ENGLAND could be set for a new look team with Thomas Tuchel closing in on being appointed manager.

The German is in advanced talks with the FA over the role vacated by Gareth Southgate earlier this year.

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The Three Lions are currently under the management of interim boss Lee Carsley, who has won three of his four games.

But Carsley left supporters in serious doubt over whether he actually wanted the job in his post-match interview in Helsinki.

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.

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.

However, Carsley’s decision to play Jude Bellingham as a false nine proved less successful as the Three Lions were outplayed by Greece in a 2-1 loss at Wembley.

Tuchel, however, could opt for a very different style to the interim boss should he be appointed.

The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager usually uses a 3-4-3 formation, which could provide an opportunity for one forgotten star.

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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.

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.

Tuchel could also offer lifelines to other previously capped players such as Ben Chilwell, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Eric Dier.

Luke Shaw is considered the nation’s best left-back, but due to his injury struggles, Tuchel could opt for Chilwell in his place.

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.

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.

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.

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Francis Ngannou was ready to walk away from fighting after the tragic loss of his 15-month-old son Kobe, but then the former UFC heavyweight champion realized that the tragedy could lead to a deeper meaning.

Ngannou makes his promotional debut this Saturday in the main event of the PFL’s Battle of the Giants pay-per-view card against dangerous knockout artist Renan Ferreira. “The Predator” suffered the heartbreaking loss in April following a two-fight run in the boxing ring. After admitting he thought about hanging up the gloves — which would be completely understandable — Ngannou wants the loss to serve a higher purpose.

“[My purpose is] to make this fight meaningful,” Ngannou told MMA Fighting. “This fight was most likely not to happen. I was most likely not to fight this year, or never. But I want to make a purpose of things that happen. Give it a purpose.

“Instead of using it as an excuse of giving up, maybe use it as a purpose to continue, give it more sense, give it more reason, make things more meaningful, more impactful. I’m saying that about the loss of my son. After that, I really considered dropping everything, and one of the only reasons why I didn’t do that was because thinking about it, he would’ve been like he was the one taking me out, making me quit, which is not a responsibility that, I think, of his to carry. That is my responsibility.”

Ngannou competes in the MMA cage for the first time in nearly three years. In his most recent mixed martial arts appearance, Ngannou successfully defended the UFC heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. The 38-year-old went on and made the decision to leave the UFC and sign with PFL, before getting two massive opportunities in the boxing ring against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. After losing both, Ngannou is now set for his first walk to the PFL Smart Cage to battle for the PFL Superfight heavyweight title.

With a heavy heart, and a newfound motivation, Ngannou plans to make Kobe proud no matter how the chips fall on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

“The only thing I can do is make a purpose of his existence, or of this loss,” Ngannou said. “You know, make it make some sense, trying to write his name in a better way for him to be remembered.”

Premier League players aged under 21 are spending longer sidelined through injury than ever before, with knee problems on the rise, a study has shown.

New data from global insurance group Howden’s ‘Men’s European Football Injury Index’ has revealed similar trends across Europe’s top men’s leagues.

The revelations come as club and international calendars face increasing scrutiny, with many players arguing congested schedules threaten their welfare.

James Burrows, head of sport at Howden, highlighted the “ever-increasing physical demands” on players as a reason for the spike in injuries.

“As fixture congestion intensifies with expanded competitions domestically and internationally, we are seeing more players sidelined for longer periods,” he said.

Players’ union Fifpro has made the same argument, external. Its 2024 Player Workload Monitoring Report claims 78% of coaches and 72% of players surveyed support the implementation of a guaranteed rest period in the calendar.

The same report detailed how England and Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham played 251 competitive games before reaching the age of 21 in June, while ex-England captain David Beckham played 54 in comparison.

The Professional Footballers’ Association said some players “feel that they are being pushed to, and beyond, their physical limits”.

“We can also see that players are absorbing this workload at a younger age than ever before, playing more and more minutes,” said a PFA spokesperson.

“We’ve always said that football’s approach to its calendar must be player-led, and based on a proper understanding of how players can physically cope with those demands. That’s especially true for young players, who we want to have long as well as successful careers.”

Donald Cerrone announced that he intends to come out of retirement for two more UFC fights.

Cerrone (36-17-2 MMA, 23-14-1 UFC) hung up his gloves in July 2022 after a submission loss to Jim Miller at UFC 276. He was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2023.

Cerrone has 48 fights under the Zuffa banner, which includes his time in the WEC prior to the UFC. He wants to compete two more times to reach a career milestone of 50.

“I want to go back and get two more fights,” Cerrone said in a video on his Instagram. “When I retired, I told you I was getting my hair done and get on steroids. The No. 50 (Zuffa) has been sitting on my mind for a while. So, I’ve been working with Transcend for the last two years, taking TRT and a bunch of peptides. Now we got a protocol for all you people that, ‘Oh, what if you get on it, you can’t ever come off.’ Well, I now have to come off and piss clean, fight in a few months. So, watch this.”

“I’m chasing greatness 50 @ufc fights
Not only do I want a win
I want a finish
I want a bonus

Most wins in ufc history
Most finishes
Most bonuses
Most walks to that cage.”

Cerrone has openly said he’s enjoying the perks of no longer being drug tested while retired but knows what is required from him if he plans on competing in the octagon again.

“Cowboy” is currently ranked No. 3 for most fights in UFC history at 38, trailing only Andre Arlovski at 42 and Jim Miller at 44. He is tied at second for most UFC wins at 23, behind Miller’s 26, and is third for most finishes in UFC history.

HARRY KANE has spoken out about Thomas Tuchel with the former Chelsea boss closing in on taking over as England manager.

Three Lions captain Kane has heralded Tuchel as a “fantastic coach” amid the speculation.

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Kane, who played under Tuchel last season with Bayern Munich, told Sky Sports: “Until it’s announced obviously I can’t really comment, but we have to wait and see.

“Obviously, I know Thomas well from last year. Fantastic coach, fantastic person, so I am sure the guys at the FA will contact me, when they know more about it.”

Tuchel is understood to be in advanced talks with the FA over becoming the long-term successor to Gareth Southgate.

No deal has been agreed with the 51-year-old coach yet but talks are expected to continue over the next 24 hours.

Tuchel, who has been without a job since he was sacked at Bayern Munich boss in the summer, would become England’s third overseas boss should he be appointed.

The German would follow in the footsteps of Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello.

Tuchel began his managerial career with FC Ausburg II before earning a spot in the dugouts at some of Europe’s biggest teams – including Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain.

His time at Stamford Bridge saw him guide the Blues to the 2021 Champions League title.

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Tuchel is familiar with England captain Kane having been the man who signed him for Bayern last summer.

Despite Tuchel ultimately losing his job, the tactician helped Kane to his best ever goalscoring season.

The 31-year-old bagsman netted an astonishing 44 times in 45 games last term, winning the Bundesliga Golden Boot as Bayern missed out on the title.

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Donald Cerrone’s MMA retirement appears to be over.

“Cowboy” called it a career after a second-round submission loss to Jim Miller at UFC 276 in July 2022 — his sixth consecutive loss in the octagon. Now, after 48 overall appearances in the UFC and WEC, and 55 fights total, Cerrone says he’s coming out of retirement with the hopes of getting to 50 overall appearances for the Zuffa brand.

Check out Cerrone’s announcement in the video below.

“I want to go back [to the UFC] and get two more fights,” Cerrone said. “When I retired, I told you I was getting my hair done and getting on steroids.

“The number 50 has been sitting on my mind for a while.”

Cerrone says he’s been working with a company and taking TRT, and a “bunch of peptides” for the last couple of years, but is now getting ready to get off of those in order to get back into the UFC drug-testing pool.

“For all you people who are like, ‘Oh, what if you get on it, you can’t ever come off?’ Well, I now have to come off and piss clean.”

The one-time UFC title challenger says he plans to “fight in a few months.” Following his retirement, Cerrone was inducted into the 2023 class of the UFC Hall of Fame. The 41-year-old holds a number of spots in the record books, including the most combined UFC/WEC post-fight bonuses with 23.