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Gareth Southgate is looking forward to another really good test and “important learning step” as England head to Scotland for their first friendly in 18 months. The Euro 2020 runners-up are among the favourites to win next year’s finals in Germany, which they are within touching distance of despite Saturday’s 1-1 qualification draw against Ukraine. Long-serving Kyle Walker’s first-ever England goal cancelled out Oleksandr Zinchenko’s opener in front of a yellow and blue wall at the rocking Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw, Poland. It felt like a home game despite Ukraine being forced to play away from their homeland due to Russia’s ongoing invasion, leaving Southgate to reflect on an important point and valuable learning experience. The 53-year-old is expecting a similar test when they face in-form Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday evening in England’s first friendly since beating the Ivory Coast at Wembley in March 2022. “We can have everybody in the squad involved for the next one,” Southgate said after 16 successive competitive matches, covering last year’s Nations League campaign, the 2022 World Cup and this qualifying campaign. “We’ll assess everybody over there over the next 24 to 48 hours because it’s another really good test. “Another hostile environment, a team that are playing really well. “You know, they’re in great form, full of confidence so it’s another important learning step for us.” The nations last faced one another in June 2021, when they played out a hard-fought 0-0 draw at Wembley in the European Championship group stage. Scotland, like England, are on the cusp of qualification for next summer’s Euros, with Friday’s 3-0 triumph in Cyprus extending their outstanding winning start in Group A to a fifth match. Southgate’s side do not head into the friendly on the same high having failed to click against Ukraine, after which James Maddison said it was important to dig in and take a point if the attack is not firing. “James would be one that won’t have played in an England game like that in the past,” the England manager said. “Marc (Guehi), Chilly [Ben Chilwell] wouldn’t have played a huge number of those games for us either. “So, the only way to learn and grow as a team is to have those sorts of experiences. “To go behind in a game like that is a challenge, but we stayed calm. “I’m not so sure it was a case of digging in because I think we were in control of the game. “But we had to defend some counter-attack moments and a couple of set plays well. “And, yeah, without a doubt, to go through that sort of experience is good learning for several of the players. “I think on a night like this the experienced players were really important for the team and I thought they all did a very, very good job.” Southgate rued too many turnovers and a lack of attacking fluency on Saturday night, when skipper Harry Kane took it upon himself to spark England into life. Ukraine stood off the striker and watched him fire an exceptional diagonal ball from just outside the centre circle over Vitaliy Mykolenko to put in Walker to score. “In the end, it was difficult for all of the forward players to find space between Ukraine’s midfield and defence,” Southgate said. “I thought they did that as a team very well. “I thought occasionally we were coming too deep outside of the block, but when you do that, if you’ve got players with that range of passing, then it’s an alternative way of breaking them down. “The important thing was as he was dropping, Kyle making the run he did. “He’s got outstanding vision but also technical quality to make those passes.”

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The Royal Marines told England boss Gareth Southgate that Harry Kane would make the perfect captain, the striker has revealed. The Bayern Munich player heads back to Scotland for a friendly at Hampden Park, where he first skippered the national team, on Tuesday. Six years ago Southgate took his squad for a surprise weekend at the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines in Devon. They camped, hiked and were dunked in the feared sheep dip as the Marines tested their physical and mental strength during a boding exercise which helped Southgate decide his skipper. A few days later, Kane was handed the armband and scored a last-gasp leveller in the 2-2 draw in Glasgow. “I remember that trip very clearly,” he said. “We had a fantastic time and I think Gareth did use that to see who stood out in terms of leadership. “Leadership comes in many ways. It isn’t just the guy in the front shooting the paintball. Maybe the way I got on with the Marines and the way I handled certain situations. “I know that Gareth asked some of the Marines afterwards who they thought were natural leaders, who were approachable and who other players were leaning towards to talk to. Things like that. “I think that might have helped in me becoming captain. It was a fantastic few days. Some great memories that will be with me forever. “It helped the whole squad get to know each other. We had no phones for three days, we were camping in the woods. That helped us, not just as a team. It helped us become closer. “We did a camping thing where we learned to put up our own tents and had the rations the Marine guys have when they’re going to war. “We woke up at sunrise and did a trek with all the stuff on our backs. Then we did an obstacle course. That was fun, although I think they left out some of the tougher parts. “We had to follow the Marines. Whenever they shouted ‘down’ we had to crawl in the mud, though stones and the sheep dip. “So we were all soaking wet, with sand and mud everywhere, and we thought we were going to get in a car and go back to camp, until they told us we were walking back – which was another hour on the road. That was probably the hardest part, it was mentally tough. I know that Gareth asked some of the Marines afterwards who they thought were natural leaders, who were approachable and who other players were leaning towards to talk to. Things like that. I think that might have helped in me becoming captain Harry Kane “Then we got back to the place we were staying. I was looking forward to a nice, hot shower and it was just a bit of water dripping out. It was just brutal.” Kane returns to Hampden as England’s record-breaking skipper with 58 goals in 84 caps. Back in 2017, Kane scored just his sixth international goal with a close-range volley from Raheem Sterling’s inch-perfect pass and remembers the World Cup qualifying draw well. “First of all I was extremely proud to be leading the boys out and I thought it was an amazing atmosphere, even from the national anthems,” said the 30-year-old. “The noise at Hampden Park is still one of the best atmosphere’s I’ve been a part of. The game was OK. We got ahead and then they quickly turned it around with two great free-kicks and then you’re thinking about being an Englishman losing to Scotland. “That isn’t the most ideal situation – especially when it’s your first game as captain, so it was nice to score in the last minute. “To be honest, I don’t think I realised how important the goal was until after the game, then I heard all the talk around it. For me, not to lose my first game as captain was important and it’s a nice memory.” Kane has linked up with England for the first time since his £100million move from Tottenham to Bayern. He has scored three goals in his first three starts and slotted into life in Germany, including a club photoshoot while dressed in Lederhosen and posing with fake beer. He said: “It was alright actually. The shorts were a bit heavier than I thought. It wasn’t even real beer – it was just to look good. “We have a day when all the players and staff go to Oktoberfest. I don’t know when that will be, but I’ve heard it’s really good.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Brennan Johnson has the potential to reach ‘highest of levels’ – Neco Williams George Ford masterclass earns 14-man England an opening World Cup win New Italy boss Luciano Spalletti denied first win as North Macedonia fight back

North Macedonia fought back to draw 1-1 with Italy in their Euro 2024 Group C qualifier and deny new Azzurri boss Luciano Spalletti a win in his first match in charge. Spalletti took over following the sudden resignation of Roberto Mancini last month and inherited a side which had already lost to England in their opening fixture. Ciro Immobile broke the deadlock two minutes into the second half when he headed in a rebound after Nicolo Barella’s volley struck the crossbar. North Macedonia – who beat Italy in the 2022 World Cup play-offs – got back on level terms with nine minutes left through a fine free-kick from captain Enis Bardhi. The draw left Italy third in the group, but having played only three matches so far because of their Nations League campaign. Earlier, leaders England were held to a 1-1 draw by Ukraine in Wroclaw, Poland. Arsenal midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko opened the scoring in the 26th minute, sparking wild celebrations from the estimated 40,000 Ukraine fans at the Tarczynski Arena. England equalised just before the break when captain Harry Kane picked out Kyle Walker on the overlap down the right for the Manchester City defender to score a first international goal in his 77th appearance. Belgium won 1-0 in Azerbaijan to move top of Group F. Yannick Carrasco deflected a long-range shot from Johan Bakayoko past the wrong-footed Azerbaijan goalkeeper in the 38th minute, which proved enough for all three points to put the Red Devils above Austria on goal difference. Newcastle forward Alexander Isak was among the scorers as Sweden ran out 5-0 winners in Estonia to sit four points off the top two. Switzerland missed the chance to extend their lead at the top of Group I after Kosovo fought back to draw 2-2 in Pristina Bologna midfielder Remo Freuler put the Swiss ahead in the 14th minute, before Vedat Muriqi equalised midway through the second half. Freuler looked to have secured three points when his deflected effort went in off defender Amir Rrahmani with 11 minutes left, but Mallorca forward Muriqi struck again in added time. Romania remain second, two points off Switzerland, after Israel came from behind to draw 1-1 in Bucharest, while it finished goalless between Andorra and Belarus. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Brennan Johnson has the potential to reach ‘highest of levels’ – Neco Williams George Ford masterclass earns 14-man England an opening World Cup win Talking points ahead of Republic of Ireland’s crucial clash with Netherlands

Neco Williams has backed his former Nottingham Forest team-mate Brennan Johnson to thrive at Tottenham and keep Wales in the race for Euro 2024 qualification. Johnson completed a £47.5million transfer to Spurs in the final minutes of deadline day and has not yet played for his new club. But Williams said the 22-year-old forward celebrated the move by taking several of his Wales team-mates out to dinner in London and picking up the tab. Johnson is, perhaps unfairly, considered the direct replacement for record Spurs goalscorer Harry Kane and the man to fill the boots of retired Wales great Gareth Bale at international level. “A lot fans will say that, but at the same time Brennan is not Gareth Bale or Harry Kane,” Forest full-back Williams said ahead of Wales’ vital Euro 2024 qualifier in Latvia on Monday. “He’s his own player and he has got his own style. He wouldn’t want to be compared to them or be seen as their replacements to step in. “He has got the potential to reach the highest of levels. But at the same time he’s only 22 and still very young. “He has proven it in the Premier League and now he has to prove it at what you’d say is a top-six team and do it in the Premier League again. “He’s got a move for big money and you can see that his confidence has taken him to the next level. “Hopefully he can take that with him into this Wales camp and win us some games.” Johnson met up with some of his Wales colleagues in London after joining Tottenham before arriving for international duty. “We celebrated with a little drink and some nice food,” said 22-year-old Williams. “It was a little meet up and a chance to say congratulations to Brennan on his move. To be fair, he got the bill as well. “Everyone was buzzing for him. It was last minute but we are all very pleased for him. “I’m just not looking forward to seeing him come back to the City Ground!” Johnson and Williams both started on Thursday as Wales drew 0-0 with South Korea in a Cardiff friendly. But the Latvia game represents the important part of the September double-header as Wales attempt to revive their Euro 2024 qualification bid. Defeats to Armenia and Turkey in June have left Wales playing catch-up in Group D and there is no margin for error in Riga. Williams said: “When we look back on it, the goals we conceded, we know we can do so much better than that. “As a team, that just wasn’t us. You can pinpoint so many things. “The gaps were too big from the strikers to the defenders, it just wasn’t a good performance all-round. “We’ve got top teams in our group and knew it wasn’t going to be easy from the start. “But we’ve got plenty of games to put that right and get as many points as possible to qualify.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live George Ford masterclass earns 14-man England an opening World Cup win New Italy boss Luciano Spalletti denied first win as North Macedonia fight back Talking points ahead of Republic of Ireland’s crucial clash with Netherlands

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Gareth Southgate focused on England’s important point and a valuable learning experience after admitting his side did not “quite click” in attack in the Euro 2024 qualifying draw against Ukraine. Having won their first four Group C matches on the road to next summer’s tournament in Germany, Saturday saw them fail to win a European Championship qualifier for just the second time in 23 attempts. Ukraine, playing on the road due to the ongoing Russian invasion in their homeland, took the lead through skipper Oleksandr Zinchenko to the delight of the partisan crowd in Wroclaw, Poland. England levelled before half-time through Kyle Walker’s first international goal on his 77th appearance for the national team, but Southgate’s side could not find a winner as they struggled for attacking fluidity and a cutting edge. “The reality is we’re not going to win every game by fours and sevens as we’ve done in this qualifying campaign,” the England boss said after Saturday’s 1-1 draw. “That was a really good test – away from home, very passionate atmosphere, quite a few changes forced from the last game. “For people like Marc Guehi, for instance, his first experience of the game like that with England, which he came through really strongly. “So, sometimes, especially with attacking play, it doesn’t quite click. We know that the patterns that we worked during the week are what we always do, so it’s not that we approach the game in a different way. “We tried to refresh things to give them a different sort of problem but today our forward play bar the goal and probably Bukayo’s effort that hit the bar wasn’t at the level that it has been in our previous games.” The Bukayo Saka attempt that was tipped onto the bar by Ukraine goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan was the closest England came to a winner on a night where they were often passive in possession and toothless in attack. “I think what I liked was the control of the game that we had when you come into an intense atmosphere like there was,” Southgate said in the bowels of the Tarczynski Arena. “I thought we played with real composure up until the final third and then I think by the time we scored the goal we’d had over 70 per cent of the ball but that was our first attempt on target. “So clearly, most of our attacking play wasn’t at the level that we would have hoped it to be. But I thought given the circumstances and the importance of the point in terms of qualification and coming from behind when the crowd are full and the opposition have something to hang on to. We tried to refresh things to give them a different sort of problem but today our forward play bar the goal and probably Bukayo’s effort that hit the bar wasn't at the level that it has been in our previous games Gareth Southgate “It’s a very important point for us and we’ve now played the two best ranked teams away from home and we’ve got four points from those two games.” Despite the frustrating draw, it still remains a case of when rather than if England qualify for the Euros. Southgate’s men now turn their attention to their friendly away to old foes Scotland on Tuesday, when Ukraine travel to Italy for a key clash in the fight for qualification. Ukraine head coach Sergey Rebrov said: “The atmosphere was really great – simply amazing. A big thank you to our fans. I thanked my players for their performance, especially in defence. “It is very difficult to stop such good attacking players as England have, but we did it on many occasions. This is a satisfactory result – another step towards reaching the finals.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Talking points ahead of Republic of Ireland’s crucial clash with Netherlands Fit, healthy and firing – Andy Farrell hails Johnny Sexton’s Ireland comeback George North still loving ‘wicked’ World Cup life on eve of fourth tournament

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The Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualification campaign has reached crunch-point after just four games with Sunday’s Group B clash with the Netherlands pivotal to their dwindling hopes. Defeat would leave Ireland trailing in the wake of France, the Dutch and Greece and all but mathematically unable to make it to Germany next year. Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding a crucial fixture. Clock running for Kenny? For his critics, Kenny’s reign is fast reaching the point of no return. Under the 51-year-old, who was appointed as Mick McCarthy’s successor in April 2020, Ireland have won only five of the 25 competitive matches they have played – against Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Scotland, Armenia and Gibraltar – and are perilously close to missing out on a third tournament. Kenny has blooded a new generation of players with the 18-year-old Evan Ferguson, injured for the fixtures against France and the Netherlands, in particular prompting genuine excitement, and has vowed to play an exciting brand of football, a blend which has been welcomed by supporters. However, it is yet to pay off the hard currency of meaningful wins and a failure to buck that trend against the Dutch could signal the beginning of the end. Rank outsiders Ireland will have to significantly out-perform their FIFA ranking if they are to get the better of Ronald Koeman’s men at the Aviva Stadium. They are currently ranked 53rd while the Dutch are seventh, and their recent record does not make for encouraging reading. Azerbaijan appear in 121st place in the world list, Luxembourg 89th, Scotland 30th – a marked improvement on where they stood ahead of their defeat at the Aviva in June last year – Armenia 90th and Gibraltar 198th. Striker light Timing is everything in football and the loss of blossoming talent Ferguson to a knee injury just days after the Brighton teenager rattled in a Premier League hat-trick against Newcastle could hardy have come at a worse time. Kenny asked Norwich frontman Adam Idah to lead the line with support from Chiedozie Ogbene and Jason Knight in Thursday night’s 2-0 defeat by France, and his options remain limited with the absent quintet of Ferguson, Callum Robinson, Mikey Johnston, Michael Obafemi and Troy Parrott having been joined by Will Keane after the game in Paris. Aaron Connolly will hope for a chance, but Idah remains the most likely spearhead for an attack largely blunted in Paris. Dutch courage If Ireland need inspiration ahead of a daunting task, they can cast their minds back 22 years to the day the Dutch last lost in Dublin. Few neutrals gave McCarthy’s men much chance of beating a star-studded Dutch side which included Edwin van der Sar, Jaap Stam, Marc Overmars, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Patrick Kluivert and substitutes Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Pierre van Hooijdonk in a World Cup qualifier at Lansdowne Road in September 2001, particularly after Gary Kelly’s 58th-minute dismissal. But Jason McAteer’s strike secured a famous win which helped to propel his side to the finals in the Far East on a day which lives long in the nation’s sporting memory. Koeman on strong Ronald Koeman endured an ignominious start to his second spell as Netherlands boss when his side were trounced 4-0 in France at the start of the campaign. However, the former Everton and Barcelona manager has steadied the ship since and a regulation 3-0 victory over Gibraltar coupled with Thursday night’s win against Greece by the same score either side of Nations League finals defeats by Croatia and Italy have got their qualification bid back on track. A third would leave them six points better off than the Republic with a game in hand. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Fit, healthy and firing – Andy Farrell hails Johnny Sexton’s Ireland comeback England held by Ukraine in Poland after Kyle Walker equaliser Daniil Medvedev knows he will need to produce perfect performance to win US Open

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England hit a rare bump on the road to next year’s European Championship as Kyle Walker’s first international goal secured Gareth Southgate’s side a 1-1 draw against Ukraine in Poland. Having opened Group C with four wins from as many matches, it has long looked a case of when rather than if the Euro 2020 runners-up seal their place at next summer’s tournament in Germany. England had won 21 of their previous 22 Euros qualifiers but had to make do with a point on Saturday evening having failed to build on Walker brilliantly cancelling out Oleksandr Zinchenko’s opener. Ukraine were vastly improved from their meek March loss at Wembley and, despite being forced to play away from home due to the ongoing Russian invasion, received fantastic support in Wroclaw. Skipper Zinchenko sparked ear-splitting celebrations when opening the scoring at the Tarczynski Arena, where world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk beat Daniel Dubois a fortnight ago. But this time there was no Ukrainian knockout blow against English opposition. Harry Kane’s exceptional pass was met by a similarly impressive Walker touch, before the right-back coolly slotted home to open his international account on his 77th appearance. The 33-year-old became the second-oldest player to score his maiden England goal after ending the longest wait for an outfield player to net their first for the country. Bukayo Saka saw an effort tipped onto the bar as England pushed for a winner that evaded them. As many as 300,000 Ukrainians are said to live in this region of Poland and there was a spine-tingling rendition of their national anthem by the wall of yellow and blue in the ground. The atmosphere was wonderful but England looked unruffled by the partisan support, patiently probing as they sought to land an early blow. But it soon became clear that their domination was passive and Ukraine appeared emboldened by their fans’ raucous backing whenever they got forward. After a few moves broke down, their captain turned the volume up to the max in the 26th minute. Georgiy Sudakov collected Walker’s looping header in his own half and drove inside and away from the attention of Saka, before playing wide to Viktor Tsygankov on the right. The winger held up the ball under pressure before playing onto overlapping Yukhym Konoplya, whose cut back was driven home from eight yards by Arsenal midfielder Zinchenko. It was a perfectly executed counter-attack and Ukraine’s celebrations were deafening. England had been caught cold and Jordan Henderson – picked for the first time since his controversial move to Saudi Arabia – blazed over as they looked to hit back, with frustrated James Maddison booked for a poor challenge. Lacking creativity and a cutting edge, Kane dropped deep and took it upon himself to spark England into life. Ukraine stood off the striker and watched him fire an exceptional diagonal ball from just outside the centre circle over Everton left-back Vitaliy Mykolenko to Walker. An expert first touch was followed by impressive composure and a smart finish from close range. The England team charged towards Walker to celebrate – an effort cleared after a VAR review for offside. Under-fire Harry Maguire, making his first competitive start of the season, headed over when play resumed and goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan pushed away a threatening Henderson cross. The Group C leaders were pushing to take the lead and Ukraine’s goalkeeper made a fantastic save in the 59th minute. Kane played onto Saka and the Arsenal forward cut inside to unleash a left-footed strike from the edge of the box that Bushchan touched onto the bar. Saka and team-mates soon saw appeals for handball in the box fall on deaf ears as Southgate’s men continued in the ascendancy. Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden were soon introduced to add punch to their game, with Maguire having another headed attempt before being booked when attempting to prod in. England looked most likely to score as the clock wound down but there was to be no winner. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Talking points ahead of Republic of Ireland’s crucial clash with Netherlands Fit, healthy and firing – Andy Farrell hails Johnny Sexton’s Ireland comeback Daniil Medvedev knows he will need to produce perfect performance to win US Open