Republic of Ireland are set to face Israel twice in UEFA Nations League matches, but are facing calls for a boycott. The international football friendly between the Republic of Ireland and Qatar in Dublin was twice halted by home fan protests against their side's upcoming fixtures against Israel. The Irish are due to face Israel twice in the UEFA Nations League competition, but have faced strong backlash against the fixtures with calls for the games to be boycotted.
An open letter sent to the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) from campaign group Irish Sport for Palestine accuses Israel of engaging in genocide in the war in Gaza and of breaching UEFA and FIFA statutes by allowing teams to play on occupied Palestinian land.
To be able to continue in this role means a lot to me. I feel both a great pride and a great responsibility. It's a big day for me and a fantastic opportunity to do something important going forward ... Sweden is a football country with a proud history of teams that have made it to the finals of major championships and competed there, which we want to return to.
With Craig Bellamy watching from the stands as he served a touchline ban, Wales unsurprisingly dictated proceedings in Vaduz. Nathan Broadhead had a goal disallowed by VAR in the first half, but clear-cut chances were few and far between for the visitors despite their dominance. But Jordan James finally broke the deadlock just after the hour mark, and his goal proved to be enough to keep Wales level on points with second-placed Macedonia in Group J.
Missing all-time top scorer Aleksandar Mitrović through injury, a reshaped Serbia side-led for the first time by new coach Veljko Paunović-could not break down England's resolute defense in miserable Wembley conditions. Goals from Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze on either side of half-time, combined with Albania's victory over Andorra, confirmed that Serbia cannot finish in the top two of their qualifying section.
Everyone who loves football would be overjoyed to see San Marino qualify for the World Cup. The micro-nation situated in northern-central Italy have been attempting to make it to the World Cup since 1994, but have so far never won a qualification game, earning just two points in 83 games. And bizarrely, they need that trend to continue to be in with any chance of qualifying for next summer's tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
They're a top side, they are in League A for a reason, and we know we are going to be up against it and we're going to have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, we have worked on that, and we are prepared for it,
