Gareth Southgate showed footage of Sir Bobby Charlton to his squad ahead of England paying tribute to the 1966 World Cup winner at Wembley.
The jewel in the crown for club and country, the news of Charlton’s death at the age of 86 on October 21 reverberated around the world.
Southgate was at Charlton’s funeral at Manchester Cathedral on Monday and further tributes will be paid to the England and Manchester United great on Friday evening at Wembley.
The Euro 2024 qualifier against Malta is the senior men’s team’s first match since Charlton’s death and a crowd mosaic is planned, along with a video celebrating his life.
There will be a pre-match ceremony, period of applause and players will wear black armbands in memory of a man whose importance to English football was reiterated to the squad this week.
“A big part of what we’ve wanted to do with our players is to talk about our identity as a team,” England boss Southgate said.
“Part of that is knowing the history of our team and having an understanding of how special some of the players that have been England internationals before are.
“We’ve had the chance to do that this week. We showed some footage of Sir Bobby to the players, the first day we arrived.
“A reminder that, of course, even a Liverpool man (like Trent Alexander-Arnold next to me) given Bobby’s performances with England can relate to his importance for English football.
“You can have a fabulous club career and an international career.
“At times those things can come into conflict because club managers of course have got to look after their own roles and responsibilities, and that can put players in difficult positions with all international teams, frankly.
“But your international team will always be there as well and if you can win something with your international team, it’s probably bigger than anything else you’re going to experience.
“So, there were lots of messages within that for all of the players but, most importantly, an incredible player, an incredible man.”
Southgate has underlined the history and importance of representing England throughout his reign, with their training pitch at St George’s Park renamed in Charlton’s honour in 2017.
The former defender has overseen an impressive turnaround in performances and a reconnection with supporters since first taking charge, initially on a temporary basis, in October 2016.
That match was a home qualifier against Malta and the Mediterranean minnows return to Wembley for the first since then in Friday’s Euro 2024 qualifier.
England secured progress with two games to spare and it appears can seal their place among the top seeds by winning on Friday, yet Southgate is never far away from criticism.
“Well, the reality of that is however well we play tomorrow people will just say it’s a lower ranked opponent, so it’ll be irrelevant,” he said with a laugh.
“People are going to have opinions. I’m probably tired of trying to fight that.
“In the end, it will be what it is. So, I’ll just let our results and performances speak for themselves.
“You’re never going to please everybody, so the best way as a football manager is keep winning matches, frankly.”
Southgate heads into England’s final home match of 2023 without a glut of key players, with five withdrawing, two absent for part of this week and three new faces brought in.
Rico Lewis, Cole Palmer and Ezri Konsa will be dreaming of making their debut, but the likes of Anthony Gordon remain on the outside looking in.
The 22-year-old has shone for Newcastle this season and reports have emerged that Scotland are looking to call up the England Under-21 European champion.
“He’s a good player,” Southgate said. “He was very good with our Under-21s last year. He’s very close, I have to say.
“I like his attitude, I like the way he works so hard for the team.
“Of course, I’m sure he was hoping to get a call at this moment, but there are good players playing well in that position on the field.
“But I think, like a couple of others, they’ve always got to think a little bit further ahead as to, you know, opportunities that can come up.
“I think for somebody like Anthony that’s eminently possible with us.”
Fonseca urges focus as Milan face bottom-placed Bratislava
Milan head coach Paulo Fonseca has urged his players not to underestimate the challenge posed by Slovan Bratislava in Tuesday's Champions League match, even though the Slovakian side are bottom of the standings after losing four straight games.
Slovan Bratislava have yet to earn a point and have a minus-13 goal difference, while Milan are 20th with six points and within the play-off section.
"Am I at risk of underestimating tomorrow’s match? I expect that won’t happen. Today we talked about the importance of winning tomorrow. We mustn’t look at their history," Fonseca told a press conference on Monday.
"We must think that tomorrow we are playing at their home. It will be important to have the right attitude."
Fonseca added that his side often perform better against teams that on paper appear stronger than them, such as their 3-1 win against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the previous Champions League matchweek.
"What I know is that against the big teams we have done well and that [we have] done less well against the small teams," Fonseca said.
"We work to be a team with the attitude and ambitions shown against the big teams. We work to always be the same team.
"The Champions League is the Champions League. Everyone likes to be in these games, the motivation is greater. I expect them to be able to play the Champions League tomorrow with this motivation."
Milan faced criticism following their dull 0-0 draw with Juventus at the weekend, with Fonseca admitting his side fell short of their best.
"We are aware of what we did well and what we did less well. We did several things less well," Fonseca said.
"The problem is that the dimension of things in Milan seems different to me: a draw with Juve for us is a defeat, for others a victory."
Simeone: New Champions League format more difficult
The Champions League's new format is more difficult than its predecessor was, Diego Simeone said ahead of Atletico Madrid's trip to Sparta Prague.
Each of the 36 teams in Europe's premier club competition must play eight group-phase games, with the top eight sides qualifying for the last 16 and the next 16 in the standings taking part in playoffs to decide who joins them.
At the halfway point in the first phase, Atleti are a lowly 23rd with six points, two points and three places above Tuesday's opponents.
The likes of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain also find themselves 17th or lower, while surprise packages Sporting CP, Monaco, Brest and Aston Villa are flying high in the top eight.
Simeone believes the change in format has had a major effect this season, with the Opta supercomputer now giving his team a 55% chance of reaching the last 16 and just a 1% probability of lifting the trophy.
"From what the results are showing us, and what happens in the games, I understand that this format invites everyone to pay even more attention," Simeone said on Monday.
"Once we move forward and this first experience is over, we will have a clearer idea of what we really think.
"They always put pressure on you to win. That happened before too, but now it is a league where everyone plays against everyone, and it is not easy for anyone."
Atletico boosted their hopes of avoiding elimination as they came from behind to win 2-1 at Paris Saint-Germain on matchday four, courtesy of a last-gasp goal from Angel Correa.
"The Champions League demands the most from you. It forces you to win," said Simeone, who celebrated his 700th game as Atletico head coach last weekend.
Sparta, currently fourth in the Czech First League, have failed to win in six of their last seven matches in all competitions, but Simeone does not expect a routine outing.
"They're tough opponents. At home they have a fast pace," Simeone added. "I can't imagine any other situation than taking this game to where we think we can do some damage.
"It often happens that all teams, at home and at the start of games, show intensity and strength.
"It's logical as they are with their fans. You have to adapt to the pace of that start. We're away from home and the opponent will push very hard."
Luis Enrique calls for PSG to show resolve in Bayern clash
Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique has urged his side to be brave in Tuesday's Champions League clash at Bayern Munich, admitting their stuttering start leaves no room for error.
PSG are languishing just under the play-off section of the Champions League standings in 25th, having won one, drawn one and lost two of their four matches to date. Bayern are 17th with two wins and two losses.
The difficult start to the campaign has made things more challenging for the Ligue 1 leaders, Luis Enrique said at his pre-match press conference on Monday.
"It's obvious that after four matches, including three at the Parc des Princes, with fair or unfair results, unfair for me, we have to have good results to qualify," he said.
"We made things difficult for ourselves. Football is what it is. You have to score.
"We will give it our all, we will be brave, we will take risks, as we usually do."
Bayern have won their last three games against PSG in the Champions League, with the French side failing to score in each of those matches.
Luis Enrique accepts it will be a tough match and that his side need to perform above and beyond.
"It is very clear that we are two teams that are similar. We want to have the ball, we press very high... we have similar statistics," he said.
"We are among the best teams with goal chances, but there will only be one ball. And so one team will have to suffer. Them, or us.
"We'll probably have to go further against Bayern. Run more, raise the level, especially against Bayern at home."
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