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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

Micah Parsons threw up after taking too much C4.

Rico Lewis is hoping his versatility will work in his favour as he aims to make a late charge to Euro 2024. Gareth Southgate will name a 23-man squad for next summer’s finals in Germany, having been able to pick 26 players for both Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup. That means competition for places will be more fierce than in recent years, with Southgate admitting those who are more adaptable could have the edge. The likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier and Phil Foden can occupy several different positions on the pitch. So too, can Lewis – the 18-year-old having already played in both full-back roles and in midfield for treble-winners Manchester City. He has yet to make his senior England debut but was called up for the first time last week and will be targeting minutes in the final Euro 2024 qualifier away to North Macedonia on Monday. “Obviously, in terms of a tournament, you can only select the amount you can select,” he said. Obviously he (Southgate) has asked me about where I want to play, my favourite position, stuff like that Rico Lewis “It (versatility) can be a key factor in going or not going. But for me, I am not really focusing on that right now but I understand it is a key thing that could contribute to me being picked or not. “Obviously he (Southgate) has asked me about where I want to play, my favourite position, stuff like that.” With Southgate’s defensive options already limited in the current camp, Lewis’ chances of playing in Skopje have been further boosted with Trippier not travelling due to personal reasons. Asked if he would be happy to fill in at left-back, where Southgate is particularly bereft of options, Lewis replied: “Of course. Anywhere I played, I would relish it. Whether it is right-back, midfield, left-back – I am not really bothered. “I just love playing football and at the moment it is going really well. Any opportunity I get, I will do my best to take it. “Obviously, it is not something I expected, especially coming into the international week when I was in the under-21s. Obviously a lot of things happened and fortunately for me I am here now. “I have enjoyed every minute of it so far: meeting everybody, meeting the players, the staff, the training sessions, everything.” Southgate himself hailed Lewis as someone who could fill the void given the number of left-backs who have been forced onto the sidelines. “He is an option. He’s a versatile player,” said the manager. “I’m really pleased with how he’s trained, he’s settled really well. He’s very comfortable with the ball. He’s played there a few times. He’s played everywhere for City.” Lewis admits Alexander-Arnold is someone he will look to learn from, with the Liverpool man playing a very similar hybrid role. “In a sense we are very similar – being full-backs and leaning a little bit more towards midfield, especially with England. and he is somebody I can take a lot of information from,” he added. “I have had a few conversations with him and he is a very nice person. He is somebody I have got to know a little bit.” Read More Gareth Southgate targeting top of the world as England drive for Euros glory 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

Scotland concluded a successful Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with an all-action 3-3 draw with Norway at Hampden Park. Steve Clarke’s men clinched their place in Germany with two games to spare last month and, following a 2-2 draw with Georgia on Thursday night, there were thrills and spills in the final Group A game in Glasgow. The Tartan Army were in party mood but they were silenced in the third minute of a roller-coaster first half when Aron Donnum fired the visitors ahead before Scotland captain John McGinn levelled from the spot 10 minutes later. Norway restored their lead through striker Jorgen Larsen in the 20th minute before an own goal in the 33rd minute by visiting defender Leo Ostigard had the Scots level again. The second half was no less open and a fine finish by midfielder Stuart Armstrong just before the hour mark put the home side ahead but Norway substitute Mohamed Elyounoussi cancelled that out in the 86th minute with a header. Nevertheless it is Scotland and group winners Spain who qualify automatically for next summer’s finals and the Scots will go into the draw as Pot 3 seeds. It was another thrilling match in an unforgettable campaign. Clarke reshuffled his side, with Luton striker Jacob Brown making his first start in his eighth appearance as Jack Hendry, Armstrong and Kenny McLean also came in. Ryan Porteous, Billy Gilmour, Ryan Christie and Lyndon Dykes dropped to the bench. Stale Solbakken’s side were without injured Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland, their captain and Arsenal midfielder Martin Odegaard and Sevilla goalkeeper Orjan Nyland, which on the face of it increased the home side’s chance of finishing the campaign with a flourish. The visitors, however, were keen to avenge the 2-1 defeat by Scotland in Oslo which had done so much to shape both sides’ fortunes and they got off to the perfect start. A cross into the middle from Julian Ryerson came off the foot of Larsen straight to Donnum, whose shot from 14 yards clipped Scotland defender Nathan Patterson before going past keeper Zander Clark and in off a post. The goal stunned the home fans but they were soon cheering when referee Horatiu Fesnic pointed to the spot after judging that Callum McGregor’s shot had struck the arm of Donnum inside the box. McGinn slotted the penalty past Norway keeper Egil Selvik for his third goal of the campaign and his 18th international goal in total to tie with former Scotland striker Kenny Miller. However, Scotland were again trailing when Larsen got a flick on Ryerson’s deflected cross at the near post and the ball squirmed past Clark and spun over the line with the on-rushing Donnum making sure. The goals kept coming and the home side were level again when Scott McTominay’s whipped-in corner from the left was just missed by McLean, with the ball striking the luckless Ostigard and bouncing into the net. Norway remained dangerous and in the 37th minute captain Patrick Berg came close with a 30-yard free-kick and minutes later only a brilliant block by Patterson denied Donnum a second goal, before Armstrong came close with a drive in the last action of the first half. The end-to-end action continued after the break. Brown missed a good chance from right in front of goal but only seconds before Armstrong drilled McGinn’s cut-back into the net from 16 yards, after playing a one-two with his fellow midfielder. Dykes, Christie and Lewis Ferguson soon came on for Brown, Armstrong and McLean and then Ryan Jack replaced McGinn, who had taken a knock. By then Norway were going all out for their third goal and in the 82nd minute Clark made a good diving save from substitute Kristian Thorstvedt’s header from close range. Former Celtic attacker Elyounoussi made no mistake when burying a Ryerson cross from two yards out, however. The Tartan Army showed their appreciation at the end of five added minutes and now all eyes are on Germany next summer. Read More 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 wants vastly-improved display from England in North Macedonia Declan Rice urges England to finish 2023 with a ‘bang’ in North Macedonia Jarrod Bowen adds to England withdrawals after injury in training Manchester City storm back to deny Manchester United in Old Trafford WSL derby

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Gareth Southgate says “performance is the priority” in North Macedonia as already-qualified England look to make up for winning with a whimper against minnows Malta. The Euro 2020 runners-up sealed their place at next summer’s edition with two matches to spare and were below par in Friday’s qualifier. England disappointed a packed Wembley crowd by limping to a 2-0 victory over Malta, leading the manager to suggest his players had subconsciously taken their foot off the gas. Southgate did not castigate those that have done so well for him over the years, but he is demanding a vastly-improved display in North Macedonia as they bring the curtain down on 2023. “Performance is the priority,” Southgate said. “We’ve set a standard. We didn’t reach that standard on Friday. We have to get back to what we’re good at. There’s always a chance within that to have a look at a couple of things that we’d like to see as well. “But the biggest thing is making sure we hit the level of performance that we’ve set ourselves.” England’s final match of the year is also set to be their last on foreign soil until the Euros get under way in Germany. A sold-out Tose Proeski Arena awaits despite the Macedonians’ qualification hopes already having gone up in smoke, with revenge the main focus on Monday. Few saw June’s 7-0 Old Trafford annihilation at Old Trafford coming and Blagoja Milevski’s men are looking to get a famous result having drawn at home to reigning European champions Italy since then. “We weren’t at the level of performance that we want on Friday, so all focus on tomorrow’s game,” said Southgate, whose side have so far gone unbeaten this year. “We play a team who, although they can’t qualify, have tremendous pride and they’ll be wounded by what happened in Manchester. “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.” 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 Football Association announced Kieran Trippier had gone home due to a personal issue, while injury meant Jarrod Bowen left the camp on Sunday. “Unfortunately, Jarrod picked up an injury,” Southgate said. “I think he felt it a little bit yesterday and then again at the end of training today. “We didn’t really have enough time to assess it fully and make a really accurate decision before the game, so we felt better to leave him in England so that he can get it properly assessed. “I don’t think it’s got to be anything serious, but we just didn’t have enough time and we wouldn’t take a risk in that situation.” Bowen was in line for a substantial role for rotated England on Monday, so too Trippier. Performance is the priority. We've set a standard. We didn't reach that standard on Friday. We have to get back to what we're good at Gareth Southgate The versatile Newcastle full-back’s withdrawal underlines the dearth of options at left-back in the absence of injured Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell. “We need to adapt,” Southgate said. “We’ve got a couple of different options and we’re comfortable with it. We can find a good solution to the issue. “We haven’t got somebody that is playing there regularly, but we’ve adapted to lots of situations over the last few years and we’re comfortable with doing that again tomorrow.” Asked about the options and formation switch, he added: “We probably have done it a little bit on personnel going back a few years. “So, yeah, that is an option. We’ve obviously got players that have played as wing-backs. We can adjust. We’ve got Fik (Fikayo Tomori), of course, who did it the other day, Rico Lewis, Marc Guehi can play across there. “He’s done that for us in a game before so it’s just making sure that everybody’s aware of their job. It changes the way maybe you build up patterns and those sorts of things, but we’re comfortable with the situation we’ve got.” Read More Declan Rice urges England to finish 2023 with a ‘bang’ in North Macedonia Jarrod Bowen adds to England withdrawals after injury in training Manchester City storm back to deny Manchester United in Old Trafford WSL derby Arsenal continue winning streak with convincing victory at Brighton Australia ‘top of the mountain’ after record sixth World Cup win ‘It’s the sweetest one’ – Nicolai Hojgaard hails DP World Tour Championship win

Declan Rice has called on England to end an unbeaten 2023 with a “bang” by winning their final Euro 2024 qualifier away to North Macedonia. 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. Rice’s Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka hit a hat-trick in a 7-0 thrashing of North Macedonia in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford in June. 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. “You need to be mentally prepared, have the right mentality and be ready for a hostile environment and make sure we go out of this year with a bang. We will be ready for whatever they throw at us.” We need to put out a statement and it would be a good way to end the year Declan Rice Rice will collect his 48th cap in Monday’s game and the former West Ham captain admits he was “gutted” that a controversial VAR call cost him a fourth England goal in the Malta win. Just moments after Harry Kane had doubled the lead, Rice charged forward and drove home a fine finish that was ultimately ruled out for offside against Kane. “To be honest with you, going back to the other night I was gutted,” he said. “When I picked the ball up and drove through and bent one into the far corner, I was buzzing because I don’t really score goals like that often. “When it was chalked off I was gutted, but it was one of those where I didn’t want to get into something with the ref, get a silly yellow card. The game was won at 2-0 so it is one of those you have to take on the chin. “Hopefully I can score one of those again, maybe tomorrow night, so we will have to wait and see.” Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has landed a Football Association charge for his stinging criticism of VAR following the recent Premier League defeat at Newcastle – labelling the decision to allow Anthony Gordon’s winning goal to stand as both “embarrassing” and a “disgrace”. “It is one of those things, you are going to get decisions that go your way and those that don’t go your way,” Rice said on VAR. “At the minute it is a bit up in the air because some decisions being made are the wrong decisions, some are right, but we are just there to play football and it is down to the authorities to decide – the people at Stockley Park and the referees.” Read More Jarrod Bowen adds to England withdrawals after injury in training Manchester City storm back to deny Manchester United in Old Trafford WSL derby Arsenal continue winning streak with convincing victory at Brighton Australia ‘top of the mountain’ after record sixth World Cup win ‘It’s the sweetest one’ – Nicolai Hojgaard hails DP World Tour Championship win Northern Ireland keen to go out on high note against Denmark – 5 talking points

West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen has joined Kieran Trippier in withdrawing from the England squad ahead of their Euro 2024 qualifier in North Macedonia. Bowen suffered a knee injury in training and remained in England when the rest of the squad flew to Macedonia on Sunday. England boss Gareth Southgate told a press conference: “Unfortunately Jarrod picked up an injury, I think he felt it a little bit yesterday and again at the end of training today. “We didn’t really have enough time to assess it fully and make a really accurate decision before the game so we felt better to leave him in England so that he can get it properly assessed. “I don’t think it’s going to be anything serious but we just didn’t have enough time and we wouldn’t take a risk in that situation.” Bowen’s departure follows that of defender Trippier, who left the England camp earlier on Sunday due to a personal matter. England end their Euro 2024 qualification campaign and 2023 fixture calendar in Skopje on Monday night, when they will be unable to call upon Newcastle full-back Trippier. The England account on X, formerly known as Twitter, said: “@trippier2 has departed the #ThreeLions camp, owing to a personal matter and will not travel to North Macedonia.” Southgate’s side secured progress to next summer’s finals with two games to spare and Friday’s forgettable 2-0 win against Malta all but assured their spot among the top seeds in the December 2 draw. Read More Ugo Monye ‘so fed up’ after hearing ‘blatant racism’ as he left Exeter match Manchester City storm back to deny Manchester United in Old Trafford WSL derby Arsenal continue winning streak with convincing victory at Brighton

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Manchester City came from a goal behind to beat Women’s Super League rivals Manchester United 3-1 at Old Trafford. The Red Devils were awarded a penalty in the 20th minute as Alex Greenwood handled inside the area, with Katie Zelem slotting home to put them a goal up. City were not behind for long and turned the game on its head with two goals inside a minute as Jill Roord slotted home the equaliser before Lauren Hemp curled in superb fashion from outside the area to make it 2-1. The visitors ensured the three points as Khadija Shaw closed down a back-pass to Mary Earps, with the goalkeeper’s clearance bouncing off Shaw and going into the net to rubber-stamp the triumph. Despite Laia Aleixandri’s second bookable offence for a foul on Lucia Garcia, City held on to move above United in the WSL. Elsewhere, Arsenal secured their sixth win in all competitions with a convincing 3-0 victory over Brighton thanks to goals from Stina Blackstenius, Caitlin Foord and Frida Maanum. Bristol City twice came from behind to earn a 2-2 draw with fellow strugglers Everton at Walton Hall Park while Tottenham’s unbeaten run continued with a 1-1 draw against Leicester. Rachel Daly scored in stoppage time to help secure Aston Villa their second win of the season with a 3-2 victory over West Ham. Read More Arsenal continue winning streak with convincing victory at Brighton Top of the mountain – Pat Cummins hails Australia’s record sixth World Cup win ‘It’s the sweetest one’ – Nicolai Hojgaard hails DP World Tour Championship win