Gareth Southgate has been pleased by England’s progress during an unbeaten 2023 but knows there is work to do as the team tries to win the European Championship.

The Euro 2020 runners-up are among the favourites to win in Germany next summer but seemed to lose their edge after sealing qualification with two matches to spare.

Friday’s uninspiring 2-0 Wembley win against minnows Malta was followed three days later by an underwhelming 1-1 draw in North Macedonia as the curtain came down on an undefeated year.

November’s double-header will not live long in the memory but Southgate has “learned a lot” from the fixtures, with attention now intensifying on his fourth – and possibly final – major tournament in the dugout.

“We wanted to look at a few different things as well, so we’ve managed to learn from the game as well as the result,” the England boss said in Skopje.

“I have to be pleased with the progress of the team. You know, if you’d said at the start of the campaign that we would be eight wins, two draws at the end of the year, it’s a pretty good record given the fixtures that we’ve had.

“(North Macedonia) was always a game where we knew if you’d needed to come here for that point to qualify would be a very difficult place to come. They took the draw from Italy as well, so credit to North Macedonia for that.

“We can now start to look forward. We’ve got these two exciting games in March to look forward to and prepare for.

“So, yeah, I think we’ve done a lot of things well, but there’s always room for improvement.”

March’s home friendlies against Brazil and Belgium will provide much-needed challenges in the final meet-up before Southgate selects his 23-man squad for Germany.

Two further preparation games will follow before the Euros get under way, with the December 2 draw in Hamburg providing clarity on next summer’s opposition, base camp and potential route to the final.

England’s draw against Macedonia rubber-stamped their place among the top seeds for the Euro 2024 draw and Southgate said: “In the calendar year we’re eight wins and two draws from a particularly tough qualifying group and certainly a friendly in Scotland that was always going to be challenging.

“Of course, you’d like 10 wins out of 10 but not many teams do that.

“I’m really pleased with what the players have given – not just the players that are here tonight, but the players that have represented us through this year because they’ve been excellent.”

Harry Kane has, unsurprisingly, been among the standout performers this year but questions about the Bayern Munich sharpshooter’s back-up remain.

Callum Wilson, Ivan Toney, Eddie Nketiah and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have all been selected in recent times, but Ollie Watkins is the current frontrunner for the job.

The Aston Villa striker had the chance to underline that status against Macedonia but was replaced by Kane just 58 minutes into a frustrating night in Skopje, where the skipper made an immediate impact as he forced Jani Atanasov into an own goal equaliser.

“Look, it was a difficult game,” Southgate said when asked about Watkins. “Very little space, back five, so we’re dealing with three centre-backs, really, and we weren’t quite able to create the clear chance for him.

“But he did fine. It’s not easy when you’re coming in in those circumstances but that’s international football.

“Of course, he’s had games where there’s been more opportunities to score and he’s done that well with us.

“(This) was a different sort of test and, yeah, as a team, it was hard to find the spaces and find the gaps even though moments Phil (Foden) found lovely little passes and Trent (Alexander-Arnold) did.

“It was so crowded around the edge of that box to find those clear chances for our forwards.”

England have had their ups and relative downs as Gareth Southgate’s men qualified for next summer’s Euros and went through 2023 unbeaten.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the highs and lows from England’s eight wins and two draws across the year.

HIGHS

Opening qualification win in Italy

Southgate’s men put their 2022 World Cup frustration behind them by kicking off European qualification with victory at reigning champions Italy in March.

Harry Kane became England’s all-time record goalscorer by striking home a penalty after Declan Rice opened the scoring in Naples, before Mateo Retegui pulled one back.

Luke Shaw’s sending-off for two bookings in quick succession made for a nervy final 10 minutes but England held out for a 2-1 win – their first away to Italy since 1961.

Inspired Saka marmalises Macedonia

Bukayo Saka scored a jaw-dropping first career hat-trick in June as rampant England roared to a 7-0 victory against North Macedonia in a surprise end to the 2022-23 campaign.

Kane struck twice in an Old Trafford annihilation that also saw Marcus Rashford and Kalvin Phillips get in on the act, but ever-improving talent Saka was the star of the show.

Stirring success in Scotland

Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Kane fired England to a 3-1 victory as Scotland were given the runaround by the Auld Enemy at Hampden Park in September.

Southgate was delighted with his players’ commitment, togetherness and mentality in the so-called friendly as they followed up a 1-1 draw against Ukraine in Poland by beating Steve Clarke’s side on a night when Harry Maguire recovered from an own goal and an evening of abuse from the home crowd.

LOWS

Meek Malta win

England were poor in patches in away to Ukraine and struggled to break down Macedonia as their final group game also ended 1-1, but it was Friday’s win against Malta that most disappointed.

An expectant Wembley crowd resorted to paper planes and Mexican waves to entertain themselves in a 2-0 victory that lacked excitement.

Southgate admitted afterwards that he suspected players had subconsciously let their foot off the gas against the side 171st in the world.

Boo boys

During his seven years in charge, Southgate can be rightly proud of the way the fan-base and squad have reconnected.

A few supporters were heard booing Southgate and Jordan Henderson after Monday’s draw in Skopje, with the latter also jeered by England fans in both Wembley appearances since his controversial summer switch to Saudi Arabia.

Travelling fans at Hampden threw their support behind Maguire, who has been booed by pockets of his own fan-base in previous years, but the Manchester United defender was hounded by Scotland fans – treatment labelled by Southgate as “ridiculous”, “a joke” and “beyond anything I’ve ever seen”.

Left-back limitations

England are blessed with options at right-back but they lack alternatives on the other side. Luke Shaw is first choice but has only started twice since being sent off against Italy.

Injury has kept the Manchester United left-back out of the last three squads, with an issue keeping Ben Chilwell out of the previous two camps.

The Chelsea man played in both matches against Ukraine but right-back Kieran Trippier has started as many matches on the left this year.

Levi Colwill, Fikayo Tomori and Rico Lewis have also begun matches there, but Southgate will be praying Shaw and Chilwell get back fit and firing.

England’s calendar year ended with a mundane 1-1 draw in North Macedonia on Monday night.

It was a lacklustre close to 2023 for Gareth Southgate’s side but during the past 12 months they won in Italy for the first time in 62 years and secured Euro 2024 qualification with two games to spare.

Here, the PA news agency goes back over the 10 games played to give collated ratings for players who appeared in at least three fixtures.

JORDAN PICKFORD: 7 (out of 10)
Appearances: 8, Clean sheets: 4

Undoubtedly remains Southgate’s first-choice goalkeeper and started all of the Euro 2024 qualifiers – has an interesting end to the Premier League season after Everton were deducted 10 points.

MARC GUEHI: 7
Appearances: 7, Clean sheets: 3, Goals: 0
The Crystal Palace man is now seemingly the first cab off the rank if either Harry Maguire or John Stones are unavailable for selection and looks comfortable playing at international level.

HARRY MAGUIRE: 7
Appearances: 9, Clean sheets: 4, Goals: 0
A torrid start to the year for Maguire saw him booed by England fans while poor form meant he was stripped of the Manchester United captaincy, but he has bounced back brilliantly to prove he is still integral to Southgate’s plans.

LUKE SHAW: 6
Appearances: 3, Clean sheets: 2, Goals: 0
Not the sort of year the Manchester United left-back would have hoped for. He was sent off in the opening England game of the year against Italy and the June double-header against Malta and North Macedonia were his last international outings of 2023 before injury struck.

JOHN STONES: 7
Appearances: 5, Clean sheets: 3, Goals: 0
Injury restricted Stones to just half of the England games played this year but the Manchester City treble-winner oozes a class others do not possess and if he is fit, he plays, as simple as that.

KIERAN TRIPPIER: 6
Appearances: 6, Clean sheets: 3, Goals: 0

Once again showed his versatility as a viable option at either left-back or right-back, with the Newcastle man closing in on a half-century of caps. He is one of Southgate’s most trusted players and did not put a foot wrong throughout the year.

KYLE WALKER: 7
Appearances: 8, Clean sheets: 3, Goals: 1
The Manchester City defender has to be considered in the conversation for England’s finest right-back of all-time and is seemingly still improving at the age of 33. He scored his first England goal and captained the national team for the first time in a memorable year for club and country.

TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD: 7
Appearances: 5, Goals: 1
Having struggled to get into Southgate’s side at right-back, Alexander-Arnold is now predominantly being picked as a midfielder and flourished there in the away trip to Malta. Still seemingly struggles in the role against bigger nations but is a great option for Southgate.

JUDE BELLINGHAM: 8
Appearances: 5, Goals: 1
A coming-of-age 2023 for the 20-year-old who commands games as if he has been playing at the highest level for years. His move to Real Madrid has showcased his ability and could be in line for a role further forward than he has been playing for England, especially with his goal output in Spain.

CONOR GALLAGHER: 6
Appearances: 4, Goals: 0
The first half of the year was an uncertain one for Gallagher who was in and out of the Chelsea side and looked set to be sold in the summer. Instead, he has become a firm favourite of new Blues head coach Mauricio Pochettino and has been in and around the England squad all year.

JORDAN HENDERSON: 6
Appearances: 7, Goals: 0

While Southgate has kept faith in Henderson, the former Liverpool skipper was jeered by England fans on a number of occasions as they protested against his controversial move to the Saudi Pro League. Is likely to go to the Euros despite the new level he is playing at, such is Southgate’s belief in his ability.

KALVIN PHILLIPS: 6
Appearances: 6, Goals: 1
Another who has retained his place in the squad despite his club situation, with Phillips finding game-time at Manchester City severely limited. May yet have to seek a January move away from the Etihad Stadium to ensure himself of a place at Euro 2024.

DECLAN RICE: 7
Appearances: 9, Goals: 1
A near-ever present across the year for England and his £105million summer move to Arsenal has seen his game go up another notch as he provides the perfect foil for Bellingham to work his magic further forward.

PHIL FODEN: 7
Appearances: 9, Goals: 1
The Manchester City forward was another who was heavily involved throughout 2023 and he will likely battle it out with Bukayo Saka for the right-wing role in Southgate’s side. Could do with adding more goals to his game but was the pick of the players in the November games.

JACK GREALISH: 6
Appearances: 5, Goals: 0
Another who won the treble with City last season but Grealish still often flatters to deceive in an England shirt and has never really looked like an automatic starter since Southgate first brought him into the fold. Only two senior goals also show he needs to up his output.

JAMES MADDISON: 6
Appearances: 4, Goals: 0

Having gone to the World Cup but not played due to a niggling injury, Maddison’s move to Tottenham has seemingly opened the door to him taking on a more sizeable role for England, although he rarely shone when given the chance this year.

MARCUS RASHFORD: 6
Appearances: 8, Goals: 2
His form at Manchester United tailed off massively since the start of the current campaign but Southgate is a huge fan and the 26-year-old still provided the odd moment of brilliance that shows why he remains a key member of the England set-up.

BUKAYO SAKA: 8
Appearances: 7, Goals: 4
Named England’s player of the year for the past two seasons, Saka enjoyed a standout 2023 for club and country. His international highlight came with a hat-trick in the 7-0 thrashing of North Macedonia at Old Trafford but he has proven he can be a thorn in the side of a much higher calibre of opponent, too.

HARRY KANE: 8
Appearances: 9, Goals: 9
The England skipper continues to be a talisman for his team and became the first player to pass 60 international goals for the nation. Is scoring for fun since joining Bayern Munich in the summer and will be determined to carry on finding the back of the net in Germany throughout Euro 2024.

Other players used: Sam Johnstone, Aaron Ramsdale, Ben Chilwell, Levi Colwill, Lewis Dunk, Rico Lewis, Tyrone Mings, Fikayo Tomori, Eberechi Eze, Cole Palmer, Jarrod Bowen, Eddie Nketiah, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins, Callum Wilson.

Gareth Southgate’s England squad selection will be a huge discussion point as next summer’s Euros come into focus.

An unbeaten 2023 is now in the history books and the PA news agency has analysed how Southgate likely sees his options right now.

Goalkeepers

On the plane: Jordan Pickford (Everton).

In the departure lounge: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace) and Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal).

Hoping for a late ticket: Nick Pope (Newcastle).

Pickford established himself as England’s number one ahead of the 2018 World Cup and is all but certain to go into his fourth major tournament as the main man between the sticks. Ramsdale had looked his closest contender but David Raya’s arrival at Arsenal has impacted his playing time and could well damage his international ambitions. Johnstone has supplanted Pope as third choice for the time being.

Defenders

On the plane: Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle) and Kyle Walker (Manchester City).

In the departure lounge: Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Lewis Dunk (Brighton), Reece James (Chelsea) and Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan).

Hoping for a late ticket: Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Rico Lewis (Manchester City), Tino Livramento (Newcastle) and Ben White (Arsenal).

Trippier, Stones, Walker and Maguire have been to every previous major tournament under Southgate and will do so again if fit and playing.

James undoubtedly has the quality to be on the plane but needs to prove his fitness – not ideal given his issues staying available and the competition at right-back.

Injured Chelsea team-mate Chilwell is in a similar position but may benefit from a dearth of options at left-back. That said, he looks behind Shaw and further behind than the Euro 2020 final goalscorer in terms of his rehabilitation.

Colwill can fill in there as he did on his England debut against Australia, which will boost the central defender’s hopes. He missed November’s camp through injury, meaning Tomori and versatile teenager Lewis starting there instead. The latter impressed on his debut against North Macedonia.

Guehi has established himself as third-choice centre-back and Dunk pushed his case before having to withdraw from November’s squad. Konsa was brought in but did not feature. Livramento was name-checked by Southgate and White has not been involved since Qatar 2022.

Midfielders

On the plane: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Jordan Henderson (Al-Ettifaq) and Declan Rice (Arsenal).

In the departure lounge: Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Cole Palmer (Chelsea) and Kalvin Phillips (Manchester City).

Hoping for a late ticket: Mason Mount (Manchester United) and James Ward-Prowse (West Ham).

Bellingham would be in any squad in the world, as would Rice. There are questions over Henderson and Phillips given their club situations, but Southgate has so far seen enough to stick with two players he trusts implicitly. The latter’s place is the bigger doubt given his limited playing time at Manchester City.

The Football Association now lists Alexander-Arnold as a midfielder, with his versatility and qualities surely enough to see him involved in a midfield that Gallagher is now a regular part of.

Palmer got the nod this time and the adaptable attacking midfielder featured in both November fixtures after a fine start at new club Chelsea.

By contrast, Mount’s difficult end to last season and injury-impacted beginning to life at Old Trafford has seen him miss out on recent squads, but Southgate is a long-term admirer of the Euro 2020 final starter. Ward-Prowse has not been called up despite his impressive form at West Ham.

Forwards

On the plane: Phil Foden (Manchester City), Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) and Bukayo Saka (Arsenal).

In the departure lounge: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), James Maddison (Tottenham), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa) and Callum Wilson (Newcastle).

Hoping for a late ticket: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Chelsea) and Ivan Toney (Brentford).

England are blessed with an abundance of attacking options. Skipper Kane is a certainty, as is fleet-footed Saka. Foden, Grealish and Rashford are established performers under Southgate, while Maddison is now a regular squad member.

There are decisions to make beyond them. Sterling has won 82 caps for his country but has not featured since December’s World Cup quarter-final loss to France.

Bowen is another fighting for a sport after his October recall and was denied a chance to take his West Ham form onto the international scene by an issue sustained on the eve of the Macedonia game.

As for Kane’s back-up, Watkins scored on his return to the set-up in October but failed to further his chances with a poor performance from the start in Skopje.

Nketiah was omitted having made his debut last month, while injury hampered Wilson’s chances to prove he should go to another tournament in that role. Calvert-Lewin did at Euro 2020 and is fit again and Toney is the most interesting alternative, although his betting ban does not end until January.

England were beaten 3-2 by Croatia at Wembley on this day in 2007 to end their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 and seal the fate of manager Steve McClaren.

Their failure to qualify for the Euros meant the writing was on the wall for McClaren, who was dismissed as boss a day later after 18 months in charge.

McClaren had watched the dismal defeat unfold in the pouring rain at Wembley from under an umbrella and was dubbed the “wally with a brolly”.

England only needed a draw to book their place at the finals in Austria and Switzerland but found themselves two goals down at the break, Scott Carson letting Niko Kranjcar’s 25-yard effort slip through his grasp for the first before former Arsenal striker Eduardo made it two.

David Beckham came off the bench for his 99th cap and inspired an England comeback as he set up Peter Crouch for a superb equaliser shortly after Frank Lampard had converted a 56th-minute penalty to put England on course for qualification.

But the fightback proved in vain as Croatia substitute Mladen Petric beat Carson from 20 yards 13 minutes from time to end England’s hopes.

After the match McClaren declared he would not be stepping down, but the Football Association took the decision out of his hands by sacking him after just 18 games, making him the shortest-serving permanent England boss in history at the time.

McClaren’s reign heralded just nine wins and ended with the team conceding three goals on home soil for the first time in 35 years.

“I feel I have let the fans down and the country down,” said McClaren.

“I knew that if we didn’t qualify that would put the board in a difficult position.

“I can understand the decision, the reaction and the criticism. It hurts and disappoints me, but that is football and it will make me stronger in the future.”

England turned next to Fabio Capello, while McClaren rebuilt his reputation by leading Dutch side FC Twente to the Eredivisie title in 2010 and had further spells at Wolfsburg, Nottingham Forest, Derby, Newcastle and QPR and is now on the coaching staff at Manchester United.

Gareth Southgate praised Rico Lewis after the teenage debutant bounced back from a contentious penalty call made against him during an impressive first England appearance away to North Macedonia.

An unbeaten year that started with victory in Italy ended with a 1-1 draw away in chilly Skopje as the Euro 2020 runners-up rubberstamped their place among the top seeds for next year’s finals.

Monday’s trip to Skopje represented England’s final match on foreign soil before Euro 2024 gets under way in June, and Southgate’s side had to dig deep after falling behind to a team they beat 7-0 in June.

Lewis was unlucky to see a spot-kick awarded against him shortly after Harry Maguire survived making a clumsy challenge in the box, with Enis Bardhi scoring after Jordan Pickford saved his initial spot-kick.

England returned from the break strongly and Southgate quickly turned to Harry Kane, who immediately forced Jani Atanasov into an own goal that would seal the draw.

“I thought the performance was good, mentality was excellent,” England boss Southgate said after bringing the curtain down on 2023. “I thought we played well, we totally controlled the game.

“It was difficult with the way that they defended and the pitch not easy to get the perfect final pass.

“But I thought there were some excellent performances within the game.

“I didn’t think that was a penalty. The one before might have been, so maybe that evened itself out.

“I’ve zero to say about (the VAR) which probably tells you everything.”

Thankfully Southgate was more forthcoming when it came to the performance of versatile talent Lewis.

Making his England debut a day shy of his 19th birthday, the left-back was in a far more advanced position in possession and reacted well to the penalty decision against him.

Lewis caught Bojan Miovski with an arm when rising to win a header and referee Filip Glova pointed to the spot after reviewing the incident on the VAR’s behest.

Asked if that moment may overshadow the teenager’s debut, Southgate said: “Well, it shouldn’t do because he was excellent.

“His performance and then his reaction to what I know will have been a disappointment for him, but we’re not looking at him for being at fault in any way.

“His composure with the ball was outstanding and he should be really proud because we are very, very pleased with what he did.”

Southgate said there was no need to console Lewis about the penalty at half-time and instead reminded him about how well he was playing.

“We thought Rico throughout the whole game was excellent,” the England manager added. “Great composure, great resilience.

“We didn’t feel he had anything to come back from but I know sometimes as a player you might feel that.

“But we thought there was no crime, so we were pleased with everything he did.”

Lewis was the youngest starter on a night when Manchester City team-mate Kyle Walker was the elder statesman and skippered his country for the first time.

“It was a nice moment for him to captain his country,” Southgate said of the 33-year-old.

“He’s really grown in terms of his leadership. I know he’s thriving on that with his club and that will be a special moment in his career as well.”

Harry Kane insisted England should be proud of their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign despite a flat end to the year with a 1-1 draw in North Macedonia.

England topped their group, finishing six points ahead of Italy, to book their place in Germany with two games to spare.

Kane told Channel 4: “Difficult game, we knew it would be and it was tough against a decent side playing on a pitch that is difficult to play our style of football on.

“We went 1-0 behind against the run of play with a soft penalty. It was good to get on the pitch. It was important for us to get a goal back and a shame we couldn’t get a second.”

England equalised seconds after Kane came on as a substitute and pressured Jani Atanasov into scoring an own goal.

“I’m pretty sure it was an own goal,” he added. “If anyone was going to get a second it was us.

“We can be really proud of how the qualifying campaign has gone.”

Kyle Walker captained England from the start, with Manchester City team-mate Rico Lewis making his debut a day before his 19th birthday.

“I think after the qualifying we’ve had it was always going to be tough here but we dug in and got a point,” Walker told Channel 4.

“It’s football. It’s been a short week, two games when we’ve already qualified. It’s no excuses, we know we should be taking three points from here but it’s something to work on for the future.”

Lewis was harshly penalised for the penalty which led to North Macedonia’s opening goal.

Enis Bardhi saw his spot-kick saved by Jordan Pickford but was first to the rebound to lash his side ahead

“The man to my right has probably received an unfair decision there,” added Walker. “He deserves this cap and happy birthday for tomorrow.”

Lewis said: “Overall I’m very happy – not with the decision that went against me – but I couldn’t have dreamed of anything better. I’m not really focused on any tournaments, just on myself and what I can do to get better.”

Boss Gareth Southgate thought the penalty decision against Lewis was “really harsh”.

“He was excellent,” Southgate told Channel 4. “His composure with the ball and the way he responded to that really harsh setback, he’s a super footballer and he was excellent.”

It was not the end to the qualifying campaign Southgate wanted, but he added: “The really big results were in March against Italy and Ukraine. It meant coming here tonight was a completely different test.

“I thought that given we had already qualified and everything had been achieved the mentality of the players was excellent.

“The quality on the ball was good on a difficult pitch. Just that final pass or finish was difficult to find. But I thought there were lots of positive performances.”

Sam Billings has defended the "phenomenal" Rob Key despite England's early World Cup exit, saying people have "short memories".

England's defence of their World Cup crown came to a dismal end, crashing out at the group stage and suffering defeats to the likes of Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.

The miserable elimination has led some to criticise Key, England's managing director, but Billings has come to his defence, praising the work he has done since being appointed in 2022.

"I think Rob Key has been phenomenal," Billing told Stats Perform, speaking on the Pro Am Padel Tour. 

"People have ridiculously short memories. He's accountable for everything that's been a positive change over the last 15 months.

"So yeah, I think people always like to shoot people at the top. I think it's all just paper talk, but you look at where English cricket is at the moment – it's an interesting time for cricket as a whole.

"There are so many options. There are so many different competitions around the world, and so multifaceted where you're trying to juggle everything so I think they're doing a fantastic job."

Billings believes England's terrible World Cup campaign is a reminder of how quickly fortunes can change in sport, saying: "Without stating the obvious, it's hugely disappointing.

"But it's just a reminder of how brutal sport is. There are no guarantees, we prepare the best we can as athletes, the best we can as a team, but ultimately, there are no guarantees and every single team, regardless of how good they are or how good they've been, can have off days that can kind of mount up.

"It's just been one of those things – I think it's important to keep perspective in a time like this where it's been five weeks, probably, of poor cricket over an eight-year period. When you put it in perspective like that, I think that's pretty much all I can say about it. I just think it's important to keep perspective."

Bobby Zamora hailed Jude Bellingham's talents as "mind blowing" and believes the 20-year-old can star for England for many years to come.

Bellingham's meteoric rise has seen him come through the ranks at boyhood club Birmingham City before signing for Borussia Dortmund at just 17. His performances in the Bundesliga and Champions League caught the interest of Europe's elite, and Real Madrid swooped in to acquire his signature for an initial €101million (£88.5m) before this season.

Bellingham has enjoyed a staggering start to life with the Spanish giants, scoring 10 goals in 11 LaLiga matches so far, more than legendary midfielder Zinedine Zidane ever managed in a single campaign for the club.

Zamora has lauded Bellingham for his incredible performances at such a young age and predicts the midfielder will prove to be an England mainstay.

"He just keeps improving and keeps getting better, and he's absolutely mind blowing really," Zamora told Stats Perform, speaking on the Pro Am Padel Tour.

"He is still at such a young age and to be performing at that level week in week out for Real Madrid and England as well. It's a real bright future for him and a bright future for England as well."

Bellingham's excellent displays in 2023 were enough for him to receive the Golden Boy award, given to the best player aged 21 and under in Europe's top-flight divisions.

Former West Ham midfielder Mark Noble said Bellingham is exceeding expectations, even with the lofty hopes placed upon him.

"Everyone knew the dude was special at a young age," said Noble.

"But I think he's surprised everyone too, probably even himself. Not many people would go to Real Madrid and start like that.

"So good luck to him. He's a fantastic asset for the country and I hope he does really well."

Eddie Jones was announced as England’s first ever overseas rugby union head coach on this day eight years ago.

The Australian took the role on a four-year deal starting in December 2015.

Jones, a former Australia and Japan coach, replaced Stuart Lancaster, who paid the price when England became the first host nation to be eliminated from the group stage in a dismal Rugby World Cup campaign.

As part of Jones’ negotiations with the Rugby Football Union, compensation had to be paid to the Stormers for the early release from his long-term contract with the Cape Town-based Super Rugby franchise.

“The opportunity to take the reins in possibly the world’s most high-profile international rugby job doesn’t come along every day,” said Jones, who had guided Japan to a remarkable victory over South Africa in their opening World Cup Pool B fixture.

“I’m now looking forward to working with the RFU and the players to move beyond the disappointment England suffered at the World Cup and hope to build a new team that will reflect the level of talent that exists within the English game.

“I believe the future is bright for England.”

Under Jones’ leadership, England went on to complete a first Grand Slam in 13 years as they claimed the 2016 Six Nations title and then secured a 3-0 Test series victory in Australia.

England beat New Zealand to reach the 2019 World Cup final in Japan, where they were defeated by South Africa, while they were also Six Nations champions in 2017 and 2020.

Jones was sacked in December 2022 after a poor run of results.

Gareth Southgate says there can be no let-up for already-qualified England if they are to win next summer’s Euros and become the top-ranked team in the world.

The Euro 2020 runners-up last month sealed their place at the 2024 edition in Germany with two matches to spare and were below par in Friday’s qualifier against Malta.

England disappointed in the 2-0 victory at a packed Wembley and will look to end 2023 on a high as they round off Euro 2024 qualification in North Macedonia.

Southgate’s side arrived in Skopje all but assured of being among the top seeds in December’s draw in Hamburg, but every moment counts as they seek to be best on the planet.

“Qualification’s done,” the England boss said ahead of the Group C finale.

“With the games at the weekend, we might be ranked third in the world at the minute, but we’re two places off where we need to be so we can’t waste games.

“Some of the players have got three games to get into a squad, some have got maybe three to get into a team, maybe a couple more if we’re talking about the team.

“There’s some things we’d like to see. But if we’re going to be a top team, then the level of performance has got to be spot on every time.”

Asked if being number one drives him on, Southgate said: “Yeah, because ultimately you achieve that through consistency and you’ve got to play well in the tournaments as well because the ranking points are higher in the tournaments.

“Also, it sets behaviours every day on the training pitch, off the training pitch.

“If you are going to be the top-ranked team, there’s no room for sloppiness or casualness. That’s got to be our drive.”

England currently sit fourth in FIFA’s world rankings, making it five straight years of being in the top five.

Their previous best since its launch was six months in the top five across 1997 and 1998, yet there remains plenty of criticism for Southgate and speculation about his future.

Monday will be England’s final qualifier before the manager’s contract expires next year and he smiled when it was mentioned that former Football Association executive David Dein had said he should get a new deal.

Asked if he anticipated this being his final qualifier in the hotseat, Southgate said: “I haven’t thought about it, really.

“I’ve thought about the game tomorrow and the need for a better performance than Friday so that’s what I’ve been focusing on.

“I feel almost as if we’ve almost talked too much about the Euros already and I didn’t see our focus in the right place at the weekend.

“So, it’s tomorrow, then it’s March, then it’s the summer. And we go from there.”

Southgate downplayed suggestions of his future being a distraction but suggested his comments about their Euros ambitions may have been.

“Well, I think talk of the summer was a distraction on Friday in its own way,” he added.

“Look, in football management, frankly I think you should look no further than three or four games ahead anyway.

“But I think when you’ve got a tournament coming up, inevitably, as an international manager, you’re going to be judged on tournaments so everybody before that is pretty futile, really.”

England’s final camp of the year has been disrupted by absentees.

Five players withdrew from the original squad through injury and two more departed the squad before they flew out to the Balkans.

The FA announced Kieran Trippier had gone home due to a personal issue, while injury meant Jarrod Bowen left the camp on Sunday.

A soldout Tose Proeski Arena awaits England’s absentee-hit 21-man squad as the Macedonians look to make up for June’s 7-0 hiding at Old Trafford.

“We play a team who, although they can’t qualify, have tremendous pride and they’ll be wounded by what happened in Manchester,” Southgate added.

“We have to be ready for a really good atmosphere. Full crowd, full stadium.

“We’ve had a calendar year where we’ve been very good, so we want to finish well.”

Rico Lewis is hoping his versatility will work in his favour as he aims to make a late charge to Euro 2024.

Gareth Southgate will name a 23-man squad for next summer’s finals in Germany, having been able to pick 26 players for both Euro 2020 and the 2022 World Cup.

That means competition for places will be more fierce than in recent years, with Southgate admitting those who are more adaptable could have the edge.

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The likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier and Phil Foden can occupy several different positions on the pitch.

So too, can Lewis – the 18-year-old having already played in both full-back roles and in midfield for treble-winners Manchester City.

He has yet to make his senior England debut but was called up for the first time last week and will be targeting minutes in the final Euro 2024 qualifier away to North Macedonia on Monday.

“Obviously, in terms of a tournament, you can only select the amount you can select,” he said.

“It (versatility) can be a key factor in going or not going. But for me, I am not really focusing on that right now but I understand it is a key thing that could contribute to me being picked or not.

“Obviously he (Southgate) has asked me about where I want to play, my favourite position, stuff like that.”

With Southgate’s defensive options already limited in the current camp, Lewis’ chances of playing in Skopje have been further boosted with Trippier not travelling due to personal reasons.

Asked if he would be happy to fill in at left-back, where Southgate is particularly bereft of options, Lewis replied: “Of course. Anywhere I played, I would relish it. Whether it is right-back, midfield, left-back – I am not really bothered.

“I just love playing football and at the moment it is going really well. Any opportunity I get, I will do my best to take it.

“Obviously, it is not something I expected, especially coming into the international week when I was in the under-21s. Obviously a lot of things happened and fortunately for me I am here now.

“I have enjoyed every minute of it so far: meeting everybody, meeting the players, the staff, the training sessions, everything.”

Southgate himself hailed Lewis as someone who could fill the void given the number of left-backs who have been forced onto the sidelines.

“He is an option. He’s a versatile player,” said the manager.

“I’m really pleased with how he’s trained, he’s settled really well. He’s very comfortable with the ball. He’s played there a few times. He’s played everywhere for City.”

Lewis admits Alexander-Arnold is someone he will look to learn from, with the Liverpool man playing a very similar hybrid role.

“In a sense we are very similar – being full-backs and leaning a little bit more towards midfield, especially with England. and he is somebody I can take a lot of information from,” he added.

“I have had a few conversations with him and he is a very nice person. He is somebody I have got to know a little bit.”

Gareth Southgate says “performance is the priority” in North Macedonia as already-qualified England look to make up for winning with a whimper against minnows Malta.

The Euro 2020 runners-up sealed their place at next summer’s edition with two matches to spare and were below par in Friday’s qualifier.

England disappointed a packed Wembley crowd by limping to a 2-0 victory over Malta, leading the manager to suggest his players had subconsciously taken their foot off the gas.

Southgate did not castigate those that have done so well for him over the years, but he is demanding a vastly-improved display in North Macedonia as they bring the curtain down on 2023.

“Performance is the priority,” Southgate said.

“We’ve set a standard. We didn’t reach that standard on Friday. We have to get back to what we’re good at. There’s always a chance within that to have a look at a couple of things that we’d like to see as well.

“But the biggest thing is making sure we hit the level of performance that we’ve set ourselves.”

England’s final match of the year is also set to be their last on foreign soil until the Euros get under way in Germany.

A sold-out Tose Proeski Arena awaits despite the Macedonians’ qualification hopes already having gone up in smoke, with revenge the main focus on Monday.

Few saw June’s 7-0 Old Trafford annihilation at Old Trafford coming and Blagoja Milevski’s men are looking to get a famous result having drawn at home to reigning European champions Italy since then.

“We weren’t at the level of performance that we want on Friday, so all focus on tomorrow’s game,” said Southgate, whose side have so far gone unbeaten this year.

“We play a team who, although they can’t qualify, have tremendous pride and they’ll be wounded by what happened in Manchester.

“We have to be ready for a really good atmosphere. Full crowd, full stadium. We’ve had a calendar year where we’ve been very good, so we want to finish well.”

England’s final camp of the year has been disrupted by absentees.

Five players withdrew from the original squad through injury and two more departed the squad before they flew out to the Balkans.

The Football Association announced Kieran Trippier had gone home due to a personal issue, while injury meant Jarrod Bowen left the camp on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, Jarrod picked up an injury,” Southgate said. “I think he felt it a little bit yesterday and then again at the end of training today.

“We didn’t really have enough time to assess it fully and make a really accurate decision before the game, so we felt better to leave him in England so that he can get it properly assessed.

“I don’t think it’s got to be anything serious, but we just didn’t have enough time and we wouldn’t take a risk in that situation.”

Bowen was in line for a substantial role for rotated England on Monday, so too Trippier.

The versatile Newcastle full-back’s withdrawal underlines the dearth of options at left-back in the absence of injured Luke Shaw and Ben Chilwell.

“We need to adapt,” Southgate said. “We’ve got a couple of different options and we’re comfortable with it. We can find a good solution to the issue.

“We haven’t got somebody that is playing there regularly, but we’ve adapted to lots of situations over the last few years and we’re comfortable with doing that again tomorrow.”

Asked about the options and formation switch, he added: “We probably have done it a little bit on personnel going back a few years.

“So, yeah, that is an option. We’ve obviously got players that have played as wing-backs. We can adjust. We’ve got Fik (Fikayo Tomori), of course, who did it the other day, Rico Lewis, Marc Guehi can play across there.

“He’s done that for us in a game before so it’s just making sure that everybody’s aware of their job. It changes the way maybe you build up patterns and those sorts of things, but we’re comfortable with the situation we’ve got.”

Declan Rice has called on England to end an unbeaten 2023 with a “bang” by winning their final Euro 2024 qualifier away to North Macedonia.

England have not suffered defeat since their World Cup quarter-final exit at the hands of France last December and sealed their spot at next summer’s finals with two games to spare.

Rice’s Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka hit a hat-trick in a 7-0 thrashing of North Macedonia in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford in June.

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After a drab 2-0 win over Malta on Friday, Rice is keen for England to put in a better showing to bring the curtain down on a strong calendar year.

“I think especially the other night after Malta there is just a bit of pride in ourselves that we need to raise our level,” the Arsenal midfielder said.

“We need to put out a statement and it would be a good way to end the year. We are currently unbeaten since the World Cup so it is down to us to go out tomorrow night, put on a performance.

“You need to be mentally prepared, have the right mentality and be ready for a hostile environment and make sure we go out of this year with a bang. We will be ready for whatever they throw at us.”

Rice will collect his 48th cap in Monday’s game and the former West Ham captain admits he was “gutted” that a controversial VAR call cost him a fourth England goal in the Malta win.

Just moments after Harry Kane had doubled the lead, Rice charged forward and drove home a fine finish that was ultimately ruled out for offside against Kane.

“To be honest with you, going back to the other night I was gutted,” he said.

“When I picked the ball up and drove through and bent one into the far corner, I was buzzing because I don’t really score goals like that often.

“When it was chalked off I was gutted, but it was one of those where I didn’t want to get into something with the ref, get a silly yellow card. The game was won at 2-0 so it is one of those you have to take on the chin.

“Hopefully I can score one of those again, maybe tomorrow night, so we will have to wait and see.”

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has landed a Football Association charge for his stinging criticism of VAR following the recent Premier League defeat at Newcastle – labelling the decision to allow Anthony Gordon’s winning goal to stand as both “embarrassing” and a “disgrace”.

“It is one of those things, you are going to get decisions that go your way and those that don’t go your way,” Rice said on VAR.

“At the minute it is a bit up in the air because some decisions being made are the wrong decisions, some are right, but we are just there to play football and it is down to the authorities to decide – the people at Stockley Park and the referees.”

West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen has joined Kieran Trippier in withdrawing from the England squad ahead of their Euro 2024 qualifier in North Macedonia.

Bowen suffered a knee injury in training and remained in England when the rest of the squad flew to Macedonia on Sunday.

England boss Gareth Southgate told a press conference: “Unfortunately Jarrod picked up an injury, I think he felt it a little bit yesterday and again at the end of training today.

“We didn’t really have enough time to assess it fully and make a really accurate decision before the game so we felt better to leave him in England so that he can get it properly assessed.

“I don’t think it’s going to be anything serious but we just didn’t have enough time and we wouldn’t take a risk in that situation.”

Bowen’s departure follows that of defender Trippier, who left the England camp earlier on Sunday due to a personal matter.

England end their Euro 2024 qualification campaign and 2023 fixture calendar in Skopje on Monday night, when they will be unable to call upon Newcastle full-back Trippier.

The England account on X, formerly known as Twitter, said: “@trippier2 has departed the #ThreeLions camp, owing to a personal matter and will not travel to North Macedonia.”

Southgate’s side secured progress to next summer’s finals with two games to spare and Friday’s forgettable 2-0 win against Malta all but assured their spot among the top seeds in the December 2 draw.