Romelu Lukaku hoped to have answered some of his critics with a hat-trick in Belgium s Euro 2024 qualifying opener at Sweden.

Lukaku scored all three goals as Belgium claimed a 3-0 win in what had looked like being the toughest game of their campaign.

Goals have not flowed so easily at club level this season, with Lukaku returning to Inter and scoring just three times in Serie A – albeit while hampered by injury.

But Friday s game was a step in the right direction as Belgium s record goalscorer said: It was not an easy game, but we can be satisfied. We did well.

I am happy that I can play minutes and show the outside world what I can do.

3 Romelu Lukaku scored his third hattrick for the tonight, equalling Robert De Veen as the player with the…

Fernando Santos could not question Portugal s effort as he revealed some players were in tears after losing to Belgium at Euro 2020.

Portugal were reigning European champions having stunned France in Euro 2016 and an exciting squad hinted at another challenge over the coming weeks.

But a draw with France in their final Group F match saw Santos side condemned to a last-16 clash with the world s top-ranked team.

Thorgan Hazard was the matchwinner for Belgium, his spectacular strike enough for a 1-0 success – their first against Portugal since 1989.

This was despite Portugal attempting 23 shots – worth 1.7 expected goals (xG) – to the Red Devils six (0.2 xG).

We are disappointed and sad, Santos told TVI24. I ve got some players crying in the d…

Wolfsburg forward Andre Schurrle is relishing the opportunity to make history for the Bundesliga club when they host Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Dieter Hecking s men will qualify for the knockout rounds of the competition for the first time with a draw against Group B rivals United at the Volkswagen Arena.

Runs to the quarter-finals of the Europa League in 2009-10 and 2014-15 represent Wolfsburg s best performances in continental competition to date.

But Schurrle who joined Wolfsburg from Chelsea in February said: It s an extremely beautiful game and that s why we re extremely motivated.

We know it s a big opportunity for us to write history for Wolfsburg and hopefully we will leave as the winners.

United require a vic…

In what was a repeat of the 2016 final out in Rio, Brazil managed to once again get one over on Germany as they opened this summer s Olympic adventure with an action-packed win in Tokyo.

Opening Group D tipped as a landslide pick to cruise their way to the later stages, the South American giants run rampant at an empty Yokohama Stadium as they picked up what was an emphatic 4-2 win on Thursday lunchtime.

Looking to claim back-to-back gold medals after Neymar s heroics on home soil five years ago, a first-half hat-trick from Everton ace Richarlison was enough to wrap up proceedings against a German side that did try to rally in the second 45.

Finally wrapping up the game with just moments remaining and dominating from the opening whistle, we have taken a look at …

Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich has cast doubt on Leroy Sane s transfer by saying the Manchester City winger would already be here if he wanted to join the Bundesliga champions.

Speculation over Sane s future hit fever pitch after Bayern coach Niko Kovac publicly stated he is confident of signing the Germany international, before apologising to City boss Pep Guardiola for making the comments.

Kimmich, who played in all of Bayern s Bundesliga matches last season before clinching his fourth consecutive title since joining the club in June 2015, was unable to provide an update on Sane s situation but called his international team-mate s intentions into question.

I do not know what the signals are, Kimmich told reporters after Bayern s 6-1 Audi Cup win over Fenerb…

Bernardo Silva has rallied his Manchester City team-mates to pour their Champions League heartache into a final push for Premier League glory.

City bowed out of Europe s top competition on away goals on Wednesday, despite winning 4-3 at home to Tottenham.

The scoreline only told a portion of the incredible drama after Raheem Sterling thought he had completed a match-winning hat-trick in injury time – sparking scenes of bedlam at the Etihad Stadium not seen since Sergio Aguero s unforgettable title-sealing winner against Queens Park Rangers in 2012.

However, a VAR review showed Aguero had been fractionally offside in the build-up when the ball fell to him after Silva blocked Christian Eriksen s pass, taking City from ecstasy to agony and leaving their quadruple …

CSKA Moscow have approached Everton with the idea of signing Jean-Philippe Gbamin on loan for the rest of the season, according to multiple sources.

The defensive midfielder, also capable of playing as a right-back or a centre-back, arrived to Goodison Park from Mainz 05 in 2019, as a replacement for Idrissa Gana Gueye who had joined Paris Saint-Germain, but in the two and a half years since, he s only worn the club shirt on eight occasions in all competitions. Injuries have severely cut his ability to contribute to the team, and he simply had no chance of establishing himself as an important part of the plans, whether under Carlo Ancelotti, Rafa Benitez or Frank Lampard.

Currently fit, Gbamin will be keen to try and get his career back on track, and with the likes of A…

Newcastle United are interested in signing James Tarkowski from Premier League rivals Burnley in the January transfer window, according to . England international defender Tarkowski is out of contract at Burnley at the end of the season, and the new Newcastle owners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment fund (PIF), believe that he is a very realistic target.

Tarkowski has been at Burnley since 2016 and has established himself as an important player in manager Sean Dyche’s team. The central defender has earned two caps for England and has made 166 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career, scoring seven goals in the process.

Newcastle are second from bottom in the Premier League table at the moment with three points from seven matches, level on points with t…

Jurgen Klopp has dismissed talk of him being plagued by back luck as Liverpool prepare to face Tottenham in his third Champions League final.

Since his domestic double at Borussia Dortmund in 2012, Klopp has been the runner-up in two Champions Leagues, the Europa League, the League Cup and two DFB-Pokals.

The Liverpool manager s last six finals have ended in defeat, but the German is not concerned about that record ahead of the showdown with Tottenham in Madrid on Saturday.

If I would be the reason for losing six finals in a row, then everybody needs to worry really, he said at a press conference on the eve of the all-Premier League showdown.

So if that s not the case then we always have to have a chance and that s how we see it actually,

B…

Tottenham midfielder Oliver Skipp has signed a new contract to run until 2027, the club have announced.

The 21-year-old has enjoyed a breakthrough season, making 24 appearances in all competitions, 18 of them starts, as Antonio Conte s men challenge for a top-four finish in the Premier League.

The midfielder is currently recovering from injury, however, with his last league appearance coming in a 2-0 defeat at Chelsea on January 23.

Skipp, who made his first-team debut in 2018 after coming through the club s youth system, has now committed his future to the club for the next five years.

We are delighted to announce that Oliver Skipp has signed a new contract with the club that will run until 2027, read a statement on the club s website.

Making h…