Northern Ireland must accept there will be setbacks along the way as they nurture a new generation of players, according to midfielder Ali McCann. Michael O’Neill’s players left Windsor Park dejected on Monday night after Abat Aimbetov hit an 88th-minute breakaway goal to give Kazakhstan a 1-0 Euro 2024 qualifying victory that was greeted with boos by sections of the home support. Northern Ireland had far more of the ball and created more chances but were punished for their inability to take them as they fell to a third straight 1-0 defeat in Group H. It was another night where the long list of senior players missing through injury told, but the youngsters once again pressed into action largely impressed, with 19-year-old Shea Charles named player of the match. The 23-year-old McCann counted among the more experienced players available as he earned his 18th cap and, although this result might be enough to already put qualification for Euro 2024 out of reach, he said the squad should not get too downhearted. “Obviously the manner of the goal, it’s not ideal and the result is really disappointing obviously, but there are lots of positives, we always look at the positives,” the Preston midfielder said. “I thought we were the better side for the majority of the game, but we’ve got to be a bit more clinical and cut out mistakes at the other end. “There’s lots of transition and there’s still a few of the older lads who have loads of experience and that’s great for the group, and the quality of the younger lads coming through. “There are always going to be hiccups in the road, we’ve just got to take it. The signs are bright going forward and some of the lads you can see playing, it’s brilliant.” There are always going to be hiccups in the road, we've just got to take it Ali McCann McCann said the defeat was the biggest low of his still young international career. Northern Ireland must now regroup and hope some big players return in time for September’s fixtures, when they are away to Slovenia and Kazakhstan. “These types of losses at home are really hard to take, everyone is hurting in there,” McCann added. “It’s a case of not dwelling on it, come back in September, wipe it clean and go from there. “We’ve got two hard games away from home, but if we can pick up two good results then we’ll see where we are after that. “In the main we can’t be too down, things like this happen in football so really we’ve just got to forget about it and try to put it right next time.” After the match, O’Neill said qualifying would now be “extremely difficult”, having taken only three points from four games, but McCann is not writing off Northern Ireland’s chances yet. “I wouldn’t say it ends, there’s still plenty of games, we’ve got six left,” he said. “If we start September with two good results we’ll see how we are. “It’s an open group with teams taking points off each other. We’re going into September with two tough away games, we’ll go there trying to get three points in both games and then we’ll see where we are.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Final day of first Ashes Test under way after morning rain at Edgbaston French anti-corruption police raid HQ of Paris 2024 Olympic organising committee Community Shield kick-off brought forward by 90 minutes following fan complaints

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Jurgen Klopp admitted Liverpool’s first-half struggles left him questioning his side – before the Reds hit back to win at Wolves. Andrew Robertson’s late strike and Hugo Bueno’s injury-time own goal completed Liverpool’s 3-1 victory at Molineux. Cody Gakpo had levelled earlier in the second half as Liverpool earned a third comeback victory of the season and fourth straight win. They are now unbeaten in 16 Premier League games, stretching back to last season. Hwang Hee-Chan’s opener had put vibrant Wolves in command and only a shocking miss from Matheus Cunha stopped them from adding to their lead. Klopp had criticised the early kick-off after the international break – with Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Alisson and Alexis Mac Allister all returning from South America on Friday – and conceded he was worried during a wretched first half. He said: “In the first half I thought ‘WTF?’ a couple of times. We were not ready in the first half but Wolves did really well. “With these boys, some of them we’ve had seven, eight, nine weeks with, some of them longer, I know if they can be, they are there. Today they couldn’t in a lot of moments. “I know if you get through the first half with a reasonable result, you can turn it. “The team needed help and we could deliver the help a little bit with the changes and change of system. They were completely different halves. “The same players who looked rusty in the first half, in the second half it looked much easier. “Wolves played a super first half but in the second half we were really good and controlled the game. “We stayed calm, there was no rush, 3-1 was a result I didn’t expect after 20 minutes but during the second half we deserved it.” Wolves dominated early and Hwang grabbed a seventh-minute goal when he swept in Pedro Neto’s low cross. Livewire Neto caused chaos and he gift-wrapped a chance for Cunha after 33 minutes when he breezed past Joe Gomez to cross for the striker to miscue an unmarked header from five yards. It kept Liverpool in the game and, after introducing Luis Diaz at the break, the visitors levelled 10 minutes later. Gakpo and Diaz managed to smuggle the ball to Salah on the right and his low ball was turned in by the unmarked Gakpo. Wolves lost all their first-half fearlessness, failing to create another chance, but it took until the 86th minute for Liverpool to capitalise. When we were on top we could have taken one or two of our good situations Gary O'Neil Jose Sa’s poor clearance fell for Robertson just inside Wolves’ half. The defender burst forward to swap passes with Salah and finish from seven yards. Harvey Elliott’s 20-yard strike then deflected off Bueno in stoppage time to seal victory. Wolves boss Gary O’Neil said: “If you look at the two sides, the gap in quality, it takes a big effort to close that. “I thought we did for a very long time. The organisation and structure managed to help us bridge that gap. “When we were on top we could have taken one or two of our good situations. “We were digging in and then we make a strange decision, create a bit of chaos and concede the second goal. “At 1-1 they’ve had a lot of the ball but we made a strange decision and it cost us a goal. Up until 80 minutes to have pushed Liverpool that close was a very good effort. “We conceded a crazy second goal which is what I’ve been trying to get out of the players since I’ve been here.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Current Davis Cup format set to stay despite being branded ‘a clear disaster’ Ford’s final audition and Sinckler returns – England v Japan talking points Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti hails ‘consistent’ Jude Bellingham

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Phil Foden admits Manchester City have a big hole to fill after influential midfielder Rodri picked up a three-game ban in Saturday’s win over Nottingham Forest. The Spain international was sent off early in the second half of City’s 2-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium for raising his hands towards the neck of Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White. The treble winners now face being without Rodri for their midweek Carabao Cup trip to Newcastle, next Saturday’s game at Wolves and – most crucially – the encounter at Arsenal on October 8. Foden said: “He is one of our most important players and he seems to play all the minutes. He is going to be a big miss, but we have players to step up now and we are going to need them.” Rodri’s dismissal dramatically changed the mood of a game City had been cruising to victory in following goals from Foden and Erling Haaland in the first 14 minutes. A tame affair became fractious and City lost some of their composure before switching to a defensive mindset. Attacking players Jeremy Doku and Julian Alvarez were sacrificed for Kalvin Phillips and Nathan Ake as manager Pep Guardiola took a pragmatic approach to secure three points. “I thought we showed a different side to the team,” Foden said. “It was not ideal with Rodri getting a red card so early in the second half, but I thought we showed heart and desire – a different side to the team that we sometimes need to show. “I am really happy with the performance. We dug deep.” Despite making their latest victory unnecessarily complicated, the champions’ 100 per cent start to the season remains intact. In an ominous warning for the rest of the competition, Foden believes there is plenty more to come. The 23-year-old said: “I would say it is a perfect start, but there are still a couple of gears for us to go. We are happy with the start, but we still know we can get better.” Forest manager Steve Cooper was pleased with his side’s response in the second half and felt they should have got more from playing against 10-man City. He said: “When you play a game and you get presented an opportunity, you really want to recognise that you have to take that. “I’m not angry with the players. I’m not disappointed in any way, shape or form, and I’ve told them that. “But I’ve just challenged them, like, ‘Come on boys, really back yourselves, because I do’. “Hopefully we’ll reflect on the game and be motivated that we can play in these really tough games and do some good things.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live On This Day in 2014 – Sir Bradley Wiggins wins time-trial gold in Spain Andy Farrell hails Ireland’s resilience in thrilling win over South Africa Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag hails ‘massively important’ Jonny Evans