‘Fearless’ Lewis-Skelly hailed after impressive England debut while Tuchel ponders changes for Latvia match


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The Thomas Tuchel era is under way for England and one of the players handed his debut by the German has made an immediate mark.

Tuchel's first game as Three Lions manager saw his side defeat Albania 2-0 in the World Cup qualifier at Wembley Stadium thanks to goals from Myles Lewis-Skelly and captain Harry Kane, who notched for the 70th time in 104 appearances.

It certainly was not the fluent, exciting performance Tuchel suggested he was aiming for before the match but it was still three points and a clean sheet against an ultra-cautious opponent who failed to register a shot on target over the 90 minutes.

And the first-half goal and all-round performance from Arsenal teenager Lewis-Skelly was the high point for England, with the left-back becoming the youngest player to score on his senior England debut – aged 18 years and 176 days.

That beat the record held by Marcus Rashford – who made his first start since in a year – by 33 days and helped ensure England's campaign to reach the 2026 finals in North America enjoyed a winning start.

And Declan Rice was not surprised in the least his Arsenal teammate's performance. “I said about it before Christmas, and a lot of people laughed at me and questioned it,” said the midfielder, who won his 62nd cap after starting against Albania.

“They said I was speaking out of turn by saying good things about him.

“But week on week he's shown how good he is, and the fearlessness he has in his performance.

“He needs to keep being himself around the training ground at Arsenal, around England, and keep pushing himself.

“He's an asset for us now. He's 18 years old and has got a long career in the game if he keeps doing good things.

“He didn't even know he was going to be starting until today and I just knew he was going to have a good performance, because he has that belief in himself.”

Defender Dan Burn, another debutant, almost capped his unforgettable week with another goal at Wembley.

The 32-year-old scored a thumping header in Newcastle United's League Cup final win over Liverpool last Sunday which saw the Premier League side end a 70-year wait to win a domestic trophy.

And the big centre-half almost made it two in a week at Wembley but was frustrated to see his first-half header on Friday night come back off the crossbar.

“To walk out at Wembley and sing the national anthem and get a start for England is something that I dreamt of when I was a kid,” Burn said.

“I'm gutted that I didn't score again, probably I'm being greedy, I think, because I've had a pretty good week.

“Now that I've had that first taste of international football, I'm just desperate to keep playing.

“I'd love to go to the World Cup but there is six, seven camps before that, and I'm going to have to keep playing a very high level.”

Next up for England is Latvia, ranked 140th in the world, who they face in their second World Cup qualifier in London on Monday with Tuchel ready to make changes.

Asked if he is looking at rotation against Latvia, Tuchel said: “Yeah. I think we had some heavy legs.

“I felt us even a little bit tired, so we will take the opportunity, of course, to check who's available and we have some good, good players on the bench, who came on today or did not even play, so we have our options.

“But I have full trust in all 22 players, plus four goalkeepers, and from there we go.

“We have a full day of recovery for everyone [on Saturday]. Everyone deserves that because everyone trained on the high level and played the match now together, so tomorrow's a recovery day and Sunday we take care about Monday.”

Tuchel admitted wingers Rashford and Phil Foden were not as “impactful” as the new coach wanted.

“We will encourage him to do what he does best – to go at defenders, to go into dribbles,” Tuchel said of Foden's seeming lack of self-belief with England.

“We played him from the right wing. Both of our wingers who started were not as impactful as they normally can be, as they are normally in club football.

“I'm at the moment not so sure why we started to bring the ball quicker to them, to bring the ball in more open positions to them. I need to review the match. Not so sure why it took us so long.

“They trained very well, they were decisive in training. That's why also they deserved [to start]. They were very good in the last weeks in their clubs.

“We will keep on encouraging them and make sure to create a structure for them that they can show their potential.”

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March 15 - Australia, Melbourne; March 22 - Bahrain, Sakhir; April 5 - Vietnam, Hanoi; April 19 - China, Shanghai; May 3 - Netherlands, Zandvoort; May 20 - Spain, Barcelona; May 24 - Monaco, Monaco; June 7 - Azerbaijan, Baku; June 14 - Canada, Montreal; June 28 - France, Le Castellet; July 5 - Austria, Spielberg; July 19 - Great Britain, Silverstone; August 2 - Hungary, Budapest; August 30 - Belgium, Spa; September 6 - Italy, Monza; September 20 - Singapore, Singapore; September 27 - Russia, Sochi; October 11 - Japan, Suzuka; October 25 - United States, Austin; November 1 - Mexico City, Mexico City; November 15 - Brazil, Sao Paulo; November 29 - Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi.

Dolittle

Director: Stephen Gaghan

Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen

One-and-a-half out of five stars

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Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

The currency conundrum

Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”

Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.

This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.

How the bonus system works

The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.

The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.

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While you're here
EA Sports FC 26

Publisher: EA Sports

Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S

Rating: 3/5

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Nepotism is the name of the game

Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad. 

Two-step truce

The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.

By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National. 

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The process is to be overseen by a Redeployment Co-ordination Committee (RCC) comprising UN monitors and representatives of the government and the rebels.

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UAE tour of Zimbabwe

All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I

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Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri 

Rating: 1/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to keep control of your emotions

If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.

Greed

Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.

Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.

Fear

The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.

Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.

Hope

While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.

Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.

Frustration

Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.

Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.

Boredom

Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.

Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.

SQUADS

UAE
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice-captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan

Nepal
Paras Khadka (captain), Gyanendra Malla, Dipendra Singh Airee, Pradeep Airee, Binod Bhandari, Avinash Bohara, Sundeep Jora, Sompal Kami, Karan KC, Rohit Paudel, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lalit Rajbanshi, Basant Regmi, Pawan Sarraf, Bhim Sharki, Aarif Sheikh

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Updated: March 22, 2025, 12:55 PM