Belgium lose De Bruyne and Tielemans for Nations League meeting with France

Belgium will be without captain Youri Tielemans and key midfielder Kevin De Bruyne for their Nations League match against France at the Stade de France today.

Both players are suspended after receiving cautions in consecutive matches and must serve one-match bans. They will miss the fourth and final Nations League fixture played by Belgium during a 10-day period in the international window.

De Bruyne was instrumental in Belgium’s 3-0 victory over Turkey in Liege on Friday, but was booked late in the match after an outburst following a foul.

His absence, along with that of Tielemans, is a setback for Belgium as they face France away from home.

Modric ‘ashamed’ after Croatia’s record defeat

Croatia captain Luka Modric said he was ashamed of his team’s performance after their 7-0 defeat by England in Rijeka on Saturday.

The result was the heaviest loss in Croatia’s history. Their previous worst defeat was a 6-0 reverse against Spain in 2018.

Modric, Croatia’s most-capped player, said the manner of the defeat was unacceptable.

“It is difficult to find an explanation for such a performance without duels, fouls, aggressiveness, togetherness … I’ve been here for 20 years, but for the first time I feel ashamed after a game,” he told Jutarnji.

Ancelotti pleased with Brazil’s tour

Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti said he was satisfied with his players’ performances during their first tour since their last-16 exit from the World Cup in July.

The tour concluded with a 4-0 victory over India, following two matches against Australia.

Ancelotti made extensive changes to his line-up across the three friendlies, giving every member of his 26-man squad playing time.

Only Vinicius Jr and Danilo started all three matches, while eight players made their international debuts.