England have had their ups and relative downs as Gareth Southgate’s men qualified for next summer’s Euros and went through 2023 unbeaten.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the highs and lows from England’s eight wins and two draws across the year.
HIGHS
Opening qualification win in Italy
Southgate’s men put their 2022 World Cup frustration behind them by kicking off European qualification with victory at reigning champions Italy in March.
Harry Kane became England’s all-time record goalscorer by striking home a penalty after Declan Rice opened the scoring in Naples, before Mateo Retegui pulled one back.
Luke Shaw’s sending-off for two bookings in quick succession made for a nervy final 10 minutes but England held out for a 2-1 win – their first away to Italy since 1961.
Inspired Saka marmalises Macedonia
Bukayo Saka scored a jaw-dropping first career hat-trick in June as rampant England roared to a 7-0 victory against North Macedonia in a surprise end to the 2022-23 campaign.
Kane struck twice in an Old Trafford annihilation that also saw Marcus Rashford and Kalvin Phillips get in on the act, but ever-improving talent Saka was the star of the show.
Stirring success in Scotland
Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Kane fired England to a 3-1 victory as Scotland were given the runaround by the Auld Enemy at Hampden Park in September.
Southgate was delighted with his players’ commitment, togetherness and mentality in the so-called friendly as they followed up a 1-1 draw against Ukraine in Poland by beating Steve Clarke’s side on a night when Harry Maguire recovered from an own goal and an evening of abuse from the home crowd.
LOWS
Meek Malta win
England were poor in patches in away to Ukraine and struggled to break down Macedonia as their final group game also ended 1-1, but it was Friday’s win against Malta that most disappointed.
An expectant Wembley crowd resorted to paper planes and Mexican waves to entertain themselves in a 2-0 victory that lacked excitement.
Southgate admitted afterwards that he suspected players had subconsciously let their foot off the gas against the side 171st in the world.
Boo boys
During his seven years in charge, Southgate can be rightly proud of the way the fan-base and squad have reconnected.
A few supporters were heard booing Southgate and Jordan Henderson after Monday’s draw in Skopje, with the latter also jeered by England fans in both Wembley appearances since his controversial summer switch to Saudi Arabia.
Travelling fans at Hampden threw their support behind Maguire, who has been booed by pockets of his own fan-base in previous years, but the Manchester United defender was hounded by Scotland fans – treatment labelled by Southgate as “ridiculous”, “a joke” and “beyond anything I’ve ever seen”.
Left-back limitations
England are blessed with options at right-back but they lack alternatives on the other side. Luke Shaw is first choice but has only started twice since being sent off against Italy.
Injury has kept the Manchester United left-back out of the last three squads, with an issue keeping Ben Chilwell out of the previous two camps.
The Chelsea man played in both matches against Ukraine but right-back Kieran Trippier has started as many matches on the left this year.
Levi Colwill, Fikayo Tomori and Rico Lewis have also begun matches there, but Southgate will be praying Shaw and Chilwell get back fit and firing.
Kompany targeting Champions League top eight despite stuttering start
Vincent Kompany is eyeing a place in the top eight of the new Champions League format with Bayern Munich despite back-to-back losses in the competition.
Bayern welcome Benfica to the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, hoping to recover from defeats to Aston Villa and Barcelona, the first time they have failed to win consecutive games in the competition since April 2017.
Kompany's started their Champions League campaign with a 9-2 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb, but have since plummeted down the new league table.
They find themselves 23rd after three matches. However, they have fared better in the Bundesliga, sitting three points clear at the top of the table after nine games.
"What we know is you have to win around six (of eight) games to reach the top eight," Kompany said.
"You have to win three games and that should be enough for the playoffs. My goal is to reach the top eight."
Bayern last failed to reach the Champions League knockout stages in 2002-03, finishing bottom of a group that featured Deportivo La Coruna, Lens and Milan.
But despite their stuttering start in the competition so far, Kompany said the new format plays no role in the team's planning.
"I don't want to think too far ahead because we have enough games," Kompany said.
"We have to win against Benfica. I don't want to spend too much time thinking about what could happen in January.
"No one knows how it will work. We only know we want to win tomorrow. We play at home. That is my only goal."
Bayern, however, have every confidence of getting their European campaign back on track, with the German outfit boasting an impressive record against Benfica.
They have played 12 major European matches against Benfica and have never lost (W9 D3).
But Bruno Lage's side will be looking to buck that trend, having beaten Atletico Madrid and Red Star Belgrade so far, but they did lose to Feyenoord last time out.
"We have a lot of confidence going into this game. We will always adapt and take the steps that are right for the team," Kompany said.
"But to say we will change everything is not serious. We just want to win again at home.
Borthwick names unchanged starting England team for Australia clash
Steve Borthwick has named an unchanged starting team for England's match against Australia on Saturday with two changes on the bench.
England enter their second November Test looking to bounce back from their narrow 24-22 defeat to New Zealand last weekend.
Borthwick, however has elected to name the same group that started against the All Blacks, though Henry Slade will shift to inside centre, while Ollie Lawrence moves to outside centre.
Marcus Smith retains his place at fly-half while Jamie George continues to lead the side at hooker, but there is no place for Theo Dan or Ben Curry.
The pair are replaced by Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Sleightholme as England move from a six-two split between forwards and backs to a five-three combination.
Hooker Cowan-Dickie will make his first England appearance since November 2022 if he is introduced off the bench.
“Facing Australia is always a massive challenge, and we’ll work diligently this week to ensure we’re physically and tactically prepared to take on the Wallabies,” said Borthwick.
“The passion and energy from the crowd at Allianz Stadium last weekend was absolutely brilliant, from the opening whistle to the final moments, and we can't wait to be back at home this Saturday."
England squad in full:
George Furbank, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Ollie Lawrence, Henry Slade, Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, Ben Spencer; Ellis Genge, Jamie George (captain), Will Stuart, Maro Itoje, George Martin, Chandler Cunningham-South, Tom Curry, Ben Earl.
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Fin Baxter, Dan Cole, Nick Isiekwe, Alex Dombrandt, Harry Randall, George Ford, Ollie Sleightholme
Benzema: Mbappe must adapt to Madrid role and forget 'best in world' Vinicius
Kylian Mbappe must learn to play as a central striker at Real Madrid because he cannot displace Vinicius Junior on the left wing.
Those were the words of Los Blancos' second-highest scorer of all time, Karim Benzema.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 14 appearances in all competitions for Madrid since his move from Paris Saint-Germain, but has failed to score in his last five games.
The 26-year-old has been deployed in a more central role since under Carlo Ancelotti, as opposed to the wide role where he enjoyed success with the Parisiens.
"The problem, in my opinion, is that [Mbappe] is not a central striker, even with the national team, every time he plays as a number nine he doesn't feel right, because that's not his position," Benzema said on Spanish television show El Chiringuito.
"On the left, he's got a guy who's at the same level as him, Vinicius, so there is a problem.
"You can't play Vinicius as a number nine or on the right, because when he plays on the left he makes the difference in every game.
"Mbappe isn't a real number nine. People ask a lot of him and he's under a lot of pressure, this isn't Paris Saint-Germain."
The France captain has underperformed his expected goals (xG) figure in LaLiga by 1.75 this term, recording a shot conversion rate of just 18.18% from his 33 total attempts.
He has also missed seven big chances, with only Real Betis duo Abde Ezzalzouli and Vitor Roque (both eight) and Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski (11) wasting more in LaLiga.
In Madrid's last game, a 4-0 Clasico defeat, Mbappe recorded just 27 touches. Only Aurelien Tchouameni (24) registered fewer among those who started the encounter.
Benzema also endured a difficult start to life in the Spanish capital, netting just nine goals in his 33 appearances in all competitions in his debut season after his move from Lyon.
He would, however, go on to become one of Madrid's best ever players, scoring 354 times in 648 outings, a total that puts him behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (450) in the club's history.
Benzema won 25 major honours during his time at the club, also scooping the Ballon d'Or in 2022, and had some advice for his compatriot moving forward.
"Don't give up, because I don't think he's going to push Vinicius to move. He's the best player in the world at the moment," Benzema added.
"Mbappe needs to get it into his head that today he's a number nine, and forget about the left flank for a while."
Mbappe will be back in action for Madrid on Tuesday when they face Milan in the Champions League.
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