Submit your Article

Harry Kane's late penalty gave England a Nations League draw in Germany as he became only the second man to score 50 goals for his country, BBC reported.

England captain Kane sent Germany keeper Manuel Neuer the wrong way from the spot with two minutes left, as a VAR review ruled he had been brought down by Nico Schlotterbeck.

It was a goal that gave England their first point in the tournament after defeat in Hungary on Saturday and moved Kane into second place in the all-time record standings, moving ahead of Sir Bobby Charlton to sit only three behind Wayne Rooney, according to BBC.

England looked to be going down to their second defeat but came to life late on in Munich after going behind to Jonas Hofmann's deflected 50th-minute shot and will now look to build on this result when they face Italy at Molineux on Saturday.

Titleholder France failed to rebound from its opening defeat in the Nations League after it was held by Croatia to 1-1 on Monday, Associated Press reported.

Midfielder Adrien Rabiot broke the deadlock after the break and substitute Andrej Kramarić equalized from the spot late for Croatia not to lose to France for the first time in 11 years. 

The draw did neither any favors: France was stunned by Denmark 2-1 in Paris on Friday, the first loss after 20 unbeaten matches, and Croatia started its campaign by losing at home to Austria 3-0.

France will next travel to Austria on Friday while Croatia will visit Denmark, which took sole lead of their League A group.

Denmark made it two from two after beating Austria 2-1 in Vienna. Defender Jens Stryger scored six minutes from the end for Denmark. Xaver Schlager equalized for the hosts after Pierre-Emile Højbjerg’s opener.

The match was delayed by 90 minutes due to a power failure.

Denmark tops the group with six points, followed by Austria with three. France and Croatia have a point each, according to Associated Press.

The four group winners in League A will qualify for the final four in June next year. The group winners in the lower leagues will gain promotion.

France coach Didier Deschamps called the draw “satisfying” after changing 10 of the side which started the loss against Denmark.

France missed star striker Kylian Mbappé, who picked up a knee injury against Denmark, and also absent were Karim Benzema and Antoine Griezmann, replaced by Wissam Ben Yedder and Christopher Nkunku up front.

“This is our chance to prepare for the World Cup and try all the possibilities we have,” Deschamps said. “We are using this competition the best we can.”

At the World Cup in Qatar, France is grouped with Denmark, Tunisia and a yet-to-be-determined team, Associated Press reported.

The sold-out crowd of some 30,000 cheered Croatia captain Luka Modrić in his 150th appearance.

“It was a phenomenal feeling, I am happy and proud of my 150th match for Croatia,” Modrić said.

The first defensive half resulted in only one chance on each side and Nkunku had a goal disallowed for offside.

Rabiot exchanged passes with Ben Yedder, who set him up to find the back of the net with a left-foot shot seven minutes into the second half to put the visitors ahead.

Kramarić calmly sent the goalkeeper the wrong way with a low right-foot penalty seven minutes from time, Associated Press reported.

Brazil defeated Japan 1-0 in a friendly Monday thanks to a penalty by Neymar in the 77th minute after he was tripped in the box on a rainy night at Tokyo’s new National Stadium, Associated Press reported.

It was Neymar’s 74th goal for the national team, leaving him three short of matching the record held by Pele. He also scored two penalties last week in a 5-1 victory over South Korea as Brazil tested itself on an Asian tour against two teams who qualified for the World Cup.

Japan is now winless against Brazil in 13 matches (11 losses and 2 draws). Brazil also stretched its unbeaten run to 13 games. Its last loss came just under a year ago to Argentina in the Copa America final.

Defender Marquinhos knows Brazil was fortunate to get away with the narrow victory.

“We expected this to be a tougher match, but we also played better against South Korea,” Marquinhos said. “We made some mistakes that gave them confidence. This is a good test against a team that is ready for the World Cup.”

Brazil, an early favorite along with defending champion France, is grouped with Cameroon, Switzerland and Serbia at the World Cup. Japan was drawn in the toughest group and must face Germany and Spain in Qatar. Costa Rica or New Zealand will fill the other place, according to Associated Press.

“Sometime in the World Cup all you need is to win 1-0, and that’s what we did today,” the Brazilian defender added.

Brazil coach Tite said his team is “much better prepared” than it was four years ago going to the World Cup in Russia. Tite took over that team after Dunga was fired in 2016, two years ahead of the World Cup.

“The previous cycle (2016-18) brought me the experience,” he said. “I don’t underestimate that. I didn’t think I would be this long with the national team.”

Tite said he had hoped to play England or France before the World Cup, which proved impossible. He said he’s now looking for a team ranked in the top 30 for a match, perhaps in September.

Brazil had most of the possession and had several chances to score more goals, with Neymar missing a couple of opportunities from open play.

Brazil made four changes from the team that defeated South Korea. Dropped to the bench were goalkeeper Weverton, defender Thiago Silva, left back Alex Sandro and striker Richarlison. In their places, Alisson started in goal, Eder Militao and Guilherme in defense, and Vinicius Junior at striker, Associated Press reported.

Lucas Paqueta hit the post just a minute into the match, Fred hit the crossbar 10 minutes later, and Raphinha forced Japanese goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda to make the first save of the match from a close-range shot about 20 minutes into the game.

Neymar had his best chance midway through the first half but Gonda dived to his left to stop the effort. Gonda denied him again just before halftime, while Raphinha also missed a free kick late in the half.

Japan posed some threats early with Junya Ito trying to cross balls in from the right wing, forcing several corners, and also pressed early in the second half without managing to test goalkeeper Alisson, who had a quiet night.

In another friendly between Asian and South American teams, South Korea beat Chile 2-0. Hwang Hee-chan and Son Heung-min scored a goal each at home in Daejeon, according to Associated Press.

Brazil routed South Korea 5-1 last week.

Wales has qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 64 years after beating Ukraine in a play-off for this year's finals in Qatar, BBC reported.

Wales beat Ukraine 1-0 in Cardiff after captain Gareth Bale's free-kick was deflected into the visiting goal by Ukraine skipper Andriy Yarmolenko.

Wales will share Group B with USA, Iran and England at November's World Cup.

Fans are celebrating with many telling BBC Wales they never thought they would see this moment in their lifetime.

Wales' first minister, Michael Sheen, Gabby Logan, and a wealth of Welsh celebrities joined supporters from around the world praising the team.

"It's amazing what we can achieve when the whole country comes together," said Mark Drakeford, according to BBC.

"Commiserations to Ukraine - despite our differences on the field, Wales stands with you."

Fans leaving the Cardiff City Stadium after the game in the pouring rain sang and cheered as they celebrated Wales qualifying for the finals in Qatar in late November.

Ukraine fans had praised the home supporters for their welcome in Cardiff while the Welsh FA had invited the UK's Ukrainian ambassador to the game in support to the people of Ukraine in the war with Russia.

As well as holding banners in solidarity to Ukraine before kick-off, fans enjoyed a rousing rendition of Welsh football anthem Yma o Hydfrom folk singer Dafydd Iwan, BBC reported.

Skipper Bale has said their win over Ukraine is the "greatest result in history of Welsh football"and that sentiment was echoed by fan Clive Frances who hailed Wales' "amazing" achievement.