World Cup: Cristiano Ronaldo can't be stopped, warns Kulusevski ahead of Portugal-Sweden clash

 Cristiano Ronaldo can't be stopped, warns Kulusevski ahead of Portugal-Sweden clash

Dejan Kulusevski insisted Cristiano Ronaldo cannot be stopped as the Juventus team-mates prepare to reunite in the Nations League fixture between Sweden and Portugal.

Ronaldo and Portugal will welcome Kulusevski's Sweden to Lisbon for Wednesday's League A, Group 3 clash.

Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal defeated Sweden 2-0 in the reverse fixture in September.

Sweden star Kulusevski – who plays alongside Ronaldo at Serie A champions Juve – is braced for a difficult encounter with Portugal's captain and all-time leading goalscorer.

"There is no one who can stop him. If he has a good day, he decides everything on his own," Kulusevski said via Aftonbladet.

"We did not manage to stop him last match, but we get another chance on Wednesday.

"I do not know how to stop him, you have to be aggressive get him frustrated. I know what it's like to play against aggressive backs and in the end you get frustrated."

Portugal top Group 3 – ahead of France on goal difference – with seven points from three games following Sunday's goalless draw in Paris.

Fernando Santos' Portugal are in the midst of a six-game unbeaten streak since going down 2-1 to Ukraine in October last year.

Sweden are bottom of the group following three consecutive defeats, having lost 2-1 to Croatia last time out.

Dortmund sensation Bellingham hailed by England U21 boss Boothroyd

England Under-21 manager Aidy Boothroyd lauded Jude Bellingham as the Borussia Dortmund sensation impresses following his move to the Bundesliga.

Bellingham joined Dortmund from Birmingham City in July, turning down interest from Premier League giants Manchester United.

The 17-year-old midfielder has made the seamless transition from Championship football to Germany's top flight, starting all three of Dortmund's Bundesliga matches this season.

Bellingham also became the youngest player to play for England's U21s during last month's Euro 2021 qualifiers, having been called up from the U17 team.

As England's U21 side prepare for Tuesday's match against Turkey, Boothroyd said: "He is the oldest young player I have ever come across.

"He has settled down now, he is comfortable in his environment, he is giving stick out to the lads and he is getting a bit back.

"He has to do his education; he is learning German, he is trying to learn how to drive and he is doing his driving test in Germany. He has a lot going on and he is loving the fact that he can just go out and train and be free.

"He has made a brilliant start at Dortmund to get the young player of the month. I fully expect him to build on that and I have been really impressed with him as a person and as a player. He is really a credit to his parents, a cracking guy, he comes into the room with a massive smile.

"He is always looking at who he can dig out from more senior players. He has settled in fine and I am really pleased with how he has performed in training. He will be involved tomorrow night. As the Under-21s, we are really happy to have such a talent with us."

Rashford chasing Jimmy Greaves landmark as England prepare for Denmark

Marcus Rashford heads into Wednesday's Nations League clash between England and Denmark with another milestone in his sights.

As a player to score on his debuts in the Premier League, Europa League, Champions League and EFL Cup for Manchester United, as well as his first international outing in 2016, the forward is no stranger to landmarks.

His confident penalty on Sunday helped England defeat Belgium 2-1 at Wembley as Gareth Southgate became the first Three Lions boss to win 10 competitive matches at the new national stadium. It also stretched their unbeaten run on Sundays to 10 years, going back to a 4-1 loss to Germany at the 2010 World Cup.

Rashford has now scored in four consecutive international games. The 22-year-old is the youngest player to do so since Jimmy Greaves way back in 1961.

Greaves is the only England player to score in five England matches in a row while under the age of 23 since the Second World War. Rashford, whose birthday is on October 31, will have one more chance to emulate that feat against Denmark.

The penalty was Rashford's only shot of the half and he only created a goalscoring opportunity for a team-mate once. Indeed, former United captain Roy Keane was less than impressed with the forward's performance in a first half in which England struggled against the world's top-ranked side.

"Rashford, in the first half, was going through the motions," Keane said on ITV. "I just want to make a point: Rashford, his body language in the first half, he needs to do better.

"And then he started doing what he should be doing: running at people, getting forward, doing things quickly. Gareth Southgate should have said something at half-time: 'Cut out this nonsense, kind of standing on the ball'. Remember what got you into this England team and that's running at people. That's your strength."

Southgate also admitted England were caught out at times in the first half but was delighted with their renewed efforts after the break, particularly with the forwards - Rashford chief among them - pressing harder. He and striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin contested 11 duels, more than any player except Belgium's Toby Alderweireld.

"The way they used the ball, they showed tremendous composure," Southgate said. "Defensively, the whole team, they defended as a team, and in these games, you have to.

"It's impossible to carry anybody without the ball. Marcus, Mason [Mount], Dominic, then Harry [Kane] - positionally close to perfect, intelligent in their pressing, had the legs to go and press which meant then the midfield players don't have to jump out of position, and then the back players aren't exposed with bodies in between the lines and turned and causing them problems."

Rashford also helped to carve out arguably England's best chance of the half, exchanging passes with Declan Rice in a swift counter-attack before firing a little way over the crossbar.

"Pass it and run, pass it and move," urged Keane, who praised the "excellent" link-up play in the sequence. Such enterprise will be needed if Rashford is to reach another milestone, and if England are to inflict upon Denmark what would be just a third defeat in 40 games.