Harry Kane is close to signing a new deal at Bayern Munich, Arda Guler has agreed a new contract with Real Madrid and Liverpool are leading the race for Bournemouth‘s Alex Scott.
England striker Harry Kane, 33, has agreed a new deal in principle with Bayern Munich, who are finalising the paperwork on a contract extension until summer 2029. (Sky Sports), external
Premier League clubs are keeping tabs on 22-year-old Italy midfielder Issa Doumbia, who joined Sporting from Venezia in the summer for 26m euros and has an 80m euro release clause in his contract. (Tuttomercatoweb – in Italian), external
A number of Premier League clubs watched Austria’s 19-year-old midfielder Jacob Hodl at Vitality Stadium on Thursday as Sturm Graz played Bournemouth. (Football Insider), external
Leeds United striker Lukas Nmecha, 27, is yet to agree a new deal as the German, who is out of contract in the summer, wants more playing time. (Teamtalk), external
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson is under increasing pressure at the Championship club and ex-Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is open to the role should a vacancy arise. (Talksport), external
Exeter boss Rob Baxter says he has been impressed with how young Wales back-row Kane James is maturing.
The 21-year-old won his international first cap in July when Wales lost in Argentina in the Nations Championship.
James broke into the Exeter squad last season and has started both of the Chiefs’ Prem games so far this campaign.
“He’s just following that really nice route where he’s improving at a nice rate, he’s having some good impact on games,” Baxter said.
“Kane can be really pleased with the trajectory his game is going in at the minute.”
James’ physical development has also been noted by Baxter, who says the former England Under-20 player – who switched allegiance to the country he grew up in earlier this year – has been working hard off the field.
“He’s getting thicker, that will happen with quality training, making sure he gets his nutrition and all this kind of stuff,” Baxter added.
“He’s such a diligent guy he is going to maximise his strength and his growth, but he is going to get bigger for quite some time, I would say with Kane.
“That obviously is helping him ride the contact, he’s explosive and very quick.
“Kane’s had a really, really good start to the season, we’ve got to just keep working on these little individual bits and pieces – sometimes in his determination to fly around, a little bit of accuracy trips, but that’s the way you want it.
“You want these lads enthusiastic to run around and get in the game and I think there’s a lot more still to come from Kane.”
Striker Harry Kane says he could reach 100 goals for England after equalling his country’s appearance record of 125, drawing praise from team-mates Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham.
Heavyweights England play away to Croatia, with captain Harry Kane going up against veteran Luka Modric.
Who: Croatia vs England What: UEFA Nations League 2026-27, Group A3 match Where: Rujevica Stadium, Rijeka, Croatia When: Saturday, October 3, at 6pm local time (16:00 GMT) Howto follow: Al Jazeera Sport will bring you all the build-up and live updates from 13:00 GMT
Action in the Nations League continues this weekend with a matchday three tie between Croatia and England.
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With a win and a defeat each, Croatia and England have both made a mixed start to this year’s competition.
Drawn in a group alongside the reigning world champions Spain and minnows Czechia, Croatia and England find themselves in an interesting yet challenging pool.
Captain Harry Kane has led from the front for the Three Lions, excelling in front of goal alongside winger Anthony Gordon, while Luka Modric continues to defy age, still playing a vital role in Croatia’s midfield even at 41.
Al Jazeera breaks down everything ahead of Croatia vs England:
What is the UEFA Nations League?
The UEFA Nations League was founded in 2018 to reduce the number of meaningless friendlies and give nations competitive matches against top-ranked teams.
In this competition, countries from across Europe participate in a league structure which features promotion and relegation.
How have Croatia and England played in the Nations League?
Both Croatia and England have won once and lost once.
Croatia started their Nations League campaign with a 2-1 win over Czechia in Prague before losing 4-1 to world champions Spain in Seville.
England, on the other hand, fell 3-2 to Spain in their campaign opener in London before beating a 10-man Czechia side 2-0 in Prague.
When did Croatia and England last meet?
They last met at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
England beat Croatia 4-2 in a World Cup group game on June 17 in Arlington, Texas. Captain Harry Kane scored a brace, while Marcus Rashford and Jude Bellingham scored a goal apiece.
Croatia vs England: Head-to-head
Matches: 12
Croatia wins: 3
England wins: 7
Draws: 2
Croatia vs England: Form guide
(Last five games, latest results first)
Croatia: L-W-L-W-W
England: W-L-W-L-W
Who are the top players to watch?
Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic (Croatia): The evergreen Modric, very much the heartbeat of the Croatian midfield even at 41 years old, scored the opening goal in their away win in Czechia. Time and again, the captain has pulled the strings in the middle of the park, proving age is just a number. His fellow experienced teammate, Perisic, is also chipping in style, bagging back-to-back assists.
England international Anthony Gordon has scored in back-to-back games [Justin Setterfield/Getty Images]
Harry Kane and Anthony Gordon (England): The script for England has looked the same in the last two games: Gordon opens the scoring, and Kane follows suit. While that wasn’t enough to beat the mighty Spain, it did the job against Czechia. Can this dynamic duo strike again? The numbers swing in their favour – Gordon has five assists already for Barcelona this season, while Kane has scored six times for Bayern Munich.
Team news and predicted lineups
Croatia
Centre-back Martin Erlic is out injured until mid-October, and right-back Josip Juranovic is sidelined with illness.
Probable Croatia XI: Dominik Livakovic; Josip Stanisic, Luka Vuskovic, Josko Gvardiol, Ivan Perisic; Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic; Luka Sucic, Petar Sucic, Franjo Ivanovic; Dion Beljo
England
England are without left-back Nico O’Reilly, who withdrew from the squad with injury.
Probable England XI: James Trafford; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Trevoh Chalobah, Marc Guehi, Lewis Hall; Elliot Anderson, Miles Lewis-Skelly; Bukayo Saka, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon; Harry Kane
Croatia vs England: TV channel, livestreaming
Croatia: gol
United Kingdom: ITV1
United States: FOX Sports, FuboTV, ViX
India: Sony Sports Network
Middle East and North Africa: beIN SPORTS
South Africa: DStv Stream
You can find your regional broadcaster on UEFA’s official broadcaster listing.
