England were joined for training by three members of the Under-20 set-up as preparations continued for the matches in Ukraine and Scotland.
Gareth Southgate’s side men head to Poland to take on Ukraine in a Euro 2024 qualifier on Saturday, before heading to Glasgow for a friendly three days later.
Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jack Grealish withdrew from the initial 26-man selection on Monday through injury, with 21 of the remaining players taking part in the full session at St George’s Park the following day.
Callum Wilson, Bukayo Saka and uncapped Levil Colwill were not involved in training due to load management, with Lewis Hall among the three prospects brought up from the England Under-20s squad to help make up the numbers.
The talented 18-year-old left-back joined Newcastle on a season-long loan from Chelsea last month, with an obligation to buy depending on performance-related criteria.
Fellow Chelsea product Bashir Humphreys was another involved. The 20-year-old defender is on loan at Sky Bet Championship outfit Swansea.
Tottenham midfielder Alfie Devine was the other to link up with the senior squad for training. The 19-year-old is currently on loan at League One side Port Vale.
Gregor Townsend has called on his Rugby World Cup hopefuls to play their part in ramping up the feelgood factor of a nation in what promises to be a passion-stirring autumn for Scottish sport.
The Scots, who arrived in France on Sunday night, harbour genuine ambitions of going deep into the global showpiece after elevating themselves to fifth in the world rankings. They have never previously gone into a World Cup in a loftier position.
In addition, the buoyant Scottish football team are on the brink of qualifying for only their second major tournament since 1998, with Steve Clarke’s team able to set one foot in Germany for Euro 2024 if they defeat Cyprus this Friday, while Oban’s Bob MacIntyre will become the first Scottish golfer since Stephen Gallacher in 2014 to represent Europe at the Ryder Cup at the end of September.
Townsend knows his team, on the biggest stage in their sport, have a chance to rouse the public back home.
“It’s an exciting few weeks for Scottish sport,” the head coach told the PA news agency. “The football this week, rugby right through September and October, and Bob MacIntyre getting in the Ryder Cup team so we’ve got someone to cheer for.
“There are some massive events, the biggest tournament in our game, one of the biggest ones in golf just round the corner, and you’ve got the football team doing really well.
“It makes everybody who is interested in sport feel better when the team they support are doing well.
“We get a boost when we watch the football team do well and we’re another sporting organisation so I would imagine people that are big supporters of us, it gives them real hope and inspiration and lifts their mood for a day or a week and they can’t wait to get behind the team in the future. That’s certainly the feeling we get from our supporters.”
Townsend, who feels “very privileged” to be leading Scotland to a second consecutive World Cup, is thrilled with the way supporters have rallied behind his team in recent seasons. The head coach hopes his “humble” group of players can strengthen that bond and engage other more casual rugby observers by flourishing in France over the next two months.
“A lot of people say to me, ‘I don’t tend to watch rugby but I watch the Six Nations or the World Cup’,” he said. “I think there’s something about the national team, whether it’s football or rugby, that makes you go, ‘right, I don’t have to be a big supporter of it but I’ll switch it on because I know they’re representing us’.
“We’ve seen it with the crowds we’ve been getting at Murrayfield over the last few years but if we just take the last three home games over the summer, the crowd numbers there before the game were huge.
“They’re there two hours before the game and they stay there afterwards. It’s brilliant. I think there’s a different group of people coming to games.
“Maybe these games were different because they were in the summer but I saw so many families at our last game against Georgia and it was great to see.
“We had three generations of families coming to watch the team. A lot of that is from the way the team is playing but it’s also because of the players as people.
“They are the most humble, open and engaging guys you could coach. I see how much time they spend with supporters and that rubs off.
“If you have a group that is closed, won’t stay for autographs and ignore people who want to chat them, that is going to have an effect on what people think of you, whereas this group are brilliant. I believe that’s a big part of why the people in the country are behind them.”
Evan Ferguson has been ruled out of the Republic of Ireland’s upcoming Euro 2024 qualifying matches against France and the Netherlands.
The 18-year-old picked up a knee injury during Brighton’s 3-1 win against Newcastle on Saturday, in which he scored all three of his side’s goals, and after being assessed by national team medical staff has withdrawn from the squad.
He joined up with the team on Sunday but it has been decided that he will not be fit to feature in either match during the current international window, with the squad due to travel to France later on Tuesday.
Stephen Kenny’s team have three points from their first three matches in Group B and need a positive result in Paris on Thursday and against the Dutch in Dublin next week to keep alive realistic hopes of reaching next summer’s finals.
The manager has Norwich’s Adam Idah, Preston’s Will Keane, Hull’s Aaron Connolly and Chiedozie Ogbene of Luton available as his other forward options.
Inter Milan head coach Simone Inzaghi has signed a contract extension with the Serie A club.
After spending two years at San Siro, Inzaghi’s new deal will see him remain in charge of Inter until 2025.
He arrived from Lazio in 2021, taking over from the outgoing Antonio Conte, and his tenure in charge has so far seen Inter win the Coppa Italia twice and claim two Supercoppa Italiana titles.
They also reached the Champions League final last season, but were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City in Istanbul.
Inter are currently top of the table this season having won all three of their opening games and their next match after the international break sees them come up against city rivals AC Milan.
One-time Derby favourite Reach For The Moon is set to pursue a career over hurdles this winter, having left John and Thady Gosden to join Jamie Snowden.
The son of Sea The Stars looked destined for the top following a brilliant victory in the 2021 Solario Stakes, but was beaten by Bayside Boy on his final juvenile start in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster – his conqueror on Town Moor winning last year’s Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
Despite that defeat, optimism remained he could claim Derby glory for the late Queen in her Platinum Jubilee year – but ultimately he did not make the trip to Epsom, not reappearing until a promising run in the Heron Stakes at Sandown before finishing second in the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot last season.
Having disappointed on his next start in France, Reach For The Moon was gelded during the winter – but he has again finished well beaten twice in the royal silks this term, most recently finishing down the field in the Royal Hunt Cup, and he is being readied for a change of code.
“He’s not with us yet, but he’s left John Gosden’s and has been down at Henrietta Knight’s learning to jump,” said Snowden.
“He is now back at Sandringham having a bit of a break and will come to us later on.
“It’s really exciting. He’ll have a couple of months at Sandringham I guess and then he’ll come to us and will hopefully be ready to run sometime in the new year.”
With the autumn drawing closer, Snowden is beginning to make running plans for three of his stable stars in Ga Law, Datsalrightgino and You Wear It Well.
Ga Law won last season’s Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham before losing his way in the new year, while Datsalrightgino was last seen landing Grade Two honours in the Jordan Electrics Ltd Future Champion Novices’ Chase at Ayr.
Your Wear It Well provided her trainer with Cheltenham Festival success when landing the Jack De Bromhead Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle in March before finishing fifth against the boys at Aintree.
Snowden added: “They were our big three from last year I suppose and they are all back in and in good order at the moment.
“Your Wear It Well will probably start off in that Listed mares’ race at Wetherby and we’ll work towards hopefully going back to Cheltenham in March.
“Ga Law is going to start off over hurdles in the West Yorkshire Hurdle at Wetherby and then hopefully go for the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury.
“Datsalrightgino we’re hoping to start off in the Old Roan at Aintree and then go to the Paddy Power Gold Cup, perhaps.”
Three-time Olympic gold medallist Adam Peaty sustained a facial injury in a scuffle with fellow Team GB athlete Luke Greenbank, the PA news agency understands.
Peaty, 28, got involved in a fracas with Greenbank at the British Swimming training centre in Loughborough last Friday. The incident is understood to have occurred following a comment Peaty made to Greenbank.
Peaty, who holds the world record for the 50 metres and 100m breaststroke, did not require any stitches for the injury he suffered, with sources close to the matter describing it as “something and nothing”.
British Swimming issued a statement which read: “An incident occurred at a recent training session that was quickly and effectively resolved by the athletes involved and the staff present at the session.”
Peaty and Greenbank are understood to have shaken hands after the incident occurred.
Peaty withdrew from the British Championships in April citing mental health issues and later admitted he had been on a “self-destructive spiral”.
He told BBC Breakfast in May that he remained hopeful of competing at next year’s Paris Olympics, but that competing and succeeding in France would not solve his issues.
“A good friend of mine said a gold medal is the coldest thing you will ever wear. It’s the coldest thing because you think it will fix all of your problems. It will not,” he said.
Jadon Sancho’s future at Manchester United appears uncertain after a public falling-out with manager Erik ten Hag.
It is the latest instalment in what has been a frustrating spell at Old Trafford for the England international.
Here, the PA news agency looks at where it has gone wrong.
What has happened?
Ten Hag did not include Sancho in his squad for Sunday’s game at Arsenal, saying the player had not reached the required “level” in training. This was quickly disputed by Sancho in a strong statement on social media. The 23-year-old claimed he had been made a “scapegoat” for a long time and that claims about his conduct in training were “completely untrue”. Coming after two difficult years at the club, it raised questions over his future.
What were the previous issues?
Sancho’s United career does not seem to have ignited. Considered one of England’s brightest young prospects, he arrived amid much fanfare in the summer of 2021, but illness initially restricted his involvement. Then there was the turbulence of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer being replaced by Ralf Rangnick before Ten Hag’s arrival last summer. Confidence clearly suffered and Sancho was unable to find any consistent form.
What has happened under Ten Hag?
Sancho’s performances did not significantly improve after Ten Hag’s arrival last summer and he was consequently overlooked for England’s World Cup squad. Ten Hag went on to criticise his “fitness state” and revealed he spent time training away from the squad on an “individual programme”. Since then opportunities have been restricted by the form of Marcus Rashford and further competition from Antony and Alejandro Garnacho.
Is wasn’t meant to be this way was it?
Absolutely not. Sancho was highly rated in Manchester City’s academy and the club were disappointed to lose him when he opted to join Borussia Dortmund in 2017. Some questioned whether that move was wise and suggested he should have stayed to work under Pep Guardiola, as Phil Foden did, but it seemed to pay off. Sancho had four highly fruitful years in Germany and became an established international. He seemed ready for the move in 2021, but it has simply not gone to plan.
What happens next?
After going public with his grievances in the way he did, it seems unlikely he will be back in the United side any time soon. He would need to settle his differences with the manager and then convince him he is playing well enough to be selected. That could take time. There have been suggestions a Saudi Arabian club could offer an immediate way out, but there has been no firm interest reported. It could be a quiet few months ahead.
John ‘Shark’ Hanlon has expressed his delight that Cape Gentleman has settled in well to retirement in America.
Owned by Pierre Manigault, the seven-year-old was attempting to follow in the footsteps of Sergeant Murphy, who claimed Grand National glory for Manigault’s great uncle, Stephen ‘Laddie’ Sandford in 1923, when suffering a career-ending injury at Aintree in the spring.
Having struck into himself in between obstacles during the world’s most famous steeplechase, he was immediately transferred to Liverpool Equine Hospital where he began his recuperation, before returning to Hanlon’s County Carlow base to continue his recovery.
He has now headed to South Carolina for what is anticipated will be a long and happy retirement with his owner.
Hanlon said: “It’s brilliant because the man he has gone to in America, a lot of owners wouldn’t have done what he has done. He has minded him like a baby.
“We had him up until about 10 days ago and I want to thank the hospital in Liverpool for the job they did with the horse, they did a great job.
“We got him home about three weeks after the race and myself and all my staff at home, we minded him and have done a great job with him. We’re delighted to get him to America now where he will be retired.
“He’s out enjoying the sun now and that is very important and he’s having a ball. It’s great that Pierre put the money in to save the horse.”
Hanlon has been keen to document Cape Gentleman’s road to recovery via his stable’s social media channels over the past few months, believing it is crucial in combating any negative perceptions of both horse racing and the Grand National itself.
He added: “For that race (Grand National) it is important that these things happen and it is on us to highlight things like this because none of us want the race stopped.”
Leeds have released forward Zane Tetevano from his contract as he continues his recovery from heart surgery, the Super League club have announced.
The New Zealand international suffered a stroke during a training session in May.
It was then discovered the 32-year-old had a hole in his heart which required surgery.
The Rhinos had initially hoped the prop would be able play again before the end of the season, but that has not proved possible.
With his contract due to expire later this year, the club have allowed Tetevano to leave early and return home to New Zealand.
Tetevano said: “I would like to thank everyone at the Rhinos for the support they have given me over the last three years.
“Especially I would like to thank all the staff at the Leeds General Infirmary who have looked after me so much since my stroke and heart operation.
“I will always remember my time in Leeds fondly, and I wish (coach) Rohan (Smith) and the team all the best for the rest of this season and the years ahead.”
Tetevano made 47 appearances and scored three tries after joining the club from Penrith Panthers in 2021.
Last season’s 1000 Guineas heroine Cachet is set to make her eagerly-anticipated return in the Japan Racing Association Sceptre Fillies’ Stakes at Doncaster on Sunday week.
George Boughey’s filly won the Nell Gwyn before returning to the Rowley Mile to claim Classic glory in early May and she was only narrowly denied in the French Guineas a fortnight later.
The Highclere Thoroughbred Racing-owned daughter of Aclaim was fifth in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot the following month and has not been seen in competitive action since, but she is closing in on a comeback from her 15-month hiatus.
“Cachet is in full work, she’s going really well and she looks absolutely magnificent,” said Highclere’s managing director Harry Herbert.
“At the moment, touching wood everywhere, she’s on course to reappear in the Sceptre Stakes at Doncaster on the Sunday of the Leger meeting (September 17).
“She’s wonderful and she’s thriving at the moment. She’s had her setbacks, which she’s well and truly over – we haven’t seen her looking as well since she was in the parade ring before the Guineas.
“Now she’s a mature four-year-old she looks even better, so we’re really excited to see her back in action.”
Cachet holds a Group One entry in the Sun Chariot at Newmarket on October 7, but connections are not making any firm plans beyond her intended Doncaster return.
Herbert added: “We’ll take it one step at a time. She’s been off a long time and it’s not easy getting back to full race fitness after that time, but George is doing his best and she’s really pleasing him.”
William Muir has called time on the racing career of Pyledriver after his horse of a lifetime suffered a setback ahead of an intended appearance at Kempton on Saturday.
A dual Group One winner having landed the 2021 Coronation Cup at Epsom and last year’s King George at Ascot, the six-year-old has suffered more than his fair share of injury problems during his career, but has nevertheless given his connections some fantastic days.
He proved the fire still burns bright when making a successful return from 11 months on the sidelines in the Hardwicke Stakes in June, his second Royal Ascot success after landing the King Edward VII Stakes three years ago, before finishing fifth in the defence of his King George crown in July.
The son of Harbour Watch was due to contest this weekend’s Unibet September Stakes ahead of a potential tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but Muir, who trains in partnership with Chris Grassick, feels it is now right for Pyledriver to be retired.
“He worked on Saturday and to be honest he was sensational. He’s never a horse we’ve galloped off the bridle and done anything stupid with, but it was just the way he did it, the way he moved, the way he looked and he marched off the gallops like a lion,” said Muir.
“I actually said to the owners ‘you’ve just seen your next winner’ and he was fine 90 per cent of the way home, but when he got back to the yard he was just a little bit sore in the same place we first got the suspensory injury before.
“I called my vet and he said he’d just tweaked it and had a bit of inflammation round it and he was really sore to touch it, but like Pyledriver does on Sunday morning he was 100 per cent sound and bucking and kicking.
“We had him on the walker on Sunday and cantered him on Monday and the vet came back and looked at him and couldn’t believe it.
“We could run him on Saturday and he might win, but the horse has done so much for us and I just feel if I ran him and he tweaked it there’s a good chance he could do some damage, or like all of us if you’ve got a little niggle somewhere do you put more weight somewhere else and cause a problem?
“This horse has been fantastic to all of us, to the owners, to me, to the yard and to the jockeys that have ridden him and he doesn’t deserve anything to go wrong, so I think it’s the right time.
“He’s been a fantastic servant, but it isn’t just him. I’d be the same if this was a small-time runner at Southwell on a Saturday night. It’s just the case that I’m in this game because I love animals, I’ve worked with horses all my life and we’ve got to do what’s right.
“My mind and my heart is telling me it’s the right thing to do at this time.”
Chris Dobey is desperate to become the local hero in Newcastle and one day parade a major trophy at St James’ Park.
The 33-year-old, born in Bedlington, is a lifelong Magpie and is keen to add to the feelgood factor in the city that was brought about by the football club’s recent success.
Dobey has also had some glory of his own this year, winning the Masters in January to earn a place in the 2023 Premier League line-up.
He was due to get a homecoming at St James’ Park but timings did not line up and is dreaming of earning another chance by winning the World Championship.
Dobey, nicknamed Hollywood, has recently joined the Target Darts stable of players and will wear a shirt that pays homage to his beloved Newcastle.
“It was only ever going to be black and white,” he told the PA news agency. “It’s a big, big part of me and it’s nice to be able to give that back.
“It is a one-club city, there are not many stadiums in the middle of a city centre, it is such a buzz, we have got our club back.
“Sam Fender had his gig there, he’s a local lad and there are two or three local lads playing as well. It is such a buzz just to be a Geordie. It’s just great to be involved.
“I was due to parade my Masters trophy but it was the semi-final of the Carabao Cup so they had a lot going on… and when they wanted to do it I was away with darts so we didn’t get around to doing it.
“Hopefully I can parade the big one around in the next year or so. It just gives you that buzz that your hard work pays off and hopefully one day I can get that big one and I can be up there with the other legends from Newcastle.
“Any trophy paraded around St James’ would be amazing but to take the big one here would be unbelievable. I believe I can do it, you can never say when you are going to do it.
“Each day is different, you can turn up one day and be brilliant and turn up and be shocking the next. I am hoping in the next few years I can compete for it.”
Ireland lock Joe McCarthy says wrestling matches and reassuring chats with his younger brother helped pave the way to his maiden Rugby World Cup.
The 22-year-old only made his international debut against Australia last autumn and was included in Andy Farrell’s 33-man squad for France despite just 129 minutes of Test experience across three caps.
McCarthy hails from a family of rugby fanatics, with junior sibling Paddy following in his footsteps at Leinster and elder brother Andrew playing tag for special needs side Seapoint Dragons.
View this post on Instagram“We’d always be wrestling a good bit, me and Paddy,” McCarthy said of his childhood.
“Rugby is huge (in the family), my older brother Andrew plays tag rugby with a special needs team. My younger brother, it’s all we’ve done pretty much for our whole lives.
“Sometimes you get nervous for a game and my brother’s like: ‘Literally, this is all you do, for the last 15 years of your life, all you’ve done is rugby,’ so he usually calms me down.
“Me and my brother, especially, we’d watch rugby together, watch games on TV, get up for Super Rugby matches in the mornings, watch the internationals if the All Blacks play, all of that. It’s been a huge part of our lives.”
Paddy – a member of Leinster’s academy, who plays at prop – has represented Ireland at under-20 level.
Asked if he had spoken with his brother about potentially being future Test team-mates, McCarthy said: “Yeah, especially now that it is more realistic.
“We’ve never played together, he’s two years younger than me.
“We’ve definitely talked about that, it would be class if we get an opportunity to do that.”
McCarthy is pushing for involvement in Saturday’s Pool B opener with Romania in Bordeaux, having made his sole Test start in last month’s warm-up win over Italy.
Despite his rookie status, he was determined not to have to wait a further four years for a chance on the biggest stage.
“I was absolutely delighted the coaches trusted me to pick me in the squad,” he said.
“I rang my parents, they were delighted to find out, and my brothers. They were just really happy for me, it was a very cool moment.
“You’re never really looking too far ahead but World Cups, you get very few opportunities to have them.
“They’re every four years, so you’re looking at that and I’m like: ‘If I don’t make this one, it’s a long time until there is another opportunity to make it.’
“There are so many more eyes on the World Cup. It’s such a big deal. Everyone in Ireland is always talking about it.
“It’s all the best players playing on the biggest stage, so it’s definitely somewhere you want to get to.”
Mauricio Dubon and Jose Altuve hit back-to-back home runs on two different occasions to help power the Houston Astros to a 13-6 rout of the Texas Rangers in Monday's opener of a pivotal three-game series between American League West rivals.
Yanier Diaz added a three-run homer, part of a 16-hit barrage that enabled the defending World Series champions to bounce back after being swept at home by the New York Yankees in a three-game series over the weekend.
The win moved the Astros in a virtual tie with Seattle for first place in the AL West after the Mariners lost at Cincinnati on Monday. Texas, which is in the midst of a 4-13 stretch since mid-August, is one game back in the standings.
Houston trailed 3-0 after four innings before scoring three times in the fifth, highlighted by Alex Bregman's game-tying two-run single. After the Rangers went back ahead in the bottom of the inning on Corey Seager's second home run of the game, Dubon and Altuve each homered off Glenn Otto in the sixth to give the Astros a 5-4 edge.
Texas drew back even in the bottom of the sixth on Mitch Garver's solo homer, but the Astros scored six runs in the seventh to put the game out of reach.
After Seager's error allowed two runs to score to put Houston up 8-5, Diaz launched his 21st homer of the season to extend the margin to six runs.
Dubon and Altuve again went back-to-back in the ninth. The hit was Altuve's fourth of the day and he finished with three runs scored.
Seager ended 3 for 5 with three RBIs and Garver went 2 for 3 with two RBIs for Texas, which also got a solo homer from Josh Smith.
Steer's three-run homer helps Reds down Mariners
The Astros got help in their chase for the AL West lead from the Cincinnati Reds, who scored five early runs en route to a 6-3 win over the Seattle Mariners.
Spencer Steer delivered the big blow for Cincinnati with a three-run homer off Bryan Woo in the second inning that staked the Reds to a 5-0 lead. Elly De La Cruz and Hunter Renfroe drove in the first two runs with RBI singles in the first.
While Seattle lost sole possession of first place in the AL West with its third loss in four games, the Reds moved into a tie with Arizona for the National League's final wild card spot. The Diamondbacks kept pace with a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies behind 12 strikeouts from starting pitcher Merrill Kelly.
Renfroe and Tyler Stephenson each had two hits and an RBI to help Cincinnati withstand solo homers from Julio Rodriguez and Mike Ford.
Woo was handed the loss after surrendering five runs over a five-inning stint in which he walked three batters and hit three others.
Steele dominates Giants as Cubs gain ground in NL Central
Justin Steele allowed just two hits over eight scoreless innings to earn his 16th win of the season and lead the Chicago Cubs to a 5-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants in the opener of another key September three-game series.
Steele (16-3) struck out a career-high 12 while issuing only two walks to win his seventh straight decision and tie Atlanta's Spencer Strider for the major league lead in victories.
The left-hander's show-stopping performance also enabled the Cubs to pull within 2 1/2 games of first-place Milwaukee in the NL Central after the Brewers were dealt a 4-2 loss by the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Seiya Suzuki supplied the offence for Chicago with a solo homer in the second inning, an RBI double in the seventh and a run-scoring fielder's choice in the eighth.
Slumping San Francisco was shut out for a second straight game and has now lost four in a row to fall out of a tie for the NL's final wild card spot. The Giants now trail both Cincinnati and Arizona by one game.
Giants starter Logan Webb lasted 6 2/3 innings but lost a third straight start after being charged with three runs on five hits.
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