Sports
England provide tantalizing glimpse of versatile attack without Kane
Maybe Thomas Tuchel is right: three into two doesn’t go. The England boss publicly declared that Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden couldn’t all play effectively in the same lineup, and Thursday’s 2-0 win over Serbia offered some justification of that view.
The final 25 minutes of this game were by some distance the most interesting. Tuchel seems wedded at present to a 4-2-3-1 system, so the formation remained unaltered. But when he made four substitutions with England leading 1-0 through Bukayo Saka‘s first-half volley, England fans saw something different.
Kane was withdrawn along with Morgan Rogers, who was selected to start at No. 10. In their place went Foden as a false nine with Bellingham in behind. Eberechi Eze replaced Marcus Rashford on the left flank while midfielder Jordan Henderson was introduced for Declan Rice, allowing Elliot Anderson to push on and affect the game more in the final third.
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The end result was England’s best football of the night. With three minutes left, Bellingham fed Foden, whose lovely flick found Eze. The Arsenal winger’s effort rebounded off the crossbar, but three minutes later, the trio would not be denied. Bellingham drove forward and found Foden who in turn played a perfectly-weighted pass in front of Eze. This time, his first-time effort curled unerringly into the top corner.
Serbia were tiring and chasing a goal that could have kept their qualification hopes alive. Nevertheless, the combination was exciting glimpse of a different dynamic.
Interestingly, Tuchel chose to name-check two players not in the squad — including Brighton’s Danny Welbeck, 34, last capped in September 2018 — when it was put to him Foden could be the “Plan B” to Kane. “It is absolutely an opportunity if Phil stays in this shape and in this form, I have no problem,” he said. “I have some other options in mind that I don’t want to discuss in public. Don’t forget we have [Aston Villa‘s] Ollie Watkins, we have Welbeck, maybe more No. 9s. Also very different from Harry.
“So I think we will have options and it will maybe come down to who’s in shape, what do we have already in the squad and how do we want to share the minutes, against which opponent do we play, what do we expect from the match? But it was very good today.”
Tuchel’s prematch assertion that Foden should not be shoehorned into the team as a winger — something his predecessor, Gareth Southgate, did at Euro 2024 — inevitably intensified the scrutiny around the combination he would go with.
For his part, Foden admitted back in January that “the position I was put in on the left was very difficult to influence the game” during the tournament. His use as a false nine for England is a potentially innovative development, something Southgate never pursued. But at club level, Foden has played there for Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola before, and on occasion after, striker Erling Haaland‘s arrival.
Tuchel, who managed Chelsea for 18 months across 2021 and 2022, had not forgotten. “I had the idea several months ago because I played against Phil in these kind of positions — I had the feeling in the Premier League some years ago, it was really, really tough with his little movements, counter-movements, little runs,” explained Tuchel. “City were so dominant. He had the positions in the pockets, the half-turns. He was shooting, he played a one-two then he did a little run off the ball and assisted. You couldn’t catch him.
“When we made the long list of 50 to 60 players, of course he has outstanding quality and I was hoping to nominate him for the first camp and he had a difficult spell at City. Then he came back. … I wanted to see him close to the opponent’s box, in the middle of the traffic surrounded by a lot of players. I think he did excellent. In matches where we need to unlock a deep opponent, he can always be a choice.”
Kane’s status in this team is unsurpassed. As the country’s record goal scorer, in peak form at Bayern Munich and the principal driver of standards off the field for England, there is no doubt he will start at next summer’s World Cup, barring injury. The role of Kane’s understudy has never been secured by anyone for very long. Rashford and Watkins have been used in that capacity although, in fairness, it is to some extent a joyless task given Kane’s quality and durability. Chances are limited.
But if England are to thrive in the U.S., Canada and Mexico next summer, a deep squad might be required. With Rogers and Kane seemingly first-choice for the moment and Bellingham and Foden supplementing them, there is an intriguing range of options. And that is before Cole Palmer returns for Chelsea.
Out wide, Rashford threatened but faltered in the final third. Eze was a more potent threat. On the opposite flank, Saka produced the game’s outstanding moment of quality until England’s late rally. The collective result was 12 different England players creating a chance against Serbia, the highest number in a single match since records began in 2013. England now travel to Albania with a perfect seven wins in qualifying, 20 goals and none conceded.
Tuchel’s management of this squad continues to be based on merit rather than reputation. The easy call would have been to restore Bellingham to the starting lineup after the furor around his omission from the squad last month, but Rogers has excelled in this qualification campaign to date.
“Morgan deserved to stay on the pitch because he had three fantastic performances with him, and second of all, we didn’t know what was coming if our plan was right with the high press, added Tuchel.
“It would be unfair for Jude to try figure everything out because we changed our way of pressing in the last two camps. Declan [Rice], Morgan [Rogers] and Harry [Kane] did it already in three, four matches together. I figured they could adapt a bit quicker. Once we see the formation, we can give clear instructions to Phil and Jude and bring them from the bench.”
Time will tell, but it is a versatility that could serve England well.
Sports
Ex-NFL star mum on possibility of Trump’s name on Commanders’ new stadium, but excited for team’s return to DC
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The Washington Commanders will be returning to the site of RFK Stadium, where Joe Theismann became a household name.
It’s where the former NFL quarterback threw both his first and final NFL passes. After moving out of the nation’s capital to Landover, Maryland, in 1997, the Commanders are expected to return home in 2030.
“There’s an old saying, you can’t go home again. The Commanders are proving that you can,” Theismann told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.
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Joe Theismann, former professional football player, reacts on the sidelines before the game between the Washington Commanders and the Arizona Cardinals at FedEx Field. (Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports)
President Donald Trump reportedly wants his name attached to the upcoming stadium. While the White House would not confirm such reports, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it would be a “beautiful name, as it was President Trump who made the rebuilding of the new stadium possible.”
Trump, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and team owner Josh Harris were in the Oval Office when the deal for the RFK Stadium site was announced. But Trump sparked controversy when he threatened to halt the team’s plans to build a new stadium in the nation’s capital if it didn’t bring back its old Redskins moniker.
When asked about the possibility of Trump’s name being on the stadium, Theismann did not offer much.
(Left) A general view of fireworks as the American flag is unfurled on the field before an NFL game between the Washington Commanders and the Seattle Seahawks at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, on Nov. 2, 2025. (Right) President Donald Trump speaks during an event about drug prices in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, District of Columbia, on Nov. 6, 2025. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images;Evan Vucci/AP Photo)
“President Trump is our president. Whatever happens going forward is between the ownership of the Commanders and the president, and it’s going to be what it’s going to be,” he said.
No matter what the stadium is named, Theismann sees the move as generations of Washington fans — past, present and future — all coming together.
“It’s exciting. Josh being a guy who grew up as a fan of the Redskins at that time — a lot of ownership is that way — it’s exciting for them to get back home, too,” Theismann said. “I think those people who were fans of the Redskins and watched us play at RFK Stadium are also fans of the Commanders, and it’ll be nostalgic for them. It’ll be nostalgic for the fans to go back to a stadium that’s going to be there — back where that site was once before, where a lot of their childhood memories were so special.”
Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann (7) in action against the Miami Dolphins at RFK Stadium. (Malcolm Emmons/USA TODAY Sports)
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The domed stadium will cost an estimated $3.7 billion.
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LONDON — Eberechi Eze likened Thomas Tuchel and Mikel Arteta’s intensity levels and has hailed the impact they have had on his game.
The Arsenal forward came off the bench on Thursday to add gloss to England‘s win over Serbia with a sumptuous finish from just inside the box. It was Eze’s third goal for his country, and the second game in succession that he has scored in.
He has been a part of every England squad since Tuchel’s reign began in January and since his move to Arsenal in the summer, has become an influential member of Arteta’s side.
“Personally, I’ll just say the level of intensity of form and being steps ahead in the game, understanding the game differently,” Eze said, when asked what his two managers have added to his game.
“I feel that’s been to see things better and more clear … of course they’re going to make me a better player [from] the way I think, from way I operate.
“Both very intense, both very aware of the details, which is one of the most important things. It helps me.”
Given the depth of England’s squad, Eze has largely found himself restricted to a role from the bench. The competition for places is something he has come to embrace, and said his mentality doesn’t differ wheter he is a substitute or a starter.
“It’s honestly the same. [If] you’ve got a window of 30 minutes, you take it, it’s 90 minutes you take it. That’s my job. That’s my role. I want to come in and be as effective as I can and help the team to be be better,” he said.
When asked if he views his goal against Serbia as his big England moment, he said: “Not really. I feel like I’m just doing what I can every game. Whenever I get opportunity to score, to assist, to create. That’s what I’m trying to do and [am] enjoying that.
The competition for places is most intense in the middle of the pitch, with Morgan Rogers and Jude Bellingham battling for the No. 10 role. Despite his superstar status at Real Madrid, Bellingham was left on the bench against Serbia with Rogers getting the nod in the starting lineup.
The former Borussia Dortmund midfielder came on near the hour mark for a lively cameo, and played a role in Eze’s goal late on.
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“You’ve got the depth of us as a team … England, at the moment, you’ve got to be playing well and Jude has been playing well for his club and it’s his first camp back since the summer and he has come on tonight and made a massive impact,” goalkeeper Jordan Pickford said.
“But I think we got credit of Morgan, I think the last few games he has stepped up. I think the manager put the trust in him even though got someone like Jude as well, Phil [Foden] on the bench.
“We’ve got a lot of options and it’s about being Team England, sticking together, having that togetherness which we’ve got and keep moving together.”
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced ticket sales for the Pakistan-Sri Lanka-Zimbabwe T20I tri-series, which opened online at 2pm today.
Fans will be able to purchase tickets online, while physical tickets will be available at TCS Express Centres from 3pm on Saturday, 15 November.
Details regarding ECP enclosures will be announced later.
The tri-series, featuring Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, will be staged at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from November 18 to 29, with all seven matches scheduled to start at 6pm local time.
For all matches except the final, tickets for the General enclosures Miran Bakhsh and Sohail Tanvir will cost Rs200, while tickets for the final will cost Rs300.
First-Class enclosures i.e, Shoaib Akhtar and Yasir Arafat, will be priced at Rs300 for all matches except the final, which will be available at Rs400.
Premium enclosures, namely Azhar Mahmood and Javed Miandad, will offer tickets at Rs400 for the first, second, fifth and sixth T20Is, while the third and fourth fixtures will be priced at Rs500, and premium tickets for the final will cost Rs600.
Tickets for the VIP enclosures, Imran Khan and Javed Akhtar, will be sold at Rs500 for the opening two T20Is and the matches on November 25 and 27.
For the fixtures on November 22 and 23, VIP tickets will be priced at Rs600, while the final will cost Rs700.
Seats in the PCB Gallery (Main Building) will be priced at Rs1,000 for the first two matches and the fixtures on November 25 and 27.
Tickets for the matches on November 22 and 23 will cost Rs1,200, and Gallery seats for the final will be priced at Rs1,500.
Platinum Box seats will be available at Rs8,000 for the matches on November 18, 20, 25 and 27, while tickets for the fixtures on November 22 and 23 will be offered at Rs10,000.
Far-End Box seats will cost Rs7,000 for the matches on November 18, 20, 25 and 27, Rs8,000 for the 22 and 23 November fixtures, and Rs10,000 for the final.
Hospitality boxes for the series are also on sale, and interested fans can contact the PCB head office for further information.
The revised schedule of the tri-series confirms that Pakistan will face Zimbabwe in the opening match on November 18, followed by Sri Lanka taking on Zimbabwe on November 20.
Pakistan will meet Sri Lanka on November 22 before playing Zimbabwe on November 23. Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe will meet again on November 25, after which Pakistan and Sri Lanka will contest the final group match on November 27.
The final of the tri-series will be played on November 29, bringing the week-long event to a close.
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