UEFA

North Macedonia qualified for Euro 2020, the first-ever major tournament in the team's 27-year history, when a second-half goal from 37-year-old forward Goran Pandev gave them a 1-0 win away to Georgia in their playoff on Thursday.

Russia's national football team said on Sunday it would not be calling up its captain Artem Dzyuba for upcoming international matches this month to shield him from negative publicity.

Its statement followed the leak of an private video online on Saturday, which TASS news agency said showed a man similar to the 32-year-old Dzyuba, who is also the striker for Zenit St. Petersburg. There was no suggestion of any controversial behavior in the video and it was not clear how it had leaked.

BERN — UEFA has overseen 61,859 COVID-19 tests since August, allowing more than 500 European matches to be played and making soccer one of the safest environments in the world, it said on Thursday.

The European soccer body, which has been criticised by some media for pressing ahead with international football during the pandemic, said that only 340 of those tests had been positive — 0.55 percent of the total — and only 3 percent of matches had been canceled.

BRUSSELS — Belgium has been forced to move its three soccer internationals in November from Brussels’ King Baudouin Stadium to nearby Leuven because of COVID-19 restrictions.

The friendly against Switzerland on Nov. 11 plus Nations League matches versus England on Nov. 15 and Denmark on Nov. 18 will now be played at Den Dreef in Leuven, some 30km from the Belgian capital.

The switch comes after a 10 p.m. curfew was imposed on Brussels as the Belgian government battles with a dramatic rise in novel coronavirus infections.

In a press conference this week, Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc mentioned the feelings of the club regarding international breaks during the midst of the ongoing pandemic. 

Zorc said that if it were an option, Dortmund would consider not sending players on international breaks given the current situation. He lamented that clubs unfortunately do not have much of a choice as refusal to release players to their national teams could cause the players to face punishments and suspension.

Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has overseen a stunning start to the season by his side.

Through the first three months of the season, Rangers have conceded just four goals. Not until Week 8 did any Scottish Premier League side manage to breach the Gers' defense and score. After 17 games, Gerrard's side has won 15 and kept a stunning 14 clean sheets in the process. It is now the sole remaining unbeaten team across the top divisions of England and Scotland.  

17 games
15 wins
14 clean sheets

Speed kills. Take one look at the fastest soccer players 2020 according to the UEFA Champions League technical report and you’ll find some of the world’s most devastating attackers — players like Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Kingsley Coman.

However, it also says a lot about the changing tactics of the modern game that you’ll also find “defenders” who can more frequently be found going forward — think Alphonso Davies, Ferland Mendy and Kyle Walker. 

It’s not getting any better than this for 19-year-old goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin and Shakhtar Donetsk — or is it?

Last Wednesday, Shakhtar travelled to the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano and pulled off an incredible 3-2 upset of 13-time European champion Real Madrid despite missing 10 players through a combination of injury and pandemic. That match marked a Champions League debut for Trubin, who recorded three saves.