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Brandon Staley snapped at a reporter for asking a perfectly normal question.

Steve Clarke savoured the chance to celebrate Scotland’s Euro 2024 qualification with the Hampden crowd after his side rounded off their campaign with a “strange” 3-3 draw against Norway. Scotland had qualified with two games to spare and finished second behind Spain in Group A after a second consecutive draw ensured they have only lost once in the section. The players, including injured captain Andy Robertson, did a lap of honour afterwards to mark their achievement. Clarke said: “It was nice – and nice for the supporters – to say thank you to the team, a nice night for the team and staff to thank the supporters. “It’s always nice to qualify for a major tournament. Obviously the last one was Covid-restricted so we missed that connection and that feel with the fans. “It’s great for everyone in the country that we have something to look forward to next summer.” Clarke’s side twice came from behind in the first half through John McGinn’s penalty and an own goal before Stuart Armstrong netted a well-worked goal to out them in front just before the hour mark. However, former Celtic winger Mohamed Elyounoussi came off the bench to head home in the 86th minute as Norway scored their third goal from a cross originating from right-back Julian Ryerson. “It was a strange game,” Clarke said. “I need to go away and analyse it. “What we have worked really hard at is being competitive, being a competitive team every time we go on to the pitch. “That’s why I was a little bit disappointed with the first half, I didn’t think we were competitive enough. Much more competitive second half. “We are Scotland, we have a certain way of playing, we like to play on the front foot.” A two-goal win would have put Scotland in pot two for the December 2 draw, although they are arguably better off in pot three given they will now avoid the likes of the Netherlands, Italy and Croatia. “I’m not bothered,” Clarke said. “I don’t know even know who else is in pot three and pot two. I’m sure I will find out when I get to Hamburg.” Norway head coach Stale Solbakken felt his side should have been ahead at half-time but feels Scotland will pose problems in Germany. “Overall we were the better team and should have won but it’s not easy, Scotland are always very well organised,” he added. “They have a great coach and have very disciplined players who know their strengths and limitations. That’s very important – they play to their strengths and don’t pretend to be something else. “They also have tournament experience so I think they can be a handful for everyone next summer. They also play two systems which is valuable. “There will be no easy games for those teams who meet Scotland.” Read More Gareth Southgate targeting top of the world as England drive for Euros glory Rico Lewis hopes his versatility helps him make late push for Euro 2024 squad Declan Rice putting pressure of price tag behind him to pursue biggest prizes Trevor Lawrence leads Jacksonville Jaguars to victory against Tennessee Titans Scotland sign off on successful Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with six-goal thriller Ludvig Aberg keen to ‘love golf for long time’ after clinching RSM Classic title

Declan Rice went to the World Cup surrounded by England team-mates who had won the biggest prizes in the game – now he is a £105million player who insists he is not fazed by the price tag having lifted European silverware and instantly taken to Champions League football. The 24-year-old admitted a year ago in Qatar that he wanted to play at the highest level and left West Ham in the summer after captaining them to Europa Conference League glory. Rice moved across London to Arsenal, joining the Gunners for a club-record fee and has hit the ground running with a run of fine performances for Mikel Arteta’s side. While previous big-money signings have seemingly been weighed down by hefty price tags, Rice has flourished in spite of it. “When the transfer was going through I was very nervous because of the price tag,” he said. “It’s natural to think about that. You’re a human being bought for £105m, it doesn’t feel very normal. But that was because of what I’d done at West Ham, what they valued me at. “When I signed for Arsenal, I just thought I just need to be Declan Rice, be myself, don’t be any different, everything will go smoothly. You’re a human being bought for £105million, it doesn’t feel very normal Declan Rice “The first three weeks of pre-season were really tough in terms of the change. When you’re at a new job you start to feel really settled after a few weeks. “That really feels the case now. In terms of the price tag, I don’t really think about it, I just play the games and try to play as well as possible. “Honestly, I just try to play my football. I don’t let it affect me in any way, shape or form. I just go to training, try to train as well as possible.” Rice’s England colleague Jack Grealish admitted he found talk of his £100m move to Manchester City “annoying” and that more was expected of him as a result of the big fee. “It’s £100m, it’s a lot of money, I could understand the pressure that comes with it,” added Rice. “Not only the pressure you put on yourself but there’s an expectation of being bought for that much money we need to see performances straight away. “I want to repay the club back straight away, they have invested a lot of money in me, I need to prove why I can go there and change things. “I can see why Jack struggled maybe at the start – mentally. He was a £100m footballer but as he wasn’t playing as much, it was probably as bit different for him. Now he’s flying and it’s the same for me.” Rice insists he always had faith in his ability to step up to the highest level and he has shone particularly brightly on Arsenal’s Champions League nights so far. “I won the trophy at West Ham, which was another level. It was incredible for me and the club. Now I’ve been playing on Champions League nights and been playing relatively well, but it’s something I always believed I could do,” he said. “It was just waiting for my chance and my opportunity. Every game that’s coming now, I’m just trying to take it step by step and perform on the biggest stage. “Speaking honestly, I feel I was playing as well at West Ham in my last season. Even though we didn’t have the best season as a team, I feel like I kicked on again. You never want to stay stale as a footballer. “You’re always looking to improve, always looking to get better. I still feel there’s so many more levels I can get to. It’s just about being eager to learn, practising on the training pitch, and always listening as well.” Rice has also called on England to end an unbeaten 2023 with a “bang” by winning their final Euro 2024 qualifier away to North Macedonia on Monday. England have not suffered defeat since their World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of France last December and sealed their spot at next summer’s finals with two games to spare. After a drab 2-0 win over Malta on Friday, Rice is keen for England to put in a better showing to bring the curtain down on a strong calendar year. “I think especially the other night after Malta there is just a bit of pride in ourselves that we need to raise our level,” the Arsenal midfielder said. “We need to put out a statement and it would be a good way to end the year. We are currently unbeaten since the World Cup so it is down to us to go out tomorrow night, put on a performance.” Read More Gareth Southgate targeting top of the world as England drive for Euros glory Rico Lewis hopes his versatility helps him make late push for Euro 2024 squad Trevor Lawrence leads Jacksonville Jaguars to victory against Tennessee Titans Scotland sign off on successful Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with six-goal thriller Ludvig Aberg keen to ‘love golf for long time’ after clinching RSM Classic title Luke Humphries continues stunning rise with Grand Slam of Darts success

Gareth Southgate says there can be no let-up for already-qualified England if they are to win next summer’s Euros and become the top-ranked team in the world. The Euro 2020 runners-up last month sealed their place at the 2024 edition in Germany with two matches to spare and were below par in Friday’s qualifier against Malta. England disappointed in the 2-0 victory at a packed Wembley and will look to end 2023 on a high as they round off Euro 2024 qualification in North Macedonia. Southgate’s side arrived in Skopje all but assured of being among the top seeds in December’s draw in Hamburg, but every moment counts as they seek to be best on the planet. “Qualification’s done,” the England boss said ahead of the Group C finale. “With the games at the weekend, we might be ranked third in the world at the minute, but we’re two places off where we need to be so we can’t waste games. “Some of the players have got three games to get into a squad, some have got maybe three to get into a team, maybe a couple more if we’re talking about the team. “There’s some things we’d like to see. But if we’re going to be a top team, then the level of performance has got to be spot on every time.” Asked if being number one drives him on, Southgate said: “Yeah, because ultimately you achieve that through consistency and you’ve got to play well in the tournaments as well because the ranking points are higher in the tournaments. “Also, it sets behaviours every day on the training pitch, off the training pitch. “If you are going to be the top-ranked team, there’s no room for sloppiness or casualness. That’s got to be our drive.” England currently sit fourth in FIFA’s world rankings, making it five straight years of being in the top five. Their previous best since its launch was six months in the top five across 1997 and 1998, yet there remains plenty of criticism for Southgate and speculation about his future. Monday will be England’s final qualifier before the manager’s contract expires next year and he smiled when it was mentioned that former Football Association executive David Dein had said he should get a new deal. Asked if he anticipated this being his final qualifier in the hotseat, Southgate said: “I haven’t thought about it, really. “I’ve thought about the game tomorrow and the need for a better performance than Friday so that’s what I’ve been focusing on. “I feel almost as if we’ve almost talked too much about the Euros already and I didn’t see our focus in the right place at the weekend. “So, it’s tomorrow, then it’s March, then it’s the summer. And we go from there.” Southgate downplayed suggestions of his future being a distraction but suggested his comments about their Euros ambitions may have been. “Well, I think talk of the summer was a distraction on Friday in its own way,” he added. “Look, in football management, frankly I think you should look no further than three or four games ahead anyway. “But I think when you’ve got a tournament coming up, inevitably, as an international manager, you’re going to be judged on tournaments so everybody before that is pretty futile, really.” England’s final camp of the year has been disrupted by absentees. Five players withdrew from the original squad through injury and two more departed the squad before they flew out to the Balkans. The FA announced Kieran Trippier had gone home due to a personal issue, while injury meant Jarrod Bowen left the camp on Sunday. A soldout Tose Proeski Arena awaits England’s absentee-hit 21-man squad as the Macedonians look to make up for June’s 7-0 hiding at Old Trafford. “We play a team who, although they can’t qualify, have tremendous pride and they’ll be wounded by what happened in Manchester,” Southgate added. “We have to be ready for a really good atmosphere. Full crowd, full stadium. “We’ve had a calendar year where we’ve been very good, so we want to finish well.” Read More Rico Lewis hopes his versatility helps him make late push for Euro 2024 squad Declan Rice putting pressure of price tag behind him to pursue biggest prizes Trevor Lawrence leads Jacksonville Jaguars to victory against Tennessee Titans Scotland sign off on successful Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with six-goal thriller Ludvig Aberg keen to ‘love golf for long time’ after clinching RSM Classic title Luke Humphries continues stunning rise with Grand Slam of Darts success