Herein lies the formula for a high-performing England team. Release the shackles, dole out the confidence, then sit back and marvel at the beast of the Lionesses without limits. There were no concerns about keeping tournament hopes alive; no headaches over managing minutes; no tactical frameworks to devise on the fly; just a chance for the Lionesses to show what they can do best. And that is exactly what England accomplished. Scotland were far from pushovers but were thoroughly outclassed on Friday night. With an enthusiastic Sunderland crowd providing the backing and an evidently more polished shape on their side, England exuded confidence. Raw, unadulterated confidence. From the off it was as if that was all that mattered. Georgia Stanway sized-up Scotland goalkeeper Lee Gibson whenever the ball dropped towards her feet outside the area, Chloe Kelly went on her customary weaving runs, Lauren James – with her usual precision and air of nonchalance, was finally free to toy with opponents once again. Even Lucy Bronze, usually a straight edge, was inspired to try and backheel it through the visitors’ defence. The danger of working at the disposal of a master conductor like Sarina Wiegman had always been that glimpses of individual brilliance were better left repressed than taking risks which may have been to the detriment of the team. Just follow the plan and have faith that results will ensue. Here’s a summary of how that has worked so far: England became a relentless machine, they won the Euros, opponents cottoned on, things turned stale, their winning record ended, an unexpected injuries forced Wiegman to return to the drawing board. The abandoning of such orthodoxy and the move towards a new formation may well be the key to this team’s future. Against Scotland they provided further evidence that the current set-up might just set them on a course for future success. Rachel Daly finally converted an England set-piece after a summer of somewhat underwhelming corners, though she was denied the opener with Kelly standing offside, apparently interfering with Gibson’s sight of the ball. So it fell to Bronze to put England ahead; the fact it was a former Sunderland player coming to the rescue being much to the delight of the home supporters. Katie Zelem dinked the ball over the heads of the Scottish back line and Bronze timed her diving header to perfection, contorting herself low and connecting just on time to direct the ball past Gibson. Then, just six minutes later, it was the turn of her former Manchester City teammate Lauren Hemp to do something rather similar. This time it was Daly who drilled in the cross and Hemp likewise adopted a dive to nod home. Though as much as England’s exuberance had been a delight for fans, at times evoking a sense that the Nou Camp had been plonked on the banks of the River Wear, there were sporadic reminders that this team remains fallible. Real Madrid’s Caroline Weir picked up the ball inside the England box and should have netted for her side were it not for the quick reactions of Mary Earps. Kirsty Hanson carved out openings on the left-hand flank and Weir should likely have had a penalty after Millie Bright brought her down. It came as little surprise, therefore, that Hanson was able to pull one back when she tucked home a loose ball on the stroke of half-time, though after the break the hosts managed to hold back Scotland’s persistence. Zelem, the provider of Bronze’s opener, was a particular standout while filling in for the absent Keira Walsh, who has missed out on a spot in this camp through injury. She hassled tirelessly in the middle of the park and tried to orchestrate chances going forwards, zipping the ball around, and looked a welcome addition. It was somewhat cruel when Zelem, who shone when deputising for Walsh during the latter’s period of absence at the World Cup, was quickly shunted back to the bench after her quick recovery, and her performance against Scotland will have staked a further claim that she is deserving of a spot in this team. The performance of James, starting for the first time since her now-infamous red card in the quarter-finals, was also encouraging and showed that she has now surely cemented her position in the England teams of the future. That she had a late goal ruled out for offside is of little importance. This international break is peculiar for the fact it comes before the domestic campaign begins, and takes place just over a month after the World Cup’s conclusion, but two strong performances will be crucial. If Team GB are to secure qualification for next summer’s Olympics England must win their Nations League group and then progress to their final. Victory over Scotland – and further evidence of a way in which this team can delight audiences and play their top-class football going forwards – helps to set things on a positive course. Now their attention quickly turns to Tuesday’s game against the Netherlands, where they will need to be at their best once again.

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A few years ago, Declan Rice said he would have passed. Now, however, the £105m man assumed responsibility, shot and, via a deflection off Jonny Evans, gave Arsenal a 96th-minute lead against Manchester United. As Gabriel Jesus scored an even later goal, it was not technically the winner. But Rice was the scorer of the de facto decider in the sort of match that can define seasons and establish reputations. Perhaps particularly for central midfielders, given that it is a fixture that evokes memories of Patrick Vieira against Roy Keane. Vieira scored the winning penalty in an FA Cup final shootout against United; Keane scored a disproportionate number of his United goals – five, almost 10 percent – against Arsenal. Rice’s first in Arsenal colours came at United’s expense. The most expensive Englishman ever can appear something of a throwback player: called a defensive midfielder, but often an all-rounder, in the way the Frenchman and the Irishman were. His post-match interview was conducted next to Keane who, like Graeme Souness, a similarly dominant and brilliant midfielder and another whose punditry could focus more on personalities than tactics, subscribes to the great man theory of history: as a footballing great himself, he tends to argue that matches are determined by the determination of individuals, by a willingness to seize the moment, by winning a personal battle. It suits him to argue games are won by warriors, not formations involving inverted full-backs or box midfielders. Football has grown more complex, the tactical intricacies of managers such as Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola reducing the significance of going mano a mano with the opposition’s alpha male. And yet, in the age of the £100m midfielder, perhaps Rice has a responsibility to be more than just another cog in the wheel, to be the match-winner at least sometimes. If it is simplistic to demand a tangible impact that always equates with his price tag for a player whose contribution stretches far beyond goals and assists, he is nevertheless charged with improving Arsenal. Turning one point into three and winning a game against rivals is a way of doing that. And if philosophies and systems seemed to have reduced the reliance on the individual, there is evidence in the midfields of Arteta and Guardiola that football can still come down to big players producing big deeds at big moments. Ilkay Gundogan spent the first half of his Manchester City career as a neat passer. In the second half, he was transformed into the man for the big occasion, the scorer supreme who could use his footballing intelligence to find space and his technique to finish. It was, in part, why he became captain; by the time of his FA Cup final brace, he felt more Roy of the Rovers than Sergio Busquets. As the defensive midfielder, Rodri’s primary responsibilities were to engineer perpetual possession and to cut off counter-attacks. Yet as the Spaniard grew in stature, he has tended to deliver crucial contributions: most obviously the Champions League final winner and most recently the superb late decider at Sheffield United but a pre-Rice Arsenal can probably still remember and regret his injury-time winner at the Emirates Stadium on New Year’s Day in 2022: if the sense is that managers like Guardiola and Arteta want their midfielders to be elegantly robotic, executing a strategy with practised excellence, the importance of individual interventions is still apparent. Rice need only gaze across the Arsenal midfield to see. Martin Odegaard joined with certain similarities to Gundogan: obviously an assured passer, he has turned himself into an accomplished scorer as well as a regular skipper. The Norwegian’s two goals this season, a nerveless penalty at Crystal Palace and a swift equaliser against United, were signs of his substance, of a capacity to deliver when it matters. That Rice did likewise feels auspicious. He has cost the sort of sum that used to be reserved for attackers. Chelsea created the £100m midfielder and now have two of them, a £222m double act. That can seem the product of a shift in thinking, recognising the significance of dictating a game. But there is still the need to decide it. Enzo Fernandez has shown his incisive passing as he has become increasingly creative: that he only has two assists in their colours is in part a reflection of others’ poor finishing. But the Argentinian has a lone goal himself, and that was against AFC Wimbledon of League Two, while he missed a penalty at West Ham. Moises Caicedo’s Chelsea career has only spanned 205 minutes on the pitch and, while Fernandez has been used as a No 10 of late, the Ecuadorian’s deeper role means he is likely to score fewer goals than the World Cup winner or Rice. Nevertheless, at such a colossal cost, each was bought to make a difference. And when, deep into added time, it seemed Arsenal would drop two points, Rice did. Read More Arrest after Roy Keane allegedly headbutted at Emirates Stadium Arsenal forward Gabriel Jesus hopes he has seen the last of knee niggles Declan Rice rises to the moment as Arsenal avoid disastrous slip-up

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Friday’s first practice session in Abu Dhabi was an intriguing watch. On a weekend which is alarmingly lacking much intrigue, exactly half the grid were absent. Substituted in their place were 10 “rookie” drivers, as part of F1’s mandatory young drivers programme introduced last year. One driver, and more so how they performed, amplified one of the sport’s most peculiar issues – and one where a solution could amp up the closing races of the season. It is one of the FIA’s – the sport’s governing body – most peculiar rules that the Formula 2 champion can’t compete in the series again. Such a regulation would imply that there is a ready-made pathway to F1 for the winner, but this is not the case. For 2022 champion Felipe Drugovich, a second year in a row begrudgingly watching from the sidelines beckons next season. A shame because (who’d have thought it), he’s actually pretty fast. In FP1 on Friday, Drugovich recorded the second-quickest lap on the timesheet. Most notably, the Brazilian was almost three-tenths quicker than Lance Stroll in the other Aston Martin car. While it was indeed practice – with drivers and teams generally on different run plans throughout the weekend – the pace was still notably significant. Yet while F1 remains a 10-team-20-driver sport, the obstructions for junior drivers with much promise but no established route to the top table will remain. But what if there was a very genuine incentive to win Formula 2? What if those grappling for points at the bottom of the F1 standings had their future on the line? Because title-runaways happen, in all sports. Manchester City have won five of the last six Premier League titles; two of those have been at a canter. Just ask German football fans about the simplistic boredom of the Bundesliga title race; Bayern Munich have won 10 in a row. But the end-of-season battles in football rarely stop at the top. The top six spots are incentivised with European football, while those down at the bottom frantically try to escape the clutches of relegation. F1 is, of course, a different beast. All 10 teams are entities in their own right with the two driver spots their most prized assets. As such, team principals understandably want full reign on who to pick and how long to pick them for. And this simple model is not about to change anytime soon. But, just for a moment, have a bit of fun and consider the extra spice of an alternative reality this weekend. Ignoring Nyck de Vries who was dropped from AlphaTauri after 10 races in July, Logan Sargeant is currently bottom of the charts with one point. Liam Lawson, who raced five times due to Daniel Ricciardo’s injury, has two points. Haas’ Kevin Magnussen is on three points, with Zhou Guanyu and Ricciardo ahead of him on six. Meanwhile, the Formula 2 season also concludes this weekend. Alfa Romeo reserve Theo Pouchaire leads by 25 points to Mercedes junior Frederik Vesti. Aside from your motorsport die-hards, the sport’s main support series rarely entices viewers on television. Does it really matter, especially when you’re unintentionally punished by claiming the title with, most likely, a year to follow without racing? It happened to Oscar Piastri in 2022; he had to play the game behind-the-scenes to land a seat at McLaren this year, with his impressive performances indicative of the talent coming up from the higher echelons of Formula 2. It’s happening now to Drugovich – and is set to happen to Pourchaire next year. Yet imagine if a guaranteed spot in F1 was the carrot. Imagine if Sargeant had to somehow land a top-10 finish in the 22nd and final race at the Yas Marina Circuit to keep his seat at Williams. There could be ramifications for Magnussen’s poor year at Haas but, suitably scarred by the years of Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin, Guenther Steiner said in the summer: “I don’t want to take any risk in this moment. You can take a risk if the risk is worthwhile to take. And in this moment, we want stability.” Of course, it’s not realistic. Such a procedure would open up F1 to all sorts of issues. For example, George Russell finished bottom in 2019, simply handicapped with the worst car on the grid at Williams despite his obvious talent. The junior programmes most drivers are in would suddenly be negated. Teams would bend the rules, on and off track, in order to carve their route to the chosen driver. But boy would the basic relegation-promotion principle make the season finale spectacle engrossing. While the teams can keep motivation high with financial rewards for higher spots in the championship, the generic sporting fan is not bothered about that. In the last six Abu Dhabi race meets (including this year’s), only one has had a title riding on it with Verstappen’s controversial and thrilling win over Hamilton in 2021. For a sport with peak popularity in the Drive to Survive era, the end-of-season no-contest is a shortcoming. Read More Christian Horner reveals talks with Lewis Hamilton’s father over Red Bull seat F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix LIVE: Practice updates and times at Yas Marina F1 to trial AI at season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix What time is qualifying at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Saturday? Lewis Hamilton says Red Bull chief is ‘stirring things’ over team move claim Toto Wolff and Fred Vasseur receive warnings over ‘swearing’ in Las Vegas

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By Maria Martinez BERLIN Germany's ruling coalition on Thursday was scrambling to fix a large hole in its