It is no surprise that Eddie Howe is the favourite to take over from Gareth Southgate, so says former England winger Darren Anderton.
On Tuesday, The Football Association (FA) confirmed Southgate was stepping down as England manager following the 2-1 Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.
The 53-year-old led the Three Lions to two European Championship finals during his eight-year spell in charge, managing 102 games during his tenure, and winning 61 of those.
Speculation over who will become the next England manager is rife, with Howe reportedly on the FA's list of targets.
Anderton, who played in Euro 1996, believes the Newcastle United manager would be the perfect fit.
"It's no surprise that he has been touted for it. I think it's something that's been talked about for quite a few years actually, that he's got all the credentials from coaching wise to the job he's done at Bournemouth and then, of course, Newcastle," Anderton told Stats Perform.
"That was a lot of pressure to go up there and do what he's done when Newcastle were really, really struggling. I think that he's loved up there, fans love him, players love him, so I would not be surprised, and he would be for me, he's the one to do it and he's got the right mentality.
"I see some way Gareth handles things. I see Eddie in the same way, so for me, he would be the one to be offered the opportunity."
Another name rumoured to be an option is former Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino, who is still out of management following his departure from the Blues after just one year in charge.
"Yeah, I think if it's not going to be an Englishman, if it's not going to be Eddie, then Pochettino all day long for me," Anderton added.
"I think he's done great things with young players starting at Southampton, playing a brand of football, coming to Tottenham, getting the best out of players, young players, making them better players, giving them the freedom to play and express themselves.
"Pochettino would be fantastic, I think. The only thing that goes against him, I would say, is not being English."
Pochettino is not the only former Chelsea boss linked with the position, with Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter also reportedly in the running, though Anderton thinks the latter is the more likely candidate.
"[Tuchel is] a top coach, top manager who has done it [at a high level]," Anderton said. "Some jobs he's been better than others, but I can see why his name's thrown in there. But I don't see him as the man to take over.
"[Potter is] an English manager. I think we all probably would prefer that.
"Brighton were a fantastic watch. Whether he's coached enough to then take on this job, that would be my worry. And of course, his last job [at Chelsea] didn't go as he would have liked."
If the FA do not find a replacement before the Nations League matches in September, Under-21s manager Lee Carsley could be placed in interim charge.
He would follow Southgate's route into the top job in that case, and Anderton noted the FA could look to follow that model again, though he is concerned about Carsley's pedigree.
"When [Carsley's] name was thrown into the hat, to me, it's a shock for the same reason as others that haven't seen him," he said.
"There are so many good coaches that don't make good managers, but this, to me, seems like probably too big a job. But I would probably have thought the same when Gareth first got the job.
"So, the FA will see that Gareth's appointment has most certainly worked. And, for that reason, it wouldn't surprise me if they chose to go down that route again."
It runs in the blood - Maldini's joy after Italy debut
Daniel Maldini, son of Italy great Paolo, made his international debut in their 4-1 win over Israel, becoming the third generation of his family to play for the Azzurri.
Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Mateo Retegui and Davide Frattesi scored the goals, ensuring they remained top of their Nations League group after four games.
Maldini came on as a 74th-minute substitute to replace Giacomo Raspadori on Monday, with his father, who earned 126 caps for the national team, watching from the stands.
It is the first time three generations of a family have played for Italy's national team, with Paolo Maldini's final match coming 22 years and 118 days ago, while Cesare Maldini, Daniel's grandfather, played for the last time 61 years and one day ago.
"I'm happy that my parents came here, we'll talk when I get home," Daniel Maldini, who also played for Milan like his father and grandfather, said after the match.
"It was a strong, positive emotion, I am very happy to have played and that the match went well.
"I hope to bring some quality, even if there is already too much. I try to help as much as I can."
Chelsea defeat spells end of Eidevall's Arsenal tenure
Jonas Eidevall has called time on his spell as Arsenal head coach after an underwhelming start to the campaign.
The Gunners have been tipped as title contenders in the Women's Super League this season, yet they have won just one of their opening four matches.
They also went down 5-2 to Bayern Munich in their first Women's Champions League group stage match last week, before losing 2-1 to Chelsea to suffer their first loss of the WSL season.
A bad week that started with a draw against struggling Everton and ended with that loss to Chelsea at Emirates Stadium has ultimately signalled the end of Eidevall's tenure.
Arsenal confirmed on Tuesday that the Swede, who was appointed in June 2021 and has overseen 120 matches in all competitions, had resigned.
Renee Slegers, the first team assistant coach, will take over in the interim until Arsenal, who face Valerenga on Wednesday before taking on West Ham on Sunday, confirm their next permanent appointment.
Gunners sporting director Edu said: "We thank Jonas for his commitment to the club and achievements here since joining us in 2021. We have great respect for the dedication and commitment he showed to our women’s first team and recognise the role he has played in the growth and development of Arsenal Women.
"We all wish him the very best for the future. Our focus will now turn to the process of appointing a new head coach, and in the meantime, supporting Renee, as she takes interim charge of the team starting with two important fixtures this week."
Eidevall led Arsenal to back-to-back Women's League Cup titles in 2022-23 and 2023-24, as well as finishing second in the WSL in his first season, and third in each of the past two campaigns.
The 41-year-old won 80 matches in all competitions, for a win ratio of 66.67%.
In the WSL, he picked up an average of 2.24 points per game from 70 matches. Of the five Arsenal bosses to oversee at least 10 fixtures in the competition, that points per game average is the fourth-lowest, ahead of only Pedro Martinez Losa (1.94).
On Saturday, in the defeat to Chelsea, Eidevall matched his predecessor Joe Montemurro as the Arsenal manager with the most games in the WSL.
Eidevall's team scored 171 goals, winning 49 games (70%). Since he took over at Arsenal, only Man City (178) and Chelsea (209) have scored more goals than the Gunners.
Meanwhile, of ever-present WSL teams in that time, only Chelsea (45) have conceded fewer goals than Arsenal (50), and the Blues are also the only side to lose fewer matches (seven, compared to the Gunners' 11 defeats).
'Supercharged' Germany have big ambitions – Nagelsmann
Julian Nagelsmann hailed Germany's first-half display against the Netherlands as their best performance of 2024.
And Nagelsmann said his "supercharged" team have big ambitions after Monday's 1-0 win in Munich, which came a year to the day since he took charge of his first game - a 3-1 friendly win over the United States.
Germany are unbeaten in the Nations League after four games, and sit five points clear at the top of their group.
The Dutch did not manage a single shot in the first half, with Germany having eight themselves, albeit Nagelsmann's team had to wait until the 64th minute to make the breakthrough as Jamie Leweling marked his senior bow with the decisive goal.
"The first half tonight was the best we’ve played this year," said Nagelsmann.
"The greed that the team embodied was a huge step [forward].
"We did well and let very little in. We absolutely deserved to win.
"We've got the ambition to keep going. There's a supercharged atmosphere in the dressing room – they want to win."
An ecstatic Leweling told ZDF network: "We won as a team, I scored the 1-0, we won 1-0, but we did well and I'm just happy I could help out.
"The Dutch are a top nation, but we played a good game."
Leweling is the first debutant under Nagelsmann to score in his first appearance for Germany. Niclas Fullkrug was the last player to net on his senior debut, in 2022.
At the other end of the pitch, Nagelsmann handed a debut to goalkeeper Oliver Baumann.
Aged 34 years and 131 days, Baumann is the second-oldest Germany debutant (after Matthias Mauritz) in the post-war era and the oldest goalkeeper to make his debut for the national team.
Not that Baumann had much to do. Indeed, he had only one save to make, with the Netherlands mustering only one attempt on target and a meagre 0.13 expected goals.
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