Ben Davies believes England would be weaker without Harry Kane ahead of Wales' crunch match with the Three Lions, while Joe Allen defended the performances of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey.

The Golden Boot winner in Russia four years ago, Kane is yet to register a shot on target across England's 6-2 win over Iran and goalless draw with the United States.

With the Three Lions all but assured of a place in the knockout stage, Gareth Southgate may rest his captain for their final Group B match.

Davies saluted his Tottenham team-mate but even with his potential absence, the defender is well aware of the Dragons' task.

"Harry's a world-class player and one of the best in the world, so he's going to make any team better with him in there," he said.

"That doesn't mean that England don't have very capable replacements to come in. Whoever we're up against, we're facing a team of world-class players.

"They're a world-class side. It's going to be a very tough game, but we have to prep as well as we can, look for areas of weakness they have and try and capitalise on that.

"We're under no illusions it's not going to be anything other than very difficult."

Having collected a single point from their first two games, Rob Page's side must beat their rivals - while hoping Iran fail to beat USA - to stand any chance of extending their first finals appearance in 64 years.

Davies has urged his team-mates to respond to their surprise 2-0 defeat by Iran last time out with 100 per cent effort at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium.

"We've had that disappointment, and we've got no choice but to move on and give everything we can," the Tottenham defender added.

"We're a team that's set high standards for ourselves and that's the reason why we've got to where we are now.

"That's the reason why we've been critical of our last few results – it's only because of the bar we've set ourselves. We know we can play a lot better, and we hope to do that in the next game."

Meanwhile, Joe Allen leapt to the defence of Bale and Ramsey. Between them, the pair have scored 61 goals for Wales, and were expected to play a key role in Qatar.

But both came under scrutiny following a pair of below-par displays against the USA and Iran, with four-time Champions League winner Bale registering just one shot on goal against the latter. 

"They're two incredible players, and they have been for our country," Allen said. "I don't think there's anyone else in the squad who's reached the heights they're capable of.

"It's a huge game coming up, they're big-game players and always have been. Hopefully, if any criticism has come their way, then they'll be able to answer a few of those critics with a top performance."

Rodrigo Bentancur struck twice in the final 10 minutes as Tottenham battled back from behind three times to snatch a dramatic 4-3 victory against Leeds United on Saturday.

Spurs conceded the opening goal in a game for the eighth time in a row when Crysencio Summerville scored for a fourth Premier League match running inside the first 10 minutes.

Rodrigo Moreno matched that scoring streak when scoring either side of equalisers from Harry Kane and Ben Davies to give Leeds a 3-2 lead in the 76th minute.

But Bentancur equalised in the 81st minute and earned Tottenham a thrilling victory two minutes later as Leeds, who had Tyler Adams sent off late on, imploded in north London.

Ben Davies has signed a new contract with Tottenham, keeping him at the club until 2025.

The 29-year-old was one of seven signings upon Mauricio Pochettino's hire as Spurs manager in 2014, and has gone on to make 271 appearances for the club in all competitions.

With Davies coming into his ninth season with Spurs, it has been another busy transfer window for the North London club, who can count Richarlison, Yves Bissouma and Ivan Perisic among their six signings ahead of the new campaign.

The Wales international revealed Tottenham's upward trajectory and ambition under Antonio Conte made the decision to extend an even easier one, especially in a World Cup year.

"I'm delighted to sign my new contract," he told the club's website. "After last season and the summer this club has had, there's no more exciting time than right now to be at this club.

"I was enjoying my football and when the opportunity came from the club to extend my contract, I was more than happy to do so. I've had some really enjoyable times here, it really feels like home now.

"It's an exciting season for both club and country. It'll be a bit strange, stopping mid-season for that tournament, but I can't wait. It's been a long time since Wales have been there and we've given everything to get there, so you just have to enjoy it."

Antonio Conte heaped praise on the versatility and quality of Tottenham signing Richarlison after his first appearance for the Premier League side.

Spurs are in South Korea to start their pre-season, where they defeated a select XI from the K-League 6-3 on Wednesday.

Conte has already made five new additions to his side for the upcoming campaign, though Richarlison was the only one of those to feature at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.

The Brazil international played 77 minutes before his removal, with attacking partners Harry Kane and home favourite Son Heung-min stealing the show with two goals each.

Richarlison, who scored (10) and assisted (five) more Premier League goals than any other Everton player in the 2021-22 season, operated across the front three in his first showing.

Dejan Kulusevski, Bryan Gil and Lucas Moura are all competing with Richarlison for the final spot in attack for Conte, who hailed numerous features of his new arrival's debut.

"Today I have seen a lot of positive things about Richy," Conte told reporters.

"In the first half he played as a number nine and in the second half he played on the right and in behind the striker. He can play in all three positions.

"I think he is strong physically and a good personality, good character, good quality. For Richy he is working and we are working on the tactical aspects with him because he has to go into our idea.

"At the same time we have to work on the physical aspects for him to be fit. But for sure he is a player that gives me important positions up front.

"He's a player that is a good player, strong and very good to protect the ball and attack the space. I'm very happy that we signed him."

Fellow arrivals Yves Bissouma and back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster missed the pre-season opener due to COVID-19, while Clement Lenglet has not travelled and Ivan Perisic is yet to be fit enough.

Conte assures former Inter star Perisic will soon be available, though, and explained regular starters Kulusevski and Ben Davies were absent as they build-up their fitness.

"For Ben it was the second training session and he needed to recover and run and do the same training as the players did in the last two days. It was the same for Kulusevski," the Italian added.

"We had a problem with COVID, with Bissouma and Fraser because the test was positive. For this reason they weren't here with us. Yes, [they are isolating].

"Perisic is working very well. He's very close. I think tomorrow he could have a part of the training session with us.

"Honestly we are satisfied because his recovery is going very fast and we are happy about this and when we come back in London he will start to have some of the training session with us."

Tottenham face Sevilla at the Suwon World Cup Stadium on Saturday before clashing with Rangers and Roma ahead of their Premier League opener at home to Southampton on August 6.

Tottenham roared to fourth in the Premier League with a 5-1 thumping of Newcastle United as Son Heung-min scored one and created another.

Fabian Schar gave visitors Newcastle a first-half lead when he struck a free-kick past Hugo Lloris, but Ben Davies levelled within four minutes when he converted Son's cross.

Antonio Conte's home side required just three minutes of the second period to turn the game around as Matt Doherty's header gave them the lead, before Son rifled home after 54 minutes and Emerson Royal added gloss with a 63rd-minute fourth. Steven Bergwijn made it a five-goal show for the hosts when he struck in the 83rd minute.

Spurs now sit fourth in the Premier League table, above local rivals Arsenal on goal difference, ahead of the Gunners facing Crystal Palace on Monday.

Harry Kane finished without a goal but was heavily involved. He shot wide of the bottom-left corner after 15 minutes, before Cristian Romero made a stunning block to deny Joe Willock at the other end.

The Magpies took a shock lead when Schar's free-kick found the bottom-right corner after 39 minutes, with Lloris getting a weak hand to the ball on its way past him.

Spurs were soon level though, with Davies meeting Son's left-wing cross to divert a superb glancing header past Martin Dubravka.

Having found the perfect response at the end of the first half, Tottenham made a superb start to the second, Doherty stooping to head home Kane's cross at the back post after 48 minutes.

The much-improved hosts effectively ended the contest after 54 minutes, the impressive Son latching on to Kulusevksi's right-footed cross before powering a close-range shot past Dubrakva.

Emerson stabbed home a close-range fourth shortly after the hour mark, before Son missed a glorious one-on-one chance after latching onto Kane's pass. Spurs still found time to add a fifth, with substitute Bergwijn slotting past Dubravka from Lucas Moura's pass to complete the rout.

What does it mean? Spurs boost top-four hopes with quickfire turnaround

Four goals from the 43rd minute to the 63rd minute turned a difficult contest into a rampant win for Conte's men, who have now won five of their last six league games.

Conte's men have also scored two or more goals in each of the six matches, last doing so in more consecutive league games between February and April 2017 (a run of seven).

Son continues home hot streak

Son's goal was his ninth in his last nine league outings at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while his tally of 11 home goals cannot be matched by any other Premier League player this term.

This is the first campaign in which Son has ever reached double figures for home league goals, as the in-form South Korea international continues to play a crucial role in Spurs' top-four charge.

Davies ends long drought with help from creative Son

Davies' equaliser represented his first Premier League goal since September 2017 (against Huddersfield), and ended the Wales man's run of 108 league appearances without netting.

Meanwhile, Son's assist was his 45th in the Premier League, matching the tally Aaron Lennon managed for Spurs in the competition. Only Darren Anderton (68) and Christian Eriksen (62) now have more for the club.

What's next? 

Tottenham's next Premier League outing sees them travel to Aston Villa for an early evening kick-off next Saturday, while Newcastle will host Wolves on Friday.

Liverpool defender Ben Davies has joined Sheffield United on a season-long loan deal.

Davies joined Jurgen Klopp's men amid a centre-back shortage at Anfield, though he has failed to make a single senior appearance since his arrival in February.

The centre-back, 26, has returned to the Championship, having previously made 136 appearances for Preston North End, where he was named Player of the Year in 2018-19.

In that standout campaign, Davies led Preston's charts for duels won and interceptions, with 255 and 54 respectively, and also ranked second in terms of successful aerial duels – two behind Andrew Hughes' 175.

"I'm really happy to be here," said Davies. "I always liked playing against Sheffield United and the atmosphere.

"Hopefully I can fit into the manager's plans well. I've missed match days and the buzz of having fans in grounds.

"That's part of the excitement of coming here and hopefully having a successful year."

The Blades were relegated from the Premier League last term with six games remaining, becoming the fourth side condemned to the drop with as many matches still to play.

No side has been relegated from the Premier League with more matches left to play – Ipswich Town (1994-95), Derby County (2007-08) and Huddersfield Town (2018-19) also went down with six games outstanding.

With Slavisa Jokanovic in charge now, United will be hoping their manager – who has previously taken both Watford and Fulham back up – can immediately restore their top-flight status.

Wales captain Gareth Bale insists he is not distracted by uncertainty over his future and expects to return to Real Madrid at the end of the season as planned.

The 31-year-old rejoined Tottenham on a season-long loan from Madrid last September after falling out of favour at the Santiago Bernabeu under Zinedine Zidane.

Bale has had a mixed time of things since returning to north London, the forward having scored 10 goals and assisted three more in 25 appearances.

There had recently been talk of Bale staying on at Spurs after hitting form, but he was criticised by Jose Mourinho last week and played no part in Sunday's win at Aston Villa.

And with a year still to run on his Madrid contract, the forward believes he will be back in the Spanish capital after representing Wales at the rescheduled Euro 2020 tournament.

"It's no distraction," he said at a news conference on Tuesday previewing Wales' opening World Cup 2022 qualifier against Belgium.

"The main reason I obviously came to Spurs was I wanted to play football, I wanted to be match fit. The original plan was only to do a season.

"After the Euros, I have a year left at Real Madrid. My plan is to go back."

Wales' preparations for Wednesday's clash with Belgium, the world's number one ranked nation, have been disrupted by a number of injury withdrawals.

Having already lost Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey from their initial 31-man squad, Tottenham's Ben Davies and fellow defender Tom Lockyer pulled out on Tuesday.

It is a big blow for Rob Page as he once again takes caretaker charge of Wales in the absence of Ryan Giggs, who remains under investigation due to an allegation of assault, which he denies.

"It's not great news for us, two defenders getting injured prior to camp," Page said. "We've assessed them and they're no good. It's not ideal preparation. We’ve got to react to that and pick a team that we think will win us the game.

"I think they're quite significant injuries. It's a shame. But we have to deal with it."

Page also took charge of Wales' three fixtures in November – a friendly draw against the United States, followed by Nations League wins against the Republic of Ireland and Finland.

Skipper Bale has been impressed by Page's work in the last two camps but is eager for the situation regarding Giggs to be resolved before the Euro 2020 finals.

"Pagey has done an incredible job. He's addressed the situation amazingly well and kept the consistency," Bale said.  "There are no excuses. We've had another good couple of days and we're fully focused. We're ready to go.

"I think my influence has been the same. We're just trying to keep it the same. Nothing has changed. Going into the Euros, ideally things are sorted, but we understand the situation. The FAW [Football Association of Wales] will be in charge of that, not the players."

Asked about his fitness, having been benched against Dinamo Zagreb and not used at all versus Villa three days later, Bale said: "I didn't play Sunday but I've had a couple of days' training. 

"It's been a quick turnaround. Same for every country. Everyone is in the same boat – we're ready to go.

"It's probably the most match fitness I've had. I'm feeling fresh and ready to go."

Wales have won their opening group match in just five of their 18 World Cup qualifying campaigns, although they have done so in two of the previous three.

The Dragons are unbeaten in four games against Belgium, famously beating their next opponents 3-1 in the Euro 2016 quarter-finals.

But Belgium enter the match in Leuven in great form, winning 23 of their past 24 qualifying matches since going down 1-0 to Wales in June 2015, and Bale is predicting a tough opening Group E test.

"We know Belgium is a great team and we know we're going to be the underdogs," he said. "But you don't need to be the best team to win a game.

"This is why football is so great. What we showed that night [at Euro 2016] was more heart, desire, belief. When we pull on the Welsh shirt, we believe we have more passion than anyone.

"I think beating a big nation in a qualifier gives us confidence to grow. When you enjoy winning, it breeds more."

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies were "making big steps" ahead of their potential debuts for the club.

Amid an injury crisis in defence, the Premier League champions added Kabak, on loan from Schalke, and Davies at the end of the mid-season transfer window.

With Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez sidelined and Joel Matip set to miss the rest of the season, Liverpool will also be without Fabinho for Saturday's trip to Leicester City.

Kabak or Davies could debut at the King Power Stadium and Klopp said the pair were making strong progress.

"They are calm people, both Ben and Ozan, willing to learn, really great attitude," he said.

"They really throw themselves in everything that is ahead of them. What a defender should do. Making big steps, adapting to the way we play, again, that's important.

"We have still a clear way to defend which is important because if both of them would be on the pitch, then there are still nine players who are used to what we did before. So even the two players would do something differently that would lead to a strange situation. So, yeah, it's all good.

"It's all good so far and now we have to make this our set. We have to change again because of Fab and now we will see, which solution we will take."

The clash with Leicester City will mark Klopp's 300th game in charge of Liverpool, who are fourth in the table.

Liverpool have won on their past three Premier League visits to Leicester, who this season have already lost five league home games – one more than in the whole of the last campaign.

Klopp's men will be seeking to avoid a third successive league defeat this month after losing at home to Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester City. They last lost three games in a row in the Premier League in November 2014, when current Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers was in charge of the Reds.

Jurgen Klopp will not throw in new signings Ben Davies and Ozan Kabak for Liverpool debuts alongside one another against Manchester City on Sunday.

Davies and Kabak completed moves to Anfield from Preston and Schalke respectively on transfer deadline day, as Klopp moved to address an injury crisis in the heart of defence.

Joel Matip will miss the rest of the season with ankle ligament damage, joining long-term absentees Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez on the sidelines.

Davies was an unused substitute as a Liverpool team with Nat Phillips and captain Jordan Henderson at centre-back went down to a 1-0 midweek defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion - a result that leaves the champions seven points behind Premier League leaders City having played a game more.

Klopp conceded it will be helpful when he feels able to play the likes of Henderson and Fabinho in their favoured midfield roles but he will not make those switches at the expense of his team's overall stability.

"Now we have different options and that's good, the best news we could get," he said.

"Now we have to make sure the new boys get all the information they need as quick as possible.

"In another position, you can say 'play, try, we will see' but in defence the things we do are really clear.

"It's about holding the line, it's about dropping at the right moment - there are a lot of things that all teams do differently. We will see how quick we can do that."

Asked whether he would like to play two new central defenders at the same time, Klopp shook his head and replied: "No, if I don't have to, no."

City are on a winning run of 13 matches in all competitions and Klopp knows his men have to be on the money at the back, whoever is selected.

"Obviously City at the moment are in a slightly different moment than we are. We should not forget that," he said.

"One thing is clear, if you do not defend on your highest level against City you cannot even think of getting anything out of the game.

"But then there are the other moments where you have to be brave and that's what we try to be as well.

"There are other moments where you have to control, not the game but the situation, and we'll try that as well."

City last won at Anfield in 2003 and Guardiola has drawn one and lost five of his encounters against Klopp on Merseyside.

For plenty of those games, the visitors have been confronted by a febrile atmosphere - something that obviously will not be a factor this time around.

"Our situation is not talking about supporters in or out because we all know how much they help," Klopp said.

"We knew it always. For a long time we could ignore that, at least results wise. Now not in the last few weeks.

"We have to make sure that atmosphere, good or bad, doesn't make a difference.

"It's a football game. They don't have an atmosphere, we don't have an atmosphere. Let's go for it with all we have."

Will he stay or will he go?

That is the question regarding Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe, who is a reported target for Real Madrid and Liverpool.

If Mbappe opts to call time on his PSG stall, the French champions are still aiming high.

TOP STORY – LIFE WITHOUT MBAPPE IN PARIS?

Paris Saint-Germain are more determined than ever to give head coach Mauricio Pochettino a dream forward line amid doubts over Kylian Mabppe's future, according to Le10 Sport.

Mbappe – out of contract in 2022 – has been heavily linked with LaLiga champions Real Madrid and Premier League holders Liverpool.

If Mbappe does not remain in Paris, PSG will step up their pursuit of Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.

ROUND-UP

- Massimiliano Allegri has turned down Roma as he waits for Madrid, repots Todofichajes. Zinedine Zidane is under mounting pressure in the Spanish capital, while it is a similar situation for Roma boss Paulo Fonseca.

- Manchester City are willing to sign a striker and Messi this offseason, according to The Athletic. With City yet to offer Sergio Aguero a new deal, Borussia Dortmund's Erling Haaland and Inter pair Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku are reported targets as Pep Guardiola's side also eye soon-to-be free agent Messi.

- Fabrizio Romano says Liverpool have agreed to sign Ben Davies from Preston North End ahead of Monday's deadline day. Jurgen Klopp has been eyeing a defender due to the club's injury crisis.

- Dele Alli's proposed switch from Tottenham to PSG is not progressing, reports Romano. Struggling for game time at Spurs, Alli has been keen for a loan move to PSG, but Tottenham are unwilling to sanction a departure as Inter block Christian Eriksen's return.

- Leicester City are the frontrunners to sign Arsenal's Ainsley Maitland-Niles, claims The Mirror.