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Stephen Kenny is confident the foundation is in place for a brighter future for the Republic of Ireland despite seeing their disappointing Euro 2024 campaign fizzle out in the Netherlands. Ireland knew before kick-off at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam that they would not be going to next summer’s finals after their feint hopes of snatching a play-off spot had finally been extinguished. They had hoped to sign off with a famous win over Ronald Koeman’s men, but ultimately slipped to a 1-0 defeat which could and perhaps should have been significantly more substantial. However asked if he remains convinced there is a firm base in place after three and a half years at the helm which have seen a major overhaul of the squad, a defiant Kenny said: “Yes, without doubt there is. “What was the alternative? If you can tell me… Over the years, a lot of our players have moved down the divisions, so absolutely. These are the best players that Ireland have now. “They’ve gone up against a world-class team there, one of the best teams in Europe. It’s a tough game when you come to Holland, for sure, there’s no doubt about that. “The reason no Irish team in its history has beaten a team of Holland’s calibre away from home – and there’s been better teams than us, for sure, a lot of great teams – is because it’s really difficult, really, really difficult to beat a tier one nation like that away from home in a qualifier.” It was a brilliant finish and you would not expect him to score from that angle, but it was a phenomenal finish and we got punished Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny The contest was settled by Wout Weghorst’s 12th-minute strike after he turned Nathan Collins on halfway before surging upfield to blast a shot past goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu. Kenny said: “Ryan Manning and Nathan collided and it opened up for Weghorst to go and score. It was a brilliant finish and you would not expect him to score from that angle, but it was a phenomenal finish and we got punished.” The Hoffenheim frontman’s contribution – he is on loan at the Bundesliga club from Burnley – should have been just a start, and the Dutch were grateful they were not made to pay for their profligacy as chances came and went without the scoreline changing. That said, Ireland produced little of note in reply barring substitute Adam Idah’s 59th-minute effort, which was ruled out for offside to the great relief of keeper Bart Verbruggen, who had allowed the Norwich striker’s shot to squirm between his legs. Kenny’s men finished fourth in Group B with all six of their points coming from victories over Gibraltar, who were trounced 14-0 by France, and most commentators do not expect him to survive a review later this month with his current contract due to expire after Tuesday’s friendly against New Zealand. Asked if he has been able to enjoy his time at the helm, he said: “It’s an absolute privilege to manage Ireland, I’ve always said that and I always would feel that. Yes, it’s been a roller-coaster of emotions, of course, but it’s all been an honour to manage Ireland.” Opposite number Ronald Koeman was measured after securing the win which ensured the Dutch will be at the finals in Germany. He said: “Of course we are happy to have the qualification for the Euros. We did our job. We won twice against Ireland, we won twice against Greece, we lost twice against France – that made the away game against Ireland more difficult. “There was more pressure even against Greece away, but we did the job that we had to do, that everybody was expecting, but you have to do it.” Read More England full-back Kieran Trippier not taking his place at Euro 2024 as a given Gareth Southgate admits he will ‘take far fewer gambles’ in his Euro 2024 squad Wout Weghorst fires Netherlands to Euro 2024 as Ireland end with whimper Saracens overcome injuries to England stars in thrashing of Harlequins Erling Haaland’s injury is not serious – Norway boss Stale Solbakken Rob Page admits Wales’ best chance of making Euro 2024 likely to be in play-offs

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Kieran Trippier may be a long-standing member of Gareth Southgate’s England squad but given the level of competition at full-back, he is not taking his place at Euro 2024 as a given. The Newcastle defender is now one of the senior men within Southgate’s ranks and has amassed 46 caps to date. His only senior goal was the opener in the 2018 World Cup semi-final defeat to Croatia with his ability to play on either side of Southgate’s defence keeping him in and around the team ever since. Despite his consistency for club and country, Trippier is now arguably in the strongest pool of full-backs available to England. In recent times Kyle Walker, Reece James and Ben White have played at right-back – with the versatile pair of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Rico Lewis also in contention – while Luke Shaw, Ben Chilwell and Levi Colwill have operated on the left. “I need to keep performing well for my club first,” he said of Euro 2024 selection. “There are so many good full-backs in England at the moment, I need to focus on my own performances. Obviously I want to be there but I know I need to be playing at a high level to be successful. “I’ve always believed in myself. I’ve always had challenges in my career. I’ve always been up against top right-backs for many years now and it’s just about believing in yourself. “I think the demands on a full-back these days playing now is so much. You’ve got to get forward. You’ve got to go on the overlaps but ultimately, you’ve got to defend as well. “I think there’s a big responsibility on full-backs the way we play in the Premier League now. “I think you look at all the English full-backs, there’s incredible talent.” Southgate has largely put faith in youth since taking the reins as manager in 2016, with Trippier now one of the elder statesmen in the current squad alongside fellow 33-year-olds Walker and Jordan Henderson. He will be hoping to start again when England face North Macedonia in their final Euro 2024 qualifier on Monday night but, regardless of the changes made by Southgate, Trippier knows leadership does not necessarily come with age. We've got great characters and - the most important thing - a great togetherness in this squad Kieran Trippier “It only seems like yesterday when I was first walking into camp, when Gary Cahill was here and Joe Hart and all the experienced players,” he added. “Fast forward it to now, I’m one of the oldest so it just shows how quickly football goes. “Even though I’m one of the oldest, we’ve got a lot of leaders in this room, you’ve got a lot of players playing at a high level. “You don’t need to be 33 to voice your opinion or whatever it may be. “We’ve got great characters and – the most important thing – a great togetherness in this squad. “Everybody speaks whatever they need to speak and everybody listens. We’ve got a good, honest group here.” Read More Gareth Southgate admits he will ‘take far fewer gambles’ in his Euro 2024 squad Wout Weghorst fires Netherlands to Euro 2024 as Ireland end with whimper Saracens overcome injuries to England stars in thrashing of Harlequins Erling Haaland’s injury is not serious – Norway boss Stale Solbakken Rob Page admits Wales’ best chance of making Euro 2024 likely to be in play-offs James McAtee scores twice as England Under-21s win comfortably in Serbia

England boss Gareth Southgate says he can “take far fewer gambles” with his Euro 2024 squad compared to the previous two tournaments. Next year’s competition will see a return to relative normality after the delayed, Covid-impacted Euro 2020 and an unprecedented winter World Cup in Qatar. Increased 26-man squads were introduced for both of those tournaments, but UEFA has confirmed the size of selections will return to 23 players in Germany. “It makes it a different sort of thought process because you’ve had that leeway in the last couple of tournaments to take players that weren’t going to be fit for the first couple of games,” England boss Southgate said. “Or a bit of cover in certain positions that you might or might not have needed. “This time the physical conditioning of players is going to be really important. The ability for players to bat out six, seven games. “We know having been to the end of two tournaments that physically the demands on that is far greater than we would have known had we not been through that experience, so we know that is a huge requirement. We can take far fewer gambles than we were able to take for the last two tournaments where it was 26 England boss Gareth Southgate “If you can only sort of take two for each position, players that are adaptable are helpful, players that can play more than one position are helpful. “But equally players that are physically vulnerable we will have got to think very carefully about.” The enlarged selection at Euro 2020 helped Southgate include Jordan Henderson and Harry Maguire. The former had not played since the February due to groin surgery and the latter missed six weeks with an ankle injury, returning to action in England’s final group game and going onto be earn a place in the team of the tournament. As for Qatar, Southgate was able to include Kyle Walker and Kalvin Phillips despite a lack of fitness following groin and shoulder surgery respectively. Asked if players needed to be fit to be on the plane to Germany, he said: “I wouldn’t say all 23. “But we can take far fewer gambles than we were able to take for the last two tournaments where it was 26.” Long-serving number one Jordan Pickford is sure to be a key part of the squad next summer and is away with England at a time when his club side are in the headlines. It was announced in the hours before Friday’s 2-0 win against Malta that Everton had been deducted 10 points after being found to have breached Premier League financial rules. “I haven’t spoken to Jordan about it,” Southgate said ahead of Monday’s final Euro 2024 qualifier away to North Macedonia. “The rest at the minute is speculative, so we’ll just have to see as and when anything happens. “He has coped really well with a couple of really difficult seasons at Everton, where they’ve been in the lower reaches of the league. “So, if the ultimate decision is as has been said – I am guessing there will be some sort of appeal – then it’s a scenario he’s been through and actually been a really important player for.” Read More England full-back Kieran Trippier not taking his place at Euro 2024 as a given Wout Weghorst fires Netherlands to Euro 2024 as Ireland end with whimper Saracens overcome injuries to England stars in thrashing of Harlequins Erling Haaland’s injury is not serious – Norway boss Stale Solbakken Rob Page admits Wales’ best chance of making Euro 2024 likely to be in play-offs James McAtee scores twice as England Under-21s win comfortably in Serbia

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Wout Weghorst fired the Netherlands into the Euro 2024 finals as the Republic of Ireland’s dismal campaign ended with a whimper. Hoffenheim’s on-loan Burnley frontman, whose winner in Dublin in September left Ireland with a mountain to climb, repeated the dose in Amsterdam to secure a 1-0 victory which was far more comprehensive than the scoreline suggested. As a result, the Dutch secured second place in Group B behind France, who put 14 without reply past Gibraltar. Stephen Kenny’s men, who have now won only six of the 29 competitive games they have played under his charge, barely laid a glove on a far superior side under the closed roof at the Johan Cruyff Arena on a night when they had hoped to bloody the nose of one of Europe’s traditional big guns. Their feint hopes of securing a play-off berth via the Nations League were formally dashed on Thursday night by Slovakia’s 4-2 victory over Iceland with automatic qualification having slipped from their grasp long before. Kenny is out of contract after Tuesday night’s friendly against New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium, with his future due to be resolved when the results of a review are presented to the Football Association of Ireland’s board on November 28, although few are expecting an extension. Callum Robinson, making his first competitive start for his country since June last year, made an early impression with an inviting fifth-minute through-ball to Alan Browne, but although the midfielder struck his shot well he directed it straight at goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. Xavi Simons was less accurate at the other end as the Dutch mounted their first real attack, but they went ahead with just 12 minutes gone after Weghorst’s clever turn on to Stefan de Vrij’s pass on halfway left Nathan Collins for dead. The striker sprinted upfield before smashing a rising shot past helpless keeper Gavin Bazunu and into the roof of the net. The visitors’ efforts to work their way back into the game were repeatedly thwarted by a lack of penetration despite periods of possession and a tendency to surrender the ball in vulnerable positions. As Liverpool frontman Cody Gakpo started to unfold his repertoire, aided and abetted by Xavi Simons, Ireland looked increasingly stretched. The home defence, expertly marshalled by Virgil van Dijk, proved watertight as Ireland probed without reward, although the Netherlands failed to take advantage of their superiority at the other end with Gakpo and Tijjani Reijnders both missing the target from distance in quick succession. Ireland were in disarray as the whistle approached, with Gakpo and Simons repeatedly carving them open, but they somehow made it to the break without further damage – thanks in part to Bazunu’s 44th-minute save from Reijnders. They were fortunate not to fall further behind within three minutes when Simons connected with Denzel Dumfries’ cross at the end of a flowing counter-attack, only to see his goal-bound effort blocked by unwitting team-mate Gakpo. Bazunu came to the rescue twice within seconds, first palming away Weghorst’s instinctive strike and then turning Reijnders’ dipping effort on to the post, prompting Kenny to replace the isolated Ferguson with midfielder Jamie McGrath. Adam Idah thought he had levelled with 59 minutes gone when he ran on to Ryan Manning’s through-ball and cut inside Van Dijk before firing in a shot which clipped the defender’s heels and squirmed through Verbruggen’s legs and across the line, although the keeper’s blushes were spared by a late offside flag. The Dutch swarmed all over the visitors in their pursuit for further goals, but lacked the necessary precision to prosper and ultimately found themselves under unnecessary pressure as the clock ticked down. Read More Adam Johnson’s name chanted by fans as tributes paid at memorial match Saracens overcome injuries to England stars in thrashing of Harlequins Erling Haaland’s injury is not serious – Norway boss Stale Solbakken Rob Page admits Wales’ best chance of making Euro 2024 likely to be in play-offs James McAtee scores twice as England Under-21s win comfortably in Serbia A look at the data behind Virat Kohli’s record 50 ODI centuries

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Rob Page accepts that Wales’ Euro 2024 destiny might lie in the play-offs following their damaging draw with Armenia. Wales needed a Nair Tiknizyan own goal on the stroke of half-time to give them a 1-1 draw in Yerevan, when Armenia were the most dangerous side for large parts of a low-quality contest. Croatia are now favourites to take the second automatic qualifying spot behind Turkey, who travel to Cardiff for Wales’ last group fixture on Tuesday safe in the knowledge they will be playing in the finals in Germany next summer. Having dropped points to remove automatic qualification from their own hands, manager Page said: “There’s a disappointed group in there, but we’ve got to pick ourselves up and finish on a high on Tuesday. “Unfortunately it’s now out of our control. With a win, we’d all have been buzzing and looking forward to the game on Tuesday, and a win would have seen us qualify. “It’s not materialised as we’d like, but that’s life and we have to get on with it. “It’s about building momentum and, if it’s a play-off in March, it’s a play-off in March. “If results go for us, we’ve still got an opportunity to qualify (automatically). “We can only control what we can do, get the players in the right frame of mind, mentally and physically ready for Tuesday.” Wales were beaten 4-2 by Armenia – ranked 95 in the world and 67 places below them – at the Cardiff City Stadium in June, and Page’s side were shaken again within five minutes of the Yerevan return. Lucas Zelarayan, who scored twice in Cardiff, worked space on the edge of the area after Wales failed to clear a corner and slotted the ball into the corner of Danny Ward’s net. Page said: “We got off to the worst possible start, we knew they were going to come out the traps fast. I’m disappointed with that. “I thought we grew in the first half and scored at the perfect time. “But the break came at a bad time for us because I thought we were growing in momentum. “We got into some OK positions. Whether it was the final pass or the final ball, that final detail wasn’t quite right for whatever reason. “We threw everything at it and both teams were going for the win. “You could see by the changes we made. We took a wing back-off and put a winger on to try and get as many forward players on the pitch as we could.” Wales had beaten World Cup semi-finalists Croatia last month to put them in control of the race for a top-two place. But on a poor pitch that neither team were able to master, Wales did not remotely come close hitting the heights of that performance. Reflecting on the contrasting two displays, Page said: “It’s not to say there were a lot of players who had off-days, but you do have that in transitions, you have inconsistencies. “I’m not going to fault the players for their effort. Their effort, to a man, was commendable. They gave everything, like they always do. “The pitch was heavy, like nothing we’ve seen back home, but it was the same for both sides. “We’ll get them recovered, have a recovery session on Sunday and go through with the medical team who we’ve got available for Tuesday. “We need to finish the campaign on a high. It’s important to have some momentum if there is a play-off in March.” Read More James McAtee scores twice as England Under-21s win comfortably in Serbia A look at the data behind Virat Kohli’s record 50 ODI centuries Steve Clarke wants return to winning ways – Scotland v Norway talking points Steve Clarke not concerned over which pot Scotland are in for Euro 2024 draw Liam Broady replaces injured Andy Murray in Great Britain’s Davis Cup team Matt Wallace produces stunning back nine display to shoot 60 and lead in Dubai

Stale Solbakken admits it was a “big blow” to lose Erling Haaland for Sunday’s dead-rubber Euro 2024 qualifier against Scotland at Hampden – but the Norway manager is confident the Manchester City striker’s injury is not a serious one. The free-scoring forward withdrew from the squad on Saturday morning after damaging his ankle in the second-half of Thursday’s 2-0 friendly win over Faroe Islands. “It’s a big blow for any team but we have played without him before, sometimes with success, sometimes without,” said Solbakken, speaking at Hampden on Saturday evening. “We started the qualification when he was not ready for the first two games, but after that he has played every single game so it was unfortunate for us that he got the small knock on Thursday. “It’s the movement in his foot that is the problem but it’s not a serious injury. Had it been a final, I don’t know (if he would have been fit to play). “All parties agree it is probably a little too early (for him to play) but it is not a career-threatening injury.” When asked why Haaland – a talisman for club and country – was risked in such a low-key match, Solbakken said: “It was his choice. He wanted to play 45 minutes to keep the momentum in a week where we were maybe not training as much. It was his decision. “There were three players who have played many games and we had conversations with all three of them and Erling’s much preferred choice was to play 45 minutes.” Many anticipated Sunday’s match being a qualification decider but Scotland’s 2-1 win in Oslo in June, when they scored two goals in the closing minutes to overturn Haaland’s penalty, has proved pivotal. It's the movement in his foot that is the problem but it's not a serious injury Stale Solbakken The Scots are already assured of a place in the finals in Germany and are six points ahead of third-placed Norway, who have only a slim chance of landing a play-off if results elsewhere go their way. “It was probably the sorest defeat you will ever feel,” said Solbakken, recalling Scotland’s late turnaround in the summer. “I still wake up at night thinking about those last five minutes but that is life. “If you look back now, those five minutes were very, very damaging. Otherwise the game tomorrow would have been a final. That speaks volumes. “But we must congratulate Scotland on a great campaign. They have done really, really well, not only in this campaign but also in the years before that. “They’ve played at a very high level and have also been good at bringing the margins on their side in tight games, which is very important in national football when there are so few games.” Unless they manage to salvage a Euro 2024 place via a play-off, Norway’s run without major tournament football will extend to 26 years. The Scots ended a 23-year wait when they qualified for the Euros in 2021 and Solbakken feels his nation can draw inspiration from Steve Clarke’s resurgent side. “Of course we can,” he said. “I think we are quite even. We always play very tight games against each other but they have been better than us with the small margins lately. We need to see if we can find that way too.” Read More Rob Page admits Wales’ best chance of making Euro 2024 likely to be in play-offs James McAtee scores twice as England Under-21s win comfortably in Serbia A look at the data behind Virat Kohli’s record 50 ODI centuries Steve Clarke wants return to winning ways – Scotland v Norway talking points Steve Clarke not concerned over which pot Scotland are in for Euro 2024 draw Liam Broady replaces injured Andy Murray in Great Britain’s Davis Cup team

James McAtee’s brace inspired dominant England Under-21s to a routine 3-0 win in Serbia. The Manchester City midfielder, on loan at Sheffield United, scored his first goals for the Young Lions. Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott added a third early in the second half as England saw out their Euro 2025 qualifier on Saturday with minimum fuss, shrugging off last month’s rare defeat to Ukraine. Lee Carsley’s side remain second, three points behind leaders Ukraine in Group F after their 4-0 win over Luxembourg on Friday. England thumped Serbia 9-1 at the City Ground last month and were dominant from the start in Backa Topola. It took just five minutes for the Young Lions to open the scoring when McAtee collected the ball on the edge of the area and his strike deflected off Mihajlo Ilic to loop over Veljko Ilic in goal. Four minutes later Liam Delap came close to doubling the lead when he glanced Noni Madueke’s cross just wide. But it was 2-0 after 19 minutes when McAtee received Hayden Hackney’s pass 20 yards out and drilled in, although Ilic should have done better. England dominated the rest of the half without adding to their advantage but took just nine minutes of the second half to make it 3-0. Elliott scored twice in the rout in Nottingham and got in on the act when he drilled into the bottom corner from 25 yards. Striker Jay Stansfield, making his debut after a late call this week, hit the woodwork after a neat turn and strike with 13 minutes left and also went close late on. Stansfield, on loan at Birmingham from Fulham, was denied a debut goal with three minutes remaining when he latched onto Madueke’s pass but saw his shot blocked. Read More A look at the data behind Virat Kohli’s record 50 ODI centuries Steve Clarke wants return to winning ways – Scotland v Norway talking points Steve Clarke not concerned over which pot Scotland are in for Euro 2024 draw

Welsh hopes of qualifying automatically for Euro 2024 were dented by a 1-1 draw in Armenia. Lucas Zelarayan came back to haunt Wales again with a fifth-minute opener before a Nair Tiknizyan own goal in first-half stoppage time restored parity. The draw helps neither side as far as joining already-qualified Turkey in the top two is concerned. Even beating Turkey in Cardiff on Tuesday would not be enough for Wales should Croatia win their final two fixtures. If Croatia win those games, then Wales will be involved in the March play-offs. Armenia’s chances of a top-two place are almost certainly over, barring a Croatia collapse. Wales had a score to settle with Armenia after their humiliating 4-2 defeat in Cardiff five months ago, a result which left them playing catch-up in the race for next summer’s tournament in Germany. Rob Page’s side also had to turn the tide of history as Wales had never beaten Armenia in three previous meetings. Wales were unchanged from the side that produced last month’s stunning 2-1 win over World Cup semi-finalists Croatia. Brennan Johnson missed that game through injury and the Tottenham forward, fresh from his first Spurs goal, had to make do with a place on the bench. Armenia – ranked 95 in the world and 67 places below Wales – showed nine survivors from the team who had won in Cardiff in June, including Grant-Leon Ranos and Zelarayan who both scored twice then. Wales were behind inside five minutes after failing to deal with a corner. Danny Ward hesitated before Joe Rodon’s poor header looped towards Zelarayan, who shifted the ball onto his right foot and found the bottom corner with unerring accuracy. David Brooks fired over in reply and Neco Williams saw his effort deflected wide after Kieffer Moore had pounced on a home mistake. Moore headed wide but Wales were generally unable to sustain attacks, with Armenia dangerous on the counter. Vahan Bichakhchyan drove inches wide from one such raid, and Wales suffered another blow as Chris Mepham’s challenge on Zelarayan earned him a yellow card to rule him out of the Turkey game. Wales went close after 37 minutes when Williams pulled the ball back into Harry Wilson’s path and goalkeeper Ognjen Cancarevic was at full stretch to save. Then, just seconds from the interval, Connor Roberts sent over a long throw and Tiknizyan, under pressure from Rodon, headed into his own net. Johnson replaced Brooks within three minutes of the restart and the contest was developing a spicy edge, with Varazdat Haroyan cautioned for chopping down Wilson and Ethan Ampadu similarly punished for his reaction to the challenge. Armenia went mightily close as Bichakhchyan’s chip drifted over the head of Ward and onto the crossbar. The crowd held its breath as Zelarayan seemed certain to bury the rebound but instead, the game’s best player sliced it over. Armenia were slowly turning the screw, though Cancarevic was tested from outside the box by Jordan James and needed a second attempt to gather. Eduard Spertsyan had a clear sight of goal before being denied by one of an increasing number of last-gasp Welsh blocks. Moore’s header was held by Cancarevic and in a frantic finale, Ward produced a flying stop to deny substitute Edgar Sevikyan, who later shot wide with the goal at his mercy. Read More What do Wales need to qualify for Euro 2024? Armenia v Wales LIVE: Result and reaction from crucial Euro 2024 qualifier Injured Aaron Ramsey serving as Wales’s lucky mascot in Armenia Rob Page keen to focus on football after clearing air with FAW chief Noel Mooney Steve Clarke wants return to winning ways – Scotland v Norway talking points Khiara Keating surprised by her rise into Man City’s starting line-up this term