Spy in the dressing room! Wales keeper using inside knowledge to crack Bruno's penalty code

International weeks produce strange alliances, or rather, their complete opposite: club teammates turning into temporary intelligence assets against each other.

Details: Karl Darlow has revealed he is studying the penalties of his Manchester United teammate Bruno Fernandes ahead of the international break. The Wales goalkeeper will face the Portuguese playmaker's national team on September 24, when Wales travel to Lisbon for their Nations League group opener at the Estádio José Alvalade.

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It is a delicious subplot to a fixture already rich with history. Darlow, 35, only joined Manchester United this summer on a free transfer from Leeds, signing until 2028 as an experienced option between the posts, and his day job now includes watching Fernandes step up at Carrington week after week. The Welshman plans to cash in on that access. Fernandes is one of the most reliable penalty takers in world football, with a conversion rate hovering above 90 percent for club and country, and with Cristiano Ronaldo's role in the Portugal setup evolving, the United midfielder has increasingly inherited the responsibility from the spot. Wales, massive underdogs in Lisbon against a Portugal side that remains among the Nations League favourites, know that keeping out a Fernandes penalty could be the difference between a respectable defeat and a famous point. Whether Darlow's homework pays off will depend on one thing: whether Fernandes has a new routine up his sleeve that his own teammate has never seen.

It's worth noting that Wales and Portugal last met at a major tournament in the Euro 2016 semifinal, when Ronaldo and company won 2:0 on their way to the title.

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