Football news LIVE: Tuchel ‘very happy’ with England start, Nwaneri makes strong impression, Ten Hag eyeing return to management

Winning start

England manager Thomas Tuchel has been left pleased with his winning start in his new role.

Tuchel's Three Lions beat Latvia last night to follow up a win over Albania on Friday evening.

Speaking on his time in the camp after his second win in charge, he said: "[I'm] Very happy because of the players mainly.

"The staff were amazing, the organisation of the camp was absolute top but the players made the difference.

"Of course, like always, they reminded me instantly why I was excited about the job - because of these players, top characters, very good group.

"I think we had some excellent days on the pitch, but also off the pitch. Good energy and a very positive atmosphere from the start.

"Everyone wants to give his best. Everyone is proud to play for England, to be in the starting 11, wants to come on. It was a good atmosphere, good start.

"There is still room to improve but overall we have two wins, two clean sheets. We did not allow any big chances in two matches.

"So there's a lot of positives to take away and still room to improve. It's good stuff."

Guler bites back

Turkey and Real Madrid's Arda Guler has hit back at Domink Szoboszlai's very specific criticism.

The pair clashed on Sunday night as Turkey beat Hungary 3-0 in the Nations League for a 6-1 aggregate win that saw Szoboszlai's side relegated to League B.

During the match, Guler, who scored, shushed the Liverpool midfielder during an on-pitch clash.

The Hungary captain responded to a picture of the moment with the numbers 1088, referring to Guler's very few minutes for Madrid this season.

Now the 20-year-old has replied, with a brutal Instagram story which read: "This guy is a joke. Isn't six goals enough to shut you up?"

Ball boy honour

A ball boy who played his part in one of Germany's Nations League semi-final goals against Italy has revealed a fitting tribute from the team's captain.

Fifteen-year-old Noel Urbaniak quickly passed a ball to Joshua Kimmich during a corner and he then set up Jamal Musiala for a tap-in while Gigi Donnarumma was remonstrating with the referee.

The goal proved to be crucial in the 3-3 draw in Dortmund as Germany made it past Italy by just a single goal after a 2-1 first-leg draw.

Speaking to Sky the morning after the event, Urbaniak said: "I had the ball and threw it to Kimmich.

"He later thanked me again for the assist and signed the match ball for me. It's mine now.

"I find it simply unbelievable, it's a truly amazing feeling. If you like, I was the twelfth man for the German national team today. I would have loved to have celebrated with the team."

Musiala said at the time: "That's his assist."

Hui and dry

Dean Huijsen won't be at Bournemouth next season, according to teammate Justin Kluivert.

Spanish outlet MARCA managed to speak to the former Valencia wideman after Spain beat his Netherlands side in the Nations League.

Asked about his Cherries teammate, Kluivert said: “I know that next year he won’t be with us.”

Huijsen, who played with the Netherlands youth teams, had just played his first senior international matches, but for Spain.

The 19-year-old centre back opted to represent the country where he grew up instead of his Dutch birthplace.

He impressed in both games for Spain as they overcame the Dutch on penalties in an enthralling Nations League semi-final.

Strongly linked with Real Madrid, talkSPORT understands that Liverpool are also interested in the teen defender.

Signed from Juventus for a miserly £12.6million, it's understood that he has a £50m release clause this summer.

Jordan on Bruce vs Gayle

Simon Jordan has given his thoughts on former employee Steve Bruce going after Dwight Gayle.

Gayle criticised the ex-Newcastle manager's lack of tactics on a podcast interview, and Bruce surprisingly hit back.

Speaking after a win with his League One Blackpool side, Bruce made headlines as he sarcastically called Gayle 'legendary' before mentioning a big miss in the FA Cup against Manchester City.

talkSPORT host Jordan, who hired Bruce at Crystal Palace, wasn't a fan of the response, saying: "I think Steve should've risen above it.

"I think that was a laddy environment with two young lads guffawing at what he [Gayle] said.

"Bruce managed for me a long time ago and the one thing he did was get himself on the training pitch.

"Gayle is an average player who played at Palace and I doubt there is anything seeded in accuracy [in what he said] but it will play to the gallery to the people at Newcastle that didn't appreciate Steve Bruce and his brand of football."

MLS boss confirms De Bruyne talks

MLS side San Diego FC failed in their attempts to sign Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne, the club's sporting director has revealled.

Tyler Heaps told The Sun: "He is a fantastic footballer and loves this area. Kevin comes here every year on holiday.

"I have had talks with him, but that salary does not fit our budget at the moment."

De Bruyne is among those rumoured to be making an Etihad departure this summer after a poor season from Pep Guardiola's side.

The Belgium captain has also been linked with a move to the Saudi Pro League and was asked about his future after his side's 3-0 win over Ukraine.

“How do I see next season? Playing football. Where? No idea," he said in the mixed zone.

Winger woes

England manager Thomas Tuchel has been backed in his critique of Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford.

Tuchel called out the pair in his first game as Three Lions boss, a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Albania.

Giving his thoughts on the pair ahead of facing Latvia, he said: "I've spoken to both of them in front of the group, they know that I appreciate the effort, especially off the ball.

"Marcus had a lot of runs where we did not see him and did not use him and from time to time we oversaw him.

"Phil is maybe just not finding the momentum at the moment that he can have but both of them are very positive and have every right to be positive."

talkSPORT host and three-time England international Gabby Agbonlahor commented: "You need your wingers to go both ways.

"Now I want to see more from Jarrod Bowen, I want him to start tonight and go down the line.

"Not inspiring performances from Rashford and Bowen but I'm sure the manager will be speaking to them and wanting more, because they have more than what they showed."

Ten Hag return?

Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is keen on the Juventus job, talkSPORT understands.

Ten Hag was sacked by United in October and has been out of work ever since.

Juve axed Thiago Motta on Sunday with the team currently fifth in Serie A. Igor Tudor was appointed on an initial contract until the end of the season.

Juve made the big call to go with Motta last summer in an expensive move after his heroics in taking Bologna to the Champions League.

However, the Brazilian-born former Italy midfielder endured a February from hell, getting knocked out of the Champions League by PSV, and then the Coppa Italia by Emploi in the space of a week.

Ten Hag, meanwhile, continues to be linked to top jobs away from England, including at Borussia Dortmund.

The 55-year-old moved to Old Trafford in 2022 after impressing with Ajax and won an FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

Yet United's league form never picked up despite heavy investment, and it's only got worse under his replacement - Ruben Amorim.

SW6 stay for Chelsea?

Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly has suggested that the club are likely to stay on their current patch and rebuild Stamford Bridge.

The big-spending majority owner of the Blues has had stadium development near the top of his list of priorities since taking over the club in 2022.

Previously linked with a move to Battersea Power Station, Chelsea have remained at the Bridge and there has been little in the way of updates.

However, while speaking to Bloomberg, Bohely discussed the subject.

"Inside of London it's really complex, it's not as if we're building something inside a rural environment," he said.

"We have a lot of constituencies we have to care about and the Chelsea fan base is one.

"But long term I think we're going to build something new and we'll figure it out.

Wood worry

Nottingham Forest fans had an unwelcome sight with talismanic striker Chris Wood hobbling off for New Zealand this morning.

Wood was taken off in the 54th minute of a 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over New Caledonia and limped to the sidelines.

The 33-year-old is the Premier League's fourth highest goalscorer this season with 18 efforts.

He's also a huge part of why Forest are currently in line to qualify for the Champions League, having scored 37 per cent of their goals.

On top of that, Fantasy Premier League players are also big fans, with a massive 48.4 per cent of participants owning the former Burnley striker.

Forest return to action on Sunday away at Brighton and will be hoping Wood is good to go by then.

More love for Henry

The Thierry Henry aura was on full display when Panama beat the US in the CONCACAF Nations League semi-finals, and it still lives on.

Cecilio Waterman jumped on the pitch side CBS pundit to celebrate his stoppage time winner, telling the Arsenal legend that he was his idol growing up.

Responding to the scenes, Panama City Mayor, Mayer Mizrachi, has extended an invite to Henry.

"Cecilio Waterman's 93rd - minute goal against the United States excited us, but your sincere and humble reaction won us over," he wrote in a statement.

"Your message went viral, and you are now one of us.

"On behalf of all citizens, I invite you to come visit our country. A celebration full of love and admiration awaits you."

England team news

Morgan Gibbs-White and Jarell Quansah have both been recalled to the England squad for tonight, talkSPORT understands.

Gibbs-White and Quansah were left out of Thomas Tuchel’s first matchday squad to face Albania on Friday.

talkSPORT also understands Aaron Ramsdale and Tino Livramento have been left out for Monday’s game against Latvia.

Meanwhile, Anthony Gordon has left the England camp after picking up an injury against Albania.

Myles Lewis-Skelly is hopeful of keeping his place in the 11 and Morgan Rogers is again pushing for a first senior start.

Decision to make

Chelsea will reportedly have to pay Manchester United £5million if they do not permanently sign Jadon Sancho.

Sancho joined the Blues on a season-long loan last summer, with the deal including a £25million obligation if they finish 14th or higher as per reports.

The Athletic have now said Chelsea will have to pay a fee to United should they choose not to make the winger's move permanent.

This is said to have been part of the agreement in the deal, with the relations between the west London side and the player 'strong'.

Sancho got off to a flying start for Chelsea as he assisted three goals in his first three Premier League outings.

However, the 24-year-old has scored just two goals in 28 appearances.

Salah saga

Mohamed Salah wants to stay at Liverpool even though he hasn't yet agreed a new deal.

That's according to Reds legend Michael Owen, who believes that the club should alter their contract policy to keep hold of the Egyptian.

As it stands, Salah will leave Liverpool at the end of the season once his current deal at Anfield expires on June 30.

He is yet to agree to new terms amid a potential final season at the club in which he has scored a stunning 32 goals in 43 matches.

However, ex-Liverpool striker Owen believes the 32-year-old wants to extend his stay, as long as Liverpool make one key change.

"Mo Salah's an interesting one. I think Mo Salah wants to stay, in fact I'm pretty sure he wants to stay," he told talkSPORT.

"I think Liverpool are going to have to bend the rules slightly, they might say, 'Oh right, only two years for players of this age.'

"But he's no normal player, he's as fit as a flea, he's dedicated, he lives in the gym, he's so profeSsional. You can't tell me that he's not going to be at the same level in three, four years.

"I mean, he's just unbelievable, so I would bend the rules, I would give him the contract, the length of contract.

"I'm also not that type of person, a fan that says, 'Just give him what he wants, he's brilliant, we'll win the league with him.' No, because you can't put your club at risk, but I don't think it's got to that stage.

"To replace him, it's going to cost an awful lot more, you're not going to pay a transfer fee for him.

"So I would do whatever it takes to keep him, and I think he wants to stay, but sources tell me that they're still quite a way apart."

Down

Scotland were relegated from Nations League A after a 3-0 home defeat by Greece.

Steve Clarke's side made a decent start but goals from Giannis Konstantelias, Konstantinos Karetsas and Christos Tzolis had the visitors 3-1 up on aggregate with just 15 seconds of the second half played.

The Hampden crowd expressed their dissent on several occasions as Scotland never really looked like getting back into the game.

They now drop down to the second tier of the competition ahead of the next set of group games in the autumn of 2026.

Scotland had Ryan Christie back in the team after suspension with Lewis Ferguson the only player to drop out following the 1-0 first-leg win.

Diplomatic

Who does former Manchester United and Tottenham striker Dimitar Berbatov want to win the Europa League?

The Bulgarian issued the safe response of insisting he's getting behind both teams in their respective campaigns.

The Premier League clubs are both in the competition and would stand to meet each other in the final in Bilbao should they get there.

And if that happens then Berbatov will have split loyalties indeed.

He said after the Tottenham Legends clash with AC Milan: "It's difficult. As long as one of them are winning it, I'll be fine, to be honest.

"But I support both of them because I want to see success ultimately for both of them and basically for all my team I used to play, which Spurs is important to win trophies, United as well, because both teams are going up and down, up and down. So I'm rooting for them."

Spurs take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals with the first leg taking place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 10.

Meanwhile, the Red Devils lock horns with Lyon with the first leg taking place in France on the same night.

Preparation

The England players have been on the training pitch ahead of their World Cup qualifier tomorrow night.

Thomas Tuchel's side take on Latvia on Monday night, live on talkSPORT, following their 2-0 win over Albania on Friday.

Goals from Myles Lewis-Skelly and Harry Kane sealed the victory at Wembley Stadium.

They will be without Anthony Gordon though, however, with the Newcastle star sustaining an injury late in the game.

Sacked

Thiago Motta has been sacked as Juventus head coach.

Motta is believed to have been informed over the phone of the club's decision to let him go.

One shock report from Gazzetta dello Sport claim Juve director Cristiano Giuntoli told Motta 'ashamed at having chosen you' for the job.

Igor Tudor is expected to take over as his replacement.

Utter Bloke Nonsense

Sean Dyche joined talkSPORT on Sunday afternoon and FINALLY talked about the now infamous ‘Utter Woke Nonsense’ viral meme.

The Everton gaffer said: “I was at Northampton Town yesterday watching my lad play and this young kid in the corporate area came up to me and said ‘Sean, can I ask you something? Can you just say ‘Utter Woke Nonsense’.

“I said to him ‘Absolutely not, son’. All his mates were laughing. Deadpanned him, he was gutted.

“Utter Woke Nonsense, there you go if you’re listening.

“I didn’t actually say it by the way.”

Just minutes after denying being the original man behind the meme, he went into peak Utter Woke Nonsense mode.

Players not celebrating against their old clubs were in his firing line.

"What about now when they do that? Oh, I'm not going to celebrate," he said.

"What is that all about? Well, if you have been at a club for ten years or something then I get it.

“You've been at a club for two years and played forty games and they're going, oh, I'm not going to celebrate. 

"Come on. Just celebrate. Just run around. Don't do a dance, either. Ah, it wrecks my head, that. Just celebrate.”

Tuch of class

Thomas Tuchel has revealed he will not drop players based on performances in the early days of his tenure as England manager.

The German wasn't shy in highlighting the lack of impact made by Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden after the 2-0 win over Albania.

The pair were replaced by Jarrod Bowen and Anthony Gordon after 74 minutes of Friday's Wembley win.

"I've spoken to both of them, also in front of the group. They know that I appreciate the effort, especially off the ball," Tuchel said.

"We can see in the numbers and when we watch the match again how much effort they put into defending high and into the counter-press, also in their sprinting numbers.

"Marcus had a lot of runs when we had the ball, where we did not see him, where we did not use him. He was a little bit unlucky maybe with the timing. From time to time we oversaw him. Phil is just maybe not finding the momentum at the moment that he can have.

"But both of them are very positive, have every right to be positive and know exactly what we want from them. Ideally we try to bring them in more one-on-one situations and ideally they have the confidence to take the one-on-ones.

"Phil needs maybe a little bit closer connections to a No 10 than we could provide in this match. And Marcus created one big chance for Jude Bellingham, and, like I said, had some runs off the ball where we did not use him.

"But, off the ball, the effort was there and that's what counts."

"It could help and I think it's not a problem to do exactly that and start with the same line-up," Tuchel added.

"But it's also not a problem to change because we have some players who really deserve to play and it would be also nice to see them perform and to give them the confidence.

"At the moment, no one will be dropped from a performance point of view. We did what was needed. We can do better and have stuff to improve and we will focus on that. If we think some fresh legs can help then we're not shy to do it. But no one needs to be dropped because he's not good enough."

Toffee pudding

More from Sean Dyche on Everton and his successor David Moyes, live on talkSPORT: “I left it in good hands. I've left it in good shape. I said that and I got batted for that as well. I said it was in good shape.

“Moysey has taken over and he knows it and he gave me a shout out about it.

“I said to him they’re in good shape. They're fit, but the weight of a club sometimes gets too much.

“I think for the players it got too much. You know I was okay with it. I learnt about the size of the club and the feel and the weight of it.”

“Sometimes you just need a new voice. You know small details can change with a new manager going in. And Moysey, who I admire a lot, I think he's a fantastic manager and a good bloke as well.

“I spoke to him as well and I was very open about that. I told him they're in good shape. Told him there's a lot of good there. I'm delighted for him. I'm delighted they're going well.

Live and let Dyche

Sean Dyche has started his first job since leaving Everton today in what has undoubtedly been a treat for talkSPORT listeners.

The 53-year-old, who has been out of work since January after being sacked by the Toffees, has turned talkSPORT co-host on Sunday, joining friend and actor Jonny Owen from 12-2pm.

On Everton, Dyche said: “I was really positive about it when I left and I still am. People only see what they see and that's fine.

“Fans don't understand the amount that we had to do behind the scenes, not just me by the way.

“There was a lot that needed doing. Another thing I need to be clear about, because when you talk about the club when you took over People presuppose its managers and all that. I'm not questioning managers.

“Everyone has their own style. Everyone has their own way of doing things. but there was a lot that needed correcting. I'm not talking about just on the pitch. All sorts of it needed correcting.

“I went in there with an idea of thinking it was this. And it wasn't. It was miles away from where I was. It was in a lot worse shape.

“I don't want people to misconstrue it. I don't mean on the pitch. Frank [Lampard] was previous to me trying to do everything he could to get that team to win. But there was a lot of things away from the pitch.

“Externally, people can measure it differently and I've always been a bit Marmite anyway.

“But there's probably that split of Evertonians who go ‘yeah, but look at the job he did in the bigger picture’.

“If they knew the depth of what we did not just me, the players included, and all the challenges we went through I'd be surprised if there's many who went we didn't do at least a half decent job

“I think we did a very good job. So I'm very proud of it."

Got off on the Ron foot

Cristiano Ronaldo also told Rasmus Hojlund he aims to celebrate in front of the Denmark striker in Sunday's crunch Nations League tie.

Hojlund copied the 40-year-old's iconic 'Siu' celebration after scoring the winner in Portugal's 1-0 loss to the Danes last week.

Speaking ahead of Sunday night's tie at the home of Sporting Lisbon, Ronaldo commented on Hojlund's antics - insisting he hopes the roles are reversed in their upcoming meeting.

Keen to stress he has no issue with the ex-Atalanta centre-forward, the Portugal skipper said: "It's no problem for me.

"I know it wasn't out of disrespect. It is not only him who does my celebration around the world.

"I'm smart enough to understand that. For me, it is an honour.

"I hope to do it in front of him tomorrow [on Sunday].

"It will be good. I'm glad he likes my celebration."

Right or Ron?

Cristiano Ronaldo has hit back at the negativity around Portugal by calling out 'disrespectful' questions during his press conference.

The 40-year-old has found himself under renewed scrutiny following his struggles in his country's 1-0 Nations League defeat to Denmark.

Ahead of the second leg, Ronaldo took umbrage with the topics he and his manager were faced with.

Journalists questioned whether there is a lack of demand to win and play nice football and whether Ronaldo can still manage 90 minutes, as well as detailing overall criticisms of both the team and Martinez.

Here's how the Al Nassr star responded below...

Gordon out

Anthony Gordon has withdrawn from the England squad after sustaining an injury.

Gordon was forced off in the 2-0 win over Albania on Friday.

Straight after the match, manager Thomas Tuchel admitted it did not look good.

“He looks injured," Tuchel said. "First of all I thought it's his stomach, but it's his hip and it does not look good. It's a bit worrying, yeah."

Now the forward has returned to Newcastle for further assessment.

England will face Latvia on Monday in their next World Cup qualifier.