And on that bombshell … We leave you with news that the Ajax striker Brian Brobbey has been the target of violent extortion threats involving arson, explosions and a shooting, according to reports in the Netherlands. Read on …
Jordan Henderson to start for England
England news: While there has been much wailing and gashing of teeth over the inclusion of Jordan Henderson in Thomas Tuchel’s England squad for tonight’s World Cup qualifier against a ski resort, our chief football correspondent has been in touch to say that the 34-year-old will start against Andorra, with Declan Rice missing out.
“Jordan Henderson is starting!” writes David Hytner. “Tuchel has been absolutely effusive about Henderson’s leadership skills. It is why he is back in the squad. Now he is about to win his 84th cap from the start. It sounds like England will build up in a 3-2, as Tuchel likes to say. With Jones and Henderson as the two. In front of them - Palmer, Rogers, Bellingham, Madueke - and Kane. Konsa, Burn, James at the back.”
Canada: Jesse Marsch’s Canada side host Ukraine at the BMO Field in Toronto tonight and in the build-up to the game, the former Leeds manager has risked causing a diplomatic incident after suggesting three Vancouver Whitecaps players who are in his squad might have been poisoned on a trip to Mexico earlier this week, when their team were battered 5-0 by Cruz Azul in the Concacaf Champions Cup final.
A number of Whitecaps players, including Canada call-ups Ali Ahmed, Sam Adekube, and Jayden Nelson were stricken with gastrointestinal symptoms, in almost certainly harrowing and messy scenes that called to mind a similar misfortune that befell the players of Colombus last year.
“All three Vancouver players were poisoned,” said Marsch. “They’re doing better, but they’re probably not ready for 90-minute performances. They’re better now but for me, it’s appalling that this is the second year in a row that Concacaf and the powers that be have allowed an MLS team to go down to Mexico for a big final and get poisoned. It’s ridiculous. Something has to to protect these environments.”
A Cruz Azul spokesman described Marsch’s comments as being “out of line”, while Vancouver’s sporting director Axel Schuster refused to blame the Mexican club for any skulduggery “without further proof”.
Netherlands: Ronald Koeman’\s side get their World Cup qualifying campaign under way tonight with a trip to Helsinki to play Finland. The Dutch are in Group G along with the Finns, Poland, Lithuania and Malta, who have all played two games each. Poland top the group with six points, ahead of Finland on four with Lithuania in third place on one.
The Netherlands travel to Finland missing Jurrien Timber, Bart Verbruggen, Jerdy Schouten and Brian Brobbey through injury, while Matthijs De Ligt, Joshua Zirkzee and Joey Veerman have all been left out of the squad for tonight’s game and Tuesday’s home qualifier against Malta.
“Finland and Malta are different types of opponents,” said Koeman in the build-up, referring to his side’s 2-2 draw against Spain last time out in the Nations League. “We will have more of the ball, and they try to stop us. We are obligated to finish first in this group, but we do not underestimate anyone and we need to bring the energy that we have shown in our last few matches. We want to be good for all the matches and perform much more consistently. We have shown that against one of the best countries in the world, which gives us confidence.”
An interesting question from Susannasterling: Unless she’s being sarcastic, of course. I’d argue that Mbappe’s point-blank refusal to undertake any defensive duties at PSG despite being asked to do so by Luis Enrique provide evidence of diva like tendencies but other opinions are available. When you compare his workrate off the ball to that of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, well …
What is it with Italy and qualifying for major tournaments? Italy’s World Cup qualification campaign has barely begun and already the country is worried about failing to reach the final tournament for a third consecutive time after a humiliating defeat by Norway. Norway already had two wins under their belt in Group I before Friday’s match in Oslo, while Italy had yet to play, having been involved in the Nations League quarter-finals in March, losing out to Germany.
A 2-1 defeat at the San Siro in the first leg left Italy chasing the tie in Germany and they found themselves 3-0 down at the break before staging a second-half comeback to salvage a draw, and some pride. It was the same story on Friday for Italy at the Ullevaal Stadium, at least as far as the opening act went. Norway roared into a 3-0 lead in the first half but this time there was no Italian fightback in a goalless second half.
“Enough!” screamed the Gazzetta dello Sport front page on Saturday, after Italy suffered their third loss in a four-game winless run, with the newspaper adding that for Italy the “World Cup is already at risk“. La Repubblica’s front-page groaned: “Azzurri humiliated in Oslo, the playoff nightmare returns”.
Italy manager Luciano Spalletti was spared following last year’s dismal Euros but is now under real pressure and nothing but a convincing win at home to Moldova on Monday will do.
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Brazil: Having missed out on the Rangers job that eventually went to Russell Martin, David Ancelotti has decided to join his father Carlo as an assistant in the Brazil national team’s coaching set-up.
“The arrival of Davide Ancelotti to the National Team represents another step by the CBF [Brazilian Football Confederation] in its quest for innovation and technical improvement,” read a CBF statement. “His international experience and training methodologies will be fundamental for the development of the players and for building an even more competitive team. The CBF welcomes Davide Ancelotti and is confident that his presence will be an important reinforcement in the Brazilian National Team’s journey towards its objectives.”
Anceloti Sr took charge of his first Brazil on Friday, when his new side were held to a scoreless draw by Ecuador in South American World Cup qualifying. La Seleçao are due to host Paraguay on Wednesday.
Albania v Serbia: When Albania host Serbia in a World Cup qualifier tonight, about 2,000 police including special forces and counter-terrorism operatives will be at Arena Kombetare in a bid to avoid scenes that led to the abandonment of the same fixture nearly 11 years ago. Nick Ames reports from Tirana …
France: In other diva news, Kylian Mbappe has declared he was totally fine with seeing Paris Saint-Germain win the Champion League last weekend, despite leaving the club for Real Madrid in acrimonious circumstances last summer and currently being embroiled in a dispute with them over what his legal team say are £50m in unpaid wages.
“PSG won the Champions League without me, that doesn’t affect me,” he said. “That’s a good thing. I think we all face challenges in our careers. I was happy, they deserved it, they’ve been through so many problems, I’ve been through that too. I’ve been through every stage of the Champions League except winning it. They were the best team in Europe. I can’t remember ever seeing them go 5-0 up. It’s 100% deserved, they’re becoming the team everyone wants to beat.
“I’m a bit more in the eye of the storm, which is good. I’ve always liked being in these positions, it’s up to me to work. I’ve reversed quite a few trends in my career, I’ve had a lot of things stuck on my back and I’ve managed to get them off. Did I leave too soon? No, my story was over, it had to end. There was no bitterness, I’d reached the end of my tether.”
We believe you, Kylian. Thousands wouldn’t.
Updated
Cristiano Ronaldo to miss Club World Cup
Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed he will not play in the upcoming Club World Cup, putting paid to rumours he was set to transfer to one of the participating clubs. Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Nations League final against Spain in Munich, the Portugal captain said suggestions he was set to take part in the newly expanded competition were wide of the mark. “I will not be at the Club World Cup,” he said, adding that he had “been contacted” by several participating teams.
Ronaldo came into Nations League in Germany with doubts surrounding his future at club level, with the 40-year-old’s contract at Saudi side Al-Nassr set to expire at the end of June. In May, the Portuguese posted on social media “the chapter is over” as reports emerged he could switch to another club, potentially Saudi side Al Hilal, one of the teams who will be at the tournament in the United States in June.
Ronaldo said he was not interested in making a short-term decision which would allow him to play in the competition. “Some teams reached out to me. Some made sense and others did not, but you can’t try and do everything, you can’t catch every ball.”
Ronaldo’s statement will constitute a blow for Gianni Infantino, who invented a new transfer window in what many have interpreted as a brazen attempt to engineer a situation where Ronaldo could participate in his vanity project. The Club World Cup is struggling to attract an audience, with ticket prices steadily being reduced as the tournament, which starts next Saturday, approaches.
Tottenham Hotspur: Having decided that winning trophies and qualifying for the Champions League should not be their head coach’s main objective and sacked Ange Postecoglou accordingly, Spurs are in the market for a new manager and Thomas Frank fits the bill having never done either. There are plenty of very logical arguments to suggest getting rid of Ange is – and is not – a good idea but WellWellWell thinks Daniel Levy has made the right decision.
Scotland: Steve Clarke’s side emerged on the wrong end of a hiding at the hands of Iceland at Hampden Park, where their paucity of quality goalkeepers was horribly exposed. With Craig Gordon, who is 42 and very much in his dotage, injured, Angus Gunn started in goal for the Scots but was forced off with an injury after six minutes.
Robby McRorie would have been first choice to deputise for Gunn but had injured himself in the warm-up, which meant Cieran Slicker came on in place of the player who was recently released by Norwich City. A reserve goalkeeper at Ipswich who has played just nine minutes of first-team football this season, Slicker had an inauspicous debut, was at fault for all three of Iceland’s goals and ended the match being mocked by his own fans. It was a night to forget for the 22-year-old but merely highlighted Scotland’s shortage of experienced, reliable keepers who play regularly for their clubs.
“It’s a circumstance that I pointed out in March,” said Clarke. “I could see something like this possibly coming. The good thing, or the only crumb of comfort to take from it, is it happened in a friendly match. We’ll be better covered when it comes to the autumn. It’s pretty unusual to have five first choice all struggling with injury, all out. Not everybody plays regularly at their club. It’s something that we have to address and something we have to look at. It’s not going to change in a click of a finger. It’s not going to change quickly. It’s more for the long term and probably for the next head coach and the next head coach after that.”
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Wales: With a huge World Cup qualifier I think they’ll win looming against Belgium at the King Baudouin Stadium on Monday, Wales made fairly short work of Liechtenstein at the Cardiff City Stadium last night and were further rewarded with good news from North Macedonia, where the Belgians were held. Wales are now top of their group and unbeaten in nine matches since Craig Bellamy took up the cudgels from Robert Page and Monday marks the one-year anniversary of their last defeat, a 4-0 gubbing in Slovakia that ended Page’s tenure.
Welsh right-back Connor Roberts says Wales are heading into Belgium game driven on by a change of mindset under Craig Bellamy. “The manager has come in - and obviously I know him from his time at Burnley - and we will go toe-to-toe with any team,” he said. “I’m not saying we’ll win every single game but one thing is for sure, we are one as a team. As the Wales national team, we will give everything, and do the right things to try and win every game we play.
“It’s massively enjoyable for everyone. None more so than me having been here quite a while, and trying to play the way I know how to after being at Burnley. If you win games and put in good performances you will enjoy it.”
Republic of Ireland: Heimir Hallgrimsson’s Irish side hosted Senegal at the Aviva Stadium in a friendly yesterday and Leicester City winger Kasey McAteer marked the occasion of his first start in a Republic of Ireland shirt with the opening goal of the game. Ireland dominated provceedings in the first half but Senegal seriously upped their game in the second half and scored an equaliser through Ismaila Sarr, who came off the bench to bundle home a goal from close range.
“I’m over the moon,” said McAteer after the final whistle. “I think you can tell by my celebrations - it was like a dream come true. It was my first night here at the Aviva and there’s hopefully many more to come but [it was] good to get myself on the scoresheet. Shame we couldn’t hold on for the result to get the win, but Senegal are a really good team and we’ll take it in our stride.”
The Republic of Ireland travel to Luxembourg for a friendly on Tuesday, while Senegal must travel to Nottingham for a friendly against England at the City Ground on the same evening.
Norway: Having failed to qualify for either of the past two World Cups and gone out of Euro 2024 with a whimper against Switzerland in the Round of 16, Italy travelled to Oslo last night and began their qualifying campaign with an emphatic 3-0 defeat at the hands of Norway.
Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland got the first-half goals that consigned Luciano Spalletti’s side to defeat and leave the Norwegians top of Group I with nine points from three games. It’s early days, but Stale Slobakkan’s side are already looking set fair to qualify for their first World Cup finals since 1998.
Greetings all. Let’s do this thing.
Barry Glendenning is on hand now to guide you through the rest of the afternoon until the main event later on. Over to you, Barry!
Well, when you put it like that…
Thomas Tuchel is not concerned by developing culture or blooding players for the future. He knows his job is to win.
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Tottenham fan Jason O’Donnell is hoping that it won’t take long for Ange Postecoglou to make his Premier League return:
“Spurs fans are romantics. Not realists. We have a loose grip on reality. We don’t do 'defensive solidity'. We do flair. Spurs and Ange was a match made in Heaven. In an age of stats and metrics and how many km covered, Ange was all heart. He was like a father to those young players. He was a hurricane of fresh air after the negativity of previous managers. He gave us thrills. He made it enjoyable again. He’s a great guy, a great human being. I hope he stays in English football and joins another club where he wins a trophy in his second season...”
England travel to face Andorra at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona today. Just four days ago, the Lionesses took on Spain at the same venue – and it was a match to forget for Sarina Wiegman.
England suffered a 2-1 loss to the world champions with an underwhelming performance that left fans feeling flat.
Will Thomas Tuchel and his team provide a better result tonight?
Some of today’s notable international fixtures…
World Cup qualifiers:
Andorra v England
Bosnia & Herzegovnia v San Marino
Malta v Lithuania
Albania v Serbia
Austria v Romania
Finland v Netherlands
International friendlies:
Denmark v Northern Ireland
Greece v Slovakia
Canada v Ukraine
USA v Turkey
Mexico v Switzerland
Updated
Here’s a little recap of last night’s international action:
Saka out of England squad to face Andorra
Bukayo Saka has been left out of the England squad to face Andorra this evening. The 23-year-old is recovering from a knock suffered against Southampton on the final day of the Premier League season.
The Atlético Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher has also been left out.
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Rick Harris has emailed in to say:
“I was delighted that Spurs finally won something and outperformed noisy neighbours Arsenal, whose second place treble is massively outshone by the glittering Europa League vase. Postecoglou leaves with head held high and reputation enhanced, while Levy has another go on his favourite PL manager one armed bandit. I wonder if he will win the jackpot this time round. Brendan Rogers hasn’t had a PL gig for a while.”
Liverpool are still pursuing a move for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz. The Premier League champions increased their bid to £113m on Friday in an attempt to seal a club record deal.
An alternative managerial target for Spurs perhaps if they fail to sign Thomas Frank?
Sarina Wiegman’s 23-player squad is pretty much what many expected; Lauren James is winning her battle to be fit and ready, according to the manager, Lotte Wubben-Moy and Esme Morgan have received the nod in defence and the young Arsenal forward Michelle Agyemang is the wildcard pick.
There are gaps, though. Looking down the list there is a lack of experience in goal without Mary Earps and there are only five named midfielders for the month-long tournament in Switzerland and one of those is Georgia Stanway, who has played only an hour of football since December (45 minutes against Spain on Tuesday evening and 15 minutes against Portugal last Friday night).
England’s Euro 2025 squad in full:
Goalkeepers: Hannah Hampton, Khiara Keating, Anna Moorhouse.
Defenders: Lucy Bronze, Jess Carter, Niamh Charles, Alex Greenwood, Maya Le Tissier, Esme Morgan, Leah Williamson, Lotte Wubben-Moy.
Midfielders: Grace Clinton, Jess Park, Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Keira Walsh.
Forwards: Michelle Agyemang, Aggie Beever-Jones, Lauren Hemp, Lauren James, Chloe Kelly, Beth Mead, Alessia Russo.
In case you missed it, Sarina Wiegman named her England squad for Euro 2025 on Thursday.
Millie Bright was absent after making herself unavailable on Wednesday, as were Mary Earps and Fran Kirby who both retired from international duty in the days leading up to the announcement.
Lauren James earned a call-up as she continues to recover from a hamstring injury, with 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang also making the 23-player squad.
Arsenal reached a mutual agreement with Jorginho to end his contract with immediate effect on Friday. The midfielder will now join Flamengo as a free agent in time for the Club World Cup, which starts next weekend.
Thoughts, West Ham fans?
Charlie, a Brentford fan, is hopeful that Thomas Frank will stay at the Gtech Community Stadium amid ongoing interest from Tottenham:
“As a Brentford fan I am greatly enjoying the snobbishness of Spurs fans who don’t want Thomas Frank. Please keep it up until he stays. Those grumbling about the risk of playing effective football should cast their minds back to what he did with the Benrahma-Mbeumo-Watkins team that narrowly failed to go up, when he had the most exciting attacking talent and used it to devastating effect, rather than aiming for Europe with one of the smallest budgets the Premier League has seen. Oh and we still play pretty decent stuff now established anyway.”
Ange Postecoglou took Tottenham Hotspur on the wildest of rides. A record-breaking run to begin his first Premier League campaign in charge. An injury-riddled slump that led Spurs to within sight of relegation the next season. A promise to win a trophy in his second year. The club’s first piece of silverware since 2008. The sack coming just 16 days later.
Fulham announce death of Malcolm Elias
Fulham head of academy recruitment Malcolm Elias, who developed the likes of Gareth Bale and Trent Alexander-Arnold, has died. Elias arrived in west London from Liverpool in 2009 and had a keen eye for developing young talent which included Bale, Alexander-Arnold, Theo Walcott and Harvey Elliott among others.
A statement on the Fulham website said: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of our colleague and dear friend, Malcolm Elias, after a short illness. The club’s head of academy recruitment, Malcolm had a fantastic reputation in football for unearthing and nurturing young talent.
“The influence that Malcolm had on the modern game cannot be understated, having worked with and developed the likes of Theo Walcott, Gareth Bale, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Harvey Elliott, Luke Harris and Jay Stansfield, to name but a few.”
Tottenham stars pay tribute to Postecoglou
Son Heung-min, Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven and Richarlison were among the Tottenham stars to pay tribute to Ange Postecoglou following his dismissal on Friday.
Son, the club captain, wrote on Instagram: “Gaffer. You’ve changed the trajectory of this club. You believed in yourself, and us, since day one and never wavered for a second. Even when others did.
“You knew what we were capable of all along. You did it your way. And your way brought this club the best night it’s had in decades. We will have those memories for life. You trusted me with the captaincy. One of the highest honours of my career.
“It’s been an incredible privilege to learn from your leadership up close, I am a better player and a better person because of you. Ange Postecoglou, you are a Tottenham Hotspur legend forever. Thank you, mate.”
Paul is confident that Tottenham will succeed if they appoint Thomas Frank to replace Ange Postecoglou:
“There’s probably been too much over thinking on this. I sent this message to my son last night.
”It’s the right decision. He can leave a hero and will always be welcomed back.
£100m just for turning up in the CL is too much to gamble on him getting top four.
I know Frank hasn’t managed at CL level and he may be out of his depth but, personally, I’ve been walking out of games during the tenure of the last 3 managers. That needs to stop and if Frank gets me to stay 90+ minutes every week, he’s a step up! It will be interesting whether Frank can attract top quality signings. I see Manor Solomon’s coming back. Not a good start to the window!!”
Bukayo Saka is expected to be absent from the England matchday squad this afternoon. The Arsenal winger suffered a knock in the final match of the Premier League season against Southampton and is yet to return to full fitness.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel said: “He came into camp with a little bit of discomfort from the last match against Southampton, so we took care of him and treated him individually until today [Friday] basically. It was the first training session that he started and finished with the group. Yesterday, he started with the group but did not finish with the group, so let’s see.”
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Thomas Tuchel is looking to solve England’s physical problems ahead of next summer’s World Cup in North America. The head coach wants to harness the traditional virtues of the English game – namely pace, strength and aggression. But he is aware that searing temperatures await at many of the venues for the finals in the US, Canada and Mexico next summer and, as such, it will be vital to be able to play in different styles.
Solomon has a different view of the current managerial situation at Spurs:
“As a Spurs fan, I’ll forever be grateful to Ange for getting us a European cup. It won’t stop the Spursy memes but now no one can say we haven’t won anything! Having said that, Levy made the right decision, one that has been obvious for a while now and is perfectly summarised by our dismal performance in the league.
“Ange-ball can’t make it in the PL, and being entertained is only fun when it’s accompanied with results. After the initial novelty wore off, it was fairly straightforward for opposing managers to set themselves up for Ange-ball, and the results dried up. If the next manager can make us competitive with teams like Forest, Bournemouth, etc. in the next season, that would be a start.”
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John Rudd has messaged in with his view on the dismissal of Ange Postecoglou:
“Daniel Levy and the board don’t quite know what they want. How much money have they paid out to out going managers over the last 10 years or so? With the league form so dismal and the English media assassinating Ange all season long. It was always just going to happen (being sacked). No doubt next season Tottenham will finish mid table and another manager will go by the wayside. I will add that Ange-ball never has experienced this level of injury. It makes me wonder if it was the playing style or just players being incredibly unlucky. It’s a shame his style didn’t succeed. Let’s see Burnley 5-4-1 formation and wonder if the Prem League will ever see high octane football again.”
Here’s a reminder of the England squad available for today’s match against Andorra and Tuesday’s international friendly against Senegal.
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson, Jordan Pickford, James Trafford.
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dan Burn, Trevoh Chalobah, Levi Colwill, Reece James, Ezri Konsa, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Kyle Walker.
Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Conor Gallagher, Morgan Gibbs-White, Jordan Henderson, Curtis Jones, Cole Palmer, Declan Rice, Morgan Rogers.
Forwards: Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon, Harry Kane, Noni Madueke, Bukayo Saka, Ivan Toney.
Ange Postecoglou advanced his case to the last. And it was a measure not only of his ability to own the narrative, to master it, but his body of work at Tottenham that he was able to do so with such conviction.
As always, I want to hear from you today! What are your thoughts on Ange Postecoglou’s dismissal? Did he deserve to be sacked? Who will replace him?
Also, will you be watching England later today? Which starting XI should Thomas Tuchel go for? Let me know.
In case you somehow missed it, Tottenham sacked Ange Postecoglou yesterday despite the 59-year-old leading them to their first trophy in 17 years. It is understood that Thomas Frank is one of the top candidates for the job.
Preamble
Hello, good morning and welcome to another matchday live! Today we’re counting down to England’s third World Cup qualifier against Andorra, with the Three Lions looking to extend their lead at the top of Group K. Thomas Tuchel is expected to name a strong line-up for the clash, although he could be without Bukayo Saka, who is recovering from a knock.
We’ll also bring you the latest football news, including the fallout and reaction from Ange Postecoglou’s dismissal and the latest transfer talk.
Join me!
