Bristol City coasted to their first home Sky Bet Championship victory of the season after a comfortable 4-1 demolition of west-country rivals Plymouth at Ashton Gate.

Sam Bell set them on their way to victory with a third minute opener before Matty James doubled the advantage with eight minutes on the clock.

Adam Randall pulled one back for Argyle after 26 minutes but the Robins wrapped up victory with further strikes from Mark Sykes and Harry Cornick.

The home side went in front when Kal Naismith played a short corner to Joe Williams and his near-post cross was fired home by young striker Bell with a first-time finish.

It was 2-0 on six minutes later when Sykes broke away and cut the ball back for James to shoot into the roof of the net from six yards.

The Robins completely dominated the opening exchanges and they could have gone 3-0 up after 10 minutes when Bell’s shot from a central position was saved by Hazard with an outstretched leg.

Argyle could not handle City’s front three of Bell, Nahki Wells and Sykes, to the dismay of their packed ranks of travelling fans behind the goal.

Sykes headed wide from another good chance and Cameron Pring was high and wide when getting on the end of Naismith’s far -post corner.

Argyle replied after 26 minutes, Randall finding the bottom corner with a low drive from just outside the box.

But seven minutes later Jason Knight’s superb crossfield ball allowed Sykes to race clear and send a sweet right-footed shot past Conor Hazard.

The Pilgrims missed a great chance to reduce the deficit again when Ben Waine shot wide following a poor clearance by City goalkeeper Max O’Leary.

The visitors left the field at the break to jeers from their supporters, who had chanted “This is embarrassing” as the half time whistle approached.

Argyle boss Steven Schumacher responded by sending on Jordan Houghton and Morgan Whittaker for Lewis Warrington and Tyreik Wright at the start of the second half.

The game became more of a contest, but City continued to create the clearer openings and Bell shot just wide on 52 minutes. Both managers made liberal use of their substitutes’ benches as the half progressed.

Substitute Cornick completed a resounding victory, shooting home from Naismith’s through ball 10 minutes from time.

Napoli head coach Rudi Garcia knows his side cannot afford a slow start if they are to target Champions League success this season.

The Partenopei topped their Champions League group ahead of Liverpool and progressed to the quarter-finals last season, where they were beaten by AC Milan.

Garcia’s side, though, head into their opening European tie away to Portuguese outfit Braga on Wednesday night sitting fifth in the table after a draw at newly promoted Genoa left them with seven points from four games.

“There is something wrong in the league (Serie A) because we are only fifth, but it is the start of the season,” Garcia told a press conference.

“The logical thing would be to say that we need to be more consistent, but we can say that the championship is the championship – and the Champions League is another competition.

“There are only six matches in the group (stage) and so every match counts much more than those of the 38-round championship (Serie A).

“We are here to win and we arrive with determination and confidence.”

Napoli arrived in Portugal much later than planned on Tuesday evening following a significantly delayed departure because of technical problems with their aircraft.

But Garcia will not look for any excuses if his side do not produce the required performance at the Estadio Municipal.

“Braga have quality players, but we want to start this Champions League group off well,” he said.

“We have to be consistent from the first minute and have to put everything on the pitch to win the three points.”

Centre-back Amir Rrahmani has been included in Napoli’s travelling squad after missing Saturday’s Serie A game with a muscle problem picked up while on international duty with Kosovo.

Uruguay defender Mathias Olivera is expected to start after coming off the bench against Genoa while recent signing Bernardo Natan could make his debut, with the Brazilian, fit again following a knee issue, an unused substitute at the weekend.

Braga have returned to the Champions League group stages for the first time in 11 years after coming through two qualifying rounds – and will also face Spanish giants Real Madrid as well as tournament debutants Union Berlin in Group C.

After suffering a 3-1 loss at Farense in the Portuguese Liga, Braga coach Artur Jorge is expecting a response against the Italian champions.

“Our opponent has a lot of individual and collective quality. The widespread opinion is that it will be more difficult for Braga, but we have the will to counter that,” he said.

“We have three very strong teams (in the group) and we will be put to the test with maximum demands.

“But even against a very strong Napoli, but we will have a rigorous and committed approach and I believe we have a chance to compete until the end.”

Jorge told a press conference: “We want to enjoy the match, but highlighting that we are not going to play just for the sake of playing.

“Regardless of the competition, the ambition to win is fundamental – we cannot get tired of winning.

“It should not be as a response to anything, this is the ambition that the players have to express – it is our desire for the mission to be accomplished.”

Milutin Osmajic scored his first goal in English football as Championship leaders Preston came from a goal down to beat Birmingham 2-1.

Jay Stansfield’s strike in the opening minute of the second half threatened to end Preston’s unbeaten start to the season but the table-toppers were on level terms when Krystian Bielik headed into his own net in the 51st minute.

Preston then made it six wins from their opening seven games thanks to Osmajic’s composed close-range finish in the 67th minute.

After a tight and cagey first 25 minutes, the game was almost unlocked by the hosts when Duane Holmes played in Brad Potts inside the area with the goal at his mercy but he blazed over the crossbar from close range.

Birmingham had the lion’s share of possession throughout the first half-hour and mustered their first half-chance when Keshi Anderson ran on to the end of a long ball before he skied his effort into the Preston fans behind the goal.

The game’s first shot on target came when Liam Millar let fly from 25 yards but it went straight down the neck of John Ruddy.

The Blues went looking for an opener themselves but Koji Miyoshi’s drilled long-range effort was comfortably saved by Freddie Woodman to keep the game goalless heading into the break.

Birmingham broke the deadlock straight after half-time when Miyoshi slid Stansfield through on goal before he touched and lashed home to make it 1-0.

Preston were not behind for long, getting back on level terms just five minutes later after Alan Browne’s corner was turned in by Bielik into his own goal.

The second half of the contest was a much more entertaining affair and Birmingham almost regained their lead but Ivan Sunjic’s goal-bound effort was well saved by the diving Woodman.

Birmingham went in search of another goal to try and get back to winning ways but Anderson’s strike from outside the area was again stopped easily by Woodman.

The Lilywhites turned the game on its head midway through the second half, once again Browne was the creator who slipped Osmajic through before he coolly slotted under the legs of Ruddy to get his first goal for the club.

North End almost increased their advantage in the 85th minute when Holmes unleashed a dipping effort towards goal but it was tipped over the frame by Ruddy.

Birmingham’s own unbeaten start to the campaign was ended on the weekend at the hands of Watford and they had enough time to bounce back after nine minutes of added time was greeted with a huge roar from the travelling contingent.

The visitors sensed an opportunity when the ball fell for Gary Gardner who let rip from outside the area but the deflection fell nicely for the hosts who cleared and held on for three points once again.

Julian Alvarez shone as Manchester City came from behind to begin their Champions League defence with a comfortable 3-1 win over Red Star Belgrade.

The treble winners were stunned when the Serbian champions claimed a shock lead against the run of play through Osman Bukari just before half-time in Tuesday’s Group G clash at the Etihad Stadium.

Alvarez levelled quickly after the break and was then responsible for City taking the lead as his free-kick was punched into goal by the otherwise excellent Red Star goalkeeper Omri Glazer.

Rodri, matchwinner against Inter Milan in last season’s final, then wrapped up a thoroughly deserved victory with a typically composed finish 17 minutes from time.

Prior to taking the lead, City had completely dominated the game, with Glazer producing a series of fine saves to thwart the hosts and Erling Haaland hitting the crossbar.

The hosts finally started to take their chances in the second period but could have scored plenty more with Kyle Walker having an effort disallowed, Haaland again hitting the woodwork and Alvarez finding the side-netting.

Red Star boast plenty of European pedigree as winners of the competition in 1991 but, facing the continent’s present pre-eminent force, they were completely outplayed.

City had their first chance after nine minutes when Phil Foden had an effort deflected over and Rodri then jinked into the area before testing Glazer.

It was the start of a busy half for the Israeli keeper, who also denied Alvarez twice and kept out a point-blank header from Foden.

He could do little about City’s best chance of the opening period as Haaland met a floated Foden cross with a firm header but the bar came to his aid.

Haaland had another good chance to put City ahead but turned over from in front of goal.

City were made to rue their wasted chances as Red Star, who had looked to counter-attack when possible, grabbed a shock lead on the stroke of half-time.

The hosts were punished for playing a high line as Bukari was played through by Mirko Ivanic and slotted coolly past Ederson.

It initially looked like an offside flag might spare City but the goal was awarded following a VAR review.

City, who brought on Jeremy Doku for Bernardo Silva in the closing moments of the first half, quickly regrouped and equalised two minutes after the interval.

Alvarez finished superbly after being played in by Haaland, cleverly dinking over Glazer.

Walker thought he had put City ahead moments later only to be ruled offside.

City claimed the lead just before the hour as Alvarez curled a free-kick from the left into the box. Glazer came out to punch but failed to make clean contact and the ball flew in after skimming the back his hand.

Haaland went close again when he headed against a post before Alvarez lashed just wide.

City finally gave the scoreline a more realistic look when Rodri claimed their third.

The Spaniard turned Vladimir Lucic outside the area after good work by Foden and strode forward to pass the ball into the far bottom corner.

Dimitrios Goutas and Karlan Grant both scored their first goals for Cardiff as the Bluebirds made it back-to-back wins in the Championship for the first time this season.

Their 3-2 home win over Coventry pushed them into the top half of the table and saw the Sky Blues drop to 15th. Kion Etete polished things off for the home side with a goal with his first touch in the 84th minute.

Matt Godden scored twice for the visitors, levelling the scores in the first half and then heading home his second in the 95th minute.

Cardiff boss Erol Bulut opted to rest Wales skipper Aaron Ramsey after his two games for club and country last week but rewarded Ollie Tanner for scoring his first goal for the club in the 2-0 win over Swansea by giving him his first start at home in the Championship.

It had taken Tanner a mere 40 seconds to score with his first touch after coming on at the weekend and he was the first into the thick of the action for the Bluebirds playing in a wide right position as he tested the Coventry defence.

He flashed a header past the post in the fifth minute and then saw Greek defender Goutas follow in his footsteps three minutes later by scoring his first goal for the club as he powered home a free header from a Joe Ralls corner.

The home side were good value for their lead and almost got a second in the 33rd minute when a Ryan Wintle cross from the right edge of the box was turned inches wide by Ike Ugbo from the middle of the six-yard box.

Coventry arrived in the Welsh capital sitting two places above their hosts but on the same number of points. Having absorbed most of the pressure in the opening half-hour, they hit back in the 33rd minute from a corner.

Jak Alnwick punched the ball away from his goal, but only as far as the edge of the D. Milan van Ewijk immediately stroked a pass to his left to skipper Liam Kelly, whose first-time touch into the area found Godden to turn on the edge of the six-yard box and bag the equaliser.

It was his fifth goal in eight games to underline just why the Sky Blues were so keen to get him to sign a new contract last month.

All of a sudden there was a real spring in the step of the visitors and when Tatsuhiro Sakamoto was introduced eight minutes into the second half they got even livelier.

Cardiff, though, regained the lead just after the hour mark after they swept the play upfield and Ralls carried across field to give Tanner and Wintle the chance to combine on the right. It was Wintle’s measured cross that enabled West Brom loanee Grant to stoop low and head home from eight yards.

Alnwick had to be at his best in the home goal to stop Kasey Palmer from levelling in the 71st minute when he shot from 10 yards out.

Etete fired across goal to hit the left corner to make it a two-goal lead and though Godden scored his second of the night in the fifth of the 10 added minutes it was too little, too late.

England’s second row giants Maro Itoje and Ollie Chessum have told Steve Borthwick they do not want to be rested against Chile.

Borthwick is expected to overhaul his starting XV against the weakest opposition England will face in their World Cup group campaign, taking the opportunity to give some of his stars a breather.

Itoje and Chessum have started the last three Tests together, including the Pool D victories over Argentina and Japan, and are candidates to be given the weekend off given the tougher assignments that lie ahead.

But Itoje is eager to retain his place in the starting XV – even though Chile are placed 22nd in the global rankings.

“I always want to play. I want to put my hand up for selection, I want to play for England. If there is an opportunity to play, I want to play,” Itoje said.

“You can’t take these moments for granted, you never know when the last time is that you’re going to play for England. I want to get as many caps as possible so I definitely would want to play.

“Steve has the big plan and he has to look after the whole squad, not just individuals. He is the final decision maker.”

The challenge facing Borthwick is to ensure his key personnel are battle hardened for the quarter-finals, which England have all but reached after dispatching the Pumas and Brave Blossoms.

Yet the break week each team observes at different stages during the World Cup means that after Chile their next assignment is the final group game against Samoa on October 7.

Itoje could therefore go three weeks without a game if he is omitted from the team that will be named by Borthwick on Thursday.

“A three-week break is neither here nor there. If I play – great,” Itoje said.

“When you’re not playing you do way more fitness. The guys who haven’t been in the squad have been getting flogged – so that’s motivation enough to play,” Itoje said.

“If I’m not playing I’ll be getting flogged. I’d much rather play because I don’t want to get flogged!”

Chessum, Itoje’s partner in England’s first choice engine room, is is also looking to keep his place, although the Leicester lock has a stronger case for inclusion as he is on the comeback trail from a serious ankle injury.

“You want to hold your hand up to play at every opportunity possible,” Chessum said.

“I have not played a lot of rugby at all in the last six months so I want to keep playing.

“It is not up to me, it is up to the coaches so I will hold my hand up in training this week and it is up to them, the selection process.”

Chile are expected to be overrun in Lille on Saturday but Portugal and Uruguay have already demonstrated against Wales and France in this World Cup that the minnows can cause a scare.

The tournament’s last great upset was when Japan toppled Ireland four years ago and Chessum does not want England to be the next big-name scalp.

“If you sleepwalk into games or sleepwalk into anything in this World Cup you will get caught out and exposed,” he said.

“You have seen from the games last week that there is not a big disparity between the teams – the tier-two nations have taken some of the best teams right to the wire.

“We will be firing on all cylinders in training and on the job to take the game to Chile.”

Lyndon Dykes’ stoppage-time goal rescued a point for QPR in a 1-1 draw with Swansea at Loftus Road.

Josh Ginnelly’s early goal looked like giving the Welsh side a first Sky Bet Championship win under boss Michael Duff.

But Scotland forward Dykes, on as a substitute, equalised by getting in front of defender Ben Cabango to head home Ilias Chair’s left-wing cross.

Swansea ended the match with 10 men after Ollie Cooper was sent off in the final seconds after a foul on Dykes earned him a second yellow card.

Dykes’ goal spared Rangers a fourth defeat of the season at home, where they have won just once since last October.

Summer signing Ginnelly, making his first league start for Swansea, netted after seven minutes.

He was helped by a mistake by goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who failed to hold Jamal Lowe’s low cross from the right and the ball ricocheted off Ginnelly and into the net despite defender Osman Kakay’s attempt to prevent it crossing the line.

Swansea, beaten in their previous four matches and having lost four of their previous five in the league, defended well and always looked a threat on the counter-attack.

Rangers struggled to create clear-cut openings but striker Sinclair Armstrong missed a great chance to equalise midway through the first half.

An unchallenged Armstrong collected Andre Dozzell’s pass and, seemingly believing he was offside, turned and scooped a shot woefully high and wide before discovering he was being played onside by Swansea’s on-loan Chelsea youngster Bashir Humphreys.

Rangers made a determined start to the second half and the lively Paul Smyth did well on the right and crossed for Chair, who headed wide.

Dykes, fit again after a recent knee injury, was sent on by R’s boss Gareth Ainsworth on the hour as the hosts continued to search for an equaliser.

Swansea might have added a second had Jerry Yates connected properly with a scuffed shot which was easily gathered by Begovic.

Swans midfielder Matt Grimes fired wide as the visitors again looked to hit Rangers with a sucker punch, and at the other end Chair missed the target with a similarly wayward effort from long range.

In the closing stages, Dykes poked a shot wide from near the edge of the penalty area and Chair saw a low strike deflected wide, but Ainsworth’s team were eventually rewarded for their persistence.

Chelsea loanee Omari Hutchinson’s first goal for Ipswich was enough to earn them a 1-0 win at Southampton.

The Tractor Boys are up to second in the Sky Bet Championship after winning four successive away games in the second tier for the first time in eight years.

Saints, expected by many to go straight back up after last season’s Premier League relegation, have now lost their last three games.

Southampton started brightly and half of the St Mary’s crowd thought Adam Armstrong had scored with just five minutes played when he rippled the side-netting from the edge of the box.

Ipswich did have the ball in the net two minutes later, only for Conor Chaplin’s close-range effort from Hutchinson’s inswinging corner to be harshly ruled out for a foul.

Shea Charles passed up a presentable opportunity to test Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky when he headed over from a Kyle Walker-Peters cross.

Brandon Williams then ballooned a header into the stands after rising at the far post to meet Wes Burns’ centre.

Ipswich took the lead on the half-hour mark after capitalising on a Charles mistake.

The Northern Ireland international was caught dwelling on the ball by Hutchinson just outside his own penalty area and the Chelsea loanee played a one-two with Chaplin before slotting home.

It was deja-vu for Saints six minutes later when Chaplin dispossessed Joe Aribo deep inside his own half before lofting his shot over goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu and onto the top of the crossbar.

The rebound fell kindly for George Hirst but the Ipswich striker could not keep his effort down.

Saints were booed off by their own fans at half-time but manager Russell Martin resisted the temptation to make any substitutions for the start of the second half.

Che Adams could have equalised four minutes after the restart but his effort from a Walker-Peters through ball 10 yards out was kept out by Hladky at full stretch.

Bazunu did well to throw himself low to his right and turn Chaplin’s well-struck left-foot volley from 20 yards away from goal.

Martin did turn to his bench in the 58th minute, bringing on experienced Premier League duo Jan Bednarek and Stuart Armstrong and winger Kamaldeen Sulemana.

Shortly after his arrival, Sulemana’s teasing low cross caused chaos in the Ipswich penalty area before Adam Armstrong’s shot was eventually smuggled behind for a corner.

Will Smallbone and Adams also had shots blocked as the Ipswich defence put their bodies on the line to preserve the victory.

A blistering start helped Portsmouth secure a 3-2 win over Barnsley at Oakwell that sent them top of Sky Bet League One.

Colby Bishop, Paddy Lane and Connor Ogilvie gave the Blues a dream start before second-half strikes from Barry Cotter and Callum Styles led to a tense finish.

Gavin Whyte had already seen a first-minute effort deflected wide and Bishop had headed over the bar before Pompey were awarded an eighth-minute penalty.

Lane beat two players before feeding the ball to Northern Ireland winger Whyte on the right and Bishop’s attempt to convert his low centre saw him fouled by Barnsley keeper Liam Roberts.

Bishop converted the spot-kick and 30 seconds later the visitors doubled their lead when the former Accrington striker’s flick-on found Lane and he calmly finished.

Ogilvie added the third when he headed home Joe Morrell’s cross from the right after 16 minutes.

Having failed to mount an attack of note before the break, Barnsley pulled one back just four minutes after the restart when half-time substitute Sam Cosgrove found Cotter, who drilled a low finish past Will Norris.

The hosts scored again with 13 minutes left when Norris fumbled Callum Styles’ header and the ball trickled over the line but despite a spell of late pressure they could not find an equaliser.

Eddie Howe feels the hard-fought point with which Newcastle emerged from their trip to AC Milan could serve them well as their Champions League campaign continues.

The Magpies, who needed goalkeeper Nick Pope to make five first-half saves to ensure they came away from San Siro with a 0-0 draw, managed to frustrate the hosts for long periods and open their Group F account on their return to European football’s top table after an absence of two decades.

Head coach Howe said: “I thought the crowd were very good for Milan tonight. It was a hostile atmosphere for us, the players had to adjust to that and that’s why I don’t think you can underestimate the performance and the point that we get.

“I think it will look better and better as time goes on because it’s a new experience for a lot of people – me included – tonight and hopefully we can grow from this into the tournament.

“Again, I’ll praise the players for the defensive qualities that they showed today. We know we can do better with the ball, but hopefully that will come.”

Pope’s heroics provided the foundation on a night when he had to be at his best to keep the Rossoneri at bay three days after keeping a clean sheet in a Premier League victory over Brentford.

Howe said: “I thought he was outstanding today. He was excellent against Brentford – although he didn’t have a lot to do – and his all-round game was at his highest level.

“It’s no coincidence, two big displays and two clean sheets from him which is absolutely crucial to us. He was a huge part of our success last year and no doubt he’ll be the same this year.”

Newcastle might even have snatched victory at the death when midfielder Sean Longstaff forced a crucial save from substitute keeper Marco Sportiello deep into stoppage time, and Howe was not countenancing suggestions his side had been fortunate.

He said: “Everyone’s entitled to their opinion. I didn’t think the draw was luck. We were slightly disappointed with how we played with the ball tonight, but there are a lot of different reasons for that.”

However, for all that the visitors defended with impressive resilience, particularly in the second half when they limited Milan to few clear-cut opportunities, they had already been let off the hook when Portugal international Rafael Leao had danced through the black and white shirts and with only Pope to beat, tried to back-heel a shot past him and simply fell over.

Rossoneri boss Stefano Pioli said: “Rafa Leao is much-appreciated by every football lover because he tries impossible things. He gives it a try. These are impossible things for the rest of the players.

“On the other hand, he tries to get that ‘Wow!’ effect, and sometimes he achieves it. If I had been there in front of the goal, I would have shot and probably I would have missed the goal.

“I’m sorry for my players because they have given their utmost and maybe more. It was a very intense game. We were tired because we ran so much. I’m sorry for our fans because they supported us throughout the whole game, and I’m sorry about not winning the first game in the group phase because this will be a very tough one.

“We wanted to win, but we couldn’t, so we’re not happy about the result.”

Erik ten Hag admitted he was concerned about the eye-watering number of injuries Manchester United are picking up ahead of their Champions League opener at Bayern Munich.

This has been a challenging start to the season for the Old Trafford giants, with off-field issues compounded by a run of three defeats in their last four Premier League matches.

United’s 3-1 meek home loss to Brighton is hardly the best preparation to face Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on Wednesday, nor are the injury problems that continue to pile up.

The Red Devils have lost Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire since the weekend, joining the likes of Raphael Varane, Mason Mount, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia on the sidelines.

“Yes, of course it’s a concern,” Ten Hag said of the spate of injuries that leaves him with a 21-man squad in Germany featuring four goalkeepers.

“But we knew that before and that’s why we constructed the squad with depth, so we can deal with it, the squad can deal with it.”

Asked whether he can speak to the medical staff about the injury situation, the United boss said: “I don’t know if we have to go to the doctors or physios because they are dealing with the problems.

“First of all, injuries always come in top football because we’re living on the edge.

“Of course we analyse why things happen, but we also have to deal with the facts and it’s always about the players available.

“That’s a strong side we can line up and we have to get the best out of it and we’re focusing on that.

“To bring up tomorrow again, a good team, make the next step, integrate Rasmus Hojlund, (Sergio) Reguilon), two new players and we are here to get a result.”

Sofyan Amrabat, Kobbie Mainoo and Amad Diallo are others out of the Group A opener through injury, while Donny van de Beek is unavailable having been left out of United’s Champions League squad.

Beyond that, Jadon Sancho remains absent “pending resolution of a squad discipline issue” and Antony has been given a leave of absence following assault allegations against him.

“One thing is true, I think from the start last season I think I almost never started with the best starting XI – there was always something like injury,” Ten Hag said.

“But you have to deal with it and I think we always got the results in apart from the period where we are in now.

“That is football and I have the experience in the past, I managed it in the past. It’s not always going up and you have to deal with it.

“I like these situations because now we have to handle it and we have to manage this. You have to know what to do and that is focusing on the process.”

Ten Hag’s belief about their path is why he is not getting thrown off kilter by the negativity heading into United’s first Champions League match in 18 months.

“No, we don’t feel that we need a reset,” the former Bayern Munich reserve boss said. “Absolutely not. “We are in a process and what you see is that in parts of games we play very good but then also in parts of games we played below our levels.

“What we have to demand is be consistent, so we have to step up in certain levels all the time for 90-plus minutes. That is the demand on us.”

Wednesday certainly looks a tough ask for United, who will face England captain Harry Kane after he joined Bayern following a summer of speculation.

United were strongly linked with the 30-year-old but plumped for promise rather than a proven goalscorer by signing Hojlund, 10 years his junior, from Atalanta.

“I think we discussed (Kane and Hojlund during pre-season), so I don’t think we have to repeat this debate,” Ten Hag said.

“We are happy with Rasmus. Obviously first games he was injured, he played now Arsenal, he’s now started.

“Now of course we have to integrate him in a team but you can see he’s a big talent and he will contribute to our game. We are quite confident of that.”

Asked if he had regrets about not signing Kane, Ten Hag simply responded: “No.”

Rachel Daly feels the calendar in the women’s game needs to be looked at, describing the amount of games as “excessive”.

England boss Sarina Wiegman last week said the matter was something she was “very worried” about as she named her squad for matches against Scotland at home on Friday and the Netherlands away four days later in the inaugural Women’s Nations League.

The Lionesses’ World Cup campaign concluded with the final on August 20, and there have been Champions League qualifying fixtures since then.

Daly told a press conference: “I do think the calendar is something that does need to be addressed moving forward.

“You’ve seen a significant amount of injuries in the past year or so, which you can only think may be a part of the calendar and the excessive amount of games we have during the season, especially the girls playing in the Champions League as well.

“I do think it needs to be looked at and addressed in the future. But as of right now, we’re not in a position to minimise game time we’ve got, so we just have to tackle it head on right now and put ourselves in the best position physically and mentally to play.

“We’ve got to get straight back into it, with our clubs, internationally, and we’re all just ready to go again and focus on the upcoming Nations League.”

On the process of trying to get back to normality after what was the Lionesses’ first World Cup final, and saw Wiegman’s European champions beaten 1-0 by Spain, Daly said: “Probably the fact it wasn’t in our home country deterred a little bit of the emotion.

“I’ve bumped into people in the street who say how proud they are, it’s a nice feeling. Everyone knows we’re disappointed with how it turned out but we made the nation proud once again and that’s what we want to do.

“Everyone deals with it a little bit different. But here we are back at it again!”

England open their Group A1 matches in the new competition – via which they can secure Paris 2024 Olympics qualification for Great Britain – with a trip to Sunderland’s Stadium of Light to play a Scotland outfit whose dispute with their national association was resolved last week.

The team, captained by Daly’s Aston Villa team-mate Rachel Corsie, withdrew legal action against the Scottish Football Association over equal pay and treatment claims having secured what the centre-back described as “parity”.

Asked about that – as well as the saga involving the Spain team since their World Cup triumph – Daly said: “I think trust and open, honest conversations with federations is something that is massive in terms of growing the women’s game.

“For us as players and people we are always trying to strive for better and what’s right, not just for the players involved right now, but for the next generation and future for years to come.

“To have that platform is something I think probably gets overlooked, but it’s a place that you need to get to in order to petition for more, and what’s right and what we deserve.”

England’s players themselves are involved in an ongoing bonus payments dispute with the Football Association, and Daly said: “We parked that for the World Cup.

“I think people concerned of distractions – there were absolutely no distractions for us at the World Cup, and those conversations were parked.

“We have a great team in place to take those discussions further and I think we’re in a really positive place to achieve an outcome.

“We all want the same thing, the federation and the players want to come to the same agreement. The leadership group and the players that put themselves in front of those meetings are fantastic and do a great job, so I think we’re in a great place.”