The NBA Finals have come to an end and we can now turn our attention to the NBA Draft, which is next Thursday on June 22.While the top three of the NBA Draft appears set with Victor Wembanyama set to go No. 1 and either Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson going No. 2 and No. 3 in some order. So th...

Spain have their revenge and Rodri has his retribution. Now, though, it is Scotland who have reason to fume – and Steve Clarke’s side surely will over the coming days as the waiting begins. Qualification for Euro 2024 could yet be secured on Sunday, should Spain defeat Norway in Oslo. Thanks to Scotland’s perfect start to Group A, they may yet avoid a nervy November. But, if it was not for the finest of margins on a night of major controversy, they may not have needed to rely on favours from elsewhere. There is no shame in losing to Spain but Scotland will not quite believe how this unfolded. As expected, Spain were dominant and Scotland had to survive waves of pressure. The visitors would have had no complaints had Luis de la Fuente’s improved side taken a deserved lead but Scotland went into half-time with the match goalless and their plan very much alive. Scotland only needed a chance to turn their rearguard approach into a perfect one and Scott McTominay looked to have found it with a moment of magic. Clarke and his team will feel the decision to disallow it for a foul on the Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon was not the only one that went against them in Seville. The angle of the free-kick appeared too tight to shoot, but McTominay, a player transformed when he pulls on his national jersey, shot anyway. The result was extraordinary, a free-kick full of whip and curl, flashed into the top corner of Simon’s goal. McTominay wheeled away in disbelief, a seventh goal of Euro 2024 qualifying, and his most stunning yet. But the celebrations were then cut short, and from there, Scotland’s night unravelled. When looking back, Scotland will not find it hard to identify this was where the night started to turn. McTominay’s goal was disallowed following a VAR review, taken away supposedly for the slightest of fouls on Simon by Scotland’s Jack Hendry, who barely backed into him. That, at least, was the initial explanation provided by Uefa. A subsequent replay showed Hendry had been ruled offside, although still barely. Whether the defender was doing enough to interfere with play and block Simon is another question in this mystery. Scotland and the SFA will undoubtedly be asking for immediate answers. Scotland still had the result they needed but with the game returning to its goalless state, the momentum swung back in Spain’s direction. The hosts were dominant throughout, apart from the occasional Scotland spell, but they had grown frustrated with Clarke’s deep defence. Instead, the McTominay reprieve revived them. Still, it required a veteran substitute in the 37-year-old Jesus Navas to provide the breakthrough moment. Navas found Alvaro Morata with a sublime cross that took the Scotland defence out of the equation; Morata’s glance was just enough to take the ball past Angus Gunn. From there, Spain pounced on Aaron Hickey’s slip, with Ryan Porteous helping the cross over the line as he tried to clear. It was the latest cruel blow: both Hickey and Porteous had been outstanding. Clarke’s side responded well to going behind, just as they had shown bravery with the way they had taken to their task at La Cartuja. There was a chance in between the two Spain goals, with Che Adams unable to prod past Simon following a dribble from Hickey into the box. Ultimately, Spain deserved to win on the balance of play but Scotland will be furious that certain moments did not go their way. Another came when captain Andy Roberton was forced off before half time with what looked to be a dislocated shoulder. The contact from goalkeeper Simon when coming out to collect a cross was significant, on this occasion. A game plan from Clarke was not far away from coming off. Spain were always going to have the majority of the ball but Scotland needed to do as they did at Hampden and restrict La Roja to few scoring chances. Clarke’s approach would have been in tatters had Ferran Torres, inside two minutes, converted a clear opening when Morata split the visiting defence open with a precise through pass. Yet the visitors tightened the barricades and survived the opening waves of Spain pressure; for all Spain looked far sharper than they were at Hampden, with Gavi and Mikel Merino classy operators in midfield, Gunn remained untroubled in goal. And the longer it remained goalless, the edgier La Cartuja became. There was always going to be tension between these teams, with any ill-feeling that remained from Scotland’s victory at Hampden increased following Rodri’s comments after the game. That travelling Tartan Army booed the Manchester City midfielder’s every touch. The home supporters jeered and whistled any time a Scotland player stood over a free-kick, a clear result of Rodri’s accusations of time-wasting and gamesmanship. Lyndon Dykes then went into the book as the referee looked to clamp down on his aerial duels with Aymeric Laporte. Scotland, though, were up against it. They did not have a shot in the first half but Spain goalkeeper Simon’s only involvement was to make their task significantly more difficult: crashing into captain Robertson and leaving the Liverpool left back flattened on the turf. Already without Kieran Tierney, the Scotland captain left the field with his arm in his shirt as a makeshift sling. Scotland also had some good fortune to make it into half-time level, particularly when Merino’s shot struck the inside of the post but somehow stayed out. Scotland managed to survive before they started to offer Spain some problems, the Euros within reach as McTominay’s shot crashed inside the far post, only for it to be taken away. And so, as the waiting now begins, it is the moments that went against them that will linger in their minds in the coming days. Read More John McGinn claims Scotland beating Spain made ‘impossible’ after VAR controversy Scotland provide update after Andy Robertson appears to dislocate shoulder Steve Clarke insists Scotland must move on from disappointing VAR decision What do Scotland need to qualify for Euro 2024? Spain vs Scotland LIVE: Latest Euro 2024 qualifier updates How Scotland became the one team Rodri could not defeat

Pep Guardiola has laughed off suggestions he should be concerned about the number of chances Erling Haaland has missed this season. The Manchester City manager claims anyone who says the prolific Norwegian has become wasteful will be proved wrong – and forced to apologise – soon enough. Haaland scored 52 goals in an extraordinary debut campaign at City last season and, on the face of it, has started this one strongly too with seven in eight appearances. Don’t criticise Erling too much. You will be in a position where you have to apologise to him Pep Guardiola Yet analysis shows he has missed 12 ‘big chances’ this term, nine of them being in his last two outings against West Ham and Red Star Belgrade. After eight games last season he had scored 12 goals, with eight ‘big chances’ missed. “I will not sleep tonight!” Guardiola joked when these numbers were put to him at a press conference to preview the champions Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest on Saturday. “He has had incredible chances and he could have scored 14-15 goals now. What is important is he always says, ‘I have the chance, I have the chance, I have the chance. The problem is when I do not have chances, or I do not get balls or I am in the wrong position’. “My advice is don’t criticise Erling too much. Criticise the full-back, the central defender or the manager, but never, never the striker who scored all those goals because he will and then you will be in a position where you have to apologise to him.” Guardiola concedes Haaland was not fully fit at the start of the season, but that is not unexpected after last year’s exertions. He said: “No (he was not fully fit) – it is quite simple – but in the pre-season I cannot expect him to be fully fit. “Normally the new players come and are fully fit earlier. When you don’t start the last season, you are fitter earlier. “When you win the treble maybe you think, ‘I wait a week longer to be completely fit’. It is a question of time. “Erling is much better than in the first week. Every week he is better and everything is there. “He is an incredible threat. He has had a lot of chances and that means we are playing good. Always I have the sense that the team are doing quite good by the number of chances Erling has.”

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Ange Postecoglou has talked up the professionalism of Tottenham midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg ahead of his anticipated first Premier League start of the season. Hojbjerg is expected to be drafted into the Spurs line-up for the visit of Fulham on Monday due to Yves Bissouma’s one-match ban for his red card at Luton. Denmark international Hojbjerg was heavily linked with a move away from Tottenham this summer and Fulham registered an interest in the 28-year-old on transfer deadline day, but no switch to the London club or Atletico Madrid materialised. While Hojbjerg has only started once this season in the Carabao Cup, he has been introduced in seven of Spurs’ eight league fixtures and become a key figure off the bench for his new head coach. “I don’t think there was any time during the transfer window where I thought Pierre would move,” Postecoglou insisted. “The discussions I had with him were that he was here and wanted to contribute, he wanted to be part of what we were building. “It is obvious someone that has played regularly would have wanted to play more but ultimately our performances have been strong and he has had to bide his time. “He has also been very important in a lot of the games that we’ve won late or had to shore up late. He has been one of the people who has helped us and it is not like he hasn’t contributed at all. He’s been a really important part for us. “We wouldn’t be in this position if we were just reliant on our starting XI. “It is something we impress on all of the guys that as disappointed as you are at not starting, it doesn’t mean you are not playing. You are still playing at some point and what you do with those minutes will help us be successful and push your own cause. “With Pierre, he is a professional and very determined to win a spot in the team. He presents himself well every day and over a 38-game season all of these guys will get an opportunity at some point. What they do with that is up to them. “In the meantime, what is important is if they want to keep getting opportunities, they have to train well and when they do play, whether they start or not, they contribute to the team.” Hojbjerg continues to be linked with a move away from Tottenham, but could earn further opportunities in the coming months. Spurs will lose Pape Sarr of Senegal and Mali international Bissouma at the start of 2024 for the Africa Cup of Nations, which runs between January 13 and February 11. That is a problem for Postecoglou to worry about in the future, but his immediate concern is facing Marco Silva’s Fulham without Bissouma, one of Tottenham’s players of the season. He added: “(I’m) realistic enough to know you’re not going to run with the same XI and every week you wrestle with what the best sort of line up is going to be for you; fitness, form, the way they’re training, the opposition. With Pierre, he is a professional and very determined to win a spot in the team. He presents himself well every day and over a 38-game season all of these guys will get an opportunity at some point. Ange Postecoglou on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg “With Bissouma missing out this game, we had to adjust without him at Luton which I thought we did awfully well with 10-men. “We’ve got some options. Certainly Pierre is a ready-made replacement. “He’s been training really hard, he’s obviously probably wanted to be playing more because he’s pretty much been a constant for the last two to three years, but when he has come on for us he’s done really well. “For me he’s the logical one to come in but we’ve got some sessions left.” Read More Collin Morikawa returns to winning ways with six-shot victory in Japan Tributes paid to ‘giant of the game’ Sir Bobby Charlton after his death at 86 On This Day in 2010 – Wayne Rooney makes shock U-turn after Man Utd quit threat Sevilla promise strong action against supporter who racially abused Vinicius Jr Steve Borthwick upbeat about England’s future after agonising World Cup defeat United’s first-half display did little to honour Sir Bobby Charlton – Erik ten Hag

Israel has lost 2-1 to Romania in an emotionally charged European Championship qualifying game it hosted in Hungary because of the war with Hamas