Sports, in brief

England beat Croatia 7-0 on Saturday in the Nations League, a competition between European national teams, in Rijeka, a port city in western Croatia. It is the worst defeat in Croatia's history. [1][2][3]

Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka scored twice each. Jude Bellingham scored once and set up three more. [4][5]

No England midfielder had been involved in four goals in one game since David Platt in 1993. [2][6]

The game was meant to be played behind closed doors, with no fans. UEFA, which runs European football, punished Croatia for racist behaviour by its fans at a match against France in March 2025. [1][7]

At that match in Paris, seven Croatia fans were held on suspicion of making Nazi salutes. They were released for lack of evidence. [7]

UEFA's rules list who may still enter a closed ground. Besides staff and reporters, the list includes children up to 14, with adults, invited free from schools and football academies. [1]

Croatia's football federation invited children from academies across the country and schools around Rijeka. The official crowd was 6,342, in a ground with 8,279 seats. [1][2]

England's own supporters got 100 tickets, after talks with UEFA. [1][7]

Barney Ronay, a Guardian columnist, called the exception a loophole. He wrote that filling the stands with children was not taking the punishment seriously. [8]

Thomas Tuchel, England's German head coach, agreed it was the best display of his time in charge. [2][6]

Croatia are ranked 13th in the world. It was England's biggest win over a top-50 team since the rankings began in 1992. [2]

England are second in their group of four, and the top two reach the quarter-finals next March. [9][4]

Why it matters. England's next game is at home to Czechia, and a win would put them on the brink of March's quarter-finals. [4][6]

Tom Kim, a South Korean golfer who plays on the PGA Tour, the main US men's tour, won the men's golf gold at the Asian Games in Japan on Saturday. [21] He shot 64 in the last round to win by three shots. [22] Most South Korean men must serve 18 to 21 months in the military before they turn 28. [23] Winners of an Asian Games gold or any Olympic medal are excused, apart from about four weeks of basic training. [21][24]

Why it matters. Kim, 24, would be 28 by the next Asian Games, so this week and the 2028 Olympics were his last two chances. [23] His teammate S.H. Kim gets no exemption, because South Korea won silver, not gold, in the team event. [17]

South Korea beat Japan 1-0 in the men's football final at the Asian Games on Saturday. [25] It is their fourth Asian Games title in a row. [25] Yang Hyun-jun, a 24-year-old forward, had a hamstring injury and did not come off the bench in the final. [25] He still earns the exemption from South Korea's 18 to 21 months of military service, once he finishes basic training. [25]

Why it matters. The same law let Son Heung-min, the former Tottenham forward, serve only three weeks in 2020 after winning the Asian Games two years earlier. [21]

India beat Pakistan by 19 runs in the men's cricket final at the Asian Games in Japan on Saturday, played as Twenty20, the short form of the game. [26] India made 211 for 6, their highest total against Pakistan in this short format, and Pakistan reached 192 for 6. [12] The two neighbours only meet at tournaments, on neutral ground, because of political tensions between them. [11] The players again did not shake hands, the fifth men's game in a row without them. [12]

Why it matters. The final was played on a converted baseball field in Japan, while hundreds of millions watched on television at home. [11][27] India finished the Games with 85 medals, 21 of them gold. [28]

The Republic of Ireland's news conference before Sunday's football match against Israel was cut short on Saturday. [29] An Israeli journalist said Irish players had made racist comments in last Sunday's game. An official of the Football Association of Ireland, the FAI, said that was completely untrue. [10] Ireland won that game 3-0 in Debrecen, Hungary, after the players voted on whether to play at all. [10] The FAI is also investigating reports that Israel fans racially abused Ireland's Adam Idah. [29]

Why it matters. Sunday's game, with Ireland as the home team, is in Backa Topola, a Serbian town of about 12,000 people, with no fans. [30] The FAI moved it out of Dublin after calls in Ireland for a boycott over Israel's war in Gaza, and said a boycott could bring UEFA penalties. [10]

Wakefield Trinity beat Warrington Wolves 23-10 in rugby league's Super League Grand Final at Old Trafford in Manchester on Saturday. [31][32] It is Wakefield's first league title since 1968. [31] The club was relegated in 2023 and came back up two years ago, when Super League's grading system confirmed its place. [31] Matt Ellis, a lifelong fan, bought the club in 2023 and promised a trophy within five years. [33]

Why it matters. Wakefield finished fourth this season, then won play-off games against Leigh and at Wigan to reach the final. [31][32] Warrington have now lost five Grand Finals. [32]

Sir Kevin Sinfield, a former Leeds Rhinos rugby league player, finished his seventh ultramarathon in seven days at Old Trafford on Saturday, before the Grand Final. [34] He ran for people with motor neurone disease, or MND, an illness that wastes the muscles. It killed his teammate and friend Rob Burrow in 2024. [35] He visited all 12 Super League grounds on the way. [36] His challenges have raised more than 13m pounds since 2020. [34]

Why it matters. This was the last of his seven challenges. [37] His son Jack then kicked a drop goal, a kick at the posts during play, for Wakefield in the final. [32]

Max Verstappen of Red Bull will start first in Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix, which is being held at Sepang in Malaysia. [13] The race in Bahrain was cancelled in April because of the conflict in the Middle East. [13] It is his first pole position of 2026, the first place on the starting grid, and he was about 0.3 seconds faster than Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari. [38] Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes, who leads the championship, starts third, and his teammate and nearest rival George Russell qualified only eighth. [38][39]

Why it matters. It was the first pole for a car with a Ford badge on its engine since 1999. [40] Russell starting eighth puts him in danger of losing more points to Antonelli. [39]

Stefano Domenicali, Formula One's chief executive, said on Saturday that the season's last two races will go ahead. [41] They are in Qatar on 29 November and Abu Dhabi on 6 December, despite the conflict in the Middle East. [41] The Bahrain race itself has been moved to Malaysia. [41] He said 99% of tickets in Abu Dhabi had been sold. [41] Moving that race to Imola in Italy had been discussed. [41]

Why it matters. Max Verstappen said this week that F1 should not go when a war is nearby, but that the choice is not his. [41]

The Milwaukee Brewers beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 in the first game of their National League play-off series on Saturday. [16] In the ninth inning, the Padres' Ty France hit a high ball that struck the roof of Milwaukee's stadium. [42] The ground's rules say a ball hitting the roof over fair ground is still in play, so Jackson Chourio caught it for an out. [16] The Padres challenged the call and lost. [16]

Why it matters. Baseball's ball-tracking system estimated the hit would have cleared the fence in only one major-league ground, Houston's. [42] In these best-of-five series, the Game 1 winner has gone through 73% of the time since 1995. [43]

Drew Rasmussen of the Tampa Bay Rays did not allow a hit to the New York Yankees until two outs in the eighth inning on Saturday. [44] The Rays won the first game of their American League series 1-0, with a home run by Jonathan Aranda. [44] Austin Wells ended the hope of a game without a hit with a double, then ran past his coach's stop sign and was thrown out at third base. [45] Rasmussen struck out 10. [45]

Why it matters. The Yankees were without Aaron Judge, three times the league's most valuable player, who has a calf injury. [45] They had scored 18 runs in two games against Boston in the round before. [44]

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 5-3 in their first game, which started at 100 degrees Fahrenheit, about 38C. [46][43] Tarik Skubal, the pitcher the Dodgers got from Detroit in a trade this summer, struck out seven in six innings. [43] The Chicago White Sox beat the Cleveland Guardians 3-0, helped by a 440-foot home run from Japan's Munetaka Murakami. [43] Grant Taylor pitched the last four innings without giving up a run. [46]

Why it matters. The Dodgers have won the last two World Series, and trading for Skubal also kept him away from rivals such as the Braves. [43] Taylor became only the sixth pitcher to earn a play-off save, the credit for finishing off a win, that long. [47]

The United States beat Mexico 3-0 in a friendly in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday. [48] Cavan Sullivan, 17, scored the second goal and became the youngest man to score for the US. [14] He beat a record set days earlier by his teammate Mathis Albert, also 17. [14] Julian Hall, 18, scored for the third game in a row, in his first three games for the team. [49]

Why it matters. It was the first US win over a team in the world's top ten since beating Germany in June 2015. [48] The US have won all three games of this break with a young squad full of first-timers and teenagers. [48][50]

Spain beat Czechia 3-1 in Oviedo, in northern Spain, on Saturday. [51] The teenager Lamine Yamal scored inside six minutes for the third game in a row. [51] Czechia pulled one back and had a late equaliser ruled out for a foul. [51] Spain are now one point from the Nations League quarter-finals. [51]

Why it matters. Spain lead the group that England and Croatia are in, and only the top two go through. [4][9]

Scotland beat North Macedonia in Skopje in the Nations League on Saturday, with goals from Kieron Bowie and John McGinn. [52][53] It was the first win for Sebastien Pocognoli, Scotland's Belgian head coach. [54] Andy Robertson won his 100th cap, only the second Scotland man to do it after Kenny Dalglish. [52] Scott McKenna was sent off late in the game. [53]

Why it matters. Robertson is two caps behind Dalglish's record and could pass him in November. [52]

Robert Lewandowski scored three times as Poland beat Romania 6-0 in Warsaw on Saturday. [20] Romania had a player sent off in the 22nd minute. [20] Lewandowski, 38, now has 92 goals for his country. [20] In the same group, Edin Dzeko, 40, played his last game for Bosnia-Herzegovina, a 1-1 draw with Sweden. [20]

Why it matters. Gheorghe Hagi, in his second spell as Romania's manager, is the first to lose his first three competitive games. [20]

The Washington Commanders are the home team against the Indianapolis Colts at Tottenham Hotspur's stadium in London on Sunday. [55] At a normal home game an NFL club keeps about 66% of ticket money, plus most food, parking and premium-seat money. [55] For games abroad, the league pays the home club a set sum instead and covers much of the travel. [55] The owner, Josh Harris, laughed and said the money was not good. [55]

Why it matters. The NFL plays a record nine games abroad this season, in seven countries, against three in 2015. [55] Early kick-offs abroad also give the league an extra TV slot to sell in the US. [55]

Tyson Summers, the coach in charge of Colorado State's defence, left during Saturday's 56-26 home defeat by Oregon State. [56] Jim Mora Jr., the head coach, had taken away his job of calling the defence's plays in the first half. [18] Mora said afterwards that Summers was no longer with the team. [18] Kenny McClendon takes over the defence, according to CBS Sports. [18]

Why it matters. A coach leaving his own team during a game is rare. [18] Reports differ on whether Summers was fired or quit. [56]

Bill Belichick's University of North Carolina lost 37-26 to third-ranked Notre Dame on Saturday. [57] UNC trailed 21-7, then a 98-yard kick-off return by Jaden Jefferson cut the gap to 21-20 early in the second half. [57] Notre Dame scored straight back. [57] Belichick said his team must do a better job of coaching and playing. [57]

Why it matters. Earlier this week Sportico found that almost all of Belichick's staff had signed their exit papers on the day they were hired, which UNC called a mistake. [58]

Jeremiah Smith caught 11 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns as Ohio State beat 14th-ranked Iowa 31-14 on Saturday. [59] His 36th career touchdown is the most by any Ohio State receiver, and he passed the school record of 205 catches. [59] He took 34 games, while the player who held the touchdown record needed 47. [59] He then made the pose of the Heisman Trophy, college football's prize for the best player. [59]

Why it matters. He is only halfway through his third college season. [59] He is the second player in the Big Ten, a group of US college teams, with 200-yard games back to back. [59]

Natalia Silva of Brazil beat China's Wang Cong on points to win the vacant women's flyweight title at UFC 332 in Salt Lake City on Saturday. [60] Eleven of the 15 fights ended in the first round, a record for a modern UFC event. [61] Payton Talbott knocked out the former champion Deiveson Figueiredo. [61] The UFC also announced its 12 December card in Las Vegas, with Alex Pereira against Sergei Pavlovich. [62]

Why it matters. Silva signed with the UFC six years ago and has had injuries and delays since. [60] The card was shown on the CBS network and on Paramount+. [63]

Celtic fans threw tennis balls at Dermot Desmond, the club's biggest shareholder, while he played in a golf event at St Andrews on Saturday. [19] The balls carried pictures of his face crossed out, and security took him off the course. [19] The Celtic Fans Collective said Desmond uses his wealth to hide from supporters. [19] Celtic said it will ban anyone involved indefinitely and cut its ties with the Collective. [64]

Why it matters. Fans blame Desmond, 76, for a lack of progress on the pitch. [19] Celtic called the protest planned in advance. [64]

Rui Pinto, the Portuguese hacker whose leaks started the Premier League's case against Manchester City, is ready to help UK authorities in return for protection, the Guardian reports. [65] A crowdfunding campaign to pay for a new life began on Friday, as he leaves the protection of Portugal's police. [65] A panel found City guilty of more than 100 charges, including sham contracts that inflated income by 900m pounds. [65]

Why it matters. British authorities could widen the case beyond sport, as Portugal already has with some of his documents. [65]

Bristol beat Northampton, the English champions, in the Premiership, England's top rugby union league, on Saturday. [66] Louis Rees-Zammit, a Wales wing, scored two tries. [66] Gloucester beat Harlequins 48-0 with eight tries and went top of the table. [67] Leicester won 24-19 at Newcastle, their first win in seven games. [68]

Why it matters. Harlequins have no league points and sit bottom of the table. [67] Northampton beat Bristol 94-33 last season. [69]

Glasgow Warriors and Ulster drew 33-33 in the United Rugby Championship, a league for clubs from Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy and South Africa, on Saturday. [70] Glasgow were down to 13 players near the end, and George Horne's late penalty hit the post. [70] In Edinburgh, a try from 19-year-old Rory McHaffie beat the Stormers of South Africa. [15] Edinburgh have won both their games. [15]

Why it matters. Ulster have not won in Glasgow for more than five years. [70]

Ireland's women beat Japan 43-19 on Saturday, scoring seven tries, in the WXV Global Series, a set of matches between top women's teams. [71] The wing Beibhinn Parsons scored her 25th try for Ireland, adding to her own record. [71] Ireland had lost to the USA by four points, then beaten Japan 31-24 a week ago. [71] They play two more games in Cape Town next. [71]

Why it matters. Two new caps scored, which Parsons said is building the squad's depth. [71]

Manchester United beat Liverpool 1-0 in the Women's Super League, England's top women's league, on Saturday. [72] Julia Zigiotti Olme scored after six minutes, chipping the ball in after Liverpool's goalkeeper Khiara Keating gave it away. [72] It was United's 250th match since the team was re-formed in 2018. [72] Their new coach, Eva Olid, has now won four games in a row. [72]

Why it matters. United are unbeaten in five games after a shaky start under Olid. [72]

Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, just made the world's top-ranked woman, lost her first match at the China Open to Alina Charaeva, ranked 118th. [73] Britain's Sonay Kartal won 6-3 6-2, in only her second match after six months out with a back injury. [73] In the men's event, Alexander Zverev beat Juncheng Shang 6-0 6-3. [73] Zverev now plays Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. [73]