Related items

• Saka and Jones withdraw from England's Nations League squad

  England have confirmed that Arsenal's Bukayo Saka and Liverpool's Curtis Jones have withdrawn from the squad ahead of their Nations League clash with Finland on Sunday. 

  Saka was replaced by Noni Madueke in the 51st minute during England's shock 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley on Thursday after picking up an injury in his right leg.

  It only adds to Mikel Arteta's injury worries ahead of facing Bournemouth next Saturday after Martin Odegaard was injured on international duty for Norway last month. 

  Saka has enjoyed a fine start to the Premier League campaign, scoring two goals and laying on a further seven assists in the Gunners' opening seven games. 

  The England international has also created more chances (27) than any other player in the division, with his nine goal involvements a total only bettered by Chelsea's Cole Palmer (11) and Manchester City's Erling Haaland (10). 

  Lee Carsley will also be without uncapped Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones, who was added to the Three Lions squad earlier this week, but has since withdrawn due to a personal commitment. 

  Jones earned his first call-up in May as part of Gareth Southgate's provisional 33-man squad for Euro 2024, but did not make the final cut.

  The 23-year-old was part of the Young Lions side that won the 2023 European Under-21 Championship under Carsley, scoring the only goal in their 1-0 win over Spain in the final.

• Former Liverpool defender Matip confirms retirement

  Former Liverpool defender Joel Matip has confirmed his retirement from professional football. 

  Matip, who joined Liverpool on a free transfer in 2016, has been without a club since leaving Anfield at the end of last season and has since decided to call time on his 15-year career. 

  The 33-year-old started his career at Schalke, making 258 appearances for the Bundesliga outfit and helping them lift the DFB-Pokal and German Super Cup in 2011. 

  Matip was among the first signings made by Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool, joining in the same window as Sadio Mane, Georginio Wijnaldum and Loris Karius. 

  He helped the Reds return to the Champions League in Klopp's first full campaign in charge, making 29 Premier League appearances and keeping nine clean sheets. 

  However, his spell with the Reds was marred by repetitive injuries, sustaining 16 different issues across his eight-year spell on Merseyside. 

  The former Cameroon international's final appearance for Liverpool came in a 4-3 win over Fulham in December 2023 after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in the same game. 

  Matip made 201 appearances for Liverpool in all competitions, scoring 11 goals and winning six major honours, which included the Reds' sixth Champions League triumph. 

   

• Koeman bemused by 'frustrating' Van Dijk red against Hungary

  Netherlands head coach Ronald Koeman was left perplexed by Virgil van Dijk's "frustrating" red card in his side's 1-1 draw with Hungary on Friday. 

  Van Dijk, making his 77th appearance for his country, received the first dismissal of his international career with two yellow cards in the space of three minutes in the second half.

  The first booking stemmed from his protests to referee Lukas Fahndric after a foul on Donyell Malen, before committing a foul soon after to receive his marching orders.

  Van Dijk's dismissal looked to have settled the contest after Roland Sallai had smashed home Zsolt Nagy's cross to hand Hungary a goal advantage in the first half. 

  But the Netherlands drew level four minutes after going down to 10 men when Denzel Dumfries headed Cody Gakpo's free-kick beyond Denes Dibusz to seal a share of the spoils. 

  Speaking after the game, Koeman was left baffled by the decision to hand Van Dijk a first yellow card for discussing the foul on Malen with the referee. 

  "That moment was frustrating," Koeman told the NOS. "I don't understand it. I think we agreed that a captain can protest to a referee.

  "That foul [on Malen] was good for a red card. There was no intention at all to play the ball. That Virgil then takes that second card is not convenient. He knows that himself."

  Van Dijk's red card also saw him become the oldest player to be sent off (33 years and 95 days) since Phillip Cocu (34 years and 313 days) against the same opponents. 

  The Liverpool captain had enjoyed a solid game up until his dismissal, completing more passes (145) than any other player, 99 of which came in the first 45 minutes, only adding to his frustration in his assessment at full-time. 

  "[The red card] is a bummer. It should not have happened. But I'm especially angry about the first," Van Dijk told ESPN Netherlands.

  "They say the captain is the only one who can talk to the referee. I walk up to him. Up tempo, but not in a nasty way, not at all. Very respectful.

  "Because I felt it was a breakaway player, he did not go for the ball at all. If even the captain can not say anything ... then it gets difficult."