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• Modric reaffirms commitment to Madrid amid links to Ronaldo's Al Nassr

  Luka Modric has reaffirmed his commitment to Real Madrid amid rumours he is wanted by Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.

  The 37-year-old is into his 11th campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu, during which time he has won 22 trophies, but he is due to be out of contract at the end of the season.

  He has been touted as a possible target for Al Nassr, who sensationally signed Cristiano Ronaldo in December following his release from Manchester United.

  But when probed on his future while away on international duty with Croatia on Friday, a frustrated Modric made clear his priority is to agree fresh terms with Madrid.

  "My wish is known: to stay at Real Madrid," he said at a pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday's meeting with Wales. "I believe and hope that it comes true. 

  "The rest of what's said is just assumptions and rumours. I repeat the same thing for the hundredth time: I hope and believe that I will stay at Real Madrid."

  Modric, who has previously said he wants to feel as though he has deserved a new deal, also rubbished claims Madrid have asked him to retire from Croatia duty.

  "Short and clear – no," Modric said when that suggestion was put to him.

  The former Zagreb and Tottenham midfielder is in line to earn his 163rd cap for Croatia when they face Wales in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier in Split.

  Having elected not to retire following Croatia's World Cup semi-final defeat to France, Modric will overtake Drazen Ladic as his country's oldest ever player.

  "I didn't know that before the conference and I don't know if it's good or bad!" Modric said. "I feel great with the national team and I'm glad to be here. I feel happy when I'm here.

  "We are all focusing on the Wales game. Hopefully we can get a positive result and take that confidence to Turkey.

  "The most important thing is that we win tomorrow. We know we are the favourites and are expected to win, but football is unpredictable and you need to be at 100 per cent."

• France 4-0 Netherlands: Mbappe leads to way to ruin Koeman's comeback

  France won their first game since their World Cup final defeat in style, beating the Netherlands 4-0 at the Stade de France to kick off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a bang.

  Antoine Griezmann put France ahead early after he was teed up by the man chosen over him for the captaincy, Kylian Mbappe, before Dayot Upamecano doubled their advantage inside eight minutes after Jasper Cillessen made a mess of a free-kick.

  Mbappe made it three before the halfway point of the first-half, before striking a fabulous second late on as Didier Deschamps' men strolled to an opening win in Group B.

  The Dutch had lost several players in the build-up to the game with a virus, but will have been made even sicker by the start to their qualifying campaign and Ronald Koeman's second spell as head coach, with Memphis Depay seeing a late penalty saved to add insult to injury.

  After all the noise about the France captaincy, it was somewhat appropriate that Mbappe fed the ball inside to Griezmann to side-foot low and hard to Cillessen's right to give the hosts a second-minute lead.

  It was 2-0 soon after as Cillessen failed to deal with Griezmann's free-kick from the right, with the ball ricocheting off Upamecano and rolling through the Dutch goalkeeper's legs into the net.

  Mbappe had his first goal as captain in the 21st minute when he played the ball to Aurelien Tchouameni on the halfway line, before racing towards to the left-side of the penalty area to get onto the Real Madrid midfielder's return pass – dummied by Randal Kolo Muani – before finishing calmly.

  Koeman took action by introducing Manchester United loanee Wout Weghorst for Kenneth Taylor after just 33 minutes, and the Netherlands were at least able to avoid further damage despite never really testing Mike Maignan in the French goal.

  That was until Depay's sloppy pass backwards found Mbappe, who teased Jurrien Timber and Daley Blind before firing across Cillessen to make it 4-0 in the 88th minute, while Depay saw his stoppage-time penalty saved by Maignan to wrap up a miserable game for the Dutch.

• Messi hits 800th goal and tells Argentina to milk their moment of World Cup fever

  Lionel Messi struck the 800th goal of his remarkable career and lifted the World Cup trophy one more time in Buenos Aires, telling all of Argentina to enjoy this footballing prosperity while it lasts.

  His landmark strike came in a 2-0 friendly win against Panama on Thursday at El Monumental, as Argentina played their first game since triumphing at Qatar 2022.

  They showed off their World Cup spoils after the final whistle, with Messi addressing the crowd and saying it was a moment he had dreamt of throughout his life.

  Messi, who turns 36 in June, delivered another inspired performance for his country, hitting the crossbar with two free kicks before sending another into the top corner in the 89th minute.

  That brought up the 800 for club and country and sealed Argentina's win, after Thiago Almada bagged the opener in the 78th minute. It was also Messi's 99th goal for Argentina.

  With a microphone in his right hand, and his left placed on the trophy, Messi told the crowd: "I want to thank you for all the love we are receiving, not just for winning the World Cup but from before, when we won the Copa America.

  "I always dreamed of this moment, being able to celebrate with you in this country. Let's enjoy it because we spent a long time to win it, and because you don't know how long it will take until we win it again. Let's enjoy the third star."

  Paris Saint-Germain's former Barcelona star won the Golden Ball at the World Cup for his efforts in captaining Argentina to glory. That is the trophy awarded to the player of the tournament.

  Argentina won the World Cup previously in 1978 and 1986, with a 36-year wait coming to an end when La Albiceleste beat France on penalties in the December 18 final, after a 3-3 draw.

  Messi will almost certainly have retired from international duty by the time the next World Cup rolls around in 2026, marking the end of a storied era.

  He was keen to spread the latest acclaim throughout the Argentina ranks.

  "I know that today is our day, but I don't want to forget all those colleagues I had before, who also did everything possible to get this one, and unfortunately it didn't happen to us, we were very close," he said. "They also deserve respect and recognition.

  "We were going to do everything we could for this. I always dreamed of this moment, being able to come to my country and lift the World Cup. It was shown that it is very difficult to achieve this, it depends on many things. Sometimes due to small details it gets away from you.”