Roberto Martinez has "no doubt" Cristiano Ronaldo can play a part for Portugal when they take on Scotland in their Nations League clash as he played down fears of fatigue.

Ronaldo was on the scoresheet in Portugal's 3-1 win over Poland in Warsaw and was substituted off with 63 minutes on the clock.

Martinez's men are top of Nations League Group A1 and there were suggestions Ronaldo may be rested for Tuesday's clash at Hampden Park.

However, the ex-Belgium boss has suggested that will not be the case, with the Al-Nassr forward likely to feature either as a starter or a substitute. 

"I think the age of a player doesn't come to play," he said at a press conference. 

"Ronaldo doesn't work as a 39-year-old player. He doesn't play certainly as a 39-year-old player.

"I think we are assessing every player and how they feel. Cristiano has been working really well in this camp. 

"The difficulty of playing two games away from home is more how can you prepare between the two? How can you recover with the players?"

Nico Williams holds fighting against racism as his sole lifetime goal amid continued issues with such abuse in Spain.

The Athletic Bilbao forward was subject to racial abuse away to Atletico Madrid last season, leading Spain's footballing authorities to force a partial closure of their south stand for two matches.

Vinicius Junior has suffered similar targeting for Atletico's fierce rivals Real Madrid, with the Brazilian suggesting Spain should be stripped of the honour in hosting the 2030 World Cup unless progress is made.

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) has attempted numerous anti-racism measures in an effort to clamp down on the issue, while Spanish court made history by issuing the first criminal conviction for racial insults in a football stadium in June.

Williams will not be satisfied until the abuse is erased entirely, however, as the Spain winger – whose brother Inaki plays for Ghana and alongside him at club level – pledged to continue in the much-needed fight.

"My brother and I, as black people, have an important task in this life, which is the fight against racism," Williams said in an interview with Spanish media outlet El Mundo.

"It's my number one goal. As a public figure, in order to contribute to that fight, I cannot be sidetracked or become a freak and not have my feet on the ground."

The issues remain prevalent in Spain – a Mallorca fan was issued a 12-month suspended prison sentence for racially insulting Vinicius and Villarreal's Samuel Chukwueze in September. 

"I think that Spain is moving forward on the right path and we must continue like this. I am very happy to see that progress is being made," Williams added.

"There are always people who try to sell another image of immigrants, but they are a minority."

Williams attracted attention from Barcelona and a host of European giants after playing a decisive role in Spain's victory at Euro 2024. 

The 22-year-old believes his efforts with the national team embody a multicultural Spain, having been born in the country to Ghanaian parents, with his brother Inaki opting to play for his home country.

"It is important to make everyone aware that many people come to Spain to earn their bread, to try to achieve a future that they do not have in their countries and to give a better life to their children," he continued.

"My family did that journey. I am going to try to do everything in my power so that these people can have a better life."

A brace from captain Derrel Garcia propelled ten-man St Benedict's College to a 2-0 victory over East Mucurapo Secondary School to strengthen their lead atop the Premier Division of the Secondary Schools Football League at the Queen’s Royal College Ground, Serpentine Road, Port-of-Spain on Saturday. 

Garcia’s first goal came in the 59th minute as he quickly latched on to a Cam'Ron Burke pass before unleashing a right-footed shot from 20-yards out that beat Mucurapo goalkeeper Orlando Francis. 

The former Trinidad & Tobago youth player got his second goal of the game nine minutes from full time with a brilliantly placed strike from just outside the box after beating two defenders.

The win instead ensured that St. Benedict's College maintained a six-point advantage at the top while defending champions Fatima College played to 2-2 draw with Speyside at their home ground on Mucurapo Road, Port-of-Spain. 

The other results on Saturday were as follows:

Malick Secondary 1-3 Presentation College

Fatima College 2-2 Speyside Secondary

Miracle Ministries Pentecostal High 1-1 Signal Hill Secondary

Naparima College 2-0 St Mary's College

St Anthony's College 4-1 Queen’s Royal College

St Augustine Secondary 1-1 San Juan North Secondary

Trinity College 1-1 Arima North Secondary

St. Benedict’s lead the 16-team table with 28 points from 10 games, six ahead of Presentation in second and eight ahead of defending champions Fatima College in third.

St. Anthony’s and Arima North close out the top five with 18 points each while the top 10 is rounded out by Naparima (15 points), St. Augustine (14 points), QRC (13 points), Malick (11 points) and San Juan North (10 points).

St. Mary’s (10 points), Signal Hill (9 points), Trinity East (7 points), Speyside (6 points), East Mucurapo (6 points) and Miracle Ministries (4 points) round out the points standings.

Steve Clarke is aiming to prove the doubters wrong when Scotland welcome Portugal to Hampden Park in their Nations League clash on Tuesday. 

Scotland sit bottom of Group A1 after losing all three of their matches in the competition, the latest of which came in a 2-1 defeat to Croatia in Zagreb. 

The loss saw Clarke's side extend their longest winless run in competitive matches in their history to nine (D3 L6), while they have now lost four consecutive games for the first time in five years.

Scotland's recent run of form includes their dismal showing at Euro 2024, as they failed to reach the knockout stages for a sixth time at a major tournament, picking up just one point from their three games in Germany, though Clarke remains optimistic.

"It's a tough moment, no doubt about it, but we believe in ourselves," Clarke told BBC Sport.

"After 20 years in the international wilderness, this group has got to two major tournaments and been promoted to the top level of the Nations League, so I don't understand why there would be doubts.

"We have to believe in what we are doing and when I look at the players on the pitch, I believe in what we're doing.

"The players understand where we are in the process, and they are ready to go again.

"They understand that we are playing difficult opponents, and they understand the squad could be stronger.

"I don't speak about that too much, since we have to concentrate on who we have here.

"We have to go out against Portugal, and we know we have to be good at everything we do in the game."

But in aiming to rediscover that winning feeling, they face an uphill task against a Portugal side who have won each of their last seven competitive away games by an aggregate score of 22-1.

Scotland have also lost each of their last four matches against the Selecao, with the Scots only currently on a longer run of defeats against Belgium and Brazil (both six). 

But one positive from their display against Croatia was the performance of Ben Doak.

At 18 years and 336 days old, Doak became the youngest player to start a competitive match for Scotland since Willie Johnston against Poland in 1965 (18 years and 298 days) against Croatia.

However, Clarke stressed the importance of not piling too much pressure onto the youngster's shoulders so early into his international career. 

"We're already starting to grow the next generation of players," Clarke said.

"As well as trying to be good now, I’m trying to leave a group who are ready to carry on. We don't want 20 years after this group without the success we all want.

"We want Ben to be a talent for the next 15 years, not 15 months, so don't put too much pressure on him.

"He's a young man, he will make mistakes in the game, he will do really good things in the game.

"We need to get the balance right between giving Ben the opportunity to play, which he's more than capable of taking, and protecting him a bit, make sure we don't overhype."

Barcelona have confirmed Lamine Yamal suffered a left hamstring strain while on international duty with Spain.

The 17-year-old limped off in the 93rd minute of their Nations League clash against Denmark on Saturday before returning to Barcelona to undergo further tests.

He was one of La Roja's brightest players in the 1-0 victory, having five of their 25 shots, the most by a Spain player in the competition this season.

However, he is now set for an undetermined spell on the sidelines, though he is likely to miss their LaLiga match against Sevilla on Sunday.

Yamal has started 11 of Barca's 12 games in all competitions so far, and Hansi Flick will be hoping he is not set to endure a long layoff, with matches against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Real Madrid in the league also coming up next week.

If he is not involved, it would prove a huge blow for Barcelona. This season, Yamal and Robert Lewandowski have been involved in 21 Barcelona goals in LaLiga, the best goalscoring duo of any club in the big five European Leagues.

"Tests carried out this morning on first team player Lamine Yamal have confirmed that he has a left hamstring strain. His return to training will be determined by his recovery time," Barcelona said in a statement on social media.

Barcelona return to league action this weekend when they welcome Sevilla to the Camp Nou on Sunday.

Concacaf on Thursday announced new formats for the Confederation’s U-17 Men’s and Women’s World Cup Qualifiers.

The announcement follows FIFA’s confirmation earlier this year that it will increase the frequency of the FIFA U-17 Men’s World Cup and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Both will become annual competitions with expanded participation to 48 and 24 teams, respectively.

The new Men’s Qualifiers will consist of a single round. The participating Concacaf Member Associations will be divided into eight groups, with the number of teams per group varying depending on the total number of participants.

After round-robin play, in which each team will play against each team in its group once, the group winners (eight teams in total) will qualify for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

The first edition of the Concacaf U-17 Men’s Qualifiers under the new format will take place between February 7 and 16, 2025.

The 2025 Concacaf U-17 Men’s Qualifiers official draw will take place on October 24 at the Concacaf Headquarters in Miami, FL. Fans will be able to follow on the Confederation’s YouTube channel starting at 11 am ET.

The new Women’s Qualifiers will consist of two rounds, with the four highest-ranked participating Concacaf Member Associations (based on the Concacaf U-17 Women’s Rankings) receiving a bye to the Final Round.

For the Round One, the Member Associations ranked fifth and below will be split into six groups, with the number of teams per group varying depending on the total number of participants. After round-robin play, the six group winners and the two best second-place finishers (eight teams in total) will advance to the Final Round, joining the four top-ranked teams (twelve in total).
 
The Final Round will also be played in a group format, consisting of three groups of four teams each. After round-robin play, the three group winners and the best second-place finisher (four teams in total) will qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
 
The first edition of the Concacaf U-17 Women’s Qualifiers under the new format will take place between January 27 and February 1, 2025 (Round One) and March 31 and April 6, 2025 (Final Round).  
 
The 2025 Concacaf U-17 Women’s Qualifiers Round One official draw will take place on October 16 at the Concacaf Headquarters in Miami, FL. Fans will be able to follow on the Confederation’s YouTube channel starting at 11 am ET.

Demarai Gray and Head Coach Steve McClaren have called on Jamaican fans to pack the National Stadium in Kingston on Monday night as the Reggae Boyz face Honduras in a critical CONCACAF Nations League Group B showdown. Jamaica needs at least a draw to secure a spot in the quarter-finals, but with Honduras' dangerous attacking form and the possibility of Nicaragua defeating French Guiana, a win is the safer route to qualification.

Monday’s clash set for 8:00 pm (Jamaica) will be the 30th meeting between the two nations, with both sides having won 12 games each, and five ending in draws. The Reggae Boyz are undefeated in their last seven encounters with Honduras, a streak that stretches back to 2013. However, Honduras remains a formidable opponent, leading the group in scoring with eight goals and looking to shake their recent defensive struggles.

Gray, who has been instrumental in Jamaica's recent back-to-back away wins against Honduras (2-1) and Nicaragua (2-0), emphasized the importance of fan support for Monday’s high-stakes encounter. "I think it's very important. Going to those countries and playing, I kind of like the hostile feeling about it. It kind of gives me a boost as well, but I think the stature of Jamaica...I've said it before, the Jamaican culture is popular all over the world, and I am honoured to represent the country," Gray said.

The Reggae Boyz winger urged fans to turn out in large numbers and create an atmosphere that will inspire the players and intimidate the opposition. "As a player, it's something I am always looking forward to—the stadium being full, a sellout, having that atmosphere. The 12th man behind you is massively important, and I've played football long enough to know it can intimidate teams as well. With the quality we have, a lot of teams will be intimidated already, so with the fans backing us, it’s just an extra bonus for us," Gray added.

Coach McClaren echoed Gray’s sentiments, highlighting the role of the fans in creating a powerful home advantage. "One of our goals, the vision that I have, is to fill the stadium, to have a full house, and for it to be rocking. With the music and everything going on around the game, it’s very different from Nicaragua, very different from Honduras, but just as intimidating," McClaren said.

He explained that the energy from the crowd could provide the team with the extra push needed to secure the win. "It's not about intimidation; it's about uplifting the home players. That's what a home advantage is—to lift you above the opponent, to give you an extra 10 to 20 percent to deliver the result. So, we need the fans," McClaren stressed.

With Jamaica ranked 61st in the latest FIFA rankings, 16 places above Honduras, and in good form heading into this decisive fixture, the support from the Jamaican crowd could be the key to securing a quarter-final berth in the CONCACAF Nations League.

Ma

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines delivered a stunning performance on Sunday, defeating El Salvador 2-1 in a dramatic Concacaf Nations League clash at Arnos Vale Stadium. The victory cut El Salvador’s lead at the top of Group A in League B to just two points, reigniting the Vincy Heat’s hopes of advancing in the competition.

Heading into the match, El Salvador was on the verge of earning promotion and securing a direct spot in the 2025 Gold Cup with a win. However, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had other plans, rallying in front of their home fans to secure a crucial three points.

The hosts took the lead in the 39th minute when Shakeem Adams capitalized on a bouncing ball in the box, slotting it home from close range to send the crowd into early celebrations. Despite El Salvador's efforts to find a quick equalizer, they were unable to break through the Vincy Heat defense in the first half.

El Salvador, however, responded with intensity in the second half, and their persistence paid off in the 71st minute. Captain Rudy Clavel headed in a redirected ball from a corner kick to bring La Selecta level, putting them back in control of their promotion ambitions.

But the drama was far from over. In the 88th minute, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines snatched the win with a moment of brilliance. Diel Spring slid in to connect with a perfectly placed cross from Bishon Richards, sending the ball past the El Salvador goalkeeper and sparking wild celebrations at Arnos Vale.

With the win, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines moved to seven points, closing the gap on group leaders El Salvador, who remain at the top with nine points. Meanwhile, Bonaire leaped to third in the group with four points after a 1-0 win over Montserrat, while Montserrat now sits at the bottom of Group A with three points.

The victory marks a significant moment for the Vincy Heat as they continue their push for qualification, while El Salvador will now have to regroup to secure promotion in the final stages of the 2024/25 Concacaf Nations League.

Pep Guardiola has played down expectations that he has decided to take over as the next permanent England manager.

The 53-year-old would be a popular choice for the job, given the success that has followed him at every club since becoming a manager.

Guardiola has won six Premier League titles at City, including each of the last four, while he won three league titles each with Bayern Munich and Barcelona. He is also a three-time Champions League winner and 10-time domestic cup winner as a manager.

But when asked about the England job amid reports claiming his next step had been decided, he was not drawn on any speculation.

"It's not true. I'm Manchester City manager," he told Che Tempo Che Fa, as per transfer football expert Fabrizio Romano.

But despite his dismissive comments, Guardiola stopped short of shutting down the rumours that he could be considering becoming the next England manager.

"I've not decided anything, everything can happen. So I don't know," he said.

"Let's see on my future. I still need to reflect and decide what I want to do."

Guardiola's contract at City is up at the end of the 2024-25 season, with the Spaniard yet to make a decision on his future at the club.

Alongside any potential sanctions that City might face in their long-running battle with the Premier League, speculation about their manager's future has been rife in recent months.

He is far and away City's most successful manager of all time, maintaining a win percentage of over 70% after 483 matches in charge, while he is second to Alex Ferguson as the manager with the most Premier League titles.

France manager Didier Deschamps believes Kylian Mbappe should be allowed to do what he wants, playing down rumours of a rift between the two.

The comments came after Mbappe was spotted in a nightclub in Sweden on Thursday, the same night France beat Israel 4-1, having been left out of the squad by Deschamps to recover from an injury.

Mbappe had suffered a muscle injury with Real Madrid last month and was given the international break to rest by the France manager. 

But Deschamps was both unconcerned and unaware of the striker's excursion.

"I don't follow the news of players who are not here," he said. "Kylian is following a programme with Real Madrid. I don't know if he was away or not."

The controversy stems from rumours that Mbappe had asked Deschamps to only play him in 'important' international matches, as he prioritises winning the Ballon d'Or.

Given that Mbappe had returned from injury for Real Madrid, coming off the bench against Lille in the Champions League earlier this month and starting the 2-0 victory over Villarreal in LaLiga a few days later, the decision to leave Mbappe out raised questions.

Deschamps, though, was quick to give a logical explanation for the absence of their biggest player, who is just nine goals behind Olivier Giroud (57) as France's all-time top scorer.

"Like any player for his club, he follows a programme. If players have days off, they are free to do what they want," added Deschamps.

France face Belgium on Monday without Mbappe, having beaten them 2-0 at home in the reverse fixture last month.

The striker only made a 23-minute cameo off the bench in that game, though he had the joint-most shots in the game (four) and the second-most touches in the box (five) among his team-mates.

Deschamps' side are, in fact, unbeaten in their last five matches without their captain in the starting XI. They are a point behind group-leaders Italy at the halfway point.

Interim England manager Lee Carsley is adamant that he has not ruled himself out of the job on a permanent basis after hinting that he was not yet the world-class coach needed.

England responded to their shock 2-1 defeat at home to Greece on Thursday with a 3-1 victory in Finland on Sunday.

While the Three Lions were still not at their brilliant best, it was a marked improvement on their last match. However, conversation was dominated by Carsley's future and questions over who will take the role after the match.

"Definitely not," Carsley said after being asked in the post-match press conference whether he felt it was too soon for him to become the senior manager. 

"I tried to make it as clear as I could. My remit was for three camps. The point I was trying to make is it is one of the top jobs in the world.

"I'm not part of the process, but it deserves a top coach. The players we have available, we've got a real chance of winning. That was the point I was making."

Plenty had assumed that the 50-year-old's comments about still being on the path to becoming a world-class coach were effectively him putting himself out of the running for the job.

Among a volley of questions about the future of the job, he was asked directly if that was an incorrect conclusion to draw from those remarks.

"Yeah, definitely. Like I say, it's important that I do the best that I can," he said.

"It's a privilege to do this job. I feel well trusted, it's a great job and, you know, whoever gets it will be fully deserving."

Regardless of his comments in Helsinki though, Carsley does have a track record of being non-committal when asked about the potential of getting the job permanently.

That is, according to him, because he has been deliberately trying to keep an open mind about things after learning from previous experiences.

"I'm definitely reluctant [to say whether I want the job] because in the past, when I've done this caretaker/interim role, I've gone so far down the 'I don’t want the job' [route] that I've actually not done the job," he said.

"One of the things I spoke about when I was asked to take temporary charge is that it's important I keep an open mind because in that case, I’m not being reckless with my decisions.

"I'm thinking thoroughly about how the team should play, the squad I should pick, which is a challenge because squad selection is very difficult.

"The amount of players we have to leave out and what we've got available for us, and I've got another camp to do. It's just a shame we can't play Greece next week."

England's away game in Greece will be their most important in deciding their Nations League fate, with their upcoming hosts top of the group with a three-point buffer to second.

Carsley's side will need to win and then better Greece's result at Wembley if they are to have any chance of returning to the top division in the competition. But the interim manager was ultimately pleased with what he saw on Sunday.

"We won the game, scored three good goals," he added. "It was a shame we couldn't keep a clean sheet.

"I still don't know the players that well yet in terms of the way the team reacts to a defeat and a setback, so I was thrilled with the way they responded."

Ilie Sanchez's stoppage-time goal secured Los Angeles FC a 2-1 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps in MLS on Sunday.

Sergi Palencia's own goal had cancelled out Mateusz Bogusz's early opener at BC Place, but LAFC found their winner last on to close the gap to leaders LA Galaxy to just three points in the Western Conference.

David Martinez cut Vancouver's defence open with a throughball to Bogusz, who dinked a lovely finish over Yohei Takaoka from a tight angle on the left just 34 seconds into the match.

Bogusz then thought he had doubled their advantage after springing on a brilliant save from Takaoka to deny Palencia, but it was ruled out for a foul in the build-up.

The Spaniard handed the Whitecaps their equaliser – he gave away a free-kick on the left and got the final contact on Sebastian Berhalter's free-kick to help it past Hugo Lloris.

Having weathered the storm from Vancouver after the equaliser, including a clearance off the line by Timothy Tillman, LAFC found a late winner, with Sanchez firing in from the edge of the box.

And Brian White, who had glanced a header narrowly wide earlier in the second half, squandered the chance for an even later equaliser, flicking another effort off the far post in the dying seconds.

Data Debrief: Quick out of the blocks

Despite their winning goal coming late in the game, it was actually LAFC's quick start that set them up for the win - Bogusz's goal was their fastest in MLS this season, and their second fastest in history.

They have also scored nine goals in the opening 15 minutes of games, with only St. Louis City (12) and New York City FC (11) netting more.

Meanwhile, Vancouver have now lost each of their last three matches, their longest such streak since October 2022-March 2023.

Kylian Mbappe must be afforded time to understand his new Real Madrid role, with differing challenges posed compared to his success with France and Paris Saint-Germain.

Former Argentina international Mario Kempes believes Mbappe will not have faced an experience like the pressure that comes with playing with Madrid.

The France captain has still managed seven goals in just 11 appearances to start his Los Blancos career, including finding the net five times in eight LaLiga appearances.

Yet Kempes, a 43-cap Argentina international, says Mbappe will have to adapt after what he sees as easier challenges when playing for France and Ligue 1 giants PSG.

"I can't talk about being a number nine, because I've never been one. I think it's all a matter of getting used to it, because Mbappe isn't going to come in and score 40 goals," Kempes told Stats Perform at Festival dello Sport in Trento, Italy.

"It's different to play in France or in the national team, it's nothing like playing in Madrid. At Madrid, you have to play 11 players or more every game and sometimes the ball doesn't go in or hits the post."

Mbappe scored 27 times in 29 league appearances for PSG last term, as well as eight goals in 12 Champions League outings.

He has taken to life in Spain with ease, too, also managing five LaLiga goals in September – a tally no player could better last month across Europe's top five leagues.

The 25-year-old has since opted to sit out of France's October internationals with Israel and Belgium, despite declaring himself fit to play for Carlo Ancelotti's side.

That has caused backlash from some supporters in France and former players after Mbappe made his focus clear on his intentions with Madrid, and his sights on a first Ballon d'Or.

His success with Madrid will be dictated by the relationship with his team-mates, says Kempes, who expects Mbappe to need time to impress in the Spanish capital.

"You also have to get to know your team-mates," Kempes added. "They are young and have a lot of desire and are very good, you also have to get to know each other on the pitch.

"There is still a long way to go."

Mbappe and Madrid return to domestic action on Saturday when they visit Celta Vigo.

Erling Haaland endured a miserable outing as Norway captain, with his goal-scoring exploits powerless in his side's 5-1 defeat to Austria in their Nations League encounter.

Haaland, standing in for injured skipper Martin Odegaard, watched on as his side suffered a second-half collapse at the Raiffeisen Arena. 

The Manchester City striker became his nation's all-time top scorer with a brace in their 3-0 win over Slovenia, taking his total to 34 goals in 36 games, and threatened to add to that tally when he struck the post in the sixth minute.

However, a dominant start by the hosts was rewarded when Marko Arnautovic thundered his side in front in the eighth minute with a fierce effort off the crossbar. 

However, Norway found themselves level six minutes before half-time when Alexander Sorloth headed Julian Ryerson's free-kick beyond the on-rushing Patrick Pentz. 

Andreas Hanche-Olsen's foul on Christoph Baumgartner inside the box proved to be the beginning of the end for Norway, with Arnautovic stepping up to score the resulting penalty.

Austria increased their lead soon after through Philipp Lienhart's header, with Stefan Posch nodding the hosts 4-1 in front after being picked out at the back post by Marcel Sabitzer.

The rout was complete in the 71st minute, with Sabitzer again the architect, teeing up Michael Gregoritsch with yet another header to send Austria joint-top of Group B3. 

Luciano Spalletti lauded Italy's spirit but warned his side must learn from their mistakes when they host Israel in Monday's Nations League clash.

Italy are top of their group, one point ahead of France, who smashed Israel 4-1 on Thursday.

Spalletti's side were held to a 2-2 draw with Belgium on the same day, throwing away an early two-goal lead after Lorenzo Pellegrini was dismissed for striking out at Arthur Theate.

The Azzurri manager referenced that error as Spalleti urged his side to use the Belgium draw as a learning curve.

"The team is working hard, sweating for the shirt, sacrificing themselves," the former Napoli head coach said at Sunday's press conference. 

"The problem we learned from the last game is that in football one incident can ruin all the good work, so we must always learn from our mistakes."

Italy defeated Israel 2-1 in their first group-stage meeting thanks to goals from Davide Frattesi and Moise Kean in Budapest.

Spalletti expects another stern examination, however, as Israel aim to bounce back from their thrashing by France last time out.

"I don't know exactly who will start because it's a very delicate game with many hidden dangers," Spalletti added before confirming Guglielmo Vicario will start in goal instead of Gianluigi Donnarumma.

"Israel are a good team that can play football, so we have to keep our balance and organisation. I hope our team can take control of the game.

"Israel won't have the same attitude they showed against us or with France, as at times they sit deep and wait, at others they try to press you."

Juventus midfielder Nicolo Fagioli will be pushing for a starting berth in Udine, though questions remain as to whether he can partner Torino's Samuele Ricci.

"Fagioli deserves more playing time and he is working hard, but this time I won't be able to give you too many hints on the line-up," continued Spalletti.

"He can play with Ricci, I gave him the role in front of the defence because I think it can suit him, but he must also know how to change tempo and direction, shake off man-marking and use the midfield like a trampoline to bounce the ball from one side to another."