Here are this morning's latest Leeds United headlines on Friday, March 26.
Meslier wait goes on
Kalvin Phillips played all 90 minutes as England strolled to a 5-0 win over minnows San Marino at Wembley. Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate praised the Leeds midfielder after the match.
"He’s used the ball well, but his athleticism around the pitch was good," he said.
Stuart Dallas' Northern Ireland had a tougher assignment as they faced Italy in Parma. The Leeds man started at right-back an played all 90 minutes in a 2-0 defeat.
Gjanni Alioski claimed an assist and picked up a yellow cards as North Macedonia went down 3-2 in Romania.
Illan Meslier's wait for a first France under-21s cap continues however, with the Leeds stopper on the bench for the eighth time as the young Les Bleus side began their European Under-21 Championship campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Denmark. Alban Lafont, the Fiorentina goalkeeper currently on loan at Nantes kept the No.1 shirt, in what is a position of strength for the French.
Elsewhere on a busy night of international football, Diego Llorente was an unused substitute for Spain who were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Greece, while Matesuz Klich was absent from the Poland squad as he awaits the results of a third Covid-19 test, following a positive and then negative test earlier in the week.
Bamford on post-playing plans
Patrick Bamford would eventually like to get into football punditry rather than coaching when he retires from the sport.
The Leeds United star is still only 27-years-old, so these are definitely not immediate plans, but he has already thought about his life after retirement.
“In terms of setting your affairs in order for life after football, I’ve planned for things like that," he told Leeds United Podcast.
"But when you’re a scholar coming through at any academy, I think you automatically do your first few coaching badges to kind of give you an insight, and give you a chance - if you struggle in the football world - to go into the coaching side of it.
"For me, I’m not too sure, I wouldn’t mind doing one-on-one striker coaching or something like that.
"But I’d much rather work on the pundit side of it, watching the games and analysing it after. Basically getting paid to go and watch football.
Huggins on 'ridiculous' regime and 'shock' debut
Leeds United's U23s have been in excellent form this season. They currently sit well clear at the top of the Premier League 2 Division 2 table, with promotion very much a certainty in the coming weeks.
Niall Huggins has been the U23s' Stuart Dallas-of-sorts this year, featuring across a variety of positions including full-back, central midfield and on the wing.
"It's been mint, it's been a great season for me personally, especially the last year.
"The manager has helped me improve loads at Leeds and the style of football we're playing obviously helps the first team a lot.
"Down to 23 level and throughout the academy, it's had an impact on us all and obviously I've improved a lot which is why I'm back [in the Wales U-21 setup]," Huggins told the BBC.
