Seven past Croatia, Zlatan's Ballon d'Or pick and a Ronaldo sequel
England's 7-0 Nations League win got its own panel on ESPN FC, alongside Lamine Yamal's night against Czechia and a question about a prime Theo Walcott.
ESPN UKStory of Why this story? The channel's weekly summary: what went up this week, what is drawing views now, and where the channel stands among similar channels.
‘UNDERMINING HIMSELF!’ Jorge Jesus opens door for Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Portugal | ESPN FC
Fifteen uploads went out over the week, and the international break supplied most of them. Dan Thomas gathered Shaka Hislop, Craig Burley, Alex Kirkland and Frank Leboeuf to talk through England's 7-0 win over Croatia, a scoreline the title calls a slap in the face. The same panel then turned to Spain's 3-1 win over Czechia, where Lamine Yamal took the starring role.
The Cristiano Ronaldo story has not let go, though. As we reported here, Jorge Jesus left the door open for his return to Portugal, and that reaction, with Gab Marcotti, Herculez Gomez and Jermaine Jones beside Hislop, is the week's most watched upload at well over 100,000 views. A follow-up asking whether a recall is the right call arrived a day later. Under the first video, viewers mostly debate Marcotti's sympathy for Ronaldo, and one who watched Jesus's press conference in Portuguese explains that the coach said the decision to retire is Ronaldo's to make.
The shorter clips had fun of their own: Zlatan Ibrahimović naming his Ballon d'Or winner, and a debate over whether a prime Theo Walcott would start for today's clubs.
Daily views held close to their usual level. Among similar football channels, only The Overlap and Sky Sports News gained more views over the week, while Sky Sports News and Overlap Daily both ran well below their normal daily pace.
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What viewers say
I watched the press conference in Portuguese and Jesus said in very clear terms that he is the one who decides who plays. He also clarified that Ronaldo would be “selectable” during the next international window. The key point he made was that Ronaldo is the one who has to decide if he wants to continue his international career or retire. If he doesn’t retire, Jesus will likely select him, but he made no promises and rightly so. The video here makes it seem like Cristiano is 100% the one who decides if he’ll be on the team but the point was really about whether he wants to make himself availa…
@managalaxyRead it all on YouTubeWhat a strike by Cancelo
@亜久里5See it on YouTube
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The videos drawing views on ESPN UK right now
'SLAP IN THE FACE FOR CROATIA!’ 🇭🇷 England HIT Croatia for SEVEN! M…67,701 views · 2026-10-04
‘SPAIN ARE BEAUTIFUL TO WATCH!’ 😍 Yamal STARS for Spain as they DOMI…52,378 views · 2026-10-04
Zlatan picks his Ballon d’Or winner 👀28,806 views · 2026-10-04
Would a PRIME Theo Walcott start for these current clubs 👀27,423 views · 2026-10-05
Cristiano Ronaldo CAN RETURN says Jorge Jesus 🤝 Is a Portugal recall…24,499 views · 2026-10-05
- Channel
- ESPN UK
- Subscribers
- 1,600,000
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 9,041,175
- Videos published this week
- 15
- Video published
- October 4, 2026
- Video views so far
- 127,490
- Views on its first day
- 106,358
The numbers
Here is how ESPN UK's week looks in figures.
💡 Test your knowledge
Zlatan Ibrahimović won the 2013 Puskás Award for an overhead kick from long range against which national team?
His bicycle kick from around 30 yards came in Sweden's 4-2 friendly win over England in Stockholm in November 2012.
