The Barcelona playmaker had to be substituted after just eight minutes in the clash in Stuttgart, which Spain won 2-1 after extra-time.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente lavished praise on his young side after Friday's 2-1 extra-time win over hosts Germany took them to the Euro 2024 semifinals.

Spain fans - including King Felipe - purred with a growing belief that their team can go all the way and be crowned Euro 2024 winners after an utterly dominant victory over defending champions Italy.

Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon suggested Monday it was not French captain Kylian Mbappe's place to speak up "against extremes and divisive ideas" ahead of a general election in France.

Zlatko Dalic was left to apologise for Croatia's woeful Euro 2024 showing on Saturday against Spain, whose head coach Luis de la Fuente heaped praise on teenage star Lamine Yamal.

Spain and Croatia begin their Euro 2024 campaigns on Saturday with a rematch of last year's nervy UEFA Nations League final as they kick off the action in Group B, which also includes European champions Italy and surprise package Albania.

Spain's young and talented core of players have worked extensively with manager Luis de la Fuente, who was part of the national team's youth set-up between 2013-2022 before taking charge of the senior team.

The three European countries believe their initiative has strong symbolic impact that is likely to encourage others to follow suit.

Senegalese goalkeeper Cheikh Sarr was suspended for two matches in Spain on Wednesday after receiving a red card following an altercation with an opposition fan who racially abused him.

Spanish police on Wednesday briefly arrested disgraced ex-football chief Luis Rubiales in connection with an alleged graft scandal at the RFEF football federation when he was president.

Brazil snatched a late leveller to share an entertaining and occasionally heated 3-3 friendly draw with Spain on Tuesday.

Spanish prosecutors on Wednesday called for Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti to be jailed for four years and nine months for allegedly failing to declare earnings to the tax office.

World Cup runners-up France, European champions Italy and Belgium will face off in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League, while holders Spain will be favourites to win a group comprising Denmark, Switzerland and Serbia.

Xavi Hernandez said on Tuesday he felt "liberated" after announcing that he would step down as Barcelona coach at the end of the season.

Italian Jannik Sinner's climb towards the top of men's tennis could hardly be described as sluggish unless of course a direct comparison is made with Spanish phenomenon Carlos Alcaraz.

Once the capital of both the Moorish Kingdom and the Roman Empire, Córdoba is one of the three cities in Andalusia that are known as the “Pearls of Muslim Spain.” The other two are Seville and Alhambra in Granada. During a recent visit to Spain, my wife and I went on a day trip to Córdoba.

Barcelona midfielder Gavi faces surgery after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in Spain's Euro 2024 qualifier with Georgia, the club said on Monday.

Barcelona midfielder Gavi scored the only goal early in the second half in Oslo, bouncing a shot into the corner to help Spain qualify for next year's finals in Germany with two games to spare.

Elsewhere, Turkey, in their first game under Vincenzo Montella, won in Croatia to vault to the top of Group D and Albania tightened their grip on Group E with a comfortable win over the Czech Republic.

Morocco, Spain and Portugal have been named hosts of the 2030 soccer World Cup, while Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will host the opening matches to mark the tournament's centenary, world soccer body FIFA said on Wednesday.