Gareth Southgate will name his provisional squad for Euro 2024 on May 21 as he looks to lead England to glory in Germany.
While domestic football returns to the fore this weekend, Southgate has plenty to ponder after the March international break saw England lose to Brazil and secure a last-gasp 2-2 draw with Belgium.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the key considerations for Southgate before a ball is kicked in Germany.
Injury worries
Southgate was unable to call on a host of injured players for the Brazil and Belgium fixtures, while more were then forced to pull out during the camp. Captain and all-time leading goalscorer Harry Kane and reigning England player of the year Bukayo Saka were among them, but it was defensively where Southgate’s squad was hardest hit. The defence which ended the game against Belgium did not contain a single player who would arguably be in the side to face Serbia in England’s Euro 2024 opener, so Southgate will be closely monitoring the fitness of the likes of Luke Shaw, Kieran Trippier, Harry Maguire, Kyle Walker and John Stones.
Forward thinking
An ankle injury saw Kane miss the Brazil defeat before he returned to Bayern Munich for treatment. The England skipper will no doubt be the main man through the middle this summer, fitness permitting, but the job of supporting role is another which could go to the wire. Only Erling Haaland has scored more than the 16 Premier League goals notched by Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins so far this season, while Ivan Toney marked his first England start with a goal from the penalty spot against Belgium and those two seem to be battling it out for the back-up role across the remainder of the campaign.
The Mainoo man
All things being equal, there are not many places up for grabs in Southgate’s preferred starting XI. But the third member of a midfield trio which will no doubt include Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham is a spot that will be considered by Southgate and his coaching staff in the coming months. Manchester United teenager Kobbie Mainoo shone on his full debut against Belgium, while Conor Gallagher, Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and James Maddison – to name but a few – will all have hopes of impressing Southgate sufficiently enough to earn the shirt.
High-profile absentees?
It would have seemed ludicrous last summer to suggest treble-winning Manchester City forward Jack Grealish could miss out on a place at the Euros. Fitness, form and a lack of minutes this season, however, could see the £100million man fall between the cracks of Southgate’s squad, especially with the fierce competition in the wide areas. The same could be said of Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, a long-time favourite of Southgate, but who played just 15 minutes across both March friendlies and is another whose inconsistencies at club level could cost him dear.
The future
Southgate’s own future has already been the subject of much speculation. His current deal with the Football Association runs until the end of the year and he has already been linked with the top job at Manchester United. Southgate, however, has stressed he will not speak to any interested parties until after Euro 2024 and branded the United reports “completely disrespectful” to Erik ten Hag. “I’ve got one job, basically, to try and deliver a European Championship,” he said.
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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