Europe's national teams will emerge from a 10-month hiatus as the second edition of the UEFA Nations League kicks off this week, still under the shadow the COVID-19 pandemic which brought football to a standstill earlier this year.
'But that in no way diminishes France's win. Maybe we were a bit unlucky, in the first six games we were favoured by luck'
The victory saw Spain finish top of League A4 with 11 points after six games, joining France in the final four tournament, which will take place in October 2021.
When Croatia take on France at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium later on Sunday, the team hopes to settle an old score with the French dating back to the 1998 World Cup.
A European nation is set to win the World Cup for the fourth time in a row this Sunday and in doing so confirm an unprecedented dominance for the Old World over their once mighty rivals in South America.
Croatia ruthlessly exposed England's limitations in the second half of the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday as Zlatko Dalic's side fought back to secure a famous 2-1 extra-time victory.
England, appearing in their first semi-final since 1990, had looked on course for their first final since 1966 as they led through Kieran Trippier's fifth-minute free kick and totally dominated the opening half.
The Adria Tour tournament, was the brainchild of World No 1 Novak Djokovic, who, along with his wife also tested positive for COVID-19 after the Adria Tour's second leg in Croatia.
Sania ousted from Qatar Total Open.
"Since 2008 we have never gone beyond this first knockout game and it was very important for us to get that monkey off our back," Modric said.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Hosts Russia have exceeded expectations after advancing to the World Cup quarter-finals with a win on penalties over Spain but they will need more firepower if they are to give Croatia a run for their money on Saturday.
Croatia's elated coach Zlatko Dalic lauded his captain Luka Modric who missed a penalty in extra time but then scored another in a shootout victory over Denmark on Sunday that put them in the World Cup quarter-finals.
'There are some challenges and combining parenting at home and teaching the kids at home and still going to practice and things like that, so it was challenging but at the same time you get through that together.'
Two wheels and an open road. Biking during Coronavirus Days.
'I can only see criticism lately and much of it is malicious'
Croatia were in dreamland on Thursday after advancing to the knockout phase of the World Cup for the first time in 20 years with a 3-0 rout of Argentina that left a subdued Lionel Messi and his team mates facing yet another flop.
Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena have tested negative for COVID-19, nine days after returning a positive test, the world number one tennis player's media team said on Thursday. Djokovic, along with Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki, tested positive after playing in the Adria Tour, an exhibition tournament organised by the 17-times Grand Slam champion.
A diving header from Mario Mandzukic took a deflection off the Nigerian midfielder and crept into the goal for a deserved lead as Croatia dominated the count of chances created in the first 45 minutes.
Novak Djokovic's intentions in organising the ill-fated Adria Tour were good but the world number one could have applied a bit more common sense to how the exhibition event was run, former ATP players' council head Vijay Amritraj said. The Serbian has faced fierce criticism after he, Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki contracted COVID-19 following the charity event in Serbia and Croatia.
'We have to think today about those people who died due to COVID before their time, those many grandparents who took their grandchildren to see Atalanta for the first time and who aren't with us anymore. I am thinking about them above all'
Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic has defended his Serbian compatriot Novak Djokovic for hosting the ill-fated Adria Tour where a number of players, including the world number one, tested positive for COVID-19. Djokovic was criticised for hosting the tennis tournament amid a pandemic after his coach Goran Ivanisevic and players Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki returned positive tests over the two legs in Serbia and Croatia.
Croatia coach Niko Kovac knows his side face an uphill task against Miguel Herrera's side in Recife in the wake of Mexico's confidence-boosting draw with Brazil.
Australian Nick Kyrgios has hit out at Alexander Zverev after a video appeared to show the German dancing at a crowded club on Sunday despite the world No. 7 pledging last week he would be self-isolating. The video was posted on Instagram by German designer Philipp Plein and later deleted. There was no indication when the video was taken.
The thought of Neymar tearing your team into pieces might be enough to give some coach's nightmares, but Croatia's Niko Kovac isn't losing any sleep over the threat posed by the Brazilian phenom ahead of Thursday's World Cup opener.
India's Davis Cup tie against Finland was on Friday postponed to 2021 as the International Tennis Federation pushed back all the matches, including the Finals, to next year owing to COVID-19 pandemic. India were scheduled to travel to Finland for the World Group I tie in September.
Former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic has tested positive for COVID-19 after attending Novak Djokovic's Adria Tour exhibition event which also saw four tennis players test positive. The Croatian tennis great, who coaches World No 1 Djokovic, recently attended the tennis exhibition series in Serbia and Croatia.
Djokovic, Coric, Grigor Dimitrov and Viktor Troicki all tested positive for COVID-19 after playing in the event in Serbia and Croatia, which drew big crowds and saw the players pose for pictures together.
World number three Dominic Thiem is "extremely sorry" for the way players conducted themselves at Novak Djokovic's Adria Tour exhibition event after which four players tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Austrian said on Thursday. Djokovic, Grigor Dimitrov, Borna Coric and Viktor Troicki tested positive after playing in the charity tournament in Serbia and Croatia, which drew big crowds and saw players pose for pictures together.
Djokovic's father blamed the cancellation of the tour on Dimitrov. There is nothing to suggest that Dimitrov spread the virus to others.
The win took Barca to the top of the standings on 68 points although Real Madrid, on 65, will reclaim their lead due to their superior head-to-head record if they beat Real Mallorca at home on Wednesday.
Djokovic received a lot of heat from the tennis community and fans alike after testing positive.
'We wanted to protect every player and fan after learning that Dimitrov tested positive. It was a charity event and all we wanted was to play tennis and give the fans a good show'
Earlier in the day, Croatia's Borna Coric said he has tested positive for coronavirus. He became the second player to test positive for COVID-19 after Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov.
Coric's positive test follows that of Grigor Dimitrov, who said on Sunday he had contracted the novel coronavirus.
Goran Ivanisevic, Djokovic's coach, was greeted with jeers from fans when he broke the news courtside.
The tournaments involve eight players each, divided into two pools of four on a round-robin basis. Sets have been slashed to best-of-seven games.
Dominic Thiem and home crowd favourite Filip Krajinovic reached the final of Novak Djokovic's tournament as the world number one broke down in tears in front of a packed 4,000 crowd on Sunday. World number three Thiem beat Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets to set up the clash with Krajinovic.
Romelu Lukaku scored twice to earn Belgium a 2-1 victory over Switzerland in the Nations League on Friday, lifting the mood in the country after a week marred by match-fixing allegations.
France overwhelmed Croatia 4-2 in the World Cup final at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium on Sunday to lift the trophy for the second time in 20 years.
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