Croatia joined Portugal in the quarter-finals of the Nations League after the sides played out a 1-1 draw in Split on Monday.

Josko Gvardiol equalised in the 65th minute after Joao Felix had put Portugal – already assured of top spot – ahead in the first half at Stadion Poljud.

That goal ensured Croatia finished a point better off than Scotland in Group A1 after they earned a late 2-1 victory over Poland in Warsaw.

In the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva, Joao Felix stepped up by taking Vitinha's pass in his stride and calmly firing past Dominik Livakovic in the 33rd minute – the goal allowed to stand after a VAR check for offside.

Andrej Kramaric blasted an effort back off the crossbar and Gvardiol had a goal disallowed for offside either side of the interval as Croatia pressed for a leveller.

Gvardiol found the net again soon after, though, and this time it was allowed to stand as he got on the end of Kristijan Jakic's delivery at the back post.

Livakovic and Jose Sa produced fine saves to deny Nuno Mendes and Ante Budimir, who also hit the outside of the post, but neither side could find a winning goal.

Data Debrief: Gvardiol scores again against blunt visitors

Roberto Martinez opted to release Ronaldo, Silva, Pedro Neto and the suspended Fernandes back to their clubs before this game and Portugal lacked a cutting edge in front of goal.

Joao Felix took his chance very well, scoring his one goal from an expected goals (xG) value of 0.58 across the 90 minutes, but the visitors were unable to find the net from any of their other 11 attempts.

Croatia's attackers were also frustrated by a mixture of the frame of the goal and Sa, but in-form defender Gvardiol was the hero as he netted for the fourth time this season already for club and country.

Bryan Zaragoza snatched a late win for Spain, who had twice been pegged back, as they beat Switzerland 3-2 in the Nations League on Monday.

Spain started the game strongly, with Alex Grimaldo forcing a good save from Yvon Mvogo before Alvaro Morata wasted a golden chance after racing in behind the Swiss defence.

They got their reward just after the half-hour mark – Morata was bundled over in the box, and though Pedri saw the resulting spot-kick saved, Yeremy Pino fired in the rebound of Nico Williams' blocked follow-up shot.

Joel Monteiro's half-time introduction changed the game, and after fizzing an early chance wide, he scored a stunning solo goal, weaving inside from the right before finishing from a tight angle in the 63rd minute.

Bryan Gil restored Spain's lead five minutes later, jinking away from two defenders with some clever footwork and beating Mvogo with a pacy shot, before Zeqiri levelled the scoreline for a second time with a sweeping penalty.

However, Zaragoza would have the final say in the 93rd minute after Vincent Sierro, who had won Switzerland's penalty at the other end, brought him down, and the substitute emphatically fired in the winner.

Spain finish top of Group A4, going unbeaten across their six games, while Switzerland are relegated to League B after failing to win any of their matches. 

Data Debrief: Spain extend unbeaten run

The result on Monday would not have affected Spain's hold on top spot in the group, but Luis de la Fuente's side showed their mettle as they kept fighting to the end. 

Excluding friendlies, La Roja have played 13 matches in 2024 in all competitions and have not lost a single one (W12 D1), setting the record for their most competitive matches without defeat in a single year, as well as their most wins.

In fact, Spain are currently on a run of 21 competitive games without defeat in all competitions (W19 D2), their best run since June 2010-13 (29). 

Emma Hayes will be without Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith for the United States' upcoming international friendlies against England and the Netherlands.

The trio, who played starring roles for the USA at the Olympics, are not included in the 24-player squad due to what are being described as "nagging injuries".

All three players were among the top scorers at the tournament in Paris, with Swanson netting four times, including grabbing the winner in the final to claim gold, while Smith and Rodman scored three apiece.

They were also included among the nominees for the Ballon d'Or, but Hayes has opted to rest them for the final international break of the year "after a long year representing club and country".

The head coach does hand out a first senior call-up to Manchester United goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who has impressed this season after stepping in to replace Mary Earps, keeping six clean sheets in the Women's Super League, and Ally Sentor.

"This is the end of a wonderful year, but we're still at the beginning of our process of building towards qualifying for the next World Cup," Hayes said.

"So, this trip will be about testing ourselves against two world-class teams with opportunities to develop our roster.

"We will continue to build relationships on and off the field, and I'm really excited to work with this group as we continue to set the stage for 2025."

The USA face England at Wembley Stadium on November 30 before travelling to the Netherlands on December 3.

USA squad in full:

Mandy Haught (Utah Royals FC), Phallon Tullis-Joyce (Manchester United), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars), Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Fox (Arsenal), Eva Gaetino (Paris Saint-Germain), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave), Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), Alyssa Malonson (Bay FC), Jenna Nighswonger (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Sams (Orlando Pride), Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns), Hal Hershfelt (Washington Spirit), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon), Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Lily Yohannes (Ajax), Yazmeen Ryan (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emma Sears (Racing Louisville FC), Ally Sentnor (Utah Royals FC), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City FC), Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham FC)

Emma Raducanu is already excited to get going in 2025 after reflecting positively on the past 12 months.

The 22-year-old impressed for Great Britain in their Billie Jean King Cup victories over Germany and Canada last week.

Raducanu has struggled with regular injury issues since her remarkable 2021 US Open triumph, but she believes some perspective is needed.

"My assessment is, I think sometimes I need reminding," she told the WTA's official website of her 2024 campaign. 

"I'm top 60 in the world and I have played less than 15 events, which is pretty unheard of, in a way.

"I have to pat myself on the back for that. I know I'm a dangerous player. I know no-one wants to pull my name in the draw. 

"I take pride in that, and I'm looking forward to hopefully staying on court longer next year."

Raducanu, ranked number 58 in the world, is returning to action in Malaga after two months out with a foot injury.

She will have a part to play when Britain take on Slovenia in Wednesday's semi-finals as she looks to extend her season further.

And a bullish Raducanu intends to work hard on the court heading into the New Year, with the Australian Open fast approaching.

"I think traditionally you'd probably have a bit of a break and take a holiday or something," Raducanu said. 

"But I feel like I have had four, five weeks off tennis, and I don't really need any more time off.

"If anything, I'm excited and just itching to get on the practice court, and of course seeing some of my performances this week, it just incentivises me to do more work.

"I'm really pleased with how I've fought and how I'm faring up against these top girls. I feel like I'm in a pretty good spot with my tennis right now."

Pedri says "everything is going well" in the talks over a contract extension with Barcelona.

The youngster has played in all 13 of Barcelona's LaLiga matches this season, helping them to sit top of the pile, with 11 wins so far.

He has already proved key in their midfield, with none of his team-mates making more interceptions than him (eight, level with Pau Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal), while he has also scored three times.

Barcelona sporting director Deco has made no secret of his desire to sign the 21-year-old to a contract extension, and Pedri issued a promising update on the talks taking place.

"I'm very calm, my agents are handling it, I haven't had any news, everything is going well," he told Sport.

Pedri has suffered from hamstring injuries since 2021, after playing 73 matches for club and country in the 2020-21 season.

He missed a total of 25 games for Barcelona and Spain last season, including the semi-final and final of Euro 2024, having been forced off in the early stages of La Roja's quarter-final win over Germany.

However, his injury troubles look to be behind him this season, and he is hopeful he can stay settled in the Barcelona side.

"Physically, I feel good. I have consistency, which makes me enjoy football," he said. "It's a great start to the season and I hope it will continue for a long time.

"Both in the national team and in Barca, I feel comfortable. It is positional football.

"It [his injury issues] was given more airtime, perhaps because I was playing in important tournaments [for Spain] and at Barcelona, I didn't have that continuity.

"I'm working out my body. When you relapse, you look for solutions until you find the key. I have found what suits me well, and I have the continuity that I like."

Harry Kane does not expect the 2026 World Cup to be his final major tournament with England.

Kane scored his 69th senior goal for the Three Lions as they crushed the Republic of Ireland 5-0 on Sunday to seal automatic promotion back to the top tier of the Nations League.

However, interim coach Lee Carsley benched Kane for England's previous game, a 3-0 victory in Greece on Thursday, and the striker was roundly criticised for his performances at Euro 2024 despite earning a share of the Golden Boot with three goals as his team reached the final. 

Now 31 years old, Kane does not expect the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada to be his final shot at international glory and is holding out hope of featuring on home soil at Euro 2028.

Asked if the 2026 tournament could represent his international swansong, Kane told PA: "I don't think so.

"I think there's a perception when you get to your 30s that you're coming to an end, but for me, I'm performing at the highest level I've ever performed and feel as good as I've ever felt, so it's about taking in the moment.

"I don't like to look too far ahead and in my career, I never have. The World Cup is going to be exciting.

"In America it will be an incredible occasion and ultimately it's about trying to win that, looking at where you are, where to improve and it will be no different in a couple of years."

Kane has scored 61 goals in all competitions since joining Bayern Munich last August, at least eight more than any other player from Europe's top five leagues (Erling Haaland has 53).

Kane scored 44 of those goals under former Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel, who will take charge of England on January 1.

Only Haaland under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City (53) has more under a single manager in that span across Europe's big five leagues.

Kane was speaking at the unveiling of a statue in his honour at the Peter May Sports Centre in east London, where he represented his first team as a five-year-old.

"It's pretty special to be honest," Kane told BBC Newsround. "I played on these pitches as a five-year-old with dreams of playing for England, and I've been lucky enough to achieve that.

"Hopefully the boys and girls will walk past and be inspired by the story of my journey, my life and hard work."

Nagelsmann will use Germany's final Nations League match against Hungary as the start of their 2026 World Cup preparation.

Germany had already qualified for the quarter-finals of the Nations League coming into this international break, but a 7-0 thrashing of Bosnia-Herzegovina on Saturday ensured they would top the pile in Group A3.

In fact, that victory was the biggest by a team in the Nations League, while their 3.4 goals-per-game average in the current campaign is also the best by a team in a season in the competition.

Though qualification for the World Cup has not yet started, Nagelsmann is keen to maintain their momentum in their bid to book a place at the tournament.

"There is no great motivation as far as the group is concerned. We won the group. We get the motivation from wanting to develop," he told a press conference on Monday.

"We do not have many matches until the World Cup but just a few. Little time to develop until the World Cup qualification and little time, if hopefully qualified, until the World Cup. So, there is limited time tolerance in terms of development."

Germany enter the last eight of the Nations League hoping to win their first silverware since their World Cup win in 2014.

They have exited the last two such tournaments in the group stage after disappointing campaigns, while they were knocked out of Euro 2024 at the quarter-finals stage on home soil.

However, they have impressed in the Nations League, going unbeaten across their first five games with four wins and a draw. Their 17 goals scored is a competition high, while only Spain (two) have conceded fewer than their three goals in League A.

"We don't have time to waste," Nagelsmann added. "That does not mean that everything has to work perfectly every time.

"Wins are always important for us. Nothing will collapse if we don't win [on Tuesday]. The result is not as important as the way we will play.

"We don't have the time we would like to develop, so we have to use it wisely."

Viktor Gyokeres says the rumours linking him with a January move to Manchester United are "nothing concrete".

The Sporting CP forward has been the subject of speculation following United's appointment of Ruben Amorim, though he has also been linked with the likes of Bayern Munich and Arsenal after his sensational form since moving to Portugal.

He has scored 34 goals in the Portuguese top-flight this calendar year, more than double the figure managed by the competition's next-most prolific player, Galeno, who has netted 16 times for Porto.

Gyokeres' haul has come from an expected goals (xG) figure of 28.18, while his shot conversion rate sits at 27.64% in 2024 (123 shots).

Amorim, who signed a contract at Old Trafford until June 2027, signed Gyokeres from Coventry City in July 2023, though he has suggested he will not buy any Sporting players in the upcoming transfer window.

Asked about a potential move to the Premier League, Gyokeres told Fotbollskanalen: "It's fun, but not something I attach any importance to because it's talk.

"These are rumours, nothing concrete. Of course, I want to finish the season at Sporting. I enjoy my time there. I don't feel stressed about making a change in the future. We'll see when the time comes.

"He [Amorim] probably already has strikers there. It's very sad that he left [Sporting], but of course, we understand the decision. He meant a lot to me, as he gave me an opportunity and helped me evolve a lot.

"Now we are looking forward to working with the new coach [Joao Pereira]."

The 26-year-old, who scored a league-high 29 goals last campaign, has netted 23 goals in 18 appearances in all competitions this term, with 16 of those coming in the Primeira Liga. 

Patrick Mahomes said the Kansas City Chiefs will use their first loss since Christmas Day 2023 as fuel after the Buffalo Bills halted their unbeaten start to the season. 

Josh Allen scrambled for a stunning 26-yard touchdown with just over two minutes to play as the Bills improved to 9-2 with a 30-21 win over the reigning Super Bowl champions.

The result ended the Chiefs' 15-game winning streak, a run that began after they lost to the Los Vegas Raiders on Christmas Day last year and included their dramatic triumph over the San Francisco 49ers at Super Bowl LVIII.

The Chiefs had started this season 9-0 to take control of the race for the AFC's top seed, but they could have few complaints about Sunday's result.

The Bills outgained the Chiefs by 366 yards to 259, also recording 24 first downs to Kansas City's 19 and enjoying almost nine more minutes in possession.

Mahomes, however, was relaxed about the end of his team's winning streak, saying: "The undefeated thing was cool, but that's not our ultimate goal.

"It's a good football team, so there's nothing to hang your head about. We feel like we can play better, so we will get back to work and try to use this as a spark so that we can be a better football team in the end."

The Chiefs rank just 16th in the NFL for yards per game (337.9) and 11th for points per game (24) in 2024, with many of their victories – including against the Denver Broncos in Week 10 and the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1 – coming via last-gasp defensive or special teams plays.

Mahomes actually feels the team could benefit from a reality check, adding: "I'm hoping that [losing] is a benefit.

"I'm not going to say I or we are relaxed, but at the same time I feel like we were just coming away with these wins at the end of the games. 

"I think it's going to spark us to have more urgency, especially at the start of football games, especially with the offense, and that comes from me and turning the ball over on the first drive. It's something you can't do in big games like this."

No quarterback has thrown more interceptions than Mahomes' 11 (level with Geno Smith and Jordan Love) this season, while a passer rating of 90.3 ranks him a lowly 20th among all players at the position.

Virgil van Dijk and Frenkie de Jong have left the Netherlands’ squad ahead of their final Nations League game on "medical grounds".

Both players featured in the Oranje's 4-0 victory over Hungary on Saturday, a match which confirmed their place in the quarter-finals.

Van Dijk, who has been an ever-present for Liverpool in the Premier League this season, played the full 90 minutes in Amsterdam but will return to his club for further assessment.

De Jong, meanwhile, returned to the Netherlands line-up for the first time since September 2023 in that victory, having missed the previous 18 international matches due to injuries.

The Barcelona man was taken off after 68 minutes, and had confirmed after the game that he would not be featuring on Tuesday, but has now opted to return to Spain instead of staying with the national squad.

"For both Frenkie and Virgil, it is better for them to leave the training camp at this moment. That decision was taken on medical grounds, with of course, the interest of the players coming first," Koeman is quoted as saying on the Netherlands' X account.

The Netherlands will finish second in Group A3, with their result against already relegated Bosnia-Herzegovina unable to affect the standings.

As far as seasons go, you won't find many better than Jannik Sinner's 2024 campaign.

The 23-year-old had long been assured of his place at the top of the ATP rankings heading into 2025, but to further cement his dominance of the men's circuit, Sinner dominated the ATP Finals in Turin last week.

Sinner's 6-4 6-4 defeat of Taylor Fritz ensured he became the first ATP Finals champion since Ivan Lendl in 1986 to win the tournament without dropping a single set.

He became the seventh player to win the event on home soil, and the first Italian champion, as he made it eight titles for the year, including the Australian Open and US Open.

Here, we recap Sinner's brilliant year using Opta's treasure trove of data.

Breakout major success

It almost seems strange to think Sinner began 2024 without a grand slam title to his name. That soon changed at the Australian Open, though, as he defeated Daniil Medvedev in a classic, five-set final.

Sinner did things the hard way at Melbourne Park, also overcoming Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals and Novak Djokovic in the last four. 

At the age of 22 years and 165 days, he became the youngest player to ever achieve successive wins over ATP top-five opponents in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final of a grand slam, surpassing Michael Stich, who did so at the age of 22 years and 262 days at Wimbledon 1991.

That triumph also made him only the third Italian man to win a grand slam, after French Open champions Nicola Pietrangeli (1959 and 1960) and Adriano Panatta (1976).

By beating Djokovic, Sinner became the first Italian to defeat the ATP's top-ranked player at a major, with Italians previously going 0-23 in such matches since the ATP Rankings were first published in 1973.

Sinner would also record a final victory over Djokovic at the Shanghai Masters later in the year, becoming the first player on record to not face a single break point in back-to-back tour-level meetings with the Serbian.

Slam consistency

Of course, Sinner later followed up his Australian Open triumph by clinching the US Open crown, downing home favourite Fritz in the Flushing Meadows final.

Those major wins were two of seven triumphs for Sinner at hard-court events this year, making him just the fifth player to win seven or more finals on the surface in a year, after Andre Agassi (1995), Pete Sampras (1996), Roger Federer (2004-06) and Djokovic (2015).

But perhaps his remarkable consistency across all four grand slams is what stands out most.

Sinner reached at least the quarter-finals at each of 2024's majors, losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open semi-finals and Medvedev in the last eight at Wimbledon.

At 23 years and 17 days, he became the third-youngest man in the Open Era to reach the quarter-finals at all four slams in a single season, after Sampras in 1993 (22 years and 18 days) and Rafael Nadal in 2008 (22 years and 83 days).

Sinner won 23 matches overall at grand slams this year, with no other player on the ATP Tour bringing up 20 (Alcaraz managed 19).

Top of the world

Following his defeat to Djokovic in the showpiece match at the 2023 ATP Finals, Sinner sat fourth in the ATP Rankings 12 months ago.

He had already clinched top spot for 2024 as early as October 15, when he beat Djokovic in straight sets in the Shanghai Open final. 

Since changes were made to the distribution of ranking points in 2009, only two players have ever sewn up top spot earlier – Djokovic in 2015 (September 14) and Nadal in 2010 (September 20).

No Italian had previously topped the ATP Rankings, and few could deny Sinner was a deserving recipient of the accolade. His 70 match wins were the most of any player on the ATP Tour in 2024, while his 92.1% win rate is the best by any player since 2015, when Djokovic won 93.2% of his contests. 

Sinner did not let the pressure of being number one affect him, either, going 37-3 since first taking top spot. His 92.5% win rate is the best by any male world number one by some distance, dwarfing Bjorn Borg's 80.4%.

With Djokovic turning 38 next year, most would agree Sinner's breakout season has been good for men's tennis, teeing up what could be a long period of dominance by the Italian and his rival Alcaraz.

His star should continue to rise in 2025.