Rob Page welcomed Wales putting automatic qualification for Euro 2024 in their own hands after admitting he had been “fighting fires” before the stunning 2-1 victory over Croatia.

Harry Wilson, winning his 50th cap, scored twice as Wales climbed above the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists in to second place in Group D.

The two teams are tied on 10 points, six behind group leaders Turkey who secured qualification by beating Latvia 4-0 on Sunday. Wales are second by virtue of having a better head-to-head record against Croatia after also drawing 1-1 with them in Split in March.

Wales’ win over Croatia, ranked sixth in the world and 27 places above the Dragons, came after pre-match reports that manager Page’s job could be in jeopardy.

Football Associatio…

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The international break is upon us as we gear up for the first set of fixtures at this level since the World Cup last winter. The primary focus will now be on UEFA Euro 2024, with the road to qualification beginning over the course of the next few days. Today, we ll take a look at what should be an incredibly competitive encounter as Group F favourites Sweden and Belgium kickstart their campaign.

Sweden

After falling at the round of 16 stage in 2021, and failing to qualify for the World Cup in 2022, the Swedes have something to prove. They still have a nice blend of experienced stars and young talent, but they ve really struggled to showcase that on the international stage in recent tournaments. The hope, at t…

According to The Times, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona are close to reaching an agreement over a permanent transfer of Antoine Griezmann back from the Camp Nou to the Wanda Metropolitano. The news will have come as a blow for Juventus, who have been hoping no such agreement would be reached, and that they d be able to step into the race for the services of the French attacker.

Barcelona signed Griezmann from Atletico back in 2019 for a reported fee of €120 million, enabling the Rojiblancos to sign Joao Felix from Benfica for roughly the same amount. However, Griezmann failed to make the desired impact at the Catalan club, and he was sent back to Atletico on a two-year loan last summer, with a certain minutes-related obligation clause inserted into the deal.

Hoping to g…

Unai Emery is satisfied with Aaron Ramsey s performances for Arsenal, as the midfielder heads into his final months with the Premier League club.

Ramsey will leave Arsenal at the end of the season, halting an 11-year stay at Emirates Stadium, with the Wales international s deal expiring in June 2019.

Juventus are reportedly working on a deal to bring Ramsey, who turned 28 on Boxing Day, to Turin, while Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are rumoured to have expressed an interest.

Despite these links, Emery has been pleased by Ramsey s commitment to Arsenal, adding that the midfielder must maintain this focus heading into the second half of the season.

For me, the most important thing for every player is for their focus to be here, Emery told a news c…

Steve Clarke wants a top-end Scotland training complex as he prepares for Euro 2024 in Germany.

The men’s national team moved from their base in Oriam, Scotland’s Sports Performance Centre, to Glasgow earlier in the year, with coach John Carver criticising the pitches at the Heriot-Watt University Edinburgh Campus.

Clarke spoke about the move to Lesser Hampden and a city centre hotel as part of the re-setting of Scotland following the defeat by Ukraine in the World Cup play-off in June 2022 and, although he is focused on a second successive Euros, he is looking to the longer-term, albeit he may not be the beneficiary.

Scotland were drawn against host country Germany, Switzerland and Hungary in Group A for next summer’s Euros, with the Scots set to face the …

Sean Dyche deepened the relegation worries of his old club Burnley as his return to Turf Moor ended in a 2-0 win for Everton.

Dyche, who twice guided the Clarets to promotion and kept them up against the odds during a decade at the club, promised to show no sentimentality 20 months after his sacking amid their last, unsuccessful, battle against the drop, and first-half goals from Amadou Onana and Michael Keane silenced Turf Moor.

They proved all Everton needed as they won four league games in a row for the first time in three years, their eighth league win of the season already matching last year’s tally as they continue to climb away from trouble. Without their 10-point penalty, Everton would be up to ninth.

Burnley chairman Alan Pace, the man who sacked Dyche…

Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic scored in either half as Chelsea beat Watford 2-1 to move up to third with their fifth straight Premier League win.

The Blues took an early lead against their bottom-of-the-table hosts when Abraham reached Jorginho s pass and guided the ball over Ben Foster.

Watford s goalkeeper denied Abraham, Pulisic and Mason Mount before Chelsea s United States international who scored a hat-trick against Burnley last weekend turned home Abraham s cross 10 minutes into the second half.

Gerard Deulofeu scored an 80th-minute penalty one that was only awarded by VAR following a lengthy delay but Frank Lampard s side held on to climb above Leicester City in the table.

These two.

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)

Watford w…

Bayern Munich s recent struggles continued as Ajax held them to a 1-1 draw in their Champions League Group E clash on Tuesday.

After winning their opening seven games of the season under new coach Niko Kovac, the Bundesliga champions had picked up just one point in their last two games against Augsburg and Hertha Berlin before the Dutch side s visit to the Allianz Arena. 

They looked like they would get back on track when Mats Hummels fourth-minute header put them ahead, but Erik ten Hag s youthful side bounced back in style, levelling midway through the half thanks to Noussair Mazraoui s fine strike.

Substitute James Rodriguez came closest to finding an undeserved winner for Bayern in the second period, while Donny van de Beek will be left to rue a golden opp…

Eden Hazard played like he didn t care during Real Madrid s 1-0 Copa del Rey victory over Cacereno, according to opponent Carmelo Mereciano.

Madrid secured their place in the round of 16 with a narrow win over their fourth-tier opponents on Tuesday, thanks to a superb 69th-minute strike from Rodrygo.

However, the performance of Hazard came under fire as he failed to register a shot or even a touch in Cacereno s penalty area before he was hauled off by Carlo Ancelotti in the 68th minute.

Cacereno winger Mereciano was not impressed by the display of the former Belgium international, who signed for Madrid from Chelsea in 2019 for a reported €100 million fee.

Hazard? It was like he didn t care about the game, Mereciano told AS. He didn t want to take the b…

Chelsea and Everton are among a number of Premier League clubs interested in signing Marko Arnautovic, according to his agent.

The West Ham forward has scored five goals in 10 league games this season, even though Manuel Pellegrini s side have won just one of their past five top-flight fixtures.

Arnautovic s agent, his brother Daniel, says the Austria international is considering a January exit and claims a host of top sides in England are monitoring his situation.

It s not that he really wants to leave, but we believe this is the moment in his career when he has to take a step forward and try to win a few trophies, maybe even the Champions League, he told gianlucadimarzio.com.

There are a lot of Premier League clubs tracking him. Chelsea and Everton, f…