Al Nassr defender Aymeric Laporte has said he would listen to an approach by Real Madrid.

Injury-hit Madrid are looking to strengthen their defensive line in the January transfer window after Éder Militão tore his ACL in last weekend's 4-0 win against Osasuna, while David Alaba is still recovering from a knee injury.

Madrid are reportedly interested in signing Laporte, who has been playing in the Saudi Pro League with Al Nassr since August 2023 after joining from Manchester City in a 27.5 million ($28.9m) transfer.

When asked about any potential Madrid interest, Laporte, who is on international duty with Spain, said: "I've read the same things as everybody else.

"It [Madrid's reported interest] sounds good."

When asked whether he would pick up the phone if Madrid called, he said: "Obviously, you don't look down on teams like Real Madrid."

Laporte, who won Euro 2024 with Spain in the summer, has a contract with Al Nassr through June 2026. However, he has reiterated his desire to return to Europe.

"I've said it many times, my idea is to return to Europe," he said. "I went there [to Saudi Arabia] to play football, not to do other things. So far it hasn't been bad for me as while I've been there. I've won a European Championship, which is the most beautiful thing that has happened in my career."

Spain international Pedro Porro has also been linked with Madrid.

"That one of the best clubs in the world notices me means that I'm doing my job well at my club," the Spanish defender said of Madrid's reported interest. "But it's not just my name that is being linked, there are others.

"My friends send me those rumours, but I'm focused on my job, and I cannot be distracted by that."

Porro, whose Spurs contract expires in June 2028, has made 13 appearances across all club competitions this season.

Claudio Ranieri has been appointed as Roma's third head coach of the season, the Serie A club announced on Thursday.

It is the third time the Italian has taken charge of his hometown club. He led the team between 2009 and 2011 and returned for a two-month stint in 2019. He also played for the Giallorossi during the 1973-74 campaign.

The new-look UEFA Nations League (UNL) group stage is coming to a close, with much more at stake than you might think. In fact, you might say you need a degree in football administration to fully understand the machinations.

For the original editions, the Nations League was mostly about qualifying for the finals, plus promotion and relegation between the four levels. But the 2024-25 format sees more teams through to the knockout format, plus added promotion/relegation playoffs. And for the first time the final positions will have some impact on the qualifying draw for the next FIFA World Cup.

With two rounds of games to be played, we look at who's in contention and what it all means in the race to reach United States, Mexico and Canada in the summer of 2026.

Stick with us...

How does the UEFA Nations League work?

There are four "divisions": League A, B, C (with four groups of four nations) and D (with two groups of three). League A is the strongest and League D the weakest.

Qualifying for the quarterfinals and finals

In League A, the top two teams in each of the four groups will go through to two-legged quarterfinals, to be played in March. The winners of these ties will take part in the finals, with one-legged semifinals and a final in June.

Promotion and relegation

The countries who win League B and C are automatically promoted to League A and B respectively. Those who finish bottom of League A and B are directly relegated to League B and C.

There is some good news for countries who are relegated from League A in this edition. Being in League B for the 2026 UNL, they will be in a better position to claim a playoff for a place for Euro 2028.

The winners of the two League D groups are promoted, while the two teams in League C who finish bottom with the worst record go down.

Playoffs

New for this edition is promotion/relegation playoffs, also be to be held in March. Teams who are third in League A will play two-legged ties against second-placed nations from League B. Likewise, third in League B will face second in League C. The winners will play in the higher league.

The two nations who are bottom in League C with the best record will face a promotion/relegation playoff against runners-up of League D.

Why does it matter for World Cup qualifying?

There's a handful of reasons and, remarkably, it's more complicated than the UEFA Nations League itself.

World Cup qualifying draw seeding

Teams will be drawn into 12 groups of four or five nations. Groups of five will begin qualifying in March or June. Groups of four won't play any qualifiers until September. Why's that? Because fixture slots need to be free for countries to play those UNL playoffs and knockout ties.

The eight teams in the UNL quarterfinals will all need free dates in March, with the four finalists also requiring June to be empty. As the World Cup qualifying draw is on Dec. 13, FIFA won't know who needs both March and June free. FIFA has therefore given UEFA permission to put all eight UNL quarterfinalists in Pot 1 of the World Cup draw. If you finish in the top two of UNL League A, you're seeded and could get a more favourable route to the next World Cup.

Pot 1 will have 12 nations, and is completed by the four countries with the best FIFA World Ranking who aren't yet seeded. England, who are in League B for this edition of the UNL, are effectively guaranteed one slot as they are ranked fourth in the world. As it stands now, Belgium, Switzerland and Austria would take the other three ranking slots.

For all other pots, places are allocated purely by FIFA World Ranking, and results this week could influence that. For instance, Turkey could take a slot in Pot 1, while Scotland and Norway are in Pot 3 but could lift themselves into Pot 2 with good results.

But wait... Depending on how many teams need to play promotion and relegation playoffs, FIFA may have to juggle the pots slightly. For instance, if there are too many teams in Pot 3 who need to have March free, then a swap with Pot 2 or 4 might be needed. That's probably an issue for another day...

One more complication? As the UNL playoffs don't take place until March, eight of the 12 World Cup groups won't know their full lineup until then. Four of the groups with four teams will get "winners of playoff tie," as they must be free for March and June. Four others get "losers of playoff tie." Only four groups will be complete as of Dec. 13.

Playoff places for UNL group winners

The 12 winners of the UEFA World Cup qualifying groups will go direct to the World Cup. The 12 runners-up enter playoffs.

There are also four playoff slots for the best UNL group winners who do not finish in the top two of a World Cup group. What does that mean? Well, the UNL League A winners are very unlikely to need a World Cup playoff, which means winning a League B group will almost certainly give you a playoff, and being one of the best League C group winners gives a great chance.

There are 16 teams in the playoffs, creating four paths with one-legged semifinals and a final, to be played in March 2026.

UEFA and FIFA certainly know how to make this complicated.

What's at stake in the Nations League this week

This section will be updated through the final matches until the end of the group phase on Nov. 19

LEAGUE A1

Portugal (10 points) need one point to secure a place in the quarterfinals, while Scotland (1) face an uphill struggle to avoid relegation to League B.

The real battle is for second and third, with Croatia (7) ahead of Poland (4).

Croatia have the superior head-to-head record so can book a top-two slot with a draw in Scotland on Friday. That will likely leave Poland facing a relegation playoff, though they could yet be overtaken by Scotland on the final day when the two countries meet in Warsaw.

LEAGUE A2

Italy (10) and France (9) are clear in first and second and, while Belgium (4) still have a mathematical chance, the quarterfinals spots might already be sealed. Belgium host Italy in Brussels on Thursday and must win to keep their hopes alive.

It looks like Belgium will face a relegation playoff, as they sit four points ahead of Israel (0), who have lost all four matches.

LEAGUE A3

Germany (10) have already booked a slot in the quarterfinals, while Bosnia and Herzegovina (1) must win both of their matches to avoid relegation.

Netherlands (5) go into the last week in second but are only ahead of Hungary (5) on goal difference. The two teams meet in Amsterdam on Saturday, and if there's a winner they will be through to the last eight.

LEAGUE A4

Spain (10) have also secured a place in the top two.

Denmark (7) are in a good position and will be through if they better Serbia's result on Friday. If not, it will come down to the meeting between the two teams in Leskovac on Monday.

The best bottom-of-the-group Switzerland (1) can hope for is to climb above Serbia into the relegation playoff place. They face each other in Zürich on Friday, and the Swiss must win to have any chance of climbing off the foot.

LEAGUE B1

The group is completely up in the air, with the four nations separated by three points.

Czechia (7) sit top and have promotion in their own hands but sit just one point ahead of Georgia (6) and Albania (6). Ukraine (4) are bottom yet very much within touching distance of at least a promotion playoff.

Albania have two home games, which gives them an advantage, while Ukraine have it all to do with two away matches. Czechia can seal promotion on Saturday if they win in Albania and Georgia lose at home to Ukraine.

LEAGUE B2

The group may effectively be decided on Thursday when Greece (12) take on England (9) in Athens.

Greece won 2-1 at Wembley in October, so know they will be promoted with a win or a draw. However, if England win by 2+ goals then victory at home to Republic of Ireland (3) on Sunday would secure first place.

If England win by one goal, the nations would be level on points and head-to-head, only separated by a goal difference of two -- meaning the scorelines on the final day would be decisive.

Finland (0) travel to Ireland on Thursday and must win to avoid automatic relegation.

LEAGUE B3

Another group which is impossible to call, with nothing to separate Norway (7), Austria (7) and Slovenia (7).

Norway and Austria could be in the strongest position, as they both have to play rock-bottom Kazakhstan (1). The automatic promotion place cannot be confirmed on Thursday, but Kazakhstan's relegation will be if they fail to win at home to Austria.

LEAGUE B4

Turkey (10) and Wales (8) are in competition to go straight up to League A and meet in Kayseri on Saturday. Turkey will be promoted, and secure a likely World Cup playoff, if they can get a home victory.

Iceland (4) have an outside chance of second, if Wales are defeated, but they would have to win in Montenegro (0) in their first game and then in Cardiff on Tuesday -- which would dump Wales into the relegation playoff. Montenegro must win at home to Turkey to stand any chance of avoiding instant relegation.

LEAGUE C1

Sweden (10) are above Slovakia (10) on goal difference with the two countries meeting in Solna on Saturday. If there's a winner in that game, it will come with automatic promotion. If the game is a draw, Slovakia may require a huge win over Estonia on Tuesday to finish top because of inferior goal difference.

Azerbaijan (0) host Estonia (3) on Saturday and must win to avoid being last. Having zero points, Azerbaijan also face being automatically relegated to League D.

LEAGUE C2

Romania (12) have the best record in League C, meaning they have an excellent chance of a World Cup playoff through the UNL -- if they can hold on to top spot. They host Kosovo (9) on Friday, and a draw will secure it. Kosovo lost 3-0 at home to Romania, so would need a huge win in Bucharest to reverse the head-to-head record. The odds are that Kosovo will finish second even if they produce a shock.

Lithuania (0) must win in Cyprus (3) to have any chance of avoiding bottom spot. Like Azerbaijan, Lithuania face automatic relegation having lost every match.

LEAGUE C3

A close group headed by Northern Ireland (7), followed by Belarus (6) and Bulgaria (5). Northern Ireland host Belarus on Friday and will be promoted with a victory if Bulgaria fail to win in Luxembourg (2).

If Luxembourg can get a victory, they have a real chance of avoiding last place and couldn't be automatically relegated.

LEAGUE C4

North Macedonia (10) are all but assured of promotion, and their record could yet get them a route to the World Cup playoffs. They need one point to secure first place.

The real battle is for the other three places between Armenia (4), Latvia (4) and Faroe Islands (3). The Faroes have two away matches, which puts them at a distinct disadvantage, but they aren't facing a realistic threat of automatic relegation.

LEAGUE D1

Gibraltar (5) will be promoted with a win or draw in San Marino (3) on Friday.

Liechtenstein (2) will have second to play for when they take on San Marino on Monday, but they cannot win the group.

LEAGUE D2

Moldova (6) lead Malta (6) on head-to-head goal difference. Moldova will be promoted if they win in Andorra (0) on Saturday, which will consign Malta to a playoff.

PARK CITY, Utah -- Lindsey Vonn is coming out of retirement to rejoin the U.S. Ski Team, she announced Thursday, intending to race again at age 40 -- and six years after her most recent Olympics.

Vonn is a three-time Olympic medalist, including a downhill gold and super-G bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Games, and a bronze in the downhill at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. She is also a four-time overall World Cup champion and owns eight world championship medals.

Her 82 World Cup race victories stood as the record for a woman until that total was eclipsed in January 2023 by American Mikaela Shiffrin, who is still active and is now up to 97 wins -- more than any Alpine ski racer in the history of the sport.

Before eclipsing Vonn's total, Shiffrin said: "I don't know if I could fill Lindsey's shoes, the way that she has worn them."

Vonn's last competition came in February 2019, after she dealt with a long series of injuries throughout her career.

There were broken arms and legs, torn knee ligaments, concussions, and more.

Just this April, years after leaving the World Cup circuit, she had surgery for a partial knee replacement.

Vonn has been training in recent months, U.S. Ski & Snowboard said Thursday.

"Getting back to skiing without pain has been an incredible journey," Vonn said, adding that she wants to "continue to share my knowledge of the sport with these incredible women" on the American team.

U.S. Ski & Snowboard president and CEO Sophie Goldschmidt said Vonn's "dedication and passion towards Alpine skiing is inspiring, and we're excited to have her back on snow and see where she can go from here."

Vonn is back with the team effective immediately, but it is not yet known which particular races she will be aiming to enter.

The next Winter Olympics are in Italy in February 2026.

INDIANAPOLIS -- The NFL scouting combine will remain in Indianapolis for at least two more years under an agreement announced Thursday.

Indianapolis tourism officials announced a deal with the NFL to host the league's flagship pre-draft event through 2026, superseding a previous agreement that ended with the 2025 combine.

The combine has been held in Indianapolis since 1987. Since those early days, when the combine played out with little fanfare, it has evolved into a major event on the NFL calendar. The combine now features hours of live television coverage, and in recent years, fans have been permitted to attend to watch on-field drills at Lucas Oil Stadium.

More than 27,000 fans attended the 2024 combine, according to Visit Indy, which helped broker the deal.

More than 300 NFL prospects annually descend on the city along with large delegations from every NFL team and thousands of media members. Team officials, in particular, have been vocal about keeping the combine in Indianapolis given the proximity of medical facilities for prospect exams and the stadium to key downtown hotels.

"Indianapolis is uniquely designed and built to host an event as complex as the NFL Combine," Pete Ward, chief operating officer of the Indianapolis Colts, said in a statement. "Efficiently moving prospects, team owners, coaching staff, medical personnel, and national media is seamlessly done in Indy, and the Colts are proud to be part of the team keeping the event in our city."

Four new laws aimed at making rugby union faster and more entertaining will be tested around the world from the start of next year.

Kickers will only be allowed to take 60 seconds over a conversion, in line with the one-minute 'shot clock' that already exists for penalties.

Elsewhere crooked line-out throws will not be penalised if the opposition does not contest the ball and, like scrums, match officials will form up the set-piece within 30 seconds.

Scrum-halves will also be given more protection around scrums, rucks and mauls to ensure a supply of cleaner, quicker ball and faster phases of play.

The laws have been already been tested in a series of World Rugby events, including the summer's U20 World Championship and the Pacific Nations Cup.

A decision on 20-minute red cards - where an offending player can be replaced with another off the bench after 20 minutes - has been delayed until after the autumn.

A version of the system is being trialled in the current set of autumn internationals after it was used in this year's Rugby Championship involving South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina and Australia.

France and Ireland expressed concern about its possible permanent adoption before the autumn matches started.

Ireland captain Caelan Doris admits the team has been given a "second chance" by head coach Andy Farrell after a flat performance in last week's defeat by New Zealand.

Farrell has made just one change for the Argentina game on Friday with Robbie Henshaw replacing Bundee Aki and the coach admitted some players are "lucky enough" to have been retained in the line-up.

Doris, who expressed dissatisfaction with his own performance last week, said he wants Ireland to show more "edge, physicality and intent" against the Pumas, who have never won on Irish soil.

"There's competition, there's a lot of people who want to wear the jerseys so there's a bit of pressure to perform there, but excitement and opportunity too," said Doris, 26.

"That's the underlying thing."

The Leinster back row, appointed captain before the Autumn Nations Series, added: "I think the way it's framed from Faz [Farrell] and the coaches in quite a positive way.

"There's expectation coming from ourselves and the group and coming from what we see in training and the plan we have. It feels like positive pressure to a lot of guys, to myself."

World champions South Africa have made 12 changes to their starting XV for Saturday's Autumn Nations Series match with England at Allianz Stadium.

Captain Siya Kolisi and former world player of the year Pieter-Steph du Toit return in the back row, while winger Cheslin Kolbe is also named in the side.

However, despite fielding seven forwards on the bench in the 32-15 win over Scotland, head coach Rassie Erasmus has opted for a conventional five forwards-three backs split among his replacements.

England are set to name their matchday squad at 13:30 GMT.

South Africa beat England 16-15 after a late Handre Pollard penalty in their last meeting in the 2023 World Cup semi-final.

The Boks squad includes 15 players who faced Steve Borthwick's side in Paris, with Leicester Tigers fly-half Pollard among the replacements.

"England poses a completely different challenge to Scotland, and we selected our squad based on what we would like to do in the match and also what we think will be best to counter the challenge England poses," said Erasmus.

"Fortunately, we have quite a few players who can switch positions if necessary, so we feel we have adequate depth throughout the team, which allowed us to select this group of replacements."

England have lost their past four matches, including narrow defeats in their opening two autumn Tests against New Zealand and Australia.

Erasmus, however, says past results count for nothing when the two sides renew their rivalry in London.

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Erasmus added: "If you have the right players and the right management, it can galvanise the team, especially if you have two close games like that.

"Our reality is we are playing England, who we seldom beat here. We are expecting a team that will be really tight and will play for their coaching staff. They believe fully they can beat us."

Erasmus added: "England come off two narrow defeats, but the quality of their performances was good in both matches, so we know the size of the challenge.

"We lost narrowly to Ireland and France in back-to-back matches in 2022 and a year later were world champions so we know we shouldn't read anything into the last two results."

The Hockey Hall of Fame is going to swing open its doors to some impressive former NHL stars in the next few years. Legends such as Zdeno Chara, Joe Thornton, Duncan Keith and Patrice Bergeron. Eventually Jaromir Jagr will be inducted. Probably in his 80s, when he's done playing.

The Hall can welcome up to four men's players in every annual class. Given how many current NHL players have a legitimate case for immortality, the selection committee will not suffer for a lack of choices.

Here is a tiered ranking of active NHL players based on their current Hall of Fame cases. We've picked the brain of Hockey Hall of Fame expert Paul Pidutti of Adjusted Hockey to help figure out the locks, the maybes, "the Hall of Very Good" and which young stars are on the path to greatness.

Let's begin with the two players who have defined this century of hockey, and another player whose legend has grown to the point where he's a sure-thing Hall of Famer.

Barcelona sporting director Deco has given an indication that his club is not looking to make any big signings in the upcoming transfer windows.

Under coach Hansi Flick, Barça lead LaLiga and are on course to qualify automatically for the round of 16 of the Champions League.

Deco played down reports that Barça are closely monitoring Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Sporting CP star Viktor Gyökeres.

He told El Mundo Deportivo: "First we have to know whether Haaland is what we want for the future. We don't know that now. At the moment we don't want any 'nine.' We have Robert [Lewandowski.] We are not planning anything with any 'nine.' It's not a priority because we have to focus on this season."

Gyokeres was instrumental in Sporting CP winning the Portuguese league last term and has delivered 23 goals in 18 club appearances this season.

"Gyokeres is a good player," Deco said. "He has been scoring goals for some time in Portugal. We know him as we know others but it's not a priority for us right now.

"When the time comes to make a decision and I have to make it because I am the one at the club, we will consider the options. But I don't think it's the right time to talk about any player."

Barça have the best attack in LaLiga, with their veteran forward Robert Lewandowski leading the scoring charts with 14 goals.

Lewandowski, 36, has a contract with Barça through June 2026 with an option to extend it for a further season.

"I think it's very difficult to find a striker like Robert nowadays," Deco said of the Poland captain. "There are one or two of this level. Maybe Haaland or another one. There are not so many of this level available. But we are not going to get hung up on finding any striker now because we are going to focus first on what Robert can do. I surely think he is happy to be here. He is a winner and if we have a big season I think he will want to stay.

"We want Robert to continue to be happy, to score goals and to stay at least one more season."

Deco, meanwhile, confirmed Barça are no longer interested in Spanish forward Nico Williams. Nico turned down a move to the Camp Nou in the summer to remain at Athletic Club.

"We were interested in Nico during the summer," Deco said. "We tried, but after that, the player made a decision and life goes on. The moment the player shows that he is not interested in coming, we don't talk about it anymore.

"We brought in Dani Olmo, who was the priority because we didn't have this player in the squad."

As for Barça's backline, Deco says his team is covered.

The club already brought in Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny last month after losing starting goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen to a serious knee injury.

Szczęsny joined as a free agent and signed a contract until the end of the season.

Amid ongoing rumours that Barça are interested in FC Porto keeper Diogo Costa for next summer, Deco said: "Marc still has three years left on his contract. He is young for a goalkeeper, 32 years old, and we have to focus on him recovering well and coming back well. If I was Diogo [Costa], I don't know if I would join Barcelona to be an understudy."

Deco has also ruled out an approach for Bayer Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah.

Tah, whose contract with Bayer expires at the end of the season, will be able to negotiate with other teams once the transfer window opens.

"In this case we are not planning any signings now," Deco said. "We have [Ronald] Araújo, who will be back, [Andreas] Christensen, Eric [García], [Pau] Cubarsí and Iñigo [Martínez]. The time will come when we will plan what we are going to do in the future but we are not going to make a decision now."