Jamal Musiala has no regrets and is "very happy" with his decision to represent Germany over England ahead of Monday's Nations League clash at Wembley.
Born in Stuttgart, Musiala spent a significant part of his childhood in England and was with Chelsea from 2011 until 2019, while he also captained the Three Lions at youth level.
However, he returned to Germany in 2019 to join Bayern Munich and elected to represent Hansi Flick's side last year.
Musiala will now face off against the side he could have represented on Monday and made it clear he has no regrets about the decision on his international allegiance.
"I feel good to be here in England. I am very motivated. England are a very strong team and my past makes me want to play even more," he said.
"I don't know exactly how many times I've played at Wembley. I've been to school tournaments here before and made it to a final there twice. The atmosphere at Wembley is always great.
"It wasn't an easy decision and I thought about it for a long time. In the end it was a decision I made with my family and I'm very happy with. Some England fans are definitely not happy with my decision but that shows that I play well."
Flick has confirmed Musiala will start for Germany in their Nations League dead rubber at Wembley and heaped praise upon the 19-year-old.
"When he trained for the first time, you immediately noticed what a talent he is. His development is fantastic," he declared.
"He can hold his own well in a small space and has a strong feeling for the space. He is also very strong at dribbling, which is why he can solve situations for us.
"In addition, he is very skilled defensively and has many ball wins. I'm glad he's playing for Germany."
Fatima College stuns San Juan North to claim top spot in SSFL Premiership Division
Fatima College moved to the top of the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) premiership division standings on Saturday with a remarkable 5-2 win over San Juan North Secondary School at the latter's school ground.
Despite being reduced to 10 men after Captain Jaden Williams was sent off, Fatima scored three goals in the last few minutes of the match to turn a 2-2 draw into a resounding victory.
Jonathan Mason scored twice in the 87th minute and stoppage time, while Michael Chaves added a third in the 97th minute.
Fatima's other goals came from Aidan De Gannes and an own goal by Jaheem Danclar.
San Juan North had taken the lead through national youth player Lindell Sween in the 23rd minute, but Danclar equalized in the 26th minute.
Fatima then took the lead through De Gannes in the 33rd minute, but Nathan Quashie levelled the scores again for San Juan North in the 45th minute.
In other SSFL results on Saturday, Speyside High School defeated Pleasantville Secondary 3-1, Trinity College East came from behind to beat Malick Secondary 2-1, St Mary's College defeated Queen's Royal College 4-3, East Mucurapo beat Chaguanas North Secondary 3-0, Presentation College San Fernando crushed Bishop's High School 4-0, and defending champions St Benedict's College edged St Anthony's College 1-0.
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Nicolas Dominguez earns point for 10-man Nottingham Forest against Brentford
Nicolas Dominguez scored his first goal for 10-man Nottingham Forest as they held on for a 1-1 draw against Brentford at the City Ground.
Things looked bleak for Forest as they went down to 10 men just before the hour when Moussa Niakhate picked up a second yellow card, and immediately conceded to Christian Norgaard from the resulting free-kick.
But they rallied and Argentina international Dominguez levelled soon after with a looping header that Bees goalkeeper Mark Flekken appeared to misjudge.
Forest were able to see out the remaining 35 minutes with relative comfort to maintain their unbeaten start to the season on home soil.
The draw means Brentford have now gone five games without a win as their tricky start to the campaign continues.
There was a change to the match officials’ line-up after Darren England was dropped as fourth official following his mistake on Saturday night when, as VAR in Tottenham’s game against Liverpool, he failed to act properly in overturning the decision to rule out Luis Diaz’s goal for offside.
Craig Pawson was drafted in on the touchline and his colleagues in Stockley Park had an early test as Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi converted from close range after Willy Boly’s header from a corner.
He was immediately ruled offside but it was closer than it initially looked, with VAR Michael Oliver this time consulting the horizontal lines to confirm the decision.
The game could have done with that early goal standing as a drab first half followed, with nothing of interest happening until added time when a short free-kick routine saw Norgaard advance into the box but his deflected shot was palmed away by Matt Turner.
The second half immediately brought more entertainment as Brentford were close to taking the lead when Yoane Wissa closed down Turner and the ball trickled towards the net but Boly cleared.
Forest endured a chastening couple of minutes just before the hour that led to the Bees taking the lead.
Niakhate fouled Wissa, raking his studs up the back of his opponent’s leg, with referee Paul Tierney brandishing a second yellow card.
And from the resulting free-kick Norgaard got goalside and nodded Mathias Jensen’s delivery into the corner, with the goal surviving a lengthy review for offside.
Forest’s response was admirable, though, and they levelled eight minutes later as Harry Toffolo’s cross found Dominguez and his header looped over Flekken, with the goalkeeper appearing to pull his hand away as it went over him.
The final half-hour was an attack versus defence exercise as Brentford pushed to make their numerical advantage count, but they came up against a resolute Forest rearguard.
Morgan Gibbs-White produced a fine goal-saving tackle as the Bees broke at speed while debutant defender Murillo cleared off the line from Michael Olakigbe, with Norgaard firing over from the rebound.
Forest put bodies on the line to see out 13 minutes of injury time and earn a valuable point.
That win goes down to the manager – Craig Dawson hails Gary O’Neil
Craig Dawson praised Wolves boss Gary O’Neil after their shock win over Manchester City.
The defender kept Erling Haaland quiet as Wolves earned a battling 2-1 win at Molineux on Saturday.
Hwang Hee-chan struck a second-half winner after Julian Alvarez had cancelled out Ruben Dias’ early own goal.
O’Neil had come in for early criticism from supporters, especially after Tuesday’s 3-2 Carabao Cup defeat at Ipswich, but Dawson insisted the manager deserved all the plaudits from Saturday.
He said: “A lot of credit has to go to the manager for getting us so organised, with the game plan, and getting us fully prepared for the match, which he has done for every single game. That win goes down to the manager.
“It was a massive win and it was great to see this place bouncing.
“It’s clear at times we were man to man and the players stuck to that task brilliantly and stuck to the game plan for the full duration of the game, which is great for the lads.
“It was all about concentration and keeping focused and credit to the manager for preparing us, getting us organised, and today we stuck to the plan and managed to get the victory.”
Defeat ended City’s flawless start to the Premier League season but they remain top, a point ahead of Tottenham and Arsenal – with a trip to the Emirates Stadium to come on Sunday.
“We’re all a bit disappointed now of course. We should have done more I guess,” midfielder Oscar Bobb told the club’s official site.
“We pushed for it and unfortunately didn’t get it. Leipzig (in the Champions League on Wednesday) is next, a big game ahead and then Arsenal. We’re only thinking forward.
“It’s not the greatest feeling, losing. I just want to keep pushing for more.
“It gives us the chance to prove that we’re still the best team, so we’re looking forward to it.”
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