ROMELU LUKAKU

Here's how things are shaping up for a continent that has provided the last four winners of the World Cup. ___FRANCEDefending World Cup champion France has won just one of its last six matches, its worst record in the buildup to a World Cup since 1958. It’s difficult to draw conclusions from its last two Nations League matches, though, since France had 14 players out injured. Instead, the loss marked the first time since the 2018 World Cup semifinals that Belgium was defeated without scoring. Serbia vs. Switzerland on Dec. 2 shapes to be an intense rematch of their politically charged game at the 2018 World Cup.

All roads now lead to Qatar for Europe’s top soccer nations after they played their final competitive games ahead of the World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo has not yet returned to preseason training with Manchester United because of what has been publicly described as “personal reasons.”.

Liverpool is top of the English Premier League again after drawing with Tottenham 1-1 but Manchester City can go three points clear on Sunday.

Britain Soccer Premier League Chelsea?? ?s second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in London, Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022. It left City 10 points clear from Chelsea at the top of the Premier League with Liverpool a further point back. Elbowing César Azpilicueta in the face while trying to beat the Chelsea captain, Mane immediately faced action from the referee. But he escaped with only a booking -- the earliest recorded in a Premier League match.

Britain Soccer Premier League Chelsea?? ?s second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in London, Sunday, Jan. 2, 2022. It left City 10 points clear from Chelsea at the top of the Premier League with Liverpool a further point back. Elbowing César Azpilicueta in the face while trying to beat the Chelsea captain, Mane immediately faced action from the referee. But he escaped with only a booking -- the earliest recorded in a Premier League match.

Christian Pulisic completed Chelsea’s fightback against Liverpool for a 2-2 draw in the Premier League.

Chelsea and Manchester City didn’t field a recognized striker between them yet still combined for 11 goals in ominous displays by the two title contenders in the Premier League.

Italy has set an international record of 36 games unbeaten as Germany and Spain returned to the top of their World Cup qualifying groups.

Britain Soccer Premier League Chelsea's Romelu Lukaku reacts after scoring his side's first goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Chelsea at the Emirates stadium in London, England, Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Ian Walton) (Ian Walton)Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane, two of the world's best strikers, were back in action in the Premier League on Sunday after some time away. Both Chelsea and Tottenham have opened the season with two straight victories. Mason Greenwood's second-half goal earned United a point from a 1-1 draw at Southampton. Paul Pogba set up the goal with his fifth assist already this season, having set up four in United's 5-1 win over Leeds on the opening weekend.

Superstar strikers Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku have been back in action in the Premier League after some time away.

Germany Belgium Italy Euro 2020 Soccer Italy's Leonardo Spinazzola reacts after missing an opportunity to score during a Euro 2020 soccer championship quarterfinal match between Belgium and Italy at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Friday, July 2, 2021. (Andreas Gebert/Pool Photo via AP) (Andreas Gebert)MUNICH — (AP) — Nicolò Barella and Lorenzo Insigne scored a goal each Friday to give Italy a 2-1 win over Belgium and a spot in the European Championship semifinals. Romelu Lukaku pulled one back from the penalty spot right before halftime but the Belgians missed further chances to equalize in the second half. Barella put Italy in the lead in the 31st minute after eluding two Belgium defenders and sending the ball in off the far post. ___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports___Ciarán Fahey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfaheyAPCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Nicolò Barella and Lorenzo Insigne scored a goal each to give Italy a 2-1 win over Belgium and a spot in the European Championship semifinals.

Denmark played for the first time since Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field during a European Championship match and lost to Belgium 2-1.

Denmark Belgium Euro 2020 Soccer Belgium's Romelu Lukaku smiles during a team training session at Parken stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark, Wednesday, June 16, 2021 the day before the Euro 2020 soccer championship group B match between Denmark and Belgium. The fans at Parken Stadium are planning a loud ovation for Eriksen in the 10th minute of the Euro 2020 game because the midfielder wears the No. Eriksen remains in a Copenhagen hospital close to the stadium after suffering cardiac arrest during Saturday’s game against Finland. Lukaku is teammates with Eriksen at Inter Milan and said he “cried a lot” before the Russia game after hearing about the collapse. ”We must also not forget," Lukaku said, "that we have to win a game.”___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Romelu Lukaku says the Belgium players will kick the ball out of play in the 10th minute of their game against Denmark so the stadium can pay tribute to Christian Eriksen with a minute’s applause.

(AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, Pool) (Dmitry Lovetsky)The Latest on soccer’s European Championship:___Romelu Lukaku says the Belgium players will kick the ball out of play in the 10th minute of their game against Denmark so the stadium can pay tribute to Christian Eriksen with a minute’s applause. Lukaku is teammates with Eriksen at Inter Milan and sent a greeting to the Dane after scoring in Belgium’s 3-0 win over Russia. Both matches were played at Saint Petersburg Stadium. ___Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand expects Christian Eriksen to wear his match jersey while watching the team’s European Championship game against Belgium from the hospital. ___Austria forward Marko Arnautovic has been suspended from the team’s game against the Netherlands on Thursday for insulting a North Macedonian opponent.

Russia Belgium Euro 2020 Soccer Belgium's Romelu Lukaku celebrates after scoring his sides first goal during the Euro 2020 soccer championship group B match between Russia and Belgium at the Saint Petersburg stadium in St. Petersburg, Russia, Saturday, June 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, Pool) (Dmitry Lovetsky)ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — (AP) — Romelu Lukaku delivered a heartfelt message to Denmark player Christian Eriksen after scoring the first of his two goals in a 3-0 win over Russia on Saturday at the European Championship. That led to the match in Denmark being suspended for about 90 minutes before resuming and finishing just before Belgium’s game started in St. Petersburg. Before the game, there were loud jeers around Saint Petersburg Stadium after Belgium’s players took a knee before kickoff. ___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports___Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80Copyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Romelu Lukaku delivered a heartfelt message to Denmark player Christian Eriksen after scoring the first of his two goals in a 3-0 win over Russia at the European Championship.

Eriksen collapsed on the field in Copenhagen during a Euro 2020 match against Finland. ___Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen was given chest compressions after collapsing on the field during a European Championship game against Finland. ___Ukraine midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko says playing in the Dutch capital at the European Championship will bring back some happy memories. ___The national soccer teams from Wales and Switzerland both took a knee before their European Championship match got started in Baku. ___The European Championship moves to Baku on Day 2 of the tournament before heading to Copenhagen and then St. Petersburg.

Christian Eriksen was named player of the match in Denmark’s 1-0 loss to Finland at the European Championship.

United States' Sebastian Soto reacts at the end of a Concacaf Men's Olympic qualifying championship semi-final soccer match against Honduras in Guadalajara, Mexico, Sunday, March 28, 2021. Lalas maintains the burden to improve the Olympic effort lies with Kreis, senior national team coach Gregg Berhalter and U.S. men’s national team general manager Brian McBride. FIFA regulations say clubs don’t have to release players for Olympic qualifying or the Olympics. FIFA restricts Olympic qualifying to players 23 and under. AdNone of Honduras’ players on the roster for last week’s national team exhibition against Greece were Olympic age eligible.

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during the World Cup 2022 group A qualifying soccer match between Serbia and Portugal at the Rajko Mitic stadium in Belgrade, Serbia, Saturday, March 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)Portugal and Belgium were left frustrated by draws in their World Cup qualifying matches. Stéphanie Frappart made more history as the first woman to referee a men's World Cup qualifier as the Netherlands beat Latvia 2-0. TV replays indicated the ball did cross the line, but goal-line technology and video review aren't used in the World Cup qualifiers. Artem Dzyuba scored both of Russia's goals to move within one goal of the Russian team record of 30 held by retired striker Alexander Kerzhakov.

France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris makes a save in front of Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between France and Portugal at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, France, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)MILAN – Portugal and France lost their perfect records in this season’s UEFA Nations League after playing out a 0-0 draw against each other on Sunday, and Belgium saw its 13-match unbeaten run ended by a 2-1 defeat against England. France’s Kylian Mbappe was substituted near the end after having failed to make an impression against the Nations League champion’s resolute defense. Portugal stays top in Group 3 of League A, ahead of France on goal difference, with both teams on seven points. England moved a point ahead of second-place Belgium and three above Denmark which beat Iceland 3-0.

(AP Photo/Martin Meissner, Pool)DSSELDORF DWhat is the point of the Europa League? But obviously the Europa League has meant a lot to us. Before its run to the final, Sevilla gave its players six days' rest after the league season ended on July 19. Inter won three of those, most recently in 1998, with Brazil legend Ronaldo scoring in a 3-0 final win over Lazio. Ever since Porto beat Braga in an all-Portuguese final in 2011, every Europa League winner has come from either La Liga or the English Premier League.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic trains in Carnago, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Jan. 3, 2020. The 38-year-old striker signed a deal with AC Milan until the end of the season with an option to extend for another year. (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

9’s are back in vogue in Serie A. The last round of matches was a case in point, with a hat trick from Ronaldo and multiple goals from Lukaku, Immobile and Belotti. Meanwhile, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is only one game into his Serie A return with AC Milan. 9’s, his vertical moves have been in perfect synch with crossing specialists Sergej Milinković-Savić and Luis Alberto. Dubbed “LuLa,” the duo has scored 23 goals in Serie A this season — seven more than all of AC Milan.

Juventus' head coach Maurizio Sarri, right, gives instructions from the side line during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Lazio and Juventus at Rome's Olympic stadium, in Rome, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The Serie A title race could come down to which team has the best strike force. PLAYER OF THE SEASON SO FARMartínez has burst onto the scene this season after a quiet debut campaign for Inter. Martínez and Lukaku’s partnership has been key to Inter reaching the top of the Serie A standings. It’s among the team's best starts since Luigi Riva led the club to its only Italian league title in 1970. Lazio has won the Serie A title twice in its history, the last time in 2000.