The Guardian

Finally in our round-up of today's national newspapers, the Guardian features a report on the future of Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag.

Jamie Jackson's exclusive says that the United boss is "in danger of being removed" if his game model does not start to impress the club's Ineos-led football department.

Image source, The Guardian

The Daily Express

A number of newspapers have picked up on quotes from England's Conor Gallagher.

The Express reports that Gallagher has "rubbished" claims that he was not good enough to play for former club Chelsea.

The 24-year-old midfielder, who is in the England squad to face Republic of Ireland on Saturday, made a £34m switch to Atletico Madrid in the summer.

Image source, Daily Express

The Sun

Talking of Newcastle and Eddie Howe, today's Sun features a story on a "dispute" between the Magpies manager and new sporting director Paul Mitchell, over a difference in opinion about the club's transfer policy and the side's playing style.

According to the report, Newcastle chief executive Darren Eales is giving Howe his full support.

Image source, The Sun

R

Image source, Getty Images

In case you missed it, Cole Palmer and Ben Chilwell are among four senior players to have been left out of Chelsea's Conference League squad.

England forward Palmer, midfielder Romeo Lavia and defender Wesley Fofana have been purposely left out to manage their workload.

Chelsea could play about 80 matches this season in five competitions.

The decision was made to rest star man Palmer in the league phase of Europe's third tier competition, with Lavia and Fofana working their way back from long-term injuries.

Chelsea can re-register the trio for the knockout rounds on 6 February when squads can be re-submitted.

Young midfielders Cesare Casadei and Carney Chukwuemeka, and striker Marc Guiu have been selected in their place as the Blues look to spread minutes around fringe players in a competition they are strong favourites to win.

Left-back Chilwell, however, has been dropped and continues to be on the fringes at Stamford Bridge.

• Click here to read more.

The Daily Star

The Star leads on concerns expressed by FIFPRO about the "dire consequences" of potential player burnout caused by the cluttered football calendar, which, it suggests, triggered Chelsea's decision to leave star forward Cole Palmer out of their squad for the Europa Conference League group stages.

Image source, Daily Star

We have more reaction from Thursday night's games coming up, as well as build-up to tonight's match - Wales v Turkey - and England's Nations League tie against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin on Saturday, which will be a first match in charge for Three Lions' interim head coach Lee Carsley.

But first, let's have a look at some of the other football stories making headlines today with a round-up of this morning's national newspapers...

Dafydd Pritchard
BBC Sport Wales

Image source, FAW

When you make your way to Cardiff City Stadium from the direction of the city centre, you are met with a mural of Gary Speed.

An image of the late Wales captain and manager adorns the side of a building overlooking a busy Canton crossroads; a black and white portrait on a bold red backdrop, accompanied by the words ‘Only one Gary Speed’, as sung by the country’s supporters at every home game.

Speed may only have managed Wales for 11 months but he left a profound legacy, the man many believe to have laid the foundation for the team’s rise from international football’s lowest reaches to the sparkling highs of its greatest generation.

Mention Speed's name to any of his former team-mates, colleagues or players he coached and you will likely see them visibly moved, touched by their memories of a man they loved, who took his own life in 2011.

Craig Bellamy is one. Having played with and under Speed for Wales and shared a dressing room with him at club level, Bellamy has a deeper understanding than most about what made him special.

Now, as Wales head coach, Bellamy helps carry Speed’s memory as well as the hopes of a nation.

• Click here to read Dafydd Pritchard's full feature on Bellamy's first match in charge of Wales

So Scotland and Northern Ireland had contrasting fortunes in Thursday's opening games of the Nations League, Wales are next up tonight with a tricky tie at home to Turkey (19:45 BST) for Craig Bellamy's first match in charge...

Oli, Bristol

If this coping mechanism helps you deal with England men's long wait for a trophy Oli, then that's all right with us...

Three points, two goals and one clean sheet - Northern Ireland's Nations League campaign got off to the perfect start against Luxembourg at Windsor Park.

The Nations League is a competition that has not been kind to Northern Ireland in the past. In fact, Thursday's win was only their second in 17 matches.

"We had good control of the game and capitalised on set-pieces," manager Michael O'Neill said after the opener.

"We spent a good hour this morning in the analysis room and on the pitch with the players [working on set-pieces]. You don't always get that time.

"It's something we need to improve on and we did demonstrate that tonight.

"Now we have [momentum]. Confidence is growing and a lot of these lads came into international football and didn't win a lot of games at the outset.

"Now they are starting to know how it feels to win. You can see in the dressing room what it means to them."

• Read more reaction here.

Northern Ireland top their Nations League group after Bulgaria were held to a goalless draw in Belarus in Group C3's other fixture.

Michael O'Neill's side travel to Bulgaria in their next fixture on Sunday.

Selected Nations League results

Scotland 2-3 Poland

Portugal 2-1 Croatia

Northern Ireland 2-0 Luxembourg

Belarus 0-0 Bulgaria

Upcoming fixtures

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)

Northern Ireland opened their Nations League campaign with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Luxembourg at Windsor Park in Group C3.

Paddy McNair gave Northern Ireland the lead in the 11th minute when he poked home from a corner.

Dan Ballard doubled the advantage five minutes later when the defender flicked home George Saville's low free-kick.

Northern Ireland could not add to their tally in the second half but were rarely troubled by the visitors.

The victory is Michael O'Neill's first in the Nations League, and only Northern Ireland's second win in 17 matches in the competition.

It is also a fourth win in six matches as O'Neill's youthful squad continue to develop in his second stint as manager.

• Read Andy Gray's full report here.

Image source, PressEye

Fans like "J" may be pointing the finger of blame at Grant Hanley, but Scotland head coach Steve Clarke refused to pick out individuals for the defeat against Poland: "I'm disappointed to lose a game like that, a game we shouldn't lose. But if you make errors at this level you get punished.

"There were lots of good things but it's still a defeat. Everyone is disappointed. We lost a game we shouldn't have lost.

"It's not about picking out individuals, I never do that and I'm not going to start now. We win as a team, we lose as a team. We'll analyse the game and speak in camp."

J

Tom English
BBC Scotland's chief sports writer

At the end, Grant Hanley walked around in circles near the halfway line, like a man coming home from the pub with a few gallons on board.

A touch bewildered, a trifle unsteady on his feet. Eventually, his mates reached him and took him away, to his own personal purgatory, no doubt.

Facing the great Robert Lewandowski was an Everestian feat for a Scotland team that ships so many goals but, his penalty apart, Lewandowski was quiet and contained. He was not the unplayable one on the night.

The unplayable one wasn’t so much a person as a thing - it was Scotland’s ruthless capacity for self-sabotage.

• Read Tom's full feature here.

Image source, Getty Images

Andy Campbell
BBC Scotland at Hampden

Even without injured Kieran Tierney, the Scotland XI was along familiar lines, though in a 4-3-3 rather than a 3-5-2.

The formation certainly gave Scotland more of an attacking look compared with the defeat by Hungary that ended their Euro 2024 campaign in Germany this summer.

Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay getting into advanced positions for their respective second and 10th international goals was emblematic of that.

But defensively Scotland's problems persist. They have conceded 17 times in eight outings this year - more than two goals a game.

Image source, Getty Images

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Image source, Getty Images

Portugal are level on points with Poland at the top of Group A1 in the Nations League following their last-gasp victory over Scotland at Hampden on Thursday.

Scotland's miserable 2024 continued in agonising fashion as Steve Clarke's side gifted Poland a stoppage-time penalty to quell a valiant Nations League comeback in front of a vociferous home crowd.

Billy Gilmour and Scott McTominay had scored second-half goals for the revived Scots to cancel out Sebastian Szymanski's long-range effort and Robert Lewandowski's perfectly executed spot-kick for the visitors.

However, as Scotland pushed for a winner, Nicola Zalewski was the victim of a rash challenge by Grant Hanley and the Pole - who also won the earlier penalty - picked himself up to score the 97th-minute winner.

• Read Andy Campbell's full match report here.

Image source, Getty Images

One thing that Cristiano Ronaldo has never had to wait too long for is a goal.

The Portugal forward became the first player to score 900 top-level career goals as his country kicked off their Nations League campaign with victory over Croatia.

The 39-year-old volleyed in from the edge of the six-yard box in the 34th minute to double Portugal's lead from Nuno Mendes' deep cross.

It was a record-extending 131st goal for Portugal, coming 20 years after his first, and the veteran sank to his knees in an emotional celebration.

Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot had put Portugal ahead early on but later turned the ball into his own net as Croatia responded before the break.

As well as Portugal, Ronaldo's goals have come for Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and most recently Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.