UEFA

Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba on Monday denied media reports that said he quit the France national team over comments made by the country's President Emmanuel Macron which were perceived to be against Islam.

The French leader this month declared war on "Islamist separatism,” which he believes is taking over some Muslim communities in France. The Sun newspaper alleged that Pogba, a practicing Muslim, reacted to Macron's comments by quitting the national team.

Manchester United and Liverpool are in talks with Europe's elite clubs to join a new FIFA-backed tournament that would reshape the sport's global soccer landscape, Sky News reported on Tuesday.

Manchester United declined to comment on the report, Liverpool did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Liverpool center back Virgil van Dijk has damaged knee ligaments and is set to undergo surgery after he was injured in Saturday's Merseyside derby draw against Everton, the Premier League club confirmed on Sunday.

The Dutch defender was substituted early in the game when Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made a reckless challenge in the box, which left Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp fuming.

LONDON — Christian Eriksen's penalty on his 100th appearance for Denmark earned his side a 1-0 win over England in their Nations League clash at Wembley on Wednesday as the hosts played more than half the game with 10 men.

Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eriksen powered his spot-kick past Jordan Pickford in the 35th minute, a couple of minutes after England centre back Harry Maguire had received a red card for a second booking.

Goals from Bernardo Silva and a brace from Diogo Jota gave Portugal a comfortable 3-0 win over Sweden in the Nations League on Wednesday as the hosts made light of the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo due to a positive COVID-19 test.

Iceland will replace head coach Erik Hamren and his entire backroom team for Wednesday's Nations League clash with Belgium in Reykjavik after an unnamed staff member contracted COVID-19, the country's FA said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The FA said that coaches from the nation's under-age teams would fill the breach after previously announcing that Hamren and his staff had all been quarantined following a positive test.

COLOGNE, Germany — Germany twice had to come from behind to earn a rollercoaster 3-3 draw against visitors Switzerland in an exciting Nations League group game packed with incident on Tuesday.

The result moves Germany within a point of League A Group Four leaders Spain, who lost 1-0 away to Ukraine, while the Swiss, who are still without a win, remain bottom.

A beautiful aspect of international football is that it allows you to sample the vibe of a far-flung locale from the comfort of your own living room. Today, I took a trip to Riga, Latvia, to watch a UEFA Nations League D Group 1 meeting between the host nation and visiting Malta.

With Faroe Islands pacing the group on seven points from three matches, this was effectively a must-win game for both 137th-ranked Latvia (three points off three draws) and 186th-ranked Malta (two points). 

Germany striker Timo Werner is fully fit for their Nations League game against Switzerland on Tuesday but there are still doubts about Julian Draxler, Lukas Klostermann and Marcel Halstenberg, coach Joachim Loew said on Monday.

Germany will need all the attacking power they can get after narrowly beating Ukraine 2-1 on Saturday for their first win in the last four internationals. They drew the previous three games after leading in all of them.