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Trent Alexander-Arnold

Anthony Joshua to appear in FIFA 21

Joshua will be a playable character in the video game's "Volta" mode – in which players are able to test their skills in a small-sided game with five-a-side rules.

Olympic gold medallist and world heavyweight champion Joshua is being introduced as a "Groundbreaker", alongside Kaka, Eric Cantona, Thierry Henry, Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, Atletico Madrid youngster Joao Felix and FIFA 21 cover star Kylian Mbappe.

Diplo, a three-time Grammy Award-winning DJ and producer, also features.

Players will be able to pit their wits against the Groundbreakers, while also being able to recruit them into their squads.

Bowen backs Alexander-Arnold to adapt to new England midfield role

The Liverpool vice-captain, who operates as a right-back for his club, has featured alongside Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham in England's win over Serbia and draw against Denmark on Thursday. 

Alexander-Arnold's inclusion in Gareth Southgate's midfield was a huge talking point heading into the tournament, yet it remains to be seen whether he will continue in that role in their final Group C fixture against Slovenia. 

The 25-year-old has been replaced in both games by Conor Gallagher in the second half, despite no player created more chances (3) or played more line-breaking passes in the final third (5) for England against Denmark than Alexander-Arnold. 

"Trent's a top player and I don't think anything phases him in terms of wherever he's playing, right back, left back, middle of the park," Bowen said. 

"So yeah, like I said, he's a top player and he understands what it takes to adapt to a new role, I suppose.

"Everyone's so close here, there's lots of conversations after games when people have done well. But like I said, he has got to adapt and now he's playing it."

Bowen himself has had to adapt to a new role at West Ham, having spent his previous four seasons predominantly in the wide attacking areas. 

However, injuries to Michail Antonio saw Bowen play much of the 2023-24 season as a centre-forward, scoring seven of his 16 league goals from that position. 

"Every role requires different things. I'm predominantly a right-winger, if I play on the left it's going to be different with the way I dribble with the ball," Bowen said. 

"I like to dribble inside when I'm out on the right being left-footed and then when you're playing left wing you're dribbling down the outside because it's your stronger foot. Little things like that can go into learning a new position.

"Striker again is obviously different. I think Trent, the way he plays and the way he passes the ball, and you see those long-range passes that he does. I think the energy that he's got to get into the box as well.

"I saw him the other night getting really high up the pitch as well. Like I said, the quality when he puts that ball into the box as well. It's a real big credit to him.

"I think he's adapted well to the thing. It's never easy. I can speak from experience of going to, not a new position, because you know, for me, I always found myself at centre-forward, even when I was playing on the wing.

"So, you kind of just kind of naturally edge towards that position kind of anywhere when you're playing the position. It's never easy, but you know how to change as a top player, and I know that he's adapted really well to the challenge."

Brazil would pick them' – Neville makes case for Foden and Trent as Keane slates 'terrible' England display

According to former England defender Neville, powerhouses such as Brazil would give Foden more of a chance on the big stage than England are allowing him.

Foden watched on as Gareth Southgate's men laboured to a 0-0 draw at the Al Bayt Stadium, delivering a largely turgid performance that was far removed from the opening 6-2 win over Iran.

The American opposition were more threatening for large parts of the game than much-fancied England, and substitutes Jack Grealish, Jordan Henderson and Marcus Rashford did little to change that.

Foden, a favourite of Pep Guardiola at City, made an appearance off the bench in the Iran game, but Southgate elected to keep him off the field this time, even with England lacking attacking spark that he might have provided.

Speaking on ITV, Neville said: "I was disappointed not to see Foden. For me, that talent is huge. I've not seen anything like that. I know we've got [Jude] Bellingham, we've got Grealish, we've got others.

"Gareth prefers [Mason] Mount, he prefers [Bukayo] Saka, he prefers [Raheem] Sterling at the moment, but for me for Foden not to be in amongst that in a starting XI, and to not come off the bench was interesting.

"I'm torn a little bit because I've got huge respect for Gareth and what he's achieved. He's achieved more than any [England] manager since Sir Alf Ramsey, but we've got a couple of talents there on the bench in Trent Alexander-Arnold and Foden. In terms of opening up a game, Trent Alexander-Arnold's got some of the best deliveries you'll ever see from a full-back.

"Those two not coming off the bench was a little bit disappointing in the sense that if you're going to try to win the game, they're world-class talents.

"Other nations – Spain, Brazil, France – probably would have Trent Alexander-Arnold and Foden in the starting XI, and I understand it a little bit having watched Trent Alexander-Arnold defend, but when you see a game like that where we lack creativity and where we can't really create any chances, you think, those two players, really should they be in there?"

Neville said England's overall display was "poor", and rated the USA midfield performance higher than England's effort in that area.

His former Manchester United team-mate Roy Keane agreed Foden should have played a part and was blunt about England's dour display.

Keane, a former Republic of Ireland midfield general, said: "We were all stood watching the game saying 'Foden'.

"You fully expected Foden to come on with the options, and the subs that did come on didn't really have an impact

"I know they did well the other day, but England did look leggy, they looked one-paced, they looked short of ideas. Even set-pieces, you never felt they had a goal in their locker from that. So actually it was a terrible performance."

FIFA FIFPRO Men's World 11 shortlist: Chelsea, PSG dominate 23-man group that includes Dani Alves

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson and full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold are also included, although there is no place for Mohamed Salah.

PSG's attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe are among the forwards, as is Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Veteran Dani Alves also won enough votes to make the list, even though the 38-year-old, who recently rejoined Barcelona, only played 16 times in domestic competition in Brazil this year.

Professional footballers across the world were asked to vote for the three players they considered to have the best seasons during the 2020-21 season among goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards.

FIFPRO said: "For the first time in 17 years, FIFPRO is updating the announcement about the most-voted players, reducing the shortlist from 55 to 23. This has been done to resemble a real-life 'squad' which, usually for international competitions, is the number of players involved. 

"The three goalkeepers, six defenders, six midfielders and six forwards with the most votes earned a place in the 23-men World 11 'squad'. To complete this elite selection, the two remaining outfield players with the most votes were added."

The keeper, three defenders, three midfielders and three forwards with the most votes will be chosen for the World 11, with the remaining spot assigned to the outfield player with the next highest number of votes.

The final 11 will be announced at The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony on January 17.

FIFA FIFPRO MEN'S WORLD 11 23-PLAYER SHORTLIST:

Goalkeepers:
Alisson (Liverpool, Brazil)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan/Paris Saint-Germain, Italy)
Edouard Mendy (Chelsea, Senegal)

Defenders:
David Alaba (Bayern Munich/Real Madrid, Austria)
Jordi Alba (Barcelona, Spain)
Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool, England)
Dani Alves (Sao Paulo/Barcelona, Brazil)
Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus, Italy)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City, Portugal)

Midfielders:
Sergio Busquets (Barcelona, Spain)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium)
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, Portugal)
Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona, The Netherlands)
Jorginho (Chelsea, Italy)
N'Golo Kante (Chelsea, France)

Forwards:
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus/Manchester United, Portugal)
Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund, Norway)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, Poland)
Romelu Lukaku (Inter/Chelsea, Belgium)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain, France)
Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain, Argentina)
Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain, Brazil)

Jota declares Liverpool are 'back' after breaking Tottenham hearts in seven-goal thriller

Liverpool looked set for a resounding win when goals from Curtis Jones, Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah put them 3-0 up within 15 minutes against a Spurs side bereft of confidence.

However, Tottenham staged a remarkable fightback as Harry Kane and Son Heung-min reduced the arrears before Richarlison dragged them level in the third minute of stoppage time.

But there was one final twist to come as Jota took advantage of Lucas Moura's misplaced pass to score the winner just 99 seconds after Tottenham had levelled things up.

Asked if Liverpool were back to their best after claiming a fourth successive Premier League win, Jota told Sky Sports: "Yeah. It feels great, and we just need to keep on going.

"We made it hard for ourselves. After being 3-0 up, we need to avoid being in this situation. But then in the end, it was a day to remember, especially for me, of course; the winner is always something special.

"Everyone dreams of scoring a last-minute winner. I saw the ball that wasn't properly defended, I believed I could score, and it was fantastic."

With Salah netting Liverpool's third after just 14 minutes and 16 seconds, the Reds have only been 3-0 up at an earlier stage of one previous Premier League game – in the eighth minute against Aston Villa in March 1996.

While he was delighted by Jota's dramatic intervention, right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold was keen to ensure Liverpool learned from squandering a comfortable lead.

"It was crazy. What a game," Alexander-Arnold said. "These are the games we love to play in. A fantastic ending to a game. It's the stuff you love to see, to be honest.

"It's not so much relief, it's just celebration. It was about pushing to get the winner again. We went from disappointment to sheer joy in a matter of minutes, and it's an outstanding way to win.

"There's a lot we need to learn. We can't be drawing 3-3 when we're 3-0 up. That's not what top sides do, we needed to put the game to bed. They fought back, fair play to them."

Liverpool 2-0 Burnley: Jota and Mane fire Klopp's men to victory in front of Anfield crowd

The Reds were handed a boost prior to Saturday's clash, Jordan Henderson returning to Premier League action for the first time since February and Andy Robertson named on the bench following an ankle injury.

It was Robertson's replacement, Konstantinos Tsimikas, who created the opener, finding Jota with a cross as the forward headed in his second goal in as many games at the start of the new season.

Both teams had strikes ruled out for offside, Mohamed Salah and Ashley Barnes the unfortunate pair, before Sadio Mane profited from Trent Alexander-Arnold's curling pass to seal victory.

Burnley had started the brighter, offering the hosts a rude awakening with Alexander-Arnold forced into a goal-line clearance to block Dwight McNeil's low effort - the offside flag belatedly appearing after the initial scare.

The hosts then opened the scoring in the 18th minute when Jota flicked past Nick Pope to record his first league goal at Anfield since November 2020.

Salah managed to curl past the Burnley goalkeeper to seemingly add a second, only for VAR to rule the Egypt forward offside after a smart offload from Harvey Elliott, making his first Premier League start for Liverpool.

James Tarkowski almost levelled on the stroke of half-time, rising above Alisson but heading narrowly wide as the goalkeeper failed to grasp Matthew Lowton's deep set-piece delivery.

Burnley had a goal of their own disallowed after the break, Barnes whipping into the roof of the net before seeing the assistant correctly raise his flag.

Any concerns among the returning home crowd over the slender lead were extinguished when Mane made Liverpool's second-half domination tell, smashing a low attempt into the net to cap superb build-up play by the hosts.

Alisson ensured a clean sheet with a brave save deep into added time, rushing out to deny Barnes from close range after the forward was rolled through by substitute Jay Rodriguez.

Mane scores but Liverpool held in two shortened friendlies in Austria

Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and new signing Ibrahima Konate were included in the line-up for the second shortened friendly against the Bundesliga side, while fit-again Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip and January signing Ben Davies featured for the younger team against Innsbruck.

Alexander-Arnold returned to the playing squad for the first time since suffering a thigh injury on England duty in June against Austria, which subsequently ruled him out of the Three Lions' Euro 2020 campaign that ended in shoot-out heartbreak to Italy.

Divock Origi opened the scoring with a spot-kick in the first game as the Belgian forward profited from a handball that came from full-back Owen Beck's cross.

But Origi's penalty was swiftly cancelled out by Ronivaldo's header past Loris Karius and that meant it was honours even between Jurgen Klopp's men and the Austrian side.

In the follow-up game against Stuttgart, Philipp Forster capped a slick move off to give Pellegrino Matarazzo's men the lead as he finished past Adrian inside the opening 10 minutes.

Liverpool, though, responded through Mane, who squeezed a shot in from close range after Kostas Tsimikas had initially got on the end of James Milner's cross.

And with neither team finding a winner inside 30 minutes, the Reds had to settle for two draws in their two run-outs at their camp in Austria.

Klopp's team next face Mainz on Friday before friendlies against Hertha Berlin, Athletic Bilbao and Osasuna round off their pre-season preparations.

Opta Woe: The worst passing stats in Europe's top-five leagues in 2019-20

Using Opta data, we have already examined some of the worst attacking numbers from 2019-20, so now it's the turn of those ball-playing technicians: the pass-masters.

We have analysed nine key metrics for outfield players to play in at least 10 league games this season, thereby giving us a good summary of those whose passing could use some improvement. Those metrics are focused on the number of passes (overall, in a player's own half and their opponent's half), the accuracy of those passes, corners and crosses, and losing possession.

As always when it comes to data, context is key. For instance, we have included overall accuracy percentages to give balance to the simple number of passes. A team's playmaker or set-piece taker, for example, is arguably more likely to have a larger number of misplaced passes than team-mates simply because he will be attempting more of them, and often in difficult areas.

It's also worth noting that the number of times possession has been lost excludes 'Hoofs' (which, by their nature, make losing the ball more common), while corner and crossing accuracy is taken only from those to attempt, on average, at least one per game.

That said, the below gives a good indication of some passing figures that need improvement - and there are one or two surprising names...

THE WORST PASSING STATS IN EUROPE'S TOP-FIVE LEAGUES 2019-20:

BUNDESLIGA:

Most passes failed: Robert Andrich (291)
Worst passing accuracy: Anthony Modeste (55.4 per cent)
Most passes failed, own half: Jamilu Collins (110)
Worst passing accuracy, own half: Kai Proger (60.5 per cent)
Most passes failed, opposition half: Sebastian Andersson (215)
Worst passing accuracy, opposition half: Anthony Modeste (42.1 per cent)
Most corners/crosses failed: Filip Kostic (199)
Worst corners/crosses accuracy (minimum 10): Wendell (0 of 22)
Most times possession lost: Filip Kostic (616)

LALIGA:

Most passes failed: Leandro Cabrera (352)
Worst passing accuracy: Enric Gallego (48.6 per cent)
Most passes failed, own half: Pervis Estupinan (94)
Worst passing accuracy, own half: Sergio Leon (57.1 per cent)
Most passes failed, opposition half: Joselu (283)
Worst passing accuracy, opposition half: Leandro Cabrera (43.5 per cent)
Most corners/crosses failed: Jesus Navas (134)
Worst corners/crosses accuracy (minimum 10): Karim Benzema (0 of 19)
Most times possession lost: Pervis Estupinan (534)

LIGUE 1:

Most passes failed: Issiaga Sylla (281)
Worst passing accuracy: Suk Hyun-jun (44.8 per cent)
Most passes failed, own half: Fabien Centonze (111)
Worst passing accuracy, own half: Suk Hyun-jun (50 per cent)
Most passes failed, opposition half: Andy Delort (238)
Worst passing accuracy, opposition half:  Suk Hyun-jun (44.4 per cent)
Most corners/crosses failed: Mathieu Dossevi (142)
Worst corners/crosses accuracy (minimum 10): M'Baye Niang (0 of 11)
Most times possession lost: Angel Di Maria (539)

PREMIER LEAGUE:

Most passes failed: Trent Alexander-Arnold (480)
Worst passing accuracy: Christian Benteke (52.4 per cent)
Most passes failed, own half: Cesar Azpilicueta (132)
Worst passing accuracy, own half: Matej Vydra (50 per cent)
Most passes failed, opposition half:  Trent Alexander-Arnold (359)
Worst passing accuracy, opposition half: Christian Benteke (48 per cent)
Most corners/crosses failed:  Trent Alexander-Arnold (246)
Worst corners/crosses accuracy (minimum 10): Gabriel Martinelli (0 of 22)
Most times possession lost:  Trent Alexander-Arnold (867)

SERIE A:

Most passes failed: Stefano Sabelli (324)
Worst passing accuracy: Lautaro Martinez (59.5 per cent)
Most passes failed, own half: Stefano Sabelli (94)
Most passes failed, opposition half: Stefano Sabelli (230)
Worst passing accuracy, own half: Florian Aye (58.5 per cent)
Worst passing accuracy, opposition half: Roberto Inglese (54 per cent)
Most corners/crosses failed: Erick Pulgar (134)
Worst corners/crosses accuracy (minimum 10): Kevin Lasagna (0 from 13)
Most possession lost: Stefano Sabelli (494)

AND THE TOP NINE:

Most passes failed: Trent Alexander-Arnold (480)
Worst passing accuracy: Suk Hyun-jun (44.8 per cent)
Most passes failed, own half: Cesar Azpilicueta (132)
Worst passing accuracy, own half: Suk Hyun-jun and Matej Vydra (50 per cent)
Most passes failed, opposition half: Trent Alexander-Arnold (359)
Worst passing accuracy, opposition half: Anthony Modeste (42.1 per cent)
Most corners/crosses failed: Trent Alexander-Arnold (246)
Worst corners/crosses accuracy (minimum 10): Wendell and Gabriel Martinelli (0 of 22)
Most times possession lost: Trent Alexander-Arnold (867)

Rashford begs for rematch after exiting England's FIFA tournament to Sancho

Sancho prevailed 2-1 despite initially trailing to a goal created by the in-game version of the Borussia Dortmund winger, his cross finding Rashford, controlled by Rashford.

"Oh, Jadon Sancho to Marcus Rashford! Sanch is under pressure right now," Rashford laughed on camera. "Oh my lord, I know you're sweating."

However, Sancho equalised through Rashford himself and then netted a winner with Raheem Sterling.

"I threw the game away, man," Rashford moaned, before adding: "You know what? I'm going to play you again. I'm going to go back to the drawing board and play you later."

Sixteen players across England's senior men's and women's teams and the Under-21s are involved in a tournament designed to raise awareness for staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

In the competition - which also highlighted the National Emergencies Trust, a collection of community foundations that distributes money to charities - Tammy Abraham, James Maddison, Todd Cantwell and Lucy Bronze were among the others to also advance to the quarter-finals.

Abraham was helped by a hat-trick from Rashford as he defeated Chelsea colleague Callum Hudson-Odoi 5-2.

Meanwhile, Maddison scored as himself in a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Callum Wilson that was sealed with a winner from Harry Kane.

"Look who it is! The dangerman," Maddison cried after finding the net with his computerised self.

Cantwell won the battle of the midfielders against Mason Mount, with substitute Rashford scoring a hat-trick in a 5-0 win after the Norwich City man brought him off the bench.

Mount had threatened to quit if Cantwell scored with the virtual version of the Chelsea midfielder, though he vowed to retire from the game after the drubbing.

"Go and win this and I won't feel bad," he told Cantwell.

Cantwell's club team-mate Max Aarons had his own hat-trick hero as Maddison grabbed all the goals in the 3-1 victory over Trent Alexander-Arnold's England.

Elsewhere, Ryan Sessegnon won 3-1 against Reiss Nelson, who was in disbelief that it was only a one-game series, while a golden goal earned Bronze a victory over Ellie Roebuck.

Bronze is the only female representative in the last eight after Eddie Nketiah saw off fellow Arsenal star Jordan Nobbs, setting up a meeting with Sancho.

Southgate admits England falling short, bemoans midfield options after Denmark draw

Having opened their Group C campaign with an unconvincing 1-0 win over Serbia last week, England failed to clinch top spot with a game to spare as they were pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Denmark on Thursday.

Harry Kane put the Three Lions ahead after 18 minutes, but they soon fell into old habits and sat deeper against a lively Denmark side, who levelled through Morten Hjulmand's ferocious 25-yard strike.

While England remain on course to top Group C, sitting two points clear of Denmark and Slovenia, who they face on matchday three, their performance put Southgate under more scrutiny.

England have attempted just 17 shots – seven of them on target – in their two games at Euro 2024, amassing a total of 1.85 expected goals (xG).

Scotland are the only team to have played two matches and created a lower xG total, amassing just 0.78 in their 5-1 defeat to Germany and a 1-1 draw with Switzerland.

Speaking at his post-match press conference, Southgate said: "Clearly, we're disappointed with the level of the two performances we've had, so we've got to go and analyse that in depth and find solutions to addressing the issues we have.

"We know the level can be higher. Maybe the biggest thing is we have to accept the environment that we're in and the expectations that are around us. At the moment, we're falling a little bit short of that.

"Ultimately, that's my responsibility. I'm the manager, and I've got to guide this group in the best way possible to achieve extraordinary things."

Trent Alexander-Arnold came in for particular criticism after retaining his place in midfield, despite no England player bettering his three chances created or five line-breaking passes, even as he was substituted after just 54 minutes.

In their 2-1 extra-time win over Denmark in the Euro 2020 semi-finals, England recorded 31 per cent of their open-play touches in the final third.

That figure was down to 17 per cent on Thursday as they struggled to progress the ball, with 34 per cent of their touches coming in their own third.

Southgate believes the absence of Phillips – who was omitted from the squad after failing to nail down a starting spot with either Manchester City or loan club West Ham – has been a difficult problem to solve.

Asked about Alexander-Arnold's display, Southgate told BBC Sport: "He has had some moments where he has delivered as we thought. 

"It’s an experiment. We don't have a natural replacement for Kalvin Phillips. At the moment we're not flowing as we would like.

"At the moment we're not using the ball well enough and have to accept if you do that you will suffer at times, as we have. We know there's another level we have to find."