Chelsea forward Sam Kerr is being cautious with her comeback from a major knee injury, as she set her sights on winning the Women's Champions League.

Kerr, who is Australia's all-time leading goalscorer, has been out since January after she suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in training.

She missed the back half of Chelsea's Women's Super League and Champions League campaigns, while she was also absent from Australia's Olympics squad.

But despite being eager to return to action under new Chelsea coach Sonia Bompastor, Kerr is not going to rush her comeback.

"I'm not putting a date on my return, just making sure I get it right and making sure I feel good before I get back on the pitch," Kerr told Optus Sport.

"I mean, it's my second ACL, so I know you need to take the time, you need to make sure it's right and I'm doing everything I can.

"But definitely no rush for me, I want to make sure I can play for many more years to come."

Bompastor replaced Emma Hayes after the latter ended her 12-year tenure at the end of last season.

And though Chelsea enjoyed unprecedented domestic dominance under Hayes, the Blues are yet to get over the line in the Champions League.

Bompastor, however, won that trophy with Lyon, and Kerr believes Chelsea now have an edge that was previously missing.

She said: "We would love to win the Champions League, that's the one we want, that's what we shoot for.

"We've fallen short a few years in a row, and hopefully Sonia brings that to this club."

"We want to win as many trophies as we can – we want to retain the league, get the [domestic] cups back, but the Champions League is the one we're going for this year."

Before her injury last season, Kerr was averaging 0.61 goals per 90 minutes, from 3.66 shots per 90, with a 16.67% conversion rate.

But Kerr's goals per 90 was actually at its lowest since the 2019-20 season, while her xG per 90 (0.46) was at its lowest during her time at Chelsea.

Kerr, who turns 31 on September 10, penned a new deal at the club earlier this year.

Asked if she had thought about her next move, Kerr replied: "This feels like home now. I love it here, I love where I live, I love the girls. We win a lot, so it's nice.

"I want to end my career, whenever that is, with as many trophies as I can, and I think we can do that [here]."

Chelsea start their WSL season against Aston Villa on September 20.

England interim manager Lee Carsley believes he is capable of taking the job on a full-time basis, but conceded he had his doubts.

Carsley oversaw a 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in his first match in charge since stepping in to replace Gareth Southgate on a temporary basis.

An extended audition continues on Tuesday when England take on Finland in their second Nations League match.

And Carsley acknowledged the performance and result against Ireland, who he represented as a player, has provided a much-needed confidence boost.

He said: "In the back of your mind you always think... you know, it's easy to be the England manager, isn't it, when you're sat in the house.

"There have been times when I've thought I'm not sure if I could do it.

"But it has done my confidence good, and the rest of the staff as well, that actually we're OK, we'll be all right.

"I spoke about it at the first press conference, [being] a safe pair of hands. I feel like we’re in a good position with the players.

"I think it's natural to have doubts.

"Going into the Euros with the Under-21s, with the record that we've got, there was a worry we could go home in 10 days. But I've learned with ­experience and dealing with ­setbacks, having good people around you, that it gets easier."

England managed some slick play in Dublin, in particular for their second goal, when Jack Grealish – returning to the fold after he was left out of the Euro 2024 squad – tucked home at the culmination of a sweeping team move.

The Three Lions controlled possession (76.4%), had 16 shots and accumulated 2.67 expected goals (xG), while Carsley handed starts to Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, Anthony Gordon on the left flank and then brought on Morgan Gibbs-White and Angel Gomes for their debuts.

"The end goal is doing that against the top teams in the world in the ­biggest moments," said Carsley.

"They have got two years to get to that point [before the 2026 World Cup]. We have gone a good way to doing that. We've had four ­training sessions, so it's early. The players have to take huge credit for trying a few things that we have worked on and going out there and doing it for themselves.

"We have to be careful with the term 'freedom'. We have tried to get really effective players in really ­effective areas, to do what they're good at.

"If you call that freedom, maybe it is. But within that there comes a real responsi­bility out of possession. I thought we did really well in that area. We made the pitch really small and were able to suffocate Ireland and get the ball back."

Domenico Tedesco says Belgium are still hurting after their Euro 2024 exit to France as they prepare to meet them in the Nations League on Monday.

Belgium suffered a 1-0 defeat to France in the round of 16 at the Euros, conceding an 85th-minute Jan Vertonghen own goal to send them crashing out after a poor tournament.

It was a tight affair when the sides met in July, with both only managing two shots on target, though France's came from 19 overall attempts compared to Belgium's five.

And Tedesco would rather forget about that meeting as he targets a more positive result this time around.

"At the European Championship, it was a close one against France. We could have won too,” Tedesco told reporters.

"France were a bit better, they deserved to win, but we also had our chances. It would be a lie if I said that match is forgotten. It still hurts. I often think about the European Championship, but you also must look ahead.

"Looking back is not always the best solution. We have to be ambitious; it's been a long time since we beat France in a competitive match with commitment. Let us perform well, and then the rest will follow."

Tedesco also admitted that Belgium over-prepared for that meeting with France, with their adjustments to the game plan proving detrimental.

"The last match at the European Championship was different from the one now, it was a knockout match," he added.

"We learned that we adjusted our own plans a bit too much then. You always have to analyse your opponent, but we adjusted excessively."

Scotland boss Steve Clarke has declared that his side "deserved something" from their Nations League clash with Portugal after losing 2-1 thanks to a late Cristiano Ronaldo goal.

Scott McTominay gave Scotland an early lead after seven minutes, but Portugal fought back through goals from Bruno Fernandes and Ronaldo to take all three points in Group A1.

Ronaldo's goal came in the 88th minute and was his 901st career goal.

It leaves Scotland on their longest-ever winless run as they remain without a win in their last eight competitive games in all competitions, but Clarke feels they should not have left Lisbon empty-handed.

"I'm disappointed to lose a game where it looked, for a large period, we would get something from it," he told the BBC.

"I'm really disappointed for my players because I think they deserved to get something from the game.

"If you ignore the results, [there are a lot of positives], but we're professional, so it's disappointing.

"We played well in these two games, but we don't have anything to show for it. I've told the players not to be too hard on themselves. They have to understand the work that we're doing."

Scotland did well to prevent Portugal from getting any further sight at goal, defending a total of 26 shots during the match with seven ending up on target.

The 16 shots the Scots had to defend in the opening 45 minutes were the most they have faced in a first-half since October 2012 when Belgium also let loose 16 efforts.

"With the amount of balls that go into the box, you know one of them can go in the back of the net and that's what happened to us," added Clarke.

"When you bring quality players from the bench like Roberto [Martinez] can do, you always know there's a risk, but I felt we handled it well.

"We'll go away and analyse these games, and hopefully, we can give the lads a few pointers for the games next month, which don't get any easier."

Gamechanger Ronaldo was brought on at half-time by Portugal manager Roberto Martinez, a move that was well thought through and had the desired effect.

"Ronaldo did 17 sprints against Croatia. He is the player who made the most sprints. So we need to protect the players. One more game in 72 hours is impossible to have a physical performance [equal]," Martinez explained.

"The question was whether Ronaldo played the first half and left or came in and finished the game. That was the decision.

"He is an asset to the national team. When he comes in, if the [team] needs goals, Cris gives energy and a feeling to the fans. The stadium is different.

"If Cris leaves, it's the opposite and facilitates what the opponent would like to do when playing away from home in Portugal."

Luis de la Fuente believes Spain are doing "something important" for the country after they beat Switzerland 4-1 in the Nations League.

La Roja made an underwhelming start to Group A4 in a 0-0 draw with Serbia but looked back to their best on Sunday.

Fabian Ruiz's brace was sandwiched between goals from Joselu and Ferran Torres, with Spain able to clinch their first win of this season's tournament, despite Robin Le Normand's 20th-minute sending-off.

De la Fuente was particularly impressed with how his players dug in after going down to 10 men, hailing them for a resilient performance.

"I feel like we are doing something important for a country, that people identify with this group of players," De la Fuente said after the game.

"We grow from humility and sacrifice as a team. I am proud of this group of players, which never ceases to surprise me.

"If there's one thing I like to boast about, it's the pride I've always felt for this team. When these circumstances happen, one feels more proud, but to highlight a group of players that is a team, not a national team.

"This team has plenty of self-esteem and humility because what they are doing is historic.

"With 10 men, we have been able to interpret the game in a masterful way. I am very proud of this team and every day we see that we continue to grow and that we can improve."

Spain finished the game with just 33.7% possession, understandably low after having just 10 players on the pitch for 70 minutes.

They had nine shots overall, compared to Switzerland's 20, but got eight of theirs on target while the hosts only mustered three.

De la Fuente was particularly impressed by Joselu's performance, with the former Real Madrid man setting the tone from the front.

"I'm very happy for everyone, especially for Joselu because he deserves it," De la Fuente added.

"He had the best game since he's been with us, he did everything we asked of him, both when we had 11 and when we were down to 10.

"We were playing a very complete game. Pedri was playing a great game, but we understood that in order to have the chances we had, we had to make that change.

"We felt very powerful. With 10 players, we played the perfect game, we defended very well, we had a great goalkeeper..."

Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench to score the winner as Portugal earned a 2-1 victory, condemning Scotland to another late defeat.

The 39-year-old, who started on the bench in a competitive match for the first time since the 2022 World Cup, added to Bruno Fernandes' strike after Scott McTominay had given Scotland the lead early on.

The home crowd were just as stunned as Portugal's defence when McTominay snuck in behind, thumping Kenny McLean's cross past a stranded Diogo Costa after just seven minutes.

The hosts certainly had their chances to get back into the game though – Angus Gunn made a brilliant save to deny Rafael Leao, who also fired a number of efforts wide of the left post.

Though Scotland tried to continue soaking up the pressure, their defence was eventually breached nine minutes after the break, with Fernandes marking his 30th birthday with a sweeping finish from 20 yards out. 

Gunn smothered Joao Felix's low shot in the 78th minute before Ronaldo came within millimetres of a winner as his header hit the inside of the far post.

But Ronaldo would have the final say as he stretched out a leg in the six-yard box to turn Nuno Mendes' cross into the back of the net.

Data Debrief: Ronaldo the hero once again

Steve Clarke could not have asked for more from his team in the first half, as they scored with their only effort, but also resolutely defended as Portugal racked up 16 shots (three on target), creating 1.21 expected goals (xG).

It was a regular creator that got the Selecao back on level terms though, as Fernandes got his 21st goal involvement under Roberto Martinez in all competitions, at least five more than any other Portugal player (11 goals, 10 assists). 

And Ronaldo is now up to 901 career goals, with only Aleksandar Mitrovic (14), Erling Haaland (12) and Romelu Lukaku (10) bettering his nine-goal tally in the Nations League. 

Fabian Ruiz’s double helped 10-man Spain claim a comprehensive 4-1 win over Switzerland in the Nations League on a rainy night in Geneva.

Joselu opened the scoring after just four minutes as he latched onto the end of Lamine Yamal’s pinpoint cross to flick goalwards.

The goal was confirmed after some controversy as Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel thought he had clawed it away before it crossed the line.

Switzerland thought they had an immediate response three minutes later but Becir Omeragic had a goal ruled out for a handball in the build-up. Instead, Spain doubled their lead on 12 minutes as Fabian powered home the rebound from Nico Williams’ parried shot.

The Swiss were handed a lifeline as Robin Le Normand was shown a straight red for bringing Breel Embolo down as he went through on goal, and Zeki Amdouni rattled the crossbar from the resultant free-kick.

Amdouni did find the net to bring scores level just before half-time, sweeping home Embolo’s flick-on from a corner after finding himself unmarked at the back post. He nearly had a brace after the restart, but it was ruled out for a foul in the build-up.

Instead, it was Fabian with two goals to his name by the final whistle, after he tucked away at the far post in the 77th minute against the run of play before Ferran Torres added further gloss.

Data Debrief: Spain's run rolls on

The writing was on the wall early for Switzerland who have not won any of their last eight matches after conceding first in the Nations League. Spain, on the other hand, are undefeated in their last five matches when they have scored first in the competition.

It means, excluding friendlies, Spain are now unbeaten for 17 matches in all competitions (W15 D2). It is their best unbeaten run under a single manager since Vicente del Bosque was in charge in June 2013.

Luciano Spalletti is expecting to make up to five changes for Italy's Nations League clash with Israel owing to the tight turnaround between matches.

Italy produced a shock 3-1 victory over France on Friday, just three days before they face Israel in Hungary.

But their opening three points in Group A2 took their toll, with starters Riccardo Calafiori and Lorenzo Pellegrini both leaving the squad after sustaining injuries in the match against France.

As such, Spalletti feels it is necessary to rotate for their upcoming match.

"It's difficult to put the same team out as Friday. It's not possible to get over the fatigue after just two days. Let's see how the guys are, but it's not unusual to change three, four, five players," the Italy boss told the press.

Some players, however, will have to play due to the injuries sustained in that victory, which saw them register their first win against France since June 2008.

"Bastoni will play tomorrow because it becomes tricky taking both him and Calafiori out of the team. He has the most experience, he brings things to the table that can help the whole team," Spalletti added. 

"Frattesi will be evaluated in today's training, but he says he is fine and good to go. He was substituted earlier than planned, to avoid any unnecessary dangers. We need to see after a bit of training."

Italy play Israel in the Nations League on Monday at the Bozsik Arena in Hungary.

Didier Deschamps will "not change course" ahead of France's Nations League clash with Belgium despite defeat to Italy in their last match.

France fell to a shock 3-1 loss in Paris in their opening Group A2 game at the Parc des Princes on Friday.

Deschamps handed debuts to Bayern Munich's Michael Olise and Roma's Manu Kone, who came on as a substitute.

The France manager, however, feels he must continue with the rotation against Belgium due to the structure of World Cup qualification.

"The six Nations League matches must be used to introduce new players and distribute playing time," Deschamps told reporters.

"If we had a different schedule and were playing World Cup qualifiers, I would not have chosen this course, that's for sure. But I chose it because I believe that we have to go through it. I'm not going to change course."

Despite Bradley Barcola scoring France's fastest goal ever after just 12 seconds, Italy were able to come back and win comfortably.

Prior to that meeting, France had not lost to Italy since June 2008. Deschamps will be hoping for an improved performance against Belgium, who his team beat 1-0 in the round of 16 at Euro 2024.

"I can't be satisfied with the match against Italy, nor can the players. Tomorrow is another game, another context, a different team with the same obligation," he added.

"The course I have taken is to give as much playing time to as many players as possible. Whatever the playing time, there is always pressure, you have to perform as well as possible."

France face Belgium in the Nations League on Monday at the Groupama Stadium in Lyon.

Matthijs de Ligt has dismissed suggestions that Erik ten Hag was the deciding factor in his transfer to Manchester United.

The Dutchman, along with Noussair Mazraoui, joined the Red Devils in a double signing worth up to £60million from Bayern Munich in August.

De Ligt's breakthrough, however, came at Ajax under Ten Hag, with the manager making him the youngest-ever captain in the club's history during that time.

The following season, Ajax reached their first Champions League semi-final since 1997 and won the Eredivisie and KNVB Cup double before De Ligt left the club to join Juventus.

Ten Hag has often been criticised for targeting his former players during the transfer windows while at United, with De Ligt falling into that category.

However, the defender stressed a reunion with his former head coach was not what drew him to the Premier League.

"I'm already settled in Manchester and enjoying myself. The boys are great, everything was handled perfectly. There's also many Dutch guys on the staff", he told Dutch outlet Vandaag Inside, via Manchester Evening News.

"Erik ten Hag is not the only reason I joined United. We're talking about Manchester United here, one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"There's lots of pressure because the fans are used to things from the past. It's up to us to be as good as possible."

The 25-year-old has played just 89 minutes in the Premier League since joining United, getting his first start in their 3-0 defeat to Liverpool last time out, making just one interception and one tackle.

De Ligt was in the Netherlands' squad for Euro 2024, as the Oranje reached the semi-final, however, he did not play a single minute at the tournament.

Back in the fold for their first two Nations League matches, two lapses in concentration from De Ligt were punished against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Netherlands' 5-2 victory.

Pep Guardiola is constantly evolving to stay ahead of the rest of the game, giving him the best advantage to keep winning, so says Rodri.

Manchester City won an unprecedented fourth consecutive Premier League title last season, following on from their historic treble, with Rodri's goal sealing it as the club won their first-ever Champions League.

Rodri has been a key piece of Guardiola's team since joining from Atletico Madrid in July 2019, and last season made 34 appearances in the top-flight, never tasting defeat in any of them.

In all competitions last campaign, he made 50 appearances, playing the most minutes of any of his team-mates (4,325). Rodri also featured in six of Spain's seven Euro 2024 matches, helping them to win a record fourth title at the tournament.

The midfielder admitted that while Guardiola is constantly looking for improvement, he has also been the key to Rodri reaching his potential.

"To me, the unique thing about Pep is that he is always one step ahead," Rodri wrote in the Players Tribune. "He is always evolving before the game around him can evolve.

"He is never satisfied with keeping things exactly as we played last season, because your competition is always going to be analysing last season. You don't win four Premier League titles in a row by standing still. You either reinvent yourself or you die.

"For me, he added that final mental piece of the puzzle. "Seeing" the game in a different way. "Feeling" it — when to move into space, when to hold back. When to press, when to ease off.

"His confidence was so important to me, because you have to remember, when I came here in 2019, I was walking into a changing room with Fernandinho, Aguero, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne. Legends."

In his five years in Manchester, Rodri has won four Premier Leagues, an FA Cup, two EFL Cups, a Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.

City only failed to win the Premier League in Rodri's first of those five seasons, while the Spaniard has only suffered defeat in two finals while at the club: the Champions League in 2021 and the FA Cup last term.

However, he says those defeats are what drive him to improve, using them as learning moments when it comes to challenging for the next trophy.

"We have been very blessed the last few years with City, but it's not real life," Rodri added. "In the good moments, you don't learn, you just enjoy.

"In the bad moments, when you truly suffer, that's when you really grow. I remember after the '21 Champions League final against Chelsea, I walked back into the little family area, and when I saw my parents and my brothers, I literally couldn't speak.

"It was like I was 10 years old again, at the kitchen table. I couldn't say a word. I just thought: I never want to feel this feeling again. I have to work harder. I have to find a way to be better."

The United States must tackle some concerning mentality issues, which are to blame for their defeat to Canada.

That is the view of interim coach Mikey Varas, who has few answers for solving the problem.

USA were beaten 2-1 by Canada in Kansas City on Saturday, in their first game of the post-Gregg Berhalter era.

It marked Canada's first victory on US soil in 67 years.

And while Mauricio Pochettino reportedly waits in the wings to take over the Stars and Stripes, Varas hit out at the team's mentality.

"The mentality is on the players. They know it," he told reporters.

"We speak the truth to each other. I love those guys. But they know that mentality to fight, to run and to sacrifice, I can't do that for them. That's on them.

"I'm not a psychologist, so I don't know. I felt that the training [sessions] were intense. They were aggressive.

"But when the game comes, you gotta get going. And the players are the ones that bring that. Coaches can only get you so far from a mentality perspective."

Varas did shoulder some of the blame, too, suggesting he may have tried to introduce too many new ideas, too soon.

"I think on the ball, that's on me," he said.

"I want to present some ideas to them and you just never know how it's going to translate from training to the game after three training sessions. And I asked a lot of them, you know, and if there's a goal, I mean, that's on me.

"When you don't have a lot of time to work and you want to play a certain way it creates confusion.

"Players are going to take responsibility for quality of action. The translation of the ideas wasn't clear enough because you shouldn't be static and you shouldn't pass the ball just to pass the ball. You're trying to be trying to accelerate play as quickly as you can."

Germany have two potential Ballon d'Or winners on their hands in Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz, so says Julian Nagelsmann.

Musiala scored once and laid on three assists as Germany hammered Hungary 5-0 in the Nations League on Saturday.

One of Musiala's assists teed up Wirtz to make it 3-0, after the Bayer Leverkusen star had teed up Germany's number 10 for the hosts' second goal in Dusseldorf. 

Musiala created seven chances throughout, while Wirtz played two key passes as Germany mustered 3.7 xG to Hungary's 1.1.

“When both are in the mood and really put their foot down, it's difficult for the opposition, they're exceptionally good," Nagelsmann told ZDF.

"These are two footballers – when they link up with each other, it's very, very good to watch.

"Jamal has already undergone a great transformation in the past year in terms of his presence in the box. During [Euro 2024] it was very good, today it was phenomenal."

Speaking to Sky Sport, Nagelsmann said: "Both [Musiala and Wirtz] have the potential to win the Ballon d'Or."

At the age of 21 years and 194 days, Musiala became the youngest player to record four direct goal involvements in a single Nations League match.

Niclas Fullkrug opened the scoring just before the half-hour, and the West Ham forward said: "It is fun to watch that today. 

"Jamal was in really good form. It is great to have him in the squad.

"We made a lot of deep runs and made it really hard for the opponents. Even when we did not have possession we controlled the game."

Albert Rusnak's hat-trick propelled the Seattle Sounders to a shock 4-0 win over the 10-man Columbus Crew.

The short-handed Crew were dealt a huge blow when, in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, goalkeeper Abraham Romero saw red for a foul on Jordan Morris.

With regular goalkeepers Patrick Schulte and Nicholas Hagen on international duty, Crew coach Wilfried Nancy had to turn to centre-back Sean Zawadzki.

But it took Seattle just four minutes to get the better of the stand-in, with Rusnak converting the resulting free-kick following Romero's foul.

Morris doubled Seattle's tally on the hour mark, with Rusnak then completing his hat-trick with a quickfire double.

Columbus are third in the Eastern Conference, while Seattle are fifth in the West.

Data Debrief: Rusnak turns from provider to scorer

Rusnak had never scored a hat-trick before, but this one will be memorable for several reasons. It also came on the back of the midfielder creating six chances in last week's loss to the Portland Timbers, which was the most by any Sounders player in a single regular-season game in over three years.

The defeat was just Columbus' second at home in the space of 39 matches, though Seattle have now won six of their nine regular-season visits to Columbus, the highest winning percentage of any MLS team to have played the Crew eight or more times on the road.

Declan Rice "was never going to celebrate" after scoring against the Republic of Ireland in England's 2-0 Nations League victory.

The midfielder was met by a hostile crowd in Dublin having previously represented Ireland before changing allegiance to England.

But Rice had the last laugh, lashing home in the 11th minute before teeing up Jack Grealish, who previously represented Ireland at youth level, to seal a comfortable win for Lee Carsley's side.

It marked his fourth goal for the Three Lions but Rice did not feel the need for celebrations.

"Obviously, it was an amazing feeling to score, but I was never going to celebrate. I have Irish family, my nan and grandad, who are not here anymore and I think it would have been disrespectful to them if I celebrated," he told beIN Sports.

"It happened six, seven years ago so it’s such a long time ago now. I get on really well with a lot of the Irish boys so there’s nothing hard done by, by me. Obviously, the fans feel a certain way, and that’s absolutely fine.

"I just wanted to focus and get my head back in the game to score more goals."

The last time Rice had played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin was six years and 97 days prior to Saturday's match. On that occasion, he represented Ireland against the USA in June 2018.

Now in the white shirt of England, Rice helped interim manager Carsley to a debut win in Dublin after the resignation of Gareth Southgate following Euro 2024.

"It's been refreshing this week to play with [Carsley] and play with his staff. We're playing in a different way to what we were before," reflected Rice.

"It's going to take a bit of time for us to be amazing at what we do, but a lot of the players that play at [Manchester] City, Liverpool, Arsenal, we play a similar way, so it's easy to adapt.

"It was really good, it was really refreshing. I'm feeling much fitter in myself which is a real positive. It was a really good result in the end."

While Rice now represents a relative stalwart of the England squad with 59 caps, former England Under-21s manager Carsley, himself an ex-Ireland international, handed debuts to Morgan Gibbs-White and Angel Gomes, while he also played Anthony Gordon and Levi Colwill from the start.

"We've obviously been really close now in back-to-back Euros, at a World Cup, so the next thing for England is to win," said Rice.

"We need to strive and keep building towards that. It’s a different group this time, more younger players, but I'm sure we’ll be better for it. Going forward, it's going to be really positive, and it's going to be a fresh start."