Gareth Southgate is not worried about the prospect of Harry Kane struggling with pressure as he closes on Wayne Rooney's England goals record.

Kane scored the winner as the Three Lions beat Switzerland 2-1 in Saturday's friendly at Wembley, converting a penalty 12 minutes from time.

It took him level with Bobby Charlton on 49 goals for England, meaning only Rooney on 53 is now ahead of the Tottenham star.

Rooney, who coincidentally broke Charlton's initial record with a penalty against Switzerland in 2015, was considered by many to have passed his peak when he reached 50 goals, as he only went on to score another three.

There was also a degree of obsession around the achievement in the lead up, with the idea that Rooney struggled somewhat with the pressure a common theory.

Whether that truly was the case, only Rooney knows, but Southgate is convinced Kane will not be impacted in such a way.

Asked if he wanted Kane to break the record before the World Cup so it does not become a distraction, Southgate jovially replied: "I'd like him to break it in the World Cup final!

"I think he's quite calm about it, confident he can get there because his goals per game record is phenomenally good.

"I don't know where that would compare to Jimmy Greaves, but I imagine he's the only other player who'd be close [to Greaves], so I think he knows there's always going to be speculation.

"If he doesn't break it before [the World Cup] then [the country] will be saying he's out of form and should he be in the team.

"One way or another, the focus will be on him – he's used to dealing with it and I'm sure he'll be very calm about it whichever way."

But in the eyes of Southgate, there is much more to Kane than just his goals, with the England manager delighted to have such a talent who also acts as an example with his attitude.

"I think the names he's amongst now are incredible, aren't they? He'll appreciate that history and it'll mean a lot to him to be in with those people," Southgate said of Kane pulling level with Charlton.

"You'd have to say he looks favourite to go and do that [break Rooney's record], I don't want to put any sort of curse on that and say any more, but he wants the team to do well.

"He has this dual drive. What's great is that means that whenever he turns up, because he also has the individual ambition, there's never a camp where he doesn't look like he wants to play, or doesn't want to be involved or at the forefront of things.

"That's the mentality that then spreads through the rest of the group, so I'm very pleased for him and I think in the second half especially we were just about value for the win."

England are in action again on Tuesday when they host Ivory Coast. Three days later they will find out their opponents at Qatar 2022 when the World Cup draw is made.

Mick Schumacher will not contest the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix following his terrifying crash during qualifying on Saturday. 

Haas driver Schumacher hit the concrete barrier at Turn 12 at 170mph during Q2, resulting in a red flag that halted the session for almost an hour. 

The 23-year-old was removed from the car and deemed to have no injuries following an assessment at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit's medical centre, though he was transferred to King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital for precautionary checks. 

Haas later confirmed Schumacher would not take part in the race on Sunday and the team would only run Kevin Magnussen's car. 

"Hi everyone, I just wanted to say that I'm ok," Schumacher posted on Twitter.

"Thank you for the kind messages. The car felt great ... we'll come back stronger."

Team principal Gunther Steiner said: "The best thing is that Mick has apparently no injuries. He's in the hospital right now and being evaluated by the doctors, so he is in good hands at the moment. 

"There is a possibility that he'll have to stay for observation overnight at the hospital. Based on these facts and where we are, we have decided not to field his car tomorrow." 

Magnussen will start in 10th after reaching Q3 for the second successive race. 

Germany made it eight wins on the spin as goals from Kai Havertz and Timo Werner sealed a 2-0 friendly win over Israel at the PreZero Arena on Saturday. 

Die Mannschaft rounded off their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 4-1 victory over Armenia in November, and they picked up where they left off against Gadi Brumer's side in Sinsheim. 

Havertz gave them a 36th-minute lead with a smart near-post header, before Timo Werner's 22nd international goal on the stroke of half-time ensured they had a healthy advantage at the interval. 

Hansi Flick's side were content to play out the second period at a more pedestrian pace, although there was late drama as Thomas Muller and Yonatan Cohen exchanged penalty misses. 

Despite Germany's dominant start, they did not carve out a shot on target until the 29th minute when Ofir Marciano got down well to repel Havertz's effort, with Julian Draxler prodding the rebound into the side netting.

Ilkay Gundogan curled straight at Marciano from a promising position soon after, before the Israel goalkeeper raced off his line to deny a clean-through Havertz.

The Chelsea forward was not to be denied from David Raum's resulting corner, however, heading home his eighth international goal from inside the six-yard box.

The hosts doubled their advantage in first-half stoppage time through an unmarked Werner steering in Gundogan's indirect free-kick at the near post.

Only a superb Marciano save denied Thilo Kehrer a third on the hour mark as Germany continued to dominate after the break.

Muller fluffed his lines from 12 yards in the 89th minute after Lukas Nmecha had been brought down inside the area, while Cohen saw his spot-kick saved by Kevin Trapp after he had been tripped by Nico Schlotterbeck.

What does it mean? Flick's men shaping up nicely for Qatar

Germany were utterly dominant throughout, yet Flick will not get carried away given Israel are a whopping 66 places beneath them in FIFA's world rankings.

Still, this was further proof that Die Mannschaft are in rude health and will be a force to be reckoned with at the World Cup in Qatar later this year.

Havertz shines for hosts

He was less threatening after the interval, yet Havertz was comfortably Germany's brightest spark. The 22-year-old had a game-high five shots, while no player on the pitch made more key passes (four).

Dabbur an isolated figure

Hoffenheim striker Munas Dabbur scarcely had a look in at the stadium where he plays his club football, with the isolated frontman substituted in the 74th minute having had just a single shot.

What's next?

Both sides are in friendly action again on Tuesday, with Germany travelling to Netherlands and Israel hosting Romania.

Christian Eriksen scored two minutes into his international comeback as Denmark fell to a 4-2 loss against the Netherlands in Saturday's friendly at Johan Cruijff ArenA.

The midfielder was back in Denmark's squad for the first time since suffering a cardiac arrest at Euro 2020 and made an instant impact after being brought on at half-time.

Eriksen's well-taken goal, coming at the ground where he made a name for himself with Ajax, got Denmark back into the game after the hosts opened up a 3-1 lead at the break.

Steven Bergwijn and Nathan Ake netted either side of Jannik Vestergaard's leveller before Memphis Depay converted a penalty, with Bergwijn rounding things off after Eriksen's strike.

 

The Netherlands had already tested Kasper Schmeichel three times before Bergwijn met Daley Blind's left-sided cross and headed in a 16th-minute opener.

Denmark's response was a swift one, with Joakim Maehle sending in a cross for Vestergaard to glance in a leveller four minutes later after Jesper Lindstrom's free-kick was blocked.

Ake restored the Netherlands' lead shortly before the half-hour mark with another headed goal, finishing from close range once picked out by a fine Steven Berghuis delivery.

Louis van Gaal's men had some breathing space before the interval thanks to a Depay penalty, which was awarded for Vestergaard's challenge on Berghuis.

Denmark lost Yussuf Poulsen and Thomas Delaney to injury but were given a lifeline when Eriksen converted fellow substitute Andreas Skov Olsen's pass with a first-time finish.

Bergwijn's curled effort with 20 minutes to go ended Denmark's hopes of claiming a draw, though there was still time for Eriksen to send a long-range shot off the post.

Harry Kane appreciated being alongside "amazing company" after joining Bobby Charlton on 49 goals for England with his penalty in a 2-1 win over Switzerland. 

England fell behind to Breel Embolo's opener at Wembley on Saturday but Luke Shaw equalised on the stroke of half-time and Kane converted a winner from the spot after Steven Zuber was adjudged to have handled the ball following a VAR review. 

The Tottenham striker now sits joint-second on the all-time goalscoring list for the Three Lions, with only Wayne Rooney (53) ahead of him. 

Kane's penalty was his 14th in international football – five more than any other England player – and the 100th the country have scored in all competitions.

"It is amazing company to be with," Kane told Sky Sports of moving level with Charlton. 

"[I'm] super proud to be doing that but we look forward to the next one. A big year ahead to get more caps and more goals. I will be ready for Tuesday [against Ivory Coast] but it is down to the manager." 

He added: "You have to be ready for any chance at any moment. Penalties are a great way of getting on the scoresheet, I practice and work on them a lot." 

Gareth Southgate handed debuts to Marc Guehi, Kyle Walker-Peters and Tyrick Mitchell and Kane was pleased to get the win with a number of less experienced players in the squad. 

"Tough game. A big year ahead and a chance for us to try different systems and formations to see how we get on. I felt it was a good performance but room for improvement but a good win to start the year," he said. 

"We rotated the squad, new faces getting debuts and these are the games you have to try stuff. There is not a lot of time between now and the World Cup. 

"The new boys did great, really well. Marc Guehi got the penalty and good to see the young players coming on. You want to start your England career with a win and thankfully we did that." 

Dani Olmo hit a late stunner to spare Spain's blushes and secure a 2-1 win over Albania in a friendly that began in drab fashion but ended in high drama.

Ferran Torres tucked away a pass from substitute Yeremi Pino in the 75th minute to make the breakthrough at Espanyol's RCDE Stadium.

Spain were then stunned when Pau Torres headed a hopeful long ball against Albania's Myrto Uzuni and the ball trickled past debutant goalkeeper David Raya for a freak equaliser.

Yet there was still time for a classy goal from Olmo in the 90th minute, as Spain earned a victory in their first match in Catalonia for 18 years.

Sergio Perez brought an end to his long wait for a first Formula One pole position at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, cutting short Ferrari's early-season dominance.

The Scuderia had looked set to continue their outstanding form, potentially locking out the front row in a hectic qualifying session that was delayed for an extended period following a terrifying crash for Mick Schumacher, son of former Ferrari superstar Michael.

Schumacher hit the concrete barrier at Turn 12 at 170mph, although he showed no signs of injury when he was eventually pulled from his Haas, heading to hospital for precautionary scans.

That incident came in the middle of Q2, with Lewis Hamilton having sensationally bowed out in Q1, leaving Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz to battle with Red Bull duo Perez and Max Verstappen.

Defending champion Verstappen struggled to stay in touch, and it had appeared as though Sainz might be the man celebrating a first pole when he set the benchmark in Q3.

But he was passed by team-mate Leclerc and then Perez in his 220th grand prix, marking the longest wait for a driver before qualifying fastest, with ex-Red Bull man Marc Webber (131) the previous record-holder.

With Sunday marking 11 years to the day since Perez's first entry, he said: "It took me a couple of races, no?

"What a lap, unbelievable. I could do 1,000 laps and I don't think I could beat that one. It was unbelievable.

"We were not expecting too much from qualifying, we were focusing mainly for the race, so hopefully we get [the win] tomorrow."

Earlier, there had also been a red flag in Q1 following a crash involving Nicholas Latifi, after which Hamilton could not recover from a slow start.

His third time was his fastest but enough only for P15, where he soon fell below Lance Stroll to bow out in Q1 for the first time since the 2017 Brazilian GP and the first time on pure pace since the 2009 British GP.

Mercedes struggled to explain the result, as George Russell ran fourth fastest in that initial session, and Hamilton would not use the distraction a day earlier – when practice was halted due to a missile attack near the track – as an excuse.

"I just struggled with the balance of the car," Hamilton told Sky Sports. "It's not where we want to be."

PROVISIONAL CLASSIFICATION

1. Sergio Perez (Red Bull) 1:28.200
2. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) +0.025s
3. Carlos Sainz (Ferrari) +0.202s
4. Max Verstappen (Red Bull) +0.261s
5. Esteban Ocon (Alpine) +0.868s
6. George Russell (Mercedes) +0.904s
7. Fernando Alonso (Alpine) +0.947s
8. Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) +0.983s
9. Pierre Gasly (AlphaTauri) +1.054s
10. Kevin Magnussen (Haas) +1.388s

England began their World Cup year with a 2-1 friendly victory over Switzerland at Wembley on Saturday thanks to Harry Kane's late winner.

The Three Lions were by no means spectacular, but Gareth Southgate will in all likelihood be content as they got the job done despite fielding a somewhat unfamiliar starting XI.

Nevertheless, Southgate may have expected more from a first half that Switzerland had by far the better of, with Breel Embolo's headed opener one of nine shots to England's two.

But a fierce Luke Shaw hit right before the break had the hosts level at the interval.

The hosts enjoyed greater control in the second half and eventually dealt the decisive blow via Kane's penalty, his 49th international strike, leaving him behind only Wayne Rooney (53) for the most England goals.

Victory looked unlikely for a while, however. The Three Lions found themselves trailing after 22 minutes as Embolo nodded in from Xherdan Shaqiri's right-wing cross.

It would have been 2-0 a few moments later were it not for Jordan Pickford, whose sharp reflexes ensured Fabian Frei's goal-bound effort was pushed onto the crossbar.

Ricardo Rodriguez's long-range strike forced Pickford into action again late in the half, before Embolo scuffed the rebound wide.

England capitalised on those let-offs on the stroke of half-time when Shaw ran on to Conor Gallagher's cut-back and smashed home from 20 yards.

Shortly after the restart, Kane's attempted lob from a tight angle came back off goalkeeper Jonas Omlin's face and debutant Marc Guehi's glancing header at the resulting corner flew agonisingly wide.

England's belief grew as the half progressed and Kane made no mistake from the spot late on after Steven Zuber handled Guehi's header inside the box.

Alan Browne's late header salvaged a 2-2 friendly draw for the Republic of Ireland against an understrength Belgium at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday. 

Belgium boss Roberto Martinez opted not to pick any players with more than 50 caps during this international break, meaning Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens, Yannick Carrasco and Thibaut Courtois were all left out.  

Michy Batshuayi took advantage of the opportunity he was given with a great early goal, but Chiedozie Ogbene teed himself up for an overhead kick to equalise before half-time.  

Hans Vanaken restored Belgium's advantage but substitute Browne powered in an 85th-minute header to secure a draw for Ireland in their centenary game. 

Batshuayi fired Belgium into a 12th-minute lead when he cut inside of Seamus Coleman and curled a fine finish into the bottom-right corner from the left of the box.  

The visitors struggled to create further chances despite controlling possession and their advantage vanished after Callum Robinson's cross was not dealt with and Ogbene converted an acrobatic finish.  

Ireland would have moved in front two minutes after the restart were it not for a goal-line block from Jason Denayer to stop Robinson flicking James McClean's strike home.  

Shane Duffy did well to deflect a shot from Batshuayi wide but the resulting corner was nodded in by Vanaken with the help of a deflection off Coleman. 

Belgium were unable to see out just a second win in five matches, though, as Browne's powerful header gave the Ireland fans late reason to cheer.
 

What does it mean? Experienced hands show their worth  

While Martinez selected a number of younger players in his squad, it was two of the more experienced picks that took their chance to impress.  

Batshuayi netted his 23rd international goal while Vanaken, who will be 30 by the time the World Cup comes around, showed he can provide valuable depth by setting up the opener before scoring himself.  

Ogbene on form

Although some of the shine of his overhead kick was taken off by a deflection off Denayer, Ogbene's incredible ingenuity was undeniable. He also supplied a brilliant delivery for Browne's equaliser.

Coleman caught short  

Ireland captain Coleman was disappointing in the centre of defence. He let Batshuayi by too easily on the opener and sent Vanaken's header into the back of the net.  

What's next?  

Belgium entertain Burkina Faso in another friendly on Tuesday, while Ireland are in action against Lithuania. 

Brooks Koepka edged a battle of two heavyweights at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, needing a 19th hole to beat world number one Jon Rahm.

The two were paired in the pick of a round of 16 that delivered its fair share of thrills and spills early on Saturday.

Koepka was 2 up twice on the back nine, only to be reeled in by Rahm at the 16th and 17th, meaning an additional hole was required.

A birdie from Koepka was enough as they replayed the 10th, setting up another intriguing quarter-final clash with Dustin Johnson.

For a time, it appeared Johnson would be joining Rahm in making an early exit, as 49-year-old opponent Richard Bland was 2 up through five holes.

However, Bland double-bogeyed the sixth as he lost four of the next five holes, allowing Johnson to canter home 3 and 2.

The other standout match-up saw a replay of last year's final. Billy Horschel won the 2021 title, but he was beaten this time by Scottie Scheffler, who finished 1 up.

Scheffler's next task is against Seamus Power, who this time last year was finishing in a tie for 54th at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship, leaving him ranked 463rd in the world.

On Saturday, Power routed Tyrrell Hatton 4 and 3 – albeit not the biggest win, as Abraham Ancer dominated Collin Morikawa 7 and 6 and will face Corey Conners, a 5 and 3 winner.

In the final section of the draw, Will Zalatoris required 22 holes to get the better of Kevin Na, with Kevin Kisner up next.

England will play the second half of Saturday's international friendly against Switzerland without names on their shirts to raise awareness of dementia.

The Three Lions played the first half at Wembley with names on their jerseys as usual, but they shall disappear from the shirts after the interval in a symbolic gesture that is hoped will highlight how people with dementia lose "vital memories".

England signed a two-year partnership with the Alzheimer's Society charity last August to help raise funds and increase awareness of the issues faced by those affected by the condition.

"As the squad walk out in these thought-provoking shirts, we hope it will get fans up and down the country to sit up and take note of the reality of living with dementia," Alzheimer's Society CEO Kate Lee stated.

"Football should be unforgettable – I hope it makes a massive impact that ripples from the Royal Box to the stands and into homes across the nation, inspiring people to support our work to raise awareness and reduce stigma and help us make sure no-one faces dementia alone."

The shirts worn in the second half will subsequently be auctioned to raise funds for the Alzheimer's Society's work.

Joe Root should be asked again if he truly wants to stay on as England captain, according to former skipper Michael Vaughan.

As England toiled in the early stages of day three of the third Test against West Indies, Vaughan said England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chiefs should sit down with Root after the series in the Caribbean.

The ECB is advertising for an England men's team managing director, but Vaughan says a priority should be the captaincy.

England's bowlers struggled to make inroads in the latter stages of West Indies' innings on Saturday, allowing Joshua Da Silva to reach a maiden Test century and the hosts to open a 93-run first-innings lead.

Vaughan questioned the vitality of the England players, a number of whom are still carrying scars from the team's 4-0 Ashes drubbing.

Interim managing director Andrew Strauss said after England's Ashes calamity that Root was "absolutely clear" he wanted to keep the captaincy. However, Vaughan thinks the time has come to ask again.

"I think the biggest meeting first and foremost is to sit with Joe Root, and really look him in the eyes and say, 'Have you got the energy?'," Vaughan said on BT Sport.

"There comes that moment as England captain that the energy is not with you. You're still going out there, you're still trying your best, but you've not got the energy. If he has got the energy, then I would stick with him. But if he's lost that energy and the real drive and that desire… As a captain, you have to wake up every morning and it's got to be your love, captaining the England side.

"If you've lost that ounce of any kind of loving it, you've got to give it up. If he's lost that desire and love to captain England, just be the batter, because he'll score as many runs, and he'll still be a great leader in the side.

"I can see an England captain that looks a little bit drained."

Vaughan said of England's morning performance, as West Indies advanced from 232-8 to 297 all out: "It looked an England side, and England captain, that looked very, very tired."

He praised the home team's efforts in frustrating the tourists, but added: "I'm pretty sure there'll be a lot of England fans out there watching the telly, throwing things at the screen and thinking, 'I could do a lot better than that'.

"It was just a little bit of a lack of imagination. It concerned me a bit about the skipper this morning, I didn't think he tried enough, didn't try himself early enough."

Part-time spinner Root eventually brought himself on to bowl and took the final wicket, having Jayden Seales caught and bowled.

"As a captain in those kinds of situations, you've got to be so energised, you've got to be on your bowlers, you've got to be on your team, you've got to be creating ideas, creating angles," said Vaughan. "I didn't see enough of that this morning."

Root's difficult day got worse after lunch when he was caught at slip for five off Kyle Mayers to leave England 27-2 in their second innings.

Kolkata Knight Riders eased to a six-wicket win in Saturday's 2022 IPL opener, with MS Dhoni unable to rescue a result for defending champions Chennai Super Kings in his first match since stepping aside as captain.

Dhoni skippered CSK to their fourth title in 2021, beating KKR in the tournament decider, before his shock decision to allow Ravindra Jadeja to lead the side this year – one of two notable changes that left the Super Kings looking a little short.

CSK first missed the steadying presence of the departed Faf du Plessis – Player of the Match in last year's final – at the top of the order and were in need of a lift from Jadeja when he arrived in the middle in the eighth over.

Instead, he had Ambati Rayudu run out and almost consigned Shivam Dube to the same fate before finally settling alongside Dhoni.

The 40-year-old still did much of the heavy lifting in their 70-run, 56-ball partnership, scoring 35 off his final 13 deliveries to reach an unbeaten 50 and allow Jadeja's (26 not out) innings-ending six to take the Super Kings to what they hoped would prove a competitive 131-5.

Ultimately, that was not enough, as 44 from KKR opener Ajinkya Rahane ensured the chase was always ahead of the game.

Three Dwayne Bravo wickets saw him draw level with Lasith Malinga's IPL record of 170, but Shreyas Iyer, KKR's own new captain, finished the job with his unbeaten 20.
 

Teething problems for first-time skipper

There were no safer pair of hands in the IPL last year than Jadeja's, as he made 13 catches – the most of any player excluding wicket-keepers. But this was a nervy bow as captain in his 201st IPL match, only looking remotely comfortable with the bat once Dhoni – walking in to huge applause – took control.

Similarly, Jadeja appeared far happier playing his natural game than making big calls in the second innings, taking a simple catch from Rahane but soon blowing a review on an lbw appeal that saw Sam Billings clearly glove the ball.

KKR's long wait for Wankhede win ended

KKR ultimately fell just short in the final, but they were happy to see the 2021 tournament shifted to the United Arab Emirates due to coronavirus. The Knight Riders had won only one of their previous six IPL matches in India.

They may well have feared this match at Wankhede Stadium then, a venue at which they had suffered eight successive defeats. However, a first KKR win here since May 2012 was secured with relative ease.

Seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton was surprisingly eliminated in Q1 during qualifying for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on Saturday. 

It was the first time Hamilton was knocked out of the first session in a dry qualifying since Brazil in 2017, though on that occasion he crashed. The last time he exited in Q1 on pace alone was at the 2009 British Grand Prix. 

The session was red flagged after Nicolas Latifi crashed but the Briton was twice too slow to break the top 15 and took on fuel for an additional lap. 

Although Hamilton managed to improve upon his time, it was only enough for P15, with Lance Stroll subsequently knocking him down into the bottom five. 

Hamilton's Mercedes team-mate George Russell advanced to Q2 in fourth. 

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