England were beaten 3-2 by Croatia at Wembley on this day in 2007 to end their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 and seal the fate of manager Steve McClaren.

Their failure to qualify for the Euros meant the writing was on the wall for McClaren, who was dismissed as boss a day later after 18 months in charge.

McClaren had watched the dismal defeat unfold in the pouring rain at Wembley from under an umbrella and was dubbed the “wally with a brolly”.

England only needed a draw to book their place at the finals in Austria and Switzerland but found themselves two goals down at the break, Scott Carson letting Niko Kranjcar’s 25-yard effort slip through his grasp for the first before former Arsenal striker Eduardo made it two.

David Beckham came off the bench for his 99th cap and inspired an England comeback as he set up Peter Crouch for a superb equaliser shortly after Frank Lampard had converted a 56th-minute penalty to put England on course for qualification.

But the fightback proved in vain as Croatia substitute Mladen Petric beat Carson from 20 yards 13 minutes from time to end England’s hopes.

After the match McClaren declared he would not be stepping down, but the Football Association took the decision out of his hands by sacking him after just 18 games, making him the shortest-serving permanent England boss in history at the time.

McClaren’s reign heralded just nine wins and ended with the team conceding three goals on home soil for the first time in 35 years.

“I feel I have let the fans down and the country down,” said McClaren.

“I knew that if we didn’t qualify that would put the board in a difficult position.

“I can understand the decision, the reaction and the criticism. It hurts and disappoints me, but that is football and it will make me stronger in the future.”

England turned next to Fabio Capello, while McClaren rebuilt his reputation by leading Dutch side FC Twente to the Eredivisie title in 2010 and had further spells at Wolfsburg, Nottingham Forest, Derby, Newcastle and QPR and is now on the coaching staff at Manchester United.

Gareth Southgate praised Rico Lewis after the teenage debutant bounced back from a contentious penalty call made against him during an impressive first England appearance away to North Macedonia.

An unbeaten year that started with victory in Italy ended with a 1-1 draw away in chilly Skopje as the Euro 2020 runners-up rubberstamped their place among the top seeds for next year’s finals.

Monday’s trip to Skopje represented England’s final match on foreign soil before Euro 2024 gets under way in June, and Southgate’s side had to dig deep after falling behind to a team they beat 7-0 in June.

Lewis was unlucky to see a spot-kick awarded against him shortly after Harry Maguire survived making a clumsy challenge in the box, with Enis Bardhi scoring after Jordan Pickford saved his initial spot-kick.

England returned from the break strongly and Southgate quickly turned to Harry Kane, who immediately forced Jani Atanasov into an own goal that would seal the draw.

“I thought the performance was good, mentality was excellent,” England boss Southgate said after bringing the curtain down on 2023. “I thought we played well, we totally controlled the game.

“It was difficult with the way that they defended and the pitch not easy to get the perfect final pass.

“But I thought there were some excellent performances within the game.

“I didn’t think that was a penalty. The one before might have been, so maybe that evened itself out.

“I’ve zero to say about (the VAR) which probably tells you everything.”

Thankfully Southgate was more forthcoming when it came to the performance of versatile talent Lewis.

Making his England debut a day shy of his 19th birthday, the left-back was in a far more advanced position in possession and reacted well to the penalty decision against him.

Lewis caught Bojan Miovski with an arm when rising to win a header and referee Filip Glova pointed to the spot after reviewing the incident on the VAR’s behest.

Asked if that moment may overshadow the teenager’s debut, Southgate said: “Well, it shouldn’t do because he was excellent.

“His performance and then his reaction to what I know will have been a disappointment for him, but we’re not looking at him for being at fault in any way.

“His composure with the ball was outstanding and he should be really proud because we are very, very pleased with what he did.”

Southgate said there was no need to console Lewis about the penalty at half-time and instead reminded him about how well he was playing.

“We thought Rico throughout the whole game was excellent,” the England manager added. “Great composure, great resilience.

“We didn’t feel he had anything to come back from but I know sometimes as a player you might feel that.

“But we thought there was no crime, so we were pleased with everything he did.”

Lewis was the youngest starter on a night when Manchester City team-mate Kyle Walker was the elder statesman and skippered his country for the first time.

“It was a nice moment for him to captain his country,” Southgate said of the 33-year-old.

“He’s really grown in terms of his leadership. I know he’s thriving on that with his club and that will be a special moment in his career as well.”

Michael O’Neill called Northern Ireland’s 2-0 win over Denmark a step in the right direction but knows his side remain a long way from the finished article.

In their final Group H fixture of a miserable campaign, O’Neill’s side finally beat someone other than minnows San Marino as second-half goals from Isaac Price and Dion Charles earned Northern Ireland their first competitive win over a team ranked above them since they beat Ukraine in June 2016.

It will not paper over the long list of issues facing O’Neill as he tries to rebuild his injury-ravaged squad, but it will provide a much-needed shot of belief and confidence at the end of a year which has seen supplies of both run low.

O’Neill has had to lean on several young players, more than he would have liked, whose introduction to international football has been a tough one, but a night like this can change the narrative.

“It’s totally different,” O’Neill said of the mood inside his dressing room. “You can see the young lads and you can see what it means to them. The ones who were involved in the previous campaign, I think they only won one game and this campaign we’ve only won three.

“We’ve been challenged in this campaign so they’ll take a lot from tonight.

“It’s a good result against a good team but that’s all it is. Hopefully they’ll come back in March with added confidence and belief, regardless of who the opposition are…

“I’m not getting carried away. It’s a step in the right direction and we have to take more steps in the right direction.”

Northern Ireland started well, with Dion Charles hitting the post eight minutes in before Eoin Toal headed wide.

Gradually Denmark, who have finished top of Euro 2024 qualifying Group H despite the loss, grew into the game but Conor Hazard, at fault for Finland’s second goal in Friday’s 4-0 defeat, made two fine saves before half-time to keep the scores level, and the game changed after the break.

Jamal Lewis, having one of his best nights in a Northern Ireland shirt, started the move that led to the first, moving the ball inside via Dion Charles and Shea Charles for Price to rifle in his second international goal.

Then Conor McMenamin came off the bench to send in the low ball that Dion Charles swept home.

After a long and difficult campaign in which Northern Ireland suffered five 1-0 defeats and failed to score in six of their 10 games, it was a welcome moment.

“It’s a very difficult campaign to judge,” O’Neill said. “To be competitive in any campaign we will need a consistency of selection, there’s no getting away from that.

“When we came into this campaign we felt we were going to have a different team and that we would have younger players around it who could energise the team and give us a lift if and when we needed it.

“We’ve ended up playing with a lot of those younger players more than we expected to but they’ve been terrific. Shea Charles has played nine out of 10 and was suspended for one, he’s barely missed a minute and his level of performance is top drawer.

“Isaac as well. I went to see Isaac in February playing in an under-20 game for Everton. I didn’t envisage he would be starting six or seven games, score two goals, playing in a variety of positions.

“These lads have gone through a massive transformation in their careers in the last eight months, never mind adapting to playing international football as well.”

Harry Kane insisted England should be proud of their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign despite a flat end to the year with a 1-1 draw in North Macedonia.

England topped their group, finishing six points ahead of Italy, to book their place in Germany with two games to spare.

Kane told Channel 4: “Difficult game, we knew it would be and it was tough against a decent side playing on a pitch that is difficult to play our style of football on.

“We went 1-0 behind against the run of play with a soft penalty. It was good to get on the pitch. It was important for us to get a goal back and a shame we couldn’t get a second.”

England equalised seconds after Kane came on as a substitute and pressured Jani Atanasov into scoring an own goal.

“I’m pretty sure it was an own goal,” he added. “If anyone was going to get a second it was us.

“We can be really proud of how the qualifying campaign has gone.”

Kyle Walker captained England from the start, with Manchester City team-mate Rico Lewis making his debut a day before his 19th birthday.

“I think after the qualifying we’ve had it was always going to be tough here but we dug in and got a point,” Walker told Channel 4.

“It’s football. It’s been a short week, two games when we’ve already qualified. It’s no excuses, we know we should be taking three points from here but it’s something to work on for the future.”

Lewis was harshly penalised for the penalty which led to North Macedonia’s opening goal.

Enis Bardhi saw his spot-kick saved by Jordan Pickford but was first to the rebound to lash his side ahead

“The man to my right has probably received an unfair decision there,” added Walker. “He deserves this cap and happy birthday for tomorrow.”

Lewis said: “Overall I’m very happy – not with the decision that went against me – but I couldn’t have dreamed of anything better. I’m not really focused on any tournaments, just on myself and what I can do to get better.”

Boss Gareth Southgate thought the penalty decision against Lewis was “really harsh”.

“He was excellent,” Southgate told Channel 4. “His composure with the ball and the way he responded to that really harsh setback, he’s a super footballer and he was excellent.”

It was not the end to the qualifying campaign Southgate wanted, but he added: “The really big results were in March against Italy and Ukraine. It meant coming here tonight was a completely different test.

“I thought that given we had already qualified and everything had been achieved the mentality of the players was excellent.

“The quality on the ball was good on a difficult pitch. Just that final pass or finish was difficult to find. But I thought there were lots of positive performances.”

Kieran Trippier may be a long-standing member of Gareth Southgate’s England squad but given the level of competition at full-back, he is not taking his place at Euro 2024 as a given.

The Newcastle defender is now one of the senior men within Southgate’s ranks and has amassed 46 caps to date.

His only senior goal was the opener in the 2018 World Cup semi-final defeat to Croatia with his ability to play on either side of Southgate’s defence keeping him in and around the team ever since.

Despite his consistency for club and country, Trippier is now arguably in the strongest pool of full-backs available to England.

In recent times Kyle Walker, Reece James and Ben White have played at right-back – with the versatile pair of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Rico Lewis also in contention – while Luke Shaw, Ben Chilwell and Levi Colwill have operated on the left.

“I need to keep performing well for my club first,” he said of Euro 2024 selection.

“There are so many good full-backs in England at the moment, I need to focus on my own performances. Obviously I want to be there but I know I need to be playing at a high level to be successful.

“I’ve always believed in myself. I’ve always had challenges in my career. I’ve always been up against top right-backs for many years now and it’s just about believing in yourself.

“I think the demands on a full-back these days playing now is so much. You’ve got to get forward. You’ve got to go on the overlaps but ultimately, you’ve got to defend as well.

“I think there’s a big responsibility on full-backs the way we play in the Premier League now.

“I think you look at all the English full-backs, there’s incredible talent.”

Southgate has largely put faith in youth since taking the reins as manager in 2016, with Trippier now one of the elder statesmen in the current squad alongside fellow 33-year-olds Walker and Jordan Henderson.

He will be hoping to start again when England face North Macedonia in their final Euro 2024 qualifier on Monday night but, regardless of the changes made by Southgate, Trippier knows leadership does not necessarily come with age.

“It only seems like yesterday when I was first walking into camp, when Gary Cahill was here and Joe Hart and all the experienced players,” he added.

“Fast forward it to now, I’m one of the oldest so it just shows how quickly football goes.

“Even though I’m one of the oldest, we’ve got a lot of leaders in this room, you’ve got a lot of players playing at a high level.

“You don’t need to be 33 to voice your opinion or whatever it may be.

“We’ve got great characters and – the most important thing – a great togetherness in this squad.

“Everybody speaks whatever they need to speak and everybody listens. We’ve got a good, honest group here.”

Germany slipped to a thrilling 3-2 defeat to Turkey as Julian Nagelsmann saw his side’s stuttering build up to Euro 2024 continue.

The 36-year-old lost his first game as Germany manager after Yusuf Sari’s second-half penalty won it for the visitors.

Kai Havertz gave the hosts an early lead in the friendly, but Ferdi Kadioglu and Kenan Yildiz gave Turkey a 2-1 half time advantage.

Niclas Fullkrug’s 10th goal in 12 games for his country levelled soon after the break at the Olympiastadion.

Hansi Flick was sacked just nine months before next year’s home European Championship with Nagelsmann attempting to pick up the pieces.

A win over the USA and a draw with Mexico in his first games last month would have given him food for thought.

His early tenure looked to be going well on Saturday when Arsenal’s Havertz, playing in an unfamiliar left-back role, opened the scoring after six minutes when he fired in from Leroy Sane’s cutback.

But Turkey, who have already qualified, refused to crumble and Yusuf Yazici and Yildiz went close, either side of Sane shooting wide for Germany.

Yazici had a shot blocked before Turkey levelled when Kadioglu rifled past Kevin Trapp after losing Sane and they went into the break ahead when Yildiz rammed in at the far post in first-half stoppage time.

Germany, without the injured Jamal Musiala, Emre Can and Christian Gunter, came out fighting in the second half and were level five minutes after the restart.

The hosts hit Turkey on the break and Florian Wirtz supplied Fullkrug to drill in low to equalise in Berlin.

But the visitors almost regained the lead immediately when Dortmund midfielder Salih Ozcan hit a post.

The relentless pace continued and captain Ilkay Gundogan had a shot blocked on the hour before Turkey took the lead for a second time.

A VAR check was needed to confirm a handball by Havertz in the area and Sari buried the penalty with 19 minutes remaining.

Serge Gnabry came close to a leveller with three minutes left but he was unable to get the final touch on Benjamin Henrichs’ cross.

France thrashed 10-man Gibraltar 14-0 in Nice for a record international win to close in on a top seed for Euro 2024.

Les Bleus had already qualified as winners of Group B, and showed no signs of letting up against Gibraltar – who scored an early own goal before defender Ethan Santos was shown a red card for a late tackle on 17-year-old debutant Warren Zaire-Emery.

Following the red card for Santos, who had put the ball in his own net after just three minutes, France were relentless, with Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick, Kingsley Coman netting twice and substitute Olivier Giroud hitting a late brace.

Paris St Germain midfielder Zaire-Emery had set a new record as France’s youngest post-war debutant, aged 17 and 255 days.

France were soon on the offensive and raced into a 2-0 lead, both own goals, inside the first five minutes.

Jonathan Clauss got clear down the right and cut the ball back across the six-yard box where Santos stabbed it into his own net.

Before Gibraltar could regroup, they fell further behind.

As goalkeeper Dayle Coleing saved Antoine Griezmann’s shot, the rebound looked to have gone in off Aymen Mouelhi with Marcus Thuram close behind him. The Inter Milan forward was later credited with the goal.

France, aiming to seal their place as one of the five top seeds in Germany next summer, continued to press, with Mbappe firing over.

Zaire-Emery then clipped home a cross from Coman at the near post to become France’s second youngest international scorer after Maurice Gastiger in 1914.

The teenager took a blow to his ankle from Santos when tucking the ball home. English referee John Brooks was advised by VAR to take a review of the over-the-top challenge on the pitchside monitor, which resulted in a red card for the Gibraltar defender.

France were taking no risks with Zaire-Emery, who was swiftly substituted in the 20th minute and replaced by Youssouf Fofana.

On the half-hour mark, a VAR review saw France given a penalty for handball by Lee Casciaro. Mbappe knocked the spot-kick in off the post to make it 4-0.

It was relentless stuff from the hosts, who scored three more within as many minutes through Clauss’ powerful strike, then Coman knocked a loose ball in before Fofana drove a low shot under bewildered Gibraltar keeper Coleing.

Gibraltar made it to half-time without further damage and then held out through the hour mark despite soaking up plenty of pressure from France, who sensed the chance of a record win.

Adrien Rabiot shot home a loose ball in the 63rd minute, with Coman then getting his second for number nine.

Gibraltar’s heaviest loss was confirmed when substitute Ousmane Dembele added a 10th goal for France, who soon secured a record win when Mbappe knocked in an 11th from close range with 15 minutes left.

Olivier Giroud stepped off the bench to drill a low shot into the far corner – but after a lengthy VAR review and check of the monitor by the referee, the goal was ruled out for offside.

France, though, soon had a 12th when Mbappe clipped in a wonderful chip over a backpedalling Coleing from 30 yards to complete his hat-trick.

Giroud drilled the ball in after a chest down from Griezmann, which this time did count. The AC Milan forward swiftly rifled home another in stoppage time as France eclipsed Germany’s record European Championship qualifying win over San Marino in September 2006.

Wout Weghorst fired the Netherlands into the Euro 2024 finals as the Republic of Ireland’s dismal campaign ended with a whimper.

Burnley’s on-loan Hoffenheim frontman, whose winner in Dublin in September left Ireland with a mountain to climb, repeated the dose in Amsterdam to secure a 1-0 victory which was far more comprehensive than the scoreline suggested.

As a result, the Dutch secured second place in Group B behind France, who put 14 without reply past Gibraltar.

Stephen Kenny’s men, who have now won only six of the 29 competitive games they have played under his charge, barely laid a glove on a far superior side under the closed roof at the Johan Cruyff Arena on a night when they had hoped to bloody the nose of one of Europe’s traditional big guns.

Their feint hopes of securing a play-off berth via the Nations League were formally dashed on Thursday night by Slovakia’s 4-2 victory over Iceland with automatic qualification having slipped from their grasp long before.

Alvaro Morata admits he would swap any future goals for European glory with Spain.

The striker is happy to go the rest of the season without scoring if Spain win next year’s tournament.

They host Georgia in their final qualifier on Sunday, two points clear of Scotland at the top of Group A having already reached the tournament.

Morata scored a hat-trick when Spain routed Georgia 7-1 in September and the Atletico Madrid striker has 16 goals in 19 games for club and country this season.

But the former Chelsea hitman is prepared to have a drought if it meant success in Germany next year.

He told a press conference: “Hopefully I can score as many goals as possible, but if I have to go from here to the end of the season without scoring and win the European Championship, I’ll sign it right now.

“I have played many games in a row as a starter and that makes me confident.

“I feel good in my team, I feel good here and I am happy. There is a great work environment and that makes things easier.”

Spain beat Cyprus 3-1 on Thursday with Morata an unused substitute as Lamine Yamal scored his second goal for Spain.

The Barcelona youngster became his country’s youngest player and scorer in the demolition of Georgia two months ago.

“He’s 16 years old and he looks like he’s 27,” said Morata.

“I also think it’s something to congratulate all the people and coaches he’s had because the truth is that he’s a super-mature boy and already a reality for the Spanish national team and Barcelona.”

Victory would seal top spot with Scotland hosting Norway and boss Luis de la Fuente insisted they would not let the country down.

“We know that we cannot fail and disappoint the people who trust us, but in that responsibility we feel comfortable,” he said.

“The players always stand up and understand what it means to represent Spain.”

Rob Page accepts that Wales’ Euro 2024 destiny might lie in the play-offs following their damaging draw with Armenia.

Wales needed a Nair Tiknizyan own goal on the stroke of half-time to give them a 1-1 draw in Yerevan, when Armenia were the most dangerous side for large parts of a low-quality contest.

Croatia are now favourites to take the second automatic qualifying spot behind Turkey, who travel to Cardiff for Wales’ last group fixture on Tuesday safe in the knowledge they will be playing in the finals in Germany next summer.

Having dropped points to remove automatic qualification from their own hands, manager Page said: “There’s a disappointed group in there, but we’ve got to pick ourselves up and finish on a high on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately it’s now out of our control. With a win, we’d all have been buzzing and looking forward to the game on Tuesday, and a win would have seen us qualify.

“It’s not materialised as we’d like, but that’s life and we have to get on with it.

“It’s about building momentum and, if it’s a play-off in March, it’s a play-off in March.

“If results go for us, we’ve still got an opportunity to qualify (automatically).

“We can only control what we can do, get the players in the right frame of mind, mentally and physically ready for Tuesday.”

Wales were beaten 4-2 by Armenia – ranked 95 in the world and 67 places below them – at the Cardiff City Stadium in June, and Page’s side were shaken again within five minutes of the Yerevan return.

Lucas Zelarayan, who scored twice in Cardiff, worked space on the edge of the area after Wales failed to clear a corner and slotted the ball into the corner of Danny Ward’s net.

Page said: “We got off to the worst possible start, we knew they were going to come out the traps fast. I’m disappointed with that.

“I thought we grew in the first half and scored at the perfect time.

“But the break came at a bad time for us because I thought we were growing in momentum.

“We got into some OK positions. Whether it was the final pass or the final ball, that final detail wasn’t quite right for whatever reason.

“We threw everything at it and both teams were going for the win.

“You could see by the changes we made. We took a wing back-off and put a winger on to try and get as many forward players on the pitch as we could.”

Wales had beaten World Cup semi-finalists Croatia last month to put them in control of the race for a top-two place.

But on a poor pitch that neither team were able to master, Wales did not remotely come close hitting the heights of that performance.

Reflecting on the contrasting two displays, Page said: “It’s not to say there were a lot of players who had off-days, but you do have that in transitions, you have inconsistencies.

“I’m not going to fault the players for their effort. Their effort, to a man, was commendable. They gave everything, like they always do.

“The pitch was heavy, like nothing we’ve seen back home, but it was the same for both sides.

“We’ll get them recovered, have a recovery session on Sunday and go through with the medical team who we’ve got available for Tuesday.

“We need to finish the campaign on a high. It’s important to have some momentum if there is a play-off in March.”

Phil Foden has backed himself to add goals and assists to Gareth Southgate’s England side in the build-up to Euro 2024.

The Manchester City forward collected his 30th cap in Friday’s drab 2-0 win over Malta as England all-but secured their place as top seeds for next summer’s finals.

It was Foden’s cross that Malta defender Enrico Pepe inadvertently diverted past his own goalkeeper to open the scoring as England toiled at Wembley.

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Harry Kane doubled the lead in the second half, finishing off a flowing team move in which Foden was an integral part.

The 23-year-old has scored just four goals since making his debut in 2020 and a place in Southgate’s starting XI is still not guaranteed, with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka often preferred on the right side of the attack.

“I always want more for myself, I think I can add goals to this team – and assists,” Foden told beIN Sports.

“I was involved in both of the goals (against Malta), maybe we weren’t at our best but we got the job done in the end and that’s the most important thing.

“I’m enjoying my football a lot at the moment, I’m expressing myself, I’m playing really well. So yeah, I need to keep that up, keep pushing myself to score more and get assists.”

With Foden and Saka competing for a place on the right, 62-goal skipper Kane leading the line and the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish also pushing to start games, Southgate has an embarrassment of riches in attacking positions.

The fact Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling has failed to get back into the squad since the World Cup in Qatar only proves how deep the options are for the national team – although his Blues team-mate Cole Palmer is now involved.

The 21-year-old joined Chelsea from Manchester City in the summer, where Foden had seen what he could offer at close quarters.

“He’s so relaxed on the pitch,” Foden said of Palmer.

“He looks like he’s been there for years and he’s such a young lad with tremendous quality and is someone I know really well.

“I tried to help him as much as I could at City when he was coming up and he is at Chelsea now and doing really well so I’m delighted for him to get his debut.

“It just shows that if you work hard through the academy, it comes through so I’m really delighted for him.”

Gareth Southgate wants England to go into next summer’s Euros with momentum and is targeting an unbeaten run all the way through to Germany.

Having wrapped up progress to next year’s finals with two games to spare, Friday’s forgettable 2-0 victory against Malta all-but assured their place among the top seeds at the December 2 draw.

England cruised to qualification from what had looked to be a potentially tricky pool and Southgate wants his side to end 2023 with a bang as they round off Group C away to North Macedonia on Monday.

But with Euro 2024 glory their stated ambition, the former defender wants his players to keep their foot on the gas.

“We’ve had a really good calendar year and we want to finish it well,” the England manager said ahead of the trip to Skopje. “Simple as that.

“We should be aiming to go, if we can, into the tournament unbeaten. We’ve got some tough games coming ahead.

“I mean, I’m a bit loathed to say that because then you start looking for draws when you want to go and win matches as well, so I want to get the messaging right on that.

“But, you know, it’s good for us to be away from Wembley again, a challenging environment because that’s what we’re going to be in next summer.”

England have not lost a match since last December’s galling 2-1 defeat to eventual runners-up France in their World Cup quarter-final clash in Qatar.

Les Bleus are among their main rivals for silverware next summer, with Southgate’s side stepping up preparations for the Euros with challenging March friendlies against Brazil and Belgium at Wembley.

Both opponents will provide stern tests for a team that Southgate says cannot afford to fall short of the level “they need to be at” like they were against Mediterranean minnows Malta.

“The teams we’ve got in March, we wouldn’t get away with it,” Southgate said. “And the players just would have a different level of motivation (compared to against Malta).

“This week was always going to be difficult. We’ve already qualified, the players are in the middle of a load of matches.

“We’re trying to look after a few physically with the team selection, so you’re making changes that, had we needed to win tonight to qualify, might be different.

“So, yeah, the whole week has been a little bit like that – couldn’t really get the players on the pitch until Wednesday and as a consequence we were flat. I accept that.

“That’s where we were but I’m not going to get into the players about that. I know why and they’ve won another game of football.

“It could have been by more. Not quite sure why the third (from Declan Rice) was disallowed, but there we are.”

 

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As frustrating as Friday night was at Wembley, England remain well placed for silverware in Southgate’s fourth – and quite possibly final – major tournament at the helm.

 

There is no time to waste with chances to work together limited, plus the fact Monday’s trip to Skopje looks likely to be their final match on foreign soil until the Euros get under way in June.

North Macedonia are expected to be far better than in June’s 7-0 Old Trafford annihilation and Southgate has a number of things to consider before settling on his side for the Group C finale.

“A lot of our decision-making is physical as much as anything at the moment, so it’s a strange thing,” he said.

“Probably if you’ve still got to qualify there’s a different focus on the games and everybody’s happy and understands their players have got to play.

“You’re not subconsciously thinking about ‘should we be pushing players out for another game?’

“So, we need to look at where we are after this game in terms of any knocks and bumps.

“We’ve got some fresh players to come in. We want to get the balance of the team right and then assess whether there are certain things we want to see and learn from Monday night’s game as well.”

Bukayo Saka refused to be drawn into more VAR controversy following England’s mundane Euro 2024 qualifying win over Malta.

The Arsenal winger has seen club manager Mikel Arteta handed a Football Association charge for his criticism of referees and VAR in the recent 1-0 Premier League defeat at Newcastle.

Arteta said it was “embarrassing” and a “disgrace” that Anthony Gordon’s goal was allowed to stand following a lengthy check.

England limped to a forgettable 2-0 victory over Malta at Wembley on Friday night but saw captain Harry Kane booked for simulation when there appeared to be clear contact from Malta goalkeeper Henry Bonello.

Saka was introduced at the interval and set up Kane to double England’s lead before his Arsenal team-mate Declan Rice had a goal ruled out when VAR intervened once again to rule that Kane was offside.

“Honestly, let’s not make comments about VAR tonight,” Saka replied when asked about the tight calls.

“I think let’s just focus on the win, the three points and be positive about it.”

England had taken an early lead through an Enrico Pepe own goal but then toiled, with no shot on target until well into the second-half and Kane shown a yellow card having been accused of going to ground to easily.

Asked if he had ever known Kane to dive, Saka added: “No, no. Even if I did I’m not going to say it now! He’s not a diver.

“I think it was a clear penalty from what I saw. I thought even VAR would check it and overturn it but I don’t know what they saw.”

While the win over the minnows of Malta may have been wholly unconvincing, it does mean Gareth Southgate’s side are all-but assured of being top seeds at Euro 2024.

“(That is) very important,” Saka said.

“Going into this camp Gareth made that really clear and was clear that it was important for us.

“So obviously the mindset going into these two games we made sure that we were on it and we made sure that we were ready to win, so we won today – obviously we don’t want to lose to North Macedonia, the mindset (is) to go there and win again. So that’s what we’re focused on.

“I think it’s a game where we didn’t really start the best, obviously we tried to pick up the pace but we have to give some credit to Malta as well, they played quite well.

“But in the end, we won 2-0, we got the three points so now we just have to move on.”

Gareth Southgate said England’s players fell short of the standards they “need to be at” against Malta but had no concerns about their attitude and aptitude ahead of next summer’s European Championship.

Nobody at Wembley expected anything other than a victory from the side ranked fourth in the world against the one nestled between Fiji and Bermuda in 171st.

But already-qualified England made hard work of a straightforward Group C qualifying assignment on Friday, with Enrico Pepe’s own goal giving the hosts a lead in a first half in which they failed to muster a single shot on target.

Harry Kane added another after a rare moment of quality interplay in the second half as Southgate’s side limped to a 2-0 victory that all but assures their place among the top seeds at next month’s Euro 2024 draw.

“We didn’t start the game well,” the England boss said. “I’ve been in football for 35 years and if you don’t start well, it’s really difficult to pick it up.

“We needed, of course, to show better quality with the ball but also we were a bit stretched without it and a little bit disjointed in our pressing at times.

“We were not the level we would want to be at. We were not the level that we need to be at.

“But, equally, this group of players have been exceptional and I’m not going to start getting into their ribs too much about a performance like tonight.

“We made a few changes, we didn’t hit the levels we would have liked to have but they managed to win the game.

“Not in the style we’d have liked for the supporters but, in the end, we’ve won comfortably, as we should.”

England now head onto Skopje to complete their Euro 2024 qualification campaign against North Macedonia as preparations continue for next summer.

Glory in Germany is the sole focus and Southgate dismissed the suggestion that his players taking their foot off the gas at home to Malta was a worrying sign.

“No, it’s not a worry because I think sometimes when players have so many matches they almost self-regulate,” Southgate said.

“I’ve been a player. You know that there’s a certain level you need to hit to beat Italy here and you know that you don’t have to hit that level to win today’s game.

“Although you would think that everybody would be at the same level all the time, that’s not the reality of football.

“I’ve played in those matches myself and there are nights where subconsciously you just do enough to win and I think that’s a little bit where we were tonight.”

England were below par for the most part on Friday, but Southgate still saw things he liked in their final home match of an unbeaten year.

“We scored a lovely second goal and I think there were some individual performances that were very positive,” he added.

“I thought Trent (Alexander-Arnold) was very, very good (in midfield). Him and Phil (Foden) in the first half were the two that looked like opening things up.

“I thought Marc Guehi had a very mature performance again. He’s really growing as an international footballer.

“It was lovely to get Cole Palmer on and give him a feel of things and I thought he looked really very comfortable in the environment.”

The result meant Malta ended qualification bottom of Group C with defeats in all eight of their games, but they showed signs of promise against the Euro 2020 runners-up.

Teddy Teuma went close to a famous opener just 28 seconds into the match at Wembley, where head coach Michele Marcolini praised his players’ efforts.

“I’m very proud of my players,” the Malta boss said. “I think they came here in Wembley without fear, always brave. We tried to be as offensive as possible.

“They reacted very, very well to falling behind. I think during these European qualifiers, we grew a lot and in these last matches against Ukraine and England played very well.

“For everything, to grow, we need time. I am very happy with our performance and the regret is we didn’t score. It would have been amazing.

“Apart from that, we wanted to make the fans proud and I think today the players put on the pitch the last drop of sweat I asked them to do yesterday.”

Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny has told Evan Ferguson to play without pressure as he attempts to enhance his blossoming reputation on the international stage.

The 19-year-old striker has shaken off a back injury to make himself available for Saturday evening’s final Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands in Amsterdam and the chance to add to his tally of three goals in eight senior appearances for his country.

Ferguson’s presence at the Johan Cruyff Arena, where he played in Brighton’s 2-0 Europa League win over Ajax last week, will excite the travelling support, although Kenny is keen not to place too much weight on his young shoulders.

He said: “It’s important not to expect too much. We’ve to be cognisant of his age. He’s made the breakthrough and played international football at 18.

“He’s just turned 19. He’s got an all-round game and a few goals already for Ireland.

“He was in this stadium last week, of course. He’s been very positive this week, very positive.

“He could easily have pulled out of the squad or opted to pull out having not been available for his club last week.

“He’s here, determined to well and deserves a lot of credit for that. We’re looking forward to it.

“There’ll be no pressure on him tomorrow. We want him to enjoy his football and show his quality.”

Ferguson missed September’s 2-1 home defeat by the Dutch – who would clinch their place at the finals along with leaders France with a win – due to a knee injury and was a frustrated bystander as Cody Gakpo’s penalty and a second goal from substitute Wout Weghorst overhauled Adam Idah’s opener.

That has been the story for much of a disappointing Group B campaign in which Ireland have beaten Gibraltar home and away, but have otherwise failed to pick up a single point.

Asked how much that had affected morale, Preston midfielder Alan Browne said: “Not as much as you might think.

“Given the circumstances, the opposition that we faced, it doesn’t hurt as much. When you try to go toe-to-toe with those teams and you’re not far off, you can take bit of credit, a bit of confidence from that.

“We try to stay as positive as we can. I’m not saying we’re happy to lose games – we’re obviously disappointed after every game we lose, even draws to a certain extent.

“We reflect on those games, we analyse them. When you see it back and see all the positives and the moments that have cost you, you kind of think there’s not an awful lot in it.

“Hopefully – it’s not going to be this campaign, but going into the next and the ones after it – if we can benefit from those performances and change those losses or draws into wins or into draws and keep accumulating as many point as we can, we can find ourselves in a better position.”

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