Spain took a giant leap to securing Nations League quarter-final progression after Tuesday's comfortable 3-0 victory over Serbia.

Luis de la Fuente's side will need just a point from their last two games in the competition next month after a routine win in Cordoba.

Aymeric Laporte opened the scoring after just five minutes, heading into the far corner after a well-worked corner routine allowed Pedro Porro space to deliver.

Mikel Merino's header from Alex Baena's cross was denied by the post soon after, before Spain missed a glorious chance to extend their lead after the interval.

Porro's vicious shot was adjudged to have been handled by Veljko Birmancevic, but Alvaro Morata blazed over with a disappointing 54th-minute penalty.

Captain Morata made amends just 11 minutes later, however, finishing with ease into the bottom corner after Fabian Ruiz profited on Serbia's slack attempts to play out from defence.

Further misery followed for Serbia as Strahinja Pavlovic's last-man challenge on Mikel Oyarzabal was upgraded to a red card following a VAR review, before Baena curled the resulting free-kick past Predrag Rajkovic to seal another Roja win.

Data Debrief: Unbeaten run continues for rampant Roja

De la Fuente masterminded Spain's Euro 2024 triumph, with the best team deservedly triumphing at the tournament in Germany, but La Roja's impressive run started well before that.

Spain are now unbeaten in their last 19 matches across all competitions (W17 D2), excluding friendlies, their best such streak since a 29-game run between June 2010 and June 2013 (W24 D5).

This was a typically dominant performance from the hosts, who accumulated 2.9 expected goals (xG) compared to Serbia's meagre 0.37, as the away side struggled throughout.

Spain cruised into the Nations League quarter-finals after Tuesday's comfortable 3-0 victory over Serbia.

Luis de la Fuente's side eased to a routine win in Cordoba, qualifying for the knockout stages with two games to spare after Switzerland's 2-2 draw with Denmark guaranteed Spain a top-two spot in their group.

Aymeric Laporte opened the scoring after just five minutes, heading into the far corner after a well-worked corner routine allowed Pedro Porro space to deliver.

Mikel Merino's header from Alex Baena's cross was denied by the post soon after, before Spain missed a glorious chance to extend their lead after the interval.

Porro's vicious shot was adjudged to have been handled by Veljko Birmancevic, but Alvaro Morata blazed over with a disappointing 54th-minute penalty.

Captain Morata made amends just 11 minutes later, however, finishing with ease into the bottom corner after Fabian Ruiz profited on Serbia's slack attempts to play out from defence.

Further misery followed for Serbia as Strahinja Pavlovic's last-man challenge on Mikel Oyarzabal was upgraded to a red card following a VAR review, before Baena curled the resulting free-kick past Predrag Rajkovic to seal another Roja win.

Data Debrief: Unbeaten run continues for rampant Roja

De la Fuente masterminded Spain's Euro 2024 triumph, with the best team deservedly triumphing at the tournament in Germany, but La Roja's impressive run started well before that.

Spain are now unbeaten in their last 19 matches across all competitions (W17 D2), excluding friendlies, their best such streak since a 29-game run between June 2010 and June 2013 (W24 D5).

This was a typically dominant performance from the hosts, who accumulated 2.9 expected goals (xG) compared to Serbia's meagre 0.37, as the away side struggled throughout.

Harry Kane remains unaware of ongoing discussions for Thomas Tuchel to take over as England manager but lauded his "fantastic" former head coach.

The England captain enjoyed a record-breaking debut season for Bayern Munich under Tuchel last campaign, before the 51-year-old was dismissed and replaced by Vincent Kompany.

Kane could reunite with Tuchel soon, however, amid widespread reports on Tuesday that the former Chelsea and Bayern boss has agreed to become England's permanent manager.

Former Tottenham talisman Kane refused to delve too deep into the capabilities of Tuchel due to the ongoing discussions, but still spoke highly of his previous experience with him.

"Until it's announced obviously I can't really comment, but we have to wait and see," the striker told Sky Sports in Germany.

"Obviously, I know Thomas well from last year. [He is a] fantastic coach, fantastic person. I am sure the guys at the FA will contact me, when they know more about it."

Kane scored 36 times in just 32 Bundesliga games last term under Tuchel, breaking the record for the most goals in a debut season in the competition.

However, that was not enough to keep the former Paris Saint-Germain boss in his role at Bayern, who parted ways with Tuchel after his side finished third behind Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart.

Tuchel still maintained an impressive 60.7% winning record across all competitions for Bayern (winning 37 out of 61 matches), a mark he only bettered with Borussia Dortmund (62.6%) and PSG (74.8%).

It may be Tuchel's cup-competition expertise that has drawn England to his skills, though, leading PSG to their first Champions League final in 2020 and winning the same competition with Chelsea a year later.

Indeed, Tuchel has managed 40 Champions League wins in 67 games, with his 59.7% winning ratio more than all but one England manager at major tournaments (World Cup and Euros) – Alf Ramsey had 66.7%.

Time will tell if Tuchel, should he be appointed, can provide a similar winning formula at the 2026 World Cup, where Kane will be delighted to work with his former boss.

The Buffalo Bills have given their offence a boost, while the Cleveland Browns may be signalling they're giving up on the season.

The Bills acquired wide receiver Amari Cooper from the Browns on Tuesday in exchange for a 2025 third-round draft pick and a 2026 seventh-rounder.

As part of the trade, Buffalo will also receive a 2025 sixth-round pick.

Cooper was drafted fourth overall by the then-Oakland Raiders in 2015, and in 10 seasons since his rookie year, he ranks eighth in receptions (691), seventh in receiving yards (9,736) and seventh in touchdown catches (62).

He only had 24 receptions for 250 yards and two touchdowns in six games in 2024, but part of his lack of production has to do with the poor play of quarterback Deshaun Watson.

In 2023, he had 72 catches for 1,250 yards with five TDs to earn a fifth Pro Bowl selection.

He now joins a Buffalo team that is led by star quarterback Josh Allen, but is without a clear-cut No. 1 receiver following the off-season departure of Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis.

Tight end Dalton Kincaid leads the Bills with 21 receptions for 217 yards, while receiver Khali Shakir has 20 catches for 249 yards.

In Buffalo's 23-20 win over the New York Jets on Monday night, the Bills did not have a receiver catch more than three passes.

Despite being without a star receiver, the Bills are atop the AFC East with a 4-2 record.

The Browns, meanwhile, dropped to 1-5 with another inept offensive showing in Sunday's 20-16 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Cooper will have his first opportunity to be on the field with his new team this Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

Florian Wirtz is set for a spell on the sidelines after sustaining a capsular injury to his right ankle while on international duty with Germany.

The midfielder suffered the injury during Germany's 1-0 victory over the Netherlands in the Nations League on Monday, being replaced at half-time by Bayer Leverkusen team-mate Robert Andrich.

Leverkusen confirmed the 21-year-old underwent an MRI scan on Tuesday and is receiving treatment. However, the club also confirmed it is unclear when Wirtz will return to training.

He is a doubt for their return to Bundesliga action against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, with a Champions League meeting with Brest following that next week.

Wirtz, who was named the Bundesliga Player of the Season last campaign, has been an influential figure once again for the champions this term. 

He is their joint-top scorer with four goals (along with Victor Boniface) in the Bundesliga and has created the joint-most chances (19, level with Alex Grimaldo). His 18 dribbles completed is also a team-high, boasting a 48.65% success rate (37 attempted).

Sadio Mane's last-gasp free-kick sent Senegal to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after edging out Malawi 1-0 on Tuesday. 

Despite dominating for large parts of the contest, Senegal were unable to break down Malawi's stern defence, with goalkeeper William Thole making a string of impressive saves. 

However, after Robert Saiz hauled Mane down just outside the area, the Al-Nassr forward stepped up and curled home the winner in the sixth minute of second-half stoppage time.

The 2021 winners of the competition joined Burkina Faso in qualifying for the tournament that takes place in Morocco next year, with both sides on 10 points in Group L. 

But in Group F, Ghana look set to miss the tournament for the first time since 2004 after slumping to a 2-0 defeat to Sudan at the Martyrs of February Stadium. 

Despite the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Antoine Semenyo and Inaki Williams in their ranks, two goals in three second-half minutes from Ahmed Al-Tash and Mohamed Abdel Rahman did the damage.

Ghana remain winless in their four qualifying games so far and sit five points adrift of the top two, knowing they must beat both group leaders Angola and then Niger next month to have any chance of reaching the finals.

Max Verstappen is confident that Red Bull's mid-season struggles are now firmly in their review mirror ahead of the United States Grand Prix this weekend. 

Verstappen started the season with seven wins from the opening 10 races, with the Dutchman on track to claim a fourth consecutive world championship at a canter. 

However, a combination of Red Bull taking a wrong turn with car development and McLaren's resurgence has seen the campaign take on a new complexion for the final six races. 

Verstappen has gone eight races without a victory, seeing his lead in the drivers' championship cut to 52 points by Lando Norris, with Red Bull also surrendering top spot in the constructors' standings to McLaren after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

For now, Verstappen is optimistic that Red Bull have turned a corner after they introduced an update to their floor in Baku. 

“Yes, it felt better,” Verstappen confirmed. “That was already a good step for us. I do think we are moving in the right direction now.

"It will take some time. You can’t turn something like this around in one or two weeks. But I do think the team was happy with what they saw in Baku as well.

“Yes, I do think so to be honest," Verstappen added about their season struggles being behind them. "Hopefully we can continue to make good steps from here.”

If either Verstappen or team-mate Sergio Perez scores points in the United States, Red Bull will have put at least one of its two drivers in the points for 62 consecutive races, equalling the third-best run in Formula One history. 

Red Bull are also 45 laps led away from reaching 7000, and would be the fifth team to reach this figure in the competition after Ferrari (15888), McLaren (11029), Williams (7584) and Mercedes (7255). 

But that particular milestone could have come much sooner, with Verstappen saying he was surprised by Red Bull's dramatic drop-off after a dominant period on the track.

“In the beginning, I was surprised as well, but if you look at what our problems were, then I fully understand it," Verstappen told Autosport.

“At some point, we have gone in the wrong direction. The other teams have either not faced that particular point yet or they developed the car in a slightly different way.

"That is always difficult to assess.”

Sarina Wiegman believes that Paris Saint-German's Mary Earps will face competition from Chelsea's Hannah Hampton for the England number one shirt.

Earps has endured a difficult start to life in France since her move from Manchester United ahead of the new season.

She conceded five goals across their Women's Champions League qualifying defeat to Juventus and was subsequently dropped for the Parisiens' next two league matches. 

Hampton, meanwhile, has been in fine form for Chelsea in the Women's Super League, keeping two clean sheets as the Blues remain perfect under Sonia Bompastor. 

Only Manchester United's Phallon Tullis-Joyce (100%) has a higher save percentage than Hampton (90%) in the league this season. 

Earps earned her 50th Lioness cap in a 2-1 European Championship qualifier defeat to France in June, though Hampton has seen her tipped for a starting spot at the tournament where England will look to defend their crown.

"You bring this message as if she's not a starting player for PSG and I think she is," Wiegman said.

"She's the number one goalkeeper. There's competition there, too. She started this weekend. I think moving to France, of course, she's adapting to a new situation.

"Unfortunately, they didn't qualify for the group stage in the Champions League which is a disappointment for them, for Mary and for us too, because we want to see her in the Champions League.

"So that's not the start I think she had hoped for but still, we know what she brings for us and we also know there's a huge competition going on between her and Hannah, and Anna also coming in."

Wiegman announced her 25-player squad for their upcoming friendlies against Germany and South Africa in preparation for Euro 2025, which takes place in Switzerland.

Aston Villa's uncapped defender Lucy Parker was introduced into the ranks, while Lotte Wubben-Moy and Lauren James return after missing July's qualifiers. 

Goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse retains her place in the squad, and Aggie Beever-Jones and Jessica Naz also remain, having moved across from the Under-23 squad.

Manchester City's Chloe Kelly, who scored the winning goal in the 2022 final, was also included despite falling out of favour under Gareth Taylor.

Full squad

Mary Earps (Paris Saint-Germain), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Anna Moorhouse (Orlando Pride); Mille Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), Jess Carter (Gotham), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Maya le Tissier (Manchester United), Esme Morgan (Washington Spirit), Lucy Parker (Aston Villa), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal); Grace Clinton (Manchester United), Fran Kirby (Brighton), Jess Park (Manchester City), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona); Aggie Beever-Jones (Chelsea), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Jess Naz (Tottenham Hotspur), Alessia Russo (Arsenal).

Davante Adams will be reunited with Aaron Rodgers.

The Las Vegas Raiders traded Adams to the New York Jets on Tuesday for a conditional third-round draft pick that can become a second-rounder depending upon his production from the remainder of the 2024 NFL season.

The trade, which was being finalised less than 24 hours after the Jets suffered a tough 23-20 home loss to the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, makes Adams and Rodgers team-mates again.

Adams and Rodgers played together for eight seasons with the Green Bay Packers from 2014-21, with Adams catching 615 passes from Rodgers for 7,529 yards and 68 touchdowns.

Among active players, no quarterback-receiver combo has more receptions or touchdowns.

A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Adams ranks second among all active players in touchdown catches (96), and fourth in both receptions (890) and yards (10,990).

The Raiders acquired Adams prior to the 2022 season for a first- and second-round draft pick, and then signed him to a five-year, $140million contract with $65.7million guaranteed.

In his first season in Las Vegas with his former college quarterback, Derek Carr, Adams had 100 catches for 1,516 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns to earn a third straight first-team All-Pro selection. The Raiders, however, finished 6-11 and Carr was benched late in the season.

Las Vegas went 8-9 in 2023, with Adams finishing with 103 receptions for 1,144 yards and eight TDs.

The Raiders are off to a sluggish start this season at 2-4 and Adams has missed the last three games with a hamstring injury, while there had been speculation that the star receiver was seeking a trade.

He now joins a team that is also scuffling, as New York also dropped to 2-4 with its latest defeat with Rodgers throwing a costly interception in the final minutes.

If his hamstring is healthy enough, Adams could be on the field Sunday night, when the Jets visit the 4-2 Pittsburgh Steelers.

Matthew Potts thinks England's second Test against Pakistan is "in the balance" after day one saw the hosts reach stumps on 259-5.

Kamran Ghulam was the star for Pakistan on his debut, with his sublime knock of 118 pushing them to their tally.

Jack Leach had taken two early wickets, finishing the day on 2-92, while Potts and Brydon Carse also got in on the action before Shoaib Bashir removed Ghulam late on.

Playing on the same pitch as the first Test, England's spinners struggled to make an impact compared to the seamers.

But Potts, playing for the first time since the Sri Lanka series in August after replacing Gus Atkison, remained upbeat about England's performance.

"We created a lot of chances over the course of the day. The boys stuck at it, and we are pleased where we are with it now," Potts told BBC Test Match Special.

"You don't tell a score until both sides have batted on it. It appeared to be flatter than we expected. The game is in the balance, a couple of early ones in the morning, and we will see what it is.

"I think it did spin; slow spin kept a bit low. The lads stuck to the basics really well in some strong heat today. A couple of early wickets in the morning and hopefully we can run through them."

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes if Manchester City are found guilty on all counts of their 115 charges, that it should be reflected in their punishment.

The independent hearing, which started last month, is anticipated to last approximately two months, although the verdict is not expected to be made public until early next year.

If found guilty, the sternest punishment is relegation, while points deductions and fines are also potential penalties.

City have been charged with breaking financial fair play (FFP) rules, which started in 2009 following the Abu Dhabi United Group takeover and went on until 2018.

The Citizens were charged with 54 counts of failing to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 until 2017-18, while also failing to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18 on 14 separate occasions.

City have been handed five charges related to their inability to comply with UEFA's rules, including FFP from 2013-14 to 2017-18, with another seven charges for breaching the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules from 2015-16 until 2017-18.

The final 35 charges are for failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 until February 2023.

City did, however, win their recent legal challenge against the Premier League over Associated Party Transaction rules, though that is totally separate to the 115 charges. 

Both Everton and Nottingham Forest were deducted points last season for breaches of the Premier League's financial rules. 

The Toffees were deducted 10 points, reduced to six for the three-year period from 2021-22 for losses of £19.5million over the £105m permitted threshold. 

Meanwhile, Forest, who were initially docked six points, saw theirs brought down to four after breaching the permitted £61m threshold by £34.5m for the three-year period from 2022-23. Both clubs retained Premier League status last term despite this.

However, Maguire believes that should City be found guilty on all 115 of their charges, then a possible points deduction should be reflected on what was handed to both Everton and Forest. 

"I think the reason why I say that, and again, I've got no inside knowledge of any of this, is that if we take a look at the commission hearings in relation to Nottingham Forest and Everton, one of the revealing things was that one of the commissions had said, I think this was in the case of Forest, ultimately, this is a minor breach of the rules, and this has resulted in what was a four-point deduction," Maguire told Stats Perform.

"As far as Nottingham Forest are concerned, given that that was a minor breach of the rules which covered a narrow period of time and a very specific, narrow set of circumstances, what Manchester City are being accused of is effectively corporate fraud over a nine-year period – they've been lying to the Premier League in relation to their finances.

"Well, that's far more serious than a technical breach of an overspend. So, if it's a four-point deduction for a minor breach, and all 115 charges are upheld, then surely that's a major breach, and that has to be reflected in the deduction."

Since the Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover in 2008, City have spent approximately €2,5987 billion (£2,1649bn), spending the most money in the 2017-18 season (£245.7m) with the most notable signings including Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, and Ederson.

City's most expensive player during that time was Jack Grealish, who arrived from Aston Villa in a £100m deal - which at the time constituted the most expensive transfer of an English player ever. 

Maguire went on to say that should City only be found guilty of failing to cooperate with the Premier League, then a financial sanction seems more likely, as opposed to a points deduction or relegation.

"My one reservation on all of this is that if the only thing that Manchester City are found guilty of is not cooperating with the Premier League, then probably the appropriate punishment is a financial one because they've not had a sporting advantage," Maguire concluded.

"You can argue that bringing in more, artificially inflating the money coming in, and messing around with the wages, has allowed Manchester City to recruit these other players, and on the back of that, they've been successful on the pitch.

"So, we need an on-field punishment if it's just for non-cooperation with the Premier League, and given that the Premier League hasn't cooperated with Manchester City in terms of getting these deals through against this separate hearing, I don't think that a points deduction is appropriate."

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes if Manchester City are found guilty of breaching the Premier League's financial rules, that it should be reflected in their punishment.

The independent hearing, which started last month, is anticipated to last approximately two months, although the verdict is not expected to be made public until early next year.

If found guilty, the sternest punishment is relegation, while points deductions and fines are also potential penalties.

City have been charged with breaking financial fair play (FFP) rules, with the breaches allegedly going back over a decade.

The Citizens were charged with 54 counts of failing to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 until 2017-18, while also failing to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18 on 14 separate occasions.

City have been handed five charges related to their inability to comply with UEFA's rules, including FFP from 2013-14 to 2017-18, with another seven charges for breaching the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules from 2015-16 until 2017-18.

The final 35 charges are for failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 until February 2023.

City did, however, claim a victory in their recent legal challenge against the Premier League over Associated Party Transaction rules, though that is totally separate to the 115 charges. 

Both Everton and Nottingham Forest were deducted points last season for breaches of the Premier League's financial rules. 

However, Maguire believes that should City be found guilty on all 115 of their charges, then a possible points deduction should be fair in comparison to what was handed to both Everton and Forest. 

"I think the reason why I say that, and again, I've got no inside knowledge of any of this, is that if we take a look at the commission hearings in relation to Nottingham Forest and Everton, one of the revealing things was that one of the commissions had said, I think this was in the case of Forest, ultimately, this is a minor breach of the rules, and this has resulted in what was a four-point deduction," Maguire told Stats Perform.

"As far as Nottingham Forest are concerned, given that that was a minor breach of the rules which covered a narrow period of time and a very specific, narrow set of circumstances, what Manchester City are being accused of is effectively corporate fraud over a nine-year period – they've been lying to the Premier League in relation to their finances.

"Well, that's far more serious than a technical breach of an overspend. So, if it's a four-point deduction for a minor breach, and all 115 charges are upheld, then surely that's a major breach, and that has to be reflected in the deduction."

Since the Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover in 2008, City have spent approximately €2,5987 billion (£2,1649bn), spending the most money in the 2017-18 season (£245.7m) with the most notable signings including Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, and Ederson.

City's most expensive player during that time was Jack Grealish, who arrived from Aston Villa in a £100m deal - which at the time constituted the most expensive transfer of an English player ever. 

Maguire went on to say that should City only be found guilty of failing to cooperate with the Premier League, then a financial sanction seems more likely, as opposed to a points deduction or relegation.

"My one reservation on all of this is that if the only thing that Manchester City are found guilty of is not cooperating with the Premier League, then probably the appropriate punishment is a financial one because they've not had a sporting advantage," Maguire concluded.

"You can argue that bringing in more, artificially inflating the money coming in, and messing around with the wages, has allowed Manchester City to recruit these other players, and on the back of that, they've been successful on the pitch.

"So, we need an on-field punishment if it's just for non-cooperation with the Premier League, and given that the Premier League hasn't cooperated with Manchester City in terms of getting these deals through against this separate hearing, I don't think that a points deduction is appropriate."