Rafael Nadal has played the final game of his illustrious career after Spain were knocked out of the Davis Cup quarter-finals by the Netherlands on Tuesday. 

Playing in his final tournament, Nadal suffered a 6-4 6-4 defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp in the opening match in Malaga, despite the home crowd cheering him on. 

The 38-year-old was playing in his first competitive match since a defeat to Novak Djokovic at the Paris Olympics. 

Teammate and heir apparent Carlos Alcaraz then kept Spain and Nadal's hopes alive by beating Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7-0) 6-3 to level the at 1-1.

But a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-3) win for Wesley Koolhof and Van de Zandschlup over Spanish duo Alcarez and Marcel Granollers in the deciding third contest brought down the curtains on Nadal's trophy-laden career. 

“It’s in some ways good maybe if that was my last match. I lost my first match in the Davis Cup, and I lost my last one. So we close the circle," the 22-time Grand Slam winner said immediately after his defeat. 

Nadal called time on his glittering career as the second-most successful men's singles player of all time, only behind Djokovic.

Wales secured promotion to League A after beating Iceland 4-1 at home in their final Nations League group match, having gone a goal down early on.

Their victory, alongside a 3-1 defeat for Turkiye away to Montenegro, means that Craig Bellamy's side topped their group by a point.

"The feeling hasn't quite sunk in yet, but it's been a real positive camp Whatever the result of this game, it's just been a positive camp," said Bellamy after the match.

"The targets we set right from the start, I feel we've been able to achieve."

Wales started the day knowing they needed to win and for results to go their way to top the group, but went a goal down after seven minutes after Andri Gudjohnsen followed up from a Danny Ward save.

It was the first goal Wales had conceded at home in 321 minutes and the first time they had been behind under Bellamy, but they responded well. The hosts managed to control the rest of the half, with Lewis Cullen scoring twice in the final 15 minutes of the first period.

The determination of his team to stick to the plan was something that pleased Bellamy immensely.

"There were one or two tests today that I feel we've been able to progress [through]. If they had happened one or two games ago, we might not have been able to.

"Where we're at, you go 1-0 down in the first few minutes and you get a performance like that.

"Then after that, when the crowd get a little bit edgy and try to force things for us... No, no. We keep the ball because we believe that's going to benefit us, and the players were able to do that."

In the second half, Wales were able to dominate and bagged goals from Brennan Johnson and Harry Wilson to make things more comfortable.

"I thought we took control of the tempo of the game and we're a good team if we're able to do that," said Bellamy.

On promotion itself, the Wales manager could not overstate the importance of being able to mix with the biggest teams in international football in Europe.

"For where we want to be and where we want to go, it's huge. It's so important for us," he said.

Germany were denied victory away to Hungary in their final Nations League group game after conceding a 99th-minute equaliser to a Dominik Szoboszlai penalty.

Julian Nagelsmann made nine changes from Germany's 7-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina last time out, with this match confirmed as a dead rubber before kick-off, and they struggled for fluency in the first half.

Germany failed to have a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes and lost the xG battle 0.51-0.17.

Things soon picked up, with Leroy Sane having a goal disallowed following a VAR review before Kai Havertz hit the post with a volley just three minutes later, having only come on as a substitute a minute before. They had their goal after 76 minutes when Felix Nmecha was quickest to react to a rebound to score his first international goal.

But Hungary were not to be denied after appeals for a penalty in the 97th minute for an alleged handball against Robin Koch. Following a VAR review, the spot kick was given and Szoboszlai earned a point for the hosts.

Germany's position as winners of Group A3 had already been secured prior to this match, as had Hungary's finishing place of third. Nagelsmann's side will now advance to the Nations League quarter-final, where they will face a second-placed side from League A. Hungary, meanwhile, will face a second-placed side from League B in a relegation play-off.

Data debrief: Germany keep scoring streak going

Germany extended their run of scoring in Nations League matches to seven consecutive games with their 1-1 draw in Budapest.

Nagelsmann's side conclude their group campaign with 18 goals in six matches, helped by their 7-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina last time out.

Following their draw today, Germany have now scored in 12 straight matches, including friendlies.

Netherlands ended their Group A3 campaign in the Nations League with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina at Stadion Bilino Polje on Tuesday. 

Ronald Koeman's side, who had already secured their place in the quarter-final heading into the final group fixture, finished with nine points - five fewer than group winners Germany. 

Brian Brobbey gave a second-string Oranje the breakthrough in the 24th minute when he headed home a cross from Noa Lang following a short corner kick. 

But Ermedin Demirovic scored on the rebound, after Edin Dzeko's initial effort was stopped by goalkeeper Mark Flekken, to help Bosnia salvage a point in the 67th minute, as the hosts finished bottom of the group with two points. 

Earlier, Dzeko's shot was cleared off the line by Jorrel Hato in the first half and the Bosnia captain also had a goal ruled out for a foul in the build-up just past the hour mark, before Sergej Barbarez's side found the leveller. 

Data Debrief: Bosnia's spirited comeback

The home side ended the first period without registering a single shot on target and only creating an expected goals (xG) of 0.54, compared to the Netherlands' xG of 1.29. 

But they were a much-improved side after the break as they restricted the visitors to zero shots on target while recording three of their own to secure a point. They ended the second half with an xG of 0.46, which bettered the Netherlands' xG of 0.37 despite being lower than their first-half effort. 

Prior to this fixture, Bosnia and Herzegovina had lost all four of their 2024-25 Nations League matches in which they were losing at half-time. But they fought back this time to end their League A stay with a draw.

Maro Itoje has reaffirmed his commitment to England amid talks of a proposed global breakaway league.

Steve Borthwick’s side are looking to end their five-match losing run when they face Japan in their final match of the autumn series on Sunday.

But there is fear that Borthwick could lose many of his players to the new league that reportedly are offering 40 £1m-a-season contracts for marquee players and more periods of rests for the players. 

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) only select players for the national team from English clubs, meaning any player joining the breakaway league would jeopardise their Test career. 

But Itoje has insisted that playing for England is the pinnacle for him and his teammates. 

"I don't really know any of the details of it as yet, but wearing this rose is extremely important to me and my teammates," said Itoje.

"Playing for England is the Mecca."

Kusini Yengi was the hero for Australia after scoring in the first minute and the 97th to help salvage a 2-2 draw away to Bahrain in their World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.

The result extended manager Tony Popovic's unbeaten start with the Socceroos to four matches, although three of those have been draws.

Things got off to a great start for the visitors, going a goal up inside 40 seconds after Portsmouth forward Kusini Yengi nipped in to intercept an underhit back pass from Sayid Mahdi Baqer and find the net.

Yengi had the next moment of note after hitting the post on 61 minutes from a Riley McGree cross, before a poor touch let him down when well-placed three minutes later.

Australia were made to pay for not killing the game, when Mahdi Abduljabbar lobbed Mat Ryan from 45 yards to get Bahrain level in the 75th minute. It went from bad to worse two minutes later, when Abduljabbar got his second following a defensive mix-up between Ryan and Hayden Matthews.

But Yengi rescued his side deep into stoppage time, reacting quickest to bury a ricocheting ball in the six-yard box. The result was Australia's fourth draw in six matches and leaves them second in Group C on seven points, with teams from third to sixth – including fifth-placed Bahrain – all on six.

Rafael Nadal suffered a straight sets defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp in the opening match of the Davis Cup Finals.

Nadal will call time on his illustrious playing career at the culmination of Spain's Davis Cup campaign.

It was not confirmed whether the 38-year-old would take to the court in Malaga on Tuesday until shortly before the scheduled start time.

And in his first competitive match since losing to old foe Novak Djokovic at the Paris Olympics, Nadal went down 6-4 6-4, despite having the crowd's backing, as Van de Zandschulp put the Netherlands into a 1-0 lead in the quarter-final tie.

Speaking after his win, the Dutchman said: "At the beginning I think we were both nervous. The first games didn't go smoothly. The crowd was tough, understandably.

"That is what it is to play against Rafa in Spain. He is probably the biggest sportsman in Spain to have ever lived.

"I have to say it is tough to close out a match against him, knowing it could be his last. I felt I was hoping a bit more than going for it. I went for it and it helped in the end.

"If I was sat at the side of the court I would have been cheering for him too."

Nadal's defeat means the pressure was put on his heir apparent, Carlos Alcaraz, to overcome Tallon Griekspoor and force a deciding doubles match.

Data Debrief: History maker

If this was to prove his final match, Nadal bowed out with another slice of history to his name.

With this appearance, Nadal became the Spanish player with the most matches played in the Davis Cup in the last 30 years, with this his 43rd. He surpassed Feliciano Lopez.

Great Britain fell short in the Billie Jean King Cup, despite Emma Raducanu's win in their semi-final against Slovakia.

Raducanu beat Viktoria Hruncakova 6-4 6-4 in the opening singles match on Tuesday.

That made the 22-year-old the British player with the highest win percentage in the competition in singles matches (minimum five matches played), with her 85.7% equalling Annabel Croft's effort.

Yet Katie Boulter was unable to keep up the momentum for Great Britain, as she went down 2-6 6-4 6-4 to Rebecca Sramkova, who has now won 18 singles matches since September. When including the Billie Jean King Cup, that is more than any other player in this span.

Boulter's defeat meant Heather Watson and Olivia Nicholls were called upon in the doubles, but they were beaten in straight sets by Hruncakova and Tereza Mihalikova.

Slovakia have now reached the final of this competition for the second time as an independent state, having won the title in 2002.

Neymar should have won the Ballon d'Or five times, so says Gianluigi Buffon.

Italy great Buffon played alongside Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain for a season in 2018-19.

Neymar joined PSG in a world-record transfer from Barcelona in 2017, but was unable to drive the French club to their maiden Champions League trophy.

He left in 2023 to join Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, but has hardly featured for the Asian giants. He is back on the sidelines due to a hamstring issue, having only just returned from a year-long lay-off after sustaining an anterior crucial ligament (ACL) injury.

Neymar was tipped for greatness when he moved to Europe from Santos, but despite a glittering career, especially at Barcelona, he never has managed to win the Ballon d'Or.

And that is something that upsets his former club-mate Buffon.

"It's hard to pick a rival," Buffon told Corriere della Sera

"I've played against three generations: Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta… Choose one? Neymar.

"For the player he is and the person he is, he should have won five Ballons d'Or."

Even at PSG, Neymar was often overshadowed by Kylian Mbappe.

When Messi joined that deadly duo in 2021, meanwhile, the trio could not have the impact on the European stage that PSG's Qatari owners would have wished for.

Son Heung-min scored but South Korea were held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.

Tottenham forward Son netted in the 16th minute at Amman International Stadium in Jordan.

That came four minutes after Palestine had taken the lead through Zeid Qunbar.

Yet South Korea could not build on that momentum. Despite finishing with 15 shots, they accumulated only 0.84 expected goals (xG).

South Korea, who are six points clear in qualification Group B, had five shots on target, with Son having four of them, as Palestine held on for a memorable result.

In Group C, Japan consolidated their lead with a 3-1 defeat of China in Xiamen.

Koki Ogawa scored twice, opening the scoring and netting Japan's third.

Ko Itakura put Japan 2-0 up on the stroke of half-time, with Lin Liangming pulling one back for China early in the second half.

The match was briefly disrupted as some spectators ran onto the pitch.

Sri Lanka wrapped up a 2-0 series win over New Zealand after the third ODI was rained off in Pallekele.

Will Young (56 not out) and Henry Nicholls (46 not out) had the Black Caps trundling along nicely at 112-1 after 21 overs on Tuesday, with Tim Robinson having been dismissed for nine by Mohamed Shiraz (1-23).

But the rain closed in at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, and did not let up.

Eventually, the umpires had to call off play completely, denying New Zealand the chance to restore some pride after their opening two defeats.

Data Debrief: Rain sees the good run roll on

Sri Lanka have lost only one of their last nine ODIs (W6 T1) – an eight-wicket loss against West Indies (26 October 2024).

New Zealand's Young at least was able to celebrate a ninth ODI half-century, while Nicholls fell just short of a 17th 50 in the format.