That concludes the blog for today. Matchday live will be back in the morning. Join us.

Rob Smyth is on deck for a big one, France v Italy.

Graham Potter has been having fun. After 11 players withdrew from his Sweden squad: “We’ve had a similar number of withdrawals to Man City’s charges, I think.”

To the WSL:

Renée Slegers says she has felt the full support of Arsenal’s board and praised her senior players for showing “monumental leadership” this week as she vows to find solutions to recent poor form before Sunday’s pivotal trip to Manchester City.

One win in five matches has left Slegers under mounting pressure. Arsenal let slip a two-goal lead to draw at Paris FC in the Women’s Champions League on Wednesday and in the WSL they have slipped seven points behind City, the leaders and defending champions, having scored once in their past three league games.

Slaven Bilic, returned as Croatia coach, has been speaking about Luka Modric: “He is unique, that is why he has lasted so long, he is more than a player and captain for us. He is important on the pitch, he makes a difference for [AC] Milan, they are not the same team without him, he makes a difference for us.

“He can’t play every game for 90 minutes, so we take care of that. He is a one-off. The old saying that age is just a number really is true. He is still quick when you see him in training, it is not just passion and hard work. He is still quick.

“Does he get enough credit? He does and he doesn’t get the credit he deserves. He does because he won the Ballon D’Or. Maybe before 2018 he didn’t get recognition that we had for him. But after that World Cup, he became a star.

“Is he the best ever? That’s not something that is easy to discuss. He is the most complete midfielder of the modern era. He is the guy crossing, trying to break the lines and then in the next action he is stopping the counter attack. I don’t know many players who can do it on that high level.”

Rui Pinto is a central figure in the Manchester City story, as the hacker who supplied Football Leaks to Der Spiegel, and he has promised a release at 7pm. “I will make a very important announcement tomorrow at 18:00 UTC.”

Ed Aarons and Miguel Dantas have been reporting on the story.

For six years, Pinto has been seen in public only twice. On one of those occasions, at a supermarket in Lisbon, he was accompanied by police officers and wore a cap and sunglasses. On the other, he was assaulted in an altercation believed to have been sparked for football-related reasons. It is understood that Pinto was left with a bruised eyebrow and the police were informed, although no complaint was filed.

Stephen Jones joins the throng: “Being a City fan he should know that City bought Steve Daley for £1.4m in 1979. The ‘legacy clubs’ didn’t pay that much for a player until 1981 (Robson, Man United), 1987 (Beardsley, Liverpool) and 1991 (Wright Arsenal).

“Liverpool did not get a sudden massive injection of mysterious cash in the 60s they simply loosened the tight pursestrings that existed until then. Eric Sawyer joined the board and removed the £12,000 limit on signing players. Again, during this time City spent £55,000 (a British record) to sign Denis Law.”

Gordon Dickinson has his say: “With the Lib Dems calling for Burnham to release all meetings with the Mancher City owners, should the same be asked of the Labour Council, due to the points raised in the excellent article by Aditya Chakrabortty in 2022.”

Good quote from the Finland manager Jacob Friis: “Yesterday we didn’t have any players leaving in a private jet, so everybody is fit.”

They play Albania on Saturday. Private jet flier Cristiano Ronaldo will not be facing Norway on Sunday.

Important piece from Thursday on Yemen, from John Duerden.

Two years later, the capital city came under the control of the Houthis, an Iran-backed militant group, provoking a Saudi-led intervention and years of fighting. The United Nations brokered a truce in 2022 that did reduce hostilities, but the situation has escalated again. In early September, the Houthis swept down the Red Sea coast in its first major military advance in five years and have been targeting Riyadh and other places in Saudi Arabia with missile strikes.

Mark deMeza gets in touch: “When people are suspended from work, it’s usually on full pay, pending the outcome of the case, so they are not punished if they are found not guilty. It’s not likely, I’ll admit, but if City were suspended immediately until the end of the season, what would happen if they won their appeal in, say January? I think everything has to wait until the appeal is complete.”

That’s usually the way, yes. City knew the verdict in July, it has been reported.

Kirk Bannister gets back in touch: “Everton, you would concede did benefit from having the Moores as owners and that they pumped money into the club, John Moores did fund Everton’s rise, gate receipts at the time being the sole other main income stream, unlike the present the day.

”Likewise James Gibson at United pulled them out of impending destruction and injected £40,000 in cash to the club in the 1930s, during a time of financial collapse globally. That laid the foundations for a new stadium, youth academy and management, arguably fuelling their success under Busby. Liverpool were big spenders as well. As were Arsenal, all backed by the owners money.

”The point is that “legacy” clubs like to believe in the myth that their club did it “fairly”, that they “did it the right way”. The objective truth is the biggest clubs in the country as such because at points in the past they had wealthy owners injecting cash into them. That is why there are few big teams, and why PSR ensures a glass ceiling.”

Reports emerging that muddy the picture further on the Manchester City saga. As reported by the journalist Rob Draper and Damian Hastie, the assertion that sponsorship deals were subsidised by the Abu Dhabi government rather than Sheikh Mansour would appear to contradict a 2015 submission to the United States’ Department of Commerce, Transportation and State during an investigation into state-owned airlines.

It read: “The assertion that the Abu Dhabi government paid for Etihad’s sponsorship of English Premier League football club Manchester City is false. In 2011, Etihad and Manchester City entered into a 10-year sponsorship agreement, which included naming rights for Manchester City’s stadium. Etihad funded this sponsorship from its own liquidity.

Furthermore: “We are government-owned and have been since our founding. We are and have always been clear that we do not receive any subsidies from the Abu Dhabi government, and that we are financed through a combination of equity, shareholder and commercial loans. Our shareholder [The Abu Dhabi government]’s equity and loans are not subsidies under any applicable definition; they are the means by which the Abu Dhabi government has sensibly invested in a successful business model.”

Kirk Bannister gets in touch: “Arsenal 1930s, Manchester United 1950’s, Liverpool 1960s, Everton 1970s, Blackburn 1990s, Chelsea 2000s Man City 2010s. They all did the exact same thing, massive cash injection from the owners. Rules or no rules, modern Football and legacy clubs were built on cash injections from owners, NOT revenue. Why do you think 99.9% of the UK’s football clubs are not competing for the Premier League title?

“What this ruling and PSR clearly shows is that City would have been a mid table club at best, which means it is objectively true that there is a glass ceiling in UK football and that PSR is in the end an anti-competitive framework masquerading as regulation to ensure financial stability.

“The solution would have been to allow smaller clubs with wealthy owners to spend up to 100% of the revenue of the most successful club in the league. For example if Liverpool had the highest revenue that year, any club with less revenue and owners willing to inject money into the club to match Liverpool’s revenue that would be fine.”

Everton’s selling of Alan Ball in 1971 to Arsenal is often depicted as the club’s slide from prominence so not sure about that one. And was it not the case that United did not make a transfer aside from 1953 to 1958, Harry Gregg aside?.

Here’s today’s Football Daily, as penned by, well, me.

Juan in Salford gets in touch: “Everyone seems to think this is all over; are we not allowing for the possibility that City’s appeal is successful and all charges are dropped?”

It’s entirely possible and the damage done is already heavy whatever the outcome.

Rick Harris gets in touch, offering a strong opinion: “I believe I am correct in saying that under the Football Governance Act 2025, every club operating a team in a specified competition is required to hold an operating licence issued by the Independent Football Regulator, and that all professional footballers have to be registered with the FA in order to be able to play in the various leagues and cup competitions.

“In most walks of life if you were accused of serious professional misconduct your employer or professional regulatory body would suspend you at the very least pending the outcome of a court case, so in my opinion the IFR should immediately suspend Manchester City until the end of the present season and the PL should declare the 5 games already played to be null and void. Instead of a 38 game season we will have a 36 game one and City’s last Carabao Cup opponents will be reinstated in their place in the next round.

“If City lose their appeal then the current owners should be declared unfit and improper persons and the club ejected from professional football in England. The IFR should then invite the formation of a 100% supporters owned club along the lines of Barcelona and that new entity should be invited to apply to an appropriate level of the football pyramid consistent with it’s financial resources and ability to engage players and coaching staff etc.

“It is simply inconceivable that City can stay in the PL or complete this seasons fixtures following the guilty verdicts on almost all the charges brought against them.”

World Cup final winning goalscorer Ferran Torres has withdrawn from the ⁠national squad with an ankle issue and will be replaced ⁠by Carlos Espi.

Coach Luis de la Fuente called up Espi in his place, rewarding the Real Madrid youngster after he scored five goals and set ‌up two more in Spain Under-21s’ 13-0 rout of San Marino ​on Thursday.

Bloomberg are running a story on Manchester City and Abu Dhabi.

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak met a senior UK government minister to discuss the UAE’s investments in Britain just days before the club’s guilty verdicts were announced. Al Mubarak asked to meet Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds on 14 September in his capacity as CEO of Mubadala Investment Company, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, sources tell Bloomberg. The pair held a private meeting in Downing Street on that date, the people said. Al Mubarak talked about current and future UAE investment in Britain, they said.

As part of his England press conference, Jordan Pickford talked of his role as backup goalie. Another Brighton man, Jason Steele, is the exemplar of that from the summer.

Pickford said: ““It is not often I do that. The manager told me the reasons why. It was good for me to see where I’m at. It’s about me being a good team-mate with good energy around the place and train well and have that leadership role. I think I’ve done it really well over the last two games.

“It’s not normal for me, but first and foremost, the manager asks to be the best team-mate. I love playing but if I’m watching, I just want the best for England and that’s to win and I think I dealt with it really well. It was different, but we have also been together in a cycle now for two years.

“[James] Trafford started really well for Leeds. It’s been a good unit around us for the last two years. That’s what the manager said and you have to respect that decision.”

Pickford is expected to regain the gloves in Croatia.

How to run a sustainable club? Brighton are celebrating all three Premier League monthly awards for September! Fabian Hürzeler is manager of the month, Pascal Groß is player of the month, and Lewis Dunk – who else? – wins goal of the month.

OK, it was this time last week that the City news leaked and then broke. What a ride it’s been since. More when we get it, and there’s always likely to be more.

That’s the lot from me: John Brewin is here to take the reins.

Over in the WSL, there’s one game tomorrow, before six on Sunday:

Saturday

Manchester United v Liverpool

Sunday

Aston Villa v Crystal Palace
Brighton v Charlton
Everton v Birmingham City
Tottenham v London City Lionesses
West Ham v Chelsea
Manchester City v Arsenal

Villa Women go into Sunday’s match against Crystal Palace without manager Natalia Arroyo, who was sacked earlier this week. Brian Sørensen has taken charge as interim head coach.

On the panel for the latest Women’s Football Weekly, presented by Faye Carruthers: Suzanne Wrack, Sophie Downey and Emily Keogh.

Neville makes a good point, I think, about the general perception that corruption and financial doping is something that occurs in other countries.

“I absolutely slammed my club after they put the Super League idea forward,” Neville adds. “City fans and players need to start adopting that tack.

“If we look at other countries ... corruption and financial doping ... all those things ‘happen in other countries’ ... the Premier League is now being dragged through the mud, because the team who’s been the best team for 15 years appear to have won those titles inappropriately. That’s devastating.

“The Premier League survived without Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Sheffield Wednesday ... they were bigger than Manchester City a few years ago … I don’t think it’s that important whether City get relegated. It’s a sideshow.

“The achievements in that period, do they stand? And the owners … to own part of a football club is one of the greatest responsibilities you could have … the reality is, it has to be taken very seriously. Don’t get bogged down on fines, or whether City are in League One or League Two.”

Gary Neville is having a chat on telly now, about – you guessed it – Manchester City.

“That period [of Manchester City success] is all in doubt ... who knows where it might go ... but it’s huge, it undermines the English game, it undermines the achievements of one of the greatest teams we’ve seen.

“I think City players will come out fighting in the next few weeks ... that’s quite expected ... you defend your club to the hilt ... once this plays out.

“If the guilty verdicts remain, it will be a period that is tainted for ever ... The achievements are tarnished.”

The England goalie Pickford also said that at 32, he’s young for a goalkeeper. The question is about World Cup cycles, and whether or not he thinks in those terms. He mentions Gianluigi Buffon and Manuel Neuer, and obviously has no intention of hanging up his gloves any time soon.

Jordan Pickford was asked about how it felt to sit out the games against Spain and Czechia. He made all the right noises about being a good team player, and being supportive of James Trafford, even if he didn’t necessarily like being left out.

Jordan Pickford is up now.

“We are here in a beautiful place, we are a group that likes to hang out together, so it feels almost like friends,” Tuchel said of the current camp. “We have been seven weeks together in the US, so we have a strong bond, and to have the possibility to be here, in this beautiful place … we train on a high level, we do what we love most, train football in this environment – what is not to love? It’s beautiful.

“It’s a good time to recharge and also prepare for the match, because we expect a very difficult match tomorrow, against a big football nation, and a proud country, a country full of quality in the Croatian side. Very experienced players, also a good mix of young players, and also a new coach. You know how it is, everyone tries to impress the new coach, everything is ready to go and give everything … this is what waits for us. It feels a little bit like a cup game, like a cup semi-final or something … we will prepare carefully.”

Tuchel on Mateo Kovacic: :We had a special relationship, he was my player at Chelsea, we won the Champions League together, such a nice and humble and warm character – and on the pitch, full of character. It was pure pleasure to work with him.

“Every time I see him I love to be close to him and hug him. It feels like a very very close relationship … even if we don’t text that much, and see each other even less … It was a pleasure to work with him … It’s a special bond, and he is a special player for me, always.”

Tuchel on Modric: “Luka is a national hero. Legend of the game … he won the Ballon d’Or at the height of his career. He’s just a fantastic football player, an amazing person … the way he acts on the field, he’s a role model, and a true legend of the game.”

Tuchel is asked a question about the defensive changes in store for tomorrow in England’s lineup.

“It seems Ezri Konsa is back, he did the full training today,” Tuchel says. “This gives us a lot of hope for tomorrow. Nico O’Reilly, our left-back, left camp. On the right side we have competition, Marc should be ready to go, ready to start. The coach will never tell you the lineup … Sometimes you forget that this team who played against Czechia never played together [before] … it was solid and professional … tomorrow we have to find solutions again and we’re up for it.”

Back to Manchester City. In theory, would Tuchel pick players outside the top flight for England [in the event that City are relegated as part of their punishment]?

“There is always a possibility ... I think I would always try to pick the best team for the camp, for the occasion, for the tournament. I would never rule out that they don’t play in the top flight in their country, so you need to look at it case-by-case.”

What are Tuchel’s thoughts on Saturday’s game being behind closed doors (a few thousand Croatian children will be present, and around 100 England fans, it is said.)

“First of all I’m happy for the children they have the opportunity to come and watch, that’s I think a big inspirement for them … a big occasion … a unique occasion … I’m glad that 100 [England] or 200 fans have a chance to be here, that means a lot to us, our most loyal fans have a chance to be behind the doors.

“It’s never nice [with no crowd], it’s always a bit of a strange atmosphere then … we love the atmosphere in the stadium, a proper football crowd, and this is a part we have to take into consideration, we cannot fall asleep and switch off and be in holiday mode, it might feel a bit like pre-season, but it’s not pre-season, it’s a crucial match in the Nations League. It’s just another layer to be professional and to take care about. It is what it is and you have to deal with it.”

Regarding team news before the Croatia game – asked if fatigue will play a part in his selection after two matches over the past week, Tuchel says:

“Not yet, I think not yet. We took care about fatigue in the last training sessions. It made a huge difference for us, having three days in between. So we could actually take care of players with a high output like Elliot Anderson, like Anthony Gordon, for example.

“Today everyone was in training except Nico O’Reilly, who unfortunately had to leave camp, to get a treatment as soon as possible … with his discomfort it was just too painful, he could not come back on the pitch … that’s the only one who is not available ... everyone else started training, finished training today at a high level, we played 10 against 10, so everyone is pickable, and ready to go.”

Has Tuchel spoken to the City players in camp about the current scandal relating to financial breaches? Has it been discussed by everyone in camp?

“I guess so. We had some time off between matches, and it’s a big subject … As you rightly say, everyone speaks about it, there is no other voice needed ... I am glad to not be that voice. No one needs my half-knowledge on the topic.

“Of course the players talk about it, of course the Man City players, and we talk with them but only briefly. They are ready to go for tomorrow, that’s what they show on the pitch, and in camp ... but of course it’s a big topic, it’s a big topic in camp.”

Here goes, Tuchel is speaking.

Cheers Tom. Yes, Tommy Tuchel is up imminently, to offer no comment on the Manchester City fun and games, before previewing Croatia v England.

Luke is back from lunch which means that Thomas Tuchel will be talking soon. My giddy aunt, I’m out of here.

More emails on City’s appeal. “If this evidence Manchester City is so ‘irrefutable’ – why wasn’t it considered as such during the main hearing? Other clubs should boycott their matches against them this season,” writes Matt Miller.

Tom Atkins adds: “What did people expect? This is an organisation which has spent the last 15 years throwing money and lawyers at any attempt to limit their ambitions or hold them to account, they’re not exactly going to hold their hands up and say ‘it’s a fair cop’ now. Get them out, keep them out for a long time, and award Rob Holding the Premier League medal he deserves.”

You had me until Rob Holding.

No “winning formula” for World Cup success, concludes Fifa technical report

Fifa’s technical report on the 2026 World Cup has highlighted an increased number of tactical strategies at the tournament but concluded there was not necessarily a ‘winning formula’.

The world governing body’s Technical Study Group (TSG) and Football Performance Insights Department (FPI) published a 500-page report on Friday, offering ‘unprecedented insights into how the best national teams and players on the planet are reshaping the modern game’.

All 104 tournament matches were observed using advanced data and video analyses and 11 ‘key tactical and technical’ trends were identified.

FPI lead Tom Gardner said: “The big change between 2022 and 2026 is the variety of different tactical styles that we saw, and how teams were able to execute those different strategies successfully.

“The build-up in a back three was something that we observed as very important, but it wasn’t something that Spain did.

“So we’re not here saying if you want to be a successful team, you have to build up in a back three.

“It’s about saying this is what we’ve observed. This is where we see more and more teams headed, and this is where teams have been able to do it and do it well.”

The key tactical innovations that were identified included building with a back three, wide player rotations, changing the point of attack, attacking transitions, structured high press, defensive blocks and counter pressing.

The report said there were ‘contrasting routes to success’, adding: ‘From aggressive high presses to disciplined low blocks and rapid transitions, the analysis shows that there was no single winning formula.

‘Cabo Verde exemplified how compact defending, collective organisation and proactive goalkeeper involvement can enable teams to compete against technically superior opponents.’ Press Association

Ed Aarons and Miguel Dantas

Rui Pinto is to appeal a decision to end the special protection programme that has safeguarded him since August 2020.

Lawyers for the whistleblower say that he remains at risk and that ending his protection would leave him “more vulnerable than at any point since 2020”. They say the decision was taken without giving him an opportunity to be heard and have described the circumstances surrounding it as a “failure to respect the rule of law”.

Pinto was notified on Wednesday that his protection is due to end on 10 October. His lawyers say they will lodge an administrative appeal with suspensive effect, meaning the decision will be suspended while it is challenged.

In a request to Portugal’s Ministry of Justice, the lawyers asked the government to reconsider the decision, disclose the material on which the latest risk assessment was based, hear Pinto and ensure that his protection continues.

“His situation is now critical,” said his lawyers in a statement. “The threats against him are not merely theoretical: last April, he was assaulted in Lisbon. His revelations implicated powerful individuals with substantial resources, and many of the resulting legal proceedings are still ongoing, as demonstrated by the decision issued just a few days ago by the Premier League’s independent commission concerning Manchester City. Abruptly deprived of his protected residence and placed in a situation of extreme precariousness, Rui Pinto will now be more vulnerable than at any point since 2020.”

Pinto entered Portugal’s protection programme after cooperating with the country’s justice authorities. His revelations have subsequently been used by judicial, tax and sporting authorities across Europe, including the Premier League’s investigation into City’s alleged financial irregularities.

Pinto’s lawyers argue that the authorities should take into account both his cooperation with the justice system and the continuing risks associated with his disclosures before ending his protection.

“This decision, and the manner in which it was taken, regrettably fail to respect the rule of law and constitute an act of state terrorism. We cannot accept this,” they added.

“I, for one, can’t understand how all the other teams can play against Man City over the coming season with this hanging over proceedings,” writes Simon Staffans. “It’ll be so weird – will the points and goals count in the end? What if Isak plays against them at Anfield and comes off with a torn ACL, derailing Liverpool’s season in a match that perhaps should never have been played and definitely not been played with those players playing for Man City? It’s a kind of alternate reality almost. Bizarre, to say the least.”

It’s a great point. City have a knockout cup game this month, how do you respect the result of that if you lose?

Hello, here for the next hour, as Luke said, keep your emails coming in.

I’ll be back at 1.30 for Thomas Tuchel’s media conference – Tom Bassam is stepping into the breach until then.

Thanks for all the emails. You can vent to Tom here!

“Probably wishful thinking,” emails Nick, “but would the frivolity of an unsuccessful appeal factor into any decisions about sanctions, as per a red card? I’ll admit to being biased, but it’s hard to see how City are anything other than bang to rights here.”

In similar vein, Bob chips in with a beautifully precise one-word email, entitled ‘Man City appeal’:

“Farcical.”

“If Manchester City really do have a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence exists in support of all of its positions”, why didn’t they disclose these during the investigation and why did they spend so much time and money on lawyers fighting something that they could have, apparently, so easily dismissed?” emails Joe.

“Utterly farcical. Hopefully a swift appeal process and then the punishments can be meted out, and we can all move on with securing compensation for having to put up with this nonsense.”

“I can’t help comparing the 10 years of this Man City saga with those periods of play where a VAR check is going on in the background,” emails Oliver.

“‘They’re appealing for some financial irregularities in the box, Steve. Play is continuing for the time being, but we’re hearing that VAR are having a look at this one’.

“As poor Mostafa Ziko discovered this summer, it doesn’t matter how glorious the following sequence of events – if you broke the rules in the buildup then it’s null and void, as all of City’s achievements during that period should now be.”

Panic over: the sports quiz of the week, from Paul Campbell, is here:

“This is going to rumble on for years,” comments Wayne, over on a well-known sports news channel. “The new Brexit.”

Steady on, Wayne.

Manchester City’s approach, then, can be neatly summed up as: “Don’t back down – double down.”

What do you think of all this? Email me. (Before I go for lunch at 12.30.)

Some players have had more enjoyable international breaks than others and Ben Cabango taming Erling Haaland in Cardiff on Thursday was another big tick for the Wales defender. Last week Cabango, of Championship pacesetters Swansea, marked Cristiano Ronaldo in Lisbon and kept Haaland quiet in the Norway striker’s first game since Manchester City were found guilty of breaching Premier League rules.

Did Cabango nab Haaland’s shirt after the 2-1 win for Wales? “I did grab it after the game … but he didn’t take mine,” the 26-year-old said. “It is surreal to play against Ronaldo and Haaland in the same camp. But it’s definitely where you want to be, you want to stay around that for as long as possible. You learn a lot playing against these players. You’ve got to be concentrated throughout the game and you can’t switch off at any moment. That probably brings out the best side of me and it’s been good.”

Pascal Gross of Brighton has only gone and won player of the month in His Majesty’s Premier League.

At 35, he is the sixth-oldest player to win the gong, it says here, having mustered five goal involvements in the month of September.

The Brazil coach, Carlo Ancelotti, said his side respect Saturday’s hosts India before the first international friendly between the teams.

The five-time world champions will field a star-studded squad featuring Vinícius Júnior for the match at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.

India, ranked 138th, will face Brazil’s senior men, ranked fifth, for the first time after a 1-1 draw with 44th-ranked Panama.

“We have respect for the quality of the Indian team,” Ancelotti said. “They played a good draw against Panama. We have full respect for our opponents.

“Cricket is part of their culture; football is not the most important game. But that doesn’t mean they don’t love football. We are happy to be here and show our quality to all who have the possibility to watch the game. It will be a fantastic night.” AFP

“I don’t believe in comebacks.” Slaven Bilic sat in the lobby of a hotel in Canary Wharf wearing a black Soundgarden T-shirt and dark denim, confidently discussing a wide variety of topics ranging from Sir Alex Ferguson’s autobiography to historical epics of Yugoslav cinematography and Nikola Tesla’s celibacy. He was living the good life in London, just before his third Premier League season as West Ham’s manager, and a rare interview for Croatian media was a chance for him to catch up with domestic intrigues.

“I’m now distanced by default, geographically,” he said, breathing a sigh of relief, before continuing to jump from subject to subject; a bit about a Metallica concert, then a bit about steaks at an Argentinian restaurant, followed by some off-record anecdotes. He was clearly enjoying himself and didn’t hesitate to show it; his time as Croatia’s manager seemed long gone, although he always left a bitter-sweet aftertaste when talking about them.

Up next, a piece by Aleksandar Holiga on Slaven Bilic, who is back in charge of Croatia’s national team, and preparing for tomorrow’s meeting with England and Thomas Tuchel.

Over on Sky Sports News, Scotland are pictured training at Hampden Park before tomorrow’s Nations League meeting with North Macedonia. They’ll be off to the airport soon, it being an away game in Skopje, and all that.

Here’s Ewan Murray’s report of Scotland’s 3-0 home defeat against Switzerland on Tuesday, when Jack Hendry was sent off early doors:

And here is Barry Glendenning, who wrote about Scotland and their new-ish manager Sébastien Pocognoli, in Football Daily on Wednesday:

“The former City striker, Edin Dzeko, plays his last international for Bosnia and Herzegovina tonight,” writes J Hopkin.

“To honour him, the usual Bosnian Cevapi takeaway of 10 beef sausages is being served with 11 today, across Bosnia, to honour the striker’s No 11 international shirt. Delicious!

Bury, Brighton, Sheffield United, Fenerbahce, Toulouse (loan), Galatasaray, Olympiacos (loan), Blackburn Rovers (loan), Bursaspor, Feyenoord (loan), Feyenoord, Celtic, Coritiba, Corinthians, Lobos BUAP (loan), Veracruz, Pachuca, Derby, Fatih Karagumruk.

Whose career path? The answer, of course, is Colin Kazim-Richards, now managing Crawley Town in League Two.

Tusdiq Din spoke to him and his assistant, Julian Gray:

We’ve updated our “Next Generation” piece from 2023. How is Almugera Kabar getting on at Dortmund, for instance? (Answer: He’s currently on loan at NEC Nijmegen).

Dive in here:

Tuchel’s England media conference has been moved to 1.30pm today BST, I am told, in case you want to update your calendar.

Here is a line from Reuters, on the looming appeal from City:

Manchester City are expected to press ahead with ⁠an appeal against findings that they breached Premier League financial rules by today’s deadline, opening a fresh chapter in a ⁠case that has become ​one of the most significant in English football.

The Premier League’s new fast-track rules state that an appeal hearing must ‌be held within 12 weeks of an appeal being lodged, with a decision due within 30 days of the hearing concluding. City, however, ​are expected to argue the rules were not in place when they were originally charged in February 2023. The breadth of the fallout facing Manchester City extends well beyond football sanctions.

On Thursday, the chair of the Treasury Committee asked Britain’s tax authority HMRC what action ⁠it was taking in response to the Premier League’s findings. Meg Hillier ​said she had written ​to HMRC Permanent Secretary JP ​Marks following the publication on Tuesday of the independent commission ruling ​that the club had ‌committed “well over 100 ​individual breaches of ​the Premier League Rules across the course of many seasons”.

Sports lawyers have predicted years of further litigation as rival clubs, players and agents assess whether they may have grounds to pursue compensation claims connected to the case.

Upcoming Nations League fixtures (all times BST)

Friday 2 October
Kazakhstan v Moldova (3pm)
Cyprus v Armenia (5pm)
Latvia v Montenegro (5pm)
Faroe ‌Islands v Slovakia (7.45pm)
Belgium v Turkey (7.45pm)
France v Italy (7.45pm)
Hungary v Georgia (7.45pm)
Ukraine v Northern ‌Ireland (7.45pm)
Bosnia-Herzegovina v Sweden (7.45pm)
Poland v Romania (7.45pm)

Saturday 3 October
Finland v Albania (2pm)
Belarus v San ‌Marino (5pm)
Estonia v Luxembourg (5pm)
Iceland v Bulgaria (5pm)
Croatia v England (5pm)
Spain v Czechia (7.45pm)
North Macedonia v Scotland (7.45pm)
Switzerland v Slovenia (7.45pm)

Sunday 4 October
Azerbaijan v Lithuania (2pm)
Malta v Andorra (5pm)
Kosovo v Austria (5pm)
Greece v Germany (7.45pm)
Netherlands v Serbia (7.45pm)
Portugal v Norway (7.45pm)
Wales v Denmark (7.45pm)
Republic ​of Ireland v Israel (7.45pm)

Monday 5 October
Cyprus v Latvia (4pm)
Montenegro v Armenia (7.45pm)
France v Belgium (7.45pm)
Italy v Turkey (7.45pm)
Northern ​Ireland v Georgia (7.45pm)
Ukraine v Hungary (7.45pm)
Bosnia-Herzegovina v Poland (7.45pm)
Romania v Sweden (7.45pm)

Tuesday 6 October
Kazakhstan v Faroe ​Islands (3pm)
Albania v San Marino (7.45pm)
Belarus v Finland (7.45pm)
Moldova v Slovakia (7.45pm)
Estonia v Iceland (7.45pm)
Luxembourg v Bulgaria (7.45pm)
Croatia v Spain (7.45pm)
England v Czechia (7.45pm)
Scotland v Slovenia (7.45pm)
Switzerland v North ‌Macedonia (7.45pm)

If you missed any of it, here’s a little roundup of hot content that appeared off the back of England’s line-and length 2-0 win in Czechia on Tuesday: on Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon, Trent Alexander-Arnold and so much more.

Thomas Tuchel, manager of the England men’s team, is due to speak at 12.30pm UK time: don’t miss it.

If you would like to cast an eye over the weekend’s Nations League fixtures, you can do so here.

Croatia v England kicks off at 5pm UK time tomorrow, with North Macedonia v Scotland following later at 7.45pm.

Ukraine v Northern Ireland is tonight – 7.45pm – with France v Italy kicking off at the same time, at Stade de France. That should be fun.

Thanks Billy and hello everyone. What is occurring in the wonderful world of association football?

That’s it from me for now. Luke McLaughlin is here to take over.

Manchester City: Andy Burnham’s intervention in the Manchester City debate has revived tensions between the Premier League and the UK prime minister.

Government officials are understood to be unhappy they were not given notice that the independent commission’s damning judgment of £900m of financial manipulation and “sham contracts” would be published shortly after Burnham’s address at the Labour party conference on Tuesday, and his response has not gone down well with several Premier League clubs concerned by his relationship with City’s owners.

In a series of interviews on Wednesday Burnham said he would be “really concerned” if City’s owners were forced to sell after being found guilty of more than 100 breaches of financial rules.

Such was the reaction that Downing Street felt compelled to clarify Burnham’s position on Thursday, with a No 10 spokesperson saying the prime minister had made clear that “the initial judgment is serious” and “there can’t be any suggestion that anyone is above the rules”.

Sport in Focus: If you like sport and you like pictures, then sign up to our newsletter of our editors’ favourite sporting images from the past week. There’s a new edition dropping into inboxes at midday today (BST).

“Everyone at Liverpool should be happy today” – Jürgen Klopp was full of praise for Florian Wirtz after his goal in Germany’s 2-0 win over Serbia last night.

That was exceptional; he played a fantastic game. Our style of play suits Flo Wirtz. I don’t even know what Flo has to do right to make everyone happy. Everyone in Liverpool should be happy today.

Wirtz didn’t feature in Klopp’s first game in charge, a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands last week, and came off the bench in the 1-0 defeat to Greece that followed. He played the full 90 last night, operating off the frontman Nick Woltemade and scoring on the hour mark to double Germany’s lead.

Manchester City: Ed Aarons and Porto-based Miguel Dantas have taken a deep dive into the situation surrounding Rui Pinto, the former history student whose leaks of private documents in 2018 prompted the investigation into City.

After Pinto turned his attention to Gianni Infantino on Wednesday, Portuguese authorities confirmed that he is no longer a protected witness:

That is understood to have come as a surprise to the 37-year-old, who finds himself without a job, a home or an income. He has been living in a safe house under protection and has never disclosed his location, and it is understood he has received no visitors.

The Guardian understands talks had been initiated to begin the process of reintegrating Pinto back into social and professional life. That initiative will be halted, leaving Pinto to fend for himself. He has been advised not to return home, contact family members or visit crowded places socially or for work.

Yesterday evening, Pinto posted on social media: “I will make a very important announcement tomorrow at 18:00 UTC.” That’s 7pm BST.

Women’s Champions League: “Of course there is a lot of noise but the players are very calm – I haven’t seen or noticed anything that will take any percentage out of the players’ performance” – the words of Andrée Jeglertz last night after his Manchester City team were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Madrid. Linda Caicedo’s opener was cancelled out by Khadija Shaw in City’s first game since the Premier League’s guilty verdict.

Tom Garry was at Joie Stadium to gauge the mood …

Speaking to supporters on the bridge that connects this venue with the neighbouring Etihad Stadium, some appeared relaxed about the situation and unsure what it had to do with the women’s team, while others were clearly troubled and looking forward to watching some football as a form of escapism.

An elderly City fan, who did not wish to be named, said pre-match: “We’ve been through rough times before, we’ll come through rough times again,” in a matter-of-fact manner. Another simply demonstrated what appears to be a growing dislike for reporters asking about the 115 charges when they said angrily “you’re from the media?” before using an expletive and promptly walking away.

Nations League: Jorge Jesus guided Portugal to an impressive 4-2 win in Denmark in the first game since Cristiano Ronaldo had walked away from the squad over concerns about his playing time. Ronaldo left camp after an apparent rift with Jesus having been left on the bench for last Sunday’s win in Norway. João Félix was again on the scoresheet for Portugal as his late strike sealed the points.

Jürgen Klopp won his first match in charge of Germany at the third attempt as Florian Wirtz’s second-half goal helped secure a 2-0 win over Serbia in Munich. After losing to Greece on Sunday, Klopp had to field frankly ridiculous questions about the diversity of Germany’s national team.

Greece almost pulled off another shock win last night but surrendered a two-goal lead to draw with the Netherlands in Thessaloniki. Virgil van Dijk and Tijjani Reijnders rescued things for Xavi, who admitted he was at fault after a poor first half. “Maybe I made things unclear for the players by making too many changes,” said the Netherlands boss.

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.