Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, at Wembley for BBC Radio 5 Live, said: “This is the exact situation no England fan wants. We’ve talked about it for over a season with this World Cup coming up. What do England do without Harry Kane?

“This is what England and Thomas Tuchel do not want. He doesn’t have an answer to this question. Hence why we’re seeing this new formation again, with the interchange and false nine.

“We’ve spoken about Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Dominic Solanke, Ollie Watkins. Nobody stuck their arm up and said, ‘I’ll be his replacement’. that’s why we’re seeing this.”

Robinson added: “It was a very disappointing evening for Thomas Tuchel. The experiment that he tried in the first half with the front four clearly didn’t work.

“It didn’t take him long in the second half to change it. You do give England credit because when those changes were made there was a lot more cohesion.

“The one area that Thomas Tuchel has got a problem is if there is a problem with Harry Kane. If that happens, then England have a real problem after watching that.”

Tuchel answered the question about an over-reliance on Kane, saying: “Well, why would Argentina not rely on Lionel Messi, or Portugal not rely on Cristiano Ronaldo? This is totally normal. Key figures left camp for us and we saw that a bit.

“We lacked a punch in the last 20 metres in both matches. We encouraged the players. It was difficult for us.”

Kane’s potential absence is an immediate concern, leaving Tuchel short of viable alternatives when he needs them most, especially given these two toothless performances without him.

English strikers are suddenly a malaise.

Only 10 English strikers have appeared in the Premier League in the current campaign, with Chelsea’s 22-year-old Liam Delap the only one aged under 26.

Brighton’s Danny Welbeck, who turns 35 at the end of the month and might just have had a good international break by not being involved, and 33-year-old Callum Wilson from West Ham United, are the only English strikers who have scored more than one goal in a match in the Premier League this season.

Welbeck and Calvert-Lewin are the only English strikers to have scored 10 or more Premier League goals this season – with 43 scored by English strikers.

The cupboard is bare, underscoring just how indispensable Kane is.

This was a sobering night for England and Tuchel. This performance demonstrated that they simple cannot live without Harry Kane.

The Melbourne track’s moisture suited Sydney contender Satono Glow perfectly as she notched a strong success at Flemington.

The Group 3 Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes (1200m) on Saturday promised a head-to-head between punters’ pick Gin Twist ($2.10) and Jadzia ($3.10).

Both fillies carried experience racing down Flemington’s straight, an advantage that often translates to better results next time.

Rain overnight and on race day created a heavy track that was the big question mark.

In the end, it favoured Satono Glow ($4.20), who scored by three lengths with Jamie Melham aboard from the $41 shot Salann, Gin Twist third by a nose.

Jadzia dropped back after leading briefly with Gin Twist, crossing the line fifth and eight lengths behind the victor.

Prior to Saturday’s event, Melham felt optimistic that Satono Glow could outrun her preferred stablemates owing to her fondness for give in the ground, confirmed by her winning debut at Warwick Farm March 11.

“I was confident but with fillies down the straight for the first time, you don’t want to leave it too late because they can promise the world and then get lost,” Melham said.

“Credit to the team educating this little filly. She was a bombproof ride today and I feel that the Sydney horses normally go well in the wet as they are used to being trained on the softer tracks up there.

“She loved the wet today and the way she got through it, this horse was a very easy ride in the end.

“Her attitude really impressed me. She’s a small horse to the eye but the feel she gave me, she felt like she had a really big stride underneath her and she settled like she will get further in time.”

Jade Lys, on behalf of John O’Shea and Tom Charlton, mentioned no set agenda for the filly, but expects her to head back to Sydney, scouting races during The Championships period.

“We couldn’t have been happier with her since her last start,” Lys said.

“She won in the soft last start, so we were not worried about the rain today.”

Visit leading betting sites to check racing betting markets for the Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes.

This had been billed as Thomas Tuchel’s final tune-up of his top stars before World Cup selection. Instead, like against Uruguay, the test of Japan centred around an audition. Please welcome to the stage Phil Foden, playing the role of Harry Kane.

Going purely off his club form, struggling for minutes at Manchester City, there would usually be serious questions over whether Foden will get a seat on Tuchel’s Dallas-bound plane this summer. Tuchel, however, has repeatedly made the point that he sees him as an alternative to his free-scoring captain.

He stuck to those words by slipping Foden into a false-nine role upon Kane’s late withdrawal – who became England’s eighth injury casualty this international break. The FA has led us to believe that Kane’s problem is minor, but what if the next one isn’t? And what if the next one falls between the dates of 11 June and 19 July?

It is the worst case scenario for Tuchel. Kane is probably the only one of England’s “world class” crop who, as of this moment, is playing at peak form and looks like a World Cup winner. And unlike pretty much every other position, there is not an obvious option in reserve.

So it wasn’t the worst thing in the world that against Japan, we got to see a glimpse of what Tuchel’s crisis-plan might be should he find himself without the country’s all-time record goalscorer on the biggest stage of them all.

We knew we were entering pretty fresh territory in this regard. At Euro 2024, the back-up roles were filled by Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney; neither of whom even made Tuchel’s 35-man bumper squad for the March internationals. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was one of three ultra-fringe players who were sent home after Uruguay, though he was unlikely to ever be considered a starter. In the end, Foden was chosen ahead of the only remaining out-and-out striker, Dominic Solanke, to lead the line.

This less felt like a golden opportunity and more Foden being thrown to the wolves. The 25-year-old, even when in top form, has always come under allegations of being a system player – he has never been exceptional for England in the 10 or on the left, only Pep Guardiola. To stick him in a position that he has barely ever operated in before only felt like it would only end one way.

To his credit, Foden was a willing runner and pressed the Japanese back four to an intensity that Kane rarely ever reaches. He darted into positions and drew a smart foul early on the left flank, giving England a free-kick in a dangerous position.

But in and around the box, Foden was a passenger. His movement and positional sense was, understandably, a shadow of his captain – when the ball would break loose and spell danger for Japan, Foden was not there to pounce.

He is not the marksman nor is he the physical presence England are conditioned to playing with. Nico O’Reilly dinked a delightful cross towards his City teammate on the edge of the six-yard box as the Three Lions searched for an equaliser following Kaoru Mitoma’s 23rd-minute opener – the goal that ended up proving the difference on this World Cup send-off. But Foden was soundly outmuscled by Crystal Palace’s slight midfielder Daichi Kamada to the header; problem solved, easily.

After a toothless first-half, Foden was still on the pitch for the restart, though there was early confusion whether he had swapped positions with either Morgan Rogers or Anthony Gordon as he operated in a very false nine. By the hour mark, he’d been hooked for Solanke. Three minutes later, England had their first shot on target of the game.

Solanke, whose starting role among the third-stringers against Uruguay sounded more like a warning to his World Cup chances, did show more signs of promise. As a proper No 9, he was still able to drop into space – a la Kane – and produced a lovely flick to set Rogers running into the box. He later nodded back a deep Ben White cross into the path of Marcus Rashford – whose introduction off the bench got a huge cheer – whose effort was the closest England came to a leveller after the break.

Maybe the Tottenham striker should be Tuchel’s answer to a Kane crisis – though of course, half an hour in a friendly is not exactly definitive evidence.

The real winners of Tuesday night might just be Watkins and Toney, who could now be in line for late recalls for the squad that matters most. With no clear striking alternative and no more chances for trial and error, Tuchel will be justified in covering his back and selecting more than one forward in reserve.

That should probably force him into the tough decision to leave one of his five stellar No 10s at home this summer. After this ill-fated audition, that may be Foden.

Marcus Rashford is on loan at Barcelona from Manchester United with the La Liga giants holding a £26million option to sign him permanently this summer

Manchester United are reportedly confident they can secure a permanent sale of Marcus Rashford this summer. The forward made clear his wish to leave Old Trafford last summer, eventually sealing a season-long loan move to Barcelona.

Rashford has thrived during his time at the Nou Camp, notching 10 goals and 13 assists for the La Liga giants. Throughout the campaign, speculation has been swirling over whether Rashford will make his move to Barcelona permanent or return to United once his loan spell concludes.

Barcelona hold an option to sign Rashford on a permanent basis for £26million, though recent reports indicate the Spanish giants are yet to reach a decision on the England international’s future.

A fresh report from Sky Sports has now claimed that United are targeting more than £100million in player sales this summer. Rashford is amongst those United are keen to sell permanently, with Barcelona still eyeing a move for the winger once his loan deal expires.

READ MORE: Man Utd offered Marcus Rashford transfer hint as Barcelona offer ‘welcomed’READ MORE: Casemiro says ‘my wife cried’ after agreeing contract change with Manchester United

The La Liga giants can acquire Rashford for £26m this summer, though there are suggestions that Barcelona may look to renegotiate the terms, either pushing for a reduced fee or opting for a further loan arrangement instead.

However, the aforementioned report states that United have no plans to renegotiate with Barcelona over the £26m fee, and are “confident” they could agree a higher fee with another club if they need to.

It has also been claimed that United and Rashford are prepared to work in the summer to ensure the England international manages to secure a permanent move away from Old Trafford.

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Rasmus Hojlund, Manuel Ugarte, Andre Onana and Joshua Zirkzee are among the players United are reportedly looking to sell in order to raise funds for their own new signings this summer. Rashford has previously made no secret of his desire to remain at Barcelona beyond the length of his loan deal.

“Of course, what I want is to stay at Barca,” Rashford previously told Sport. “It’s an end goal, but it’s not the reason why I’m training hard and giving it my best.

“The purpose is to win. Barca is a huge, fantastic club, built to win titles.”

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March Madness is nearing its end, and it lived up to the name on Sunday. One similarity between the final four teams in the NCAA tournament and the final four teams in the College Football Playoff is that half of the field is from the Big Ten Conference. Andy Staples, Ross Dellenger and Steven Godfrey discuss why the Big Ten is having so much success in the postseason. They also discuss why the SEC, which has no teams left in the NCAA tournament, is struggling in the postseason. Is the Big Ten the more dominant power conference? Is money the only factor that has leveled the playing field, or is there more to the change in power?

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Then, the conversation shifts to a team that is in the SEC. Lane Kiffin spoke to the media recently and asked the LSU faithful to have patience while he rebuilds LSU into the team that they all desire. The guys discuss how realistic patience is from the Tigers’ fan base. In an era of yearly roster reconstruction via the transfer portal, should immediate success be expected? Will Kiffin be able to succeed quickly in Baton Rouge?

Later, the guys talk about the College Football Playoff selection committee getting some new, and familiar, faces. With a few members’ terms up, former Cal and Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford and former Auburn and UCF head coach Gus Malzahn will be a couple of the new members joining the committee. Andy, Ross and Godfrey discuss the impact of adding two more head coaches to the committee. They also dive into the rules of when committee members need to recuse themselves during the discussions and voting. Will these fresh faces provide some positive change to the committee?

All of this and more on today’s College Football Enquirer.

0:00:00 – Big Ten postseason success vs. SEC postseason struggles

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31:12 – Lane Kiffin asks LSU fans for patience in rebuild

48:08 – New coaches added to the CFP selection committee

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Check out all episodes of the College Football Enquirer and the rest of the Yahoo Sports podcast family at https://apple.co/3zEuTQj or at yahoosports.tv

Olympic bronze medallist and six-time world champion Indian boxer M C Mary Kom on Sunday said she is considering a move into professional boxing.

The 43-year-old, who became the first Indian woman boxer with an Olympic medal when she bronze in the 2012 London Games, is past the age eligibility to compete on the amateur circuit.

“What can I say about the high points? Winning six World Championships was incredible. Although I reached a stage where age restrictions prevented me from competing further in amateur boxing for the country, a new opportunity has surfaced in Professional Boxing,” she said on the sidelines of Sundays on Cycle event.

“I am currently taking some time to consider it. I am working hard and trying to make a comeback to show people what I can still do.

Widely considered one of the greatest amateur boxers, Mary Kom also underlined her commitment to grassroots development through her academy in Manipur.

“Personally, I am very involved with my academy. I travel back and forth quite often, sometimes it becomes difficult due to the current situation in Manipur; things can get tough there.

“However, I remain deeply committed. Even when I can’t be there physically, I manage and oversee the academy through phone calls. My dream is to stay fit for as long as I can, regardless of age.” she said.

As India eyes hosting major global events such as the 2030 Commonwealth Games and possibly the 2036 Olympics, Mary Kom stressed the importance of sport in building international recognition.

“Sports development is absolutely essential. Without sports, it is difficult for a country to build a global reputation. Sports are what propel a nation forward,” she said.

She also praised government efforts to strengthen sports infrastructure and promote talent identification, particularly through initiatives such as Khelo India and Fit India Movement.

“While we shouldn’t compare it directly to the scale of the IPL yet, boxing infrastructure has improved significantly, the government has introduced fantastic facilities through movements like Khelo India and Fit India. There is a growing concern for fitness across the nation now.” 
Kom highlighted the inclusion of tribal youth in national programmes, pointing to developments in Chhattisgarh.

“Regarding the Tribal Games in Chhattisgarh previously, these were localized, but now the government is elevating them to a national level under the Khelo India banner,” she said.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya are taking great initiatives to support tribal athletes. In the past, there wasn’t enough awareness regarding tribal sports talent. But now, with seven disciplines currently active in Chhattisgarh, that is changing.