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Republic of Ireland coach Stephen Kenny insists he cannot allow himself to wonder what might have been after his sliding doors moment in Faro. The 51-year-old will send his team into Euro 2024 qualifier battle with European minnows Gibraltar in the Algarve on Monday evening knowing their automatic qualification hopes are already over, and that even the chance of a wild card via the play-offs may be out of their grasp. Just how different things could have been had his last visit to the Estadio Algarve, for a World Cup qualifier against Portugal in September 2021, not ended with a last-gasp Cristiano Ronaldo double which transformed a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory for the hosts – and established Ronaldo as international football’s leading scorer – is something upon which Kenny admits he has reflected since. Kenny said: “You can’t dwell on things, but have I reflected on it? Of course. “We were 1-0 ahead after 89 minutes and the game should be finished out. Cristiano Ronaldo has other ideas and the world record was on the line that night, so he was hugely motivated to break that. “It was a very good performance that night. VAR intervened for an absolute cast-iron penalty to go 2-0 up in the second half, nailed-on penalty. “That’s the way it goes. What ifs… there’s no point in complaining. You move on and that’s it.” If we were to play any game, we'd play to win, any international game Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny Ireland ultimately did not make it to last year’s World Cup finals, and neither will they be in Germany next summer unless their fortunes change markedly and they manage to secure a play-off spot and make it count. There is even a complicated scenario in which they might be better off losing their final qualifier in the Netherlands next month depending on results elsewhere, although Kenny insists he is not even contemplating that. He said: “No, it’s not something that’s really entered our heads. It’s not something that really we’d focus on. If we were to play any game, we’d play to win, any international game. “We would just focus on Gibraltar tomorrow. It’s an international game that we want to win. We have to get a win under our belt tomorrow and I’m not really fixated on that scenario.” Kenny, who confirmed that his contract would cover any play-off, has found himself in the firing line since Friday night’s 2-0 home defeat by Greece, although with World Cup finalists France and the Dutch also in Group B, the alarm bells starting ringing after their 2-1 reverse in Athens in June. However, asked if he would resign should things go from bad to worse in Faro, he said: “I’m not considering resigning. My contact is to the end of the campaign and I will finish it. “We want to finish the campaign strongly and we are very determined to do that. After that, it’s completely out of my control. I have no control over the rest.” Read More Wales defeat Croatia to boost Euro 2024 qualification hopes Steve Borthwick hails ‘written off’ England after reaching World Cup semi-final Stephen Kenny puts speculation to one side for Gibraltar clash Jos Buttler tells England to ‘let it hurt’ after World Cup loss to Afghanistan Baltimore boss John Harbaugh thrilled to end ‘heck of a week’ in London on high Talking Points as Republic of Ireland seek win against minnows Gibraltar

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Gareth Bale will not be joining the Wales coaching staff, manager Rob Page has said. Former captain Bale ended his stellar playing career in January with a farewell statement announcing he was “stepping down but not stepping away” from the Wales environment. Page said he wanted to keep the former Real Madrid forward, his country’s most capped men’s player with 111 appearances, involved in some capacity but the Wales manager has now confirmed that will not be in a coaching role. “I spoke to Gareth on Monday and I’m due to have another conversation with him this week,” Page said ahead of this month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey. “Nothing particular or specific, just a general. He’s open to conversations and he wants to play a part in the future, but not from a coaching point of view. “For me to have another voice from the outside watching things is beneficial. He’s enjoying his retirement.” Bale’s former team-mate Chris Gunter joined Page’s backroom staff ahead of two qualifiers in March, from which Wales made a positive start to Euro 2024 qualifying by picking up four points against Croatia and Latvia. Page said: “Gunts has come up and he’s a first-class lad. He’s doing his coaching badges, he’s great around the changing room and the lads love him to bits. He’s doing really well at the minute. “We’ve just had a four-day camp with the under-21s and our EFL players and we’ve given him more responsibility with regards to the training sessions. “The culture in the changing room is the most important thing. When I had him as a player, he was key to that. “He was never afraid to come to talk to the coaching staff and I still want that. He drives that for us.” Wales head to Portugal this week to prepare for their Euro 2024 double-header, with three key players nursing injuries. Skipper Aaron Ramsey (calf), goalkeeper Danny Ward (dislocated finger) and Neco Williams (broken jaw) missed the final games of the season for their respective clubs. But Page has been encouraged by his squad playing more Premier League minutes this term, a top-flight total of 251 appearances being 135 more than the previous campaign and the most since the 2016-17 season. He said: “You want your best players playing at the top level because that will help us to compete against the top teams in Europe and the rest of the world. “We need our players being exposed to the top teams, whether that’s in the Premier League, LaLiga, Bundesliga or Serie A. “Thankfully, we now have more of our Welsh players playing at the top level.”

Raheem Sterling rediscovered his scoring touch as he netted both of Chelsea’s goals in a 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge that could prove vital for relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest. Home fans had booed their team off at the break, trailing to a Taiwo Awoniyi goal for Steve Cooper’s side and looking no nearer in the first half to finding a solution to the lack of firepower that has derailed their season. Then, in the space of seven second-half minutes, Sterling transformed the match. First a deflected shot bounced up into the corner after he was set up by Trevoh Chalobah, then he let rip with a brilliant solo goal that evoked the England forward at his electric best. Yet instead of pressing on, Chelsea folded. Non-existent marking left Awoniyi free to head home and extinguish the lead four minutes later. It ensured Forest stayed three points clear in their bid to beat the drop, and meant Frank Lampard’s long wait for a victory at this ground on his return as boss will go to the season’s final game. Forest nearly stunned the hosts inside four minutes. Renan Lodi’s corner was whipped to the near post where Felipe met it with a firm header that flashed wide. They took the lead soon after and it was Lodi again the provider, though Edouard Mendy – returning in goal for Chelsea – was badly at fault. The ball into the penalty spot did not look unduly threatening, but as the keeper raced from his goal Awoniyi climbed above two defenders to get to it first and head into an unguarded net. It seemed to shake Chelsea to life, and they went close to levelling immediately when Sterling’s effort was blocked by the recovering Joe Worrall. Noni Madueke, increasingly influential in recent games despite the team’s indifferent form, showed excellent balance and feet on the right whenever he got on the ball, bursting through Forest with speed and skill. On the other flank, Lewis Hall nominally at left-back showed barrels of attacking intent when Chelsea were in possession. He got forward after 30 minutes and, after making space with a clever shimmy, crossed for Joao Felix to dive into a header that was brilliantly held on the stretch by Keylor Navas. Moussa Niakhate was an inch away from making it two for Forest in the first moments of the second half, he stretched out a leg to meet a flicked-on corner at the back post but could not make the contact required. Chelsea did not need another warning. The equaliser arrived on 51 minutes, and Sterling owed his goal to good link-up play between Madueke and Chalobah. The pair worked their way in behind Forest and into a channel down the right, giving Chalobah the time and space to pick out a pass which Sterling swept home first time via a deflection off the stricken Ryan Yates. Chelsea looked to ride the wave of noise that the goal had drawn from Stamford Bridge. Felix tried to catch out Navas with a driven effort from range that dropped onto the roof of the net, then Sterling took the roof off the stadium with his and Chelsea’s second. There seemed to be little on when the ball was worked to him 12 yards out on a wide angle, but in a deft movement he took it under control, opened his body and shot perfectly beyond the dive of Navas. It was Sterling at his long-forgotten best. It should have been a catalyst to drive Chelsea on to a rare home win. Instead, it invited a meekly predictable implosion. Orel Mangala’s cross into the centre of the box for Forest was an inviting one, and no one in blue had gone with Awoniyi who stunned home fans into silence with a firmly planted header. Chelsea’s frustration started to show. Felix was booked for simulation, and attacks began to break down before the final third. Still Forest carried a threat, Lodi hit a bending drive that swung outwards and fractionally past the post. Sterling had a chance to complete his hat-trick, racing forward to get on the end of Hakim Ziyech’s searching ball but lifting his header up and over the bar as he arrived. There were few chances for either side after that, as Forest claimed a point that could prove of incalculable value. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Aston Villa turn up heat on European rivals Tottenham with vital win Alejandro Garnacho returns to put seal on Manchester United win over Wolves Southampton’s relegation confirmed after Aleksandar Mitrovic-inspired Fulham win

Pep Guardiola has claimed Manchester City could be “in trouble” following John Stones’ latest injury setback. The treble winners are awaiting assessments of the England defender after he was forced off with a knock in Tuesday’s 3-0 Champions League stroll against Young Boys. Stones only returned to action in October after a two-month lay-off with hamstring and hip problems. Manager Guardiola said he feared the 29-year-old could be out “for a while” with the muscular problem and described the blow as “deep bad news”. Stones has been revelatory for City playing in a hybrid defence-midfield role and Guardiola feels he complements central anchor Rodri perfectly. Much was made of the fact Rodri was suspended when City lost three successive games earlier in the campaign, but Guardiola believes the absence of Stones was equally crucial. He said: “The problem is we play John and Rodri at the same time – now we are in trouble, because we have to play a bit differently, like happened in Arsenal. “We do not feel comfortable still, we are not prepared to change many variations.” City hardly broke sweat as they brushed past the Swiss champions to secure their place in the last 16 for an 11th consecutive year. The holders have won all four of their matches in Group G and are through with two matches to spare. Erling Haaland made light of the ankle problem that curtailed him against Bournemouth last weekend to open the scoring with a penalty and added the third goal with a powerful long-range strike. It was yet another dominant performance from the Norway striker, who has now scored 39 goals in 34 career Champions League appearances and 15 in all competitions this season. Opposition captain Mohamed Ali Camara even asked to swap shirts with the 23-year-old at half-time, something which drew criticism in some quarters. “I’m a little bit surprised about that right now,” admitted Young Boys coach Raphael Wicky, whose side failed to muster a single shot and had midfielder Sandro Lauper sent off in the second half. “I’ll probably have a word with him.” None of this worried Guardiola, whose side looked comfortable with Phil Foden also on the scoresheet. “It’s not normal, but I don’t know the reason why it happened,” he said. “It’s not a big subject for me right now.” City’s remaining task in the group will be to secure top spot, and a theoretically favourable draw, in the first knockout round. They face second-placed RB Leipzig at home later this month before wrapping up the stage at Red Star Belgrade. Midfielder Matheus Nunes said: “We cannot look at those two games as spare because we want to get through as first place, and that’s what we will try to do now. “We will focus on Chelsea now, but when those games come we will be ready because we want to win both of them.” Read More Kevin Sinfield to run seven ultramarathons in support of Rob Burrow Never-say-die attitude gives Newcastle Champions League belief – Kieran Trippier On this day in 2004: Jason Robinson named as England’s first black captain Eddie Howe knows Newcastle need two wins to keep Champions League hopes alive Jacob Neestrup: Parken atmosphere is 100 times more intense than Old Trafford FA asks Mikel Arteta and Arsenal for observations after referee comments

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