England host Spain at Wembley as Nations League restarts and Azerbaijan GP moves to Saturday

England v Spain headline clash at Wembley

Spain’s visit to Wembley is a painful reminder to England of what might have been, and Thomas Tuchel needs a positive response to silence criticism of how the Three Lions’ World Cup fizzled out against a snarling, brutal Argentina.

Had England held out for the final five minutes plus stoppage time in their semi-final two months ago, they would have met Spain in the final. Instead Tuchel’s players wilted, conceding twice after he had attempted to batten down the hatches with a series of defensive substitutions.

The German coach admitted to being left “unfulfilled” by failing to achieve his target of a second star on the England jersey. Bukayo Saka went even further in midweek by revealing “there’s still a scar in us” over what happened in Atlanta.

“Time to start healing those wounds against the best international team on the planet. It is a tall order, particularly with a string of high-profile withdrawals,” the Guardian preview notes. Rob Smyth will keep the blog updates flowing while David Hytner, Barney Ronay and Jacob Steinberg provide reports and analysis from the national stadium.

Scotland start Nations League under Sébastien Pocognoli

At 2pm BST, a new era for Scotland commences as Sébastien Pocognoli’s side kickstart their Nations League campaign away to Slovenia.

In an extended international break, the Scots face the Slovenians twice, Switzerland and North Macedonia as they strive to get out of League B. Pocognoli is tasked with building on the groundwork laid by Steve Clarke, under whom Scotland qualified for three major tournaments, including this summer’s World Cup in North America.

“We arrive in the timeline of the Scotland national team [where], in the natural way, you will have some changes. But I don’t see this as a bad challenge, I think it’s a needed challenge,” the former Union Saint-Gilloise and Monaco manager said in the buildup.

Barry Glendenning live blogs the match, with Ewan Murray reporting from Ljubljana’s Stadion Stozice.

Azerbaijan Grand Prix moves to Saturday for Remembrance Day

Azerbaijan is marking 10 years since its first F1 race but this year’s event is a little different. The Grand Prix is taking place on a Saturday because Sunday is a national holiday, Remembrance Day.

The Baku City Circuit hosting Saturday’s race is about 105 miles from the nearest point on Azerbaijan’s southern border with Iran, yet the turmoil of the regional conflict that has accounted for other motor sport events has not shunted this fixture off the F1 calendar.

Two other world championships governed by the FIA have abandoned plans to race in the Middle East this year. The World Rally Championship last week scrapped its season-ending event in Saudi Arabia after travel concerns from teams. The World Endurance Championship cancelled races in Bahrain and Qatar in July and replaced them with European venues.

F1 racing will go on, as Kimi Antonelli commands a vast 81-point lead over his Mercedes teammate George Russell. Baku is where Oscar Piastri’s title challenge started to crumble a year ago but Antonelli’s lead is more than double the biggest advantage the McLaren driver had last year and he is coming off back-to-back wins. Dominic Booth covers the race lap-by-lap, with Giles Richards reporting.

County Championship finale and England v Sri Lanka ODI

As the campaign rushes to its conclusion, Tanya Aldred keeps those on tenterhooks updated with all the highs and lows, wickets and runs. Champagne corks are planned to pop at Warwickshire who are striding toward clinching the County Championship title against relegation-threatened Leicestershire at Edgbaston. A win would guarantee a first pennant since the Covid-shortened 2021 campaign, with second-placed Somerset faltering against Surrey.

In Division Two promotion hopefuls Kent are battling rock-bottom Gloucestershire at Canterbury. Northamptonshire, just four points behind second-placed Kent, need to step up against Middlesex.

Sunday sees the third ODI between England and Sri Lanka at the Oval after Sri Lanka levelled the series in thrilling last-over fashion at Headingley on Thursday. England were cruising to a target of 322 while Tom Banton (73) and Ben Duckett (67) shared a first-wicket stand of 143. Sri Lanka had been hammered 3-0 in a preceding T20 campaign but Dunith Wellalage dragged them back by removing both openers and captain Harry Brook to reduce England to 157 for three. The left-arm spinner finished with figures of three for 49 after captain Kusal Mendis hit a fine century.

In the aftermath Brook insisted this was just what England needed before next year’s 50-over World Cup in southern Africa. “We’ve got a great opportunity now to try to win this series, and a great opportunity for 12 months’ time,” he said. “In pressure situations, like the one that awaits us at the Oval, it will be great to see where we are as a team.”

More football on the weekend slate

The Premier League may be on a break but Matchday live provides an essential gateway to the weekend’s football action, with the latest news on Manchester City’s legal battle and coverage of Leagues One and Two.

Sunday’s key clashes include Israel v Ireland, Denmark v Wales, Serbia v Netherlands, Germany v Greece and Norway v Portugal, while Chelsea host Arsenal in the WSL with Renée Slegers’ unbeaten Arsenal facing their derby rivals at Stamford Bridge after draws against Crystal Palace and Manchester United.