Inter Miami claimed a crucial three points in the race for the MLS playoffs with a 2-1 victory over star-studded Eastern Conference outfit Toronto on Saturday.
The win means Phil Neville's side are unbeaten in five games and have won three of their past four to move up to fifth spot in the east.
All the goal scoring action occurred in the first half, with Inter going ahead after Toronto goalkeeper Alexander Bono's inexplicable error from Jean Mota's hopeful long-range strike in the 24th minute.
Italian recruit Lorenzo Insigne produced a moment of magic with a low right-foot volley to equalise four minutes later.
But Inter restored their lead in the 44th minute with a classy set play from a free-kick ending with Damion Lowe nodding back for Ariel Lassiter to stab home from close range.
Toronto midfielder Michael Bradley forced a save in the 72nd minute while Filippo Bernardeschi had a 94th-minute penalty shout waved away for the visitors.
Eastern Conference leaders Philadelphia Union flexed their muscle with Julian Carranza netting a hat-trick in a 6-0 away win over struggling DC United.
Philadelphia were in a ruthless mood although it was scoreless until Mikael Uhre got free and squeezed in the opener in the 37th minute.
Daniel Gazdag netted a penalty won by Uhre on half-time, before Carranza scored three goals inside 27 second-half minutes capitalizing on some inexplicable passing from the United defence. Cory Burke curled in the sixth in the 79th minute.
Reigning MLS Cup champions LAFC went down 2-1 at San Jose Earthquakes but became the first side to book their playoffs spot by virtue of other results.
Colorado Rapids drew 1-1 with Houston Dynamo, who found a late equaliser from Sebastian Ferreira, while Vancouver Whitecaps could only draw 1-1 at Real Salt Lake, locking in LAFC.
Kei Kamara moved into outright third in the MLS goal scoring charts with his 135th career league goal as Montreal defeated New England 4-0.
Matt Miazga marked his return to the MLS with a goal in his second game for FC Cincinnati as they drew 1-1 at his former club New York Red Bulls.
Minnesota United boosted their playoffs' hopes with a 2-1 win over Austin thanks to Franco Fragapane's 62nd-minute winner.
Rice "was never going to celebrate" against Republic of Ireland
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."
Koeman impressed with 'flashy' Netherlands, jumps to defend De Ligt mistakes
Ronald Koeman was pleased with the Netherlands' "flashy" display against Bosnia-Herzegovina, as he also jumped to the aid of defender Matthijs de Ligt.
A dominant Dutch display eventually reflected the scoreline it deserved upon Donatas Rumsas' final whistle, as they bounced back to winning ways with a 5-2 victory following their Euro 2024 semi-final disappointment.
Joshua Zirkzee's opener was cancelled out by Ermedin Demirovic, before strikes from Tijjani Reijnders and Cody Gakpo gave the Netherlands a comfortable advantage.
Edin Dzeko's 73rd-minute goal threatened to set a nervy conclusion to proceedings, only for Wout Weghorst and Xavi Simons to confirm an emphatic victory.
"We played really well in possession. Very fresh, fast, often finding the people between the lines," Koeman said.
"Especially after the break, we had a good phase, but then the game has to be over."
Despite registering 28 shots, with nine of those on target, along with an expected goals (xG) total of 4.09, two lapses in concentration from De Ligt were punished by Bosnia.
Demirovic capitalised on some poor positioning from the Manchester United defender, who was then caught ball-watching as veteran Dzeko capitalised.
But Koeman came to the defence of De Ligt, saying: "You concede two goals, you take that with you. When we went to 3-2, you also saw some doubt in the team, while that was not necessary if you looked at the proportions.
"[For the first goal] Simons should have done better. He was marking their left midfielder and suddenly walked away from him.
"Of course, the centre-backs are positioning themselves wrong too.
"He [De Ligt] also realises that he is in the wrong position. This shouldn't happen, but mistakes are part of football. I think it's unfair to make a big deal out of it."
Ronaldo's 900 goals 'an inspiration for football' – Martinez
Portugal boss Roberto Martinez sees Cristiano Ronaldo's "incredible" achievement of 900 career goals as an "inspiration for football".
Ronaldo netted his landmark goal on Thursday, scoring Portugal's winner in a 2-1 Nations League victory over Croatia.
The 39-year-old was already the leading goalscorer in the history of the game.
And Martinez feels nobody can put a limit on what Ronaldo is still able to achieve.
"I don't think scoring 900 goals is easy. It's a historic achievement, incredible, an inspiration for football," Martinez said ahead of Portugal's clash with Scotland.
"I don't think anyone can say that Cristiano can't do something. It's incredible what he's achieving, what he's doing in football.
"For us, the goal is collective. That he helps the national team."
Scotland lost 3-2 at home to Poland in their Nations League opener, but Martinez is expecting a fierce test on Sunday.
"Our players know the intensity of British football. Scotland have that. A lot of intensity, fast attacks, experience. We know the difference, but Scotland are objective, vertical, but have the quality to keep the ball," Martinez said.
"The last two games have shown that they want to win. They've lost their last few games after the 90th minute, they're objective, they've got top-class players. They're experienced and talented.
"It's not just a British team, a physical team, but a team with lots of skills and the game will be very competitive. We've prepared for that."
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