Northern Ireland return to action with a friendly against Romania in Bucharest on Friday night.
The fixture is the first of back-to-back away games, with a trip to Glasgow to face Scotland up next.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the key talking points ahead of the Romania game.
Youth movement
After a hugely disappointing Euro 2024 qualifying campaign ruined by injuries, it is time for Michael O’Neill to hit the reset button. Those injuries accelerated the need for a rebuild of the Northern Ireland squad, and almost half of the players in O’Neill’s camp have 10 caps or less, and only two of them – Josh Magennis and George Saville – are over the age of 30. But there is much to be encouraged by, with Conor Bradley, Shea Charles, Isaac Price and Trai Hu…
Gareth Southgate was pleased by England’s display in the defeat to Brazil and praised his trio of debutants as he experimented ahead of Euro 2024.
Saturday’s Wembley clash between these injury-hit sides ended in the hosts’ first defeat since their World Cup quarter-final exit to France 15 months ago.
England had hoped to start the international year with a bang but stumbled as teenage star Endrick came off the bench to secure Brazil a late 1-0 win.
The 17-year-old became the youngest man to score a senior international goal at Wembley, where Southgate was largely happy despite his side’s 10-match unbeaten run coming to an end.
“I was pleased,” the England manager said. “Clearly don’t like losing football matches, but I thought there were l…
Defender Clint Hill has signed a new one-year contract at QPR as the club prepare for life back in the Premier League.
The 35-year-old captained the side to an immediate return to the top flight via the Championship play-offs last season and will now embark on a fifth campaign at Loftus Road.
I was always hopeful that I d get a new deal, so to get it sorted so soon is great, he told the club s official website.
I ve enjoyed some great experiences at QPR over the last four years, I m settled here, and I m excited about being part of this club for another season.
But Hill is in no doubt as to the size of the challenge he will face in trying to pin down a starting spot when the new term begins at home to Hull City on August 16.
Every year I alway…
Stefan de Vrij is the latest member of Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands squad to be linked with a move to Old Trafford this summer, .
The 22 year old, who has played in all four of his countries games so far at this summer’s World Cup finals in Brazil, and scored in the 5-1 rout over Champions Spain, has spent his entire career so far with Feyenoord.
His international teammates Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and Daryl Janmaat have also been named as potential transfer targets for Van Gaal, who will begin work with the Premier League giants once the Dutch’s participation in South America is over.
Two late goals saw the 2010 runners-up come from behind to beat Mexico in the round of sixteen yesterday, and they will now face Costa Rica in the quarter finals in …
Competition: Europa League
Market: Aberdeen to win against Ventspils
Odds:
Aberdeen travel to Ventspils Stadions to face Latvian side Ventspils in the second leg of the second round of Thursday’s Europa League qualifier, and are big favourites to come out on top to book their place in the third round of the preliminaries.
The Scottish Premiership outfit won the first leg 3-0 at home, and have one foot in the third round as a result going into the second leg this week, and will fancy their chances of winning in Latvia given the gulf in class between the two sides.
Ventspils last made the third round of the Europa League qualifiers in 2013, but suffered defeat to Maccabi Haifa without scoring a single goal. The manner of their first leg defeat to Ab…
Marcelo Bielsa began his reign as Lille boss in style with an opening 3-0 win over Claudio Ranieri s Nantes in Ligue 1.
Feted coach Bielsa spent a year out of the game following his swiftly aborted tenure as Lazio boss and it was announced in February he would return to France s top flight, having proved a hit at Marseille in 2014-15.
Ranieri is back in the dugout after his Leicester City fairy tale ended on a sour note six months ago and, after a goalless first half, the genial Italian endured a hefty dose of reality at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Junior Alonso opened the scoring in the 48th minute, crashing home emphatically from the edge of the area after the Nantes defence failed to clear.
Nicolas de Preville scored a hat-trick in the corresponding fixture o…
Barcelona will activate a purchase option on Sao Paulo teenager Gustavo Maia this June, according to the player s agent.
Maia s performances in the Copa Sao Paulo – Brazil s most prestigious youth tournament – at the start of the year drew the eye of LaLiga s champions and led to them agreeing to part with €1million for the option to sign him before the end of this month.
The 19-year-old winger, who was nearly sent on loan to Flamengo last year, became a father in December and overcame personal issues to force his way into the starting line-up at the Copinha, where he scored three goals in seven games.
Barca are required to pay an additional €3.5m to sign Maia permanently and his representative Danilo Silva is confident it will happen.
We are…
Burnley are closing in on the signing of Leeds United striker Chris Wood, according to the Mirror.
The Clarets are on the lookout for a new forward after selling Andre Gray to Watford earlier this month and have identified Wood as their top target.
Wood has been with Leeds since the summer of 2015 and for them has notched forty-four goals in eighty-six appearances in all competitions, a tally which includes thirty in the Championship last season making him the division’s top scorer.
The New Zealand international is also of the mark this season having netted in the opening weekend victory over Bolton Wanderers.
He has a touch of top flight experience having scored for Leicester City in the 2014/15 campaign while he also turned out for West Bromwic…
Bundesliga matches will be played behind closed doors from November 2 after it was announced Germany would return to a partial lockdown amid a significant increase in coronavirus cases.
German chancellor Angela Merkel and the regional leaders of the 16 states decided on a raft of new measures to control the spread of the virus on Wednesday.
One of these is to prevent any supporters from attending professional sports in the country.
Ahead of the 2020-21 season, Bundesliga clubs announced they would be ready to welcome back fans if public health authorities considered it a safe step to take, having played out the final weeks of the 2019-20 season behind closed doors.
The largest attendance under the restrictions was Borussia Dortmund s home…
Lautaro Martinez wants Inter to quickly move on from the disappointment of losing to Real Madrid and focus on a difficult match to come against Atalanta.
Antonio Conte s Inter are still without a win in Europe this season after going down 3-2 in the Spanish capital on Tuesday, a result that leaves them sitting bottom of a tightly contested Group B.
Martinez scored once and assisted Ivan Perisic s equaliser as the Serie A side rallied from falling 2-0 behind to draw level, only for Rodrygo to grab the winner for the hosts in the 80th minute.
There is little time to dwell on the result, however, as the Nerazzurri travel to Bergamo on Sunday for their final game before November s international break, a key fixture between two clubs hopeful of breaking Juventus…