Steve Clarke insists he is giving no consideration to which pot Scotland end up in at Euro 2024 as he focuses on trying to end their successful qualification campaign on a high against Norway at Hampden on Sunday.
The Scots sealed their spot in Germany last month, with two games to spare, and will learn who they will face in the group stage when the draw is made in Hamburg on Saturday, December 2.
A victory by two goals or more against Norway this weekend would likely lift the Scots into pot two, while any other result is set to place them in pot three.
Given the way things are shaping up – with the likes of Albania, Hungary and Turkey among the teams on course to be in pot two – there is a school of thought among Scotland supporters that they may have a chance of an easier draw by remaining in pot three.
“Honestly, zero, I haven’t looked at it,” said Clarke when asked if he had given much consideration to the permutations. “It doesn’t concern me.
“The main objective was to be there. Pot two, pot three… it’s all speculation because you don’t know how the other games are going to pan out so we’ll go out and do our best to win the game and then we’ll decide after that whether we want to be in pot two or pot three.”
Asked how significant it would be to go to the tournament as a pot two team, Clarke said: “Not significant at all in my mind. I don’t think too much about it.
“I just want to win game to game and make sure we’re always competitive whoever we play. We were seeded in pot two in the draw for this campaign and we want to be a pot two team going into the World Cup campaign.
“If we can get to pot one, it would be great but that’s a long way away at the moment.”
Clarke’s main objective at present to is to stop a four-game run without a victory and ensure Scotland end a memorable campaign on a high at a sold-out Hampden.
“It’s always important to win,” he said. “We haven’t won for a while. We want to finish the campaign well in front of our own supporters at Hampden, so hopefully we can do that.”
That task will be made slightly easier – in theory – by the fact Norway and Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland misses the match due to an ankle injury sustained in Thursday’s friendly against Faroe Islands.
“It’s probably a little bit of mixed feelings,” Clarke said when asked about the striker’s absence. “I think for the crowd it would have been great to see a player of Erling Haaland’s standard at Hampden.
“It would have been good for the defenders to test themselves against a top striker but unfortunately he’s not fit.
“If you asked me that question me before a game that really meant something I’d probably be sitting here saying ‘yes, I’m delighted he’s not playing’ but for the game tomorrow, I think it would have been better if he played.”
Haaland gave Norway the lead with a penalty in the last meeting between the teams in Oslo in June before Scotland roared back with two goals in the closing minutes to claim arguably the most pivotal result in their qualifying campaign.
“It was a pretty dull game on a very hot, sunny afternoon,” recalled Clarke. “For us, it was about staying in the game as long as possible. Towards the end of the game I took a central defender off, went to a back four and stuck another attacking player on and thankfully it worked for us.
“We got the equaliser at a good time and almost immediately before Norway had a chance to realise what had happened we were 2-1 in front and for the section, for the qualification of Scotland, it was obviously a big moment in the tournament.”
Second-placed Scotland go into their final qualifier six points clear of third-placed Norway, who remain without a major tournament appearance since Euro 2000.
Clarke believes the fact his team were able to win their first five games, while Norway failed to win any of their first three was the main difference between the sides.
“The way the fixtures fell for us was good,” said the Scots boss. “We had three home fixtures to start and we managed to get maximum points from those fixtures.
“Going to Norway when we did and getting the 2-1 win put the qualification into our hands and fortunately we didn’t let it slip. Group football is a sprint, it’s only eight matches.
“You can’t really drop points early in the group because you put yourself under pressure later in the group. It’s normally Scotland that does that, to be fair!”
India captain Rohit Sharma has urged his team-mates to contain their emotions as they prepare for a home World Cup final that represents “the biggest moment” of their sporting lives.
Twelve years since their last triumph on the global stage, cricket’s superpower nation is one game away from glory as the duo battle with Australia in Ahmedabad.
Expectations in the country are sky high after a flawless 10-match winning streak, which started with a group stage win over the Australians on October 8, and victory in front of more than 100,000 home fans would surely be the crowning achievement for a generation of Indian players.
Sharma is the man who stands at the centre of the storm and, while he makes no attempt to shy away from the magnitude of the situation, he feels it is crucial that his side do not get side-tracked or blown off course by it.
“Emotionally it’s a big thing, a big occasion. Whatever hard work and dreams you have, you have for this. That day is in front of us,” he said.
“But the biggest challenge for professional athletes is how they can put all this aside and focus on their work. So along with me, all the other 10 players who will play tomorrow, their focus will be more on their work for the team, rather than thinking, ‘this is the biggest moment of my life’.
“Of course it is, there is no doubt. In the back of the mind it is there, you can’t hide from that. But it’s really important to remain calm in such situations because if you are calm and composed, then you can play your role and you can make good decisions in the pressure situation.
“The occasion is very big. You don’t get such occasions every time. You don’t get a chance to play in the finals every time. Since childhood, I’ve grown up watching the 50-over World Cup so, for me, this is the biggest moment. But I know that I have to focus on what my team needs me to do. And I want to put aside everything else for a while.
“I know the importance of tomorrow. So, I just want to keep it nice and relaxed and calm and not get too emotional thinking about what happened in 2011 or what can happen tomorrow.”
India are keeping open the option of drafting Ravichandran Ashwin into their XI as a third spin option, even though he has played just once in the tournament to date.
They will look long and hard at the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium, a surface last used for their win over Pakistan 37 days ago, and could be tempted if it looks likely to take lots of turn.
One player who will not be making way is Mohammed Shami, who started the World Cup running drinks and has gone on to make himself undroppable. Despite making just six appearances he is the tournament’s top wicket-taker with 23. Seven of those came during a career-best haul in the semi-final against New Zealand and he looks primed for another starring role.
Paying tribute to the experienced seamer, Sharma said: “It was tough for him to not play the initial part of the World Cup but he was there for the team.
“He was there to help Mohammed Siraj, he was there to help Jasprit Bumrah in whatever ways he could. And that shows the quality of him being the team man that he is.
“We had a chat with him about why he missed out and obviously, on the sidelines, he was working on his bowling. The results are there for everyone to see how he has come back from that. Once the opportunity opened up for him, he was right there.”
England’s Matt Wallace birdied every hole on the back nine as a career-best round of 60 handed him a one-shot lead heading into the final day of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
The 32-year-old started the day seven shots off the pace but made 12 birdies including nine in row from the 10th to catapult himself to 16 under.
That handed him a one-shot advantage over countryman Tommy Fleetwood and another member of Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team in Viktor Hovland, with the playing partners both firing rounds of 66.
Wallace’s nine-hole score of 27, 12 birdies in his round and run of nine consecutive gains all match the best all-time records on the DP World Tour but after heavy rain overnight on Friday meant players could clean and place their ball on the fairways, his round will not officially enter the record books.
He was still delighted with his efforts, however, as he looks for a fifth DP World Tour win to go with the PGA Tour title he won in the Dominican Republic in March.
“What a day, an amazing day,” he told Sky Sports Golf. “I just tried my hardest to get myself back into the tournament. I’m really happy that I’ve been able to do that. Played great.
“At the end, I didn’t even think there was a 59. Honestly I think it helped me a little bit. I just played nicely coming down the stretch, just keep getting one more if I could and I managed to do that.”
After birdies on the second, sixth and eighth, Wallace set off on his remarkable run from the 10th, making eight birdies in a row and knowing that an eagle on the last would see him card just the second 59 in DP World Tour history.
He found sand with his second on the 18th but almost holed out, leaving himself two feet to complete the birdie set on the way home.
“Kind of gutted now actually a little bit,” he added. “Great opportunity to do it. I’ve done it at Moorpark on the West Course which is only a par 68, but to do it out there would have been really special today.
“Ball in hand helps. I had a couple of good lies for up-and-down, but it was fantastic and a good effort for 59.”
A 58-foot putt for eagle on the 14th was the highlight of Fleetwood’s round which also contained six birdies and two bogeys, while Hovland was blemish-free.
“I’m very happy with the fact that you get to the final day of the year and I’m still playing well, still feel fresh and I’m still motivated and in contention,” said Fleetwood.
“I take a lot of pleasure out of that. I think it’s easy to shut off when you get so far down the season but I kind of pride myself on going all the way.
“We’ll see tomorrow. It was great today. Out there playing with one of the best golfers in the world and trying to go toe-to-toe with Viktor. Just look forward to more of it tomorrow. It’s been great so far.”
Dane Jeff Winther was two shots off the lead, one clear of Scot Ewen Ferguson – who carded a 64 – and another Dane in Ryder Cup star Nicolai Hojgaard.
Defending champion Jon Rahm was at 11 under, three shots clear of world number two Rory McIlroy.
Stage Star survived a bad mistake at the final fence and still won the Paddy Power Gold Cup handsomely.
Sent off the 4-1 favourite, the Paul Nicholls-trained and Harry Cobden-ridden seven-year-old confirmed his Turners Novices’ Chase form with Notlongtillmay in the process.
The pair were first and second at the Festival in March and it was Laura Morgan’s charge who once again was chasing in vain.
Stage Star made just about all the running and while top weight The Real Whacker gave him company for the first two miles, he dropped away coming down the hill.
Cobden was then content to sit for a few strides as the challengers mounted up behind him, with Notlongtillmay, Fugitif, Unexpected Party and Il Ridoto still with chances.
Stage Star quickened clear, though, and had the race in safe keeping until he made a horlicks of the last.
It was to his great credit that within a matter of strides he was back in top gear and went clear to win by four lengths to give Nicholls a third win in the race.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior is facing a spell on the sidelines after being injured during Brazil’s World Cup qualifying defeat against Colombia.
The Spanish club said he had been diagnosed with “a tear in his left femoral bicep”.
“Following tests carried out today on our player Vinicius Jr by the Real Madrid medical services, he has been diagnosed with a tear in his left femoral bicep which is affecting the tendon in his hamstring,” Real Madrid said.
“His recovery will be monitored.”
Vinicius, who will miss next week’s appointment with Argentina, went off midway through the first half and becomes the latest Real Madrid player to suffer an injury setback.
Midfielder Eduardo Camavinga (knee) and goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga (thigh) are among those currently sidelined, while England international Jude Bellingham is nursing a shoulder problem.
Jonbon is looking to book his ticket for the Tingle Creek by getting his season off to the perfect possible start in the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham on Sunday.
Only beaten twice in his life, both those defeats have come at Cheltenham but he has lost little in either race.
As yet, no horse has been able to live with his Nicky Henderson-trained stablemate Constitution Hill, so he is forgiven for coming second in the 2022 Supreme, while his trainer feels he was not quite at his best in the Arkle in March behind El Fabiolo.
That view was supported given he went on to win at Aintree and Sandown, latterly versus his elders, but he faces far from a penalty kick against Edwardstone and Nube Negra.
Henderson said: “I’m looking forward to the race within reason, well as much as you ever do.
“He’s done plenty but with Edwardstone and Nube Negra, it’s a good competitive opener for the season.
“He proved over two miles (what he can do) and I was always wanting to go two and a half. We’re going to have to ask the same question again on Sunday. Does he want two and a half? We’ll ask the question again anyway.”
Nube Negra has won this race for the last two years but on quicker ground. He is, undoubtedly though, at his best on his first run of the season.
“Statistics show Nube Negra is very good first time out. I can’t deny that, he’s trying to be a three-time winner of the Shloer and that would be phenomenal,” said Dan Skelton.
“There is every right to be proud of what he is doing rather than saying ‘down the road he gets beaten in the Champion Chase’. Of course, we’d love to win that but I’m proud of what he can do, not what he hasn’t.
“This has been his big aim and he’s very ready.”
Edwardstone returns to the scene of where he ran so poorly in March but Alan King’s charge had a solid record before that.
Jockey Tom Cannon said: “He was struggling down the back with me in the Champion Chase, as he normally takes you into a race very easily.
“I knew at the top of the hill that I had to ask a few questions of his jumping down the back, and he responded, but I used my petrol up earlier than I liked.
“Once we jumped three out and turned in, I wasn’t holding on to a lot of horse, which I think was there for everyone to see, really.
“That wasn’t Edwardstone at his best, but we should see a different side to him at the weekend.”
The field is completed by Gary Moore’s Editeur Du Gite.
It will be a major shock if Gordon Elliott does not win the Bar One Racing Troytown Handicap Chase at Navan on Sunday, as he fields 15 of the 21 remaining runners.
Elliott is gunning for a sixth win since 2014 in what is traditionally one of the hottest handicap chases of the season in Ireland.
The Cullentra handler makes no secret of the fact he loves winning the feature race at his local track, and this year he is going all out.
Elliott will have to be at his diplomatic best with six different sets of owners to keep happy and he might do well to spare a thought for the commentator, with Gigginstown House Stud fielding nine runners – following the defection of Noel Meade’s Idas Boy.
Stable jockey Jack Kennedy has chosen to ride 2021 winner Run Wild Fred, with Sam Ewing on Hollow Games and Ricky Doyle on Gevrey looking three of his stronger chances.
The only other trainers involved are Meade with Thedevilscoachman, Henry de Bromhead with Ain’t That A Shame, Watch House Cross and Largy Debut, Colm Murphy with Macs Charm and Gavin Cromwell, who is represented by Limerick Lace.
“It’s a competitive race and we have lots of chances, so hopefully one hits the board,” said Elliott.
“It’s a 100,000 euros race and it’s a big staying race.
“You would have to say Hollow Games and Run Wild Fred look the best two and Dunboyne would have a chance.
“Hopefully, one of them will hit the board.”
Royal Ascot winner Burdett Road laid down an early marker for the Triumph Hurdle when winning the JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle in eyecatching fashion.
Now with fledgling handler James Owen, having spent his days on the level with Michael Bell, who guided him to success in the Golden Gates Stakes over 10 furlongs back in June, he went on to run with credit in a couple of Group Threes.
Sent to Owen for a hurdling campaign, like all owned by the Gredley Family, he had no trouble in opening his account at Huntingdon but faced a completely different level of competition at Cheltenham.
Up against six other previous winners and Milan Tino, who brought good form from France, plenty of questions were going to be asked and Burdett Road answered them all emphatically.
Sent off a 9-4 chance, he was ridden incredibly confidently by Harry Cobden, who managed to avoid the carnage created at the first flight by Parish Star.
When An Bradan Feasa slipped the field turning in, he had everything else off the bridle but Cobden sat motionless before asking for an effort approaching the last.
Despite not meeting that on a good stride, he had so much left he was able to quicken up smartly, going up the hill to win by six and a half lengths.
“When he won at Huntingdon, he was keen and did everything the wrong way,” said Owen.
“We had to do one of two things today, either make the running or drop him in and we all decided we would drop him in and Harry has given him a lovely, cool ride. He will have learned a lot on the way round.
“With the rain coming last night, I was so nervous this morning, but for a Flat horse he is tough and God, didn’t he come up that hill well.
“He is a very tough horse and exciting going forward, this was a Triumph trial and that is our aim. On good ground, he is going to be exciting. He may go to Chepstow or the Adonis.
“He is the one we are waking up for every morning and looking forward to seeing him again.”
Cobden said: “James gave me a free hand and we made the decision to drop him in as he was too free at Huntingdon and if he is going to be a good horse then he is going to need to learn how to race properly. He’s a very classy horse isn’t he.
“He missed a few hurdles on the way round and could easily have got keen. I was just trying to put him into the bottom of them so I didn’t light him up with a good jump.
“He’s obviously a good horse and March is very much agenda now.
“I was still on the bridle (coming down the hill) and I suppose that is what it’s like if you are Paul Townend!
“It was really nice and he’s a proper little horse, he winged the second last and had a dream run though. You can go for gaps that possibly aren’t really there on a horse that isn’t travelling quite so well and when I pushed the button turning in he jumped the last and quickened up nicely.
“Paul (Nicholls) has a few nice juveniles but none probably as good as that.”
Denis O’Regan, who recently completed the full set of riding a winner at all UK and Irish National Hunt tracks, announced his retirement at Navan on Saturday.
A multiple Grade One-winning rider, he perhaps will be best remembered for his successful if relatively brief link-up with trainer Howard Johnson and owner Graham Wylie in the north of England.
During their association, O’Regan won the 2008 World (now Stayers’) Hurdle on Inglis Drever and in the same week landed the Arkle on Tidal Bay.
He won a Becher Chase at Aintree on the Dessie Hughes-trained Black Apalachi, who went on to be second to Don’t Push It in the 2010 Grand National won by Tony McCoy.
Cape Tribulation won at both the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals in 2012 for O’Regan and Malcolm Jefferson, and a year later the same horse won the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham.
O’Regan also won a Fighting Fifth on Countrywide Flame, a Finale Hurdle on Ruacana and a Galway Hurdle on Quick Jack.
Having learned the ropes at Noel Meade’s yard as understudy to Paul Carberry, it is no surprise O’Regan was renowned for his quiet style in the saddle and in recent years had been used by Gordon Elliott.
His recent victory at Hereford, the only course to have previously eluded him, came for trainer Cian Collins on Fiveonefive, so it was fitting he brought the curtain down on his career on Collins’ Solly Attwell, who finished unplaced.
O’Regan said: “I’m delighted with the decision. It was a huge effort to get back for Hereford after such a long stint off and I’m 41 and have had a fair few falls.
“It was not simple now to come to the decision but I went to Gowran last Saturday and I knew then after that. I knew going home that was it and I had to stop now.
“You need goals and when Hereford was done, it’s hard to find another one – unless you’ve got a good horse, and I don’t have six or seven Grade One horses, so I thought it was a good time.
“It’s the local track for me here, I’ve been very lucky here, my wife and my kids are here, there’s a lot of support and I wanted to go out on one of Cian’s. It didn’t have to be a winner and I’m delighted with that.”
Andy Murray has been ruled out of the Great Britain team for next week’s Davis Cup finals in Malaga.
The 36-year-old former Wimbledon and US Open champion is sidelined due to a minor shoulder injury, the Lawn Tennis Association confirmed.
Britain play quarter-final opponents Serbia on November 23.
“I’ve picked up a minor shoulder injury which means I won’t be able to take part in the Davis Cup,” Murray said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I’m gutted not to be part of the squad, but my focus is now on rehab and getting ready for the new season.”
Englishman Matt Wallace shot a stunning 60 for his third round at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
The 33-year-old registered 12 birdies in the 12-under-par round, including one on each of his last nine holes, as he moved to the top of the leaderboard.
He had been on for a 59 before completing his final hole in four.
Put to him that he had equalled DP World Tour records for the most birdies made in one round and the most consecutive birdies, Wallace told Sky Sports: “Equalled? Didn’t get it!
“What a day, amazing day. I just tried my hardest to get myself back into the tournament, so I’m really happy I’ve been able to do that and played great.
“At the end there, I didn’t even think it was for a 59, honestly. I think it helped me a little bit.
“I just played really nice coming down the stretch. Just wanted to keep getting one more if I could and I managed to do that.”
Regarding the potential 59, he added: “Yeah, kind of gutted now actually a little bit! Great opportunity to do it.
“I’ve done it at Moorpark on the West Course which is only a par 68, but to do it out there would have been really special today. Ball in hand helps. I had a couple good lies for up-and-down, but it was fantastic and a good effort.”
At the point that he finished, Wallace – 16 under overall – was two shots clear of nearest rival Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark.
Max Verstappen compared Formula One’s £500million Las Vegas Grand Prix to the fifth tier of English football – and suggested the sport’s new generation of fans are only interested in partying.
Verstappen will start from second place for Saturday’s 50-lap race on the strip after Charles Leclerc put his Ferrari on pole position with a dazzling lap under the Las Vegas lights.
F1 has sold the sport’s Sin City comeback after four decades away as the greatest show on Earth, but fans witnessed just eight minutes of practice on Thursday after a drain cover broke free and tore a hole into the underbelly of Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.
A delayed second practice – which concluded at 4am on Friday local time – took place in front of empty grandstands after angry spectators were turfed out to comply with local employment laws.
An estimated crowd of 70,000 watched qualifying on Friday night while organisers had been expecting 100,000 attendees each day.
Earlier this week, Verstappen criticised F1’s maiden street race on the strip as “99 per cent show, and one per cent sport”. And in the moments after qualifying, he took another swipe at the event.
“Monaco is Champions League and this is National League,” he said.
“I feel like the show is important, but I like emotion. When I was a little kid it was all about the emotion of the sport that I fell in love with and not the show. As a real racer the show shouldn’t matter.
“An F1 car does not come alive on a street circuit. It is not that exciting. It is about proper race tracks. And when you go to Monza and Spa, these kinds of places have a lot of emotion and passion, and for me seeing the fans there is incredible. When I jump in the car, I am fired up. I love driving at these kind of places.
“I understand fans need things to do around the track, but it is more important that they understand what we do as a sport. Most of them just come to have a party, drink, see a DJ, or a performance act.
“I can do that all over the world. I can go to Ibiza and get completely s***-faced and have a good time. People come here, but they become a fan of what? They want to see maybe their favourite artist and have a few drinks with their mates, and then go out and have a crazy night.
“But they don’t understand what we are doing, and they don’t understand what we are putting on the line to perform.”
John Legend and Kylie Minogue were among a number of high-profile artists to perform in a dazzling 30-minute Superbowl-style show here on Wednesday, designed to kick-start the penultimate round of the season in style.
Verstappen and his fellow drivers were introduced to the crowd via an elevating platform. Verstappen, who secured his third world title in Qatar last month, later said he felt like a “clown”.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, he continued: “As a little kid I grew up wanting to become a world champion. More time should be invested into the actual sport, and what we are trying to achieve.
“The sport should explain what the team has done throughout the season, and what they are working for. That’s way more important than having these random shows all over the place. I am not passionate about that. I like passion and emotion.
“I love Vegas, but not to drive an F1 car. I love to go out, have a few drinks, throw everything on red and be crazy, but emotion and passion is not there compared to the old-school tracks.”
Despite starting behind Leclerc when the lights go out at 10pm local time here on Saturday (6am Sunday GMT), Verstappen will be favourite to take his 18th win of the season. George Russell will line up from third but Lewis Hamilton will start only 10th.
Hamilton, who finished half-a-second behind team-mate Russell, said: “I was lacking confidence and grip. I struggled.
“Yesterday, the car felt better and I was more competitive and I made changes overnight and it didn’t feel great today. I have got a lot of work to do.”
Erling Haaland is to sit out Norway’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Scotland on Sunday at Hampden Park due to a foot problem.
The Manchester City striker took a blow to his foot on Thursday when Norway beat the Faroe Islands 2-0 in a friendly in Oslo.
In a statement on the Norwegian Football Federation’s official website on Saturday, team doctor Ola Sand said: “The injury is not serious, but he is in so much pain and somewhat restricted function that the Scotland game unfortunately comes a little too early.”
Norway boss Stale Solbakken said: “It is of course a shame that Erling will not be ready for the match on Sunday, but we will not be bringing in a replacement.
“This is a great opportunity for the offensive players in the squad to show off.”
Premier League leaders City return to action after the international break by hosting Liverpool – a point behind in second place – on November 25.
Haaland, scorer of 52 goals for City in their treble-winning campaign last season, has netted 17 times in all competitions for Pep Guardiola’s men so far this term.
Phil Foden has backed himself to add goals and assists to Gareth Southgate’s England side in the build-up to Euro 2024.
The Manchester City forward collected his 30th cap in Friday’s drab 2-0 win over Malta as England all-but secured their place as top seeds for next summer’s finals.
It was Foden’s cross that Malta defender Enrico Pepe inadvertently diverted past his own goalkeeper to open the scoring as England toiled at Wembley.
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Harry Kane doubled the lead in the second half, finishing off a flowing team move in which Foden was an integral part.
The 23-year-old has scored just four goals since making his debut in 2020 and a place in Southgate’s starting XI is still not guaranteed, with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka often preferred on the right side of the attack.
“I always want more for myself, I think I can add goals to this team – and assists,” Foden told beIN Sports.
“I was involved in both of the goals (against Malta), maybe we weren’t at our best but we got the job done in the end and that’s the most important thing.
“I’m enjoying my football a lot at the moment, I’m expressing myself, I’m playing really well. So yeah, I need to keep that up, keep pushing myself to score more and get assists.”
With Foden and Saka competing for a place on the right, 62-goal skipper Kane leading the line and the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish also pushing to start games, Southgate has an embarrassment of riches in attacking positions.
The fact Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling has failed to get back into the squad since the World Cup in Qatar only proves how deep the options are for the national team – although his Blues team-mate Cole Palmer is now involved.
The 21-year-old joined Chelsea from Manchester City in the summer, where Foden had seen what he could offer at close quarters.
“He’s so relaxed on the pitch,” Foden said of Palmer.
“He looks like he’s been there for years and he’s such a young lad with tremendous quality and is someone I know really well.
“I tried to help him as much as I could at City when he was coming up and he is at Chelsea now and doing really well so I’m delighted for him to get his debut.
“It just shows that if you work hard through the academy, it comes through so I’m really delighted for him.”
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