NFL standings based on strength of schedule.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has praised the country's women's soccer team -- and Spanish society itself -- for taking a critical stance against Luis Rubiales for his unwanted kiss of World Cup winner Jennifer Hermoso.

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NFL International Games in 2023.

What the papers say The Daily Mirror reports Kevin de Bruyne is high on the list of targets Saudi Arabian clubs intend to pursue next year. The paper says Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal’s whopping £259million bid for Kylian Mbappe was a wake-up call for the Premier League, with some sides already resigned to losing some of their best players. De Bruyne’s former Manchester City team-mate Riyad Mahrez joined Al-Ahli this summer, joining a growing list of high-profile players making the switch. Speaking of Kylian Mbappe, the Mirror also reports the 24-year-old would be prepared to spend a season in the Premier League on loan before securing his dream move to Real Madrid. The Paris St Germain and France forward’s representatives are believed to have held discreet discussions with a selection of Premier League club intermediaries – with Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool rumoured to be interested in his signature. Kasper Schmeichel is in line for a shock return to the Premier League. According to the Leicester Mercury, citing Eurosport Denmark, the 36-year-old is in discussions with Nottingham Forest over a move from French club Nice. And The Telegraph reports Chelsea are gearing up to make an improved bid for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo. Social media round-up Players to watch Mohamed Salah: Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad are set to offer £51.8m for the Liverpool forward, reports Arabic publication Al Riyadiah. Tosin Adarabioyo: The Sun says the Fulham defender has rejected a proposed Tottenham move in favour of a potential transfer to Monaco. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

The Milwaukee Brewers clinched the NL Central title for the third time in six seasons Tuesday night, despite a 4-1 loss to the last-place St. Louis Cardinals and with the help of a come-from-behind win by the Atlanta Braves

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag emphasised the need for summer strengthening to maintain progress after securing a top-four spot. The Dutchman believes the club belong in the Champions League and wants to close the gap with Manchester City.

Alex Stepney was stood in the shadow of the statue of his three most celebrated teammates. Manchester United’s ‘Holy Trinity’ have been separated, with only Denis Law still able to visit the Theatre of Dreams, but they are immortalised in bronze outside it. Yet while the statue of George Best, Bobby Charlton and Law – each of such a stature that he was voted European Footballer of the Year – was placed outside Old Trafford, only one had a stand at one of the iconic stadia named after him. The South Stand is the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand. It has been since 2016 and on Sunday, it will have an added poignancy, in the first Manchester derby since Charlton died. A week of mourning has shown what Charlton meant: to United, to England, to football. “He’d be very humbled and say, ‘I don’t deserve it’,” Stepney said. “That’s Bobby Charlton.” But as both the statue and the stand show, the tributes began long before Charlton’s life ended. His innate modesty meant that the man widely described as England’s greatest footballer retained his humility. He was, though aware of his importance to so many while downplaying his own significance. “He never showed it,” Stepney said. “He didn’t want to show it because that wasn’t him. When they opened the stand, it was the Everton game, I was with him and he had to go on the pitch with [his wife] Norma and he had a tear in his eye. He said, ‘I don’t deserve this’. I said, ‘Bob, you deserve everything, you deserve everything you get, throughout your life for the way you have done the game, played the game and inspired supporters all around the world’.” Decades on, Charlton’s story has, if anything, appeared still more remarkable. Barely out of his teens when he climbed, concussed, from the wreckage of a plane in Munich, a crash claiming the lives of eight of his teammates and destroying a team that felt destined for greatness, he nevertheless became a World Cup and European Cup winner. His tragic past had an intimidatory capacity: certainly to Stepney when he joined from Chelsea in 1966, a month after Charlton’s elegant running and fierce shooting had propelled England to the World Cup. Should he mention Munich? “That was my main concern when Matt Busby signed me,” the goalkeeper said. “I had to come to Manchester and I met the players at the training ground the following day. Matt took me around and directly when I went in he introduced me to each and every player and I knew then: you don’t talk about it. It wasn’t until 50 years later that Bobby actually spoke about it.” If it was a generation when things went unsaid, it framed United’s eventual European Cup victory. But for Munich, Roger Byrne, and not Charlton, may have been the first United captain to lift the trophy; Tommy Taylor, and not him, the goalscoring No 9 to find the net in the final; Duncan Edwards, and not him, the personification of the club. Stepney felt Charlton won it for them, for his friend Eddie Colman, for Geoff Bent, Mark Jones, David Pegg and Liam Whelan, for the fallen eight. “I think when you reach the heights of getting to the European Cup final 10 years after Munich and for him to be captain and score two goals, that was unbelievable,” added Stepney. “I believe he did it for those lads who passed away in ‘58. He always said he thought about them every day and he did: he would go off and have a little think and come back and off we go.” His own part in the 4-1 win at Wembley should not be overlooked: his save from Eusebio ranks among the most celebrated in United’s history. Stepney is a United great in his own right: his total of 539 games as a goalkeeper was a club record until David de Gea passed it a few months ago. He was, remarkably, United’s joint top scorer at Christmas in the 1973-74 season, courtesy of two penalties. He was the only member of the 1968 side who was also part of the 1977 FA Cup-winning team. He has outlasted his friends again. He treasures memories of Charlton, of playing cards and quizzes on tour. He may be the standard bearer for a generation now, just as Charlton long was. At 81, Stepney joined manager Erik ten Hag and Under-19 captain Dan Gore to lay a wreath in the centre circle before Tuesday’s win over FC Copenhagen. Old Trafford, the ground Charlton first graced on his debut 67 years ago, will applaud on Sunday. “Look at the stadium now,” Stepney said. “This is what Bobby envisaged. This is what he wanted. Nobody would have dreamt when he retired that he would become a director. He put the cogs in motion with Sir Alex [Ferguson] right through to get this as it is now.” But if Charlton’s legacy is in bricks and mortar, it is also in image and memories, in Manchester United. Read More Andre Onana’s moment of magic can be catalyst to reverse more than one difficult recent run Sir Bobby Charlton: England’s greatest ever player and the artist of 1966 Sir Bobby Charlton turned tragedy into triumph with unique style and perseverance Kyle Walker says Manchester City will be wary of Marcus Rashford in derby Wolves v Chelsea on Christmas Eve means ‘unhappy wife’ for Mauricio Pochettino Pep Guardiola condemns Man City fans who sang offensive Sir Bobby Charlton chant

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Ange Postecoglou is excited to see Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur close to his best again amid a growing injury crisis at the club. Spurs host Aston Villa on Sunday with at least nine first-team players ruled out and Pape Sarr a doubt after he returned with a knock from international duty with Senegal. A much-needed positive for the Australian is the return to fitness of Bentancur, who made his first competitive start in nine months in Uruguay’s 3-0 win over Bolivia on Tuesday after a serious knee injury. With first-choice midfielders James Maddison (ankle) and Yves Bissouma (suspended) definitely absent for the visit of Villa, Bentancur could be thrust into action. “The back four is probably the major issue for us at the moment. We’re really low on depth there, but midfield as well. That’s just the period we’re going through,” Postecoglou reflected. “The fact Rodrigo got an opportunity to start (for Uruguay) is good for us. It gives him that confidence that he’s able to get through a game. “The beauty of him is he can play a couple of different areas. I think he can play as a six, he can play further forward as an eight and he’s even creative. I think he can score goals as well. “We were kind of hoping with him, Madders, Pape, Biss and people like Pierre(-Emile Hojbjerg) we were well stocked in that midfield area for different kinds of combinations, but obviously that has been disrupted a bit. “The key for Rodrigo is to get him back to that level physically and mentally where he feels really comfortable about playing at this level. “I don’t think he is far off it from what I’ve seen and again certainly over the next few weeks he will get that opportunity.” Bentancur was one of Tottenham’s best players last season and impressed in a box-to-box role before he sustained anterior cruciate ligament damage in February. Uruguay boss Marcelo Bielsa used him at the base of a midfield three on Tuesday, which is where Bissouma has played for Spurs so far this season. With Bissouma suspended for the Villa match after he picked up his fifth yellow card of the campaign at Wolves, Postecoglou hinted Bentancur could fill that void. He said: “Yeah, potentially. Watching the (Bolivia) game and how he played, he did it really well so you know he can play there. “I don’t think he is that far off from a physical perspective of being able to play his normal game, whether that is box-to-box, and part of it is getting belief in himself and his own body that he is capable of doing it.” Spurs’ hopes of returning to winning ways have been hit by their lengthy injury list, but Postecoglou insisted: “Aston Villa will be a great test for us, but we’re at home. “Apart from the Chelsea game, our home form has been really strong and we need to make sure we get back to that.” Read More LTA urges British tennis fans to show ‘respect’ after Novak Djokovic row at Davis Cup Erik ten Hag prepared for Everton to be ‘mad’ and urges Man Utd to match them Alexis Mac Allister’s performance could be key against Man City – Jan Molby PA selective guide to sport on TV for w/c November 27 Nathan Heaney eyeing middleweight world title fight against Janibek Alimkhanuly Eddie Howe sees no benefit to Newcastle over loans between associated clubs

Rafael Nadal was born on the Spanish island of Mallorca, known for its sandy beaches, but the tennis star will be forever associated with another surface --...