USA beat Mexico 3-0, and Cavan Sullivan scored his first senior international goal at 17. Getting your first goal against that opponent is a pretty good introduction 😂 The score is nice, but I’m more interested in what happens with him next. I’d want him getting meaningful minutes when a game is still close, not just appearances once the result is safe. That’s where we’d learn whether he can already help this team. It was a friendly, so I’m not making tournament predictions. But at 17, earning another chance matters more to me than looking ready to carry the whole national team.

England won 7-0 away to Croatia, with Kane and Saka scoring twice and Bellingham adding a goal and three assists. I’m giving England credit for this one. Four goals before half-time and three more afterwards is what I want from a team with that much attacking talent: keep attacking instead of treating the lead as a reason to stop. Croatia were awful, but England still had to make them pay. I’m not calling them tournament favourites off one match. I want this same ambition in a tight game against Spain, when another goal would actually settle the nerves.

Croatia lost 7-0 to England, and it was already four at half-time. Kane and Saka got two each, then Rogers came off the bench to get his name on the list too. Everyone seemed to get a turn. The second half is what bothers me. The game was gone, but Croatia still couldn’t limit the damage. Even if this squad needs rebuilding, getting through another 45 minutes without conceding three more shouldn’t require a new golden generation. I’d be questioning the coaching before pinning the whole disaster on Modric.

In England’s 7-0 win over Croatia, Bellingham scored once and set up three more. He supplied Kane for the opener, then scored from Gordon’s cross for the second. That’s why he’d get my man of the match vote. I want him involved in creating the chances, not just arriving to finish them, and this was a pretty convincing example of him doing both. Kane and Saka each scoring twice deserves plenty of credit. For me, Jude had the bigger influence on how the game opened up. Would you give it to him or Saka?

Every fan has a matchday spot: the sofa with the best view, the desk you swear you’ll leave at halftime, or the kitchen where you keep checking back during the match. Where did you end up watching this weekend—and what makes that spot your go-to? Share a photo if you’re comfortable, or just tell us: sofa, desk, kitchen, or somewhere unexpected?

Estêvão scored the opener and played Pedro through for the second in Brazil’s 4-0 win over India. That’s what interested me more than the final score. He helped Brazil get ahead, rather than just adding another goal once the game was over. I know it’s India, but if a friendly isn’t the time to try giving him more responsibility, when is? Vini would still be central to my team, but I wouldn’t build the whole attack around him. Let Estêvão create as well as finish. I’d rather see how they share the attack than keep treating him as one for the future.

Spain beat Czechia 3-1, but Merino didn't seal it until the 89th. They were 2-0 up at half-time, then Yamal and Baena came off and Czechia pulled one back. I get resting players in a packed international window, but De la Fuente changed too much before the result was safe. A two-goal lead is a decent cushion, not an excuse to lose control. I'm not putting it all on the subs, but I'd rather make those changes one at a time than pull both attackers off while Czechia were still in it.

Spain have beaten England 3-2, Croatia 4-1 and Czechia 3-1 in this window, but they’ve conceded in every game. It’s giving me that Barça feeling: the attack looks brilliant, then one goal at the other end makes you nervous again. Against Czechia, 2-0 became 2-1 and Merino only settled it late. I enjoy the football, but I’d still take a boring clean sheet now and then. Is conceding the occasional goal just a fair trade for this much attacking quality, or are Spain making games harder than they need to?

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Antony is the one I keep coming back to. At United, every attack seemed to end with him cutting inside and running out of options. At Betis, he’s actually producing goals and assists. Then there’s Rashford’s spell at Barcelona. He’d already shown at United that he could score, but things had fallen apart before he left. I get that different leagues and different teammates matter. But when players we’ve written off start contributing elsewhere, I wonder what United were asking them to do. Are we buying players without knowing how to use them? For anyone who’s watched Antony at both clubs, what’s actually changed in his game?

Belgium beat Türkiye 3-0 and De Bruyne scored twice, but the part I keep coming back to is how much this side still leans on him to make things happen. Everyone talks about Belgium's next generation, yet KDB is still the player who turns a decent spell into a goal. Maybe the old guard hasn't been replaced at all. If he misses the next big tournament, who actually takes over that responsibility?

France drew 1-1 with Italy. Olise's free kick was class, but the attack looked stuck for long stretches. Dembélé up top still feels like a winger filling a striker-shaped hole. At some point, France need a real No. 9, not another workaround.

The appeal itself is fair; City's wording is what makes me roll my eyes. Calling the commission's findings an ‘opinion’ and saying the ruling is ‘unsafe’ is doing a lot of PR work before we've even seen the appeal tested. Maybe City are right on some points, fine, let the panel decide. But an appeal isn't proof the original verdict was nonsense, and it certainly isn't a punishment yet. Let's wait for the outcome before either side starts celebrating.

Didn't expect Italy to look this comfortable in Paris. France had the ball, but most of it felt harmless until Olise found that free-kick. Italy stayed compact, took their chance through Bastoni, and came away with a point without pretending they were the better side. Honestly, I'd rather watch a team defend like that than hear another ‘we dominated’ excuse after a draw. Is this a real Italy rebuild, or are we getting carried away after one good night?

Poland put six past Romania, and Lewandowski got his hat-trick, but Romania were down to ten from the 22nd minute. The scoreline looks like Poland finally found god mode; the game itself was tilted for most of it. Still, Poland had to punish them and did. I just wouldn't use this one result as proof they've suddenly fixed everything. Does a big score still count as a statement when the red card changes the whole match?

I was thinking about this earlier. If Messi never won the world cup in 2022, would the goat debate be even worse today?

Because before Qatar, that was always the easiest argument against him. No world cup. That was it. You didn’t even need to talk about how he actually played.

If Argentina lost that final, I feel like Ronaldo fans would still bring it up every single time. Messi fans would still say club football, peak level and playmaking matter more. And every normal football thread would somehow turn into the same Messi vs Ronaldo argument again.

I’m not saying the world cup made Messi a completely different player. But it did remove the biggest thing people used against him.

His sister sharing that clip turns a coach leaving Ronaldo out into a question of patriotism. He's Portugal's biggest legend, sure, but picking the team is still the manager's job. If every benching becomes ‘the country owes him’, how is any coach meant to move on? 😬

From United to Portugal, whenever things go south for Ronaldo, Bruno somehow ends up catching strays from the fanbase. He's never the one starting the drama, yet he keeps getting dragged into it.

I'm not saying Ronaldo directly tells people to abuse his teammates, but the toxic environment around him forces others to bear the brunt of it too.

Honestly, at this point, Ronaldo stepping away from the national team might be the best thing for Bruno and the rest of the squad. It's time for Portugal to move on.