Cole Palmer was among five players to withdraw from the England squad on Monday because of injuries, denying the Chelsea playmaker an opportunity to prove his worth again to coach Thomas Tuchel after a World Cup snub.

Marcus Rashford, Declan Rice, Tino Livramento and Kobbie Mainoo also were ruled out of upcoming Nations League games against world champion Spain, Croatia and Czech Republic (two) because of unspecified injury issues, the national team said.

Just as Europe's top football leagues are really hitting their stride, here comes a longer-than-usual break — three weeks! — for international matches.

A few early-season, post-World Cup themes are already developing, however, around the continent.

Spain has agreed to extend the contract of World Cup-winning coach Luis de la Fuente until 2032.

The Spanish soccer federation's board of directors unanimously approved the contract extension on Monday, the federation said.

France coach Zinedine Zidane has called up attacking midfielder Maghnes Akliouche as a replacement for the injured Warren Zaïre-Emery for upcoming Nations League matches.

The French soccer federation said in a statement on Monday that Zaïre-Emery suffers from an adductor injury that ruled him out of France's training camp.

Cristiano Ronaldo was included in Portugal's squad by new coach Jorge Jesus for its upcoming Nations League games on Friday.

The 41-year-old Ronaldo said that this summer's World Cup was his last, but the global star has yet to say when he plans to retire from international play. He will be 43 by the time the 2028 European Championship, the next major tournament, is held.

The Los Angeles Dodgers clinched their fifth consecutive NL West title and 13th in the past 14 seasons with an 8-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday.

"It's a big deal," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "I think that a lot of people think that it's just a rite of passage (but) it's not easy. So it's something that we're all really proud of, but really understand that's not the end goal."

Raphinha scored a hat trick as Barcelona earned yet another big win on Wednesday, routing Racing Santander 7-2 for its best-ever start to a season.

The Catalan club had never won seven games in a row. It has won six straight in the league and another in the Champions League.

Lionel Messi scored the 100th goal of his Inter Miami career and Casemiro added another as Miami defeated Cruz Azul 2-0 on Wednesday night to win the Campeones Cup.

Messi opened the scoring in the 24th minute, heading in a cross from Luis Suárez for his 100th goal in 115 appearances across all competitions with Miami.

Paul George made one thing clear during his introductory news conference with the Boston Celtics on Tuesday: his ears work just fine.

He's heard the not-so silent chorus of Celtics fans who bemoaned the front office's decision to jettison 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown in the July trade with Philadelphia that sent the 36-year-old George to his fifth NBA team.

Formula 1 plans to open the 2027 season in Bahrain even as uncertainty remains over this year's races in the Middle East.

F1 released a 24-race schedule for 2027 on Wednesday starting with the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 14 and then Saudi Arabia a week later, with events also scheduled for Qatar and Abu Dhabi at the end of the year. All have long-term contracts to host F1 and Bahrain also hosts preseason testing in February.