Hermes Allen made a fine start to his career over fences with a smooth success in the Coral John Francome Novices’ Chase at Newbury.

The six-year-old looked a top-class prospect after striking Grade One gold in the Challow Hurdle at the Berkshire track late last year but was unable to replicate that form in the spring after being sent off favourite for both the Ballymore at Cheltenham and the Mersey Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree.

Having undergone wind surgery during the off-season, the Paul Nicholls-trained gelding was the 13-8 market leader for his reappearance and chasing bow and ultimately got the job done in convincing fashion.

The keen-going Nickle Back took the six-strong field along for much of the two-and-a-half-mile journey and looked to have the chasing pack in trouble rounding the home turn, with Harry Cobden having to ask Hermes Allen a question or two to close the gap.

However, Nickle Back’s earlier exertions began to take their toll halfway up the straight and Hermes Allen soon took his measure before stretching six and a half lengths clear.

“It was a proper race today, which you’d expect, and I’m thrilled with that. He jumped well, travelled well, learnt a lot and galloped on well,” Nicholls told Racing TV.

“Harry was thrilled with him, he said he was very clever jumping, especially late on, and that’s just what you want from a novice chaser first time.

“I’ve said quite openly, we missed a month’s work with him and I’ve been chasing my tail to get him ready, to be honest. It’s only a fortnight ago that I thought we’d get here, luckily we were able to gallop him here on the gallops morning, he’s schooled well and we’ve just about got away with it.

“He will improve fitness-wise, but he’s just got natural ability. His form in the first half of last season was very good, then he lost his way a bit, but he was struggling with his breathing all season and I think that caught up with him in the spring. He’s the finished article now.”

The Ditcheat handler now faces a quandary over how best to campaign what appears a particularly strong team of novice chasers in the staying division.

He said: “The idea is that Stay Away Fay runs at Sandown next week (Esher Novices’ Chase) and Knappers Hill is going to go to Kempton (Kauto Star Novices’ Chase on Boxing Day). I was thinking this horse would go for the Dipper on New Year’s Day at Cheltenham, but that’s gone now, so we’ll have to come up with something else.

“I don’t want to run them against each other at the moment. We’ll have to in the spring, but at the moment it’s pointless really.

“Whether I go to Cheltenham in a fortnight’s time with this horse over two-and-a-half and then leave him for the Scilly Isles (at Sandown in February), that could be a possibility.”

Pep Guardiola believes the Premier League is better for the arrival of Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham.

Postecoglou has made a positive impact since taking charge at Spurs in the summer, with the Londoners having gone unbeaten through their first 10 games while playing in a dynamic style.

Guardiola’s treble-winning Manchester City are the next side to come up against the Australian’s troops as they host Spurs on Sunday.

The City manager said: “He came here and, from nothing, in few months you recognise perfectly his team.

“Even the games that they didn’t win lately, I’ve been impressed how good many, many things they do are, how many chances they create and how aggressive (they are) in all departments.

“Every team plays with the desire of the manager. His have done in the past, in Japan, of course in Glasgow with Celtic and now. I think he makes football a better place.

“As a manager and a spectator I enjoy a lot watching them play with the approach they have. I think all the Spurs fans and the people in England can admit that his impact has been quick and really good.”

Spurs have gone slightly off the boil since their blistering start, losing their last three Premier League games.

Guardiola, however, does not expect Postecoglou’s approach to change and is preparing for a tough encounter.

The Spaniard, whose side are a point behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, said: “Absolutely not (will they change). This is not going to happen. I’d be surprised.

“It is a more difficult competition to win now, every season it is getting better. There are more teams involved and every single game is so difficult.

“Since I arrived, when (Mauricio) Pochettino was in Tottenham always, Spurs have been there. They’re a fantastic team.

“Of course they have important absences but I saw the first 15, 20 minutes against Aston Villa and they created an amount of chances. It’s really good for football, definitely.

“I encourage our fans to come to the stadium because we will have fun.”

Guardiola and Postecoglou have crossed paths just once before, when City faced the Australian’s former side Yokohama F Marinos in a pre-season friendly in the Japanese city in 2019.

Guardiola said: “When we played in Japan I saw some clips before we started. I said, ‘wow, there are things that I like’.

“I said to the players we’re going to face a good team with challenges, intense build-up, intense and high pressing.

“It was the first time I met him and since then I’ve followed him and seen how good he has done in Glasgow with Celtic, winning trebles and winning a lot of games and now look, in a short time he is there.”

Guardiola said he enjoyed meeting with Postecoglou, even if one ritual was not adhered to in Japan.

“He took care of me really well,” he said. “He didn’t offer me a glass of wine, but it was fine!”

John McConnell is out to put a recent quiet spell behind him by claiming one of the biggest victories of his training career so far in the “iconic” Coral Gold Cup at Newbury on Saturday.

The County Meath handler is one of coming forces on the Irish jumps scene, as advertised my multiple Graded-race victories in recent years and a first Cheltenham Festival success with Seddon last season.

Mahler Mission may well be a Festival hero himself, had he not fallen two fences from home when still bang in contention in the National Hunt Chase in March.

And following a pleasing comeback run when second in the Colin Parker Memorial Chase at Carlisle last month, the seven-year-old will line up this weekend with leading claims.

“I’m very happy with him, everything has gone well and we’re looking forward to it,” said McConnell.

“He’s travelled over and travelled fine, everything is good that way and there’s not a bother on him.

“Conditions should be OK, so we’re looking for a trouble-free run and after that we’ll see what happens.

“We were delighted with Carlisle. I think given it was two and a half miles on a right-handed track it was a very good run, and this trip should be more suitable.”

While Mahler Mission clearly has plenty going for him, there are a couple of obvious negatives.

Not only has McConnell gone over 50 days and saddled more than 40 runners since his last winner, but the Irish also have a surprisingly poor record in the former Hennessy Gold Cup, with the victory of the Willie Mullins-trained Total Recall in 2017 a first for the raiding party since Bright Highway’s success in 1980.

McConnell, though, remains positive, adding: “We’ve been a little bit quiet, but the jumps horses have been running mainly OK and it’s very competitive at this time of year, so I’m not overly worried.

“The Irish don’t have a great record in the race, I don’t know if there’s a particular reason, but hopefully we can change that.

“It’s one of the iconic races I’ve grown up watching and to have a runner in it is great, to think about winning it is just unreal.”

There is a second major contender from Ireland in the form of Gavin Cromwell’s Stumptown.

The six-year-old has disappointed in his last three races, but had previously looked a likely candidate for a race of this nature by winning at Sandown and finishing second in the Kim Muir at Cheltenham.

Cromwell said: “He’s in great nick and has a lovely racing weight, so hopefully he will have a good chance.

“The last day he ran in the Kerry National he made a mistake, I think it was four out, and wasn’t beaten far, so it wasn’t that bad of a run.

“When he was pulled up in the Irish Grand National it was quite soon after Cheltenham and it was run on very soft ground, which probably wasn’t ideal.”

The home team is headed by Complete Unknown, who bids to provide Paul Nicholls with a fourth victory in the race as a trainer and a sixth overall, having also ridden the winner twice in the 1980s aboard Broadheath and Playschool.

Nicholls told Betfair: “This race has been his target since he came back into training early in July. Second-season chasers have a great record in the Coral Gold Cup and he comes to Newbury in top form after a tidy win at Newton Abbot in October when he was only half fit. That was his first start since a wind op in the summer and he has improved tons for the outing.

“Complete Unknown schooled really well on Thursday and we are very happy with him. Most of his form is on testing ground, but that is mainly down to circumstance and he was an excellent second to Gerri Colombe on good to soft going at Aintree in April. As long as the ground at Newbury is similar he should be fine.”

Dan and Harry Skelton combined to win last year’s Coral Gold Cup with Le Milos and are out to repeat the feat with Midnight River, who returns to handicap company after finishing third in the Charlie Hall Chase at Wetherby on his seasonal debut.

“Midnight River is very well and this is what we have had our eye on for a while with him. He jumped on Wednesday morning and that told us everything is ready,” said the trainer.

“I was delighted with his run in the Charlie Hall, he couldn’t beat the first two that day, we tried to go with them turning in but he didn’t have that class if you like, but he’s improved a good bit since then and we’ve aimed at this ever since.

“He’s been in all those top handicaps last season so he does have that experience, but I’m sure it will be a very good race, it always is.”

Other contenders include Lucinda Russell’s top-weight Ahoy Senor and the Sam Thomas-trained pair of Stolen Silver and Our Power.

Russell said in her blog for William Hill: “He’s a very classy horse, but it is a heck of a weight to carry round. He’s run very well round Newbury before, where the fences suit him, and I think we’ll see a much-improved performance from his run at Wetherby.

“At an each-way price I think he’s been overlooked and we think finishing in the first four would be a satisfactory result. I’m quite bullish about him in a way because he’ll be much better for his comeback run, but it’s a big field and he has to carry top-weight.”

Para shot-put and discus thrower Funmi Oduwaiye distinctly remembers the day her sister pointed to Paralympic champion Jonnie Peacock on the documentary Rising Phoenix and said “that could be you”.

While many would be flattered by the comparison to Peacock, who took home gold at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games, the Cardiff athlete’s immediate reaction was “god forbid”.

Oduwaiye was in recovery from one of 10 surgeries to her knee over the space of three years, but she was not ready to give up on a future in basketball. Accepting her disability felt like denying her destiny.

“I (wanted) my leg to heal and then have an amazing story and go back to basketball,” she told the PA news agency ahead of Sunday’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

“I was definitely above average with my dedication to basketball. It was tough.

“Not even the thought of being able-bodied and now being disabled, it’s like, I was an athlete. I wanted to pursue being a professional athlete as a career. In my head, I was like, ‘there’s no way I can do that’.

“I can’t even feel my leg. I can’t even move my leg. They’re talking about cutting it off.”

Four months ago, just a over year after starting a new journey in in para athletics, Oduwaiye finished sixth in F64 discus and fourth in F64 shot put on debut at the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, where she confesses it took a while before she recognised one of her team-mates: Jonnie Peacock.

They had eaten dinner together, but Oduwaiye recalled: “When I first met him, I didn’t even realise because I was still trying to remember everyone, but I didn’t know it was him until we started watching Rising Phoenix at the championships and I was like, ‘Wait! No way!’”

Oduwaiye was playing for a basketball academy by age 11 and representing Wales by her mid-teens, when she was getting offers to play in Europe but ultimately aiming for US college ball.

Everything changed when she underwent surgery to rectify a joint issue, during which doctors damaged an artery, and subsequent surgeries to rectify the problem were unsuccessful.

One of Oduwaiye’s team-mates was married to Paralympic medal winner, Anthony Stevens, who put her in touch with the late Anthony Hughes, an influential coach and athlete in Welsh para-sport.

It was through him she met her coach, Josh Clark, who “immediately they saw me and said, ‘yeah, you’re a thrower’. I kind of wanted to try other stuff, but I just trusted in them.

“At first I just kept (the new sport) to myself. It was at that point where I was still in denial about my disability, I was still like, ‘I’ll come back and play basketball’.”

Acceptance was a gradual process but supported by Clark and fuelled by Oduwaiye’s unwavering faith, her sister’s prediction could well come true should she qualify for next summer’s Paralympics in Paris, with another world championships also on the horizon next spring.

Last month, Oduwaiye was a special guest at a conference organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru and attended by 150 young women designed to inspire involvement in sport.

She is still getting used to the fact that she is now the athlete on TV, who someone might point to and tell a child, “that could be you”.

“I’m living the athlete lifestyle. I can still travel, I can still have team-mates, I can still travel the world. That’s what I always wanted to do,” she added.

“The fact that I get to be one of those faces is crazy to me. I’m representing me and I’m doing well. I’m going to be one of those faces that people see and are influenced by.

“I always knew I was destined for great things, it was just I didn’t know what I was destined to be great at.

“I thought it was basketball because that was working well, but little did I know that God closed one door and opened an even bigger one.”

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has defended under-fire Andre Onana and insisted the Cameroon international is among the best goalkeepers in the Premier League.

Onana has repeatedly been in the spotlight since United spent £47million on the 27-year-old this summer to replace David De Gea, and although it had been felt his form was improving in recent weeks, Wednesday’s 3-3 draw against Galatasaray was a clear setback as he was at fault for two goals.

Onana also made a mistake for a goal in United’s Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich, but while he has struggled in Europe, Ten Hag pointed to the statistics that say Onana is second in saves made, save percentage and goals prevented in the Premier League.

“If you analyse it well then you see he is the second best goalkeeper in the Premier League based on stats, so his expected defending goals is the second best in the Premier League,” Ten Hag said.

“He’s doing well. Also he knows that in the Champions League he makes some mistakes but all over you see the first five months he is doing particularly well.”

Onana will face another major test on Saturday evening when United travel to Newcastle, who are on a five-game winning streak at St James’ Park.

But Ten Hag does not expect Onana to suffer any hangover from Wednesday night.

“You have seen how he is reacting on a bad performance like in Munich,” Ten Hag said.

“At Burnley (three days later) he was outstanding. He is a strong character, he is a personality and he will deal with it.”

United said on Friday that left-back Tyrell Malacia, yet to feature this season after knee surgery, is on course to return early next year after requiring a second operation.

Mason Mount was also back in training on Friday but there is no timeframe yet for the midfielder’s return.

Mount’s absence has helped open the door for 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo, who excelled in last weekend’s 3-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park and was impressive again in Istanbul.

“He showed on Sunday (at Everton) he was ready,” Ten Hag said. “It looks like he always has time.

“He is scanning, he is running free, he is scanning to see the options and make the right decisions. He can delay, can speed up, he makes the right decisions.”

Saturday’s trip to the north east is a third straight away game for United, and another intimidating atmosphere after they faced an angry Goodison Park and the bear pit that is Galatasaray’s Rams Park.

“I really respect them,” Ten Hag said of Newcastle. “It’s a difficult team to play but it’s a good challenge and I like to play against it.

“We have to rise to the occasion, be our best against them because the way they play is very organised.”

United go into the game on the back of five wins in their last six Premier League games, having put a rocky run of domestic form behind them to close in on the top four.

It stands in contrast to their European form, but Ten Hag believes performances have been good across the board.

“On Wednesday, we played very good, also in Copenhagen,” he said. “Even in Bayern Munich we played very good. But we have to do some things better.

“Eliminate individual errors, defensive transition, but we can sort this out and I would be more concerned if we didn’t play well.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes Anfield is a “nightmare” for opposition teams as the ground has once again become a fortress for his side.

The 4-0 Europa League victory over LASK extended their 100 per cent home record to 10 matches this season, in which they have scored 31 goals and conceded just four.

Liverpool have not lost at home in any competition since their Champions League defeat to Real Madrid in February, and domestically it stretches back to October last year.

They have dropped just six points in the Premier League in that time in a run of 18 wins and three draws.

“It is our home, it must, must, must be a difficult place to come,” said Klopp on their Anfield record.

“I said to the boys (before the LASK game), I think for every player, if they are not playing at Liverpool and play in a different country, playing at Anfield is a dream.

“But actually it must be a nightmare and that is what we try to do. It didn’t work out all the time but when our people are at it, it makes a massive difference.

“So it is cool, but I think my best skill is not feeling at all winning streaks. I just don’t feel it because the next game is so important, so different, so difficult.

“That’s why I don’t think they help really, maybe for the other team to think it’s a difficult place to go, but for us each game stays difficult because of the quality of the opponent.”

Fulham, who have scored just 13 times in as many Premier League matches, are the next side to try to break Liverpool’s streak on Sunday.

They may have been given hope by the hamstring injury to goalkeeper Alisson Becker, which has put back-up Caoimhmin Kelleher in line for his longest run in the side, having never played more than three consecutive games for the club.

The Republic of Ireland international, whose appearances this season have so far been limited to the Europa League and Carabao Cup, warmed up with some good saves in the final 20 minutes of the LASK win having not been tested before that.

Klopp has previously described Kelleher as the world’s best number two and he has no doubts about the 25-year-old’s potential to elevate himself further.

“We see him every day in training, he is an exceptional talent,” said the manager.

“Maybe we don’t mention the name often enough but (goalkeeping coach) John Achterberg said to me from day one when I was in that this will be our homegrown boy who will make it.

“We had discussions in the summer obviously about (moving on), but as long as we don’t have a solution we cannot loan players.

“He is homegrown and the first responsibility is to do the best for Liverpool, then we have to see how we can sort it.

“Now obviously for him it is a situation he did not want to have, but obviously because you want opportunities, you want to play, now he will get a few games, definitely. I trust him.”

Kelleher insists he is ready for an extended run in the side and that LASK proved a useful warm-up.

“I know it’s obviously been a long time (since being in the first-choice team) but I’m always training for that, to try and be ready and if something does happen to Ali – unfortunately something has – then I’m ready to go in and try to help the team get some more wins,” he told LFCTV.

“It was a good performance and that gives me confidence to build on and hopefully I can back that up with another good performance on Sunday.”

Cameron Norrie has added a new coach to his team as he bids to regain form in 2024.

Australian Stephen Huss, who won the Wimbledon men’s doubles title with Wesley Moodie in 2005, will work alongside Norrie’s main coach Facundo Lugones.

The British number one struggled over the second half of the season, losing 12 of his 16 matches following a second-round exit at Wimbledon.

Norrie told the PA news agency: “It should be good. I’m doing 10 to 12 weeks with him, more the practice weeks, to help me, to help Facu and just to keep things fresh and to have a different eye.

“I don’t know him too well but I’ve heard a lot of good things about him, and I think he’ll be really good for the team in general.”

Norrie has worked with Argentinian Lugones, who he met while studying at Texas Christian University, for his entire professional career.

He has also had help from experienced Lawn Tennis Association coach James Trotman, who now works with Jack Draper, and his former TCU coach Devin Bowen but has decided to bring in someone permanent.

“It was kind of both of our idea but more so Facu,” said Norrie. “I think it’s key to keep it fresh with your coach. I travel so much with Facu. We’ve never had any issue with that but I think it’s good to have someone else.

“I had that already, I had James Trotman from the LTA and Devin Bowen still helping me, still doing weeks, but they couldn’t really give it enough time for me. I was asking a lot all the time, try to do weeks with Devin at TCU and having him fly but he’s busy with the school and then Trotters with Jack.

“So it was difficult but it should be good to have someone else. It doesn’t really change too much with Facu, he’s still going to do a lot of weeks and he still wants to come to every tournament, which is great to have such a driven coach like that.”

Norrie, meanwhile, is getting ready to begin his pre-season training this weekend by hiking into the snowy French mountains and staying in a campervan.

The 28-year-old, who is an ambassador for Lexus and drives the RZ electric car, admits he will be well outside his comfort zone but is looking forward to the challenge.

“We’re going with my fitness trainer and we’re going up this mountain, sleep in his camper,” said Norrie, who is based in Monte-Carlo.

“One night, then the next day we have this big hike in the snow. He wants to test me a little bit. I’ve never really seen the mountains there.

“I love walking but I’ve not done a really long hike before. I bought some new shoes this week to get ready for that. We looked at the weather and it was minus 12 so I’ve got a big jacket as well. We’re bringing some food, some tea, play some cards. It should be good.

“I think it’s his idea to just change my mind, maybe leave the phone and just go and be in nature, see the mountains. He tells me it’s not the easiest hike. Hopefully no injuries. Then Monday he’s killing me in the gym.”

Norrie will kick-off the new season at the United Cup in Australia beginning on December 29.

Jeriko Du Reponet justified his lofty reputation with a facile success on his rules debut at Newbury.

An impressive winner on his sole start in the Irish point-to-point field in the spring, the French-bred four-year-old was subsequently snapped up by JP McManus and sent to Nicky Henderson.

The Seven Barrows dogs had been barking his name even prior to a recent racecourse gallop at Newbury, while he was already prominent in ante-post lists for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March even before he jumped off for his competitive introduction in Berkshire.

Jeriko Du Reponet was the 4-11 favourite for the Coral Get Closer To The Action “National Hunt” Maiden Hurdle, a race Henderson has won six times in the last 10 years, with two McManus-owned stars in dual Champion Hurdle hero Buveur D’Air and the top-class Jonbon among those on the roll of honour.

Nico de Boinville had to chivvy the trainer’s latest candidate into the bridle on a couple of occasions in the home straight, but he was motionless after jumping the final flight upsides in front and soon eased three and a quarter lengths clear of the runner-up King William Rufus.

“It was quite straightforward, the main thing was to give him the experience as well. I thought he was very genuine, it rode like an okay race and he’s gone through it well,” De Boinville told Racing TV.

“There was a bit of a tight gap, which it was good that he came through, and once he’s got through that he’s come back on the bridle.

“He’ll obviously come on for the run, he had a nice piece of work here about 10 days ago and he’s a very good-looking horse.”

Paddy Power make Jeriko Du Reponet an 8-1 shot for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, while Unibet were even more impressed and offer just 4-1 for the traditional Festival curtain-raiser.

Rafael Nadal will make his comeback following a year out at the Brisbane International later this month.

The 22-time grand slam champion has not played a competitive match since suffering a hip injury during his second-round defeat by Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open in January.

Having initially hoped the lay-off may only be a few weeks, Nadal admitted in May that he was staring at the end of his career and that he hoped to be able to play a final year on tour in 2024.

He had surgery in June and has been gradually building up to a return that he has now announced will be at the Brisbane International, a key warm-up event for the Australian Open, beginning on December 31.

In a video on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, Nadal said: “After a year away from competition, it’s time to come back. It will be in Brisbane the first week of January. I’ll see you there.”

The 37-year-old is currently ranked down at 663 having seen his 18-year stay in the top 10 end in March.

Brisbane will also mark the return of Naomi Osaka following the birth of her first child in July.

St Mirren are set to be without Australia international Ryan Strain for three months.

The wing-back is due to undergo surgery on the groin injury he suffered on international duty last month.

Manager Stephen Robinson said: “Ryan has gone to London for surgery. He will have surgery on Monday and unfortunately he will be in the region of three months, which is a huge blow for us.

“But it’s up to other people to step into the plate now. We have a small squad which is tested to the limit with injuries, especially long-term ones, but we are no different to anyone else.

“I don’t work on the excuse mentality, I try and work on the basis that someone else will get an opportunity to prove they should be in the side and make up for Ryan’s loss.”

The 26-year-old is approaching a crucial time in his career with his contract due to expire at the end of the season.

Robinson said: “We spoke with Ryan’s representatives about a new contract and they weren’t interested at that stage in terms of signing.

“Ryan has obviously had a huge blow with his injury and it’s a blow to us because Ryan has been a big, integral part of what we have done in our relative success.

“But you can’t feel sorry for yourself. Ryan will get the best medical treatment possible and he’s got the best physio around that will help him get back.

“He has to buy into that, he has to have the attitude and the work ethic that Jonah Ayunga had with a long-term injury.

“His aim as a young man is to come back stronger and fitter than he was before.

“Then the decision is in his hands in terms of what he does the following season but hopefully he will be back long before then.”

Saints take on Rangers at Ibrox on Sunday and Robinson is optimistic they will show more belief than they did in Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat against Ross County, who scored late on through Jordan White.

“You need belief,” Robinson said. “We have got the talent.

“Our lessons from Tuesday night, my biggest frustration wasn’t actually losing the game. If we had drawn the game I would still have been frustrated with our performance because we didn’t put our stamp on the game, our style on the game.

“That has to be what we do at Ibrox, we have a belief that, when we land on the ball, we can play.

“We believe we have players who can hurt Rangers in certain areas and we will go there with a belief.

“We learn our lessons, you have ups and downs. It’s never going to be smooth journey as a football manager or a football squad but we have a group of players who totally believe in each other.

“We looked like we didn’t have a little bit of belief for certain periods but we have spoken about it and I’m sure will be better for it.”

England, Scotland and Wales could be paired together in Saturday’s Euro 2024 finals draw.

The Elbphilharmonie concert hall in Hamburg will host the draw ceremony, which gets under way at 5pm UK time.

Gareth Southgate’s England, runners-up at Euro 2020, will be one of the favourites to win the tournament, with in-form Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham set to be the shining light in a strong line-up.

Their performances in qualifying, where they topped Group C ahead of reigning European champions Italy, have earned them a place among the top seeds for the draw in what could be Southgate’s final bow as England boss.

His contract will be up next December and his future beyond that is uncertain.

Scotland are in Pot Three, while Wales are one of the 12 play-off hopefuls occupying three spots in Pot Four.

Rob Page’s side still have two big hurdles to overcome in order to join England and Scotland at the finals. They must first beat Finland on March 21 then also see off Poland or Estonia on March 26 to book their passage to Germany.

Page said at the time of the play-off draw on November 23: “The form we’re in at the minute and with the ‘Red Wall’ at home, we’ll take anyone on in Cardiff.

“It’s a great opportunity for us: we’re two wins at home away from another qualification to a major tournament. We’re hoping now for two big efforts.”

The placing of England, Scotland and Wales in different pots keeps open the possibility of them all being drawn together.

England faced Scotland in the group stage of Euro 2020 and Wales at the same stage at last year’s World Cup in Qatar. England and Wales also met at the group stage in Euro 2016.

From an England perspective, a ‘Group of Death’ would arguably include Denmark, the highest-ranked side in Pot Two, and the Netherlands or Croatia from Pot Three.

A rematch with Italy would round out a tough-looking pool for Southgate’s men, with the Azzurri alongside Wales in Pot Four.

Southgate, speaking after England’s final qualifier away to North Macedonia, said: “There looks like being really strong teams in Pot Two and Pot Three looks like it could be very strong.

“In the Euros we had Croatia in with us, who proved to be one of the best teams in the world over the last few years, and we managed to navigate that, so we’ve just got to be ready for whatever comes our way.”

Scotland were extremely impressive in qualification, finishing runners-up to Spain in Group A and booking their place in Germany with two matches to spare.

“It’s always nice to qualify for a major tournament,” Clarke said after last month’s final qualifier at home to Norway.

“Obviously the last one was Covid-restricted so we missed that connection and that feel with the fans.

“It’s great for everyone in the country that we have something to look forward to next summer.”

Pot One also contains last year’s World Cup finalists France, a Portugal team who won all 10 of their qualifying matches and a vulnerable-looking host nation Germany, who sacked their coach Hansi Flick in September following a 4-1 friendly defeat to Japan.

The Detroit Pistons have some positives to build off following their loss to the New York Knicks, but Monty Williams is not a fan of "moral victories".

Detroit went down 118-112 to the Knicks on Thursday, marking their 16th straight defeat. 

They are 2-17 for the season and the first team since the Philadelphia 76ers in 2015-16 to lose every game in a calendar month.

Williams saw some bright sparks from his team, though he is looking for actual wins rather than moral boosts.

"I saw the fight and resiliency that we can build on," Williams said. "That's a game that we can build on.

"I'm not into moral victories. I don't know where that came from. Doesn't make sense.

"But that was something - that game, that output, that energy, production from our group - [that] is something that I'm proud of.

"That's the kind of competitive edge that we have to play with every single night.

"When you lose this many games, you got to make changes. We're not going to leave any stone unturned. We're going to look at every lineup possible to give ourselves a chance to win games and grow as a team.

"And so there may be more changes. We're just going to do everything we can to put the guys in the position to win."

Cade Cunningham echoed Williams' thoughts, adding: "Yeah, I think it's something we could definitely build off of. That's got to be our baseline, our minimum, and we can build off of that."