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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

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

The scale of Everton’s 10-point deduction has shocked football in a way that is felt beyond Goodison Park. Even figures from other clubs were stunned as they went through the 41 pages of the judgement for breaches of profit and sustainability rules. Part of that is that there was no precedent for this; the Premier League had never done anything like it. That is why many in the rest of world football are watching just as keenly. Over the last few years, a constant refrain in the highest-level boardrooms has been the following: “something must be done about the power of the Premier League”. A fair question is now whether something big is going to change because the Premier League itself has finally done something. Except, the Premier League would be keen to say they didn’t do this. The English top-flight just believed there was a breach and referred it to an independent commission. Even the statement on the competition website was headlined with that. “Everton FC deducted 10 points by independent commission.” That language is read as quite pointed at a time when the Premier League is posing the biggest resistance to an independent regulator. This is all a show of governance. Some of the response, however, has already been an illustration of where the Premier League might be headed over the next decade. That might well be ongoing and fractious debates about what happens in court rooms and legal meetings rather than what happens on the pitch - to say nothing of that said between supporters. Everton, who have publicly made their severe grievance with the outcome clear, have 14 days to launch their inevitable appeal. After that, if the decision is upheld, they can’t go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Leeds United, Leicester City, Burnley and - potentially - Southampton have 28 days to lodge compensation claims from loss of earnings due to Everton staying up at their expense. Such long legal cases might be more concerning for the club, rather than what comes next, especially since the weakness of this season’s promoted clubs may well mean 10 points isn’t enough to see Sean Dyche’s side relegated. Sources connected to Everton do also feel that points number will come down on appeal. Coincidentally, some of the club’s harsher critics have already pointed to the example of Luton Town in 2008-09. There is a view, particularly among those relegated, that they shouldn’t have lost out for conforming to the rules. That is where the discussion has gone now the initial shock has passed. On the other side, there has been debate about the logic of the profit and sustainability rules. Most criticism has been reserved for the idea of getting points deductions for losses of £124.5m instead of £105m, particularly when knowledge of that came from internal documents the club openly shared in order to co-operate. Everton themselves closed their statement with what looked like a warning. “The club will also monitor with great interest the decisions made in any other cases concerning the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules,” it read. There remains so much uncertainty over similar cases. An independent commission is still looking over the 115 Manchester City charges, which is a case of far greater complexity. Chelsea are meanwhile under investigation for a range of potential breaches from the Roman Abramovich era, after the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported allegations of secret payments possibly relating to transfers and managerial appointments. The new ownership already paid an £8m settlement with Uefa earlier this year for self-reporting potential breaches to the European body and the Premier League. There had been a feeling this may earn good will with authorities but the Everton case illustrates that may not lead to clemency. This is an issue of perception, but one much bigger than how certain details are looked at. Taking in all those cases, and with the added complexity of how interlinked these situations and seasons are, it only deepens this wider debate about where English football is headed. There is now a cloud over at least nine Premier League titles, eight Champions League qualifications and two relegation places, before you even get into more mundane, but still costly issues, like prize money for placings. This isn’t what football is supposed to be about. Supporters are supposed to be able to trust what they see. The entire concept of sport is dependent on it. This certainly isn’t what the Premier League is supposed to be about, especially when so many foreign league executives say that the image of good governance has been part of its immense international growth. There may end being a huge irony to that. This potential explosion of off-field examinations and litigations is increasingly seen as the inevitable consequence of an era when the Premier League was just too laissez-faire in regulation. The view of many competition insiders is that the old Richard Scudamore regime didn’t look seriously enough for breaches as they didn’t want to damage the Premier League brand. What it potentially did, however, was create conditions that could end up harming the brand more than anything. “Nobody likes points deductions or asterisks on the league table,” one source said, “but doing it for smaller cases prevents far bigger problems. “This is all coming home to roost.” The argument can of course be extended to the much wider issue of ownership and how lacking in regulation the Premier League has been on that, too. Two of the cases referenced here involve two of the takeovers that are seen as landmarks in modern football history, in the 2003 Abramovich purchase of Chelsea and the 2008 Abu Dhabi purchase of City. Much of the Everton case could be instructive for both. The scale for punishment is clearly now very high. One paragraph of the judgement makes this all too clear. “At one level, disregard of the potential PSR [profit and sustainability rules] difficulties can be said to increase Everton’s culpability. But the Commission considers that there is a danger of double counting. We have already made clear that our approach is to start by considering the extent by which the PSR threshold has been exceeded: the greater the excess, the greater the culpability. We do not consider that the reasons for the PSR breach should aggravate that culpability unless they can be said to constitute exceptional conduct. For example, a deliberate cynical breach of the PSR to achieve a sporting advantage might increase culpability beyond that already arrived at by the extent of the breach.” These sentences are why many are now openly saying that City and Chelsea could be facing huge points deductions or even demotion, in the event they are charged and found guilty. No punishment could be as straight as direct relegation, though. Any punishment going that far would be an expulsion, at which point the English Football League would have to decide whether they want to admit them. While there may be harsh penalties, though, there evidently isn’t as much of an appetite for retrospective punishment. This could leave previous league tables and records untouched. Public opinion would be very different, though. This is the danger the Premier League has got itself into. Over a decade of English football is under scrutiny. Might this lead into something akin to the Premier League’s “Calciopoli era”, where there is so much litigation; where the very reputation of the game is affected? For all the grimness of that, there are many who believe it could be for the greater good. One source from a football body summed up another view. “Everything has to fall apart to get better.” Read More Why Everton have been handed 10 point deduction as Premier League takes FFP stand Watch: Everton CEO responds to Premier League after point deduction Everton vow to fight to ‘unjust’ Premier League points deduction Everton rocked by points deduction as Premier League toughens on financial fair play Victor Lindelof: Scoring more goals is next step for Manchester United Sean Dyche: Everton are starting to show belief on the road after latest win

Wembley celebrated the life of World Cup winner Sir Bobby Charlton ahead of England’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Malta. Heartfelt tributes from across the footballing world poured in after Charlton’s death last month – with this the first England home game since. The 1966 World Cup great, who scored 49 England goals in a fine career which also saw him win the European Cup with Manchester United, was remembered in a video montage introduced by Sir Geoff Hurst. A crowd mosaic was held up during the national anthem before a moment of remembrance was held ahead of kick-off. Both teams gathered around the centre circle as the number nine shirt so associated with Charlton was laid down before applause rang around the sold-out stadium. Read More Finland put Northern Ireland to the sword in Helsinki Alan Browne says Republic upsetting Netherlands ‘would mean an awful lot’ Stephen Kenny’s last dance? 5 talking points as the Republic face Netherlands

The College Football Playoff rankings are starting to make sense, or at least we are adjusting to them. But what if the top 25 was based exclusively on strength of schedule? What would that even look like. I did the work so you don't have to. Buckle up!

Struggling Northern Ireland found no respite in the freezing temperatures of Helsinki as they suffered a seventh defeat of their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign in a 4-0 loss to Finland. Michael O’Neill’s injury-ravaged side started well but crumbled after Joel Pohjanpalo’s penalty late in the first half, with second-half goals from Daniel Hakans, Teemu Pukki and Robin Lod piling on the pain. A crippling list of absentees provides plenty of extenuating circumstances but Northern Ireland have won only three of their last 16 games, and have only scored in three of their nine qualifiers in this campaign – two of those being victories over minnows San Marino. A young, inexperienced side played some encouraging football in the first half but lacked the cutting edge needed to earn any rewards, and were punished by their play-off bound hosts, who ended a three-game losing streak that cost them any chance of automatic qualification. The last time Northern Ireland were in Helsinki in October 2015 they had just booked their ticket to Euro 2016, but this time they were without 12 injured players, with O’Neill having to reach ever deeper into the nation’s limited pool of players. Ross McCausland only made his first Rangers start at the weekend, and was only called up from the Under-21s squad on Monday after an injury to Paul Smyth, but he started ahead of Conor McMenamin to become the 32nd player used by O’Neill in this campaign. The decision looked a good one as the Linfield academy graduate linked up well with Isaac Price and Dion Charles in some crisp early moves. When Matti Peltola stumbled on the right McCausland pounced, running down the right and cutting the ball in for Price, but the Standard Liege man shot straight at Lukas Hradecky. Finland had to wait until the 14th minute for a sight of goal when a half-cleared corner fell for Pohjanpalo to hit on the volley but Conor Hazard, starting in place of the injured Bailey Peacock-Farrell in the city where he spent much of 2022 on loan at HJK, was down smartly to save. George Saville was captaining the side on the night of his 50th cap but is yet to score in Northern Ireland colours, so it was sadly little surprise to see the Millwall midfielder fire wide after a neat move involving Price, Charles, and Trai Hume. The game changed when Finland won a penalty six minutes before half-time. Daniel Ballard blocked a shot from Fredrik Jensen but the ball came to Nikolai Alho, who was clipped by Price as he tried to charge at goal. Pohjanpalo, who started the night with only three goals in his last 20 Finland appearances, took responsibility and sent Hazard the wrong way. Northern Ireland needed a response but instead conceded a second just three minutes into the second half. It was a fine goal through Finnish eyes but O’Neill will wonder how Hakans was able to skip through four challenges before exchanging passes with Glen Kamara and then beating Hazard at his near post. There was a tantalising glimpse of goal in the 69th minute when Price sent in a low cross for substitute Conor Washington, but Miro Tenho did just enough to keep the ball out of reach, and five minutes later substitute Pukki put the game beyond doubt. The former Norwich man played a one-two with Robert Taylor, rode a challenge from Paddy McNair, and curled a shot beyond the reach of Hazard. Pukki turned provider in the 88th minute, playing the ball through Ballard’s legs for Lod to poke home, condemning Northern Ireland to their worst result yet in a dismal campaign. Read More 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 Street Child Cricket World Cup gives youngsters chance to shine

Emma Hayes set to make history as the highest paid female coach ever, earning £1.6 million as the USWNT manager.

Alan Browne has challenged the Republic of Ireland to spoil the Netherlands’ Euro 2024 party as they look to end a disappointing campaign on a high. The curtain will fall on Ireland’s dismal attempt to make next summer’s finals at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam, with automatic qualification long beyond them and only six points from home and away victories over Group B minnows Gibraltar to show for their efforts to date. There will be little more than pride at stake for Stephen Kenny’s men on a night when victory would assure the Dutch of their ticket to Germany alongside leaders France, but Preston midfielder Browne is determined to make them sweat. Asked if the chance to put the champagne on ice provided added motivation, the 28-year-old said: “It’s not so much about spoiling their party, but we want to come here and win. “The lads will be aware that we can play with a bit of freedom, it’s a bit of a free hit for us – which is obviously disappointing to say as a player, but that’s the way it is. “We want to win the game and spoil their party to an extent, but it’s not a vendetta against them, it’s just as a professional you want to win every game that you play in, and especially at the highest level against one of the best teams in the world, you want to go out and beat them. “It would mean an awful lot for us to get that result.” The game seems likely to be the penultimate fixture of Kenny’s reign – his contract is due to expire after Tuesday night’s friendly against New Zealand in Dublin and the clamour for change after an overhaul which has significantly reduced the age profile of the squad, but yielded only six wins in 28 competitive outings, has grown in recent months. However Kenny, who will have striker Evan Ferguson at his disposal, but not the injured Chiedozie Ogbene, remained bullish as he surveyed the task ahead. He said: “It’s a fantastic game against Holland. In the history of Irish football, all the great Irish teams of the past, some legendary players, it’s been elusive, the number of big away victories in that period. “Obviously there have been victories in tournaments, but in terms of qualifiers, beating the major countries has proved elusive, even for the best teams. “For us it’s a massive challenge to play Holland on the night they can qualify in Amsterdam. It’s a huge, huge challenge and one we must embrace and be positive about.” Browne for one has enhanced his reputation under Kenny’s watch, scoring important goals against Serbia, Belgium, Scotland and Norway, and he remains convinced that, while it may not be borne out by results, progress has been made. He said: “I’ve seen a lot of stuff in the media, a lot of criticism, and rightly so in terms of results. It’s been a tough one. “The group we got, we knew it was an uphill battle right from the start. The teams we got, we were really unfortunate. Any other team would be unfortunate with it as well. In terms of performances, I think we have come a long way Republic of Ireland midfielder Alan Browne “But that’s what you are up against, the best teams in the world, if you want to succeed you’ve got to beat them. “In terms of performances, I think we have come a long way. “Certainly since I first came in, in terms of team performances, we have definitely come a long way, we know that as players and staff. We have been in it together and just come up short in terms of results.” Read More 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 Street Child Cricket World Cup gives youngsters chance to shine Wales v Armenia: Key talking points as Rob Page’s side face crunch qualifier

England have already qualified for Euro 2024 but there are still a couple of qualifying fixtures to play before the campaign concludes. The Three Lions face Malta this evening and North Macedonia on Monday as they bid to finish top of Group C and receive a high seeding at next summer’s tournament in Germany. Gareth Southgate will hope to use these fixtures to bed in some of the fringe players in his squad with the likes of Marc Guehi, Ezri Konsa and Cole Palmer set for some gametime. All three could feature against Malta who are bottom of the group and without a point with just this one match left to play. They lost the reverse fixture 4-0 back in June and have a more task to take any points off England at Wembley. If Southgate does start some of the lesser experienced members of the squad, Malta will believe they have a chance of challenging the Three Lions though this encounter should be a relatively simple outing for the national side. Follow all the action from the Euro 2024 qualifiers plus get the latest odds and tips right here: