Global diary
Stories from the four corners of the football world
Saturday October 10
BRAZIL: Brazil beat Bolivia 5-0, extending their unbeaten home run in World Cup qualifiers to 43 wins and 12 draws in 55 games.
Sunday October 11
EUROPE: In the Nations League, England beat Belgium 2-1, France draw 0-0 with Portugal and Croatia beat Sweden 2-1, while Erling Haaland scores another hat-trick in Norway’s 4-0 win over Romania, taking his record to six goals in six caps.
ENGLAND: The Sunday Telegraph reveals Project Big Picture, a plan to revolutionise English football.
CHINA: Wuhan Jiangda become Chinese Women’s Super League champions by beating Jiangsu Suning 4-0 in the play-off final.
Monday October 12
AUSTRALIA: Western Sydney Wanderers announce the departure of head coach Jean-Paul de Marigny, while Perth Glory confirm the departure of long-serving football director Jacob Burns.
Tuesday October 13
SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina begin their road to Qatar 2022 with a 2-1 victory over Bolivia. Elsewhere, Ecuador stun Uruguay with a 4-2 victory in Quito, with Luis Suarez scoring two late consolation penalties.
EUROPE: Germany and Switzerland produce a thrilling clash in Cologne, with the home side twice coming from behind to draw 3-3. Elsewhere, Ukraine beat Spain for the first time in their history in front of 15,000 fans at the Kiev Olympic stadium, and San Marino draw 0-0 with Liechtenstein, their first point for six years, and the first away clean sheet in their history.
FIFA: Former FIFA official Marco Polo del Nero has his appeal heard at CAS. The 79-year-old is serving a lifetime ban from football for allegedly taking millions of dollars in bribes.
PORTUGAL: Cristiano Ronaldo tests positive for COVID-19 while on international duty.
SCOTLAND: Stranraer set a new Scottish penalty shoot-out record after beating Albion Rovers 15-14 in the Scottish League Cup.
Wednesday October 14
SOUTH AMERICA: A Neymar hat-trick takes him ahead of Ronaldo as Brazil’s second-top scorer of all time in a 4-2 win in Peru, with two players sent off for the home team. Elsewhere, Radamel Falcao rescues a point for Colombia against Chile with a 90th-minute equaliser.
BRAZIL: Vasco da Gama appoint Portuguese coach Ricardo Sa Pinto.
EUROPE: In a repeat of the 2018 World Cup final, France beat Croatia 2-1. Meanwhile, Harry Maguire is sent off in England’s 1-0 defeat to Denmark, and Netherlands draw 1-1 with Italy in Frank de Boer’s third game in charge. UNITED STATES: Inter Miami’s Federico and Gonzalo Higuain become the 18th pair of brothers to play together in the MLS.
Thursday October 15
UNITED STATES: San Jose
Earthquakes record their biggest-ever win in the “Cali Clasico”, beating LA Galaxy 4-0.
GHANA: Yakubu Moro, owner of Berekum Arsenal, dies after suffering a stroke.
UAE: Sultan Saif, striker for Al Falah, dies at the age of
27 in a car accident.
URUGUAY: Rentistas win the Apertura by defeating Nacional 1-0 in extra-time, despite having only played in the second division of Uruguayan football until last season. JAPAN: The WE League – Japan’s professional women’s league – approves the membership of 11 founding clubs ahead of the inaugural 2021-22 season.
Friday October 16
SURINAME: FIFA give permission to eight Dutch players to represent Suriname, including Bnei Sakhnin forward Nigel Hasselbaink, the nephew of former Netherlands striker Jimmy Floyd.
Saturday October 17
ENGLAND: The first Merseyside derby of the season ends 2-2. Everton keeper Jordan Pickford is unpunished after a season-ending tackle on Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, while a late winner from Jordan Henderson is ruled out for offside by VAR. Mo Salah scores his 100th goal for the club, becoming the third-quickest player to do so.
SCOTLAND: Defender Connor Goldson scores twice as Rangers beat Celtic 2-0 at Celtic Park in the first Old Firm derby of the season, moving four points ahead at the top of the Premiership.
ITALY: Milan come out on top in the Milan derby, with a 2-1 win over Internazionale thanks to a first-half brace from striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
SPAIN: Diego Simeone wins his 200th game in charge of Atletico Madrid, a 2-0 victory over Celta Vigo at the Balaidos.
BRAZIL: Robinho is released by Santos just days after signing, amid growing concern over a criminal investigation in Italy.
AFGHANISTAN: Shaheen Asmayee reclaim the Afghan Premier League title, beating Simorgh Alborz 1-0 to become champions for the fifth time.
Sunday October 18
ENGLAND: Gareth Bale makes his second Tottenham debut as they throw away a 3-0 lead in the last eight minutes of their home London derby against West Ham – Manuel Lanzini sealing the comeback with a long-range wondergoal in stoppage-time.
TAJIKISTAN: Second-tier Ravshan Kulob complete a stunning Tajikistan Cup triumph, beating FC Khatlon 1-0 in the final at Central Stadium in Hisor.
Monday October 19
ENGLAND: The Premier League see its first 0-0 in the game between Burnley and West Bromwich Albion, marking the longest wait for a goalless draw from the start of a campaign in the competition’s history.
PERU: Universitario beat Cusco 3-2 to seal victory in the Peruvian Apertura.
Tuesday October 20
EUROPE: The Champions
League returns, with Manchester United winning 2-1 against last year’s finalists PSG – their tenth consecutive away win in all comps – while Lazio beat Dortmund 3-1 in their first group game since 2007. Records are broken as Dynamo Kiev’s Mircea Lucescu becomes the oldest manager in the competition’s history, and Lionel Messi scores for the 16th season in a row.
UEFA: The Men’s Under-19 Euros, which had already been postponed twice, is cancelled.
ENGLAND: Chelsea add retired goalkeeper Petr Cech, 38, to their Premier League squad, while Arsenal omit Mesut Ozil from theirs, and Manchester United leave out defender
Phil Jones and goalkeeper Sergio Romero.
SPAIN: A judge in Spain rules in favour of the Spanish FA in their court case against La Liga, ruling out football on Monday and Friday nights.
Wednesday October 21
EUROPE: Shakhtar Donetsk stun Real Madrid in the Champions League, taking a 3-0 lead before half-time – the first visiting side to do so at the Bernabeu since December 1999 – and winning 3-2, despite having a severely depleted team due to COVID-19 (missing 13 players). Meanwhile, Bayern Munich start the defence of their trophy with a 4-0 win against Atletico Madrid.
PARAGUAY: FIFA publishes the verdict of their case against Marco Trovato, former president of Olimpia, revealing that he tried to influence the result of a Copa Libertadores match last year. Trovato, who has been banned for life, also tried to fix 11 league fixtures in Paraguay in 2018 and 2019, according to FIFA.
Thursday October 22
SPAIN: Teresa Rivero, former Rayo Vallecano president, is handed a seven-year prison sentence for tax fraud.
AZERBAIJAN: Qarabag players are warned about using “military salutes” during their Europa League clash with Legia Warsaw, amid growing tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
KYRGYZ REPUBLIC: Alay Osh win the 2020 Kyrgyz Republic Cup after a 1-0 victory over Abdysh-Ata Kant.
Saturday October 24
SPAIN: Real Madrid come out on top in the first Clasico of the season, winning 3-1 at Barcelona, with Sergio Ramos scoring his 23rd penalty in a row.
FRANCE: Moise Kean opens his Paris Saint-Germain account with a brace against Dijon, matching his league tally from the whole of last season at Everton.
ITALY: Bologna equal the alltime record of top five European Leagues by conceding in 38 league matches in a row.
GERMANY: Bayern’s Robert Lewandowski scores another hat-trick, becoming the first player in history to score ten Bundesliga goals in the first five rounds. Elsewhere, Dortmund keep pace with Bayern by beating Schalke 3-0 in the Revierderby.
SUDAN: El Merriekh clinch their third Sudan Premier League title in a row after beating arch-rivals Al Hilal Omdurman 1-0.
Sunday October 25
ITALY: Reggiana confirm that they have another 11 cases of coronavirus, taking their total tally up to 27.
Monday October 26
ENGLAND: Former Manchester City academy youngster Jeremy Wisten dies at the age of 18.
SOUTH KOREA: Lee Dong-gook, the all-time top scorer in the AFC Champions League, announces he will retire at the end of the current season.
Tuesday October 27
FIFA: Gianni Infantino tests positive for COVID-19.
FRANCE: Hackers steal a €519,000 payment from Paris Saint-Germain intended for Boca Juniors as part of the Leandro Paredes deal.
EUROPE: Atletico Madrid need a late brace from Joao Felix to beat RB Salzburg in the Champions League, while Real Madrid score twice in the final three minutes to draw with Borussia Monchengladbach.
Wednesday October 28
EUROPE: Manchester United thrash RB Leipzig 5-0 at Old Trafford with a hat-trick from Marcus Rashford, Lionel Messi scores in Barcelona’s 2-0 win over Juventus, and Erling
Haaland nets his 12th goal in his tenth Champions League match – the best start by any player in the competition’s history.
AFRICA: Ahmad Ahmad announces his intention to stand for re-election of CAF despite reports that he is about to be sanctioned by FIFA’s Ethics Committee.
SPAIN: The government bans betting companies from sponsoring La Liga sides.
ITALY: Franco Baresi is named Milan’s honorary vice-president.
Thursday October 29
EUROPE: Jamie Vardy becomes Leicester City’s oldest European goalscorer in the Foxes’ 2-1 victory over AEK Athens, while Belgian side Antwerp shock Tottenham Hotspur with a 1-0 victory. Meanwhile, Kemar Roofe’s record for the longest-distance goal in Europa League history lasts just seven days, with Jordi Gomez scoring from 60 yards for Omonia Nicosia against PSV.
Friday October 30 SOUTH KOREA: FC Seoul defender Kim Nam-chun is found dead in his apartment, aged 31. Saturday October 31
SCOTLAND: In the postponed Scottish Cup semi-final, Hearts beat Hibernian 2-1 in the Edinburgh derby thanks to a Liam Boyce penalty in extra-time.
Sunday November 1
SCOTLAND: In the other semi, Celtic beat Aberdeen 2-0 to set up a Scottish Cup final clash with Hearts on December 20.
Tuesday November 3
EUROPE: Liverpool register one of the biggest away victories in Champions League history,
beating Atalanta 5-0 thanks to a Diogo Jota hat-trick. Borussia Monchengladbach go one better by beating Shakhtar 6-0, while Real Madrid and Bayern Munich each come from behind to beat Internazionale and RB Salzburg respectively.
WALES: Wales manager Ryan Giggs is forced to miss his team’s November fixtures after allegations of assault are made against him.
SPAIN: Forbes ranks Real Madrid
owner Florentino Perez as the 11th wealthiest person in Spain.
USA: Valencia midfielder and England Under-18 international Yunus Musah accepts a call-up to the USA squad for the November friendlies.
Wednesday November 4
EUROPE: Istanbul Basaksehir record their first-ever Champions League victory, beating Manchester United 2-1. Meanwhile, RB Leipzig
win 2-1 at home against nineman Paris Saint-Germain.
Thursday November 5
EUROPE: In the Europa League, Harry Kane scores his 200th goal in only his 300th appearance for Tottenham in their 3-1 victory over Ludogorets. Elsewhere, Alfredo Morelos replaces Ally McCoist as Rangers’ top scorer in Europe, while Yusuf Yazici hits his second hat-trick of the group stage as
Lille record a shock 3-0 win against Milan at the San Siro.
Friday November 6
FRANCE: Sochaux midfielder Ousseynou Thioune is banned for four matches after appearing to bite Valenciennes goalkeeper Jerome Prior.
FIFA: President Gianni Infantino announces that he will consider UEFA’s request to change the handball rule.