Jobe Bellingham and Josh King called up by England
Jobe Bellingham and Josh King are the headline names after Thomas Tuchel handed both uncapped midfielders call-ups to his England squad for the Nations League games against Croatia and Spain. Borussia Dortmund’s Bellingham, 21, joins his brother Jude in the senior set-up after impressing as captain of the Under-21s.
King’s rise has been just as rapid. The 19-year-old has become a fixture in Fulham’s midfield this season, and his two Premier League goals make him their top league scorer. He travelled with England’s preparation squad before the summer’s World Cup and has kept catching the eye for the Under-21s.
Key events
De Zerbi continued, before Leeds v Tottenham at 12.30 tomorrow: “We have many targets but we can’t move our focus from game by game. We are building, I think, something special … the atmospere in the dressing room, a clear style of play, the players are playing much better than in the beginning …”
Roberto de Zerbi of Tottenham is up next. With his team on form, is the international break coming at a bad time?
“No. The focus for us is on the Leeds game … one of the best stadiums in the Premier League, some of the most passionate fans … We want to complete this “step” of the season in the best way we can.
“We are playing well – yes. We are making points in a row … but we can’t forget the beginning of the season, and the last season as well.”
Will managers like Carrick ever get as much time as Alex Ferguson did when times were tough at Old Trafford? (Mark Robins was mentioned …)
“The game evolves … it changes,” Carrick says. “We’ve got to deal with what’s in front of us. I understand the comparisons – but we’ve got to live in the present. We are all desperate to win football matches, and win them as quick as we possibly can.”
Michael Carrick is asked for some thoughts about the aforementioned Ferguson on the 40th anniversary of his appointment at Old Trafford:
“What’s not been said already?” Carrick begins. “It’s something worth celebrating as a club, 40 years this weeks since he came here, the impact … all that’s he’s left for others to carry forward is incredible. I am probably closer to him now, and speak more to him now, that I did when I was playing.
“The impact he had on me as an individual was massive …
“Those habits you picked up over time from him and tried to emulate … then you move on more into a friendship, which is really nice.”
Next, Carrick is asked about the stirring 3-2 win against Roma in midweek:
“It’s up to us to take it forward. As a one off night it was fantastic … to finish so strongly … I thought we played really really well and deserved the game … it was nice for the supporters to have that feeling … but nothing’s achieved yet, it’s one moment, we need to use it to move forward. We need more of it, for sure.”
Thank you Tom.
Ok, time’s up for me for a bit. Here to take the live blog baton is Luke McLaughlin.
The lovely people at the Guardian Research Department have flagged that it is the 40-year anniversary of Sir Alex Ferguson’s appointment as Manchester United manager. The news to appoint the then up-and-coming Scot from Aberdeen was worthy of the front page on 6 November 1986. Here’s the cutting:
Portugal pledged to honour Cristiano Ronaldo as manager Jorge Jesus named his first squad since the 41-year-old announced his international retirement.
Jesus faced a barrage of questions about the rift that preceded the departure of Ronaldo after the forward announced his retirement decision on social media on Thursday, ending a Portugal career spanning 234 appearances and 146 goals.
Portuguese FA president Pedro Proenca promised to celebrate Ronaldo’s contribution, although there was no word on whether the forward would agree to a farewell appearance. “No tribute will ever be enough to thank him for everything he has done for Portuguese football, for Portugal,” Proenca said before the squad announcement.
“We will do everything we can to honour the legacy he leaves us. Everything he has done deserves to be honoured and celebrated.“
Jesus selected seven new faces, including five players from the Under-21s, for November’s Nations League matches against Wales and Denmark. Reuters
Dowman gets first England U21 call-up
Arsenal midfielder Max Dowman has been called up to England’s Under-21 squad for the first time.
The 16-year-old, previously capped at Under-17 and Under-19 level, is already on the radar of senior boss Thomas Tuchel owing to his achievements at Arsenal. Dowman has now been named in Lee Carsley’s group for games against Portugal and France this month.
With captain Jobe Bellingham promoted to the senior set-up, midfielders Trey Nyoni, Harrison Armstrong and Divine Mukasa remain in the group following their step up from the Under-20s. Brighton’s Jack Hinshelwood is named in the squad after missing the last camp due to injury
Tottenham striker Mikey Moore, who is on loan at FC Koln, also receives his first call-up. Will Lankshear, the striker who has scored 15 goals in 16 games since joining Middlesbrough from Spurs in the summer, has not been included after missing Boro’s midweek clash with Wrexham through injury.
Carsley’s men play friendlies against Portugal on Friday 13 November and France three days later, both at Ashton Gate as they prepare for next summer’s Under-21s European Championship.
Luis de la Fuente has called up three uncapped players for his Spain squad to take on England and Czechia in the Nations League.
Jacobo Ramon, who played in Como’s record-equalling 9-1 Champions League win over Lens, plus Real Betis pair Alvaro Valles and Marc Roca are in line for debuts after being named in a squad missing the injured trio of Rodri, Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo. AFP
Nottingham Forest boss Oliver Glasner has warned his players they are not at a “spa and wellness hotel” and has demanded they improve on a difficult start to the campaign.
Forest welcome Manchester City to the City Ground on Saturday, with the visitors looking to bounce back themselves, following successive Premier League defeats.
Glasner says he is still trying to create a culture at his new club:
We are not a spa and wellness hotel where you like to relax and enjoy. But of course, as I mentioned, we are also not the military. We need to find in-between. What I want is to get every player having this intrinsic motivation, to want to improve his game.
‘Come on, coach, tell me what do I have to do to get better?’ And this is what I hope, and I’m pretty sure we will create. That we will be more challenged by the players in the future.
Louise Taylor
Dedic set to escape Newcastle sanction over carrying bow and arrow
Newcastle’s Amar Dedic is unlikely to face a club sanction after being spotted holding a bow and arrow in the Northumberland countryside and sparking a major police pursuit involving an armed response unit.
Dedic is expected to start Newcastle’s match at Fulham on Saturday following an incident that at one point saw six patrol cars pursue the Bosnia right-back back to his home on the upmarket Darras Hall estate, just outside Ponteland.
Full story:
A bit more Maresca on Nico O’Reilly, who has been left out of the latest England squad. The Manchester City manager is not concerned about his form and believes the 21-year-old could benefit from a rest during the international break:
It’s what he needs. With Nico, it’s quite easy. Since we started the season, between his back (injury) before the Coventry game and some more problems unfortunately, he’s not 100%.
In the last game I really liked him, I thought he was playing a very good game and this is what we need from Nico.
Let’s just keep him fit because we know how good he is and no doubt in the future that he will be back with the international team. Now use that break to do the right things in terms of therapy and these kind of things and be 100% after the international break.
Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca is confident goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma will get back to his best with little guidance in his native Italian.
Donnarumma’s form has been under scrutiny after a number of mistakes in recent games. Maresca has continued to back his first choice throughout his troubles and has no plans for in-depth conversations with his fellow Italian. He said:
It’s much easier for me with the language! We are (having conversations) but there are players who when they make mistakes, you need conversations with them and there are players that when they make a mistake you just need eye contact to understand that he recognises and he knows.
With Gigio it’s quite easy because every time he has made some mistake or something that was not correct, he recognises immediately. I spoke with Gigio but sometimes you don’t need to be so deep with some players because they know they have made a mistake and recognise that. Just try to avoid that and move on.
Overall he’s good. He’s quite relaxed in terms of he recognises that he has done some mistakes but at the same time he has also made some good saves. It’s just a matter of balance – try to avoid mistakes and continue to do the right things.
It appears Coady has his ducks in a row, a new podcast from Gareth Southgate’s production company, 1071 Media, was announced yesterday, in partnership with Sky Sports, where the recently retired defender will appear alongside familiar face Mark Chapman. The Football Dugout will feature in-depth, tactical conversations with managers, players, coaches, and sporting directors, according the blurb. It’s the one we’ve all been asking for.
For me, Coady will always be fondly remembered for hitting an astonishing 23 mentions of ‘the football club/a/the/this club’ in five minutes and 28 seconds of his signing announcement at Wrexham. Inspirational football clubbing:
Conor Coady announces retirement at 33
The former Wolves man has called it a day at 33 having featured for Charlton in the second half of the last Championship season. He earned the last of his 10 England caps in 2022.
Here’s the video from Coady on his decision:
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Danks: Kompany on track for full recovery
Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany is on track for a “full recovery” after a lengthy absence following his collapse at a training session, his assistant Aaron Danks has confirmed.
Kompany has been out of action for two weeks since collapsing at a reserve team training session on 23 October. He was hospitalised and treated for meningeal irritation, which is an inflammation of the tissue around the brain or spinal cord.
“I’ve had a few really good phone calls with Vince,” Danks said. “He seems very positive and appears to be well on the way to a full recovery. The international break provides a good opportunity to reflect and see when he can return.”
It’s becoming pretty clear that Tuchel values commitment and availability, he’s given a long answer on that subject when asked about the standby list. Here are the key quotes:
It is always about the ones who are in camp, who don’t withdraw and walk the talk, come to camp and show that it matters.
I think that [message] is naturally coming through. That was always the message very, very early that is matters if you are in camp.
The last camp was an excellent one and the trust and belief is in the players who were there.
Kobbie Mainoo has had a “difficult spell” with his club and missed games, says Tuchel explaining the decision to pick others ahead of the Manchester United midfielder. Tuchel says it is time for Ben White “to write a new chapter” with England and helps them in a position where they have a “bizarre” amount of injuries.
A bit more on Palmer, Tuchel re-emphasised that the Chelsea player “misses too many opportunities to impress”, while later clarifying that the door was always open, the England manager said:
I guess everyone is desperate to play for England and Cole is no exception. We are speaking now about a player that is not in camp. It counts when you are in camp and I just said last time that he misses too many opportunities to impress. It was a long camp, it was two and a half weeks and the players and the boys who were in campo built something extraordinary.
That’s why the credit goes to them, the trust is for them. If you are in camp, this is your chance to impress.
So it’s not personal and of course we will never assume that Cole is not in the mindset to come and desperate to play for his country, but the competition is on and the players who were in camp did an amazing job and kept their place.
On the question of who will replace Bukayo Saka with Noni Madueke not selected, Tuchel says Morgan Rogers is now the first choice with Rio Ngumoha as backup and Josh King as another option.
Tuchel says Jobe Bellingham “deserves” senior call-up
On calling up Jobe Bellingham, Tuchel said:
First of all Lee [Carsley] is speaking very highly of him for the Under-21s for a while now. He is the standout player. He is the captain of the Under-21s so I think the door should always be open and the pathway should always be open for special performances over a long period of time and that is what Jobe has done.
He found his way and his rhythm with Dortmund, where he has had an excellent start to the season. He’s a regular starter there and very influential and there’s an opportunity.
There is an opportunity coming through the pathway, coming on his own merit, Jobe deserves to make an impressive for us. We’re happy to have him in camp and see what he can do for us.
Tuchel discusses Palmer’s omission
On the first question of Palmer’s absence, Tuchel said:
It’s enough No 10s and we stick to the guys we had in camp. Camp was excellent and we were happy with the last two and half weeks we had togther. The impact of the players was immense throughout the whole camp and that’s why we stick mainly with the group.
We have Josh King in there, but I want to see him on both wings. He’s kind of an extra player that we use, we have training numbers and he can cover all eventualities because Josh can play all four positions, so that’s basically the reason.
Tuchel’s press conference is coming up…
Good morning, I’ve just seen Jude Bellingham has posted a sweet picture of him and Jobe as boys with matching Birmingham shirts and dyed blue hair. In the often cynical world of football, that is quite a sweet family moment. Who were the last brothers to play for England, was it the Nevilles?
Okay, for further England reaction and much more, I’ll hand you over to Tom Bassam…
Some reaction from Fulham boss Álvaro Arbeloa following Josh King’s call-up by England.
“Yes, I think it’s a special moment for him, for us as a club and obviously for our supporters.
“I think Josh is the pride of our club and our supporters. He came to this club when he was eight-years-old. Now, when you look at him, how he’s playing, how he’s performing, we are really proud of him.
“I think it’s a big step for him and I’m so happy for him because he’s a very humble kid. You can see every day he wants to improve, he wants to work, he wants to become a better player every day. So I think it’s a special day for him and for all of us.”
This is quite a time for the Bellinghams. Jude and Jobe’s father, Mark, was called up by England Veterans’ Over-50s side last weekend.
He’s a retired police sergeant with West Midlands Police and reportedly scored more than 700 goals over a lengthy non-league career.
A couple of other lines from that England squad announcement…
Djed Spence and Declan Rice are back in. They both missed out on the last camp through injury.
Ben White is back in the squad for the first time since March, after he was ruled out of the World Cup this summer.
What do we make of that then? Josh King a better player than Cole Palmer? Looks like this goes beyond just playing ability. Tuchel’s press conference is set for 11am so we’ll see how he explains what looks like a huge snub.
Full England squad; Cole Palmer left out
The other big news in Tuchel’s squad announcement is that there is again no place for Cole Palmer. Other surprise omissions include Noni Madueke and Kobbie Mainoo.
Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Jason Steele (Brighton & Hove Albion), James Trafford (Leeds United)
Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid), Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Marc Guéhi (Manchester City), Lewis Hall (Newcastle United), Ezri Konsa (Arsenal), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Inter Milan), Ben White (Arsenal)
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Manchester City), Jobe Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), James Garner (Everton), Josh King (Fulham), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Forwards: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds United), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Anthony Gordon (Barcelona), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool), Morgan Rogers (Chelsea)
Jobe Bellingham and Josh King called up by England
Jobe Bellingham and Josh King are the headline names after Thomas Tuchel handed both uncapped midfielders call-ups to his England squad for the Nations League games against Croatia and Spain. Borussia Dortmund’s Bellingham, 21, joins his brother Jude in the senior set-up after impressing as captain of the Under-21s.
King’s rise has been just as rapid. The 19-year-old has become a fixture in Fulham’s midfield this season, and his two Premier League goals make him their top league scorer. He travelled with England’s preparation squad before the summer’s World Cup and has kept catching the eye for the Under-21s.
Fifa wants talks with the IOC over restricting the Olympic women’s football tournament to under-23s owing to concerns over fixture congestion and the workload of senior players. Here’s Matt Hughes’ exclusive.
The death of Jesús de Miguel Alameda is still hard to comprehend. Utterly tragic.
Sid Lowe: “Football is supposed to be a safe space, a refuge, an escape. All those lines about giving your life to the game are not supposed to be literal. This didn’t make sense. The images and the outcome shocked; the contradictory combination of the improbability and the plausibility of it all made it harder still to come to terms with: this couldn’t happen yet it could have happened to anyone.”
Frank Lampard’s return to Everton kicks off this week’s 10 things column. Also… Glasner sparking Forest fire, Zubimendi and Kroupi in spotlight and Carrick v Emery.
The Premier League weekend action starts tonight with Everton v Coventry. A couple of things…
1) Get those fantasy teams sorted in time.
2) This City Is Ours will have to wait until full-time. Tonight’s Merseyside turf war comes first – follow it via our MBM.
If Frank Lampard’s visitors get the win they’ll move to 12 points. Andrew Beasley reveals why that’s significant.
A round-up of last night’s action in Europe. That’s now seven wins on the trot for Bournemouth in all competitions but they’re not happy up in Sunderland.
Paul MacInnes was at Selhurst Park to see 10-man Palace snatch a draw.
”After being outplayed by a side currently in the bottom half of the Bundesliga, and a goal down from the seventh minute, Palace looked to have lost all hope in this fixture when Adam Wharton was dismissed with 13 minutes to go…”
Some talking points ahead of the England squad announcement which we’re expecting at 10am GMT. England go into the final two games on nine points after three wins and a loss.
Cole Palmer. The Chelsea man pulled out of the September/October squad through injury, which drew a frustrated response from Thomas Tuchel, who said the 24-year-old misses too many camps. Does he get another chance?
Saka out, so who comes in on the right? Bukayo Saka misses this international break after picking up a quadriceps problem in the 2-2 Champions League draw with Bayern Munich. Arsenal colleague Noni Madueke looks the obvious replacement.
The goalkeeper debate. Jordan Pickford faces genuine competition for the No 1 spot for the first time in his England career, with James Trafford having started two of the four autumn games. Dean Henderson is also likely to return after recovering from injury.
Will Lankshear. Could the young striker, who left Tottenham for Middlesbrough in the summer, get a surprise call-up. Taken under the wing of Harry Kane and all that. Lankshear’s tally of 15 goals in 16 matches for Boro this season is certainly Kane-like.
Preamble
If England’s Champions League sides delivered a mixed bag earlier in the week, Thursday’s Europa League action was no different.
Bournemouth’s winning streak continued, 10-man Crystal Palace scraped a last-gasp draw while there were boos at Sunderland after a home loss to Dinamo Zagreb. Elsewhere, there was a rousing comeback win for Celtic and Brighton still don’t know what it’s like to concede a goal in the Conference League after a 1-0 win at Getafe.
But that’s last night’s news. Football doesn’t hang around and today the focus is on the announcement of England’s squad for the final two Nations League group games against Croatia and Spain. Expect the white smoke around 10am.
That latest pesky international break starts next week but before then it’s another round of hot Premier League action. We’ll have build-up and managers talking throughout the day.
Right, let’s get this thing going!
