Sunday's briefing: England Under-21s progress and Nuno extends Forest stay
Nuno Espirito Santo signed a new three-year deal as Nottingham Forest manager, and it was a red letter day for Borussia Dortmund new boy Jobe Bellingham at the Club World Cup.
What a win. What a performance.
OUR #YOUNGLIONS ARE INTO THE #U21EURO SEMI-FINALS! 👏 pic.twitter.com/NhfXGuUvtS
— England (@England) June 21, 2025
Holders England booked their place in the European Under-21 Championship semi-finals with a 3-1 victory over Spain.
The Young Lions, who next face the Netherlands after they beat Portugal with 10 men, progressed after early strikes from James McAtee and Harvey Elliott.
Spain responded with a penalty from Javi Guerra before the break.
But Elliot Anderson's late spot-kick secured a memorable victory for Lee Carsley's side in what was a repeat of the 2023 final.
The journey continues.
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) June 21, 2025
Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo will remain at the City Ground until at least 2008.
The 51-year-old Portuguese, who guided Forest to a seventh-place finish in the Premier League last season, has signed a new three-year contract.
Forest will be playing European football for the first time since the 1995-96 season in the Conference League.
Nuno said: 'I am delighted to be able to continue our journey at this fantastic football club.
'I would like to thank our owner, Mr (Evangelos) Marinakis, for his constant support and backing. It is important to me to share a strong relationship with our ownership and we have thoroughly enjoyed working together ever since I arrived at Forest.'
Jobe Bellingham scored his first Borussia Dortmund goal in a 4-3 Club World Cup win over Mamelodi Sundowns in Cincinnati.
Bellingham struck on the stroke of half-time after cushioning the ball on his chest, with his volley benefiting from a slight deflection.
Dortmund have four points from two Group G games after drawing 0-0 with Fluminense in their opening match.
Inter Milan kept alive their hopes of making the last 16 with a late 2-1 comeback victory over Urawa Red Diamonds in Seattle.
Lautaro Martinez equalised after 78 minutes with a brilliant overhead kick and Valentin Carboni's sidefoot finish in stoppage time gave Cristian Chivu his first win as Inter boss.
Beth Mead has urged England to use pressure as fuel for their European title defence.
The Lionesses squad travelling to Switzerland this summer is very different from the one that lifted the trophy on home soil at Euro 2022.
Seven members of Sarina Wiegman's group have never played in a major tournament and England will be defending a major title for the first time.
Arsenal forward Mead said: 'There's a little bit of pressure that comes with it but I think it's a free adrenaline injection, pump it into your veins.
'We've been there, we've done it, we need to bottle that energy up and (bring) what we brought last time.'
👟⚽️ @TrentAA pic.twitter.com/A2nuYjdwyT
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) June 21, 2025
Real Madrid are back in action at the Club World Cup against Mexican side Pachuca having drawn their tournament opener with Al Hilal.
Juventus play Wydad Casablanca in Manchester City's group seeking to follow up their opening 5-0 win over Al Ain.
At the Under-21 European Championship in Slovakia, there are quarter-final ties between Denmark and France and Germany and Italy.
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