Celtic have it all to do against Finnish side KuPS if they want to progress in the Women's Champions League.

Roosa Ariyo put their opponents ahead in the tie midway through the first half after Celtic's Mathilde Carstens made a mistake in midfield.

The winners will go through to a final in their mini-tournament on Saturday, against Lithuanian hosts Gintra or Moldovan side Anenii Noi. The winners of that match will progress to the second round of qualifying.

Follow the live action here.

BBC Sounds

BBC Sport's senior football reporter Nizaar Kinsella told the Football Daily podcast that the style of play he expects to see from England under Lee Carsley is what Three Lions' supporters have been screaming out for: "I've watched a lot of the under-21s and I think they do carry the ball very well. They move it around very quick. They have technical players all over the pitch, quite attacking.

"It's an exciting style of play. It's the kind of play that fans have been screaming out for. It resembles a club team. You look at the top teams in England, how they play, the positional play. I think it's potentially really exciting. I think the squad he has picked is exactly setting out that example.

"I think, if he wants that England job, which we definitely think he does, he's picked a kind of squad that's an advert for him. Young players, technically gifted players. He's going to play attacking football in the next two games, against the Republic of Ireland and Finland, which are probably good games to try and show that off."

Listen to the Football Daily podcast here

Image source, Getty Images

Right, we flagged earlier the latest edition of the Football Daily podcast, which includes a discussion on the job that faces England's interim manager Lee Carsley.

The former Republic of Ireland midfielder will lead England against his home country in his first match in charge in Dublin on Saturday.

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales

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Craig Bellamy’s Wales will play an exciting new style of football as they set their sights on the long-term goal of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, says Connor Roberts.

Burnley full-back Roberts played under Bellamy when he worked as Vincent Kompany’s assistant coach at Turf Moor, helping the Clarets earn promotion to the Premier League in 2023.

Bellamy, who succeeded Rob Page as Wales head coach in July, begins his reign with a Nations League game at home to Turkey on Friday (19:45 BST).

“You can see there is a new energy around the place,” Roberts said of Bellamy’s appointment.

“Everyone is excited to see what a Craig Bellamy team looks like, how they play. It’s the same with the players. I think he’s a fantastic coach. He absolutely loves football. He lives and breathes it.

“We all love playing for Wales and we all have to impress the boss by tuning into his ideas and showing him we want to be part of something successful.”

• Read the full story here and check out Dafydd's feature on Dave Adams - the man behind the "Welsh way"

Wales

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Back to the Nations League and Wales have added Leeds United's teenage midfielder Charlie Crew to their squad for matches against Turkey and Montenegro.

Cardiff-born Crew, 18, has yet to make a senior appearance for his club, but made his international debut against Gibraltar in June.

He replaces Rabbi Matondo in the squad after the Rangers winger withdrew having injured his hamstring.

The 23-year-old was forced off the field during the first half of his side's 3-0 defeat at Celtic on Sunday.

Wales face Turkey in Craig Bellamy's first game in charge on Friday, before taking on Montenegro three days later.

Celtic

We mentioned that Celtic are kicking off their qualifying campaign in the Women's Champions League today, well there is now a live text page up and running so you can follow that game against Finnish side KuPS in Lithuania.

It's still goalless in the opening stages so you haven't missed anything.

Click here for live text commentary.

Northern Ireland

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Michael O'Neil will kick off this new era for his Northern Ireland squad without Jordan Thompson and Brodie Spencer, who have been ruled out of this week's Nations League double-header against Luxembourg and Bulgaria.

Stoke midfielder Thompson has a calf problem which has caused him to miss the Potters' last two games, while Spencer injured his shoulder against Shrewsbury last week.

Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill has not called up replacements for Thompson and Spencer.

O'Neill has also confirmed that goalkeeper Conor Hazard is being assessed by his club Plymouth after picking up an injury, while defender Eoin Toal has joined the squad despite missing Bolton's game at the weekend.

Full-back Jamal Lewis, who has been in Brazil to finalise a move from Newcastle to Sao Paulo, is expected to join up with the squad later this week.

The departures of Thompson and Spencer leave O'Neill with a 23-man squad for this month's games.

Northern Ireland host Luxembourg in their C3 opener in Belfast on Thursday (19:45 BST) and face Bulgaria in Plovdiv on Sunday (17:00).

Jonathan Bradley
BBC Sport NI

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While Michael O'Neill joked last week that he was not quite ready for Northern Ireland fans to turn the page on Euro 2016, his squad for the Nations League tells a different story.

The international retirement of his captain and most decorated player Jonny Evans on the eve of the announcement has further diminished the experience available to him during his second spell in charge.

Indeed, the squad that will take on Luxembourg and Bulgaria this week contains just two players - Paddy McNair and Josh Magennis - who were a part of the Northern Ireland set-up at those European Championships just over eight years ago.

In the past 12 months alone, Evans, Steven Davis, Craig Cathcart and Stuart Dallas have all retired from international football with that quartet alone accounting for 382 Northern Ireland caps.

Evans' younger brother Corry, who himself has 69 caps for the country, is presently absent as well as he hunts for a new club after leaving Sunderland in the summer.

• Read Jonathan's full column here.

Back to this week's matches in the men's Nations League, which will kick off a new era for Northern Ireland...

Cardiff City, Northern Ireland side Glentoran and Dublin-based Peamount United are also playing today in the first round of Women's Champions League qualifying.

Peamount kick off their first-round qualifying campaign against Belarus side Dinamo Minsk at 10:00 BST, with Slovenian hosts Osijek and Slovakia's Spartak Myjava also in their section.

Glentoran play Slovenia's ZNK Mura at 15:00 for the right to face either Cypriot hosts Apollon Ladies or Armenia's FC Pyunik.

And Cardiff face Dutch hosts Twente at 18:00, with the winners to play either Valur, of Iceland, or North Macedonian side Ljuboten on Saturday for a place in the second round.

The first round of qualifying for the Women's Champions League, which includes Arsenal, Celtic and Rangers, kicks off today.

The opening stage of qualifying features a series of mini tournaments, with four teams in each.

Arsenal host their mini tournament at Meadow Park, which also includes Rangers, Atletico Madrid and Norwegian side Rosenborg. Atletico play Rosenborg at 12:00 BST, before Arsenal v Rangers at 19:30.

The winners will go through to play in a final, also at Boreham Wood, at 19:30 on Saturday, when a place in the second round of qualifying is at stake.

Celtic's games will be played in Lithuania, with the Scottish champions' first match against Finnish side KuPS starting at 10:00. You can follow live text coverage here. The winners will play either Lithuanian hosts Gintra or Moldovan side Anenii Noi on Saturday.

The draw for the second round of qualifying, which will include Manchester City, will take place on Monday.

WSL champions Chelsea are one of four teams to have qualified automatically for the group stages, along with reigning champions Barcelona and the French and German league winners, Lyon and Bayern Munich.

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Scotland

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Striker Che Adams withdrew from the Scotland squad on Tuesday before their Nations League games against Poland and Portugal and was replaced by Rangers midfielder Connor Barron for his first call up.

Celtic pair James Forrest and Greg Taylor joined Adams in pulling out of Steve Clarke's group, along with goalkeeper Robby McCrorie.

Barron and Sassuolo left-back Josh Doig have been promoted from the under-21s as cover, with Dundee goalkeeper Jon McCracken already drafted in to replace McCrorie.

Goalkeepers: Zander Clark (Hearts), Angus Gunn (Norwich City), Jon McCracken (Dundee)

Defenders: Josh Doig (Sassuolo), Grant Hanley (Norwich City), Max Johnston (Sturm Graz), Scott McKenna (Las Palmas), Ryan Porteous (Watford) Anthony Ralston (Celtic), Andy Robertson (Liverpool), John Souttar (Rangers)

Midfielders: Connor Barron (Rangers), Ryan Christie (Bournemouth), Ben Doak (Middlesbrough), Ryan Gauld (Vancouver Whitecaps), Billy Gilmour (Napoli), John McGinn (Aston Villa), Kenny McLean (Norwich City), Scott McTominay (Napoli), Lewis Morgan (New York Red Bulls)

Forwards: Tommy Conway (Middlesbrough), Lyndon Dykes (Birmingham City), Lawrence Shankland (Hearts)

Let's start with a rundown of upcoming Nations League fixtures featuring England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland:

Thursday, 5 September

Scotland v Poland (19:45)

Northern Ireland v Luxembourg (19:45)

Friday, 6 September

Wales v Turkey (19:45)

Saturday, 7 September

Republic of Ireland v England (17:00)

Sunday, 8 September

Bulgaria v Northern Ireland (17:00)

Portugal v Scotland (19:45)

Monday, 9 September

Montenegro v Wales (19:45)

Tuesday, 10 September

England v Finland (19:45)

We will bring you some of the top lines from Football Daily throughout the morning, but first we will bring you up to speed on how the other home nations are faring heading into this weekend's Nations League matches...

BBC Sounds

There is plenty of England build-up in the latest edition of the Football Daily podcast - The Debrief - with James Gregg on BBC Sounds.

James is joined by football journalist Mark Ogden and BBC Sport's senior football reporter Nizaar Kinsella, who also discuss Erik ten Hag's future at Manchester United and Liverpool boss Arne Slot’s post-match tactical breakdown following his side's victory at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

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Talking about squad withdrawals, England had three players pull out last night - Manchester City forward Phil Foden, Chelsea's Cole Palmer and Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins.

Foden did not join up with the squad because of illness, but both Palmer and Watkins made it to St George's Park on Tuesday before being sent back to their clubs "to continue their rehabilitation from ongoing issues", the Football Association said.

Palmer posted a picture of himself in his England kit on X, external, pulling a suitcase alongside the words "duty calls".

It will be a blow for all three players, who will have been hoping to build on positive performances for England at Euro 2024.

The Three Lions face the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Saturday before hosting Finland at Wembley on Tuesday.

• Read more on this story here., external

Alex Howell
BBC football news reporter

Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton has withdrawn from the England Under-21s squad.

The 20-year-old was named in the U21s squad four days ago and played the full 90 minutes in Palace’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Sunday.

However, after the match Oliver Glasner revealed that Wharton has had "problems in the last weeks".

Wharton did not join up with the squad and it is understood that he has been managing a groin issue and it’s hoped that the international break should help to clear it up.

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Republic of Ireland striker Callum Robinson says he would be surprised if England's Jack Grealish is not met with a frosty reception from the Aviva Stadium crowd during Saturday's Nations League match.

Birmingham-born Grealish represented the Republic of Ireland at under-age level, qualifying through his grandparents, before switching in September 2015.

Manchester City's Grealish starred in England's friendly win over the Republic of Ireland in 2020 but has not faced the 'Boys in Green' in Dublin since changing allegiance.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, an unused substitute in that 2020 friendly, is also preparing for a reunion with the Republic of Ireland after earning three friendly caps in 2018, before deciding to represent England.

Robinson, who is close friends with Grealish, says the 28-year-old will be "expecting" some "abuse" from the Irish fans on Saturday.

"I'd be surprised if he doesn't because I think he gets booed anywhere he goes anyway - even in England," said the 29-year-old Robinson, who represented England at under-age level before switching to the Republic of Ireland in 2018.

• Click here to read more on this story.

The Daily Star

The Star also leads on how a "PSR 'bomb' nearly blew a hole" in Aston Villa's Champions League dreams.

We have more on that story coming up, as well as news of a warning for Jack Grealish as the former Republic of Ireland youth international prepares to play for England in Dublin.

Image source, Daily Star

Simon Stone
BBC Sport's chief football news reporter

There has been a lot of talk over months now about calendar-related issues.

The EFL Cup seems to be at a pinch point.

The third round of this season's competition is having to be played over two weeks due to the first round of matches in the Europa League being played in an "exclusive" European week, beginning on 23 September.

Yesterday, the EFL confirmed third-round fixture dates but Manchester City's home game with Watford was listed as "TBC".

This is why. City play Arsenal in a Sky televised game on Sunday, 22 September. The following Saturday they go to Newcastle for a TNT televised game.

That means the City-Watford game needs to be played on Wednesday, 25 September. Except that is the same day as Manchester United start their Europa League campaign against Dutch side FC Twente.

I can imagine Greater Manchester Police are not too keen on the idea of dealing with thousands of visiting Dutch fans going to Old Trafford at the same time as City are playing.

United and City have played home matches on the same day, but it is exceptionally rare, has not happened for a long time and involved low-profile games.

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