Jalen Green had a huge performance against Austin Reaves and the Lakers. His Team USA snub was reportedly some extra motivation.

England Under-21s went goal crazy as they produced a stunning display to crush Serbia 9-1. Chelsea forward Noni Madueke, debutant Jaden Philogene and Harvey Elliott all scored twice at the City Ground. Liam Delap, Jonathan Rowe and Luka Subotic’s own goal heaped further misery on Serbia as the Young Lions came from behind in their first home game since winning Euro 2023. They had to hit back, despite dominating, after Vladimir Lucic’s classy strike gave Serbia the lead in the Euro 2025 qualifier. Victory made it two from two in Group F ahead of Monday’s game with Ukraine in Slovakia. Boss Lee Carsley had moved to distance this squad as European champions with just six of his winners featuring on Thursday after the majority of the class of 2023 aged out. His new-look Young Lions should have been cruising inside 10 minutes but Charlie Cresswell planted a free header wide after Philogene’s effort was turned over by Veljko Ilic. The goalkeeper then gathered a tame effort from Elliott and continued to deny the hosts, a reaction stop keeping out Philogene at the far post. Madueke pulled the strings, the forward teasing the overworked Serbia defence, but he should have done better than to drag wide following a neat exchange with Hayden Hackney. Carsley’s side dominated, Elliott shooting over, but they were shocked by Serbia after 27 minutes. Lucic started the move on the left and when Nikola Stankovic was played in behind Hackney he found Lucic to brilliantly guide a first-time finish into the top corner from 16 yards. It was a stunning finish and checked England’s momentum which, until then, had only been growing. The Young Lions were briefly cautious as they sized their opponents up again but Delap should have levelled nine minutes before the break rather than let Ilic save with his legs. Yet just two minutes later they levelled as Philogene marked his debut by smashing in high from the edge of the box after being gifted the ball by Ilic. Elliott went close before England got the second they deserved after 41 minutes when captain Cole Palmer was thwarted by Ilic but Philogene recycled the ball to find Delap who crashed in from five yards. It opened the floodgates and Elliott added a third when he collected the ball, advanced and arrowed a strike into the top corner. Eight minutes after the break Madueke got the goal he deserved when he danced across the Serbia defence and drilled in low. It was now a procession, with Serbia resorting to needless fouls to halt England’s rhythm, but they could do nothing to stop Madueke’s second. Hackney was allowed to run and slip the ball into Rico Lewis whose backheel found Madueke to roll into the corner. England continued to pile on the pain and Philogene got his second after 63 minutes, Delap unselfishly squaring to his Hull team-mate after Lewis put him clear. The scoreline reflected the gulf in quality and Cresswell and James McAtee went close to adding a seventh before Elliott hit the crossbar. It was left to Serbia to embarrass themselves as, under pressure from Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Mitar Ergelas’ clearance clattered off Subotic and looped over Ilic with three minutes left. There was still time for substitute Rowe to get a debut goal, the Norwich forward heading in Elliott’s cross from close range. Then, in stoppage time, Elliott added the flourish with a ninth goal, seizing on Igor Miladinovic’s wretched pass to complete the scoring. Read More Marcus Smith set for full-back role in England’s World Cup quarter-final Scotland slip to defeat in Spain but qualification hopes remain alive FA would face criticism one way or another for conflict response – Southgate Southgate says experimental England must have right mindset against Australia Graham Arnold urging Australia to claim England scalp for ‘kids and nation’ England ready for challenge of knocking India ‘off their perch’ – Chris Woakes

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England boss Sarina Wiegman is confident the Lionesses are capable of getting creative should Nigeria target breakout talent Lauren James in their last-16 clash in Brisbane. Chelsea forward James was awarded player-of-the-match against China in England’s final group stage contest after contributing two goals and three assists in the 6-1 victory. Having shown the world just how dangerous she could be, it would not be a surprise if Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum spent plenty of time planning a corresponding response to mitigate the potent threat posed by the 21-year-old. Asked if she was prepared for that to happen, England boss Sarina Wiegman grinned and said: “Well, first of all we didn’t make the starting line-up yet. “But I think some countries mark us and want to take out players. Not only one, but more players. So that’s good when you have so many good players on the pitch that they have to be aware of all those players. “And we know when players are marked that you find other ways to build or create and hopefully create chances to score goals. “So we are aware of that and we will be prepared for that.” Wiegman could be bolstered by the return of midfielder Keira Walsh, who was carried off on a stretcher late in the first half of England’s 1-0 victory over Denmark in their second group stage game. The knee injury sustained by the 2023 Champions League winner with Barcelona was not as serious as some suspected, and while Wiegman would not disclose Walsh’s specific diagnosis, the FA previously revealed it was not an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and on Sunday the England boss also confirmed it was not a ligament issue. Walsh also stepped up her recovery on Sunday, joining the other 22 members of the England squad on the Central Coast Stadium pitch before the Lionesses flew to Brisbane ahead of their first match of the knockout stage. On the eve of the Nigeria clash, Wiegman said: “She is doing well. She started her rehab straight after we knew what was going on. “She has been on the pitch, she has been training today. Now we will wait until (we see) how she recovers from that training session and if she does well then she is available tomorrow.” The 2023 World Cup saw the tournament expand to 32 teams for the first time, with some initially worried that the gap between the top and lower-ranked nations would be detrimental. Yet the reality has so far been the opposite, with four of FIFA’s top 10 sides already eliminated including double-defending champions USA, who crashed out after losing a dramatic penalty shootout to Sweden. Number two side and Euro 2022 finalists Germany, number seven Olympic champions Canada, and Copa America winners Brazil, ranked eighth, have all been eliminated. Those giant-slayings – Canada’s at the hands of 40th-ranked Nigeria – also marked the last likely World Cup appearances for icons and pioneers in Brazil’s Marta, Canada’s Christine Sinclair and the USA’s Megan Rapinoe, who missed a penalty against Sweden and announced pre-tournament that she would be retiring at the end of the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) season. Wiegman added: “It is very, very competitive. The development of the game all over the world has gone really quickly, at a very good level. “But I’m mainly focused on my team and on the next match with my team, so I’m not into every game. I don’t have the full context, but that’s the main thing I have noticed.”

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