Jake Turner after capitalising on Cheye Alexander’s miscued back-pass.

Having beaten Turner from 12 yards, Bogle appeared to be racially abused by a Gillingham fan as he celebrated his team’s opener. The club promptly issued a lifetime stadium ban to the fan, with a social media post from director of operations Joe Comper confirming the individual had been arrested.

Disgusting from one individual in the Rainham End. Arrested, and a lifetime ban from Priestfield issue…

Newcastle United are interested in signing Blackburn Rovers forward Ben Brereton Diaz, according to . Diaz is out of contact at Championship club Blackburn at the end of the season, and Premier League outfit Newcastle are keen on securing the services of the 22-year-old.

Brereton has been on the books of Blackburn since 2019 when he moved to Rovers after leaving Nottingham Forest. The 22-year-old striker has scored 16 goals and provided one assist in 19 Championship starts so far this season. The Blackburn no. 22 scored seven goals and gave four assists in 30 Championship starts last season.

Newcastle are among the clubs who have scouted Brereton. However, the Magpies will face stiff competition if they are to make a move for the Chile international striker. Sevilla, Le…

Best Odds: 11/10

Bookmaker:

Hoping to extend their stay at the top of the Serie A standings on Saturday evening, Inter Milan will travel to Bergamo when they meet local rivals Atalanta.

Atalanta

Starting with the hosts, while Atalanta might have missed out on the chance to punch a lucrative Champions League ticket last season, La Dea are dreaming of the chance to mount another genuine top-four charge. Last seen earlier in the week putting in another rampant performance as they cruised their way to a 3-0 victory away at Empoli, Gian Piero Gasperini’s side should find the mood in their camp at a real high. Marking their return from October’s international break with a 2-0 win at home against Genoa, the Bergamo-based outfit have lost just one of their previous…

France edged out Croatia 2-1 thanks to Kylian Mbappe s late effort in an end-to-end Nations League encounter.

Buoyed on by a limited, albeit raucous, home crowd in Zagreb, Croatia looked well placed to push on when Nikola Vlasic cancelled out Antoine Griezmann s stunning eighth-minute opener.

Mbappe failed to convert a gilt-edged chance soon after the world champions broke the deadlock, and Croatia could have made France pay earlier if not for an excellent stop from Hugo Lloris, who was then beaten by Vlasic after the break.

Despite a superb stop from Dominik Livakovic to deny Paul Pogba, France had their winner when Lucas Digne brilliantly teed up Mbappe with 11 minutes remaining.

16 Kylian Mbappé has scored 16 goals with France since his debut on 25 M…

Juventus launched their Coppa Italia title defence with a commanding 4-1 victory over Sampdoria at the Allianz Stadium.

A free-kick from Juan Cuadrado gave the reigning champions a 25th-minute lead, while Daniele Rugani s first Bianconeri goal in almost three years doubled the advantage after the break.

Andrea Conti replied for Sampdoria, whose fortunes were overseen by Felice Tufano following the sacking of coach Roberto D’Aversa on Monday.

But substitute Paulo Dybala put the hosts back in control, before Alvaro Morata s penalty sealed their place in the quarter-finals.

Juventus had won eight of their nine previous Coppa Italia meetings with Sampdoria, while they had not been eliminated from this stage of the competition since 2005.

The Bianc…

Rio Ferdinand has questioned whether Manchester United can be considered serious Premier League title contenders with Harry Maguire starting regularly at centre-back.

Maguire, a reported £80million signing from Leicester City in 2018, has struggled for consistency in his third season at Old Trafford.

He has started 27 games for United this term – a tally bettered only by Bruno Fernandes (32) among outfield players – but was benched for Saturday s stalemate with Watford.

Interim boss Ralf Rangnick put that down to fitness reasons, but Ferdinand does not believe the United captain s strengths are suited to the German s style of play.

Speaking on his Vibe with Five YouTube show, Ferdinand said: Is Maguire going to enable you to win the league? That s a…