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So thanks for joining us for a decent mix of domestic and international football this morning

Dean Smith is the man now tasked with trying to keep Norwich in the Premier League and the World Cup qualifying fixtures continue this evening when England,Scotland and Northern Ireland will all be in action.

We hope you'll be back for those matches. Until then, here is some of today's top content:

• Why Smith may prove better fit than Lampard at Norwich
• Rank the biggest international shocks of this century

• Your guide to every man on Ballon d'Or shortlist
• Your guide to every woman on Ballon d'Or shortlist

Take care and see you all soon.

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According to The Sun, Tottenham and Manchester City have been told they can sign 21-year-old Fiorentina and Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic in January, but only if they pay £70m.

Meanwhile, Metro say that Netherlands midfielder Donny van de Beek, 24, has decided to leave Manchester United in January.

It's all in the gossip., external

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Seve Crossman and former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha catch-up with World Cup winner & Bayern Munich legend Bastian Schweinsteiger.

The eight-time Bundesliga title winner talks international highs and lows, his time playing in a legendary Bayern team and turning down a career as a professional skier

Well worth a listen.

Image source, PHILL MAGAKOE

South Africa's FA (Safa) is to launch a formal protest with world governing body Fifa over the performance of the referee in their decisive World Cup qualifying loss to Ghana on Sunday night.

Needing a draw to reach the third and final round of African qualifying, South Africa lost 1-0 after Ghana converted a controversial penalty.

The Black Stars' narrow win enabled them to reach the African World Cup play-offs by the narrowest of margins, ousting South Africa at the top of the group on goals scored alone.

The spot-kick was awarded after Ghana's Leicester City midfielder Daniel Amartey went down following what appeared minimal contact from defender Rushine de Reuck, who was booked for his challenge.

"We will be writing to both [Confederation of African Football] Caf and Fifa - firstly to investigate how the game was handled and secondly to challenge some of these decisions," Safa CEO Tebogo Monthlante said on Monday.

"As we did last night, we have already registered with the match commissioner that we will be making a formal complaint."

Ella Toone scores a superb opener but Everton pick up their first point under new boss Jean-Luc Vasseur after a terrible mistake at the back costs Manchester United victory in the Women's Super League.

Second week on the spin United have taken a point when they looked set for all three.

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport

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Women's Football Weekend got off to a blistering start with Saturday's north London derby and the show continued as Chelsea thumped Manchester City, while Aston Villa won at local rivals Birmingham.

Growing attendances, competitive derbies and a developing race for both the Women's Super League title and the third Champions League qualification spot meant it was an exciting weekend all round.

There were no clashes with men's club matches because of the international break so attendances were up at several grounds around the WSL.

Chelsea's 4-0 win over Manchester City was watched by 3,174 - the biggest attendance at the Academy Stadium so far this season - while Birmingham City also recorded their largest crowd this campaign with 1,386 at St Andrew's for the defeat by Villa.

There was a new record crowd registered for Spurs at The Hive as 2,896 saw them draw with league leaders Arsenal - live on BBC One - and Brighton had 3,566 fans at the Amex.

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Now then, it was a big weekend in the Women's Super League.

Reigning champions Chelsea moved to within a point of leaders Arsenal with a dominant victory at Manchester City.

Chelsea opened the scoring in the first minute when Jessie Fleming pounced on a defensive mistake to score.

Emma Hayes' side got a second just before half-time when they broke quickly before Sam Kerr fired home from Fran Kirby's ball.

Kirby then curled in after the break before Magdalena Eriksson headed home.

It was an impressive victory for the visitors, who have now won six WSL games in a row since losing their opening fixture to Arsenal.

There will be 13 European nations competing in the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Ten of them are made up of the group winners and we are guaranteed seven of them - Belgium (E), Croatia (H), Denmark (F), France (D), Germany (J) , Serbia (A) and Spain (B).

England (I) will join them barring an incredible result against San Marino. Group C will also be sorted out tonight. Italy lead Switzerland on goal difference before their games against Northern Ireland and Bulgaria respectively.

The Netherlands lead Group G by two points over Turkey and Norway and all three sides could win the group tomorrow. The Dutch entertain Norway with Turkey away at Montenegro.

The remaining three spots will be fought between 12 teams in the March play-offs (10 group runners up and two countries who performed well in the Nations League). The nations will be drawn into three sections, each with four nations in, and the winner of each section will qualify.

The six runners-up with the best records will be seeded and will face an unseeded team in the opening play-off phase with the six match winners moving into one of three final deciders.

As it stands (with two more days of qualifying to go) - the seeded countries would be: Portugal, Russia, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland and Wales. And the unseeded nations would be: Scotland, North Macedonia, Turkey, Finland, Austria and Czech Republic.

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Ray: They are still going to get relegated and bounce back in two years.

One man very keen to see Steven David stay on with Northern Ireland is team-mate Stuart Dallas.

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Northern Ireland captain Steven Davis has said he has not yet made a decision on his international future.

The Rangers midfielder, 36, said he will speak to his family and manager Ian Baraclough about it after Monday's final World Cup qualifier against Italy at Windsor Park.

Prior to winning his 132nd cap, Davis said it is difficult to envisage not playing for his country. "The honest answer is I haven't made any decision," he said.

"I think it is important that my full focus is on the game first and foremost to try and get a good result and build on the result against Lithuania.

"After that I think it is important that I sit down with my family and have good conversations with them, also the manager and see what is best moving forward.

"Whenever that day does come it is going to be a very difficult decision because ultimately I have had so many enjoyable moments in a Northern Ireland shirt and I am always very proud to do it. It would be very hard to not envisage myself doing that moving forward."

Northern Ireland are out of contention for Qatar 2022.

Italy and Switzerland are confirmed as the top two in Group C - and the Azzurri are only above the Swiss on goal difference going into the final round of games after the pair drew 1-1 in Rome on Friday.

Northern Ireland can still have a say in the group, though, as they host Italy tonight, while Switzerland face Bulgaria.

Only the group winners advance, with the runners-up entering the play-off phase.

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Talking of the Danes...

From failing to qualify for successive major tournaments and sinking to an all-time low of 51st in the world rankings, Denmark's revival is rocketing.

The Euro 2020 semi-finalists have cruised to World Cup qualification without a point dropped and hadn't even conceded a goal until the Faroe Islands' 89th-minute consolation on Friday.

Now one of Europe's most formidable sides, Kasper Hjulmand's men aim to complete the campaign with an unblemished record when they face Scotland at Hampden on Monday.

Just how have the Danes got it so right?

Scotland secured a play-off place by beating Moldova 2-0 on Friday to move seven points clear of Israel and Austria.

However, not even a win against leaders Denmark in their final game will see Steve Clarke's side take top spot, with the Danes having already sealed the sole automatic qualification spot from Group F.

But tonight's game is still an important one for Scotland as a win would ensure a home tie in the first of the two play-off phases they need to get through to reach Qatar 2022.

Monday: Austria v Moldova, Israel v Faroe Islands, Scotland v Denmark.

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Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer

Dean Smith is a man in a hurry to restore his reputation - and has taken only days to return to the Premier League's managerial front line at Norwich City after being sacked by Aston Villa.

He was self-evidently not in the Canaries' thoughts when they sacked Daniel Farke on 6 November, minutes after their first Premier League win of the season at Brentford.

At that point, Smith was still in charge at Villa Park. Smith's dismissal at Villa less than 24 hours later pushed the door at Carrow Road ajar for a swift comeback before it opened wide when Frank Lampard withdrew his interest in the job.

In simple terms, this is a sound appointment. Smith, a boyhood Villa fan, remains a hugely popular figure with their supporters despite his sacking.

They appreciate the work he did in getting them back into the top tier and keeping them there. He left Villa with his reputation pretty much intact. It is a very swift return, however, coming at the first opportunity that has presented itself.

It can be dangerous for someone who has just been sacked to accept the first offer they get. Will the wounds still be too raw? Is his heart is ruling his head after his pride was hurt? Smith and Norwich will argue against every point.

Former Peterborough United and Hull City striker Aaron McLean played alongside Dean Smith at Leyton Orient between 1999-2003 and has tweeted this...

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Before a ball was even kicked in the Republic of Ireland's World Cup qualifying campaign, the pressure on boss Stephen Kenny had intensified.

Having failed to secure his first win in eight attempts after succeeding Mick McCarthy in April 2020, it was hoped the opening qualifiers against Serbia and Luxembourg would launch Kenny's reign in earnest.

But after defeat in Belgrade, the Republic were stunned by the minnows in Dublin in a defeat - branded "embarrassing" by captain Seamus Coleman - that ranked among the worst in the team's history.

Their hopes of reaching a first World Cup since 2002 in tatters after two games, Kenny has since overseen a marked improvement with one defeat in 10 games, a sequence that has strengthened his case for a contract extension.

But what can Republic fans take away from the World Cup qualifying campaign, and what does the future hold for Kenny?