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• Dorival Junior expects Brazil to qualify for 2026 World Cup

  Dorival Junior expects to see Brazil qualify for the 2026 World Cup following their 2-1 victory over Chile, despite inconsistent form so far.

  The Selecao had lost four of their previous five qualifiers before winning this one, which had left them in fifth in the CONMEBOL table but perilously close to dropping out of the top eight.

  The three points they earned in Chile saw them move up fourth, but there is still just a three-point gap between themselves and eighth-placed Paraguay, who beat Brazil 1-0 in the previous international break.

  Given their recent form, a win in Chile was a welcome relief for Dorival despite a lacklustre performance.

  "We are moving step-by-step, with a lot to fix, but little by little finding the way," Dorival said after the game.

  "I'm happy to see the team's maturity, even though they're very young. We had balance and tranquility."

  Should Brazil fail to qualify for the World Cup, it be the first time in history that they would have been absent from the competition.

  Given that it would come after it has been expanded from 32 to 48 teams, giving CONMEBOL a further two qualification spots, would only add to the embarrassment.

  But Dorival wanted to make it clear that he has faced selection issues over the course of this campaign.

  Of the starters in Chile, only four players - Danilo, Marquinhos, Lucas Paqueta and Raphinha - started in the 2022 World Cup, while Alisson, Eder Militao and Vinicius Junior were all injured.

  "A [team] renewal is not simple," Dorival said. 

  "We don't have the structure that was set up for the previous World Cup and this ends up making the games even more difficult due to the balance between the youth of these boys and the experience of others that are there.

  "We only had four players that finished the last match of the World Cup and that has considerable weight."

  Despite the difficulties that both he and the team have faced, Dorival is of the belief that they will make it to the United States, Canada and Mexico in two years.

  "We will arrive with a strong team in two years, but we will face some difficulties," he said.

  Brazil defender Marquinhos came down on his coach's side when asked to give his thoughts after the match.

  "Seeking changes is beside the point," he said. "I'm happy with Dorival, with the work he's been doing."

  Dorival has been in the job for less than a year, having only been appointed as Brazil's head coach in January, though the Selecao also failed to impress at this year's Copa America.

  The need for patience was something that Marquinhos was quick to point out.

  "It's not easy, you have to give him time to understand the group he has in hand and use the pieces," he added.

  "We showed that we have quality, many good players. We know the coach's ability, what a great professional and person he is.

  "We are fully focused on seeking to improve and grow as a group and team."

• 'Hopefully I'll be going back to the Under-21s' – Carsley casts doubt on England prospects

  Lee Carsley suggested he would be happy to go back to coaching England's Under-21s in the wake of the Three Lions' defeat to Greece.

  England lost to Greece for the first time as a double from Vangelis Pavlidis, who netted the winner in second-half stoppage time, claimed a famous 2-1 victory for the visitors at Wembley.

  Jude Bellingham had slammed in an 87th-minute equaliser, which was England's first shot on target since the third minute of Thursday's Nations League match.

  Interim manager Carsley, who led the Under-21s to Euros glory last year, picked an attacking line-up that featured Bellingham, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka, but without a recognised striker in the absence of Harry Kane, England floundered.

  While the match stats were not overly in Greece's favour, with both sides having an equal number of shots and England actually creating more big chances (two to one), but the visitors did have three goals disallowed for offside.

  England's sorry performance sparked debate over Carsley's long-term suitability for the job of replacing Gareth Southgate on a permanent basis, and after the match, the former Republic of Ireland international said: "I was quite surprised after the last camp in terms of [reading] the job is mine and it is mine to lose and all the rest of it.

  "My remit has been clear. I'm doing three camps. There's three games left and then hopefully I'll be going back to the Under-21s. It has had almost no impact."

  Asked if he did not want the England job on a full-time basis, Carsley added: "I said at the start I wouldn't rule myself in or out, that's still the case.

  "I'm more than comfortable in my position. The remit was clear. I'm comfortable and confident with that.

  "After the first camp I didn't get too excited. I'm very aware that this job is one of the best jobs in the world. You've actually got a chance of winning. That's still the case."

  Greece, meanwhile, dedicated their win to George Baldock, the former Sheffield United full-back who died at the age of 31 earlier this week.

  "It was a very special day and match for us. Our thoughts are with George," said Pavlidis, who scored his first goals for Greece since June 2022 against Cyprus, ending a run of 14 games without a goal for the national side.

  "We are professionals and had to play the match. We gave our soul for him tonight. Today is not a day to talk about football. He was part of our team. We will miss him very much.

  "Also to wish strength to his family and not talk about football. The whole day was numb. We won tonight and don't want to celebrate. There are just no words."

• Messi blames pitch after 'ugly' Venezuela draw

  Lionel Messi was left annoyed at the state of the pitch at the Estadio Monumental de Maturin as Argentina drew 1-1 in Venezuela on Thursday.

  Heavy rain in Maturin had initially caused kick-off to be delayed by half an hour, although when the players eventually took to the field it was clear that the ball was holding up in water and bounced very little.

  Argentina, who had eight shots to Venezuela's 16, went ahead in the first half through Nicolas Otamendi before Salomon Rondon equalised in the 65th minute.

  And Messi did not hold back in expressing his anger at the playing conditions.

  "It was very difficult, it makes for very ugly matches," said Messi.

  "We could not complete two passes in a row. In the second half we did it on the right a little more, but it is difficult to play like that. Very little is played."

  Team-mate Rodrigo De Paul was in agreement with his captain and was another player to vent their frustration after the match.

  "In this case, we couldn't play football," he said.

  With the ball barely rolling on the pitch, both teams had to resort to changing their tactics to deal with the conditions. That is something Messi believes Argentina did well, but ultimately cost them the game.

  "We tied because the field didn't help us do what we wanted, we had to do another game than the one prepared for," he said

  "But we were prepared because we fought, won the battles, played with the error of the rival. We couldn't risk much by playing with passes to the back. 

  "In the first half we made a couple passes to the back and the water would stop it, and complicated it. We [played] the game we could with the water."

  The draw maintains Argentina's position at the top of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying group with 19 points after nine matches. Following Colombia's defeat in Bolivia, their lead was extended by a point.

  But Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni was another who took the side of his captain, explaining that he thought the game should not have gone ahead.

  "It did not meet the minimal conditions for a football game," he said.  "You couldn't play.

  "We did what we had to do, but the conditions of the playing field were not for a match against two teams of this kind of level."