Angus Gunn insists Scotland still have eyes on topping their group after the 2-0 defeat by Spain on Thursday night delayed Euro 2024 qualification.

After winning their first five qualifiers, including a 2-0 win over the Spanish at Hampden Park in March, the Scots came up short in Seville after a controversial VAR call ruled out Scott McTominay’s terrific free-kick just before the hour mark.

Dutch referee Serdar Gozubuyuk was sent to check his pitchside monitor and he ruled an infringement by Scotland defender Jack Hendry, with some confusion as to whether it was for a foul on goalkeeper Unai Simon or offside.

Alvaro Morata headed in after 73 minutes and substitute Oihan Sancet, making his debut, added a second with four minutes or normal time remaining to leave Steve Clarke’s men three points ahead of La Roja at the top of Group A having played a game more.

Scotland face France in a friendly in Lille next Tuesday while Spain take on third-placed Norway in Oslo two days earlier and if the Norwegians drop points, Scotland’s place in Germany next summer will be secured before games away at Georgia and home to Norway in November.

Norwich keeper Gunn, 27, remains confident and he said: “We have put ourselves in an unbelievable position.

“From our point of view we have done a lot of the hard work early on in the group and we want to finish it off in the right way.

“We want to top the group as well so we have two more games and it might happen on Sunday but even if it does, we go away to Georgia and still try to win this group.

“I will probably watch it on Sunday. If it happens, it happens but we still have two more games.

“We have put ourselves in a good position and if it does happen on Sunday we deserve it.”

The Scots had put up a sturdy defensive display against this summer’s Nations League winners and it looked like they might be on their way to a smash-and-grab win when McTominay’s free-kick from near the byline flew into the net.

Gunn believes the decision to rule it out lifted the Spanish fans and gave the home side the boost to go on and clinch the three points.

He said: “We thought we went ahead and that was an unbelievable feeling at the time and it was gutting when it got chalked off.

“I thought we dealt with it quite well but I think it gave them more of a boost.

“Their crowd celebrated it like a goal and I think they got their tails up a little but which we had to deal with.

“I think we kept our emotions quite well even though there wasn’t much clarity around the decision, that was the most disappointing thing.

“But they are a top team and they went up the other end and scored and after that the momentum was with them.

“We are disappointed with the result.

“But I said, we put ourselves in the position where we are still top of the group, still looking strong and hopefully still able to qualify soon.”

England made unbeaten progress through the Rugby World Cup group stage to secure a quarter-final against Fiji at Stade Velodrome on Sunday.

It will be their ninth appearance in the knockout phase having missed out on qualification just once before and here the PA news agency examines their last five outings at this stage of the tournament.

2019: Oita, Japan – England 40 Australia 16

What should have been a major hurdle was anything but as a clueless Wallabies side lacking any discernible game plan were outscored four tries to one, with England prop Kyle Sinckler touching down in memorable fashion.

2011: Auckland, New Zealand – England 12 France 19

Martin Johnson’s England paid the price for allowing France to romp 16 points ahead and, while they fought back, it was not enough to put a World Cup beset by off-field controversy out of its misery.

2007: Marseille, France – England 12 Australia 10

Jonny Wilkinson kicked four penalties but this victory was founded on the dominance of an England scrum that ground the Wallabies into submission, placing a dismal group campaign into the rear-view mirror.

2003: Brisbane, Australia – England 28 Wales 17

England were outscored three tries to one and had to rely on Wilkinson’s boot after a daredevil Wales side had moved 10-3 ahead, threatening an upset until Sir Clive Woodward’s men staggered over the finishing line.

1999: Paris, France – England 21 South Africa 44

A freakish performance from Jannie De Beer sent England crashing to defeat after South Africa’s second-choice fly-half behind the injured Henry Honiball landed a record five drop goals in the space of 31 minutes.

Wales will target a third Rugby World Cup semi-final appearance in the last four tournaments when they tackle Argentina on Saturday.

The quarter-final clash in Marseille comes after Wales collected 19 points from a possible 20 to dominate the pool.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the talking points heading into the game.

Wales in the driving seat

It would have been fanciful seven months ago to identify Wales as possible World Cup semi-finalists, given a miserable Six Nations campaign that saw them win one game.

Head coach Warren Gatland has turned things around, though, masterminding an unbeaten group phase that produced key victories over Fiji and Australia.

In contrast, Argentina found it tough going, losing to 14-man England before posting an unimpressive win against Samoa and then qualifying as Pool D runners-up.

It is a first World Cup meeting between Wales and the Pumas since 1999, with Gatland’s team firm favourites.

Faletau loss a huge blow

Wales’ victory over Georgia last weekend was clouded by number eight Taulupe Faletau suffering a broken arm that ruled him out of the tournament.

With 104 caps to his name and a consistent ability to hit world-class standards, his absence cannot be sugar-coated, even if Wales have enviable back-row strength.

Big players produce big performances in big games, and few Wales players have delivered such quality so regularly than Faletau during his 12-year Test career.

The shows goes on, but one of its star performers has left the stage.

Form and history favours Wales

Former Wales flanker Richard Webster once said that rugby is a sport played on grass, not paper, but form and history strongly supports a Wales victory on Saturday.

Four successive wins since losing their final World Cup warm-up match to South Africa represents a longest unbeaten run for more than two years, while Gatland has a 100 per cent record as Wales boss against the Pumas of played six, won six.

Argentina have beaten Wales only twice in the last 11 meetings, and their World Cup performances so far do not suggest an immediate turnaround in fortunes.

Biggar to boss the show?

Biggar is back at fly-half after recovering from a pectoral muscle injury suffered against Australia almost three weeks ago, with his leadership and game-management vital to Wales successfully negotiating their quarter-final hurdle.

The 33-year-old, who has won 111 caps, will retire from international rugby after the World Cup, and he is likely to be front and centre in Marseille as Wales target a triumph that would take them on the road to Paris for the tournament’s final fortnight.

His influence cannot be understated.

Jac Morgan – captain marvel

While Wales’ cap centurions like Biggar, Faletau and George North – who makes a Welsh record fourth World Cup quarter-final appearance – have all made their presence felt in France, the relatively inexperienced Morgan has also operated at an impressive level on a consistent basis.

Squad co-captain with hooker Dewi Lake, 23-year-old Morgan led Wales superbly in key pool-stage victories over Fiji and Australia, while his performances warranted the rave reviews they received.

There is a calm, quiet authority about the Ospreys flanker, who revels in Test rugby’s unforgiving and unrelenting environment.

What the papers say

Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips could leave the club in January to go to German giants Bayern Munich, the Sun reports. The 27-year-old, who continues to struggle for game time under Pep Guardiola, would join up with England team-mate Harry Kane at the Bundesliga champions.

The Express says Newcastle are interested in Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe in the summer transfer window. The 23-year-old midfielder has already played twice for England but has only played in six games for Arsenal in all competitions this season.

The Saudi Pro League’s director of football has labelled Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah as one of his “personal favourites” after the club turned down huge deals from Al Ittihad last summer, the Metro says.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Toni Kroos: Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo says Manchester City are interested in the 33-year-old Real Madrid midfielder when his contact expires next summer.

Arthur Vermeeren: The 18-year-old midfielder at Royal Antwerp is being sought by Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham.

Chris Kreider scored two goals and the New York Rangers rolled to a 5-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres in Peter Laviolette’s debut as coach.

Artemi Panarin had a goal and an assist and Igor Shesterkin stopped 23 shots for his 100th career victory, becoming the first Rangers goalie to reach 100 wins in fewer than 187 appearances.

JJ Peterka had the lone goal for the Sabres, who came out flat in what they hope will be the season where they end an NHL-worst 12-season playoff drought.

Kreider’s power-play goal in the first period extended New York’s lead to 2-0 and he tallied short-handed midway through the third to make it 4-1.

Wild’s Gustavsson turns aside 41 in shutout

Filip Gustavsson stopped 41 shots and Brock Faber scored his first NHL goal to lead the Minnesota Wild to a 2-0 victory over the Florida Panthers.

Joel Eriksson Ek assisted on Faber’s goal and scored on the power play in the second period.

Minnesota improved to 9-1-1 in season openers at Xcel Energy Center and 11-2-3 at home against the Panthers.

Golden Knights beat Sharks for 2-0 start

Nicolas Hague and Nicolas Roy scored late in the second period and Logan Thompson made 22 as the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the San Jose Sharks, 4-1.

After Michael Amadio and San Jose’s Filip Zadina traded first-period goals, defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas took control late in the second.

Hague snapped the tie with 1:29 left in the period and Roy extended the lead 53 seconds later.

Brayden Pachal tallied his first NHL goal early in the third for the Knights, who haven’t trailed in winning their first two games.

The Kansas City Chiefs survived a late scare from Denver to win 19-8 and hand the Broncos their fifth loss of the season.

The Chiefs held the Broncos to nil until the last quarter, scoring 16 unanswered points, nine of which came from field goals, en route to their fifth straight win.

Their only touchdown came from the arm of star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who threw for 306 yards during the game, to wide receiver Kadarius Toney.

Travis Kelce, who had global icon Taylor Swift watching in the stands at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas, had nine receptions for 124 yards.

There were just six minutes left in the game when the Broncos scored their first points, Russell Wilson finding wide receiver Courtland Sutton in the endzone.

The Broncos then successfully completed the two-point play to put them just eight points behind.

However, the Chiefs made no errors in possession and pushed upfield, icing the game with a field goal with just under two minutes left.

The Chiefs will host the Los Angeles Chargers next week while the Green Bay Packers will head to Denver to play the Broncos.

Nick Castellanos hit a pair of home runs for the second straight game and Trea Turner also went deep as the Philadelphia Phillies held off the 104-win Atlanta Braves 3-1 on Thursday to book a return trip to the NL Championship Series.

The Phillies eliminated the Braves for the second straight season and will next face surprising Arizona, which is 5-0 in these playoffs after sweeping the Dodgers.

Castellanos continued his power stroke after he hit two of the Phillies’ six home runs in Wednesday’s win, belting solo shots off 20-game winner Spencer Strider in the fourth and sixth innings.

He became the first player to hit multiple homers in consecutive playoff games.

Turner went 4 for 4 and fell a triple shy of the cycle, with his blast in the fifth giving Philadelphia a 2-1 lead.

The teams with the five best regular-season records – Atlanta, Baltimore, Dodgers, Tampa Bay and Milwaukee – all failed to reach the LCS.

Ranger Suarez allowed one run and three hits over five innings before five Philadelphia relievers limited the Braves to two hits over the final four innings.

Seranthony Dominguez got the first two outs in the sixth and Jose Alvarado worked around two walks to pitch a scoreless inning.

He got help from center fielder Johan Rojas, who tracked down Ronald Acuna Jr.’s drive to the wall in left centre with the bases loaded to end the seventh.

Gregory Soto got the final out of the eighth but walked Marcell Ozuna to open the ninth and gave up Sean Murphy’s single to put runners on the corners.

But Matt Strahm retired the next three batters, including a game-ending strikeout on pinch-hitter Vaughn Grissom.

Garry Ringrose is determined to break new ground at the Rugby World Cup as he prepares for potentially the biggest Test match in Ireland’s history.

Three-time champions New Zealand stand in the way of rugby’s top-ranked nation securing a maiden semi-final berth on the biggest stage.

In-form Ireland are favourites for Saturday evening’s hotly anticipated quarter-final in Paris and have arguably never been better placed to go all the way.

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Centre Ringrose, who was part of the squad that suffered last-eight elimination at the hands of the All Blacks in Japan four years ago, found it difficult to deny Ireland are facing their all-time most important fixture.

“It’s a big question,” said the 28-year-old, who was on the scoresheet against Scotland last weekend. “I don’t want to say no because I’m well aware of what’s at stake.

“I guess how we’d be looking at it is that it’s an opportunity to do something that no other Irish team has done.

“Having said that, we can’t control the result or the outcome, but what we can control is how well we prepare.

“Off the back of the win last week, when we knew who we were facing, it was pretty much all hands on deck preparing as best we can because against a side of New Zealand’s quality that’s what it takes.

“I’m not sure if that answers your question but that is certainly what is motivating us – it’s an opportunity.”

Ringrose claimed Ireland’s sixth and final try in last weekend’s 36-14 Pool B demolition of Scotland which guaranteed progression to the knockout stages.

The Leinster midfielder moved to the right wing early in the game after the injury-enforced departure of Mack Hansen led to the introduction of centre Stuart McCloskey.

Versatile Ringrose regularly rehearses positional swaps in training but concedes he required some touchline advice from the withdrawn Hansen, who has recovered from a calf issue to retain his starting place.

“It certainly wasn’t easy, there was once or twice when I was roaring to Mack on the sideline because I had forgotten one of the roles that the winger had to do,” he said.

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“We are challenged as backs to be across everything detail wise, so whether you have Stu stepping in, myself going to the wing, Jamison (Gibson-Park) going to the wing, it’s part of the challenge.”

Since being eliminated in Tokyo in 2019, Ireland have won three of four subsequent meetings with the Kiwis, including last summer’s landmark tour triumph.

Prop Andrew Porter, who claimed two tries in the second Test success in Dunedin, believes rugby in Ireland has progressed massively since the days he grew up idolising the late great All Black Jonah Lomu.

“We can take a lot of confidence from our previous encounters with them,” said the Leinster loosehead.

“I am just backing our own ability and I have that belief from our previous performances against them.

“Irish rugby has come such a long way even in the last four years since the last World Cup.

“I remember growing up watching the All Blacks. Jonah Lomu was my favourite player. I had the honour, the chance of meeting him when he played in Dublin.

“They are an incredible team still and they will be a huge challenge for us this weekend.”

England are expected to take the bold step of naming Marcus Smith at full-back for Sunday’s World Cup quarter-final against Fiji in Marseille.

Smith is on course to make his second start in the position as head coach Steve Borthwick looks to inject pace and creativity into his back line at the expense of Freddie Steward.

A converted fly-half, Smith excelled in the group game against Chile when handed the number 15 jersey and has also starred during a number of cameos.

But Fiji are a step up in opposition, even if they lack the pinpoint kicking game to truly expose his inexperience in the position.

Borthwick names his team to face the Islanders on Friday afternoon and is expected to make another big call at fly-half with captain Owen Farrell likely to replace George Ford.

Ford was named man of the match in the emphatic Pool D wins against Argentina and Japan but the Sale ringmaster appears to have lost out to his rival’s greater impact in defence in what is a nod to the threat posed by Fiji’s power runners.

While the change at chief conductor would represent one of the biggest selection calls made by Borthwick, it is Smith’s presence at full-back that provides a key indication of how the team wants to play at Stade Velodrome.

England wing Elliot Daly said: “Marcus probably shifts in a little bit more to be that second ball player.

“Obviously with him being a 10, he wants to get his hands on the ball and organise on the outside.

“Freddie’s been brilliant since his debut at the back and I think he’s come on leaps and bounds, the last year especially, in the way he attacks.

“I don’t think much changes, but Marcus probably goes in a little bit closer and wants to be that proper second ball player.”

Daly is set to return to the side after being dropped for the tense 18-17 victory over Samoa that rounded off Pool D on a sour note, either on the wing or at outside centre.

If he is picked on the wing, the 31-year-old utility back intends to go hunting for the ball as one of a number of duties.

“I’m on the wing but really I’m there to try and get my hands on the ball, connect with the 10s and the 15s and try to get the ball wide really. Take opportunities when they’re on,” Daly said.

“As a winger now in international rugby you need to be able to do a lot. My role is to try to look for the ball and look for backfield space, feed that into the 10s or use my left foot to put it in there. There’s not one role any more.

“The best thing for me is that because I’ve played in those positions I understand what they need.

“I understand what communication I need to give to those guys to make their job a little bit easier.

“We’ve got a very fluid backline. The way we attack, we’re happy to get anybody on the ball and we just want to get it into space and into the right areas of the pitch.”

Scotland suffered their first Euro 2024 qualifying defeat with a 2-0 loss in Spain but qualification hopes remain alive.

The Scots had won their first five Group A qualifiers including a 2-0 win over the Spanish at Hampden Park in March and needed to take something from the return game in Seville or Norway fail to beat Cyprus, to qualify on the night.

In a stifling warm evening, the Scots survived some heavy first-half pressure to go in at the break goalless before Scott McTominay, who scored both goals against Spain in Glasgow, fired in a wonderful free-kick in the 59th
minute only to see it ruled out after a VAR check for a Jack Hendry infringement.

Alvaro Morata headed in after 73 minutes and substitute Oihan Sancet and Scotland defender Ryan Porteous clashed together for the second in the 86th minute and with Norway beating Cyprus, Steve Clarke’s men move on to the second October fixture.

Scotland face France in a friendly in Lille next Tuesday but Spain face Norway two days earlier and if the Norwegians drop points, Scotland’s place in Germany will be secured while the Scots also have Georgia away and Norway at home in November.

That it was the annual National Day of Spain added to the sense of occasion although the Scots had work to do.

In the absence of injured Kieran Tierney, Clarke stuck with a back-three with Scott McKenna taking over and Lyndon Dykes was asked to lead the line, supported mostly by Ryan Christie.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri, who had criticised Scotland’s tactics and talent after the defeat in March, Gavi and Morata were some of the stars starting for this summer’s Nations League winners.

Feran Torres missed a great chance in the second minute, beating Scotland keeper Angus Gunn with a close-range shot after taking a Morata pass but failing to hit the target.

Torres’s corner moments later sped through the Scotland six-yard box but Morata’s header at the far post was at a stretch and caused no danger.
It was looking like a long night for the visitors.

La Roja kept their corner count ticking over amid their control of the game – Rodri was jeered by the Scotland fans – but the Scots stuck to their task with only the occasional foray forward.

In the 34th minute, after Scotland defender Aaron Hickey brilliantly blocked a shot from Mikel Oyarzabal, Mikel Merino cracked the post with a left-footed drive and the ball spun away for a goal kick.

Morata had the ball in the net soon afterwards but was well offside but some bad luck followed.

Just before the break skipper Andy Robertson collided with Spain keeper Unai Simon and appeared to hurt his shoulder, with Nathan Patterson taking over and Hickey moving to left-back.

Granada attacker, Bryan Zaragoza, who scored twice against Barcelona at the weekend, came on to make his debut for Spain at the start of the second half, along with Fran Garcia.

Spain continued their dominance but in a rare Scotland attack, Christie could not quite control a John McGinn pass inside the box and the chance was lost.

Christie did well to win a free-kick against Dani Carvajal near the byline on the left and the Tartan Army were in raptures when McTominay fired it high past Simon but after Dutch referee Serdar Gozubuyuk was sent to check his pitchside monitor, he ruled a Hendry foul on the keeper.

Scotland were soon on the back foot again as Spain brought on Jesus Navas and Sancet and when Navas crossed from the right Morata skimmed a header past Gunn.

It was another blow for Scotland who came right out their shell, substitute Che Adams, on for Dykes, stabbing a close-range shot at Simon
while at the other end Porteous blocked a goal-bound shot from substitute Joselu before a mistake by Hickey allowed Joselu to square the ball and
Sancet and Porteous challenged with the ball ending in the net.

It was a tough night for Scotland but in qualification terms, Germany is still very much on the cards.

England manager Gareth Southgate accepts the Football Association would have been “criticised in one way or another” for its response to the Israel and Palestine conflict.

Following attacks by Hamas militants on the country’s territory last weekend, the FA had faced calls to illuminate the Wembley arch in the colours of the Israeli flag before Friday’s friendly between England and Australia.

The Hamas attacks have led to the Israeli government responding with airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, with a ground invasion also reported to be a possibility.

The British Government had written to UK sports bodies encouraging them to mark events in Israel appropriately.

The FA, though, announced in a statement on Thursday that players would wear black armbands and that a period of silence would be observed instead to remember the victims of the conflict.

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said she was left “extremely disappointed” by the decision not to light up Wembley.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews also criticised the FA statement – pointing out that it made “no mention of the mass terrorist murders of hundreds of innocent Israelis last Saturday”.

England manager Southgate was asked for his thoughts on the FA’s stance at Thursday’s pre-match press conference ahead of the Australia game, and accepted it was “one of the most complex situations in the world”.

Southgate said: “Firstly (there have been) incredibly harrowing pictures. (Our) thoughts and feelings are to everybody who has suffered, who have lost relatives and friends in these attacks. It is incredibly disturbing to see.

“On a broader scale, in my lifetime it is one of the most complex situations in the world and I think everybody is grappling with how best to deal with that.

“I don’t know what it is like to walk in the shoes of people on either side of that conflict. What I do know is people at the FA will have consulted with everybody they possibly can and will have tried to make the best decision with good intentions.

“Clearly whatever decision they came to would have been criticised in one way or another, so I also recognise how difficult it was for them. I wasn’t involved in those discussions, (but) they went on for a long time I know.

“They (FA) have decided to take the stance they have and we will get on with that.”

The FA said flags, replica kits and other representations of nationality beyond those related to England or Australia would not be allowed inside Wembley on Friday.

The Culture Secretary also criticised the FA’s stance in a post on social media on Thursday evening.

“I am extremely disappointed by the FA’s decision not to light up the Wembley Stadium arch following last weekend’s horrific terrorist attacks in Israel, and have made my views clear to the FA,” Frazer wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“It is especially disappointing in light of the FA’s bold stance on other terrorist attacks in the recent past. Words and actions matter. The Government is clear: we stand with Israel.”

Teams in the EFL and Premier League will pay tribute to the victims of the conflict in their next rounds of matches.

There will also be a period of silence ahead of kick-off at the weekend’s matches in the Women’s Super League, Women’s Championship and Women’s National League to “remember the innocent victims of the devastating events in Israel and Palestine.”

The England and Wales Cricket Board released a statement on Thursday which read: “We deplore the appalling loss of innocent life following recent events in Israel and Palestine.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of all the innocent victims, and those who are still missing, as well as the communities who are affected.

“While sport seems trivial compared to the harrowing scenes we have all watched, it is also an opportunity for people to come together and remind ourselves that there’s far more that brings us together, than divides us. We should now all unify in our hope for peace.”

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England cricketer Moeen Ali has deleted an Instagram post featuring the Palestinian flag and a quote from Malcolm X.

Moeen then put up a new post, without the flag but containing the same Malcolm X quote: “If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”

The International Olympic Committee said its executive board members had “expressed their very strong feelings over these tragic events in the recent days” at the start of Thursday’s meeting in Mumbai and “express their deepest sympathy with the innocent victims of this terrible violence”.