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• Stones relishing 'special' England moment after being handed Three Lions armband

  Lee Carsley revealed that John Stones will lead out England in their Nations League clash against Greece on Thursday, with Harry Kane set to start the encounter on the bench.

  Stones, who has made 81 caps for the Three Lions since his debut in 2014, will captain his nation for the first time at the start of a match. 

  During Gareth Southgate's tenure, only Kane (81) and Kyle Walker (70) made more appearances than Stones (68 - level with Jordan Pickford). 

  The Manchester City defender has become a mainstay in the England side in recent years, helping his nation to their two major tournament final appearances in consecutive European Championships.

  "It's everything I could have dreamed of as a kid. More for my family, to be able to see me walk out as England captain is a special moment," Stones said. 

  "One I can't thank Lee enough for. An incredible moment for me.

  "To be walking out with the armband on is an absolute honour and a moment I'll cherish forever."

  "It was a great conversation I was able to have with John to ask him to captain the team," Carsley added. 

  "It's a brilliant achievement, something he deserves with the amount of caps he's got, the level of professionalism he's shown, the example he is to young players."

  Carsley later confirmed Kane could still play a part against Greece and would be in the running to face Finland on Sunday.

  Kane, who marked his 100th England appearance with two goals in the Three Lions' 2-0 win over Finland last month, suffered an ankle injury in Bayern Munich's draw with Bayer Leverkusen in his final match before the international break.

  The 31-year-old has since trained away from the main group of players. 

  "Harry is nursing an injury, a small knock, something we won't take a chance with," said Carsley.

  The interim Three Lions boss was also asked about the role of Cole Palmer, with the Chelsea forward enjoying a fine start to the Premier League campaign. 

  Palmer has scored six goals in seven games in the league this term, four of which came in a stunning display against Brighton, becoming the first player in Premier League history to net four times before half-time in a single match. 

  The 22-year-old leads the Premier League for the most goal involvements this campaign (11), with only Bukayo Saka (27) creating more chances in the top flight this season than Palmer (23 - level with Andreas Pereira and Dwight McNeil). 

  Palmer was also recently named England's Men's Player of the Year for 2023-24, and Carsley expects him to carry on his impressive form in England's next two fixtures.

  "Cole is in fantastic form. He's carried that into this week," said Carsley. "Such an exciting player, a player I've worked with for four, five years now.

  "Cole, along with a lot of other attacking players who have put themselves into a great position to start the game."

• Layzell enjoys dream Women's Champions League debut as Man City stun holders Barcelona

  Naomi Layzell enjoyed a dream Women's Champions League debut as her goal and assist helped Manchester City stun holders Barcelona 2-0 on Wednesday. 

  Layzell was playing her football in the Women's Super League last season with relegated Bristol City, but was the star of the show at the Joie Stadium. 

  City were making their first appearance in the competition since falling to a 4-2 quarter-final loss to the Catalan side in March 2021, and exacted their revenge with a plucky display.

  The hosts, however, almost found themselves a goal behind with just three minutes on the clock when Caroline Hansen took aim and saw her effort cannon off the post, shortly before Lauren Hemp struck the woodwork with a strike of her own. 

  City grew into the contest and almost got the goal their performance merited in the 35th minute when Vivianne Miedema teed up Khadija Shaw, only to see her effort saved by Cata Coll.

  But from the resulting corner, Gareth Taylor's side got their noses in front as Miedema brilliantly headed the ball back into the danger area, with Layzell sliding in to mark her Champions League debut with a goal. 

  Barcelona had only failed to score once in their past 79 games heading into the encounter, and improved after the interval in their search for an equaliser. 

  Aitana Bonmati forced Ayaka Yamashita into making a smart save down to her right, with substitute Claudia Pina going close from distance as City were forced to withstand a relentless wave of pressure from the defending champions. 

  But the hosts landed a sucker punch in the 77th minute on the counter, with Layzell turning provider for Shaw, with the striker riding the challenge of Patri Guijarro before rounding Coll to seal a memorable triumph for City. 

  The Citizens ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.68 compared to Barca's 1.5, despite having four fewer shots than their opponents. 

  Taylor's side sit level on points with Hammarby in Group D, after the Swedish side beat Austria's St. Polten 2-0 earlier on Wednesday.

  Meanwhile, in Group C, Juventus edged out Norwegian side Valerenga to kickstart their campaign with a victory at the Intility Arena. 

  Sofia Cantore's 29th minute strike proved to be the difference, with the Italian curling a fine right-footed effort beyond the grasp of Tove Enblom against the run of play. 

  Juventus continued to struggle throughout the contest, with Valerenga registering 25 shots, with six of those on target, ending with an xG total of 2.2. 

  Massimiliano Canzi's side go level with Bayern Munich at the top of the Group C following the German side's 5-2 thumping of Arsenal. 

• Man United's Diallo withdraws from Ivory Coast squad

  Manchester United's Amad Diallo has withdrawn from the Ivory Coast's Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against Sierra Leone due to illness. 

  Diallo, who has made six appearances for his country, has since returned to Manchester ahead of the Red Devils' upcoming Premier League fixture against Brentford.

  The 22-year-old earned his first cap for the Elephants in 2021, and was recalled to Emerse Fae's group after a 15-month absence in June for wins over Zambia and Chad.

  Ivory Coast know that two wins against the Leone Stars will seal their progression to the tournament, which takes place in Morocco at the end of next year. 

  A statement by the Elephants read, “The Ivorian Football Federation informs the Press and the public that the player, Amad DIALLO, arrived in group on Monday October 7, 2024, as part of the 3rd and 4th Days of the CAN qualifiers Morocco 2025, is declared forfeit for health reasons.”

  Diallo is the latest player within Erik ten Hag's ranks to withdraw from international duty with their respective nations. 

  Argentina's Alejandro Garnacho, England's Kobbie Mainoo and Morocco's Noussair Mazraoui are the other players left out as a precaution. 

  Diallo has made 10 appearances for United this season in all competitions, scoring once in his side's 2-1 defeat to Brighton at the start of the 2024-25 campaign. 

  However, he has yet to fully nail down a starting berth, with Ten Hag so far rotating his wide options with Garnacho and Marcus Rashford.