International Football
Poland end England’s perfect record in World Cup qualifier
England’s 100 per cent record in World Cup qualifying was ended in dramatic fashion by Damian Szymanski’s stoppage-time equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Poland in Warsaw on Wednesday (Sept 8).
A game short on goalmouth action looked to be meandering towards a stalemate until Harry Kane’s long-range strike 18 minutes from time deceived Wojciech Szczesny.
But Szymanski rescued a point that could be vital to the Poles’ chances of sealing second place in Group I of European qualifying by crashing home a header from Robert Lewandowski’s cross.
England are now four points clear of second-placed Albania and five ahead of Poland.
But with clashes against Andorra and San Marino still to come in their remaining four games, qualification for Qatar should remain little more than a formality for Gareth Southgate’s men.
The Euro 2020 finalists bounced back impressively from the disappointment of losing their first major tournament final for 55 years to Italy with comprehensive 4-0 thrashings of Hungary and Andorra earlier in the week.
But the visitors were made to work far harder against a side expected to be their closest challengers in the group.
Kane was uncharacteristically wasteful with England’s one big chance in the first half as his tame header from Raheem Sterling’s cross was easily blocked.
Poland were without their own talisman Lewandowski when losing 2-1 at Wembley when the sides last met in March.
Jordan Pickford had to be quick off his line to deny the Bayern Munich striker as half-time approached and then comfortably smothered a long-range effort from Lewandowski after the break.
That was what Szczesny failed to do moments later as Kane took aim from 30 yards and scored his 41st international goal as the swerve beat the Juventus ‘keeper.
An even more calamitous goalkeeping mistake nearly cost England 10 minutes from as Pickford’s clearance was charged down by Karol Swiderski, but the Everton stopper was grateful to a kind bounce which allowed him to collect the ball before it crossed the line.
Pickford was helpless in the 92nd minute, though, as Jakub Moder turned Kyle Walker to open up the England defence and the ball eventually broke for Lewandowski to pick out Szymanski at the far post for a bullet header.
-AFP
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been named the new head coach of the England national team, the country’s Football Association said in a statement on Wednesday.
The German, who is England’s third foreign manager, after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello, will be assisted by Englishman Anthony Barry, the statement added.
“We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said.
Tuchel replaces Lee Carsley, England’s under-21 manager, who has been in temporary charge since the resignation of Gareth Southgate after England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final in July.
-Reuters
German Thomas Tuchel has been appointed head coach of the England national team on Wednesday.
Born: Aug. 29, 1973 in Krumbach, Germany.
PLAYING CAREER
* Tuchel played for his local club TSV Krumbach, before moving to FC Augsburg’s academy at the age of 15.
* He never played for Augsburg’s senior side and joined German second division team Stuttgarter Kickers in 1992.
* After eight league appearances for Kickers, Tuchel moved to fourth-tier SSV Ulm.
* Tuchel made 69 league appearances for Ulm as a central defender before he was forced to retire in 1998 at the age of 25 due to a knee injury.
COACHING CAREER
* Tuchel began his coaching career with a youth team role at VfB Stuttgart in 2000, working with future Germany internationals Mario Gomez and Holger Badstuber.
* He returned to Augsburg and took charge of their reserve team for the 2007-08 season.
* Tuchel was appointed Mainz 05 manager in 2009, replacing compatriot Juergen Klopp.
* He guided Mainz to Bundesliga stability during his five-year stint at the club, gaining plaudits for his team’s high energy, attacking style of play.
* Tuchel took over from Klopp as Borussia Dortmund coach in 2015.
* He led Dortmund to a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2017 German Cup final. He was sacked by Dortmund three days later.
* Tuchel joined Paris St Germain in 2018 on a two-year contract, replacing Unai Emery.
* He won two Ligue 1 titles, including a domestic quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to their first Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
* Tuchel was sacked by PSG on Christmas Eve in 2020, despite the club finishing top of their Champions League group and sitting third in the Ligue 1 table.
* He was named Chelsea manager in January 2021 on an initial 18-month contract following the dismissal of Frank Lampard.
* Tuchel revived the team’s Premier League season and guided the London club to the Champions League final, where they beat Manchester City. Chelsea also won the Super Cup and Club World Cup.
* Chelsea sacked Tuchel in September 2022 following a shock 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Champions League group game.
* Bayern Munich appointed Tuchel to succeed Julian Nagelsmann in March last year.
* Bayern decided to let Tuchel go at the end of the 2023-24 season despite a contract until 2025. Tuchel steered Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2022-23, but they finished the last campaign without any silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
* Tuchel will become England’s third foreign manager after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
* Tuchel will take over the team in January ahead of the qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
-Reuters
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Mateus Mane has become hot property after Portugal named the 17-year-old in their Under-18 squad on Friday, one day after England included him in their squad.
Mane was called up for a second successive England youth camp by coach Liam Bramley before the team travel to Marbella for a four-team tournament this month.
Mane is eligible for both teams having played for the Portugal Under-17 side last season. As the Under-18 team is a non-UEFA age group, both nations are entitled to call the player up.
He made his England international debut last month against the Portugal Under-18 side who have named Mane in their squad for a four-nation tournament this month.
With both tournaments running concurrently, Mane can only play for one team and Wolves and England confirmed he would feature in Bramley’s side.
Reuters has contacted Portugal’s football association for clarification.
While players with multiple nationalities have played for more than one country if they are eligible, they are not allowed to switch allegiances at senior level – unless they have played only in friendly matches for the first country.
-Reuters
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