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• Hamann repeats Flick plea after Germany 'served the same c*** as at the World Cup'

  Dietmar Hamann worries it is "too late" for this Germany team as he called again for coach Hansi Flick to be sacked following Tuesday's defeat to Belgium.

  Hamann was a vocal critic of Flick following the 2022 World Cup, where Germany exited at the group stage for the second consecutive finals.

  Former midfielder Hamann wanted the coach to go then, and his stance was not softened by the March internationals.

  With Germany hosting Euro 2024 and therefore absent from the qualification process, they played friendlies against Peru and Belgium.

  A 2-0 win over Peru in Mainz was followed by a 3-2 defeat to Belgium in Cologne, in which Hamann suggested "it could have been 0-3, 0-4 or 1-5 in the first half".

  Speaking to Sky Sport, the pundit said: "Nothing has changed at all.

  "The team that started yesterday included eight World Cup players. [Florian] Wirtz and [Timo] Werner were also in the starting line-up, who were not there in Qatar due to injury.

  "Marius Wolf was the only one who played against Belgium who wasn't at the World Cup. He did an excellent job in Dortmund in the last few weeks and months.

  "So, it felt like there were 10 World Cup players in the line-up, and then I can't speak of a change.

  "If [Flick] had let youngsters play and they had gotten under the wheels in the first half, then I would have understood because they would have learned something from it.

  "But the way it was yesterday, that they play with the same players and we get served the same c*** as at the World Cup, sooner or later people will turn their backs on the national team."

  Hamann felt that performance backed up his argument following a World Cup exit he had described as "pathetic".

  "It's too late for me," he said. "I spoke after the World Cup, where it was clear to me that it's difficult to continue working with the coach when you're eliminated from the group for the second time in a row.

  "I couldn't imagine it because you need a new impetus.

  "They hid in Qatar, they let the team down, they didn't take responsibility. And if the coach doesn't take responsibility, then I can't expect the players to take responsibility.

  "That's why I don't think the discussion [around Flick's future] comes too early. It's too late, for me, and they decided to continue with it.

  "I have big, big concerns about whether things will get better in the coming weeks, months and then at the European Championships next year."

• IOC denies dragging its heels over decision on Russians and Belarusians for Paris 2024 Olympics

  Thomas Bach denied the International Olympic Committee is biding its time over deciding whether Russia and Belarus athletes can compete at Paris 2024 amounted to "kicking it down the road".

  IOC president Bach spoke on Tuesday at a press conference after interim recommendations were issued to international federations and organisers of events regarding the involvement of Russians and Belarusians in events while war in Ukraine continues.

  The Olympic body urged federations to exclude any athletes or support personnel "who actively support the war", along with anybody "contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies", and said teams from either country should not be allowed to compete in international sport for now.

  However, in a statement, the IOC said: "Sports organisations must have the sole responsibility to decide which athletes can take part in international competitions based on their sporting merits and not on political grounds or because of their passports."

  There is a clear possibility of Russian and Belarusian athletes being allowed to compete as neutrals at the Paris Olympics next year, although Bach stressed there has been no decision taken on that matter, explaining it has yet to be discussed by the IOC executive board.

  Bach said the IOC was going along with a United Nations position, and when asked whether Olympic chiefs were simply waiting for the war to end, and holding fire on direct action until then, he refuted the contention.

  "We are not kicking it down the road, and we are not waiting," Bach said. "I guess we all would like the war to end now, and this is what we are calling for, but as you can see for all the reasons we are giving the conditions are not related to the development of the war, they are related to the respect of the Olympic charter and the Olympic values, and there we have to address these questions whether somebody is actively supporting the war in whichever way."

  Bach said a decision regarding next year's Olympics would be made "at the appropriate time", without indicating when that might be, saying it was important to monitor the latest recommendations "for as long as possible" before taking "an informed decision".

  He said there was no timeline because "nobody knows what's happening tomorrow or in one week or in nine months, so we have just to monitor and then find the appropriate time".

  Bach knows there is unease in some quarters about the IOC not taking a firm decision.

  When asked about Russia being happy its athletes were being able to compete, and Ukraine being unhappy with the situation, Bach said: "We have been accused by the Russian side of being agents of the United States, and we have been accused by Ukrainian side of being promoters of the war, so we appear to be somewhere in the middle."

• Joshua 'will retire' if he loses to Franklin

  Anthony Joshua will retire from boxing if he loses to Jermaine Franklin on Saturday.

  Former WBO world champion Johnny Nelson had suggested Joshua should call time on his career if he loses for the fourth time, having already been defeated by Andy Ruiz Jr. and Oleksandr Usyk (twice).

  And the 33-year-old confirmed he does intend to hang up his gloves if he is beaten by his American opponent at the O2 Arena in London.

  "I will. I will retire if I lose. I'm not here to battle people. If people want me to retire I will retire," Joshua said to MailOnline.

  "I'm not going to fight if people don't want me too. It's not even about the money. It's about the competitor in you. That's what's important."

  Joshua said he would like to face Tyson Fury if the Gypsy King is unable to revive negotiations on a unification fight with Usyk, but also sounded as if he is looking forward to retirement and getting away from the pressure of elite boxing.

  "It [pressure] comes with the business and it comes with the territory, I know that," he said. "I know when I am retired, I am gonna be chilling. I'm gonna be thinking f*** everyone. I am done.

  "You lot put so much pressure on me so when I am done, the chains are going to be gone. I am going to be laughing and loving life."