5️⃣ top stories: Italy impress in France, Barça and Raphinha relieved | OneFootball

The last Saturday of the September international break brings us plenty of news. It looked like it would be a quiet few days, but that hasn’t been the case.

So let’s run through the five stories you can’t miss to kick off your Saturday.

Spain look to keep entertaining

📸 David Ramos - 2026 Getty Images

La Roja face their third match of this international break, the penultimate one, and they do so against the Czech Republic (20:45 at the Carlos Tartiere in Oviedo).

Luis de la Fuente’s side are aiming for a perfect record of wins, and they do so against a team that has lost to both England and Croatia in its first two matches.

Some rotations are expected, with players such as Le Normand, Fresneda, Fran García and Yeremy Pino likely to feature.

Carlos Espí, called up to the senior squad

📸 JOSE JORDAN - AFP or licensors

After shining for Spain Under-21s by scoring five goals against San Marino, Carlos Espí has been called up by Luis de la Fuente.

The Real Madrid striker will replace Ferrán Torres, who had been dealing with an ankle issue.

It has been a dream few months for the former Levante striker.

Italy impress and go toe-to-toe with France

📸 FRANCK FIFE - AFP or licensors

Alessandro Bastoni and Gianluigi Donnarumma spoiled Zinedine Zidane’s debut in front of his home crowd.

France played a great game in terms of pressing and control, but the Azzurra looked like their best selves again defensively, stayed in the match, had very clear chances, and thanks to a crafty moment from Bastoni ended up securing the final 1-1.

Belgium, meanwhile, did their job against Türkiye by winning 3-0 and now sit one point behind Les Bleus.

Barça breathe easy over Raphinha

📸 Albert Perez - 2026 Getty Images

Raphinha left the Brazil camp, who face India this Saturday, due to swelling in the back of his right thigh.

However, after the tests carried out on him at Barça’s training ground on Friday, there was reassurance.

In fact, he has not been ruled out of next Saturday’s match against Getafe on 10 October.

Manchester City submit their appeal

After being found guilty on 115 charges by the Premier League, Manchester City announced on Friday that they have officially submitted an appeal against the ruling.

After it is reviewed, the Citizens’ guilt will either be confirmed or overturned and, if it is confirmed, the process of determining the final punishment will begin.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

📸 FRANCK FIFE - AFP or licensors