Fikayo Tomori is hoping England’s final two Euro 2024 qualifiers will present the “perfect opportunity” to spring a “stop-start” international career into life.
The 25-year-old AC Milan defender made his senior England debut in 2019 but has collected just four caps since, although he is yet to be part of a back line that has conceded a goal.
Now, for the first time, the former Chelsea youngster has been called up by Gareth Southgate for three successive squads.
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Harry Maguire and John Stones continue to be Southgate’s first-choice partnership at the heart of his defence but the latter will sit out the upcoming double-header against Malta and North Macedonia through injury.
That could open the door for Tomori, as well as Crystal Palace skipper Marc Guehi, to stake a claim for a more prominent role for England, especially with qualification for next summer’s Euros already achieved.
Asked how big the two upcoming games are for his own Euros chances, Tomori told BBC Radio 5 Live: “Very important. Obviously, the guys have gone through this kind of qualifying campaign really well and they managed to get us qualified early.
“So I think now that we have two games when we’ve already qualified, I think it’s a good chance for the players who probably haven’t played as much or who want to make a claim for the Euros.
“I think it’s the perfect opportunity. The last camp I managed to get a match, my first game at Wembley, which was nice. That’s a positive step in the right direction for me and hopefully this camp I can make another step and play in a qualifying game.
“Obviously John and Harry are really top players and they have been for him (Southgate) for a number of years.
“So, for me, I’m coming in and I’m just trying to push them as much as I can, show the manager what I can do.”
Tomori’s first steps on the international scene came with Canada – the country of his birth – when he represented their under-20s before switching his footballing allegiances to England.
After coming up through the ranks, he made his senior debut as a late substitute in a 4-0 World Cup qualifying win away to Kosovo.
He has since been capped once in 2021, 2022 and 2023 despite winning Serie A with AC Milan two seasons ago.
“I think it’s been a bit stop-start,” Tomori said of his England career to date.
“I think when I was 21 and I first got called up I made a few appearances off the bench… then after the Covid year I wasn’t paying as much, so obviously I wasn’t getting called up.
“Then I went to Milan and I’ve been in a few camps, out a few camps. But this season started off really well and I’ve have managed to play a few games and I’ve come to every camp.
“So yeah, it has started off well and now I just want to keep it going and play more games, get more caps.
“Most players will say once you come here, you want to stay here and when you get taste for it, you want to you want to keep building on it.
“Like I said, this season, I started off really well and this is my third successive camp. So I’m really, really happy with how things are going and I think now it’s just about staying consistent, trying to get into the next camp and the next camp and the next camp.”
Alphansus Davis, Cedric Titus complete field for DaCosta Cup Round of 32
Alphansus Davis High and Cedric Titus High both confirmed their spots in the Round of 32 of the ISSA/Wata DaCosta Cup as the first round of competition ended on Monday.
Alphansus Davis High made it past the first round for the first time since 2018 when they were still named Spalding High after they held on for a 2-2 draw against Bellefield High, completing their Zone G playoff game that had started last week. They finished with 16 points in the first round.
At the same time, Cedric Titus High took the lone ‘wild card’ spot available to the best third-place team.
They joined the 30 schools that had already booked their places up to Saturday for the Round of 32, which is set to get underway on Tuesday with one game, Port Antonio High against Dinthill Technical at Carder Park.
Christiana High won Zone G with 28 points, and Holmwood Technical won second with 22 points.
For their efforts, Alphansus Davis will play in Group 4 of the Round of 32 alongside Munro College, Maldon High, and Brown’s Town High,
Cedric Titus High was third in Zone D, behind Spot Valley High and William Knibb, and edged out Green Pond High for the best third-place team on goal difference after both had accumulated 19 points from 10 games.
Cedric Titus had a goal difference of 27 to Green Pond High’s five.
Also on Monday, Central High topped the Zone H table after playing out a 0-0 draw with defending champions Clarendon College.
Central finished with 20 points and will play in Group 6 in the second round while Clarendon College took second place with 19 points, edging Denbigh High, who beat Lennon High 4-1, on goal difference.
Clarendon College will play in Group 7, where they will meet Glenmuir High in a repeat of last season’s final, Paul Bogle High, and Titchfield High.
Denbigh High will contest Group 5 along with Belair High, Happy Grove High and Holmwood Technical.
Frome Technical topped Zone B with 26 points after a 4-0 win over Green Island thanks to a second consecutive hat trick from Stevaughn Spence.
The other goal came from Dwyane Watt for Frome Technical who will now take on Ocho Rios High, Black River High, and Cedric Titus in Group 2.
Rusea’s High took the runner-up spot after beating Knockalva Technical 5-1 in Lucea, with Michael Foga scoring a hat trick, and will play out of Group 1 against Cornwall College, Spot Valley High, and Kemps Hill High.
Man City could face 'serious' punishment, says expert Maguire
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes if Manchester City are found guilty of breaching the Premier League's financial rules, that it should be reflected in their punishment.
The independent hearing, which started last month, is anticipated to last approximately two months, although the verdict is not expected to be made public until early next year.
If found guilty, the sternest punishment is relegation, while points deductions and fines are also potential penalties.
City have been charged with breaking financial fair play (FFP) rules, with the breaches allegedly going back over a decade.
The Citizens were charged with 54 counts of failing to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 until 2017-18, while also failing to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18 on 14 separate occasions.
City have been handed five charges related to their inability to comply with UEFA's rules, including FFP from 2013-14 to 2017-18, with another seven charges for breaching the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules from 2015-16 until 2017-18.
The final 35 charges are for failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 until February 2023.
City did, however, claim a victory in their recent legal challenge against the Premier League over Associated Party Transaction rules, though that is totally separate to the 115 charges.
Both Everton and Nottingham Forest were deducted points last season for breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.
However, Maguire believes that should City be found guilty on all 115 of their charges, then a possible points deduction should be fair in comparison to what was handed to both Everton and Forest.
"I think the reason why I say that, and again, I've got no inside knowledge of any of this, is that if we take a look at the commission hearings in relation to Nottingham Forest and Everton, one of the revealing things was that one of the commissions had said, I think this was in the case of Forest, ultimately, this is a minor breach of the rules, and this has resulted in what was a four-point deduction," Maguire told Stats Perform.
"As far as Nottingham Forest are concerned, given that that was a minor breach of the rules which covered a narrow period of time and a very specific, narrow set of circumstances, what Manchester City are being accused of is effectively corporate fraud over a nine-year period – they've been lying to the Premier League in relation to their finances.
"Well, that's far more serious than a technical breach of an overspend. So, if it's a four-point deduction for a minor breach, and all 115 charges are upheld, then surely that's a major breach, and that has to be reflected in the deduction."
Since the Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover in 2008, City have spent approximately €2,5987 billion (£2,1649bn), spending the most money in the 2017-18 season (£245.7m) with the most notable signings including Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, and Ederson.
City's most expensive player during that time was Jack Grealish, who arrived from Aston Villa in a £100m deal - which at the time constituted the most expensive transfer of an English player ever.
Maguire went on to say that should City only be found guilty of failing to cooperate with the Premier League, then a financial sanction seems more likely, as opposed to a points deduction or relegation.
"My one reservation on all of this is that if the only thing that Manchester City are found guilty of is not cooperating with the Premier League, then probably the appropriate punishment is a financial one because they've not had a sporting advantage," Maguire concluded.
"You can argue that bringing in more, artificially inflating the money coming in, and messing around with the wages, has allowed Manchester City to recruit these other players, and on the back of that, they've been successful on the pitch.
"So, we need an on-field punishment if it's just for non-cooperation with the Premier League, and given that the Premier League hasn't cooperated with Manchester City in terms of getting these deals through against this separate hearing, I don't think that a points deduction is appropriate."
England's second Test 'in the balance' after day one, says Potts
Matthew Potts thinks England's second Test against Pakistan is "in the balance" after day one saw the hosts reach stumps on 259-5.
Kamran Ghulam was the star for Pakistan on his debut, with his sublime knock of 118 pushing them to their tally.
Jack Leach had taken two early wickets, finishing the day on 2-92, while Potts and Brydon Carse also got in on the action before Shoaib Bashir removed Ghulam late on.
Playing on the same pitch as the first Test, England's spinners struggled to make an impact compared to the seamers.
But Potts, playing for the first time since the Sri Lanka series in August after replacing Gus Atkison, remained upbeat about England's performance.
"We created a lot of chances over the course of the day. The boys stuck at it, and we are pleased where we are with it now," Potts told BBC Test Match Special.
"You don't tell a score until both sides have batted on it. It appeared to be flatter than we expected. The game is in the balance, a couple of early ones in the morning, and we will see what it is.
"I think it did spin; slow spin kept a bit low. The lads stuck to the basics really well in some strong heat today. A couple of early wickets in the morning and hopefully we can run through them."
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