I personally can't stand the international breaks especially for nations league or friendlies. I wish every 4 year there was just a massive world tournament in knockout format end of season go straight to the tournament that's it.
Reinildo Mandava – Mozambique Reinildo will feature in World Cup qualifying action for Mozambique, who face Guinea on Thursday 9 October at 5pm BST before travelling to take on Somalia on Tuesday 14 October, also kicking off at 5pm BST. Granit Xhaka – Switzerland Midfielder Granit Xhaka is once again part of the Switzerland squad as they continue their World Cup qualification campaign. They visit Sweden on Friday 10 October at 7.45pm BST before facing Slovenia on Monday 13 October at the same time. Chemsdine Talbi – Morocco Chemsdine Talbi links up with Morocco for both a friendly and a World Cup qualifier. Morocco host Bahrain in a friendly on Thursday 9 October at 8pm BST, before welcoming Congo for a qualifier on Tuesday 14 October, also at 8pm BST. Dan Ballard and Trai Hume – Northern Ireland Dan Ballard and Trai Hume are both included in the Northern Ireland squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers. They face Slovakia on Friday 10 October at 7.45pm BST and then take on Germany on Monday 13 October at 7.45pm BST. Noah Sadiki and Arthur Masuaku – DR Congo Noah Sadiki and Arthur Masuaku will represent DR Congo in two World Cup qualifiers. They travel to face Togo on Friday 10 October at 2pm BST before hosting Sudan on Tuesday 14 October at 8pm BST. Simon Adingra – Ivory Coast Simon Adingra joins up with the Ivory Coast national team for their World Cup qualifying fixtures against Seychelles on Friday 10 October at 2pm BST and Kenya on Tuesday 14 October at 8pm BST. Omar Alderete – Paraguay Omar Alderete will feature for Paraguay in two international friendlies. They take on Japan on Friday 10 October at 11.20am BST before facing South Korea on Tuesday 14 October at 12pm BST. Bertrand Traoré – Burkina Faso Bertrand Traoré is set for World Cup qualifying action with Burkina Faso, who meet Sierra Leone on Wednesday 8 October at 5pm BST and Ethiopia on Sunday 12 October at 8pm BST. Robin Roefs – Netherlands Goalkeeper Robin Roefs has been called up by the Netherlands as they continue their World Cup qualifying campaign. They face Malta on Thursday 9 October at 7.45pm BST before returning home to play Finland on Sunday 12 October at 5pm BST. Eliezer Mayenda – Spain Under-21s Eliezer Mayenda is part of the Spain Under-21 squad for their UEFA U21 European Qualifier against Finland on Tuesday 14 October at 5.30pm BST. Timur Tutierov – Ukraine Under-21s Timur Tutierov links up with Ukraine Under-21s for UEFA European Championship qualifying matches against Hungary on Friday 10 October at 5pm BST and Croatia on Tuesday 14 October at 5pm BST. Matty Young – England Under-21s Goalkeeper Matty Young is away with the England Under-21 squad for two European Qualifiers. The Young Lions travel to Moldova on Friday 10 October at 5pm BST before hosting Andorra on Monday 13 October at 7.45pm BST. Chris Rigg - England Under-19s Chris Rigg has been selected for the England Under-19 squad for a pair of friendly fixtures. England face Belgium on Saturday 11 October at 10am BST and Wales on Tuesday 14 October at 11am
So,15 of our players away! I couldn't give a tinkers toss about any of the results of these matches.....please,please all come back fit and well and able to carry on with the objectives of their proper employment.
Was surprised only tutierov was included from the youths, Struk and Matthew Burns have also been called up for the Latvia and northern Ireland u19s respectively. Edit - maybe it was tagged in the end.
England's Golden Generation were 'egotistical losers' - Gerrard https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cq653600zdqo ... Speaking as a guest on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, external, Gerrard said: "We were all egotistical losers. "I watch the telly now and I see Jamie Carragher sitting next to Paul Scholes and they look like they've been best mates for 20 years. "And I see Carragher's relationship with Gary Neville and they look like they've been mates for 20 years. I'm probably more close and friendly with you [Ferdinand] now than I ever was when I played with you for 15 years [for England]. "So why didn't we connect when we were 20, 21, 22, 23? Was it ego? Was it rivalry? "It was down to the culture within England. We weren't friendly or connected. We weren't a team. We never at any stage became a real good, strong team." "I hated it. I didn't enjoy it. Hated the [hotel] rooms," he said. "In my early days, I'd have days where I was down, like low down. Like I'm in this room for seven hours, what am I going to do? "There was no social media, we didn't have a DVD player or anything. Channel 1 to 5 or whatever it was on TV. I used to get low and down. "I used to love the games. I used to love playing for England. I was really proud. I used to enjoy the training sessions but it was 90 minutes a day. And then I was just on my own. "I didn't feel part of a team. I didn't feel connected with my team-mates with England. I didn't feel that with Liverpool. They were the best days of my life. I felt like the staff looked over me, like I felt special. I felt like I couldn't wait to get there. With England, I just wanted the games and the training sessions and then to be away." After years of international disappointments, England reached the World Cup semi-final in 2018 before back-to-back Euros finals under Gareth Southgate. Southgate has been widely lauded for fostering a better culture and atmosphere inside the squad, with players seeming to get on better no matter who they play for. His replacement Thomas Tuchel leads his current squad against Wales and Latvia this week, with the German saying he wants strong team spirit in his squad. Gerrard said: "Gareth Southgate is underrated for how he connected with the England team. Because for me, the talent was there [in my time]. The players were there. The level of games we were all playing at was there to go and do better than what we did. "We had a little bit of bad luck with penalties or whatever. We have to take responsibility, but I've got a big frustration when I look back at England that we never did better. "I think it's a combination of different things, but one of the big things for me was we weren't a team. We were a group of individuals with talent and it never works like that."
Interesting read but it blows my mind tbh. How could the national football team of one of the biggest sporting nations in the world allow it to carry on like that? How did the management not notice and say / do something? The coaches? Did nobody even notice? How is that possible? Why didn't any of the players speak up? A lot of big personalities and leaders in that team, including Gerrard himself. And at no point did any of them think to say "Hey boss, we don't feel like a team and coming on international duty feels like hell. What can we do about this?" Just can't get my head around it.
Good points and it does beggar belief that nothing was done about it. Possibly couldn’t see or accept what was hiding in plain sight. Also the culture within the team might not have been conducive to anyone putting their head above the parapet.
I remember reading that when Phillips got called up for England he struggled to find anyone to sit with or talk to. Shearer would have nothing to do with him because he played for us, neither would Shearer's mates in the squad. Man U players wouldn't talk to Liverpool and vice versa, Chelsea wouldn't speak to Arsenal, Arsenal wouldn't speak to Man U, some man U players wouldn't speak to Phillips because they thought Andy Cole should have been picked instead... A mess, really. Some put the blame largely on Hoddle, that he was too aloof and didn't manage the egos in his squads enough, especially when Shearer reputedly said he'd refuse to play for England if he was charged after kicking Neil Lennon in the head. Hoddle supposedly accommodated him so it wouldn't upset the squad for France 98. It seemed it let certain egos run unchecked and give them too much influence in the squad, which created that culture and managers either too weak or, like Cappello, not interested enough long term to deal with it. There are supposed to be stories of past England squads being cliquey and friction between some Liverpool and Man U players in the past, but honestly, to me from about 1997/98 it seemed to get worse.
