England’s final home match of the year will be remembered for the pre-match tributes to Sir Bobby Charlton rather than the football that followed as Gareth Southgate’s side limped to a 2-0 win against Malta.
Friday’s European Championship qualifier at Wembley saw the senior men’s team play their first match since the incredible 1966 World Cup winner died at the age of 86 last month.
A fan mosaic, video montage and minute’s applause formed part of a fitting farewell to Charlton before the current crop made hard work of a simple assignment against the side ranked 171st in the world.
Southgate is dealing with a number of absentees right now and his side are already assured of qualification for Euro 2024, but this was hardly the entertaining display he hoped to put on for the 81,388 in attendance.
It could have been worse given Teddy Teuma went close to a famous Maltese goal 28 seconds into a Group C encounter, but the hosts went ahead as Enrico Pepe turned Phil Foden’s cross into his own net.
Harry Kane was furious to see the referee book him for diving rather than pointing to the penalty spot as a tepid clash continued, with the Euro 2020 runners-up failing to muster a first-half shot on target for the first time in six years.
Things did not improve much after half-time but a rare moment of attacking coherency and quick-thinking saw Kane strike home 15 minutes from time.
Substitute Declan Rice saw a third ruled out for a contentious offside call on a night that all but assured England’s place among the top seeds in December’s Euro 2024 draw.
Southgate named a surprisingly-strong side against the Mediterranean minnows on Friday, showing just five changes from last month’s win against Italy.
Conor Gallagher was among those brought in and breathing a sigh of relief after he was dispossessed and Teuma flashed just wide from the edge of the box inside the opening minute.
It was a close shave and England quickly went ahead thanks to a moment of Maltese misfortune, with Foden’s attempted cutback ricocheting off Pepe and beating goalkeeper Henry Bonello.
Southgate’s side would not give up that eighth-minute lead, nor build on it during a lifeless first-half display.
Malta were far more impressive than they had been in June’s reverse fixture and Paul Mbong fired over after Harry Maguire saw a lax pass cut out.
England musted just two attempts across a wretched first half that saw fans entertain themselves with Mexican waves and paper planes.
They should, though, have seen a penalty after Kane went down as he rounded goalkeeper Bonello.
The skipper turned around expecting a spot-kick, only for referee Luis Godinho to show him a yellow card for simulation. The on-field decision was allowed to stand by the VAR.
Kyle Walker and Bukayo Saka replaced Gallagher and Fikayo Tomori at the break.
Maguire’s deflected, looping header from a corner was easily gathered and Marcus Rashford continued to be frustrated by Malta’s backline as the qualifier limped on.
Rashford and Trent Alexander-Arnold collided and the former was replaced by debutant Cole Palmer, while Rice came on for Jordan Henderson. The veteran again received boos from some fans.
Alexander-Arnold, deployed in midfield, saw a shot saved by Bonello and whipped another attempt over as England pushed for a second, which came through the familiar boot of Kane after 75 minutes.
Malta were dogged in their defending but quick interplay involving Walker, Foden and Saka ended with Kane firing home from close range.
A minute later England appeared to have added gloss to the scoreline.
Rice collected the ball, burst forward and whipped a fizzing 20-yard strike past Bonello, only for the goal to be ruled out upon VAR review for Kane being offside.
Yannick Yankam thrashed the ball just wide and Alexander-Arnold nearly caught out Malta’s goalkeeper as the clock wound down.
Many fans made an early exit and groans met the announcement that there would be six minutes of added time as the night ended in a 2-0 England win, just like Southgate’s first match against the same opposition in October 2016.
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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