Antonio Conte has left Tottenham by mutual consent, a week on from criticising the club and players in a remarkable outburst, with assistant Cristian Stellini to take charge until the end of the season.

Conte hit out after Spurs blew a two-goal lead in a 3-3 draw away to rock-bottom Southampton last Saturday, calling his players "selfish" and questioning Tottenham's lack of success during Daniel Levy's time in charge.

He was reportedly asked by Levy and club chiefs to clarify those comments, apparently insisting his "20 years and they never won something" comment was aimed at the players, rather than his bosses.

But seemingly Conte's position had become untenable, with Spurs confirming the Italian's departure on Sunday.

"We can announce that head coach Antonio Conte has left the club by mutual agreement," a Spurs statement read. 

"We achieved Champions League qualification in Antonio’s first season at the club. We thank Antonio for his contribution and wish him well for the future.

"Cristian Stellini will take the team as acting head coach for the remainder of the season, along with Ryan Mason as assistant head coach."

Conte already looked likely to leave Spurs in June when his contract was set to expire.

Media reports earlier this month suggested neither Conte nor Spurs wanted to extend the arrangement.

Fans had long been frustrated by the brand of football introduced by Conte, and recent results only made the atmosphere more toxic.

While Conte was absent after having gallbladder surgery, Spurs were knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship side Sheffield United on March 1, and a week later they were eliminated from the Champions League after a limp 0-0 draw at home to Milan, who had beaten them 1-0 in San Siro.

Although Spurs beat Nottingham Forest 3-1 on March 11 to earn some momentary respite, their late collapse at St Mary's – followed by Conte's extraordinary rant – proved the final straw.

Conte departs with Spurs still firmly immersed in the race for Champions League qualification, sitting fourth in the Premier League.

However, Liverpool and Newcastle United – five and two points behind, respectively – still have two games in hand.

Former Spurs coach Mauricio Pochettino is among those linked with succeeding Conte, while Luis Enrique, Marco Silva and Thomas Tuchel are also said to be contenders.

Steven Gerrard added further fuel to speculation over Liverpool's move for Jude Bellingham after telling the midfielder his development is well ahead of his own progress at the same age.

Bellingham impressed once again as England cruised past Ukraine with a 2-0 victory in Sunday's Euro 2024 qualifying clash and joined Gerrard on the Wembley Stadium touchline at full-time.

The former Reds captain, speaking as a pundit on Channel 4, lavished high praise on the Borussia Dortmund midfielder, who is reportedly a target of Liverpool, Real Madrid and Manchester City.

"You're a lot further ahead than when I was your age, so you're going in the right direction that's for sure," Gerrard told Bellingham.

When pressed on how Bellingham is further developed than ex-Liverpool and England star Gerrard, he added: "I never had that power and strength until I was probably 22, 23.

"So he is definitely more physically developed than me. He's more confident than me on the ball in terms of what he will try. And I'm not saying that just being modest, it's the truth, I think he's further on than what I was at 19.

"I got to where I wanted to get to and he'll get to where he wants to get to if he carries on doing what he's doing.

"He's in a fantastic place. Everything else around him he just needs to park it up and keep playing well and everything else will take care of itself."

It was not the first time Gerrard has lauded the teenage star, offering in January to take Bellingham out for dinner and talk about his future, suggesting a move to England and Liverpool would benefit his career.

Bellingham was quick to return the favour, praising the impact Gerrard had as Liverpool captain during his playing career.

He said: "The things that Stevie could do, the way he could carry a team and single-handedly win a game. He could do everything as a midfielder.

"I've said it multiple times that I look up to you and your game."

While a transfer-window battle awaits for the signature of one of Europe's hottest prospects, Bellingham continues to enjoy the learning experience of playing with England.

The former Birmingham City midfielder has already captained Dortmund this season and, while appreciating patience will be required, said leading his country out would be the greatest honour in football.

"That would be the biggest dream, and the biggest honour in football I think is to captain your country," he continued.

"There's a long pecking order that I highly respect and I'll wait my turn. In the meantime it's picking up what I can learn from them. This is the best place to do it.

"We should be looking to win every game. You set yourself a standard and an expectation and it's important you match that. We have to carry that on for the rest of the qualification campaign."

Mateo Retegui was on target once again as Italy triumphed 2-0 at Malta to record their first victory in Euro 2024 qualifying.

Argentina-born Retegui scored on his international debut in Thursday's 2-1 defeat to England and found the net once more with a simple 15th-minute opener three days later.

Matthew Guillaumier's own goal 12 minutes later offered Roberto Mancini's side complete control at Ta' Qali National Stadium, with Malta rarely threatening a response.

Victory leaves Italy three points behind embryonic Group C leaders England, who eased past Ukraine by the same scoreline earlier on Sunday.

Malta almost grabbed an unlikely fifth-minute lead but captain Gianluigi Donnarumma rescued Italy with a fine stop against Alexander Satariano when one-on-one.

That missed chance proved pivotal as an unmarked Retegui headed home from Sandro Tonali's corner soon after, before Wilfried Gnonto limped off injured.

Guillaumier turned into his own net from Emerson's inviting cross as Italy furthered their lead, though Henry Bonello denied substitute Vincenzo Grifo to keep the scoreline respectable at half-time.

A frantic scramble inside the Italy area offered Mancini's visitors a rare second-half scare before Bonello thwarted a fizzing Bryan Cristante attempt.

Gianluca Scamacca's inventive acrobatic effort forced another smart Bonello save as Italy cruised to their first win on the road to Germany 2024.

What does it mean? Italy back on track after England disappointment

Italy lost for a first time in 41 European Championship qualifiers after failing to deliver against England in Naples but responded with an assured performance at lowly Malta.

With fellow qualification hopefuls Ukraine brushed aside by England in the second round of matches, Italy may hope for a simple qualification path by finishing second in Group C.

It may not be all straightforward for Mancini's men, though, with Ukraine by no means pushovers and two clashes to follow with North Macedonia, who eliminated Italy in the World Cup play-offs last year.

Rampant Retegui

Mancini has repeatedly fielded questions over his selection decisions to call up Retegui, who qualified for the Azzurri because of his grandfather's Italian passport.

Retegui silenced the critics once again, joining Riccardo Orsolini (November 2020), Enrico Chiesa (June 1996) and Giorgio Chinaglia (September 1972) as the only players to score in their first two Italy appearances.

Sorry Satariano

In stark contrast to the in-form Retegui, Satariano struggled against the experienced Alessio Romagnoli and centre-back partner Giorgio Scalvini.

The Malta striker faltered from a gilt-edged first-half opportunity and managed just seven passes before being replaced in the 64th minute, while even Italy goalkeeper Donnarumma enjoyed more than Satariano's 24 touches.

What's next?

Italy are not in action until their Nations League semi-final against Spain on June 15, while Malta host England in Euro 2024 qualifying the day after.

Haiti, Canada, Costa Rica and Honduras all qualified for the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup following the results of their matches on Saturday in the 2022-23 Concacaf Nations League.

Haiti defeated Montserrat 4-0 to claim the top spot in Group B of League B to clinch their Gold Cup place.

 Canada topped Curacao 2-0 to secure at least a second-place finish in Group C of League A, thus qualifying them for the Gold Cup. Even though they were not in action, the Canada win also assured Honduras a berth in this summer’s Gold Cup as well.

 Costa Rica will also play in the Gold Cup again after rallying late from a 1-0 deficit to claim a 2-1 win in Martinique in Group B of League A.

 Haiti, Canada, Costa Rica and Honduras join the United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Panama and Jamaica as teams that have punched their ticket to this summer’s tournament.

 The winners and second-place finishers from the League A groups and the winners of each group in League B group will directly for the Gold Cup.

 The second-place teams from the League B groups and the third-place teams from League A will join the winners of each League C group in the Gold Cup Prelims.

Gareth Southgate praised the ruthlessness of Bukayo Saka after his starring role in England's 2-0 win over Ukraine.

England made it six points from two Euro 2024 qualifiers with a routine win at Wembley on Sunday.

Saka, a leading light in Arsenal's challenge for the Premier League title, supplied the assist for Harry Kane's opener in the 37th minute.

He then made it 2-0 three minutes later by bending a magnificent long-range strike into the top-right corner, his eighth goal for the Three Lions.

"It is a top-level finish [from Saka]," Southgate told Channel 4. 

"That is the ruthless part he has added to his game in the last 18 months or so. There were times you weren't sure he was going to finish, but now he has that confidence in front of goal."

England were in control throughout, with Ukraine never looking likely to produce a comeback in a game where they did not manage a shot on target.

The command England enjoyed naturally delighted Southgate, who also had plaudits for James Maddison, the Leicester City playmaker creating five chances in an impressive showing.

"The risk is that when you have control of the game you have the odd sloppy pass, but the application throughout was excellent," added Southgate.

"We have broken down a lot of barriers over a period of time. We still had that question mark over some of the bigger teams. 

"We are starting to win those games now but there is still lots of room for improvement. 

"To back up the Italy result was important, but there is still room to grow."

"We are always trying to think about now and what is next. We did that with James Maddison today. We thought it was a good game to see him.

"He was defensively very solid. It was nice to get Ivan Toney on the pitch as well. We will always look at people, but we have to qualify and we can't take that for granted."

Juventus midfielder Filip Kostic has been ruled out of Serbia's Euro 2024 qualifier against Montenegro with an Achilles injury.

The 30-year-old played a full part in Friday's 2-0 win over Lithuania and set up Dusan Tadic's early opener.

But Kostic will not be available against Montenegro at Podgorica City Stadium on Monday, having returned to his club side for treatment.

"It's bad news for us," Serbia head coach Dragan Stojkovic said at Sunday's pre-match press conference. "He left the team because he has Achilles tendinitis.

"There is no need to take any risks with him. The decision was to return to the club. I'm always sorry when a player gets injured – there's nothing worse for a coach."

Juventus will hope to have Kostic available for a busy run of fixtures when they return to action later this week.

Massimiliano Allegri's side have nine games in April across three competitions, starting with Saturday's Serie A meeting with Hellas Verona at the Allianz Stadium.

Kostic has played in 38 of Juve's 39 matches this season – only Danilo has featured as regularly – and has a team-high 11 assists to go with his three goals.

Bukayo Saka was instrumental and Harry Kane was again on target as England strolled to a 2-0 win over Ukraine in Euro 2024 qualifying.

Having become England's all-time leading scorer in the 2-1 win over Italy in Naples, Kane broke the deadlock in the 37th minute at Wembley Stadium on Sunday.

England's captain converted a superb cross from Saka, who then put the hosts in complete command three minutes later.

A comeback was never on the cards after the Arsenal star's long-range effort, with England firmly in control of Group C with six points from two games. 

England had struggled to break down Ukraine before Saka produced a whipped delivery to the far post, where Kane was waiting to fire into the bottom-left corner with aplomb.

After teeing up the first, Saka then produced a second out of nothing, bending magnificently into the top-right corner.

Ukraine were improved in the second half, but did not even manage a corner until the 73rd minute, illustrating England's comfort in seeing out the victory.

England withdrew Kane late on to hand Ivan Toney his England debut, and Gareth Southgate will surely have several opportunities to introduce new faces if his side's qualifying campaign continues in this serene fashion.

Toney's fellow substitute Conor Gallagher forced a smart stop out of Anatolii Trubin before Harry Maguire headed over and Jack Grealish went close, with the only frustration for England being a failure to add further gloss with a third.

Kai Havertz and Nico Schlotterbeck have withdrawn from Germany's squad for Tuesday's friendly with Belgium.

Both players started Saturday's 2-0 win over Peru, but the German Football Association (DFB) confirmed on Sunday they have now returned to their clubs.

Chelsea attacker Havertz is ruled out of the Belgium match through illness, while Borussia Dortmund defender Schlotterbeck has a thigh injury.

Germany head coach Hansi Flick has decided against calling up any replacements for the friendly at RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne.

Belgium, who beat Sweden 3-0 in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier on Friday, will be without Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois due to a minor strain injury.

Didier Deschamps expects Kylian Mbappe to continue breaking France records but knows a Republic of Ireland generation inspired by teenage talisman Evan Ferguson pose a threat.

Les Bleus thrashed the Netherlands 4-0 in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier and will be confident of claiming another three points in Dublin on Monday.

New captain Mbappe hit a double against the Dutch, taking him to 38 international goals and fifth on France's all-time scoring charts – just three shy of the great Michel Platini (41).

Mbappe has scored half of those in his last 16 outings, as many as in his first 51 games, Deschamps suggests there is no limit for the 24-year-old.

"It's Kylian, he's full of ambitions. When he reaches one, he has another to reach," Deschamps said at a press conference.

"He reached and exceeded quite a few very early on. He has that in him. He has a driving role compared to the whole group.

"He will do everything to get there, he will need the others, but it's Kylian."

France have won their last four qualifying matches, for both the World Cup and Euros, by an aggregate score of 16-0.

Les Bleus have not managed five qualifying victories without conceding since doing so between November 1981 and December 1984, but they face an Ireland side buoyed by a young prospect of their own.

Ferguson scored on his first international start in a 3-2 win over Latvia and could become the first Ireland player to net in consecutive appearances before turning 19.

The Brighton and Hove Albion striker has been a hot topic of discussion, with Deschamps acknowledging the danger the 18-year-old might offer.

"It goes back to [Euro] 2016. I remember that we were trailing 1-0 [in the round of 16 before winning 2-1] and that it was complicated," Deschamps said.

"But there is a new generation with Ferguson. It is always very difficult to compare."

Ireland have lost just three of their last 30 Euros qualifying games (W14 D13) and are unbeaten in their last 14 on home soil (W8 D6), including play-off fixtures.

That strong home form is a factor Deschamps knows France must deal with.

He continued: "They are a technical team. From what I have seen, they use less direct play and long balls. It will be a different game, with the crowd pushing as well.

"It's a high level and it's up to us to do no less."

Kylian Mbappe hailed the "carefree" mindset of the new France generation as the forward eyes surpassing Michel Platini on Les Bleus' all-time scoring charts.

The Paris Saint-German superstar scored twice in his first game as France captain as Didier Deschamps' side hammered the Netherlands 4-0 to kickstart their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign on Friday.

That double took the 24-year-old striker to 38 goals in 67 appearances for his country, just three international strikes short of Platini, who sits fourth in France's leading scorers chart.

Antoine Griezmann (43), Thierry Henry (51) and Olivier Giroud (53) are the only three to manage more and Mbappe is out to catch Platini when Deschamps' men visit the Republic of Ireland on Monday.

He said at Sunday's pre-match press conference: "It's an honour but it's also the next target to beat.

"Platini remains a legend of French football but I want to continue my journey and it goes through Michel Platini."

France fell agonisingly short at the World Cup in Qatar, losing on penalties to Argentina in the final, but the future appears incredibly bright for Les Bleus.

Deschamps has the likes of Aurelien Tchouameni and Edouard Camavinga in midfield, while Randal Kolo Muani provides support for Mbappe up top.

Centre-back pairing Ibrahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano are yet to reach their 25th birthdays and Mbappe says he is relishing leading a youthful France.

"I don't know all the generations. This one is carefree," he added. "We always have this desire to show that we can do good things.

"This team can aim for the heights. In adversity, we will see other things. We had a first match that we made easy. We will see in due time.

"Maybe there will be more difficult moments and I hope that we can overcome them."

As for the captaincy, Mbappe suggested little has changed despite taking the armband from the retired Hugo Lloris.

He continued: "I was the same, I naturally played my new role. There was not much to say in relation to the team's performance. I'm not going to talk just to talk.

"I was the link between the two generations but there were no differences during the week. The group is doing very well, I did not have to intervene. The less work I have, the better for everyone.

"We must not get carried away and we have started qualifying well. Tomorrow's match will be more complicated than what people may think."

Ronald Koeman is targeting "as many goals as possible" in Monday's Euro 2024 qualifier against minnows Gibraltar to get his side's heavy loss to France out of their system.

The Netherlands were thumped 4-0 by Les Bleus on Friday in their opening Group B match and the first game of Koeman's second spell in charge of the national side.

Oranje have a quick turnaround in games as they welcome Gibraltar – ranked 200th in the world – to De Kuip three days after such a crushing loss, and Koeman is hoping for a big victory.

"From the first minute until the 97th we must do everything to score as many goals as possible," he said at Sunday's pre-match press conference. "We have to keep going.

"We know Gibraltar will defend with a lot of men, but hopefully we can get a quick goal. Our attacking line-up will be very important."

Koeman opted for a 4-3-3 formation against France and, while not ruling out a switch to 5-3-2 against certain sides, he has faith in the current system.

"The France game was a one-off," he said. "I have no doubt for a second that we should have done things differently in the last game. It will get better; I am convinced of that.

"It will take time before we see what we want. This is what we have training sessions for."

The Netherlands' loss to France was only their second by a four-goal margin against any opponent in the past 60 years, the other also coming against Les Bleus in August 2017.

Defender Nathan Ake, who played a full part at the Stade de France, revealed he and his team-mates spoke openly about the defeat after the match.

"We discussed what needs to be improved," he said. "We had to reflect and you also have to speak plain language and just tell each other the truth.”

Koeman added: "This group is self-critical and a number of things were said. What we discussed mainly was our build-up play and the intensity of our play – it was too slow.

"That was the biggest disappointment, particularly as we worked on it in training."

Denmark threw away a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 at Kazakhstan and suffer an early blow in Euro 2024 qualifying.

Kasper Hjulmand's side were semi-finalists at the last Euros and were handed a relatively kind draw for this qualifying campaign, beating Finland 3-1 in Thursday's opener.

Atalanta sensation Rasmus Hojlund scored a hat-trick in that game and then grabbed another two goals in the first half on Sunday, seemingly setting up another routine win.

But Baktiyor Zainutdinov pulled one back from the penalty spot with 17 minutes to play, and Kazakhstan were back level through captain Askhat Tagybergen's spectacular long-range strike four minutes from time.

That was not the end of the scoring as substitute Abat Aimbetov nodded the winner, although he was sent off in stoppage time.

Denmark will surely still back themselves to come through the group – particularly if Hojlund maintains his remarkable form – but this was an unexpected setback.

"I have to be careful what I say right now," captain Simon Kjaer told TV2.

"We run after instead of acting. We run after and not ahead with the ball. That's the difference in the second half, I think."

Asked why he needed to be careful, Kjaer said: "It is embarrassing. We win and lose together. Today we lose together. You cannot be 2-0 up and losing 2-3. You cannot. I don't know what it was. 

"It was many things. It wasn't good enough. What exactly happened in the situations I'm a little unsure about, and I don't want to say things I'm not sure of. 

"We must take responsibility for the criticism that will come. And then we must move on."

The president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has confirmed an interest in appointing Carlo Ancelotti as the next head coach of the national side.

Brazil are yet to name a permanent successor to Tite, who left following a quarter-final exit at the World Cup in Qatar, with the role likely to be filled at the end of the season.

Ancelotti remains contracted with Real Madrid until the completion of the 2023-24 season, but the Italian has been heavily touted to take the reins of the South American giants, with players among those talking up the possibility.

Ednaldo Rodrigues admitted he was the favourite among supporters and players, while acknowledging he was the confederation's main target.

"Ancelotti is unanimously respected among players. Not only Ronaldo Nazario or Vinicius Jr but all those that have played for him," he told Reuters.

"I really admire him for his honesty in the way he works and how constant his work is. He needs no introductions. He is really a top coach who he has several achievements, and we hope he can have even more.

"Ancelotti is not only the players' favourite, but it seems the fans' too. Everywhere I go in Brazil, in every stadium, he is the first name the supporters ask me about.

"They talk about him in a very affectionate way, in recognition of the exemplary work he has done in his career.

"Let's have faith in God, wait for the appropriate time and we'll see if we can make it happen as we look for the new coach of the Brazilian national team."

However, despite the abundance of praise and appeal of hiring Ancelotti, Rodrigues made it clear no formal approach has taken place and called for patience in the hunt for a new boss.

"We will be very ethical in our approach and respect the contracts that are in place. We also greatly respect the work that is done by any coach and his club to get there and make any kind of approach, it would be a lack of respect for the president of the clubs in question," he added.

"Therefore, we have the patience to wait for the right moment so that we can hold these conversations.

"Nothing is really defined yet to say the name [of the next coach] for sure, but it's within this line, you understand? We need a coach who has the players' respect and admiration."

Bayern Munich are adamant they were not at fault as Thomas Tuchel's appointment was reported before previous head coach Julian Nagelsmann had been sacked.

Nagelsmann was said to have learned of his departure through the media while skiing in Austria this week.

The news first broke on Thursday but was not made official for another 24 hours, by which point Tuchel had formally agreed to take the Bayern job.

However, Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic appeared on SPORT1's STAHLWERK Doppelpass on Sunday and defended the club's position.

"We met [with Tuchel] on Tuesday, had a very good conversation," Salihamidzic said. "And on Wednesday and Thursday, we negotiated with Thomas' managers.

"On Thursday evening, we learned that the information had been leaked by a third party. We really couldn't help it.

"I don't know who that was [behind the leak] – certainly from the other side. We behaved fairly. As fair as you can be in this business.

"The first person we called on Thursday was Julian Nagelsmann. You don't share such a decision on the phone. That's why we met the next day at Sabener Strasse. We waited until there was a commitment from Thomas Tuchel."

Indeed, although the leak looked "bad", the Bayern chief explained why it was not possible to dismiss Nagelsmann before putting a deal in place with Tuchel.

"It came out before Thomas Tuchel agreed, so I wouldn't have been able to call Julian yet," Salihamidzic said.

"I couldn't have told him, 'we're talking to Thomas now, but if he doesn't want to, you'll go ahead'.

"Of course, it's bad that this comes out beforehand, but that's not our fault."

Now, Bayern are looking forward to a future with Tuchel, even if he has had strained relationships with bosses at Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.

Disputes have often centred around transfer business, but the Bundesliga champions are ready to back Tuchel.

"With Julian Nagelsmann, we entered the transfer market together and discussed everything. We will do the same with Thomas Tuchel," Salihamidzic said.

"The coach's ideas are important, he has to transfer them to the team. We have let Julian be Julian and will also let Thomas Tuchel be Thomas Tuchel."

Manchester City attacker Phil Foden has undergone surgery to remove his appendix.

England confirmed the news on Sunday, ruling Foden out of the Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine.

City subsequently announced that Foden would definitely miss next Saturday's crucial Premier League clash with Liverpool.

Foden, who came on as a substitute in England's win over Italy on Thursday but lasted only 12 minutes, had been suffering from acute appendicitis.

No firm timescale has been given for the 22-year-old's return, though the UK National Health Service (NHS) guidance recommends at least a two-week recovery period.

Foden has scored 13 goals and provided five assists in 36 appearances for City this season.