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• Spain ready for Serbia test despite missing 'irreplaceable' stars, says De la Fuente

  Luis de la Fuente backed his Spain side to step-up in their Nations League clash against Serbia, despite being without a plethora of their "irreplaceable" players.

  Spain know a victory over Tuesday's opponents will put them within touching distance of qualification, having taken seven points from their first three games. 

  However, De la Fuente will be without Barcelona's Lamine Yamal for the clash in Cordoba, with the 17-year-old the latest name to withdraw from La Roja's ranks. 

  Yamal limped off in the 93rd minute of their Nations League win over Denmark before returning to Barcelona to undergo further tests, revealing he suffered a hamstring strain.

  "(Yamal) is irreplaceable," De la Fuente told a press conference on Monday. "(But) we have to play eleven and whoever replaces him will want to make a statement.

  "Lamine is fantastic, but... you have to understand that, in this life, nobody gives anything away for free. Whoever has to replace him, I'm sure they will do it very well."

  Yamal has since been replaced in the squad by Atletico Madrid's Rodrigo Riquelme, who will be hoping to make an impact against Serbia. 

  Yamal's absence only added to Spain's injury woes, with the European champions now without seven key players for the visit of Dragan Stojkovic's side.

  Nico Williams, Unai Simon, Dani Carvajal, Robin Le Normand, Rodri and Dani Olmo, who all starred in their Euro 2024 success, are all also unavailable due to injury. 

  "They are (too) irreplaceable, each one brings different things to the table. But we are lucky that this is a national team and the best players come here," De la Fuente said.

  "I never miss anyone, because those who are playing are (also) very good.

  "Obviously, we don't work with closed blocks as it happens at club level, but we also have players who have been here for a long time and internalise the messages.

  "In a club you have much more time to do many more things than we do."

• Bellamy wants more from Wales after extending unbeaten start

  Craig Bellamy insists there is still room for improvement for Wales after seeing off Montenegro 1-0 to make it four games without defeat.

  Harry Wilson's 36th-minute penalty earned Wales all three points in Monday's Nations League Group B4 clash at Cardiff City Stadium.

  Bellamy, who succeeded Rob Page in July, is the first Wales head coach to avoid defeat in his first four games in charge of the senior men's side.

  As well as beating Montenegro home and away, Wales have also drawn 0-0 at home to Turkiye and 2-2 in Iceland.

  Reflecting on his side's latest win, Bellamy told S4C: "I was impressed by us being able to control the tempo of the second half, but we still need improvement on it.

  "You will get breaks and it feels like you can score because they have players forward, but it's also dangerous then for the counter.

  "That transitional game becomes a little complicated, whereas in the first half they sat a lot deeper which allows us to really control the tempo of the game. Of course at the moment that really suits us.

  "But we have got to stay calm, in transition but even when we have knockdowns and balls in and around.

  "You secure the ball and pass to your team-mates and there are still bits for improvement we need, but we were better than last time."

  Match-winner Wilson has now been directly involved in nine goals in his past 11 appearances for Wales, as many as in his previous 41 matches.

  The Fulham forward kept his place in a much-changed Wales side on the back of Friday's draw in Iceland, which showed seven alterations in all.

  Wilson was the star performer in a game Wales dominated for large parts, with Montenegro failing to register a single shot on target.

  It means the Dragons have avoided facing an effort on target in two of their past seven matches across all competitions, matching the tally from their previous 34 games.

  For all Wales' dominance, though, Montenegro substitute Andrija Radulovic fired a 20-yard drive against the crossbar.

  "There were a lot of changes, and a lot of players who all definitely deserved the opportunity to play as well," Bellamy added. "The Nations League is so good and so competitive."

  Wales trail leaders Turkiye by two points heading into next month's contest in Kayseri, before the Dragons round off their Nations League campaign at home to Iceland.

  Montenegro, bottom of the table without a point and on a record run of six losses in a row, host Iceland and Turkiye in their final two matches.

• Belgium 1-2 France: Kolo Muani double deals Red Devils qualification blow

  Randal Kolo Muani's brace was enough to see 10-man France claim an important 2-1 triumph over Belgium in their Nations League Group A2 clash on Monday. 

  Kolo Muani netted either side of Lois Openda's first-half header before the visitors saw out the remaining 14 minutes after Aurelien Tchouameni's dismissal for two bookable offences.

  Belgium had the opportunity to take the lead when William Saliba's untimely slip wiped out Openda, only for Youri Tielemans to blaze his spot-kick over the crossbar.

  Didier Deschamps' side made no such mistake from 12 yards soon after, with Kolo Muani converting after Wout Faes' handball to hand France the lead in the 34th minute.

  Openda restored parity on the stroke of half-time, nodding Timothy Castagne's cross beyond Mike Maignan, only for Kolo Muani to edge France back into the lead when rising highest to power a header underneath the grasp of Koen Casteels just past the hour.

  Belgium were handed a late lifeline in their attempts to snatch a point when France's stand-in captain Tchouameni received a second yellow card for a foul on Tielemans, yet the visitors held on for an important win.

  Domenico Tedesco's side sit five points behind France and six adrift of leaders Italy with two games remaining after this significant blow to their top-two hopes in Brussels.

  Data Debrief: Kolo Muani Belgium's nemesis once again

  Kolo Muani continued his impressive streak for France in the Nations League here, notching his third goal of the competition, all of which have come against Belgium.

  The Paris Saint-Germain striker ended the contest as Les Bleus' biggest attacking threat, registering an expected goals (xG) tally of 0.86 of France's 1.42 total.

  Tchouameni, however, endured a night to forget in Belgium as his red saw him become the first player since Jules Kounde in September 2021 to be sent off for France, and the first as Les Bleus' captain at kick-off since Zinedine Zidane in the 2006 World Cup final.