England got their Nations League campaign off to a winning start with a 2-1 win against Scotland at the Stadium of Light.
Just over a month after their World Cup final defeat to Spain, the Lionesses earned an inaugural win in the competition after going ahead through former Black Cat Lucy Bronze.
Lauren Hemp doubled the lead before Scotland pulled one back just before the break through Kirsty Hanson and the visitors had plenty of good opportunities to level in the second half but were unable to capitalise on their chances.
Prior to kick-off both teams paid their respects to Sheffield United’s Maddy Cusack, who has died aged 27, and a period of silence was observed around the stadium.
England were on the front foot straight from kick-off and Georgia Stanway had the first real attempt of the game 10 minutes in when her header went just wide.
Lauren James then launched into an excellent mazy run across the Scottish half and threaded the ball to Rachel Daly, whose low effort was comfortably saved by Lee Gibson.
The Lionesses kept possession well but struggled to find the breakthrough as Stanway tried one of her trademark long-distance efforts from outside the box with Gibson saving.
However, the visitors took their chances where they could as Caroline Weir had a powerful effort from inside the box well saved by Mary Earps.
England thought they had broken the deadlock in the 25th minute through Daly’s flicked header from a corner, but the celebrations were quickly cut short when the goal was ruled out for offside against Chloe Kelly in the build-up.
Pouncing on a missed opportunity, Scotland were suddenly on the attack as Hanson made a great run down the left flank but Martha Thomas was unable to stab the ball home, before the Tottenham striker’s curling effort was held by Earps.
Former Sunderland defender Bronze opened the scoring for the Lionesses after a great cross from Katie Zelem picked out the right-back, who made a perfectly timed run to head home.
They doubled the lead in the 45th minute after Daly picked out Hemp on the left for the Manchester City winger to head into the top corner.
Scotland pulled one back with the last kick of the half as England failed to clear their lines in the box and Hanson was able to poke a low cross into the bottom corner.
A closely contested start to the second half saw James’ curling effort whistle over the top corner before Kelly hit a brilliant low cross into the box for Daly, who was unable to get her feet sorted in time.
Scotland threatened again as Earps was equal to Thomas’ header and the visitors looked the brighter of the two teams, but England were able to shut down the threat quickly.
Scotland had another great chance to level as Earps made a fantastic punch to clear Rachel McLauchlan’s attempted cross and Hanson smashed the rebound off the crossbar.
The visitors threatened again with six minutes to go as Lisa Evans picked out Christy Grimshaw on the edge of the box but her low effort was held by Earps.
James broke forward in added to head home after Gibson’s initial save, but the goal was ruled out for offside and Fiona Brown had the final effort of the game saved by Earps.
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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