Following the 3-1 victory over Finland, Carsley said England needed a “world class coach” and he was “still on the path to that” – though he later backtracked on the comments.
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The interim boss has been more than willing to experiment, both successfully and unsuccessfully.
Lille’s Angel Gomes has been a revelation since coming into the team in the number six role.
Mason Mount has not been involved in the England set-up since the World Cup in 2022.
However, he enjoyed his most successful spell under Tuchel while the pair were at Stamford Bridge.
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Lee Carsley’s slip of the tongue after Greece nightmare hints he wants England U21s job back and not replace Southgate
While playing under Tuchel, Mount scored 19 goals in 87 appearances in all competitions and won the Champions League in 2021.
Should Tuchel land the England job, then he could get the best out of Mount for the national team.
However, the midfielder would need to bounce back and improve his form at Manchester United, having missed a lot of football due to injury since joining the club.
Mount’s reintroduction could be the first of former England players to get another crack at the whip on the international stage.
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Although if Mount returns then it could be in the place of Phil Foden or Cole Palmer.
Luke Shaw is considered the nation’s best left-back, but due to his injury struggles, Tuchel could opt for Chilwell in his place.
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The full-back starred for the German during his time at Stamford Bridge and has already earned 21 caps for England.
Loftus-Cheek could come back into the team to partner Declan Rice in the midfield.
The midfielder has excelled since his move to AC Milan, scoring ten goals in his 48 appearances.
Dier played for Tuchel at Bayern Munich as part of a back-three last season.
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The defender did enough to convince the club to make his loan move permanent after he had fallen out of favour at Tottenham.
Reece James could also be a beneficiary of Tuchel’s potential appointment.
Should the Chelsea star regain his fitness, then he would certainly be a shoo-in over Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold in the right-wing-back role.
Tuchel has also often used a 4-2-3-1 formation during his time as a manager.
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This could see the likes of Mount, Dier, Chilwell and James keep their spots in the team but in more traditional roles.
Dier could be used in the pivot alongside Rice, while James and Chilwell could line up a back four.
England player ratings vs Finland
ENGLAND secured a commanding 3-1 win over Finland following their horror show at home to Greece
Here’s how SunSport’s Tom Barclay assessed the Three Lions’ stars performances.
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Dean Henderson – 6
Only his second cap after long-time No1 Jordan Pickford was dropped. Not a lot to do, but pretty assured when he was called into action, including a smart, first-half stop to repel a Benjamin Kallman strike – even if the Finn was later flagged offside. Could do little to prevent Finland’s goal.
Kyle Walker – 6
After the calamity against Greece, it was no surprise to see Lee Carsley turn to his most experienced defender. Now just nine caps shy of a century, Walker was solid. Could have had an assist late on but his cushioned down header was poor.
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John Stones – 6
England’s more conventional system meant the defence was far less exposed – though Carsley’s attacking approach did still see the Finns create chances. Stones made a good early block to deny Kallman after Angel Gomes gave the ball away.
Marc Guehi – 6
Our best defender in the Euros group stages, Guehi was back in here with Levi Colwill dropping out. Pretty assured for a player who by his own admission has not started the season particularly well for his club.
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Trent Alexander-Arnold – 7
We saw him in midfield at the Euros, and here the Liverpool right-back was shunted to left-back. Looked vulnerable defensively at times but who cares when he produces such quality on the ball – epitomised by his terrific free-kick to kill off this game.
Angel Gomes – 8
The big success story of the Carsley era, however long it lasts, has been bringing Gomes into the fold. He created Jack Grealish’s opener with a beautiful, flicked-pass round the corner and was excellent in possession – barring one sloppy early pass.
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Declan Rice – 7
Looked far more comfortable with Gomes playing in behind him, as opposed to the one-man defensive operation he was forced to put up against the Greeks. Looked proud as punch after stroking home England’s third from Watkins’ cross.
Cole Palmer – 5
Played in a more familiar wide right position compared to his central-midfield experiment against Greece. Yet it reduced him to a peripheral figure, adding more questions than answers as to where best to deploy him, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden.
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Jude Bellingham – 6
The Real Madrid superstar played off Harry Kane and had the occasional, exciting link-up with Grealish, but this was not one of his more memorable games overall.
Jack Grealish – 8
No doubt will be hoping Carsley does get the job full-time as his fellow Brummie seems to appreciate his talents. His composed finish was his second goal in three games under Carsley – doubling his overall haul from 39 caps.
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Harry Kane – 6
Cap 101 for the captain but not one he will remember particularly fondly. He offered the presence the team lacked against Greece when they played with no striker, but did not get much of a sniff in front of goal.
Subs
Noni Madueke (for Palmer, 69) – 7 This game was made for him to make an impact off the bench and he almost teed up Watkins after one fine run but the Finns cleared.
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Ollie Watkins (for Kane, 69) – 7
Low cross for Rice’s third was right on the money.
Rico Lewis (for Gomes, 80) – 6
Slotted in at centre midfield when coming on and looked busy.
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Phil Foden (for Bellingham, 80) – 5
Embraced the post ruefully after Madueke opted to shoot instead of crossing to him for a tap-in seconds after Finland’s goal. Was marking Arttu Hoskonen when the Finn headed home a consolatio.
Conor Gallagher (for Rice, 89) – 6
His first appearance under Carsley but too late to make an impact.
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Lee Carsley – 7
His tactical gamble backfired against Greece but he held his hands up and went more conventional here. It paid off as England were relatively comfortable – although his teams have looked defensively vulnerable at times in all four of his games and this was no different.
But the three best players, Gomes, Grealish and Alexander-Arnold, were all given starring roles by Carsley when used sparingly or not at all by predecessor Gareth Southgate – and for that, the interim boss should take credit.
Diaz (26-10 MMA, 7-7 UFC) returns against Luque (22-10-1 MMA, 15-6 UFC) in a welterweight bout at UFC 310 on Dec. 7 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas (ESPN+ pay-per-view, ESPN2, ESPN+).
“The thing about Nick Diaz, for me: I want the guy from the pictures, I’m going to just say it,” Cormier said on “Good Guy/Bad Guy” with Chael Sonnen. “I don’t want to see Nick Diaz that is just ripped. When he fought Robbie Lawler, I was so excited because I was like, ‘Man, he’s been back on the triathlons, and he looks even better than he did in his prime.’
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“Then when he got to the octagon, he looked nothing like that person. He looked like a guy that was pushing 40, that hadn’t fought in many, many years, and I didn’t know if he still had that fight in him.”
Although Luque has lost three of his past four fights, Cormier still sees the once streaking contender as a stern test for Diaz. He worries that the former Strikeforce champion and UFC title challenger may tarnish his legacy if he doesn’t take Luque seriously and perform.
“Vicente Luque is thought to be on the decline,” Cormier said. “I kind of judged him based on how badly Joaquin Buckley beat him. But then now watching Joaquin Buckley do what he did to the kid that was 18-1 in St. Louis, doing what he did to Stephen Thompson, now I look back at Vicente Luque and wonder if I was too quick to judgment.
“Maybe I didn’t see how good Joaquin Buckley is as opposed to the state of Vicente Luque’s career. I still think that’s a lot for Nick Diaz. Nick Diaz struggled with Robbie Lawler, and Robbie Lawler was only one fight away from retirement. Vicente Luque is not going anywhere. It’s a tough fight. I think for Nick, though, he has to be really locked in if he wants to go out there and not embarrass himself.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 310.
Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
Alex Pereira defended his UFC light heavyweight belt with a hard-fought TKO victory over Khalil Rountree earlier this month in Salt Lake City, and making weight for the title bout required hours of sweat and hard work.
“Poatan”, a former UFC middleweight champion, posted a video on his YouTube channel showing behind the scenes footage of the final days of cutting weight for the bout, and then going all the way up to 228.2 pounds upon arrival at the Delta Center.
The video shows Pereira doing the face paint before the final face-off and relaxing on fight day, watching his teammate Cesar Almeida secure his second UFC win on the same card, defeating Ihor Potieria via decision, and his post-fight celebration.
THOMAS TUCHEL has reportedly AGREED a deal to take charge of England.
The FA have been searching for a permanent successor for Gareth Southgate since July after the 54-year-old quit the role following the’ heartbreaking Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.
SunSport understands FA bigwig Mark Bullingham had the former Chelsea manager high on his list of candidates to replace Southgate.
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Talks for the German to take charge of the Three Lions began earlier this week.
And it’s claimed the former Bayern Munich gaffer has now agreed a deal with the Football Association.
That’s according to The Times, who claim the 51-year-old is on course to be announced as the nation’s 20th manager THIS WEEK.
Tuchel, who has been out of work since leaving Bayern at the end of last season, is said to have hashed out a lucrative deal with the FA following “apid conclusion to negotiations”.
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THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
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The cornerstone event of PFL’s 2024 calendar takes place Saturday with PFL: Battle of the Giants, which goes down at the The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Details of who will work as commentators and analysts for each event have been acquired by MMA Junkie through a person with knowledge of the situation, and you can see the scheduled broadcast team below.
The preliminary-card lineup is slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. ET and stream on ESPN+. A simulcasted watch-along with MMA Junkie Radio on MMAJunkie.com will stream at the same time.
PFL: Battle of the Giants roving reporter
Brett Okamoto
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ESPN reporter Brett Okamoto and Alsharefa Haifa will conduct pre and post-fight interviews backstage with some of the athletes on the PFL: Battle of the Giants card, as well as report additional real-time updates for the event.
PFL: Battle of the Giants cage announcer
Michael C. Williams
Cage announcer Michael C. Williams will introduce the fighters at PFL: Battle of the Giants.
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Saif Al Naiji will serve as MC for the card.
PFL: Battle of the Giants cageside commentators
Randy Couture, Sean O’Connell
Sean O’Connell will serve as the leading man on the mic from cageside at PFL: Battle of the Giants.
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He will command play-by-play alongside color commentators, former two-division UFC champion and UFC Hall of Famer Randy Couture, as well as former UFC welterweight title challenger Dan Hardy.
Francis Ngannou interview
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Be sure to visit the MMA Junkie Instagram page and YouTube channel to discuss this and more content with fans of mixed martial arts.
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