Realists do not require reality checks. England's progress to the World Cup semi-final had not convinced Gareth Southgate that they were among the planet's top four teams. Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Spain rather reinforced that. "I am pretty realistic as to where we are at," the England manager said. "This group of players achieved a result that was beyond where we were at the time."
If England benefited from a favourable draw in Russia, it feels as though Group 4 of the Nations League was designed to highlight their shortcomings. A side without a proper playmaker have been pitted against two countries, in Spain and Croatia, with a surfeit. Without the retired Andres Iniesta and David Silva and the dropped Koke, Spanish trio Sergio Busquets, Saul Niguez and Thiago Alcantara still ran the game at Wembley. England may yet have got a draw – Danny Welbeck's injury-time leveller was wrongly ruled out – but Spain's superiority was apparent for long periods.
Perhaps there was a role reversal in elements of a match where England scored from a passing move that began at the back and spanned the length of the pitch, and Spain, courtesy of Rodrigo Moreno, claimed a winner from a free kick. England, the World Cup’s set-piece experts, were beaten at their own specialist subject. Yet a first competitive loss at Wembley since 2007, as England suffered three consecutive defeats for the first time since 1988, came in more familiar fashion: they were out-passed and outclassed.
“We aren't able to keep the ball well enough when we are pressed extremely hard,” Southgate said. He has ruled out a return to the dark days of direct football. The remedy is improvement, but hampered by personnel restrictions.
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Read more:
Report: Harry Kane says ref 'bottled it' after England denied late equaliser against Spain
Richard Jolly: Southgate's England challenge: to ensure a rise is not followed by a fall
Ian Hawkey: Uefa Nations League - a welcome addition or calendar clutter?
Explainer: the Uefa Nations League, how it works and fixtures in UAE time
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Southgate bypassed the absence of an English Thiago or Luka Modric for much of the World Cup, using dead-ball expertise, systemic cleverness and defenders who were comfortable in possession. Yet Spain formulated an answer to that shape, turning Southgate’s 3-3-2-2 formation into a 5-3-2. Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard were turned from off-the-ball runners in possession to men less adept at tracking back and impersonating defensive midfielders. Spain engineered a situation where their full-backs, Dani Carvajal in particular, were often the spare men. It was telling that the Real Madrid right-back set up Saul’s equaliser.
If Luke Shaw was partly culpable then – and the Manchester United left-back’s eventful return to the international scene culminated in a head injury after a collision with Carvajal – his inch-perfect pass for Marcus Rashford’s opener represented the highlight of England’s night. Encouragement could be drawn from the way two who came into the starting 11 offered most cause for optimism. It underlined that Southgate’s model of evolution, not revolution, represents the sensible approach. England cannot magic a Thiago into the team when there is none.
They had a different sort of pedigree. Yet while Harry Kane was presented with the World Cup Golden Boot, he scored more goals in Russia than he completed passes on Saturday – six to five, for those who were keeping count. Two of those five nevertheless led to chances for Rashford, one a goal.
But his six goals in Russia came against Tunisia, Panama and Colombia, and while the South Americans were overcome on penalties and Sweden beaten in the quarter-final, England have arguably not beaten a top team in Southgate's reign. Depending on the definition, they have not defeated one of the established powers in a competitive game since they faced Argentina in the 2002 World Cup. Having rewound the clock already this summer, Southgate needs to again in the autumn. At least he should be under no illusions about the difficulties.
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The Case For Trump
By Victor Davis Hanson
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Second Test, Day 2:
South Africa 335 & 75/1 (22.0 ov)
England 205
South Africa lead by 205 runs with 9 wickets remaining
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Illegal%20shipments%20intercepted%20in%20Gulf%20region
%3Cp%3EThe%20Royal%20Navy%20raid%20is%20the%20latest%20in%20a%20series%20of%20successful%20interceptions%20of%20drugs%20and%20arms%20in%20the%20Gulf%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMay%2011%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EUS%20coastguard%20recovers%20%2480%20million%20heroin%20haul%20from%20fishing%20vessel%20in%20Gulf%20of%20Oman%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMay%208%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20US%20coastguard%20vessel%20USCGC%20Glen%20Harris%20seizes%20heroin%20and%20meth%20worth%20more%20than%20%2430%20million%20from%20a%20fishing%20boat%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EMarch%202%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Anti-tank%20guided%20missiles%20and%20missile%20components%20seized%20by%20HMS%20Lancaster%20from%20a%20small%20boat%20travelling%20from%20Iran%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOctober%209%2C%202022%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ERoyal%20Navy%20frigate%20HMS%20Montrose%20recovers%20drugs%20worth%20%2417.8%20million%20from%20a%20dhow%20in%20Arabian%20Sea%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESeptember%2027%2C%202022%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20US%20Naval%20Forces%20Central%20Command%20reports%20a%20find%20of%202.4%20tonnes%20of%20heroin%20on%20board%20fishing%20boat%20in%20Gulf%20of%20Oman%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Turning%20waste%20into%20fuel
%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
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The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
