Aurelien Tchouameni experienced a "beautiful" moment in his career with his first France goal, but he is now keen to move onto his next objective. 

After establishing himself at Monaco in the 2020-21 season, Tchouameni has been producing consistently excellent displays in the heart of their midfield.

Since the start of 2021, he ranks third across all players in the top five European leagues in terms of possession won (387) and tackles won (83), while he is joint-second in terms of duels won (408).

Tchouameni was unsurprisingly drafted into the France set-up by Didier Deschamps last year, while the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid have all been credited with an interest in the 22-year-old. 

He opened his senior international account in his eighth appearance with a last-gasp winner in a 2-1 success over Ivory Coast on Friday but was keen to keep his feet on the ground. 

"It's the fruit of my labour. I hope to remain calm. It's beautiful what's happening to me, but I have goals. Scoring my first goal was one, so now we move onto something else," Tchouameni told M6. 

"The team and the staff really help me show my personality on the pitch and that's what makes me feel great on the pitch. 

"In the first half, we attacked a lot and Ivory Coast had the opportunity to break through on the counter. We tightened the screws in the second half and I don't think we even conceded a single chance. 

"At the end we were rewarded, and that's good." 

Tchouameni's winner came after Olivier Giroud cancelled out Nicolas Pepe's opener in his first France appearance since Euro 2020. 

The goal will have boosted Giroud's chances of retaining his place in Didier Deschamps' squad ahead of the World Cup in Qatar later this year. 

"He did what he does with his club. He always has this quality of scoring, especially in the air. Of course, it made him happy," said Deschamps. 

"He returned to the group, which he knows well, and it was all the better for us. 

"When we have friendlies we must take advantage of them. There will be a second on Tuesday [against South Africa], so I will make changes to distribute the playing time to the maximum number of players." 

France have now won six straight games for the first time since 2016 and are undefeated in their past 19, scoring 43 goals during that run. 

Aurelien Tchouameni's first senior international goal secured France a last-gasp 2-1 friendly victory over Ivory Coast at the Stade Velodrome on Friday. 

Nicolas Pepe put the visitors ahead in Marseille, but Olivier Giroud marked his first Les Bleus cap since Euro 2020 with a rapid equaliser midway through the first half. 

The game looked destined to be heading for a draw with Kylian Mbappe remaining an unused substitute five years to the day since his international debut. 

However, Tchouameni – the Monaco midfielder linked with the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool – headed Matteo Guendouzi's corner home in the 93rd minute to complete the turnaround and give France the win. 

Zlatan Ibrahimovic says he will only consider retirement when there is someone better to take his place.

The 40-year-old experienced something of a European renaissance after returning to Milan from the LA Galaxy in January 2020, scoring 33 goals in 55 Serie A appearances since then.

However, 20 of those goals came in 2020 alone, with Ibrahimovic subsequently dealing with a succession of fitness issues.

The Sweden international says he wants to play as long as he can, though, which means continuing until another player deserves to be picked ahead of him.

"The future is yet to be written. I don't plan. Let's see what happens," Ibrahimovic told UEFA.com.

"I don't want to regret stopping football and then saying that I could continue to play football, because then I'd regret it for the rest of my life, seeing that I could have continued.

"I want to play as long as I can. The reality is I'll play until I see that someone is better than me, so I'm still playing."

Despite being limited to 18 appearances in the league this season, Ibrahimovic is Milan's joint-top scorer alongside Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud with eight goals.

Ibrahimovic also shared the scoring burden in Milan's last successful Scudetto charge, netting 14 times in 2010-11 – a tally matched by Alexandre Pato and Robinho – while supplying 11 assists.

Although he has continued to perform at an elite level in the intervening years, the veteran striker knows his incredible career must eventually come to an end.

"I know one day it will stop, and I won't have that adrenaline anymore," Ibrahimovic said. "This is a problem for every football player because you have adrenaline when you play football.

"That adrenaline, you will never get in doing something else because we are programmed."

Jordi Alba marvelled at the maturity of young Barcelona team-mates Pedri and Gavi because he was playing at a significantly lower level at their age. 

Gavi became the youngest player to make a senior appearance for Spain when he featured in their Nations League semi-final win over Italy last October aged 17 years and 62 days. 

Pedri, meanwhile, started all six of La Roja's games at Euro 2020 and was named Young Player of the Tournament. He only turned 19 last November. 

When he was 18, Alba was playing for Cornella in a regional league in Catalonia. He did not make his Spain debut until he was 22, two years after his first top-flight appearance.

"They are very mature for their age. When I was their age, I was lucky that experienced people helped me adapt, whether it was to the national team, Valencia or Barcelona. I try to do the same," Alba told a news conference when asked about Pedri and Gavi. 

"We are lucky that many high-level players have come from Barcelona and that they are Spanish. 

"At their age, I was playing at Cornella and they are playing European Championships and the World Cup. It's wonderful to watch them play." 

Alba will captain Spain when they take on Albania in a friendly at RCDE Stadium in Cornella de Llobregat on the outskirts of Barcelona. It will be La Roja's first match in Catalonia since 2004. 

"I expect a spectacular atmosphere, like in all the cities in Spain we visit," said Alba. 

"We haven't seen the national team in Barcelona for a long time. I'll be able to enjoy it with my people. Hopefully the party moves onto the pitch and we'll achieve our goal of winning the game." 

Spain do not have any members of their World Cup-winning side from 2010 in the squad during this international break, but Alba has no doubts about the ability they possess. 

"They talked about it during the European Championship and we did well because there are very young people but with experience, and with the ability to play a World Cup," said Alba. 

"People are leaving the national team due to their age and young people arrive. The work of the coach and his staff in that aspect has been spectacular. 

"Whoever comes into the national team will respond, will do very well. Unfortunately, the European and world champions are retiring and those who come in will do very well." 

Joan Laporta says Barcelona being linked with a move for Kylian Mbappe is "part of the show business of football" and vowed the club will not "lose our heads" in the transfer market.

Real Madrid are strong favourites to sign Mbappe when his Paris Saint-Germain contract expires at the end of the season.

Barca have reportedly emerged as contenders to lure the France striker to LaLiga in a move that would be hard to take for their fierce rivals.

But Blaugrana president Laporta brushed of talk of the Catalan giants landing the prolific 23-year-old as a free agent.

He told Mundo Deportivo: "I think this is part of the show business of football, I have nothing to say about it."

Laporta added: "Here, everyone is free to launch messages and proclamations and we already know that this is part of the world of football, that the big clubs are interested in great players. 

"But I'm not going to start, and you have to allow me not to, to talk about players because if I do, the only thing I can do is harm the interests of our club. 

"If we talk about a player and we had the intention of signing him, we would increase the price. Neither with this player nor with others do I want to comment on issues because it would harm the interests of the club. 

"The technical secretary and sports management are working to improve our squad, which is getting better and better, we are more and more satisfied. 

"I want it to be clearly understood that we prioritise the team above all else, a team reinforced in each of its lines and what we do not participate in is raising players or looking for players who are more than the team. 

"What we want to strengthen is the team we have that plays based on a genuine Barca system. The club thinks that this is what the football team needs, this genuine style that for me is the key to everything and is what we have to do, a team that can play this system with highly talented players."

Barca lost Lionel Messi due to the club's huge financial troubles and Laporta says there is no chance they will be reckless with recruitment. 

He added: "I insist, I will not talk about specific players but I can tell you that we will not carry out any operation that puts the institution at risk. 

"It has been a maxim that we have followed since I became president again, it happened to us in various circumstances and we are going to continue with this philosophy and this criterion, not to put the institution at risk with operations that we wouldn't do, even if we were already healthy.

"So, you can talk about players, about big-money operations in which Barca is not going to lose its head. The partners are calm because we are not going to lose our heads for an operation of these magnitudes. 

"Most of the players want to come to Barca, they like the club, the team, our philosophy, our way of working, our understanding football. And this is good, we are verifying it in many cases and daily. 

"They will have to adapt to Barca's salary levels and to an economic structure of the operation that maintains the sustainability and balance of the club."

Luis Enrique explained his reason for not signing a new contract as Spain coach is so that it is easy for him to depart if La Roja disappoint at the World Cup.

The 51-year-old former Barcelona player and coach returned for his second stint in charge of Spain's senior side in November 2019.

Five months earlier, he had stepped down for "family reasons" that were later confirmed to relate to his young daughter suffering with cancer. She died in August 2019.

When Luis Enrique made his return to the Spain setup, he only signed a three-year contract that would keep him in charge until the end of the 2022 World Cup.

Since then, he has led Spain to Qatar 2022 and presided over La Roja's run to the semi-finals of Euro 2020, impressing neutrals throughout the tournament.

However, despite what has been a largely positive spell at the helm, there remains a degree of doubt over Luis Enrique's future, which he was refreshingly honest about.

Asked why he had not yet signed a new contract beyond the World Cup, Luis Enrique – who has recently been linked with Manchester United – said: "I'm in heaven.

"Not renewing, I've done it for you [the media]. As I'm not going to have a contract [after the World Cup], if things go wrong in the World Cup, you won't have to ask me to be fired any more."

But his amusingly frank response was qualified by an insistence that there is no issue between himself and either Luis Rubiales or Jose Molina, respectively the Royal Spanish Football Federation's (RFEF) president and sporting director.

"I feel super supported by both the president and Molina," Luis Enrique continued. "They signed me not once but twice.

"In the circumstances in which I came back, I will never forget it. I am going to fulfil my commitment, which is until after the World Cup."

Spain's preparations ahead of the World Cup continue with a friendly against Albania on Saturday at Espanyol's RCDE Stadium in Cornella de Llobregat, near Barcelona.

It will be Spain's first match in Catalonia for 18 years, having last played in the region in February 2004 for a friendly with Peru at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium.

La Roja and Catalonia have had a rocky relationship over the years, but Luis Enrique is excited for such a momentous occasion.

He said: "It's going to be a party. I hope we're at that level. Eighteen years is a long time... We already know the circumstances surrounding this type of occasion, but we face it with great enthusiasm.

"I took it for granted that [the stadium] was going to be full. The last time I played [for a Spain team] in Barcelona, it was the final of the [1992] Olympics and it was full.

"It was one of the best matches of my life for the gold medal. I have no doubts, I hope we can do it, turn it into a party."

Reggae Boyz head coach Paul Hall has praised his team’s performance in their 1-1 draw at home against El Salvador in their CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying fixture at the National Stadium on Thursday.

Speaking after the game, Hall said his message to the team prior to the game was simple.

“I asked them to play with style. I asked them to play with a smile on their face,” he said.

They definitely heard his message, creating numerous chances with free-flowing football throughout the 90 minutes.

“They played with the ball like nobody’s business. There were triangles popping up all over the place and everybody was brave to take the ball so we’ve got to now build on that,” Hall said.

They’ll have an opportunity to build on it when they oppose Canada on Sunday before returning home to host Honduras on March 30^th and Hall spoke on what he wants to see from his team in the remaining matches.

“Performance. That’s what we’re looking for. That’s all I ask the players for. I don’t ask for a win, I don’t ask them for a draw, all I say is perform because results will look after themselves,” he said.

“I just want them to play in a style that is befitting of a Jamaican team. We’re physically stronger than everybody else, we run faster than everybody else, we just need a little bit of style to our play and to make sure we’re good at the basics, then we can really fly,” Hall added.

Jamaica winger Leon Bailey is suggesting that Jamaica's failed world cup campaign was partly due to players in the squad who lacked the required attitude and approach.

The Aston Villa player made the suggestions while speaking with Sportsmax following Jamaica's 1-1 draw with El Salvador at the National Stadium on Thursday night in what was one of Reggae Boyz more encouraging performances of the campaign. After falling behind in the 21st minute, Jamaica rallied to equalize in the 72nd minute and had several opportunities to win the game.

Head coach Paul Hall included several local players in the squad and Bailey believes that those players exhibited the kind of attitude that was far different to that of other players who were not available for the match.

“There was too much ego in the team and I’m happy that things have been changed a little bit," said Bailey.

"We have guys who want to listen and learn and go forward. We had too many hotheads in the team, too many players who don’t like to listen. Everybody has to want to listen. Nobody’s bigger than the game.” 

Jamaica failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but Bailey says the performance against El Salvador has provided a template of how the team can move forward.

“We haven’t made it to the World Cup but tonight showed that we are a good team. We can play football and compete. I feel like we can build on this going forward. We showed a lot of character and eagerness to learn,” he said.

Roberto Mancini will be searching for answers after Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup, and his mother has helpfully provided one: Mario Balotelli should have been called up.

Speaking on Rai Radio 1 on Friday, Marianna Puolo said Mancini's Azzurri would have benefited from Balotelli's power, and his inclusion could have staved off what played out in Palermo, where Italy lost 1-0 to North Macedonia.

Balotelli, a one-time teenage wonder who now plays for Adana Demirspor in Turkey's Super Lig, has long been a favourite with Mancini, dating back to their time together as player and coach at Inter and Manchester City.

Now 31, Balotelli earned a recall for an Italy training camp at the beginning of this year. He had not been capped by Italy since head coach Mancini played him three times in 2018, which followed a four-year absence from the national team.

There was no room for Balotelli in Italy's squad for the World Cup play-offs, however, and the semi-final defeat to North Macedonia means the four-time champions will miss this year's finals in Qatar, just as they were absent in Russia four years ago.

"We had the game in our hand, but the attack was not great," said Mancini's mother.

"What would I have done different? I would have called Balotelli, because he has incredible physical strength and nobody stops him in front of goal.

"Sometimes he does stupid things, but I would have called him."

Italy had 32 shots but could not find a goal against North Macedonia, who had four and hit the back of Gianluigi Donnarumma's net in stoppage time, breaking Italian hearts.

Puolo agreed with her son's post-match verdict that it would go down at the biggest disappointment of his career.

"Yes, because in his career he has more or less always done well," she said. "I heard him this morning, he was sorry, but we know that these things happen in sport."

Jorginho's 90th-minute missed penalty at 1-1 against Switzerland in Italy's penultimate group-stage qualifier ultimately proved highly costly. Had he tucked it away, Italy would have likely not needed a play-off.

Chelsea midfielder Jorginho also missed from the spot in the first game against Switzerland, which finished as a draw, too.

Mancini's mother gave her verdict on Jorginho, saying: "Of course he didn't do it on purpose, poor thing, but if you miss two or three penalties, in the end, you pay for it."

Fabio Capello believes Italy's failure to qualify for back-to-back World Cups is due to a national obsession with following Pep Guardiola's Barcelona blueprint.

Former Milan, Real Madrid, Juventus and Roma boss Capello claims Italian football should have been following the German 'heavy metal' model rather than copying the more intricate noodling of the Spanish style of play.

Capello, who also coached Russia and England, cannot see why Italy would go against their great strengths by trying to match the high technical levels of Spain.

He told Sky Sport Italia: "The explanation is very simple. I have been saying for a long time that we are copying Guardiola's football of 15 years ago."

The 75-year-old Capello said this meant "all sideways passing, no verticality, little physical strength".

Guardiola built a Barcelona team on a possession-based game that was full of nuance, with players drilled to understand and adhere to its intricacies, and they became arguably the greatest club side of all time.

Capello does not see Italian players having the skill set to follow such a formula for success.

"Instead we should follow Klopp's model, a German-style football," Capello said.

Italy won the delayed Euro 2020 tournament last year, beating England on penalties in the Wembley final, but a 1-0 play-off semi-final defeat to North Macedonia on Thursday knocked them out of contention to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.

Roberto Mancini's team had 564 passes to 309 by North Macedonia, owning 65.4 per cent of possession, and led the shot count 32-4, only to be stunned by a stoppage-time goal from the visitors in Palermo.

The Azzurri will be spectators from a distance for the tournament in November and December, having also missed out on the Russia 2018 finals.

"Macedonia on a physical level were superior to us in terms of dynamism, strength and determination," Capello said. "It is all clear: until we understand that the model to be copied is the German one, we will not move forward, because if we want to do it like the Spaniards, who have a superior technique, we will never be able to do it, we always do it at 50 per cent."

Capello said the Italian team to take heed of the German example were Atalanta, whose results showed it had benefits. They sit fifth in Serie A, having finished third last season, and are through to the Europa League quarter-finals.

"In Europe we play at a different pace, and we are not used to it," Capello said. "At the base there is this wrong idea of ​​football. We are the country of passing back to the goalkeeper."

Eden Hazard's Real Madrid injury nightmare could be in its final stages after the club confirmed he will have surgery to remove an osteosynthesis plate from his right fibula.

The 31-year-old has had almost chronic issues with his ankle in recent years, breaking it while on international duty with Belgium in 2017 and requiring a small metal plate to be implanted as a healing aid.

Muscular issues around that area of his leg reportedly started to become a more regular problem after being on the end of a strong challenge from Belgium team-mate Thomas Meunier during a Champions League game between Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in November 2019.

Shortly after returning from that "micro-fracture", Hazard suffered a more serious break to the fibula in February 2020, which required a larger metal plate to be inserted the following month.

Widespread reports since then have suggested Hazard feels that second plate has been the cause of his subsequent discomfort, with Madrid daily Marca claiming in March 2021 that he asked for it to be removed, but he and the club apparently could not come to an agreement.

But it would seem Madrid have finally given in, confirming on Friday that "in the coming days" Hazard will go under the knife to have the plate taken out.

Hazard's spell with Madrid has been a massive disappointment since he joined for €100million from Chelsea in 2019.

His impact has been limited by at least 13 separate spells of absence caused by injuries or illness, with his 17 LaLiga appearances this season the most he has managed during a single season across his three campaigns in Spain.

Madrid have not revealed a timeframe for Hazard's potential return, though it will surely be hoped he can return for the club's LaLiga run-in as they look to win the title.

Gareth Bale took aim at the media again on Friday, responding to scathing recent coverage of him in Spain.

The Wales international was the hero for his country on Thursday after scoring two excellent goals to seal a 2-1 win against Austria and put them just one game away from qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar.

However, Bale has rarely featured for Real Madrid, his club side, this season, playing in just five of their 42 matches in all competitions, totalling 270 minutes on the field – the equivalent of three whole games.

Spanish outlet Marca has labelled the winger a "parasite", also accusing him of "sucking" money out of the club.

Bale had described the criticism as "disgusting" after the Austria win, and he took to Twitter on Friday to further express his exasperation, saying journalists needed to be held accountable for the impact of their reports on athletes.

"The Daily Mail shining a light on this piece of slanderous, derogatory and speculative journalism by Marca," he wrote.

"At a time where people are taking their own lives because of the callousness and relentlessness of the media, I want to know, who is holding these journalists and the news outlets that allow them to write articles like this, accountable?

"Fortunately I have developed thick skin during my time in the public spotlight, but that doesn't mean articles like these don't cause damage and upset personally and professionally to those at the receiving end of these malicious stories.

"I have witnessed the toll the media can take on people's mental and physical health."

Bale moved to the Santiago Bernabeu from Tottenham in 2013 and has won two LaLiga titles, a Copa del Rey, four Champions Leagues and three Club World Cups.

"The media expect superhuman performances from professional athletes, and will be the first to celebrate with them when they deliver," he continued. "Yet instead of commiserating with them when they show an ounce of human error, they are torn to shreds instead, encouraging anger and disappointment in their fans.

"The everyday pressures on athletes is immense, and it's as clear as day how negative media attention could easily send an already stressed athlete, or anybody in the public eye, over the edge.

"I hope that by the time our children are of an age where they are able to ingest news, that journalism ethics and standards will have been enforced more stringently.

"So I want to use my platform to encourage change in the way we publicly talk about, and criticise people, simply for the most part, not meeting the often unrealistic expectations that are projected onto them.

"We all know who the real Parasite is!"

England manager Gareth Southgate said Italy's failure to qualify for the World Cup shows how well his team have done since their agonising Euro 2020 final defeat.

The Azzurri were shocked by North Macedonia in the play-off semi-final on Thursday, losing 1-0 in Palermo to a stoppage time goal from Aleksandar Trajkovski, and will now miss their second consecutive World Cup.

Southgate suffered at the hands of Italy last year as he saw his Three Lions team beaten on penalties at Wembley in the final of Euro 2020, but while Roberto Mancini's team were unable to book their place in Qatar, England eased through their group, winning five and drawing two of their World Cup qualifiers since losing to the Azzurri.

Speaking at a media conference ahead of Saturday's friendly against Switzerland, Southgate said: "It was a big surprise [Italy losing]. It's clear that sometimes teams have a cycle. Whether that was the cycle or the after effects of the [Euro 2020] final and the emotion of it and everything else.

"I think that's where our players did so well, to recover from the emotion of the final and to perform as they did in the autumn was absolutely fantastic. I think qualifying is [easily underestimated], so I suspect looking at the results and performances, the way they went, Italy were in that position."

Jordan Henderson joined Southgate in front of the media, and also refused to celebrate the Italians' misfortune, saying when asked if the result made him smile: "Not really, to be honest. I'm just concentrated on what we need to do and teams that will be in the World Cup.

"I think what that does show is how difficult qualification can be. I think sometimes that's taken for granted and it's expected that you qualify for a World Cup or a Euros, so [Italy's loss is] proof that if you're not 100 per cent at it, you can be punished."

Southgate also revealed that the three debutants called up to his latest squad, Kyle Walker-Peters, Tyrick Mitchell and Marc Guehi, are likely to get minutes against either Switzerland or the Ivory Coast in the next week.

"Emile [Smith Rowe] didn't train today, so I would think unlikely he'll be involved tomorrow," he said. "Raheem [Sterling] is absolutely fine, it was a shame to lose Bukayo [Saka, following a COVID-19 test].

"We're going to have debuts this week for sure, whether it's tomorrow or Tuesday."

England manager Gareth Southgate appeared to dismiss the idea of the Three Lions boycotting the Qatar World Cup as a form of protest.

Qatar's poor human rights record has been a concern during the build-up to the 2022 finals, and England captain Harry Kane revealed on Wednesday that he and his fellow senior players are looking to do something to help raise awareness of these and other issues around the tournament.

The Gulf nation's stance towards women and the LGBTQ+ community was widely pointed to as a problem before FIFA awarded it the tournament in 2010. 

Meanwhile, the deaths of thousands of migrant workers have been reported during preparation for the finals, although Qatar's organising committee disputed what it called "inaccurate claims" around the number of fatalities.

Speaking ahead of Saturday's friendly against Switzerland, Southgate was asked if boycotting the tournament was an option being considered.

"I don't really know what that achieves. It would be a big story but the tournament would still go ahead," he said.

"I think as soon as we have entered the tournament, that is the point you decide. We've known for years [that it would be held in Qatar]. Is the stance against Qatar as a country or the specific issue? If it is Qatar as a country, then we are intertwined with other issues like we have seen with Russia with all sorts of investment in our country.

"Are we all going to stop shopping at Sainsbury's as a protest against Qatar? We are in such a complex world with deals as we have seen in Saudi Arabia recently. On the one hand, people are talking about the investment in Newcastle, on the other we are going asking them to reduce oil prices so we can get our petrol cheaper.

"I think we are all observing and thinking this is really difficult. This is complicated. I know the issues themselves aren't but the repercussions and diplomatic relations are extremely complicated.

"It is possible [boycotting], but I don't think that is a decision myself and the players can make.

"My understanding is that the discussions that the FA has had with organisations like Amnesty International, is that they feel there would be more change if we go and these things are highlighted so that is guiding the thinking."

Southgate was joined at the news conference by Jordan Henderson, who revealed the players have been briefed on the issues around Qatar during this training camp.

"I'd reiterate what Harry said about it the other day, I think he spoke very well," the Liverpool midfielder said when asked about human rights issues. "We've been briefed this week, which is really important, on the issues that are currently happening there and have happened over the last few years.

"We're digesting that [as a team], coming up with ideas of what we want to do going forward. It's an opportunity to shine a light on issues and how we can make changes for the better.

"We don't want to rush into things... we'll continue to speak and come up with something we want to do as a team."

Mesut Ozil has offered his first public reaction to being cut adrift of the Fenerbahce first team.

Former Real Madrid and Arsenal playmaker Ozil has been dropped from the senior squad with immediate effect, the Turkish giants announced on Thursday.

Fenerbahce did not explain the reason behind the decision to sideline Ozil, with the same fate befalling Turkey midfielder Ozan Tufan.

Reports in Turkey have claimed the decisions followed disputes involving the players and coach Ismail Kartal, and that neither will train with the first team.

It is unclear at this stage whether there is any way back at the club for either player.

Ozil posted a message on social media on Friday that translated as "The main thing is Fenerbahce", accompanied by the club flag and Turkey's national flag.

German star Ozil was substituted at half-time in Fenerbahce's game against Konyaspor on Sunday, with the team trailing 1-0 at that stage. They recovered to win 2-1, with Tufan entering the game late on as a substitute.

Kartal praised the squad after the Konyaspor game and announced all of his players, aside from those going away on international duty, could have a three-day break.

Fenerbahce signed Ozil from Arsenal in January 2021 after he fell out of favour with the Premier League club. Tufan spent the first half of this season at Watford.

The signing of Ozil was considered a major coup for the Istanbul giants.

Fenerbahce sit third in the Turkish Super Lig this season, two points behind Konyaspor but 17 adrift of runaway leaders Trabzonspor.