Key events
Germany v Northern Ireland looks the tie of the day. Germany lost to Slovakia on Friday, and Julian Nagelsmann, their coach, has promised to rotate. Per Reuters
The four-times world champions suffered their first away defeat in a World Cup qualifier, losing 2-0 to the Slovaks in Bratislava in their opening qualifier for the 2026 tournament. Nagelsmann, who saw his team suffer a third straight loss after Nations League defeats to Portugal and France in June, said that while the team’s main philosophy would not change there would be changes to the lineup against Northern Ireland.
“We have had some discussions with some players and with the team. The team cleared up some things internally as well. We looked at what to expect and developed an idea for tomorrow.”
“Content-wise it will not be a completely changed team tomorrow. But on a personnel level there will be some things that will be happening. We have to deliver a better game. As a coach you have to give players something that allows them to play emotionally more freely. We need players on Sunday that fit the situation. We cannot think about qualification but we have to think about the game. There could be players playing who may not play in the World Cup.”
“To be frightened is not a good thing. I will try my best to win. I am not afraid. I think we will do a better job than on Thursday. We will try to be the best competitors possible and win our home game which is very important for us and the fans in the stands. It is such an important game for us.”
On the Merseyside derby and a player who won’t be there. Some finish from Olivia Smith yesterday for Arsenal.
Liverpool women are obviously going to miss Olivia Smith (just as Arsenal benefitted from that transfer). I note that when the £1m transfer fee is quoted not a lot is made of this (from the selling club): “the £1 million transfer fee will be paid in instalments, allowing for gradual investment into the squad and infrastructure by the club’s ownership”, which could be concerning for the women at a time when other clubs are talking less gradual and more heaps of cash. Could get left behind… hope not…
Tickets still on sale for the Troxy on Thursday and the streaming package, too.
Today’s Uefa qualifers for the 2026 World Cup
Georgia vs Bulgaria — 2pm BST
Lithuania vs Netherlands — 5pm BST
North Macedonia vs Liechtenstein —5pm BST
Belgium vs Kazakhstan — 7.45pm BST
Germany vs Northern Ireland — 7.45pm BST
Luxembourg vs Slovakia — 7.45pm BST
Poland vs Finland — 7.45pm BST
Turkey vs Spain — 7.45pm BST
Interesting friendly being played later today: Qatar v Russia.
Time waits for no man, unless you are Cristiano Ronaldo.
A couple of columns from our team of European experts.
Philippe Auclair on possible solutions to Ligue 1’s financial crisis.
Sid Lowe writes about La Liga’s similar lack of wealth.
You thought we were done with transfer news? Think again.
Today’s WSL fixtures, all at midday.
Arsenal got their WSL season underway with a London derby win.
Barney Ronay was impressed with Andorra’s aptitude at spoiling.
Jacob Steinberg made Elliott Anderson his man of the match.
England fall-out from that grinding win over Andorra. Thomas Tuchel was happy enough.
Good morning, football
Hello there, it’s Sunday, the morning after the night before, and England are on 12 points in their World Cup group but the game against Andorra was a real grind. The WSL is wel underway now with wins for Chelsea and Arsenal. To Merseyside now, and it’s a high noon derby as Liverpool host Everton.
Join us for the morning call.
