The Premier League got through 10 games of the season without sacking a manager, then lost two on the same Thursday, in an international break.
Manchester United dismissed Michael Carrick with the club in the relegation zone and one win from 10 league games, and within hours were finalising a deal for Mauricio Pochettino. Crystal Palace dismissed Pierre Sage after 16 games, with Palace bottom and the worst defence in the division, and Thomas Frank is in advanced talks. BBC Sport reports that United knew about the $10m release clause in Pochettino's USA contract early in the week, and that there is some regret inside the club that it all played out so publicly. Carrick took United to third place and into the Champions League, and was given a two-year deal for it. Fifteen games later he is gone.
A club that changes its mind this quickly should at least do it quietly. United let a week of reports run ahead of their own decision, and a man who had earned better learned his fate in public. Pochettino and Frank will both know how quickly it can turn.
England are through to the quarter-finals. What is left on Sunday is top place in Group A3, and it has to be won in Madrid against the world champions. Spain beat 10-man Czech Republic 2-0 in Prague on Thursday, Alex Baena scoring a penalty and Marc Pubill adding a second in stoppage time after the Czech captain Ladislav Krejci was sent off following a VAR review. It was their 12th win in a row and took their unbeaten run in all competitions to 43 games.
Spain did it without Lamine Yamal, who stayed in Barcelona with a sore knee. England have scored 39 goals in 16 games in 2026 and 14 in four Nations League games, but Thursday was a different kind of night. They had four shots on target, conceded from a corner when a defensive header went astray, and finished hanging on. Tuchel admitted they had given the ball away too easily in their own half. Spain, who beat them at Wembley in September, will punish that.
The quarter-final place is banked, so Sunday is a free hit at the best side in the world on their own ground. A win would put England top on goal difference. On Thursday's evidence they will need to be a good deal sharper to get it.
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has rejected a second contract offer, Sky Sports reports. The 32-year-old's deal runs out at the end of the season, but United hold an option to extend it by a year, which would stop him talking to foreign clubs in January. Talks are expected to continue. Fernandes, the PFA Player of the Year, was wanted by Al Hilal last season.
Morgan Rogers says any suggestion that his Chelsea team-mate and childhood friend Cole Palmer is not committed to England is "a lie" and "nonsense". Palmer, 24, was left out of the squad after Thomas Tuchel said he misses too many chances to impress. Rogers, who scored England's opener against Croatia, told BBC Radio 5 Live that Palmer has been managing his body after a year of injuries and wants to play for his country. Palmer has 14 caps.
Jack Grealish has apologised to Everton supporters after missing three games for a breach of club discipline. The on-loan Manchester City midfielder, 31, returned on Thursday in a behind-closed-doors win over Derby County. "I love playing for this club and can't wait to be back playing in front of you guys in an Everton shirt," he wrote on Instagram. He had made only six appearances in his second loan spell.
The United States have withdrawn from the Under-17 World Cup in Qatar because of the risk of armed conflict, citing a level three travel advisory from the US Department of State. US Soccer told its players that the well-being of players and staff came first. The 48-team tournament runs from 19 November to 13 December; the USA were drawn with Montenegro, Chile and Algeria. The 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia has already been put back almost a year.
The police investigation into the death of the former Arsenal academy player Billy Vigar is continuing, a pre-inquest review at Barnet Coroner's Court heard on Thursday. Vigar died in September 2025, five days after colliding with a concrete wall while playing for Chichester City at Wingate and Finchley. The Metropolitan Police expect to need another two to three months. His parents were at the hearing; a further hearing is set for 10 February.
James Wilson scored twice and Lennon Miller once as Scotland Under-21s beat Ukraine 4-0 in a friendly at the Pinatar Arena in Spain, after both dropped down from the senior squad. Miller pounced on a defensive error for the opener after 23 minutes. Aberdeen's Alfie Stewart, on loan at Inverness Caledonian Thistle, got the fourth. Tony Docherty's side play the United States at the same venue on Sunday.
Lowland League West side Largs Thistle's Scottish Cup third-round tie with Ayr United will be shown live by BBC Scotland on Friday 27 November (19:30) after North Ayrshire Council let the club keep their Barrfields Park floodlights on until 22:00. Largs, second in the Lowland League and debutants in the competition, had been moving midweek games to Ardrossan.
Ghana won their first Africa Cup of Nations qualifier at the third attempt, beating Somalia 2-0 under interim coach Kim Bjorkegren after Carlos Queiroz left. Jordan Ayew had a penalty saved before Jonas Adjetey and Felix Afena-Gyan scored. Ghana remain six points behind Group C leaders Ivory Coast, who beat The Gambia 2-1 with Brighton's Malick Yalcouye on the scoresheet.
Manchester United and Manchester City are set to battle it out for Malo Gusto, the 23-year-old Chelsea and France defender, reports talkSPORT, in an item relayed by BBC Sport's Friday gossip column.
Napoli are eyeing Chelsea forward Jamie Gittens, who has been out of the picture at Stamford Bridge, ahead of the January transfer window, reports The Sun, in an item relayed by Sky Sports' Friday Paper Talk round-up of the newspapers.
Barcelona have no interest in selling their 22-year-old Spain midfielder Gavi despite interest from Bayern Munich and Napoli, reports Marca in Spain, in an item relayed by BBC Sport's Friday gossip column.
FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesus Owono has not decided whether he will play again after the death of Tenerife forward Jesus de Miguel, his manager Carles Manso says. Owono was sent off after the two collided in a Spanish second division match on 2 November, and De Miguel died in hospital the next day. A crowdfunding page for his family has passed £170,000.
Alessio Dionisi is expected to stay as Watford head coach, BBC Sport understands, despite reports that the club contacted the former Romania coach Edward Iordanescu. No change is expected before the game at Sheffield United on 21 November. Dionisi, appointed in June, has won four and lost nine of his 17 games, and Watford are 20th in the Championship, five points clear of the relegation zone.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, 35, says he is in no panic over his contract, which runs out next summer. "If that will be extended, that's the case. If not, then I will go somewhere else," he said at Selhurst Park. He signed a two-year deal in April 2025 after a similar wait. A "little niggle" has kept him out of the Netherlands squad for the first time since Euro 2020.
Karl Robinson says Bromley must evolve to catch up with their rise from the National League to League One in three seasons. Robinson, who replaced Andy Woodman last week with the club bottom on nine points from 13 games, lost his first two matches, to Rotherham in the FA Cup and MK Dons in the EFL Trophy. Saturday's game with Notts County is off because of international call-ups.