England would be making a mistake by trying to replicate Spain's successful style of play in a bid to win major tournaments, winger Anthony Gordon said ahead of Saturday's match between the European giants.

Gordon is well-placed to discuss the qualities of Spain's World Cup-winning players, given he now trains daily with many of them — like Rodri, Lamine Yamal, Pedri and more — following his offseason move to La Liga champion Barcelona.

FIFA's embattled president Gianni Infantino said Thursday he is committed to a fresh culture of openness at the soccer body that is "not about generating positive headlines."

Two months into a deep rift for global soccer because of Infantino's now-dropped $4.2 billion World Cup sell-off plan, he offered to his critics this week an independent review of how FIFA is run and makes decisions.

American football will make its debut in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday at a futebol cathedral.

The 78,000-seat Maracana Stadium is a revered soccer venue that has hosted two World Cup championship games, Olympic gold medal matches for men and women, and numerous clashes between South America's biggest teams. Now the Baltimore Ravens and the Dallas Cowboys will play the NFL's first game in Rio there, one of a record nine international contests on the league schedule this season.

A French court on Wednesday upheld a decision to send Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco footballer Achraf Hakimi to trial on a rape charge, a judicial source told AFP.

France and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe continued his media push to win the Ballon d'Or by insisting on Tuesday that he feels confident he will claim the prestigious award.

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.