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By Howard Schneider BOSTON Boston Federal Reserve President Susan Collins said on Friday she remained optimistic the U.S.

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.” Read More Stephen Kenny insists ‘no pressure’ on Evan Ferguson against Netherlands England continue unbeaten Euro 2024 qualifying run with victory over Malta Wembley celebrates life of Sir Bobby Charlton ahead of England’s Malta qualifier Alan Browne says Republic upsetting Netherlands ‘would mean an awful lot’ Stephen Kenny’s last dance? 5 talking points as the Republic face Netherlands Golden Boy award recognises Jude Bellingham’s irrepressible rise at Real Madrid

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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. 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 Republic of Ireland midfielder Alan Browne “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.” Read More England continue unbeaten Euro 2024 qualifying run with victory over Malta Wembley celebrates life of Sir Bobby Charlton ahead of England’s Malta qualifier Alan Browne says Republic upsetting Netherlands ‘would mean an awful lot’ Stephen Kenny’s last dance? 5 talking points as the Republic face Netherlands Golden Boy award recognises Jude Bellingham’s irrepressible rise at Real Madrid Fine finish hands Nicolai Hojgaard two-shot lead at halfway stage in Dubai

England continued their unbeaten run in European Championship qualification with a 2-0 win over Malta. The Three Lions opened the scoring in the eighth minute when Enrico Pepe put through his own goal. Many supporters inside Wembley Stadium would have imagined a few more goals but they were made to wait till the 75th minute before they saw another when Harry Kane netted from close range to seal victory. Elsewhere in Group C, Italy boosted their chances of making Euro 2024 with a 5-2 win over North Macedonia. Matteo Darmian opened the scoring for the Italians before Federico Chiesa gave them a healthy advantage thanks to his brace before the interval. But, Italy were made to sweat in the second half when Jani Atanasov scored twice to reduce the deficit to just one but Giacomo Raspadori’s strike nine minutes from time and Stephan El Shaarawy’s late fifth wrapped up the win. In Group E, Albania qualified despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Moldova. Albania hit the front in the 25th minute when Sokol Cikalleshi slotted home a penalty and their celebrations were put on ice when Vladislav Baboglo equalised for the home side, but the scores stayed level to send Albania through. Czech Republic held onto the second qualifying spot as they claimed a 1-1 draw with Poland in Warsaw. Poland looked like they would leapfrog their opponents into second when Jakub Piotrowski gave them a 1-0 lead but West Ham’s Tomas Soucek proved to be the hero – four minutes after the break – when he fired the ball home from close range to edge them further to qualification and ended Poland’s hopes. In Group H, Denmark qualified for the group stages following a 2-1 victory over Slovenia. Joakim Maehle put Denmark in front but Erik Janza’s strike four minutes later sent the teams level into the break. The all important winner was scored by Thomas Delaney, who poked home from close range to send the Danes through. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan kept their hopes of qualifying alive thanks to a 3-1 home victory over San Marino. The hosts were expected to gain all three points and were on their way when Islam Chesnokov claimed a brace, scoring either side of the break. For just the second time in the qualifying phase, San Marino got on the scoresheet when Simone Franciosi nodded home from close range but Kazakhstan restored their two-goal advantage thanks to Abat Aimbetov’s late penalty. Northern Ireland were thrashed 4-0 at the hands of Finland and slumped to their seventh defeat in qualifying. Read More Wembley celebrates life of Sir Bobby Charlton ahead of England’s Malta qualifier Alan Browne says Republic upsetting Netherlands ‘would mean an awful lot’ Stephen Kenny’s last dance? 5 talking points as the Republic face Netherlands Golden Boy award recognises Jude Bellingham’s irrepressible rise at Real Madrid Fine finish hands Nicolai Hojgaard two-shot lead at halfway stage in Dubai Exeter captain Poppy Leitch hoping for more progress during inaugural PWR season

Michael O’Neill could point to individual and collective mistakes after Northern Ireland lost 4-0 to Finland in their penultimate Euro 2024 qualifier but the inexperience of his young squad played a major role in Helsinki. Northern Ireland played well for much of the first half but fell behind to Joel Pohjanpalo’s penalty just before the break, and Daniel Hakans then doubled the lead three minutes into the second half before substitutes Teemu Pukki and Robin Lod added to the score late on. Ross McCausland made his debut from the start only days after being drafted in as injury cover on Monday, and there was also a late debut for Michael Forbes with O’Neill trying to make up for the raft of missing players. But it was a sadly familiar story as O’Neill’s men were unable to capitalise on early chances before being punished at the other end. “We played very well for 40 minutes in the game I thought,” O’Neill said. “We had a plan to make ourselves difficult to beat and to contain Finland and we did it very well, I can’t remember them having any opportunities in that period… “We created one or two half chances we could have done better with. Then the penalty, for all the work you do in the first 40 minutes you end up going in 1-0 down at half-time because of a penalty.” Isaac Price clipped Nikolai Alho on the edge of the box before Pohjanpalo sent Conor Hazard the wrong way. “Probably it’s a challenge he’s better off not attempting,” O’Neill said. “There’s not a lot of contact but there’s enough. The player wasn’t really in a position to shoot, we could possibly have been able to block the shot… “I was really pleased with the first 40 minutes but obviously by 48 minutes you’re in a really difficult position.” Hakans’ strike was in many ways the killer blow, coming so early in the second half. The Valerenga winger skipped through four challenges before exchanging passes with Glen Kamara, beating Hazard at his near post. O’Neill was disappointed with his stand-in goalkeeper, but also accepted more experienced players might have stopped the run by fair means or foul much further from goal. “It’s a shot that I would not expect to beat my goalkeeper at the near post,” O’Neill said. “You have to recognise the danger and there’s points in the game where maybe you have to make a technical foul as they call it and we didn’t do that. I felt probably that was something that if I was to be critical of, we didn’t win enough of those types of challenges through the 90 minutes.” When Finland then introduced Pukki off the bench, with the former Norwich striker scoring the third and creating the fourth, the game quickly went away from Northern Ireland. “That has been the big difference, the attacking players some of the opposition have had and we saw that tonight with goals three and four,” O’Neill said. “We’ve got a group of players where a lot of them are new to international football. This is their first campaign. They’re coming into games and the games are going away from them. As a manager I have to support them and back them. “They have to learn on the job and they’re having to learn quickly.” The good news is that this miserable qualifying campaign is almost over, with only Monday’s match at home to Denmark remaining. “When you come out of a defeat you look at the game from a tactical point of view and a performance point of view but what’s most important as a staff and a coach and a group of players is that people don’t question your character or mentality,” O’Neill said. “That’s what we have to show again on Monday night.” Read More Finland put Northern Ireland to the sword in Helsinki Trent Alexander-Arnold receiving the keys to England’s midfield suggests one thing England labour to win over Malta in front of bored Wembley crowd Finland put Northern Ireland to the sword in Helsinki Jarell Quansah keen to become ‘top centre-back’ after Liverpool breakthrough On this day in 2004: John Toshack becomes Wales boss on five-year deal

England’s final home match of the year will be remembered for the pre-match tributes to Sir Bobby Charlton rather than the football that followed as Gareth Southgate’s side limped to a 2-0 win against Malta. Friday’s European Championship qualifier at Wembley saw the senior men’s team play their first match since the incredible 1966 World Cup winner died at the age of 86 last month. A fan mosaic, video montage and minute’s applause formed part of a fitting farewell to Charlton before the current crop made hard work of a simple assignment against the side ranked 171st in the world. Southgate is dealing with a number of absentees right now and his side are already assured of qualification for Euro 2024, but this was hardly the entertaining display he hoped to put on for the 81,388 in attendance. It could have been worse given Teddy Teuma went close to a famous Maltese goal 28 seconds into a Group C encounter, but the hosts went ahead as Enrico Pepe turned Phil Foden’s cross into his own net. Harry Kane was furious to see the referee book him for diving rather than pointing to the penalty spot as a tepid clash continued, with the Euro 2020 runners-up failing to muster a first-half shot on target for the first time in six years. Things did not improve much after half-time but a rare moment of attacking coherency and quick-thinking saw Kane strike home 15 minutes from time. Substitute Declan Rice saw a third ruled out for a contentious offside call on a night that all but assured England’s place among the top seeds in December’s Euro 2024 draw. Southgate named a surprisingly-strong side against the Mediterranean minnows on Friday, showing just five changes from last month’s win against Italy. Conor Gallagher was among those brought in and breathing a sigh of relief after he was dispossessed and Teuma flashed just wide from the edge of the box inside the opening minute. It was a close shave and England quickly went ahead thanks to a moment of Maltese misfortune, with Foden’s attempted cutback ricocheting off Pepe and beating goalkeeper Henry Bonello. Southgate’s side would not give up that eighth-minute lead, nor build on it during a lifeless first-half display. Malta were far more impressive than they had been in June’s reverse fixture and Paul Mbong fired over after Harry Maguire saw a lax pass cut out. England musted just two attempts across a wretched first half that saw fans entertain themselves with Mexican waves and paper planes. They should, though, have seen a penalty after Kane went down as he rounded goalkeeper Bonello. The skipper turned around expecting a spot-kick, only for referee Luis Godinho to show him a yellow card for simulation. The on-field decision was allowed to stand by the VAR. Kyle Walker and Bukayo Saka replaced Gallagher and Fikayo Tomori at the break. Maguire’s deflected, looping header from a corner was easily gathered and Marcus Rashford continued to be frustrated by Malta’s backline as the qualifier limped on. Rashford and Trent Alexander-Arnold collided and the former was replaced by debutant Cole Palmer, while Rice came on for Jordan Henderson. The veteran again received boos from some fans. Alexander-Arnold, deployed in midfield, saw a shot saved by Bonello and whipped another attempt over as England pushed for a second, which came through the familiar boot of Kane after 75 minutes. Malta were dogged in their defending but quick interplay involving Walker, Foden and Saka ended with Kane firing home from close range. A minute later England appeared to have added gloss to the scoreline. Rice collected the ball, burst forward and whipped a fizzing 20-yard strike past Bonello, only for the goal to be ruled out upon VAR review for Kane being offside. Yannick Yankam thrashed the ball just wide and Alexander-Arnold nearly caught out Malta’s goalkeeper as the clock wound down. Many fans made an early exit and groans met the announcement that there would be six minutes of added time as the night ended in a 2-0 England win, just like Southgate’s first match against the same opposition in October 2016. Read More Michael O’Neill urges Northern Ireland to stick to plan Wembley celebrates life of Sir Bobby Charlton ahead of England’s Malta qualifier Alan Browne says Republic upsetting Netherlands ‘would mean an awful lot’ Stephen Kenny’s last dance? 5 talking points as the Republic face Netherlands Golden Boy award recognises Jude Bellingham’s irrepressible rise at Real Madrid Fine finish hands Nicolai Hojgaard two-shot lead at halfway stage in Dubai

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