Eddie Howe has no doubt Loris Karius is in confident mood ahead of an unexpected Newcastle United debut in the EFL Cup final.
An improbable series of events have led to Karius being in line to make his Newcastle bow against Manchester United at Wembley on Sunday.
First-choice goalkeeper Nick Pope was sent off against Liverpool last weekend, while Martin Dubravka is cup-tied having spent the first half of the season on loan at Man United. He will only get a winners' medal if his Newcastle team-mates lose.
Karl Darlow, who started Newcastle's cup campaign in goal, was also allowed to leave on loan, meaning Karius and Mark Gillespie – the fourth and fifth-choice options – will be thrust into the spotlight.
It is Newcastle's first major cup final since the 1999 FA Cup final, a loss to Man United, but Karius has rather more recent and similarly painful memories of such an occasion.
He was at fault for two goals as Liverpool lost the 2018 Champions League final to Real Madrid, albeit having suffered a concussion. He never played for Liverpool again.
But Newcastle head coach Howe said of that match: "I've never really discussed that at any length with him [Karius].
"We've all got stuff that's happened in our careers and our histories that you learn from, and I think he's no different in that respect.
"Since day one since he's come here – he started where he hadn't had a lot of work before joining us – he's trained with our goalkeeper coaches in a really, really good way.
"His general performances in training have improved as he's spent more time with us, and I think he's in a good place and he's ready to play."
Asked how talks had gone with Karius since his sudden promotion, Howe added: "Those conversations are the type of conversations I have with him on a regular basis.
"How is he? How does he feel his training's going? Are we giving him everything he needs to be the best that he can be?
"He's a very likeable, laidback character. I've got no doubts on his confidence levels. He seems very relaxed and excited – as Mark is – about what lies ahead."
Pope has kept the most clean sheets in both the Premier League (12) and EFL Cup (four) this season, but Howe himself is also still confident.
"I think we have to be very positive about our situation, about the game," he said. "Yes, it's a blow to lose Nick, but we still believe in the team and the group that we have."
St. Jago, Eltham, STATHS and Wolmer’s through to Walker Cup final four
St. Jago High, Eltham High, STATHS and Wolmer’s Boys all advanced to the semi-finals of the Walker Cup knockout tournament after quarter-final wins on Thursday.
St. Jago booked their spot in the last four after a 3-2 win over Calabar High at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex.
St. Jago took an early lead before Calabar equalized in the 45th minute through Kevaun Campbell. St. Jago retook the lead five minutes into the second half through Richardo Lewis before Seon Cato made it 3-1 in the 74th minute.
Calabar got a consolation goal through Sheldon Pusey eight minutes from full time but it wasn’t enough.
In the second game of the double header at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex, Wolmer’s Boys got the better of St. George’s College 2-1.
Elsewhere, STATHS got a comfortable 3-0 win over Charlie Smith at Calabar to advance while Eltham beat Jonathan Grant 3-1 at the Spanish Town Prison Oval to make it through.
Venezuela 1-1 Brazil: Super sub Segovia holds Selecao to shock draw
Substitute Telasco Segovia delivered the pivotal goal that saw 10-man Venezuela hold Brazil to a 1-1 draw in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying.
The shock result leaves Brazil in third place, trailing second-placed Colombia by two points and far short of Argentina in first.
Brazil opened the scoring just before half-time as Raphinha curled a delightful free-kick over the Venezuela wall from 20 yards out to break the deadlock.
On the other side of the break, however, half-time substitute Segovia equalised just 41 seconds after the restart, striking from outside the box, having run onto Jefferson Savarino’s short lay-off.
The visitors were provided with a prime opportunity to restore their lead when Rafael Romo fouled Vinicius Junior in the box. But the Real Madrid forward was unable to capitalise on the resulting penalty, seeing his initial effort saved before firing the rebound wide.
As tensions rose, the game delivered further drama as Alexander Gonzalez received his marching orders in the 89th minute for lashing out at Vinicius after fouling Gabriel Martinelli.
In a farcical ending to the lively affair, sprinklers popped up in the pitch in added time to delay proceedings, but neither side could find a way through.
Data Debrief: Instant impact for super sub Segovia
Segovia's goal, 41 seconds after coming on, is the fastest for a player coming off the bench in the last three editions of the South American World Cup Qualifiers.
Venezuela have now scored two goals in the first 15 minutes of the second half, only Brazil (four) and Colombia (four) have scored more in the 2026 CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers.
Kelleher repays Ireland trust in Finland victory
Republic of Ireland winger Mikey Johnston said the team had always trusted Caoimhin Kelleher after he made a crucial penalty save in their 1-0 Nations League win over Finland.
Johnston's corner set up Brighton and Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson for the decisive goal on the stroke of half-time, after Finland had twice been denied by the woodwork.
The visitors had a golden chance to level in the second half, but Liverpool goalkeeper Kelleher made a stunning save to deny Joel Pohjanpalo from 12 yards following a handball from Ferguson.
The result means Finland are relegated from Group B2, while Ireland must come through a play-off to remain in the competition's second tier.
Speaking after the game, Johnston credited Kelleher's all-important penalty save, saying: "I always trust him to go and save a penalty. He has reacted really well and stepped up in a big moment.
"We were aiming for the win. They had moments but there were a few chances we could have taken as well.
"We're happy that we've come away with the win. Sometimes in the last year we would have been on the other side of a bit of bad luck."
Ireland round off their campaign against England on Sunday, in Lee Carsley's final game in charge of the Three Lions before Thomas Tuchel takes the reins in January.
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