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Gareth Southgate wants England to retain a relentless winning mentality akin to treble winners Manchester City as the road to Euro 2024 continues. Monday’s Group C encounter against North Macedonia marks the halfway point of qualification for next summer’s tournament in Germany. England already look all but assured of reaching the Euros having won at reigning champions Italy and beaten Ukraine in March before swatting aside Malta 4-0 on Friday night. Southgate’s opposite number Michele Marcolini said the minnows, ranked 172nd in the world, could not get anywhere near the visitors as they had an “amazing attitude on the pitch from the first minute”. That is the product of the impressive mindset cultivated by England, who are also expected to beat 65th-placed North Macedonia as this mammoth season finally comes to a close on Monday. Put to Southgate that progress to date will count for nothing if complacency seeps in at Old Trafford, the England boss said: “Correct, yeah. That’s what we have to be. “We’ve just watched the team win three trophies. Why? Because pretty much every game I saw them play the mentality was spot on. Sometimes you can say things as a coach but the fact that there's somebody sitting ready to take your place that's a good player also has an impact Gareth Southgate “That helps when you’ve got competition for places like we have because also you know that you can’t afford a dip. You’ve got to produce. “So sometimes you can say things as a coach but the fact that there’s somebody sitting ready to take your place that’s a good player also has an impact. “But we have good professionals. Everybody, of course, is excited by our younger players, but our senior players have a big impact on the way they train. “The way they embrace the younger ones coming in and the way they demand in the dressing room, the mentality that they start to set, so it all plays a part.” Southgate utilised an experienced core in Malta, while giving Marc Guehi and James Maddison starts on a night when Trent Alexander-Arnold played in midfield. That experiment worked brilliantly as the Liverpool right-back put in a man-of-the-match display, scoring a fine effort and playing a part in England’s two other first-half goals. Southgate admits England’s performance in Malta has slightly altered his thinking ahead of facing North Macedonia, but suggested it was down to other aspects than Alexander Arnold’s display. “Yep (the performance made me think differently) but not the obvious that you might think!” he said with a smile. “We always have in mind what happens (next). Of course, there’s still training over the next couple of days also to take into account. “But what we saw tonight probably confirmed a couple of things, but also, you know, left one or two things open. “You’ve always got a plan but normally we’re on plan E, F or G by the time we get to matchday because of the players we’ve lost or things that have happened. “So, you always have to be flexible but pleased to get the players off that we got off and nice to give some minutes to some others as well.” Harry Kane – who scored England’s third – Luke Shaw, Jordan Henderson and Maddison were withdrawn in the second half after Bukayo Saka was taken off at the break. The 21-year-old forward had looked in discomfort after a tackle just before half-time, but Southgate moved to allay any injury concerns. “He is good,” the England boss said. “We just thought there’s no point in taking any chances with the scoreline as it was.” In truth, Friday’s straightforward match in Malta will not live long in the memory but it will be forever etched in Eberechi Eze’s memory. Denied a place in England’s provisional Euro 2020 squad by a cruelly timed Achilles injury, the Crystal Palace midfielder finally made his debut as a 70th-minute substitute at the Ta’ Qali National Stadium. “For Eze, nice to dip his toes,” Southgate said. “He’s only had a few days training with us so he’s still getting used to everything. “It’s, of course, a big step coming into a senior camp for the first time, even though he’s been with the Under-21s. “He’s, I think, had his eyes opened to the level, the quality of the players, the intensity every day so a brilliant experience for him. “He’s fabulous boy, I have to say. He really gives a lot of energy every day, which is brilliant.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Josh Cullen admits Republic of Ireland have no excuses after Greece defeat Callum Wilson praises England for being clinical and ruthless in win over Malta Commentator Martin Tyler stepping down from role at Sky Sports after 33 years

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Gareth Southgate has commented on how Liverpool's use of Trent Alexander-Arnold will impact his role in the England team.

Michael O’Neill has said trying to qualify for Euro 2024 is no longer his primary concern as Northern Ireland’s injury crisis shows no sign of abating. Craig Cathcart was a late withdrawal ahead of Friday’s 1-0 defeat to Denmark in Copenhagen, taking the number of senior players missing through injury into double figures. A youthful line-up that included teenagers Conor Bradley, Shea Charles and Isaac Price handled the intimidating atmosphere of the Parken Stadium admirably and thought they had a stoppage-time equaliser to cancel out Jonas Wind’s goal, only for debutant Callum Marshall’s strike to be ruled offside by VAR. Defeat leaves Northern Ireland with one win from their opening three qualifiers, albeit still only three points off top spot with Denmark, Finland, Slovenia and Kazakhstan all on six points. When O’Neill, the man who guided Northern Ireland to Euro 2016, returned to the job in December, there was real hope that they could capitalise on what was seen as a favourable draw in Group H. But asked if Friday’s defeat put pressure on Northern Ireland to beat Kazakhstan at Windsor Park on Monday, O’Neill said: “We had six under-21s on the pitch. We’re not thinking about qualification. We’re thinking about putting points on the board. We have 10 senior players out injured. “We’re not in that place that the teams we’re playing against, the likes of Denmark, are. We’re building a team here that’s dealing with a difficult situation with the number of senior players we’ve lost. “We’re not in there before the game talking about qualification, we’re talking about a level of performance, to give a really good account of ourselves, which we did. Obviously if we can take points which we nearly did we’d be delighted but we’re not talking in that vein at the moment.” With the likes of Steven Davis, Stuart Dallas, Corry Evans and Shane Ferguson all out with long-term injuries, O’Neill was already relying on young players during March’s fixtures and was made to do so again for a trip away to the top seeds in the group. Cathcart could return in time for Monday’s fixture, but a huge amount of vital experience is missing from O’Neill’s ranks. “You know the players who are missing and you know the players we’re asking to play at this moment in time,” he said. “They’re not first-team players at their respective clubs on a regular basis and we’re playing against established international players who play at top clubs in Europe. “We have to be realistic with the level we can compete at on a consistent basis. “But the experience the players will have from nights like this, this is a brilliant place to play football, a brilliant stadium, brilliant home support, a fantastic pitch, and they will be better at the start of what is an international journey for a lot of these players. “A number of these players will have long and distinguished international careers, it’s nights like these they will really benefit from.” Northern Ireland left Copenhagen still frustrated by the disallowed goal, with VAR having taken five minutes to decide Jonny Evans’ heel was offside before he headed the ball on for Marshall to finish, but there was pride in a battling display. One mistake proved the difference, with Wind pouncing when Ciaron Brown failed to deal with Joakim Maehle’s cross into the box. “It’s disappointing to lose to a goal of that nature,” O’Neill added. “But we have to look at so much that was positive in our performance. We lost Craig Cathcart overnight with a back injury and I think what we got from our lads was terrific and as a manager you can’t really ask for much more.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Gareth Southgate wants England to retain winning mentality on road to Euro 2024 Josh Cullen admits Republic of Ireland have no excuses after Greece defeat Callum Wilson praises England for being clinical and ruthless in win over Malta

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Kourtney Kardashian recently announced her pregnancy with a sign at Travis Barker's Blink-182 concert

Commentator Martin Tyler is stepping down from his role at Sky Sports ahead of the new season after 33 years. The 77-year-old has been the voice of football on Sky since the launch of the Premier League in 1992. In a statement on the Sky Sports website, Tyler said: “In my humble opinion, the huge corporation Sky is today has stemmed from Sky Sports’ innovative and inspired coverage of the Premier League. “It has been a privilege to play a small part in the broadcasting history of the greatest league in the world. “Along the way I have worked alongside legions of wonderful professionals in all aspects of the television industry. I thank them all for their support and expertise. It has been an honour to be a member of a very gifted team.” Tyler worked for ITV throughout the 1980s as the number two to lead commentator Brian Moore, before joining Sky in 1990. His most famous commentary came when Sergio Aguero scored Manchester City’s title-winning goal against QPR in 2012. Gary Hughes, Sky Sports’ director of football, said: “Everyone at Sky Sports would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Martin for his unparalleled contribution and dedication to our coverage over the last 30 years. “‘The Voice’ will always be synonymous with the Premier League and Sky Sports. When you think of commentary, you think of Martin Tyler. “‘Collymore closing in’ (from Liverpool’s 4-3 win over Newcastle in 1996) and ‘Aguerrrrrroooooooooo’ are two of the greatest moments in Premier League history. We thank him and wish him all the very best for the future.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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Kourtney Kardashian is pregnant and is expecting her first child with husband Travis Barker and announced the news by making a classic Blink-182 reference. In a shared post to Instagram, the 44-year-old reality star shared a clip of herself in the audience of one of Barker's shows where she held up a sign that read: "Travis I'm pregnant," as she jumped up and down in excitement while the crowd can be heard cheering in response. Kardashian's baby bump can also be seen on display as she sported a black bodysuit, as the video then shows her drummer husband's reaction as he wiped away tears as he left the stage to give her a hug and a kiss. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Fellow Blink-182 bandmate Mark Hoppus can also be seen giving Kardashian a congratulatory hug. The sweet announcement is a call back to the band's music video for the 1999 song 'All the Small Things' where a woman similarly holds up a sign that reads "Travis I'm pregnant." Fans of the couple took to social media to share their congratulatory messages, and loved the music video callback. The couple has previously been open about their fertility journey as they tried for a baby, previously going through IVF but stopped this process back in December. Kardashian gave an update in an episode of The Kardashians back in May. "We are officially done with IVF," Kourtney said in a confessional. "We would love a baby more than anything, but I just really believe in what God has in store for us. If that's a baby, then I believe that it will happen." Kardashian has three children from her previous relationship with Scott Disick - Mason, 13; Penelope, 10; and Reign, 8, while Barker has two children with ex-wife Shanna Moakler - Landon, 19, and Alabama, 17 and is also stepdad to Atiana De La Hoya, 24. Before announcing their relationship in February 2021, Kardashian and Barker were friends for over a decade. The two later got engaged in October of that year and got married courthouse in Santa Barbara in May 2022 and then had an extravagant wedding in Portofino, Italy a week after this. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Fans of Khloe Kardashian have defended the reality star against trolls “body shaming” her over a new bikini pic. Kardashian shared an image with her 309 million Instagram followers. It showed her in a gold bikini with the image taken from her behind her, revealing her bottom. She was captured on a beach with the waves and blue sky ahead of her. The picture was taken as part of an advertising campaign for her own Good American apparel brand which recently partnered with the brand Body Glove on a new swimwear range. In another picture, the reality star posed laying on top of a surfboard and in a clip, she emerged from a swimming pool wearing the same gold bikini. But, it was the image baring her bottom that caught the eye as some Instagram users launched nasty comments at the star. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter One Instagram user asked, “What’s with the weird vein on your tush?!” leading to a whole host of others making unsolicited comments about Kardashian’s appearance. Another fan hit back: “What vein? Even if there was a vein, which there isn’t. What’s wrong with a vein? Since when do we control or tell veins in our body where to go and not to go?” Others also came to the defence of the star, with someone asking “What’s with the body shaming?” Kardashian has been known to hit back at trolls who have commented on her social media posts, previously giving the best one-world response to someone who asked, “Do you miss your old face?”. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Ben Affleck once joked about a hilarious name he came up for Samuel L Jackson that he felt would’ve gotten him beaten up if he said it out loud

Inflation in the US won’t come down as quickly as markets are currently pricing, according to strategists at