England secured promotion back to the top tier of the Uefa Nations League with a 5-0 thrashing of Republic of Ireland at Wembley on Sunday in what was interim manager Lee Carsley's last game in charge.
After a lukewarm first half, Harry Kane sparked life into the game with a penalty before Anthony Gordon's volley and a tap-in by Conor Gallagher in the space of five minutes at the start of the second broke Ireland's resolve.
Jarrod Bowen made it 4-0 with a crisp shot from the edge of the area, his first touch after coming off the bench, while debutant Taylor Harwood-Bellis headed England's fifth.
The result was on expected lines as Ireland played virtually the entire second half with 10 men after Liam Scales was sent off for a foul on Jude Bellingham that handed England the penalty.
Gordon, Gallagher, Bowen and Harwood-Bellis all scored their first senior goals for England.
England finished top of Group B2 with 15 points from six games, the same as Greece but with a superior goal difference in the two games between the two nations.
"It was a great evening for a lot of players and the main thing was getting promotion," Carsley said. "I enjoyed watching the lads, to play with the aggression and intent that they played with."
Carsley will now hand over the reins to Thomas Tuchel having won five of his six games in charge and with some useful pointers for the German who takes charge in January.
"It'd be fair to say there's a bit of relief," Carsley added. "If we'd have spoken at the start of the campaign we'd probably have said you're expected to get promotion but it's difficult. No team has rolled over for us and let us just carry on. I've found it personally challenging and I know the staff have. It's good that we've finished the campaign with such a strong performance."
Carsley, who now returns to the Under-21s side, sidestepped questions of whether he would like to return to manage the England senior team again one day.
"It's a job that deserves an elite coach with a track record of winning and Thomas has got that," he said.
"The bonus would be we've increased the pool of players. The next squad will be a real challenge to pick, I'm sure. Exciting times ahead."
Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson was furious about his side's humiliating 5-0 hammering, suggesting his players "gave up" after Scales' sending off.
A Nations League campaign that started with a 2-0 defeat to England in Dublin ended in embarrassment at Wembley, where the visitors had started well and frustrated the Euro 2024 runners-up.
But Scales' sending-off for a second yellow card shortly after half time saw the Irish spiral.
"Well, I'm kind of lost for words," Hallgrimsson said. "Six minutes of kind of madness. Yeah, it was a shock, conceding a penalty, conceding a goal, losing a player.
"We probably lost our heads at this moment, leading into a second goal and a third goal. And from there you can see, yeah, we maybe lost our head, gave up.
"We've talked and I said before we're struggling with confidence, and they clearly took away all confidence from what we did really well in the first half."
Haaland hat-trick
Erling Haaland was on fire as he scored a hat-trick to help Norway top their group in League B.
Haaland was at his destructive best as Norway brushed aside Kazakhstan 5-0 to finish top of Group B3 ahead of Austria who were held to a 1-1 draw by Slovenia.
The Manchester City star broke the deadlock, pouncing on a rebound in the 23rd minute.
Haaland nodded in his 37th international goal 14 minutes later, before Antonio Nusa added a Norwegian third of a dominant first half.
Haaland completed his fourth treble for Norway with 19 minutes remaining, turning away from his marker on the edge of the area and finishing low into the bottom corner with his right foot.
Nusa scored again as Norway snatched automatic promotion from Austria, who conceded a late equaliser to Slovenia in Vienna.
Meanwhile, Adrien Rabiot fired France to first place in their Nations League group with a headed brace in a 3-1 win over Italy at the San Siro.
Former Juventus midfielder Rabiot netted from Lucas Digne set-pieces in each half at the home of his former Milanese rivals to ensure that Les Bleus leapfrogged Italy into top spot in Group A2 on goal difference, with both teams already in the quarter-finals before kick off.
Digne was also crucial to France's second goal, as it was his stunning free-kick in the 33rd minute which crashed out off the woodwork and into the net off Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
France were on their way to top spot when Digne forced home via Vicario's back as they needed to win by at least two goals to move above Italy.
Andrea Cambiaso's neat first-time finish moments after Digne's strike put Italy back on top on head-to-head record, due to their 3-1 win in Paris back in September.
But Rabiot stepped up in the 65th minute to give France a positive end to what has been a tumultuous international break, with captain Kylian Mbappe left at home with little explanation from coach Didier Deschamps and a fraught goalless draw with Israel at the Stade de France on Thursday.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
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Cryopreservation: A timeline
- Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
- Ovarian tissue surgically removed
- Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
- Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
- Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Company%20Profile
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The five pillars of Islam
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
