Key events
Nations League: Let’s have a look back at last night’s action, eh? Wales notched their first win of the campaign by coming from behind to beat Norway in Cardiff. With the score level at 1-1 at the break, Torbjørn Heggem was sent off 17 seconds into the second half and Neco Williams scored the winner from the resulting free-kick.
A lot of eyes were on Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, who was kept at arm’s length by Wales and serenaded by chants of “You’re just a shit Kieffer Moore” from home supporters. Martin Ødegaard, who captained Norway to the World Cup quarters in the summer, described the result as the “first punch in the face for a long time” while Wales manager Craig Bellamy was happy to respond to the criticism he has received of late:
Look, I am a strong person, I think we all are, but it’s the people around me I’m conscious of. It’s just society. What are we? Eight prime ministers in the space of 11 years? It’s nuts … We’re such a small country, why can’t we have each other’s backs? Why don’t we look after each other more? The others can go at us. We’re too quick [to criticise].
In Dublin, the Republic of Ireland’s 2-2 draw with Austria was stopped twice in the first half after pro-Palestine protests against their matches with Israel. The Ireland squad were under pressure to boycott last Sunday’s game against Israel in Hungary, which they won 3-0, and face them again in Dublin this Sunday.
With Ireland 1-0 up after Troy Parrott’s fine solo goal, tennis balls with Palestine flags were thrown on to the pitch in the 20th minute before a man appearing to be carrying a Palestine flag invaded the pitch in the 35th minute. Austria came from 2-0 down in the second half to recover a draw.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to Friday’s football blog, where we’ll keep you up to date with the latest news on the Manchester City case plus reaction and previews of the men’s Nations League action. Man City are expected to lodge an appeal before the deadline today against the guilty verdict on over 100 charges of breaching financial rules handed down to them by the Premier League on Tuesday. The UK government was yesterday forced to clarify comments the prime minster, Andy Burnham, made the previous day about his “concern” for City losing their Abu Dhabi owners after the verdict – a Downing Street spokesperson emphasised that: “If wrongdoing is established those responsible should face the appropriate consequences.”
Elsewhere, Thomas Tuchel will be speaking from Croatia ahead of England’s Nations League fixture tomorrow in Rijeka. The game is due to be taking place behind closed doors as punishment for Croatian fans’ behaviour, although the stadium is expected to be largely full of local schoolchildren (plus 100-odd England fans) – that’ll be an interesting atmosphere. Scotland are also in action tomorrow in North Macedonia with Sebastien Pocognoli looking for his first win in charge. Tonight sees France take on Italy in Paris and Northern Ireland face Ukraine in Slovakia.
Last night, there was a 2-1 win for Wales against 10-man Norway in Cardiff and protests twice halted the Republic of Ireland’s 2-2 draw with Austria in Dublin. Jürgen Klopp also got off the mark as Germany manager against Serbia and Cristiano Ronaldo watched on from home (or not) as Portugal won in Denmark without him. In the Women’s Champions League, Manchester City earned a point against Real Madrid. They host Arsenal on Sunday in the WSL’s standout weekend fixture.
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