Rob Page accepts that Wales’ Euro 2024 destiny might lie in the play-offs following their damaging draw with Armenia.

Wales needed a Nair Tiknizyan own goal on the stroke of half-time to give them a 1-1 draw in Yerevan, when Armenia were the most dangerous side for large parts of a low-quality contest.

Croatia are now favourites to take the second automatic qualifying spot behind Turkey, who travel to Cardiff for Wales’ last group fixture on Tuesday safe in the knowledge they will be playing in the finals in Germany next summer.

Having dropped points to remove automatic qualification from their own hands, manager Page said: “There’s a disappointed group in there, but we’ve got to pick ourselves up and finish on a high on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately it’s now out of our control. With a win, we’d all have been buzzing and looking forward to the game on Tuesday, and a win would have seen us qualify.

“It’s not materialised as we’d like, but that’s life and we have to get on with it.

“It’s about building momentum and, if it’s a play-off in March, it’s a play-off in March.

“If results go for us, we’ve still got an opportunity to qualify (automatically).

“We can only control what we can do, get the players in the right frame of mind, mentally and physically ready for Tuesday.”

Wales were beaten 4-2 by Armenia – ranked 95 in the world and 67 places below them – at the Cardiff City Stadium in June, and Page’s side were shaken again within five minutes of the Yerevan return.

Lucas Zelarayan, who scored twice in Cardiff, worked space on the edge of the area after Wales failed to clear a corner and slotted the ball into the corner of Danny Ward’s net.

Page said: “We got off to the worst possible start, we knew they were going to come out the traps fast. I’m disappointed with that.

“I thought we grew in the first half and scored at the perfect time.

“But the break came at a bad time for us because I thought we were growing in momentum.

“We got into some OK positions. Whether it was the final pass or the final ball, that final detail wasn’t quite right for whatever reason.

“We threw everything at it and both teams were going for the win.

“You could see by the changes we made. We took a wing back-off and put a winger on to try and get as many forward players on the pitch as we could.”

Wales had beaten World Cup semi-finalists Croatia last month to put them in control of the race for a top-two place.

But on a poor pitch that neither team were able to master, Wales did not remotely come close hitting the heights of that performance.

Reflecting on the contrasting two displays, Page said: “It’s not to say there were a lot of players who had off-days, but you do have that in transitions, you have inconsistencies.

“I’m not going to fault the players for their effort. Their effort, to a man, was commendable. They gave everything, like they always do.

“The pitch was heavy, like nothing we’ve seen back home, but it was the same for both sides.

“We’ll get them recovered, have a recovery session on Sunday and go through with the medical team who we’ve got available for Tuesday.

“We need to finish the campaign on a high. It’s important to have some momentum if there is a play-off in March.”

Boss Neil Critchley hailed a patient Jake Beesley as the striker scored twice to help Blackpool to a comprehensive 4-0 League One win at home to Shrewsbury.

Beesley scored once in each half, either side of a Kyle Joseph strike that sealed all three points after Jordan Rhodes opened the scoring from the penalty spot.

It was the striker’s first league goals of the season following on from a double in midweek against Morecambe in the EFL Trophy.

The result halts a three-game winless run in the league for the Seasiders and moves them to within goal difference of the play-offs.

“I’m made up for Jake,” said Critchley. “Four goals in a week is a great way to make your mark. He’s seen players come in before him but kept his professionalism.

“It’s been a good day for us. Scoring four goals and keeping a clean sheet is important as well because we’ve not had one for a while.

“You can become loose and complement, so the message at half-time was to keep doing the basics well.

“We played some good football and it was a comfortable win in the end. Scoring first slightly early in the game makes it easier for you.

“We thought we would go for it at home. We thought Shrewsbury would come with a gameplan to be defensive and stop us from controlling the game, so we went with an attacking team.

“The result gets us back on track and gives us a lift. We needed that in the league.”

While victory leaves Blackpool looking up, Shrewsbury manager Matt Taylor rued his side’s performance that sees their patchy league form continue.

Shrews came into the game off the back of 3-2 victories in both the league and EFL Trophy but Taylor admitted his side were well off the pace at Bloomfield Road to condemn them to a 10th league defeat of the season.

“It’s an unacceptable result,” he said. “The goals that we’ve give away without having the time to go back over them aren’t anywhere near good enough.

“We’ve got to be better away from home, accept full responsibility on behalf of the football club for the results. They’re not good enough.

“Our fans have spent money to come and watch us today and for us to go away and put in a performance like that is nowhere near acceptable.

“You can accept being beaten by a team who have had to work hard for their goals, but that hasn’t been the case tonight so (it’s) extremely disappointing.

“It’s a difficult place to come, but what you can’t do is come here and make it difficult for the opposition and that’s what we’ve done today. It’s not good enough.”

James McAtee’s brace inspired dominant England Under-21s to a routine 3-0 win in Serbia.

The Manchester City midfielder, on loan at Sheffield United, scored his first goals for the Young Lions.

Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott added a third early in the second half as England saw out their Euro 2025 qualifier on Saturday with minimum fuss, shrugging off last month’s rare defeat to Ukraine.

Lee Carsley’s side remain second, three points behind leaders Ukraine in Group F after their 4-0 win over Luxembourg on Friday.

England thumped Serbia 9-1 at the City Ground last month and were dominant from the start in Backa Topola.

It took just five minutes for the Young Lions to open the scoring when McAtee collected the ball on the edge of the area and his strike deflected off Mihajlo Ilic to loop over Veljko Ilic in goal.

Four minutes later Liam Delap came close to doubling the lead when he glanced Noni Madueke’s cross just wide.

But it was 2-0 after 19 minutes when McAtee received Hayden Hackney’s pass 20 yards out and drilled in, although Ilic should have done better.

England dominated the rest of the half without adding to their advantage but took just nine minutes of the second half to make it 3-0.

Elliott scored twice in the rout in Nottingham and got in on the act when he drilled into the bottom corner from 25 yards.

Striker Jay Stansfield, making his debut after a late call this week, hit the woodwork after a neat turn and strike with 13 minutes left and also went close late on.

Stansfield, on loan at Birmingham from Fulham, was denied a debut goal with three minutes remaining when he latched onto Madueke’s pass but saw his shot blocked.

Manager Steve Evans wants Stevenage to continue gatecrashing the upper regions of League One after their 1-0 victory over Lincoln lifted them up to fourth in the table.

It is 12 years since the Boro reached the play-offs in what was their first season in the third tier and few would have had them down to threaten a repeat after winning promotion back in May.

They continue to defy expectations, however, as Jamie Reid’s 14th goal of the campaign earned a third league win in a row and handed Michael Skubala a losing start as Lincoln head coach.

Evans said: “We are that little bad apple in the barrel that no-one wants to be in that top group.

“There is only the town of Stevenage and everyone in it – myself, the board, the players, everyone that’s connected with the football club – that wants us in that top group because we’re fighting for something that people thought two years ago would be in the National League.

“We just have to keep working hard, keep principled, keep humble and then take it forward to a real tough game to face Lee Johnson at Fleetwood.

“This is a really good Lincoln side, I think everyone in football was surprised they decided to change manager, but Michael has come in and his team gave us a few problems in the first half.”

It was in the second half that Stevenage took control, with Lincoln goalkeeper Lukas Jensen saving bravely from Reid before Kane Hemmings struck the inside of the post.

The breakthrough came in the 68th minute when a scramble in the six-yard box following Jake Forster-Caskey’s corner led to Reid bundling in.

It could have been more comfortable for the hosts, with Forster-Caskey striking a free-kick just over and Jensen making a good save to deny Reid a second, but there was no doubt they were deserved winners.

Skubala admitted the Imps were ultimately outmuscled, saying: “We need to get stronger, there’s no doubt about that, and it takes time to get physically stronger.

“It’s not something where you can just flick a button, so we’ve got a lot of work to do with the lads off the pitch to get physical.

“They’re strong, it’s just sometimes where you’ve got to do the scrappy stuff away from home against Stevenage that we probably got outfought in those battles.

“I think you saw the work we’ve done [during the week] in the first half and I was quite pleased.

“We won a lot of second balls, which we knew we were going to have to do here, and we had a couple of moments where we probably should have done better in the final third.”

Steve Clarke insists he is giving no consideration to which pot Scotland end up in at Euro 2024 as he focuses on trying to end their successful qualification campaign on a high against Norway at Hampden on Sunday.

The Scots sealed their spot in Germany last month, with two games to spare, and will learn who they will face in the group stage when the draw is made in Hamburg on Saturday, December 2.

A victory by two goals or more against Norway this weekend would likely lift the Scots into pot two, while any other result is set to place them in pot three.

Given the way things are shaping up – with the likes of Albania, Hungary and Turkey among the teams on course to be in pot two – there is a school of thought among Scotland supporters that they may have a chance of an easier draw by remaining in pot three.

“Honestly, zero, I haven’t looked at it,” said Clarke when asked if he had given much consideration to the permutations. “It doesn’t concern me.

“The main objective was to be there. Pot two, pot three… it’s all speculation because you don’t know how the other games are going to pan out so we’ll go out and do our best to win the game and then we’ll decide after that whether we want to be in pot two or pot three.”

Asked how significant it would be to go to the tournament as a pot two team, Clarke said: “Not significant at all in my mind. I don’t think too much about it.

“I just want to win game to game and make sure we’re always competitive whoever we play. We were seeded in pot two in the draw for this campaign and we want to be a pot two team going into the World Cup campaign.

“If we can get to pot one, it would be great but that’s a long way away at the moment.”

Clarke’s main objective at present to is to stop a four-game run without a victory and ensure Scotland end a memorable campaign on a high at a sold-out Hampden.

“It’s always important to win,” he said. “We haven’t won for a while. We want to finish the campaign well in front of our own supporters at Hampden, so hopefully we can do that.”

That task will be made slightly easier – in theory – by the fact Norway and Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland misses the match due to an ankle injury sustained in Thursday’s friendly against Faroe Islands.

“It’s probably a little bit of mixed feelings,” Clarke said when asked about the striker’s absence. “I think for the crowd it would have been great to see a player of Erling Haaland’s standard at Hampden.

“It would have been good for the defenders to test themselves against a top striker but unfortunately he’s not fit.

“If you asked me that question me before a game that really meant something I’d probably be sitting here saying ‘yes, I’m delighted he’s not playing’ but for the game tomorrow, I think it would have been better if he played.”

Haaland gave Norway the lead with a penalty in the last meeting between the teams in Oslo in June before Scotland roared back with two goals in the closing minutes to claim arguably the most pivotal result in their qualifying campaign.

“It was a pretty dull game on a very hot, sunny afternoon,” recalled Clarke. “For us, it was about staying in the game as long as possible. Towards the end of the game I took a central defender off, went to a back four and stuck another attacking player on and thankfully it worked for us.

“We got the equaliser at a good time and almost immediately before Norway had a chance to realise what had happened we were 2-1 in front and for the section, for the qualification of Scotland, it was obviously a big moment in the tournament.”

Second-placed Scotland go into their final qualifier six points clear of third-placed Norway, who remain without a major tournament appearance since Euro 2000.

Clarke believes the fact his team were able to win their first five games, while Norway failed to win any of their first three was the main difference between the sides.

“The way the fixtures fell for us was good,” said the Scots boss. “We had three home fixtures to start and we managed to get maximum points from those fixtures.

“Going to Norway when we did and getting the 2-1 win put the qualification into our hands and fortunately we didn’t let it slip. Group football is a sprint, it’s only eight matches.

“You can’t really drop points early in the group because you put yourself under pressure later in the group. It’s normally Scotland that does that, to be fair!”

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior is facing a spell on the sidelines after being injured during Brazil’s World Cup qualifying defeat against Colombia.

The Spanish club said he had been diagnosed with “a tear in his left femoral bicep”.

“Following tests carried out today on our player Vinicius Jr by the Real Madrid medical services, he has been diagnosed with a tear in his left femoral bicep which is affecting the tendon in his hamstring,” Real Madrid said.

“His recovery will be monitored.”

Vinicius, who will miss next week’s appointment with Argentina, went off midway through the first half and becomes the latest Real Madrid player to suffer an injury setback.

Midfielder Eduardo Camavinga (knee) and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (thigh) are among those currently sidelined, while England international Jude Bellingham is nursing a shoulder problem.

Nicaragua will contest League A in the next edition of the Concacaf Nations League, as they sealed promotion with a 4-0 beating of Barbados in Group B of League B on Friday.

A Montserrat victory over Dominican Republic allowed Nicaragua to secure their ascent on the penultimate matchday, while the defeat for Barbados confirmed their relegation to League C for the next Nations League edition.

Over in Group C, Bermuda jumped into first place with a victory against St Vincent and the Grenadines, while Belize climbed out of the relegation spot with a goal on the last play of the match, leaving all to be decided on the final matchday.

Montserrat vs. Dominican Republic

Montserrat took a 2-1 victory at home to Dominican Republic at the Blakes Estate Stadium in Plymouth.

Montserrat’s Brandon Barzey opened the scoring in the 37th minute, with a header at the far post. Kaleem Strawbridge was influential in the build-up, as he played off a give-and-go before crossing the ball across the box.

Heinz Morschel of the Dominican Republic went close with a shot from a distance in 40th, but Corrin Brooks, in goal for Nicaragua, proved equal to the task.

Strawbridge extended Nicaragua's lead in the 57th with a curling attempt from edge of the box that kissed the left upright on its way in.

Edarlyn Reyes pulled one back for the visitors in the 75th with a power strike inside the box. Jean Lopez provided the service to the left post for Reyes to control and finish with aplomb.

Dominic Richmond nearly got a third for Montserrat in the 85th, but the substitute’s strike went just outside of the left post.

Barbados vs. Nicaragua

Nicaragua earned a 4-0 win over Barbados at the Wildey Turf Stadium in Wildey, Barbados to win Group B and clinch promotion to League A.

The visitors were awarded a penalty kick after Bancy Hernandez was taken down inside the box. Junior Arteaga buried the 22nd-minute 12-yard kick to put Nicaragua in front.

Nextaly Rodríguez extended the lead in the 43rd with a long-range hit from right field that found the left netting.

Luis Coronel added his name to the scoresheet in the 55th, with a hit on the volley from outside the box. Henry Nino supplied the assist from deep in midfield.

Jacob Montes added a fourth in the 59th, after protecting a through ball and seeing it into the box and past goalkeeper Liam Brathwaite.

Tajio James almost had a consolation for Barbados in the 80th, but Nicaragua's goalkeeper Cesar Salandia blocked the attempt with his right leg to deflect it over goal, preserving his clean sheet.

Bermuda vs. St Vincent and the Grenadines

Bermuda won 3-1 over St Vincent and the Grenadines at the Dame Flora Duffy National Sports Centre in Devonshire Parish, Bermuda.

With the win, Bermuda assumed pole position in Group C by a point over French Guiana.

An elaborate build up from the home team led to a Ne-Jai Tucker strike inside the box in the fifth minute to grab the early ascendancy.

Djair Parfitt was denied by the left post in the 16th, as the hosts almost doubled the lead during a rainy stretch.

Bermuda's goalkeeper Dale Eve kept the score intact with a strip in 26th, to deny Cornelius Stewart.

Nazir McBurnette put St Vincent and Grenadines back on level terms with a 34th-minute strike from midfield that took a deflection and curled to the right, leaving Eve no chance at a save.

But Kane Crichlow regained the lead for the hosts in the 44th, by pouncing on a second chance strike after a block from goalkeeper Lemus Christopher.

Eve then made a crucial save during the only minute of first half stoppage time to deny a Kyle Edwards from crossing the goal line.

Parfitt scored what would be an insurance goal in the 50th with a strike to the right corner of goal, completing the 3-1 scoreline.

Belize vs. French Guiana

Belize took a dramatic 1-0 victory French Guiana at the FFB Stadium in Belmopan.

French Guiana’s Arnold Abelinti had eyes for the opening goal early with a header inside the box in the second minute but was denied by Belize's goalkeeper Charles Tillett.

Abelinti had an opportunity inside the box in the ninth but could not get the power behind it to open the scoring.

One of the better opportunities for the hosts came as Eldon Reneau tried to find Gilroy Thurton at the far post in the 20th on a long free kick attempt.

Tillett had a busy first half with a key save in the 35th on a Thomas Nemouthe powerful strike from distance.

Nemouthe then had a shot towards goal in the 52nd, as French Guiana continued to apply pressure.

French Guiana's custodian Donovan Leon cut off a cross towards from Norman Anderson into the box in the 77th to keep the score line even, as Horace Avila was prowling inside the penalty area.

A corner kick provided the opportunity for the game-winner in the 90+6, as Eugene Martinez headed the ball in to take the full three points for Belize.

Manchester City goalkeeper Khiara Keating has described her breakthrough 2023-24 season to date as “surreal” as the 19-year-old prepares for Sunday’s historic derby at Old Trafford.

Having previously made only a handful of first-team appearances for City and had loan spells with AFC Fylde and Coventry United, Keating has played every minute for Gareth Taylor’s side in the Women’s Super League so far this term and also received a maiden call-up to the senior England squad.

She said: “I don’t think it was expected and I feel like just getting thrown in there was quite good.

“It’s been so surreal, I didn’t expect to come in and play so many games, especially against teams like Chelsea and Arsenal.

“You learn something new from every game and gain more experience the more you play, so it’s been good to get out there and get some minutes. The more you play the more confident you get.”

On her England experience, during which she was an unused substitute for a Nations League double-header against Belgium, she said: “It’s anyone’s dream if you’re from England to make it to the seniors.

“I feel like it was just, again, so surreal, but the girls were lovely. Training standards were so high and it was a great experience to just be around (that).”

It has not all been highs for Keating, who was among the WSL player of the month nominees for October after keeping three clean sheets – in City’s 2-1 loss at Arsenal on November 5, having saved a penalty, she saw a late mistake punished as Stina Blackstenius netted the hosts’ winner.

Regarding that game, she said: “I think it’s just things to take away. It was a mistake (and) in that moment I felt like the world was going to end!

“It’s one of those things, it’s football and it happens. The support from the girls, Gareth and the coaching staff around me was unreal, to bounce back and make sure I was ready for the next game.

“Everyone learns from their mistakes, and there’s things like ‘do I come out or do I stay’ since that I’ve reflected on. Next time the decision hopefully is better.”

Next on the agenda for City, beaten 1-0 at home by Brighton last weekend, is a landmark clash with Manchester United – the club Ardwick-born Keating was with from the age of six to 11 before moving on to City.

It will be the first WSL Manchester derby to be played at Old Trafford, and she said: “When you’re from Manchester and you know the history behind it, when you’re home-grown – it’s that little bit (more) special. I can’t wait and just hope we deliver on the day.”

It has been quite a journey from her United days as a child to facing them on Sunday for Keating, who added: “I don’t think when I was a kid I ever expected to get as far as I did, but I think I had the right people around me and the right coaches and friends.

“I’m here where I am now and I’m so grateful to be in the position I am and I think the only way is up now.”

At a time when diversity in the women’s game continues to be a considerable talking point, England’s October camp saw Keating express her happiness to have the opportunity to inspire people and be a role model.

And she said ahead of Sunday’s match: “It’s always an honour, and always at the back of your mind, that you’re inspiring anyone.

“I feel like the position where we (her and her City team-mates) are, we can inspire so many kids, and coming from an ethnic minority background – it just gives them the extra push to believe they can do it too.

“When I’m playing, I don’t really think (about it) but I feel like it’s just a bonus that I’m the first (goalkeeper from an ethnic minority background to play for City Women) and it shows what we’re doing as a club, that it is so diverse, and everyone gets a chance, no matter where you come from.”

Erling Haaland is to sit out Norway’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Scotland on Sunday at Hampden Park due to a foot problem.

The Manchester City striker took a blow to his foot on Thursday when Norway beat the Faroe Islands 2-0 in a friendly in Oslo.

In a statement on the Norwegian Football Federation’s official website on Saturday, team doctor Ola Sand said: “The injury is not serious, but he is in so much pain and somewhat restricted function that the Scotland game unfortunately comes a little too early.”

Norway boss Stale Solbakken said: “It is of course a shame that Erling will not be ready for the match on Sunday, but we will not be bringing in a replacement.

“This is a great opportunity for the offensive players in the squad to show off.”

Premier League leaders City return to action after the international break by hosting Liverpool – a point behind in second place – on November 25.

Haaland, scorer of 52 goals for City in their treble-winning campaign last season, has netted 17 times in all competitions for Pep Guardiola’s men so far this term.

Phil Foden has backed himself to add goals and assists to Gareth Southgate’s England side in the build-up to Euro 2024.

The Manchester City forward collected his 30th cap in Friday’s drab 2-0 win over Malta as England all-but secured their place as top seeds for next summer’s finals.

It was Foden’s cross that Malta defender Enrico Pepe inadvertently diverted past his own goalkeeper to open the scoring as England toiled at Wembley.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by England football team (@england)

Harry Kane doubled the lead in the second half, finishing off a flowing team move in which Foden was an integral part.

The 23-year-old has scored just four goals since making his debut in 2020 and a place in Southgate’s starting XI is still not guaranteed, with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka often preferred on the right side of the attack.

“I always want more for myself, I think I can add goals to this team – and assists,” Foden told beIN Sports.

“I was involved in both of the goals (against Malta), maybe we weren’t at our best but we got the job done in the end and that’s the most important thing.

“I’m enjoying my football a lot at the moment, I’m expressing myself, I’m playing really well. So yeah, I need to keep that up, keep pushing myself to score more and get assists.”

With Foden and Saka competing for a place on the right, 62-goal skipper Kane leading the line and the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish also pushing to start games, Southgate has an embarrassment of riches in attacking positions.

The fact Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling has failed to get back into the squad since the World Cup in Qatar only proves how deep the options are for the national team – although his Blues team-mate Cole Palmer is now involved.

The 21-year-old joined Chelsea from Manchester City in the summer, where Foden had seen what he could offer at close quarters.

“He’s so relaxed on the pitch,” Foden said of Palmer.

“He looks like he’s been there for years and he’s such a young lad with tremendous quality and is someone I know really well.

“I tried to help him as much as I could at City when he was coming up and he is at Chelsea now and doing really well so I’m delighted for him to get his debut.

“It just shows that if you work hard through the academy, it comes through so I’m really delighted for him.”

Gareth Southgate wants England to go into next summer’s Euros with momentum and is targeting an unbeaten run all the way through to Germany.

Having wrapped up progress to next year’s finals with two games to spare, Friday’s forgettable 2-0 victory against Malta all-but assured their place among the top seeds at the December 2 draw.

England cruised to qualification from what had looked to be a potentially tricky pool and Southgate wants his side to end 2023 with a bang as they round off Group C away to North Macedonia on Monday.

But with Euro 2024 glory their stated ambition, the former defender wants his players to keep their foot on the gas.

“We’ve had a really good calendar year and we want to finish it well,” the England manager said ahead of the trip to Skopje. “Simple as that.

“We should be aiming to go, if we can, into the tournament unbeaten. We’ve got some tough games coming ahead.

“I mean, I’m a bit loathed to say that because then you start looking for draws when you want to go and win matches as well, so I want to get the messaging right on that.

“But, you know, it’s good for us to be away from Wembley again, a challenging environment because that’s what we’re going to be in next summer.”

England have not lost a match since last December’s galling 2-1 defeat to eventual runners-up France in their World Cup quarter-final clash in Qatar.

Les Bleus are among their main rivals for silverware next summer, with Southgate’s side stepping up preparations for the Euros with challenging March friendlies against Brazil and Belgium at Wembley.

Both opponents will provide stern tests for a team that Southgate says cannot afford to fall short of the level “they need to be at” like they were against Mediterranean minnows Malta.

“The teams we’ve got in March, we wouldn’t get away with it,” Southgate said. “And the players just would have a different level of motivation (compared to against Malta).

“This week was always going to be difficult. We’ve already qualified, the players are in the middle of a load of matches.

“We’re trying to look after a few physically with the team selection, so you’re making changes that, had we needed to win tonight to qualify, might be different.

“So, yeah, the whole week has been a little bit like that – couldn’t really get the players on the pitch until Wednesday and as a consequence we were flat. I accept that.

“That’s where we were but I’m not going to get into the players about that. I know why and they’ve won another game of football.

“It could have been by more. Not quite sure why the third (from Declan Rice) was disallowed, but there we are.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by England football team (@england)

As frustrating as Friday night was at Wembley, England remain well placed for silverware in Southgate’s fourth – and quite possibly final – major tournament at the helm.

There is no time to waste with chances to work together limited, plus the fact Monday’s trip to Skopje looks likely to be their final match on foreign soil until the Euros get under way in June.

North Macedonia are expected to be far better than in June’s 7-0 Old Trafford annihilation and Southgate has a number of things to consider before settling on his side for the Group C finale.

“A lot of our decision-making is physical as much as anything at the moment, so it’s a strange thing,” he said.

“Probably if you’ve still got to qualify there’s a different focus on the games and everybody’s happy and understands their players have got to play.

“You’re not subconsciously thinking about ‘should we be pushing players out for another game?’

“So, we need to look at where we are after this game in terms of any knocks and bumps.

“We’ve got some fresh players to come in. We want to get the balance of the team right and then assess whether there are certain things we want to see and learn from Monday night’s game as well.”

Bukayo Saka refused to be drawn into more VAR controversy following England’s mundane Euro 2024 qualifying win over Malta.

The Arsenal winger has seen club manager Mikel Arteta handed a Football Association charge for his criticism of referees and VAR in the recent 1-0 Premier League defeat at Newcastle.

Arteta said it was “embarrassing” and a “disgrace” that Anthony Gordon’s goal was allowed to stand following a lengthy check.

England limped to a forgettable 2-0 victory over Malta at Wembley on Friday night but saw captain Harry Kane booked for simulation when there appeared to be clear contact from Malta goalkeeper Henry Bonello.

Saka was introduced at the interval and set up Kane to double England’s lead before his Arsenal team-mate Declan Rice had a goal ruled out when VAR intervened once again to rule that Kane was offside.

“Honestly, let’s not make comments about VAR tonight,” Saka replied when asked about the tight calls.

“I think let’s just focus on the win, the three points and be positive about it.”

England had taken an early lead through an Enrico Pepe own goal but then toiled, with no shot on target until well into the second-half and Kane shown a yellow card having been accused of going to ground to easily.

Asked if he had ever known Kane to dive, Saka added: “No, no. Even if I did I’m not going to say it now! He’s not a diver.

“I think it was a clear penalty from what I saw. I thought even VAR would check it and overturn it but I don’t know what they saw.”

While the win over the minnows of Malta may have been wholly unconvincing, it does mean Gareth Southgate’s side are all-but assured of being top seeds at Euro 2024.

“(That is) very important,” Saka said.

“Going into this camp Gareth made that really clear and was clear that it was important for us.

“So obviously the mindset going into these two games we made sure that we were on it and we made sure that we were ready to win, so we won today – obviously we don’t want to lose to North Macedonia, the mindset (is) to go there and win again. So that’s what we’re focused on.

“I think it’s a game where we didn’t really start the best, obviously we tried to pick up the pace but we have to give some credit to Malta as well, they played quite well.

“But in the end, we won 2-0, we got the three points so now we just have to move on.”

Liverpool have flown Luis Diaz’s parents to Merseyside so they can spend Christmas with their son after their recent kidnapping ordeal.

Cilenis Marulanda was freed almost immediately after being taken by guerrilla group the National Liberation Army earlier this month but father Luis Manuel was held captive for 12 days until being released late last week.

Diaz was reunited with his parents when he returned to Colombia for international duty and the pair were in the crowd to see their son score both goals in an emotional 2-1 victory at home to Brazil on Thursday.

The PA news agency understands that following the game Liverpool paid for a private jet, for security reasons and to help manage the family’s trauma, to bring Diaz’s parents and wider family to Merseyside so they could spend an extended period of time together.

Their plane was scheduled to land at Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport early on Saturday morning.

Since Diaz’s parents were kidnapped, the club have endeavoured to provide the best possible support, with manager Jurgen Klopp allowing Diaz compassionate leave and leaving decisions about when he trained and was available for selection entirely up to the player, in keeping with the family values they believe are vital to the club’s ethos.

Diaz will rejoin his family in Liverpool when he returns from international duty after their match in Paraguay on Tuesday.

He will be on a flight with the club’s other South American players Alisson Becker, who was beaten twice by his club-mate in their game in Barranquilla in the far north of Colombia, Alexis Mac Allister and Darwin Nunez – who faced each other in Argentina’s 2-1 defeat by Uruguay – in a plane jointly chartered by a number of Premier League clubs to return their players home as expediently as possible.

Liverpool head to Manchester City in a top-of-the-table clash at the Etihad Stadium next Saturday lunchtime.

Gareth Southgate said England’s players fell short of the standards they “need to be at” against Malta but had no concerns about their attitude and aptitude ahead of next summer’s European Championship.

Nobody at Wembley expected anything other than a victory from the side ranked fourth in the world against the one nestled between Fiji and Bermuda in 171st.

But already-qualified England made hard work of a straightforward Group C qualifying assignment on Friday, with Enrico Pepe’s own goal giving the hosts a lead in a first half in which they failed to muster a single shot on target.

Harry Kane added another after a rare moment of quality interplay in the second half as Southgate’s side limped to a 2-0 victory that all but assures their place among the top seeds at next month’s Euro 2024 draw.

“We didn’t start the game well,” the England boss said. “I’ve been in football for 35 years and if you don’t start well, it’s really difficult to pick it up.

“We needed, of course, to show better quality with the ball but also we were a bit stretched without it and a little bit disjointed in our pressing at times.

“We were not the level we would want to be at. We were not the level that we need to be at.

“But, equally, this group of players have been exceptional and I’m not going to start getting into their ribs too much about a performance like tonight.

“We made a few changes, we didn’t hit the levels we would have liked to have but they managed to win the game.

“Not in the style we’d have liked for the supporters but, in the end, we’ve won comfortably, as we should.”

England now head onto Skopje to complete their Euro 2024 qualification campaign against North Macedonia as preparations continue for next summer.

Glory in Germany is the sole focus and Southgate dismissed the suggestion that his players taking their foot off the gas at home to Malta was a worrying sign.

“No, it’s not a worry because I think sometimes when players have so many matches they almost self-regulate,” Southgate said.

“I’ve been a player. You know that there’s a certain level you need to hit to beat Italy here and you know that you don’t have to hit that level to win today’s game.

“Although you would think that everybody would be at the same level all the time, that’s not the reality of football.

“I’ve played in those matches myself and there are nights where subconsciously you just do enough to win and I think that’s a little bit where we were tonight.”

England were below par for the most part on Friday, but Southgate still saw things he liked in their final home match of an unbeaten year.

“We scored a lovely second goal and I think there were some individual performances that were very positive,” he added.

“I thought Trent (Alexander-Arnold) was very, very good (in midfield). Him and Phil (Foden) in the first half were the two that looked like opening things up.

“I thought Marc Guehi had a very mature performance again. He’s really growing as an international footballer.

“It was lovely to get Cole Palmer on and give him a feel of things and I thought he looked really very comfortable in the environment.”

The result meant Malta ended qualification bottom of Group C with defeats in all eight of their games, but they showed signs of promise against the Euro 2020 runners-up.

Teddy Teuma went close to a famous opener just 28 seconds into the match at Wembley, where head coach Michele Marcolini praised his players’ efforts.

“I’m very proud of my players,” the Malta boss said. “I think they came here in Wembley without fear, always brave. We tried to be as offensive as possible.

“They reacted very, very well to falling behind. I think during these European qualifiers, we grew a lot and in these last matches against Ukraine and England played very well.

“For everything, to grow, we need time. I am very happy with our performance and the regret is we didn’t score. It would have been amazing.

“Apart from that, we wanted to make the fans proud and I think today the players put on the pitch the last drop of sweat I asked them to do yesterday.”