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Futbol

Spain beat the Netherlands on penalties to reach the Nations League semi-finals after a thrilling 3-3 draw. Dutch forward Noa Lang and Spain's Lamine Yamal both missed in the shootout before Spanish keeper Unai Simon kept out Donyell Malen's effort to give Pedri the chance to clinch a last-four spot for the 2023 winners. The Barcelona midfielder made no mistake, sending a lofted effort into the corner to cue wild celebrations among the home fans at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia. Spain had led twice in normal time thanks to goals from Real Sociedad striker Mikel Oyarzabal, but Memphis Depay's penalty nine minutes into the second half and an effort from debutant Ian Maatsen forced extra time. A fabulous Yamal effort put Spain ahead 13 minutes into the additional 30 minutes, but Xavi Simons scored another penalty to send the tie to spot-kicks. The result stretches Spain's unbeaten run in all competitions to 18 matches, while they have not been beaten in the Nations League since a 2-1 home defeat by Switzerland in September 2022. After snatching a 2-2 draw in Thursday's first leg, the hosts had the better of the first-half chances and took an early lead through Oyarzabal's penalty after Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke fouled the frontman inside the box. Depay marked his 100th Netherlands appearance with a sweetly struck spot-kick of his own after being fouled by Robin Le Normand nine minutes into the second half. But Spain were back in front midway through the second period when Oyarzabal nodded home his second of the game at the end of a flowing counter-attack involving Yamal and Nico Williams. Luis de la Fuente's team appeared to be heading through in normal time until Maatsen guided a powerful, left-footed effort into the net on 79 minutes. After a lively start to extra time, Yamal outfoxed Maatsen on the corner of the area before curling home a sumptuous shot to restore Spain's advantage, but La Roja were pegged back yet again when Simons beat Unai Simons from the spot after being brought down by the goalkeeper inside the box. Yamal was denied by Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen in the shootout after Lang had crashed his effort against the crossbar, but Pedri capitalised on Simon's save from Malen to set up a semi-final meeting with France.

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Futbol

'The Effort Was There' - Tuchel On Speaking To Foden & Rashford

England head coach Thomas Tuchel says he has spoken to Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden after they struggled during Friday's win over Albania - and that they know he "appreciates" their effort. Rashford and Foden failed to make a significant impression in the German's first game in charge of the Three Lions, with Tuchel saying immediately after the 2-0 victory they were "not as impactful as they can be". England face Latvia at Wembley on Monday in their second 2026 World Cup qualifier. "I have spoken to both of them and in front of the group," Tuchel told BBC Sport. "They know that I appreciate the effort, especially off the ball. "We can see in the numbers how much effort they put into defending high and in the counter-press. "Marcus had a lot of runs when we had the ball where we did not see him, where we did not use him. He was a little bit unlucky maybe with the timing and from time to time we oversaw him. "Phil is just maybe not finding the momentum at the moment that he can have. But both of them are very positive, they have every right to be positive and know exactly what we want from them. "But off the ball, the effort was there and that's what counts." Forward Rashford, on loan at Aston Villa from Manchester United, was making his first England start in more than a year, while Foden has endured a difficult season with Manchester City. Tuchel, who will be without Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon because of a hip injury, says he is "not afraid" to make changes for the Latvia game - but that nobody would be dropped "from a performance point of view". Debutant Myles Lewis-Skelly and captain Harry Kane scored to give England a comfortable yet unconvincing win against Albania. Speaking after the match, Tuchel admitted his side "have to do better" but that they would take it "step-by-step". Asked on Sunday how long it would take to turn the Three Lions into a team that reflects him as a head coach, Tuchel told BBC Radio 5 Live: "I cannot tell you how long it takes. I'm very impatient myself so hopefully we'll see glimpses or maybe a full match tomorrow, who knows? "The most important thing is everyone is open to adapting and everyone is excited and puts the effort in, then we'll trust the process. "It was a very intense week because you want to squeeze everything into the eight or nine days you have the players. Then you have to accept reality that at some point it can also be too much, which is why we gave them a day to breathe yesterday. "It's very, very intense - it feels like a training camp, a pre-season in club football and then we're back to observing and keeping contact with the players until June." With England looking to meet Tuchel's demands for improvement and continue his winning start, what does "better" actually look like? "More structured, still a higher rhythm, more penetration in the opponent's box and more runs off the ball," said the German on Sunday. "I think the most important thing was from the excitement and input throughout the week, we could see everyone was ready. "Still we have room to improve. We can be more aggressive, we played a lot of passes, especially in the first half - when it comes to the last 20 metres, we have to think more about scoring a goal. "That's what we're trying to do and maybe we can show it tomorrow." With Tuchel suggesting changes would be made, Levi Colwill, Marc Guehi, Morgan Rogers and Dominic Solanke are all pushing to be involved in Monday's game. The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager, 51, also said it was "very likely" Nottingham Forest forward Morgan Gibbs-White would be included in the squad, having been left out for Friday's match. However, Tuchel said nobody would finding out if they were in his side until the day of the game - something he described as "common procedure". "I don't know another way," said Tuchel. "Sometimes I need the last night to get my ideas in the right order. "It's just a common procedure for me to give it in the morning or even the afternoon of an evening game." Who would you pick in your England team to face Latvia? Would you make changes after the win over Albania? Have a go at naming your line-up below.

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Futbol

'You Want To Play The Best' - Spencer On Sweden Test

International Friendly: Sweden v Northern Ireland Venue: Strawberry Arena, Stockholm Date: Tuesday, 25 March Kick-off: 18:00 GMT Coverage: Watch live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two NI, listen on BBC Sounds and live text commentary & in-play clips on the BBC Sport website Northern Ireland defender Brodie Spencer says he is looking forward to testing himself "against the best" when they take on Sweden in Tuesday's friendly. Michael O'Neill's young side drew with Switzerland on Friday as their positive run of form continued. After topping their Nations League group, Northern Ireland have now lost just two of their past 11 matches. While Sporting striker Victor Gyokeres is expected to be out, Newcastle forward Alexander Isak is in a strong Swedish squad for the game in Stockholm. "You want to play against the best, to test yourself and see where that puts you," Spencer said on playing top-tier opponents. "Being a young defender, to have that challenge so early in my career would be amazing." After Isaac Price's superb opener was cancelled out by Vincent Sierro, the 20-year-old said Northern Ireland were "happy" with a draw against Switzerland but "we could have got a bit more out of the game". With Isak and Nottingham Forest's Anthony Elanga leading the line, Sweden suffered a shock 1-0 defeat by Luxembourg on Friday. Spencer believes the friendly, which will be the latest in preparation for the start of 2026 World Cup qualifying in September, will be "quite similar" to facing the Swiss. "It will be a tough game and a game full of concentration," said the Huddersfield Town right-back. "It will be a game full of important moments, and hopefully we can go out and put on a good performance again. "We knew we had to try and kick on from the Nations League. Being able to top the group was a great experience for us all."