Trent Alexander-Arnold believes he seized on an opportunity to impress England manager Gareth Southgate when he starred in a midfield role against Malta last season and his “newfound excitement” about the position has left him targeting a starting berth at Euro 2024.

Despite a host of eye-catching appearances at right-back for Liverpool as they won the Premier League and Champions League, Alexander-Arnold found his pathway to the England side blocked by strong competition from the likes of Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier and Reece James.

Southgate, though, wanted to give the marauding full-back a chance in midfield and, despite initially being criticised for doing so by club manager Jurgen Klopp, Alexander-Arnold has now started to operate in that role for Liverpool.

He could come into the England side that hosts Malta at Wembley on Friday night, with a number of other options missing through injury, and he is now listed as a midfielder when Southgate names his squad.

But it was the reverse fixture against Malta in June when Alexander-Arnold felt he had a chance to show what he could do in the middle of the park and he put on a fine show against the Group C minnows, scoring his second England goal in the process.

“I would say the Malta game was my best performance in an England shirt,” the 25-year-old said.

“It was one that I felt going into it that I had confidence. It was a big opportunity for me. I knew I needed to perform and I wanted to perform.

“I had spoken to the manager prior to the game, leading up to that camp specifically, about an opportunity and he explained to me there could be a potential opportunity in midfield going forward for me.

“When I heard those words, it ignited something within me. There was a chance for me to go out there and take it and I think that’s what I did. Hopefully I’ll be able to build on that.”

While he has made 287 appearances for Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold has just 21 senior England caps to date.

Now though, with Euro 2024 on the horizon, he wants to nail down a place in Southgate’s side and feels his new-look role gives him the best chance of doing so.

“Since we spoke in the summer, me and the manager, about a midfield opportunity and to see if we could make it work, there has been a newfound excitement for me,” he said.

“It is a huge opportunity and it is one I am grateful to have, but also making sure I take it. It still early days, I haven’t had much experience in there so I’m still learning on the job and it’s about picking it up as much as I can when I am in there.

“I’ve had some opportunities, I’ve had games, I’ve had minutes. But now I feel like there’s a real opportunity for me, especially in a role that I think will get the best out of me.

“Every game for me between now and the end of the season and any time I’m performing, it’s to earn a place to start in the Euros.”

Asked if going to the Euros as a midfielder was now a target, Alexander-Arnold added: “Massively so, it is something I think about often, it is something that motivates me.

“When I’m here, when I’m not here, I’m constantly thinking about trying to get into the team for the summer, how I can do that and how I can take the opportunities I’m given to make sure I’m part of the plans for the summer.

“It is a target I have set for myself and I think, with the help of the manager and the staff and analysts, it is something I can do.”

Cristiano Ronaldo increased his world-record tally of international goals to 128 as Portugal extended their perfect Euro 2024 qualifying record with a 2-0 win in Liechtenstein.

After a frustrating goalless first half for Roberto Martinez’s side, who top Group J on maximum points, Portugal almost broke the deadlock seconds after the restart when Ronaldo fired against the post from close range.

The 38-year-old, though, was soon celebrating his latest goal for his country, a 10th of the current campaign, when he was played into the left side of the penalty area by Diogo Jota and rifled the ball into the roof of the net.

Joao Cancelo added a second just before the hour with a neat finish from a tight angle past stranded Iceland goalkeeper Benjamin Buchel, while Joao Felix saw his effort ruled out for offside.

Portugal, who complete their qualifying campaign at home to Iceland on Sunday, had the ball in the net again with seven minutes left when Goncalo Ramos stabbed in from close range following a free-kick.

The goal, though, was eventually ruled out for offside following a lengthy VAR check and review by the referee on the pitchside monitor.

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Slovakia secured qualification as runners-up with a 4-2 win over Iceland in Bratislava.

Orri Oskarsson headed Iceland into an early lead, before Juraj Kucka equalised and Ondrej Duda’s penalty turned things around.

Lukas Haraslin struck twice for Slovakia in the second half, with Andri Gudjohnsen scoring a late second for Iceland.

Luxembourg beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-1, with both sides set to go into the play-offs.

Spain took control at the top of Group A with a 3-1 win in Cyprus.

Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal gave the visitors an early lead after just five minutes, with Mikel Oyarzabal and Real Madrid forward Joselu putting Spain 3-0 up at the break.

Cyprus – who suffered an eighth straight loss in Group A – scored a consolation goal with 15 minutes left through substitute Kostas Pileas.

Scotland, who like Spain are already sure of a place in Germany next summer, fought back to draw 2-2 away against Georgia with a stoppage-time header from Lawrence Shankland.

Napoli forward Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put the hosts in front after 15 minutes, before Scott McTominay equalised early in the second half for his seventh goal of the qualifying campaign.

Kvaratskhelia restored Georgia’s lead in the 57th minute, but Hearts striker Shankland – a late call-up to the squad – had the final say when he headed home Stuart Armstrong’s cross two minutes into added time.

Spain are two points clear of Scotland heading into their last group fixture on Sunday against Georgia, who are set to go into the play-offs via their Nations League ranking, while the Scots host Norway.

Hungary qualified from Group G after an own goal from Bulgaria midfielder Alex Petkov deep into stoppage time saw them salvage a 2-2 draw in Sofia.

Martin Adam headed Hungary into a 10th-minute lead from a free-kick by Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, but Spas Delev soon had the hosts level.

Bulgaria were reduced to 10 men in the 36th minute when Valentin Antov collected a second caution, while Hungary saw winger Milos Kerkez dismissed just before the hour for two bookings.

Kiril Despodov then put Bulgaria, bottom of the table, in front from the penalty spot with 12 minutes left.

Just as it seemed Hungary would not get the point they needed to qualify with seven minutes of stoppage time played, Petkov headed Szoboszlai’s corner into his own net.

Later on Thursday, Montenegro beat Lithuania 2-0 in Podgorica to keep alive their qualification hopes.

In Group F, Sweden suffered a first defeat to Azerbaijan as they lost 3-0 in Baku.

Early goals from Emin Mahmudov and Renat Dadashov saw Azerbaijan 2-0 up after just six minutes against the already-eliminated Swedes, who were playing for the first time since their game against Belgium was abandoned a month ago after two people were shot dead in Brussels.

In the 56th minute, Azerbaijan defender Behlul Mustafazade was shown a red card early for hauling down Viktor Gyokeres as he ran clear, before Mahmudov scored a late third from long range.

Austria ended their qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory away in Estonia to move two points clear at the top of the group above Belgium, who still have one fixture left

Harry Wilson admits the onus was on him to step out of Gareth Bale’s shadow and keep Wales on track for major tournaments.

Boss Rob Page revealed recently he spoke to Wilson last summer and told him he was no longer simply a squad member and that he is a “big player” for Wales.

Wilson responded with a hand in both goals in September’s 2-0 win in Latvia, and then scored twice in the stunning 2-1 victory over World Cup semi-finalists Croatia last month.

Those two wins lifted Wales up to second in Group D and they will qualify automatically for Euro 2024 by taking six points from their final two games, away to Armenia on Saturday and at home to Turkey three days later.

“Gaz provided a lot of moments for us on the pitch in times that we needed him,” Fulham forward Wilson said of Wales’ record scorer Bale, who retired from football in January.

“So for me being an attacking player, I need to start stepping up in those moments, and thankfully I was able to do that in the Croatia game.

“I’m not stupid, I know I wasn’t the first on the team sheet because we had Gaz at Real Madrid and ‘Rambo’ (Aaron Ramsey) at Arsenal and then Juventus.

“They were playing regular football at the top level and it felt like they produced in every game.

“I wasn’t happy with that because I wanted to be playing, but now with players leaving, I think there’s a spot there for me and I’d like to think that I have stepped up.”

Wilson won his 50th cap against Croatia, 10 years to the day since becoming Wales’ youngest-ever male player at the age of 16 years and 207 days.

Affectionately known as ‘The King of Corwen’ by Wales fans, Wilson has also stepped up off the pitch as part of a leadership group.

He said: “It’s not just Gaz leaving, Joe (Allen) left as well as a couple of senior players who made sure that the standards are always up there.

“I’ve gone from maybe one of the younger ones in the squad to being one of the oldest quite quickly.

“We had a little meeting during the last camp that ‘Rambo’, Ben Davies, Connor Roberts, Ethan Ampadu and myself were in.

“It’s a group of lads who want to make sure the standards are set every day, making sure everything is right off the pitch so we can perform on it.

“I’m not the one who’s going to be barking orders on the pitch, but I like to lead in a different way and doing stuff right. On the pitch, I want to lead with the ball and try to make stuff happen.”

Wales will be looking towards Wilson again as they attempt to reach a fourth major tournament out of five and avenge June’s shock 4-2 home defeat to Armenia.

He said: “We know what we did wrong in that game and we know what we’ve got to do on Saturday to put that right.

“For sure we owe them one. They played a fantastic game, but we also know we weren’t at the levels we’ve been at since. If we can perform like we did against Croatia, I’m pretty confident we can get a result.”

Gareth Southgate showed footage of Sir Bobby Charlton to his squad ahead of England paying tribute to the 1966 World Cup winner at Wembley.

The jewel in the crown for club and country, the news of Charlton’s death at the age of 86 on October 21 reverberated around the world.

Southgate was at Charlton’s funeral at Manchester Cathedral on Monday and further tributes will be paid to the England and Manchester United great on Friday evening at Wembley.

The Euro 2024 qualifier against Malta is the senior men’s team’s first match since Charlton’s death and a crowd mosaic is planned, along with a video celebrating his life.

There will be a pre-match ceremony, period of applause and players will wear black armbands in memory of a man whose importance to English football was reiterated to the squad this week.

“A big part of what we’ve wanted to do with our players is to talk about our identity as a team,” England boss Southgate said.

“Part of that is knowing the history of our team and having an understanding of how special some of the players that have been England internationals before are.

“We’ve had the chance to do that this week. We showed some footage of Sir Bobby to the players, the first day we arrived.

“A reminder that, of course, even a Liverpool man (like Trent Alexander-Arnold next to me) given Bobby’s performances with England can relate to his importance for English football.

“You can have a fabulous club career and an international career.

“At times those things can come into conflict because club managers of course have got to look after their own roles and responsibilities, and that can put players in difficult positions with all international teams, frankly.

“But your international team will always be there as well and if you can win something with your international team, it’s probably bigger than anything else you’re going to experience.

“So, there were lots of messages within that for all of the players but, most importantly, an incredible player, an incredible man.”

Southgate has underlined the history and importance of representing England throughout his reign, with their training pitch at St George’s Park renamed in Charlton’s honour in 2017.

The former defender has overseen an impressive turnaround in performances and a reconnection with supporters since first taking charge, initially on a temporary basis, in October 2016.

That match was a home qualifier against Malta and the Mediterranean minnows return to Wembley for the first since then in Friday’s Euro 2024 qualifier.

England secured progress with two games to spare and it appears can seal their place among the top seeds by winning on Friday, yet Southgate is never far away from criticism.

“Well, the reality of that is however well we play tomorrow people will just say it’s a lower ranked opponent, so it’ll be irrelevant,” he said with a laugh.

“People are going to have opinions. I’m probably tired of trying to fight that.

“In the end, it will be what it is. So, I’ll just let our results and performances speak for themselves.

“You’re never going to please everybody, so the best way as a football manager is keep winning matches, frankly.”

Southgate heads into England’s final home match of 2023 without a glut of key players, with five withdrawing, two absent for part of this week and three new faces brought in.

Rico Lewis, Cole Palmer and Ezri Konsa will be dreaming of making their debut, but the likes of Anthony Gordon remain on the outside looking in.

The 22-year-old has shone for Newcastle this season and reports have emerged that Scotland are looking to call up the England Under-21 European champion.

“He’s a good player,” Southgate said. “He was very good with our Under-21s last year. He’s very close, I have to say.

“I like his attitude, I like the way he works so hard for the team.

“Of course, I’m sure he was hoping to get a call at this moment, but there are good players playing well in that position on the field.

“But I think, like a couple of others, they’ve always got to think a little bit further ahead as to, you know, opportunities that can come up.

“I think for somebody like Anthony that’s eminently possible with us.”

Scotland manager Steve Clarke praised his side for keeping their cool and using Georgia’s time-wasting “shenanigans” to their advantage after Lawrence Shankland headed a stoppage-time equaliser in Tbilisi.

Georgia twice took the lead through the impressive Napoli attacker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, but late call-up Shankland earned Scotland a 2-2 draw when he headed home fellow substitute Stuart Armstrong’s cross two minutes into added time.

Despite Scotland having already sealed their Euro 2024 place and Georgia knowing they face a play-off in March, there was a real competitive edge to the game, with three yellow cards for each team and a melee in each half.

Clarke felt his side reacted well to some lengthy stoppages for treatment to home players and took advantage of the eight minutes added on.

Clarke said: “That’s one of the challenges when you come here, you know they will do everything they can to get a positive result.

“You have to react to that. We have to make sure we control ourselves and don’t get involved, don’t encourage any sort of shenanigans.

“We just kept going, kept plugging away, we knew there was going to be extra time because now they have a better handle on time wasted, and it was nice to score in injury time.”

Shankland was dropped from the squad last month but responded by hitting five goals in his last five games for Hearts. And the striker seized the chance presented by Che Adams’ withdrawal.

Clarke said: “When you are going into the last 10 minutes, and knowing we would get a lot of injury time because Georgia spent a lot of time on the floor, we knew there was time left.

“We needed a goal and you know Lawrence has always got a chance of getting a goal. I am delighted for Lawrence and delighted for the team as well.”

Scott McTominay had earlier netted in the 49th minute as Scotland improved after a slack first half.

The late goal ended a run of three defeats and a losing run in Tbilisi.

“If you can’t win the game, don’t lose,” Clarke said. “We did that and showed good character to come from behind twice here in a difficult place.

“Georgia are a good team with one exceptional player in Kvaratskhelia. He got two great goals and made it difficult for our defenders.

“Overall we got lots of shots on goal, we could have been a little bit more clinical, only five on target with the 16 or 17 shots we had. But we showed resilience and it was important not to lose.

“We knew coming here would be tough. Scotland had been here twice before and didn’t score, lost both games. So we knew it would be a tough game.

“We wanted to come here and hopefully get back to winning ways, but we have broken that run of defeats and we will look to build on that in the Norway game on Sunday. We will look to finish with a good performance and a home win.”

Georgia head coach Willy Sagnol felt some of his players’ lack of game time showed as Scotland dominated after the hour mark.

Sagnol said: “I was very happy with the first hour, we did exactly what we wanted to do with and without the ball.

“The problem is, we have a lot of talented players, but they don’t always play with their clubs. They sometimes play 15-20 minutes. At some point tiredness will come because they are not used to playing 90 minutes.

“We lost a bit with the changes and it’s frustrating to lose a goal in extra time.

“But Scotland didn’t steal the point, they played a good match.”

Tyson Fury taunted Oleksandr Usyk before promising the unbeaten heavyweight rivals would deliver a “fight for the ages” when they clash in Riyadh on February 17.

The winner will be crowned the division’s first undisputed world champion since Lennox Lewis defeated Evander Holyfield in 1999, with Fury’s WBC belt and the WBA, IBF and WBO titles held by Usyk at stake.

Fury enters a fight billed as ‘Ring of Fire’ on the back of last month’s fraught split decision victory over former UFC heavyweight king Francis Ngannou, who was making his boxing debut.

But when the pair came face to face at a press conference in central London that was given a sprinkling of stardust by the presence of Sylvester Stallone, the 35-year-old let rip.

“I’m going to bust him up. Sausage. Ugly little man. Rabbit. Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run,” Fury said.

“You know what’s coming? You’re getting smashed to pieces, sausage. You’re fighting the best British heavyweight there’s ever been.

“You’ve beaten the rest of them, but you haven’t beaten Tyson Fury, sausage.

“You can never beat me. If you beat me in your dreams you better wake up and apologise. I stole that from Muhammad Ali, I apologise.

“When you sleep at night ugly man you’re going to think of me for the next eight weeks. I’m going to punch your face in. You ugly little man.”

Fury and Usyk were being lined up to meet on December 23, only for the Briton’s difficulty in dispatching Ngannou on a controversial night in Saudi Arabia to result in a delay.

With his verbal attack on the Ukrainian over, Fury talked up the quality of a contest between two outstanding boxers who posses skill and warrior spirit in equal measure, even if he thinks Usyk will struggle because of his size.

“We’re both undefeated. He’s a champion, I’m a champion. It’s going to be a fight for the ages,” Fury said.

“It’s been 24 years since we’ve had an undisputed champion. The Klitschkos were champions for around 10 years, so there’s been 14 years when the other heavyweights couldn’t do it.

“We’ve both been chosen and there can only be one winner. I’m going to become the undisputed champion. More than that, I’m destined to cement my legacy as the number one fighter of this era.

“To do that I’ve got to beat this little man, which is easier said than done because he’s a tricky boxer, slick and all of that.

“But I’ve seen many like him before and when they fight the big men, they struggle. And he will struggle on February 17. I will break him.

“He’s a middleweight, but it’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog and he’s obviously got a lot of fight in him.

“But when you meet a big man who is a lot bigger but also has the fight inside him, let’s put it in a nutshell – you’re f****d.”

Usyk is aiming to emulate Holyfield by becoming undisputed heavyweight champion having already conquered the cruiserweight division.

The London 2012 gold medallist, a southpaw technician, referenced ‘David and Goliath’ when considering the long-awaited collision, but he was largely happy to let Fury do the talking.

“I will speak in the ring. Every time Tyson Fury speaks a lot. For me it doesn’t matter,” Usyk said.

More than once Usyk’s promoter Alex Krassyuk voiced his scepticism that the fight would actually take place, although Frank Warren pointed out that it was their camp that pulled the plug on their planned meeting last year.

Australia’s Mitchell Starc was looking forward to “a great spectacle of cricket” after his side book their spot in the World Cup final against hosts India.

Starc helped Australia conquer South Africa in the semi-final at Eden Gardens, claiming three for 34 and holding up his end in a vital partnership with captain Pat Cummins during the closing moments of a tense chase.

In the end Australia squeaked home by three wickets in a low-scoring encounter, with Starc’s new-ball burst doing a huge amount of heavy lifting.

He set the tone for the day by removing Proteas skipper Temba Bavuma in the first over, then dismissed Aiden Markram as he and Josh Hazlewood reduced their opponents to 24 for four.

The intensity is only going to be dialled up when they take on undefeated home favourites India in Ahmedabad on Sunday, with up to 100,000 locals ready to roar their nation on at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

And it is a prospect Starc is ready to embrace.

“It’s certainly going to be a big occasion, a World Cup Final in India. It’s going to be loud,” he said.

“I think it’s just going to be a great spectacle of cricket, no doubt. There’s going to be a lot of passion there. Certainly, everyone in our changing room is looking forward to it.

“I don’t think either changing room is new to big occasions. You want to take on the best and that’s why we play the game. They’ve been the best team in the tournament so far and we both find ourselves in the final. That’s what World Cups are about.”

Starc’s skipper, Cummins, was equally enthused about the prospect having been part of Australia’s last ODI world champion squad on home soil eight years ago.

“The stadium is going to be packed, pretty one-sided, but we’ve got to embrace it,” he said.

“The 2015 World Cup was a career highlight, so to be out there in a final in India, I can’t wait.”

Starc agreed with the idea that over the course of a hard-fought contest against South Africa, Australia’s victory lay in their aggression during the powerplay overs. While he and Hazlewood established a stranglehold over the batters, Travis Head and David Warner went on the attack as they raided 60 runs off the first six.

On both occasions, damage was done that could not be clawed back by the Proteas.

“We’ve seen throughout the tournament how tough the first 10 overs can be at certain times…when you’re willing to take the game on like that, sometimes you take a little bit of luck with you,” he said.

“It certainly went to plan with the ball today and the way we set up with the bat is to really be aggressive, take the game on and the freedom to give those guys to go out and play the way they like to.”

Losing coach Rob Walter gave South Africa credit for battling back into contention after their early collapse, making 212 on the back of David Miller’s 101, and insisted the age-old tag of ‘chokers’ was no longer fitting.

“It’s obviously gutting to lose a semi-final but beyond that, I’m incredibly proud of the fight shown by the lads,” he said.

“I guess you need to define what a ‘choke’ is. For me, a choke is losing a game that you’re in a position to win. In this instance, we were behind the eight ball right from the word go and we actually fought our way back into the competition and put up a score that gave us a chance.

“For me there’s nothing even remotely close to a choke that happened out there today. It’s a serious contest between two good teams, number two and three in the tournament.”

Mikel Arteta has been charged by the Football Association over comments he made after Arsenal’s defeat by Newcastle earlier this month.

The Gunners boss branded the VAR decision not to rule out Anthony Gordon’s goal in his side’s 1-0 defeat at St James’ Park “an absolute disgrace”.

An FA statement read: “Mikel Arteta has been charged with a breach of FA Rule E3.1 following comments that he made in media interviews after Arsenal’s Premier League game against Newcastle United on Saturday, November 4.

“It’s alleged that his comments constitute misconduct as they are insulting towards match officials and/or detrimental to the game and/or bring the game into disrepute.”

VAR made a triple check to see whether the ball had gone out of play before Joe Willock’s cross, whether Joelinton had fouled Arsenal defender Gabriel and whether Gordon had been offside.

Arteta could not hide his anger after the match, saying: “You have to talk about how the hell did this goal stand up? Incredible. I feel embarrassed.

“I have to now come in here and try to defend the club and please ask for help because it’s an absolute disgrace that this goal is allowed. An absolute
disgrace.”

Arsenal issued a statement the following day saying the club “wholeheartedly” supported Arteta’s comments.

“The Premier League is the best league in the world with the best players,
coaches and supporters, all of whom deserve better,” said the statement.

“PGMOL (Professional Game Match Officials Limited) urgently needs to address the standard of officiating and focus on action which moves us all on from retrospective analysis, attempted explanations and apologies.”

Arteta has until Tuesday to respond to the charge.

Lawrence Shankland headed a stoppage-time equaliser as Scotland averted more torment in Tbilisi with a 2-2 draw against Georgia.

The Hearts striker was a late call-up for the injured Che Adams and seized his chance when he headed home fellow substitute Stuart Armstrong’s cross two minutes into added time.

Scott McTominay earlier took his Euro 2024 qualifying campaign tally to seven goals when he cancelled out the first of two strikes from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

The Napoli winger proved a threat all night, but Scotland contributed to their own problems with a slack first 45 minutes.

McTominay drilled home from 20 yards four minutes after the restart and, after quickly falling behind again, Scotland finished strongly to prevent a fourth consecutive defeat in Clarke’s 50th game in charge.

Scotland had lost on their two previous visits to the Boris Paichadze stadium, defeats which proved very costly in otherwise promising attempts to qualify for the European Championships of 2008 and 2016.

And, while Clarke’s side had booked their trip to Germany with two games to spare, they were looking to boost their chances of sealing a place among the pot two seeds for next month’s draw.

Georgia, who had only lost four of their previous 20 games, also had plenty to play for given they will be in the play-offs in March courtesy of their Nations League performances, and a crowd of 44,595 plus some needle on the pitch gave the game a competitive edge.

With Angus Gunn injured, Hearts goalkeeper Zander Clark got the nod to start ahead of Motherwell’s Liam Kelly for his competitive international debut.

Scotland started with a back four amid the absence of Kieran Tierney, while the likes of Andy Robertson, Aaron Hickey and Grant Hanley were also missing.

There were early signs that Scotland were not quite at it, from the moment Scott McKenna launched the ball out of play from the kick-off.

Ryan Christie then scuppered a promising break by delaying and then over-hitting a pass outside to Callum McGregor.

Billy Gilmour set up McTominay with a clever low corner, but the Manchester United midfielder fired over first time.

Clark made his first save 13 minutes in when he gathered Giorgi Chakvetadze’s long-range drive but he was beaten two minutes later.

Greg Taylor failed to cut out a cross-field pass and wing-back Otar Kakabadze delivered a low first-time cross which Kvaratskhelia swept inside the near post after sliding in just ahead of Ryan Porteous.

Clark soon rescued Scotland with a good parry from Levan Shengelia after a poor pass from Lyndon Dykes, who atoned by blocking the subsequent shot.

Dykes headed off target from Gilmour’s free-kick as Scotland failed to trouble the home goalkeeper in the first half.

Too many passes were going astray and Scotland struggled to produce a telling delivery from several corners and crosses from the right flank.

Half-time changes seemed inevitable and Lewis Ferguson and Kenny McLean came on for Gilmour and Christie.

McLean was soon involved in the first equaliser. The Norwich midfielder collected Taylor’s pass and set up McTominay, whose strike seemed to wrongfoot the home keeper at his near post.

Clark made another good stop to deny Shengelia, this time from a free-kick.

But Georgia kept up the pressure and Kvaratskhelia restored their lead in the 57th minute when he cut inside Nathan Patterson and drilled into the far corner.

Dykes soon thought he had levelled with a near-post header from Patterson’s corner, but Giorgi Mamardashvili produced a brilliant diving save on the line.

Scotland continued to press, although most of their efforts were coming from long range.

Ferguson saw a header saved before Shankland rose to head into the top corner.

Clark put the seal on a satisfying night when he made a near-post stop in the dying seconds.

Northern Ireland will play the penultimate match of their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign away to Finland on Friday.

On their last visit to Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium, Northern Ireland earned a point from a 1-1 draw in October 2015 to secure top spot in their group as they qualified for Euro 2016, but the context is very different this time.

Michael O’Neill’s injury-hit side have won just two of their eight Euro 2024 qualifiers so far – both against San Marino – and will be happy to see the back of this campaign after Monday’s match at home to Denmark.

Here the PA news agency looks at the key talking points ahead of Friday’s game.

The hits keep coming

Injuries have been a constant theme throughout a campaign in which Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Corry Evans and Shane Ferguson will not kick a ball.

But this week has seemed particularly cruel, with five players withdrawing – not least captain Jonny Evans and goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell – in the week since O’Neill named what was already an inexperienced squad last week.

It means 12 players are now out with injury, while Shea Charles is suspended for Friday’s match. O’Neill’s resources have never been more stretched than they are now.

Inexperience

With Paul Smyth, Paddy Lane and Brad Lyons joining Evans and Peacock-Farrell in pulling out of this trip, O’Neill has drafted in Ross McCausland, Caolan Boyd-Munce, Terry Devlin, Michael Forbes and Stephen McMullan.

All five are uncapped at senior level, while nine players in O’Neill’s squad have yet to reach double figures in caps.

Indeed, only Paddy McNair, Josh Magennis, George Saville, Jordan Thompson, Jamal Lewis and Conor Washington have more than 20 to their name. This is a very raw group.

A big opportunity for Hazard

With Peacock-Farrell out Conor Hazard is in line to start in Helsinki, the city where he enjoyed a loan spell in 2022, playing 39 games for HJK.

The 25-year-old will be up against plenty of familiar faces with four members of Finland’s squad – Arrtu Hoskonen, Pyry Peltola, Miro Tenho and Lucas Lingham – having been team-mates of his in the Finnish capital.

Hazard has made only one previous competitive appearance for Northern Ireland, last month in the 3-0 win over San Marino, although he played the full 90 minutes without needing to make a save.

But since then Hazard has lost the number one spot at Sky Bet Championship club Plymouth after Mike Cooper returned from nine months out with a ruptured ACL.

Signs of progress?

Despite everything that has gone wrong for Northern Ireland so far, O’Neill is adamant he has seen signs of progress in his side as he looks to develop young players who can spearhead future qualifying campaigns.

Players like Charles, Trai Hume and Isaac Price are starting to make their mark on this side and could now be considered contenders for regular playing time even within a fully-fit squad, while Daniel Ballard is emerging as a leader at the back.

But there is also frustration that players such as Conor Bradley, who could have really established himself over the past few months, have also been missing for most of the campaign with injury.

Saville’s big night

George Saville will take the armband for Friday’s match to mark the occasion the Millwall midfielder earns a landmark 50th cap.

The 30-year-old’s unfashionable role in midfield means has rarely been one to excite the Green and White Army during his international career, and while he may have scored a beauty against Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend, he is yet to break his duck for Northern Ireland.

But with seasoned internationals in desperately short supply, Saville’s experience has rarely been more important to the team.

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will finally clash in Riyadh on February 17.

The heavyweight rivals were expected to meet on December 23 only for Fury’s disappointing performance in a split-decision victory over MMA star Francis Ngannou last month to force a delay.

Fury’s WBC belt and the WBA, IBF and WBO titles held by Usyk will be on the line with the winner crowned the division’s first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000.

Wembley will remember Sir Bobby Charlton when Gareth Southgate’s England side play their first match since the 1966 World Cup winner’s death.

Heartfelt tributes have poured in since the jewel in the crown for club and country died at the age of 86 on October 21.

Charlton’s funeral was held at Manchester Cathedral on Monday and further tributes will be paid when England host Malta in a Euro 2024 qualifier at Wembley on Friday evening.

There will be a crowd mosaic and video celebrating the Manchester United and England great’s life before a pre-match ceremony and period of applause.

Players will wear black armbands in tribute to a man who left an indelible mark on the sport.

England boss Southgate attended the funeral and last week said the Malta match would be a “celebration of life” that Charlton “absolutely deserves”.

“I think he is respected around the world and clearly our greatest ever player when you think of not only the World Cup, but also winning the European Cup and everything he did at club level,” Southgate said. “Very sad.

“We were fortunate to have met him a few times and incredibly humble, so our condolences with all his family.”