Gareth Southgate says England are ready to fight for European Championship glory having progressed from what he believes was the toughest qualifying group with two matches to spare.
After bouncing back from December’s World Cup quarter-final exit to France by winning in Naples in March, three further wins and a draw away to Ukraine put the Euro 2020 runners-up within touching distance of progress.
Unbeaten England only needed a point against Italy to wrap up qualification for next year’s finals in Germany but went on to secure all three thanks to an impressive 3-1 comeback victory at a sold-out Wembley.
“Really pleased to win the game tonight,” manager Southgate said after sealing their spot at Euro 2024. “That’s the first thing.
“We know that the games against the top, top nations are the ones that we want to make a step forward with.
“We still need to win the games next month because it can affect seeding.
“Nice to get it done early. I think it’s probably the toughest qualifying group, with Ukraine, Italy and the results that North Macedonia have had, not only in this qualification but also in previous qualifications.”
The pressure is off as England welcome Malta next month, before rounding off 2023 away to North Macedonia buoyed by an impressive victory against Italy.
Former West Ham striker Gianluca Scamacca had put the Azzurri ahead on Tuesday as these nations met at Wembley for the first time since the Euro 2020 final.
But Harry Kane levelled from the spot and Marcus Rashford finished off a fine second-half team move, before the skipper added his second on a night that underlined their place among the Euro 2024 favourites.
“I think we have to accept that,” Southgate said. “I think pressure comes when expectation is different to reality and the reality is we are going to be one of the teams capable of winning.
“There are others. You know, it’s a very strong (line-up). You’ve only got to look through the top 10 European nations and on any given night one can beat another.
“We’re seeing in a Rugby World Cup now that teams that were ranked one and two in the world in those moments haven’t been able to get there. That’s tournaments.
“But we’re comfortable with that. I’ve talked about that from when we played at Naples and we delivered that night.
“I think we’ve continued to do that through this calendar year. I think our performances have been good.
“I think the players that played against Australia did a brilliant job for us.
“If we didn’t have the depth that we’ve got and the mentality to come through what was a really tough night for them, we wouldn’t have been able to have the freshness that we had tonight to give ourselves the best chance of winning the game.”
One of the keys to success next summer will undoubtedly be the brilliance of midfielder Jude Bellingham.
The Real Madrid star is arguably the best player on the planet right now and earned the first half penalty scored by Kane, before winning the ball and playing in Rashford.
“With Jude, his mentality is incredible for his age,” Southgate said.
“To have such an impact at such a young age, to show such maturity but also humility. We’re very lucky to have him.”
As for Italy, Tuesday’s defeat under the arch leaves them in third in Group C and three points behind second-placed Ukraine.
But Luciano Spalletti’s men have a game in hand on Sergey Rebrov’s outfit, who they face in the final round of fixtures.
“We have to win our next game so we can then travel away to Ukraine to compete,” the Italy boss said, looking ahead to November’s home clash with North Macedonia.
“I saw a team trying to do what I asked of them and I saw some good things. We made a few errors as well.
“With the things we did well, we weren’t able to score but as soon as we made a mistake, we conceded.”
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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