William Nylander scored 3:09 into overtime to give the surging Toronto Maple Leafs a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild in Sunday's final game of the NHL's Global Series in Stockholm, Sweden.
Nylander and Auston Matthews each had a goal and an assist to help Toronto extend its winning streak to four games. Morgan Rielly had a goal and two assists for the Maple Leafs, who got 33 saves from Joseph Woll in a game in which they were outshot by a 36-25 margin.
Toronto finished 2-0-0 on the European trip after earning a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in Stockholm on Friday. The slumping Wild are now 0-3-2 over their last five games, including a shootout defeat to the Ottawa Senators in Sweden on Saturday.
Minnesota did manage a point after third-period goals from Jake Middleton and Mats Zuccarello tied the game at 3-3. Zuccarello also assisted on Jon Merrill's goal that gave the Wild a 1-0 lead 2:37 into the contest.
Matthews' power-play tally and a goal from Matthew Knies put Toronto up 2-1 after one period, and Rielly scored 4:22 into the third to extend the advantage.
Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 21 saves for the Wild.
Poehling's three points help Flyers win fifth straight
The Philadelphia Flyers are on a strong run of their own after Sunday's 5-2 victory over the reeling Columbus Blue Jackets extended their winning streak to five games.
Ryan Poehling had a goal and two assists to lead improving Philadelphia, which moved to 10-7-1 on the season. The Flyers have missed the playoffs in each of the previous three seasons.
Joel Farabee and Cam York added a goal and an assist to help back 20 saves from Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson.
Columbus has now lost nine consecutive games (0-7-2), including four straight in regulation.
Farabee opened the scoring 5:11 in, though Columbus' Alexandre Texier tied the contest later in the first period before Bobby Brink's power-play goal just 1:11 into the second put the Flyers back in front.
Poehling scored short-handed later in the second period to give Philadelphia a 3-1 lead, though the Blue Jackets got back to within one when Boone Jenner re-directed a shot past Ericsson with 2:03 left in the stanza.
The Flyers took a 4-2 advantage on Travis Konecny's goal with 7:20 remaining before York scored into an empty net with under 2 1/2 minutes left.
Spencer Martin stopped 21 of 25 shots for the Blue Jackets.
Nedeljkovic stars as Penguins shut out Golden Knights
Alex Nedeljkovic made 38 saves in an outstanding return from a lower-body injury as the Pittsburgh Penguins shut out the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights by a 3-0 score.
Nedeljkovic registered his eighth career shutout in his first start since Oct. 24. Ryan Graves, Noel Acciari and Evgeni Malkin had goals to help the Penguins stop a two-game losing streak, with Jake Guentzel assisting on Malkin's score to extend his point streak to eight games.
Graves and Acciari, each of whom signed with Pittsburgh in the offseason, recorded their first goals with their new team. Graves' came just 2:13 into the contest, while Acciari scored off a Vegas turnover 11:39 into the second.
Malkin delivered his ninth goal of the season with an empty-net tally with 1:18 left.
Adin Hill stopped 30 of 32 shots for Vegas, which fell to 1-2-1 on its current five-game road trip.
Steve Clarke savoured the chance to celebrate Scotland’s Euro 2024 qualification with the Hampden crowd after his side rounded off their campaign with a “strange” 3-3 draw against Norway.
Scotland had qualified with two games to spare and finished second behind Spain in Group A after a second consecutive draw ensured they have only lost once in the section.
The players, including injured captain Andy Robertson, did a lap of honour afterwards to mark their achievement.
Clarke said: “It was nice – and nice for the supporters – to say thank you to the team, a nice night for the team and staff to thank the supporters.
“It’s always nice to qualify for a major tournament. Obviously the last one was Covid-restricted so we missed that connection and that feel with the fans.
“It’s great for everyone in the country that we have something to look forward to next summer.”
Clarke’s side twice came from behind in the first half through John McGinn’s penalty and an own goal before Stuart Armstrong netted a well-worked goal to out them in front just before the hour mark.
However, former Celtic winger Mohamed Elyounoussi came off the bench to head home in the 86th minute as Norway scored their third goal from a cross originating from right-back Julian Ryerson.
“It was a strange game,” Clarke said. “I need to go away and analyse it.
“What we have worked really hard at is being competitive, being a competitive team every time we go on to the pitch.
“That’s why I was a little bit disappointed with the first half, I didn’t think we were competitive enough. Much more competitive second half.
“We are Scotland, we have a certain way of playing, we like to play on the front foot.”
A two-goal win would have put Scotland in pot two for the December 2 draw, although they are arguably better off in pot three given they will now avoid the likes of the Netherlands, Italy and Croatia.
“I’m not bothered,” Clarke said. “I don’t know even know who else is in pot three and pot two. I’m sure I will find out when I get to Hamburg.”
Norway head coach Stale Solbakken felt his side should have been ahead at half-time but feels Scotland will pose problems in Germany.
“Overall we were the better team and should have won but it’s not easy, Scotland are always very well organised,” he added.
“They have a great coach and have very disciplined players who know their strengths and limitations. That’s very important – they play to their strengths and don’t pretend to be something else.
“They also have tournament experience so I think they can be a handful for everyone next summer. They also play two systems which is valuable.
“There will be no easy games for those teams who meet Scotland.”
Rico Lewis is hoping his versatility will work in his favour as he aims to make a late charge to Euro 2024.
Gareth Southgate will name a 23-man squad for next summer’s finals in Germany, having been able to pick 26 players for both Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.
That means competition for places will be more fierce than in recent years, with Southgate admitting those who are more adaptable could have the edge.
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The likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier and Phil Foden can occupy several different positions on the pitch.
So too, can Lewis – the 18-year-old having already played in both full-back roles and in midfield for treble-winners Manchester City.
He has yet to make his senior England debut but was called up for the first time last week and will be targeting minutes in the final Euro 2024 qualifier away to North Macedonia on Monday.
“Obviously, in terms of a tournament, you can only select the amount you can select,” he said.
“It (versatility) can be a key factor in going or not going. But for me, I am not really focusing on that right now but I understand it is a key thing that could contribute to me being picked or not.
“Obviously he (Southgate) has asked me about where I want to play, my favourite position, stuff like that.”
With Southgate’s defensive options already limited in the current camp, Lewis’ chances of playing in Skopje have been further boosted with Trippier not travelling due to personal reasons.
Asked if he would be happy to fill in at left-back, where Southgate is particularly bereft of options, Lewis replied: “Of course. Anywhere I played, I would relish it. Whether it is right-back, midfield, left-back – I am not really bothered.
“I just love playing football and at the moment it is going really well. Any opportunity I get, I will do my best to take it.
“Obviously, it is not something I expected, especially coming into the international week when I was in the under-21s. Obviously a lot of things happened and fortunately for me I am here now.
“I have enjoyed every minute of it so far: meeting everybody, meeting the players, the staff, the training sessions, everything.”
Southgate himself hailed Lewis as someone who could fill the void given the number of left-backs who have been forced onto the sidelines.
“He is an option. He’s a versatile player,” said the manager.
“I’m really pleased with how he’s trained, he’s settled really well. He’s very comfortable with the ball. He’s played there a few times. He’s played everywhere for City.”
Lewis admits Alexander-Arnold is someone he will look to learn from, with the Liverpool man playing a very similar hybrid role.
“In a sense we are very similar – being full-backs and leaning a little bit more towards midfield, especially with England. and he is somebody I can take a lot of information from,” he added.
“I have had a few conversations with him and he is a very nice person. He is somebody I have got to know a little bit.”
Gareth Southgate says there can be no let-up for already-qualified England if they are to win next summer’s Euros and become the top-ranked team in the world.
The Euro 2020 runners-up last month sealed their place at the 2024 edition in Germany with two matches to spare and were below par in Friday’s qualifier against Malta.
England disappointed in the 2-0 victory at a packed Wembley and will look to end 2023 on a high as they round off Euro 2024 qualification in North Macedonia.
Southgate’s side arrived in Skopje all but assured of being among the top seeds in December’s draw in Hamburg, but every moment counts as they seek to be best on the planet.
“Qualification’s done,” the England boss said ahead of the Group C finale.
“With the games at the weekend, we might be ranked third in the world at the minute, but we’re two places off where we need to be so we can’t waste games.
“Some of the players have got three games to get into a squad, some have got maybe three to get into a team, maybe a couple more if we’re talking about the team.
“There’s some things we’d like to see. But if we’re going to be a top team, then the level of performance has got to be spot on every time.”
Asked if being number one drives him on, Southgate said: “Yeah, because ultimately you achieve that through consistency and you’ve got to play well in the tournaments as well because the ranking points are higher in the tournaments.
“Also, it sets behaviours every day on the training pitch, off the training pitch.
“If you are going to be the top-ranked team, there’s no room for sloppiness or casualness. That’s got to be our drive.”
England currently sit fourth in FIFA’s world rankings, making it five straight years of being in the top five.
Their previous best since its launch was six months in the top five across 1997 and 1998, yet there remains plenty of criticism for Southgate and speculation about his future.
Monday will be England’s final qualifier before the manager’s contract expires next year and he smiled when it was mentioned that former Football Association executive David Dein had said he should get a new deal.
Asked if he anticipated this being his final qualifier in the hotseat, Southgate said: “I haven’t thought about it, really.
“I’ve thought about the game tomorrow and the need for a better performance than Friday so that’s what I’ve been focusing on.
“I feel almost as if we’ve almost talked too much about the Euros already and I didn’t see our focus in the right place at the weekend.
“So, it’s tomorrow, then it’s March, then it’s the summer. And we go from there.”
Southgate downplayed suggestions of his future being a distraction but suggested his comments about their Euros ambitions may have been.
“Well, I think talk of the summer was a distraction on Friday in its own way,” he added.
“Look, in football management, frankly I think you should look no further than three or four games ahead anyway.
“But I think when you’ve got a tournament coming up, inevitably, as an international manager, you’re going to be judged on tournaments so everybody before that is pretty futile, really.”
England’s final camp of the year has been disrupted by absentees.
Five players withdrew from the original squad through injury and two more departed the squad before they flew out to the Balkans.
The FA announced Kieran Trippier had gone home due to a personal issue, while injury meant Jarrod Bowen left the camp on Sunday.
A soldout Tose Proeski Arena awaits England’s absentee-hit 21-man squad as the Macedonians look to make up for June’s 7-0 hiding at Old Trafford.
“We play a team who, although they can’t qualify, have tremendous pride and they’ll be wounded by what happened in Manchester,” Southgate added.
“We have to be ready for a really good atmosphere. Full crowd, full stadium.
“We’ve had a calendar year where we’ve been very good, so we want to finish well.”
Romelu Lukaku scored four times in 20 first-half minutes as Belgium thrashed 10-man Azerbaijan 5-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying.
Lukaku headed the opener from Jeremy Doku’s cross before Eddy Pascual was shown a second yellow card for a foul on the Roma striker, who is on loan from Chelsea.
The 30-year-old completed his hat-trick by the half-hour mark and grabbed his fourth after 37 minutes before being substituted at half-time. Arsenal forward Leandro Trossard completed the rout late on.
Lukaku’s total of 14 goals is a record for a European Championship qualifying campaign, beating the mark of 13 set by Northern Ireland’s David Healy in 2008 and equalled by Poland’s Robert Lewandowski in 2016.
Belgium had already booked their place at next year’s tournament and the win saw them finish top of Group F ahead of Austria.
Sweden, who could not qualify, beat Estonia 2-0 in the group’s other fixture.
Serbia qualified for Euro 2024 with a 2-2 draw with Bulgaria in Group G, where group winners Hungary beat Montenegro 3-1 thanks to a brace from Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.
Serbia only needed a point or for Montenegro not to beat Hungary to secure their berth in Germany, but that looked a distinct possibility when they trailed 2-1 and Montenegro led 1-0 in Budapest.
However, Serbia’s Srdan Babic equalised in the 82nd minute and Szoboszlai scored twice in the space of two minutes in the second half to turn Hungary’s game around.
Scotland concluded their successful campaign with an action-packed 3-3 draw with Norway at Hampden Park.
Steve Clarke’s men twice came from behind before Stuart Armstrong gave the home side the lead just before the hour mark, but Norway substitute Mohamed Elyounoussi levelled in the 86th minute.
Group A winners Spain beat Georgia 3-1 in Valladolid.
Portugal ended their qualifying campaign with a 10th straight win as goals from Bruno Fernandes and Ricardo Horta gave them a 2-0 victory over Iceland.
Group J runners-up Slovakia enjoyed a 2-1 win over 10-man Bosnia and Herzegovina, who will join Luxembourg in the play-offs.
The Jacksonville Jaguars returned to winning ways in the NFL with a comfortable 34-14 victory against the Tennessee Titans.
The Jags bounced back from a disappointing performance against the San Francisco 49ers last weekend with a dominant display as quarterback Trevor Lawrence scored two rushing touchdowns and linked up with wide receiver Calvin Ridley for another two to move their record to 7-3.
Victory leaves them top of the AFC South with the Houston Texans still close behind in second after beating the Arizona Cardinals 21-16.
Kyler Murray continued his return to NFL action following a long-injury lay-off giving the Cardinals an early lead with a brilliant 48-yard touchdown looping down field to Rondale Moore, but rookie quarterback CJ Stroud found Dalton Schultz to level and managed to overcome three interceptions to seal victory.
A high-scoring encounter in the NFC North saw the Detroit Lions extend their winning run to 7-2 after coming from behind to beat the Chicago Bears 31-26.
On Justin Fields’ return from injury the Bears took a 20-14 lead at the end of the third quarter through two touchdowns and two field goals.
They extended their lead through two more field goals in the fourth, but Jarred Goff threw two touchdowns, converting for two points on the final one to snatch victory.
The Lions come up against divisional rivals the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Day and the Packers improved to 4-6 after beating the LA Chargers 23-20.
The Chargers were handed a big blow when Joey Bosa was carted off the field early in the first quarter and despite being behind for most of the game, they threatened a comeback with Justin Herbert connecting to Keenan Allen.
However, Jordan Love completed to Romeo Doubs for a 24-yard touchdown with Anders Carlson kicking for the extra point.
New York Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito led his side to their first victory in four games as they beat the Washington Commanders 31-19.
Playing his second NFL game since taking over from the injured Daniel Jones, DeVito opened his account with a 24-yard touchdown to Saquon Barkley and scored a further two touchdowns before Isaiah Simmons wrapped up the game with an interception in the final seconds.
The Dallas Cowboys went 7-3 after beating the Carolina Panthers 33-10 in another difficult game for this year’s number one draft pick Bryce Young, who was sacked seven times with Micah Parsons claiming 2.5 of those.
The Cleveland Browns edged to a 13-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North thanks to a late field goal.
A low-scoring affair saw both sides only score one touchdown each and the Steelers tied the game 10-10 through Chris Boswell’s kick, but with seconds left Dustin Hopkins scored through the uprights from 34 yards.
Jalen Ramsey caught a late interception to prevent the Las Vegas Raiders staging a late comeback as the Miami Dolphins earned a 20-13 win.
Tua Tagovailoa threw two touchdowns before two field goals in the third quarter extended the Dolphins’ lead and Ramsey made a great catch in the end zone at the death.
Spain concluded their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a 3-1 win against Georgia.
They had already qualified for next year’s tournament in Germany prior to the game, but a frenetic opening 10 minutes saw their early lead through Robin Le Normand cancelled out by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
The hosts were then forced into an early substitution when Gavi was forced off the field with an injury, but were able to wrap up victory when Ferran Torres headed them in front 10 minutes into the second half before Luka Lochoshvili scored an own goal.
The result means Spain finish top of Group A with seven wins under their belts, while Georgia finish fourth.
The hosts took the lead just four minutes in when Torres curled a free-kick into the box, going as far as Le Normand who nodded the ball home at the back post.
They had another great chance when Dani Carvajal broke down the right to find Gavi in the middle and the Barcelona midfielder forced a great save from Giorgi Mamardashvili, who palmed the ball away from the top corner.
Georgia brought themselves back into the game in the 10th minute when Giorgi Chakvetadze broke through and threaded a fantastic ball to Kvaratskhelia, who held off two defenders to roll the ball past Unai Simon’s outstretched leg and into the net.
Spain continued to lurk around the Georgian box and came close in the 22nd minute as Mamardashvili was forced to make a superb save at his left post from Fabian Ruiz’s in-swinging free-kick.
However, they were handed a major blow moments later though as Gavi limped off the pitch with injury and were quickly forced to clear the danger from a Georgian corner.
Another brilliant Spanish chance came in the 32nd minute when Torres’ curling low ball from the right found Alvaro Morata in the six-yard box and the Atletico Madrid forward fired first-time, but Mamardashvili denied him with a fine block.
Spain were on the attack early in the second half when Rodri fired straight at goal and they threatened again as Torres picked out the Manchester City midfielder, but Mamardashvili was able to claw the powerful header away.
They eventually earned their reward in the 55th minute when Jose Luis Gaya chipped the ball to Torres in the middle of the box, with his header bouncing past Mamardashvili into the right corner and he celebrated holding up Gavi’s shirt.
Some great play down the left saw Gaya threaten with another dangerous cross, but Morata’s resulting header was skewed wide and moments later Spain’s lead was extended when Lochoshvili headed Lamine Yamal’s cross into his own net in the 72nd minute.
Georgia were on the attack and Kvaratskhelia had a shot blocked by the Spanish defence and the hosts had another chance when Oihan Sancet volleyed over the crossbar.
The visitors had a late chance to earn a consolation at the death, but Giorgi Kochorashvili’s free-kick flew wide.
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg continued to enjoy a sensational start to his professional career with a first PGA Tour victory in the RSM Classic.
Aberg carded back-to-back rounds of 61 over the weekend at Sea Island to finish 29 under par, four shots clear of Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes.
The 24-year-old only joined the paid ranks in June, but won the final Ryder Cup qualifying event in Switzerland at the start of September and was hailed as a “generational talent” when given a wild card by Europe captain Luke Donald.
Aberg partnered Viktor Hovland to victory in the opening foursomes session in Rome and the same pair also thrashed world number one Scottie Scheffler and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka 9&7 on day two, a record margin for an 18-hole Ryder Cup match.
“I’m super happy. It’s kind of beyond my dreams,” Aberg told NBC after rounding off the win with three birdies in the last four holes.
“It’s really cool. To first off play on the PGA Tour, I have a lot of people to thank for that. It’s been so much fun, six months that I’ll never forget.
“This is what you dream of as a kid. This is the sport that I love and the sport that I’m going to love for a very long time. Watching these events from a very young age is what I’ve done so to see myself win is really cool.
“It validates my skillset and my capabilities. If you told me (I’d achieve) this a couple of months ago I would not have believed you. To be in this position I need to pinch myself in the arm.
“It’s really awesome and I’m so happy for me and my team and all the people that are close to me.”
The victory will take Aberg into the world’s top 50 and secure an invitation to next year’s Masters at Augusta National, his first appearance in a major championship.
Hayley Matthews’ run-a-ball 39 was in vain on Sunday when the Melbourne Renegades fell to yet another defeat in the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia.
Matthews was only one of two Renegades batters in double figures as the bottom-of-the-table franchise lost by eight wickets to Hobart Hurricanes Women at Melbourne. Josephine Dooley was not out on 16 as the Renegades Women slumped to 101-9 from their 20 overs.
Heather Graham was the primary destroyer taking 3-12 from her four overs while Molly Strano (2-14) and Nicola Carey (2-24) shared in the destruction of the Renegades batting order.
Matthews took 1-17 but was only one of two wicket takers as the Hurricanes cruised to victory on the back of an unbeaten 46 from Elyise Villani and Carey who was 25 not out at the end.
Georgia Wareham with 1-20 was the other wicket-taker for Melbourne who were losing the 10th of their 12 matches this season.
Luke Humphries continued his rise to the top of the darting scene by winning the Grand Slam of Darts and proving himself the most in-form player in the world.
Just six weeks after winning a maiden major title at the World Grand Prix, the 28-year-old followed it up with a second after he steamrollered Rob Cross in Wolverhampton, cruising to a 16-8 victory.
‘Cool Hand’ made waves on the European Tour last season but has transitioned that form to the PDC Tour this year and is now a real contender for World Championship glory at the end-of-year pinnacle, which begins next month.
Cross, who was gunning for his biggest title since 2021, will look back and think he did not do a lot wrong other than being unable to match Humphries’ unbelievable standard.
At one point ‘Voltage’ was averaging more than when he beat Phil Taylor to win the World Championship in 2018, and finished with an average of 103.61, but that was bettered by Humphries.
He averaged 104.69, threw eight 180s and operated with a 59 per cent success rate on doubles, which meant he lifted the Eric Bristow Trophy.
Humphries, who earlier beat James Wade in the semi-finals, was happy to prove a few people wrong and says he can get even better.
“It feels just as good, obviously the first one, nothing can ever beat that, the second one does feel good, especially with the way I was playing there,” he said.
“It was a really tough, tough game, it is a long gruelling slog today. We both played really well, it was a contrast from the semi-final to the final, I played much, much, better.
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“I was just happy to make a second final, so to pick up a second is fantastic. The European Tour is where I get all of my success, apparently I can’t do it on the big stage, but I can I promise.
“I feel like a new player, people have been telling me I have got no personality apparently but I don’t care, as long as I keep picking up trophies.
“I am a lucky boy, I have always dreamed of being up on this stage and winning. I am very blessed and lucky to be a two-time major champion, I just can’t believe it.
“I have been on a journey, it has not been easy. I have lost a lot of weight, battled a lot of things in my head to get these moments, these are the things that make me believe. I think I can get a lot, lot better.”
Cross would have been feeling confident after he landed the big fish in the third leg, with a majestic 170 finish, but Humphries kicked into gear and reeled off five successive legs, sealing a 7-2 lead with a 144 checkout.
Another three legs in a row soon gave him a 10-3 advantage as the triple-20 took a battering and Cross could do nothing but smirk at his predicament.
The lead was extended to 14-5 and there was no way back for Cross and Humphries wrapped it up.
Cross added: “The best man won on the night, he was quality. The best man won, no doubt about that. I’ve had a good week, I enjoyed it and we go again.
“To lose is a little bit hurtful but he was excellent, the best man won and that is all I can say about it.”
Gareth Southgate says “performance is the priority” in North Macedonia as already-qualified England look to make up for winning with a whimper against minnows Malta.
The Euro 2020 runners-up sealed their place at next summer’s edition with two matches to spare and were below par in Friday’s qualifier.
England disappointed a packed Wembley crowd by limping to a 2-0 victory over Malta, leading the manager to suggest his players had subconsciously taken their foot off the gas.
Southgate did not castigate those that have done so well for him over the years, but he is demanding a vastly-improved display in North Macedonia as they bring the curtain down on 2023.
“Performance is the priority,” Southgate said.
“We’ve set a standard. We didn’t reach that standard on Friday. We have to get back to what we’re good at. There’s always a chance within that to have a look at a couple of things that we’d like to see as well.
“But the biggest thing is making sure we hit the level of performance that we’ve set ourselves.”
England’s final match of the year is also set to be their last on foreign soil until the Euros get under way in Germany.
A sold-out Tose Proeski Arena awaits despite the Macedonians’ qualification hopes already having gone up in smoke, with revenge the main focus on Monday.
Few saw June’s 7-0 Old Trafford annihilation at Old Trafford coming and Blagoja Milevski’s men are looking to get a famous result having drawn at home to reigning European champions Italy since then.
“We weren’t at the level of performance that we want on Friday, so all focus on tomorrow’s game,” said Southgate, whose side have so far gone unbeaten this year.
“We play a team who, although they can’t qualify, have tremendous pride and they’ll be wounded by what happened in Manchester.
“We have to be ready for a really good atmosphere. Full crowd, full stadium. We’ve had a calendar year where we’ve been very good, so we want to finish well.”
England’s final camp of the year has been disrupted by absentees.
Five players withdrew from the original squad through injury and two more departed the squad before they flew out to the Balkans.
The Football Association announced Kieran Trippier had gone home due to a personal issue, while injury meant Jarrod Bowen left the camp on Sunday.
“Unfortunately, Jarrod picked up an injury,” Southgate said. “I think he felt it a little bit yesterday and then again at the end of training today.
“We didn’t really have enough time to assess it fully and make a really accurate decision before the game, so we felt better to leave him in England so that he can get it properly assessed.
“I don’t think it’s got to be anything serious, but we just didn’t have enough time and we wouldn’t take a risk in that situation.”
Bowen was in line for a substantial role for rotated England on Monday, so too Trippier.
The versatile Newcastle full-back’s withdrawal underlines the dearth of options at left-back in the absence of injured Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell.
“We need to adapt,” Southgate said. “We’ve got a couple of different options and we’re comfortable with it. We can find a good solution to the issue.
“We haven’t got somebody that is playing there regularly, but we’ve adapted to lots of situations over the last few years and we’re comfortable with doing that again tomorrow.”
Asked about the options and formation switch, he added: “We probably have done it a little bit on personnel going back a few years.
“So, yeah, that is an option. We’ve obviously got players that have played as wing-backs. We can adjust. We’ve got Fik (Fikayo Tomori), of course, who did it the other day, Rico Lewis, Marc Guehi can play across there.
“He’s done that for us in a game before so it’s just making sure that everybody’s aware of their job. It changes the way maybe you build up patterns and those sorts of things, but we’re comfortable with the situation we’ve got.”
Declan Rice has called on England to end an unbeaten 2023 with a “bang” by winning their final Euro 2024 qualifier away to North Macedonia.
England have not suffered defeat since their World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of France last December and sealed their spot at next summer’s finals with two games to spare.
Rice’s Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka hit a hat-trick in a 7-0 thrashing of North Macedonia in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford in June.
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After a drab 2-0 win over Malta on Friday, Rice is keen for England to put in a better showing to bring the curtain down on a strong calendar year.
“I think especially the other night after Malta there is just a bit of pride in ourselves that we need to raise our level,” the Arsenal midfielder said.
“We need to put out a statement and it would be a good way to end the year. We are currently unbeaten since the World Cup so it is down to us to go out tomorrow night, put on a performance.
“You need to be mentally prepared, have the right mentality and be ready for a hostile environment and make sure we go out of this year with a bang. We will be ready for whatever they throw at us.”
Rice will collect his 48th cap in Monday’s game and the former West Ham captain admits he was “gutted” that a controversial VAR call cost him a fourth England goal in the Malta win.
Just moments after Harry Kane had doubled the lead, Rice charged forward and drove home a fine finish that was ultimately ruled out for offside against Kane.
“To be honest with you, going back to the other night I was gutted,” he said.
“When I picked the ball up and drove through and bent one into the far corner, I was buzzing because I don’t really score goals like that often.
“When it was chalked off I was gutted, but it was one of those where I didn’t want to get into something with the ref, get a silly yellow card. The game was won at 2-0 so it is one of those you have to take on the chin.
“Hopefully I can score one of those again, maybe tomorrow night, so we will have to wait and see.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has landed a Football Association charge for his stinging criticism of VAR following the recent Premier League defeat at Newcastle – labelling the decision to allow Anthony Gordon’s winning goal to stand as both “embarrassing” and a “disgrace”.
“It is one of those things, you are going to get decisions that go your way and those that don’t go your way,” Rice said on VAR.
“At the minute it is a bit up in the air because some decisions being made are the wrong decisions, some are right, but we are just there to play football and it is down to the authorities to decide – the people at Stockley Park and the referees.”
Novak Djokovic emphatically gained revenge over Jannik Sinner to win a record-breaking seventh ATP Finals crown in Turin.
Five days after losing to Sinner in the group stage, Djokovic was in ruthless form from the outset as he lost just two points on serve in winning the opening set 6-3 in 38 minutes.
The world number then raced into a 2-0 lead in the second before Sinner saved three break points in the third game to bring the contest to life.
Roared on by the partisan crowd, Sinner finally got to grips with the Djokovic serve and forged two break points in the sixth game, only for the Serbian to save both and maintain his advantage.
Sinner held serve in a marathon seventh game but, after Djokovic did likewise to lead 5-3, the match ended on an anticlimactic note with a Sinner double fault.
“It’s very special,” Djokovic, who had shared the record of six titles with Roger Federer, said on Amazon Prime. “One of the best seasons I’ve had in my life no doubt.
“To crown it with a win against the hometown hero Jannik, who’s played amazing tennis this week, it’s phenomenal.
“I’m very proud of the performances these last two days against (Carlos) Alcaraz and Sinner, probably the best two players in the world next to me and (Daniil) Medvedev at the moment.
“The way they have been playing I had to step it up, I had to win the matches and not wait for them to hand me the victory and that’s what I’ve done.
“I played tactically different today than in the group stages against Jannik and just overall a phenomenal week.”
Earlier on Sunday, Britain’s Joe Salisbury and American partner Rajeev Ram had successfully defended their doubles title with victory over Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.
Salisbury and Ram won 6-3 6-4 in 69 minutes to extend their winning streak in Turin to 10 matches.
“I think we’ve got better throughout the week,” Salisbury said. “I think that was our best match, maybe along with the semi-final yesterday.
“I think we’ve served well and not got broken many times. We did that really well and managed to take the few chances we had today. I think we got a little bit of luck as well, but it seems like we get it in this place.”
Starting pitcher Aaron Nola has agreed to a seven-year contract to remain with the Philadelphia Phillies, multiple media outlets reported Sunday.
The deal is worth a reported $172million, as the Phillies keep a cornerstone piece in their rotation.
Nola, 30, is the first major free agent to come off the board in a class that is headlined by two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani and includes fellow hurlers Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery.
Nola has spent his entire MLB career in Philadelphia and has finished in the top five of Cy Young award voting twice.
The right-hander saw his numbers slip a bit in 2023 with a 4.46 ERA but rebounded in the post-season with three quality starts and an ERA of 2.35 over 23 innings.
Nola and Zack Wheeler make up one of the best and most reliable rotation duos in baseball.
Since 2018, Nola has thrown 1,065 1/3 innings, the second most in the majors over that span. Wheeler is fourth on that list with 1,007 innings pitched.
Nola is one of five pitchers with at least 200 strikeouts in each of the last three seasons.
Nola was the priority in a vital offseason for the Phillies after making it to the World Series in 2022 and the NLCS last season but falling short of a title.
In 235 career starts, Nola has a 3.72 ERA and has 1,582 strikeouts in 1,422 innings pitched.
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