Kieran Gibbs took strength from the pushback against the racism aimed at Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka after England's penalties heartbreak.

Former England defender Gibbs, who was speaking at his Inter Miami presentation, believes the fallout from the Euro 2020 final highlighted the best and worst of society in his home country.

Saka said on Thursday that he "knew instantly the kind of hate that I was about to receive", and called on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to tighten up controls over content on their platforms.

Sancho and Rashford have also spoken out powerfully this week. A mural of Rashford's image in Manchester was defaced before it became a positive focal point in the local community, with messages of praise, sympathy and solidarity posted on the wall.

"I'm pleased with the reaction from the country," said Gibbs. "Maybe not the initial reaction. Obviously, most things these days are spoiled by a few individuals.

"But the way everyone has responded is testament to the country and where we're at in society.

"i was really pleased to see that, especially being on this side of the water when the game was on.

"I still felt that attachment from home and it was great to see."

Gibbs is relishing his chance to make an impact in Major League Soccer, joining a team who have made a slow start to their second campaign, collecting only eight points from 11 games under Phil Neville's leadership.

They have scored just nine goals and conceded 17 already. Neville's side are slightly underperforming against their expected goals (11.3 xG) and expected goals against (16.3 xGA) figures.

Gibbs, 31, who made over 200 appearances for Arsenal before joining West Brom in 2017, will be expected to add strength to the defensive unit.

Inter Miami will also be hoping Gibbs can turn back the clock and bring some of his creative spark to MLS.

In 2017-18, the last campaign where he made more than 20 top-flight appearances, Gibbs created 22 goalscoring chances from his left-back station for West Brom. That was the fourth highest number on the team.

Gibbs said of his move to Miami: "It's just a challenge for me to grow as a person off the pitch.

"I've been in the UK all my life and had everything done for me in a way because that's the route that you go down.

"I want to try and explore a different side of life, a challenge of setting up a new life somewhere else and seeing how it goes. I felt that this was the best place to do that.

"I come here humble, I don't want any expectation, I just come willing to give 100 per cent and the rest will be history."

Gibbs could make his debut for Inter Miami on Saturday as Neville takes his struggling team on the road to face the New York Red Bulls.

Nani scored a stunning late goal to lead high-flying Orlando City to a 2-1 win at MLS rivals Inter Miami.

Orlando rallied away to David Beckham's Inter Miami on Friday, Nani's memorable 80th-minute effort completing the comeback.

After a scoreless opening half, former Juventus and Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain had come off the bench to give Inter Miami a 67th-minute lead.

Higuain scored within seven minutes of his introduction, a low shot from distance putting the hosts ahead at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

But Orlando hit back within six minutes – Chris Mueller teed up by Nani for the equaliser before the latter decided the contest.

Former Manchester United star Nani cut onto his right foot and hit a powerful strike from the edge of the penalty area with 10 minutes remaining.

After three wins in six days, Orlando are now second in the Eastern Conference and just two points behind New England Revolution, while Inter Miami are 11th.

Lionel Messi could spend the latter days of his career at Inter Miami in Major League Soccer – at least, the club's co-owner is "optimistic" such a deal could be arranged.

Messi's future has been shrouded in uncertainly for the best part of a year, with the six-time Ballon d'Or winner attempting to force a departure from Barcelona last August.

While that did not come to fruition, with Messi unwilling to drag the club through the courts in an attempt to exercise an apparent get-out clause, his future has been a constant source of speculation through 2020-21 due to his contract expiring at the end of June.

Barca president Joan Laporta said this month that contract discussions were going well, with Messi seemingly happier at the club since the October resignation of Josep Maria Bartomeu and the previous board.

Although a move to Miami would seem unlikely at this juncture regardless of Messi's relationship with Barca, Jorge Mas, co-owner of the MLS side, sees no reason why an agreement would not be possible in the future.

"I am optimistic Messi will play in an Inter Miami shirt because I think it will complete the legacy of the greatest player in our generation and will meet with the ambitions of the owners of Inter Miami to build a world-class team," Mas told the Miami Herald.

Former Real Madrid, Manchester United and England star David Beckham is among the others to own a share of the MLS franchise and also serves as its president.

Mas says he and Beckham have certain ambitions regarding the calibre of player they want to see in Florida, and someone of Messi's reputation fits the bill.

He added: "David and I have been working really hard, we have aspirations of bringing the best players here and Messi is a generational player, arguably the best player of all time."