Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka will feature in a much-changed England team for the friendly against Senegal on Tuesday, manager Thomas Tuchel said.

England laboured to a lacklustre 1-0 win over Andorra in World Cup qualifying on Saturday.

“After the last (Premier League) game of the season I had a little strain,” Saka told reporters on Monday. “Fair play to England, they managed me well. The manager left me out (on Saturday) and said I will play tomorrow.

“I love coming to England camps and playing for England. It has been a bit of frustrating year with injuries but I am here now and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Tuchel was very critical of his team’s “lack of urgency” after the win over Andorra which put them in command of Group K.

“I protect my players, I said no names of players, it is not an individual matter,” Tuchel said at the team’s training base at St. George’s Park.

“But as a team we did not reach our standards. I felt we didn’t play seriously enough in what we needed to do in a World Cup qualifier.

“Why should we sugar coat it? You have been in the stadium, why should I tell you that we had a good game? No harm done. We can handle criticism.”

England should face a tougher test against Senegal.

The African side, who lost 3-0 to England at the 2022 World Cup in the only previous match between the teams, are unbeaten in their last 23 matches across all competitions.

England have won all three games under Tuchel and their last six matches in all competitions, keeping a clean sheet in each of the last five.

Saka sidestepped a question about how Tuchel’s managerial style compares to his predecessor Gareth Southgate.

“I don’t really like to compare, if I’m honest,” Saka said. “Since I have come into the camp (Tuchel) has been quite demanding, quite intense on the pitch and off the pitch he’s been more relaxed.

“He’s a nice guy, he let us enjoy ourselves and created a nice environment for all the players to enjoy.”

The team spent Sunday evening watching Portugal beat Spain in the Nations League final.

“It was high level in the final. High-quality football,” Tuchel said. “That’s the benchmark, we will try to hunt that, to reach that and I’m convinced we have everything it takes to match that when we play these teams.”

-Reuters

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Brazil forward Neymar has been sidelined after testing positive for COVID-19, his club Santos said in a statement as quoted by Brazilian media.

The 33-year-old began showing symptoms on Thursday and was immediately removed from team activities. Medical tests later confirmed the viral infection, the Brazil Serie A side said on Saturday.

The club did not disclose how long Neymar will be out of action and did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Neymar is already ruled out of Thursday’s league match at Fortaleza through suspension.

The Fortaleza match will be Santos’ last outing before the Brazilian league pauses for the June 14-July 13 Club World Cup in the United States.

The former Barcelona forward’s future at Santos remains undecided, with his contract set to expire on June 30. Limited by injury, he has made 12 appearances for Santos across all competitions this season, contributing three goals and three assists.

Reuters

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Nigeria’s coach, Eric Chelle, has not lost in five matches. This sets a possible tone for Nigeria’s next four crucial World Cup qualifying matches.

On Friday, the Super Eagles came from behind to secure a 1–1 draw. It was their first-ever senior international match against Russia. They showed resilience despite the absence of several key players.

Fresh off their Unity Cup triumph in London, the Super Eagles were missing several stars. Key players like Victor Osimhen, Alex Iwobi, Ademola Lookman, and Ola Aina were not present. Their absence gave fringe players a chance to shine.

Tolu Arokodare emerged as the standout performer. He scored a well-taken equaliser in the second half.

Tolu Arokodare put Nigeria on level terms with Russia

Russia played their first home match in months. This was due to ongoing FIFA and UEFA suspensions. They took the lead in the 29th minute. A dangerous cross from Danil Krugovoy deflected off Semi Ajayi into his own net.

Ironically, Ajayi had helped force an own goal for Nigeria just a week earlier against Ghana.

Despite limited clear-cut chances, Nigeria nearly equalised before halftime, but Fisayo Dele-Bashiru was denied by a brilliant save from PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov.

Russia should have gone 2–0 up after the break when Viktor Melekhin missed a gilt-edged opportunity. That miss proved costly as substitute Arokodare capitalised on a rare error from Safonov to draw Nigeria level.

The hosts pressed for a winner. Maduka Okoye produced two superb stops to preserve the draw. One stop was a fingertip save from Aleksey Batrakov. Dmitri Barinov also squandered a late chance, firing over from close range.

The result ends Russia’s eight-game winning streak since October 2023. Nigeria will take heart from a strong performance. They look ahead to their 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Rwanda and South Africa.

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