Thomas Tuchel's first starting England XI

England have a very easy group to deal with and only Serbia may be a test.

Tuchel is not my idea of a manager who will take England far and only Pickford, Kane and Rice are World class so we will see what happens when they ace some top teams.

I don't care one flying fuck if Everton players play for England or not. The only side of that that bothers me is that they may have ambition to do so and leave us to achieve that aim.

Good luck with that Jack Harrison (and Calvert-Lewin) but I think you're deluded there.

I've never cared much for the national team, but have to admit that I felt differently when the young, still blue, Rooney was playing his heart out in the Euros all those years ago. I'm back to not caring again now!

23, M. Lewis-Skelly

12, D. Burn

5, E. Konsa

2, K. Walker

17, C. Jones

4, D. Rice

11, M. Rashford

10, J. Bellingham

7, P. Foden

9, H. Kane

I've always had a soft spot for the Netherlands and Germany. More recently Croatia. For a country with a population less than 4M, they have produced some really good players over the years.

Sell out at Wembley tonight. Not bad going for the level of the opponents. No disrespect for them.

"The England vs Albania Match broadcast live and free on streaming platform DAZN Canada from 3:45 pm ET."

The Canadian networks are showing that game invented by a Canadian called basketball that to me is about as exciting as croquet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK1J7eYElo4

'kin Hell, Herr Tom looks Dracularian in black

College basketball is the only U.S. sport that I like Bill.

I also learned that there is a Canadian variation of American Football.

This should be a stroll for England.

Oh dear.

The tables reflect current scores for England's group but Scotland who played and won yesterday are shown as played 0, won 0, points 0.

Issac Price knocked one in for Northern Ireland.

Do you think Branthwaite is being punished for not signing for one of the Sky Sports favourites?

I am sure if he had gone to Arsenal, Chelsea, or even Man Utd, he would be in the England first team today.

Our Arry just smashed a beauty

Very hard to get any kind of entertainment out of that typical England borefest. Plus ça change…

Hopefully he has Irish blood and declares for Ireland!

Albania gave a good account of themselves, but the gulf was too wide.

Broja showed some glimpses. Let's hope can stay fit. Next up for player watch, Michael?

The true test will come when they play the top teams. All they can do is go through the motions in beating teams like they have in their group. Some of the starting eleven didn't really impress but granted they didn't have to.

This is much like the kind of performance they had under Southgate in many games against weak opposition and one cannot really judge anybody just yet.

Personally, I don't think Rashford is the player he was when he burst on the scene and I would prefer Bowen.

Whoever they are, they've written to the Gambling Commission demanding action against Everton and Leicester City for advertising gambling firms that illegally allow access to UK customers.

The GC announced earlier this year that our shirt sponsor Stake would lose its UK license on March 11, among other things for using the image of a porn star in their adverts. The GC directed us and Leicester to demonstrate that our sponsors effectively block UK access. “Clubs will be expected to carry out sufficient due diligence..." said the GC.

As reported today by The Athletic, CEGA used a Virtual Private Network to access Stake's website and deposit cryptocurrency for gambling. Stake's system spotted the ID issue after about an hour and restricted the account. CEGA says that means Everton haven't done their due diligence and wants to know what action the GC will take.

From the article:

Everton noted that their deal with Stake is a global partnership and maintain they have not advertised the UK market. They also said that they have done what was expected and asked of them in terms of being compliant with the GC’s regulations and were provided with assurances from Stake around the measures the company has taken.

Stake responded with outrage at CEGA:

"The coalition’s actions were not just deceptive — they were outright fraudulent and illegal. They knowingly used a VPN to bypass geographic restrictions. They intentionally falsified personal details, including name, address, and identity. They deliberately misled Stake by accepting T&Cs they were in clear violation of. They fraudulently created an account using fake credentials, engaging in identity fraud. They attempted to conduct an illegal transaction, despite being in violation of multiple safeguards. Stake’s compliance systems worked exactly as intended — the fraudulent account was swiftly flagged and permanently closed.

“The reality is simple: extreme, illegal steps were taken to create an account, only to have it shut down by Stake within the hour. This was never about fairness or regulation — it was a targeted attack designed to mislead.”

So Toyota corporate in Japan is certainly not reluctant to be identified with a football venue. But whether they'd actually sponsor Friedkin's stadium is unknown. I haven't read any speculation about it in the US business press, just clickbait on sports sites.

Ludicrous that England U23 v France started with Egan-Riley (Burnley) and Harwood-Bellis (Southampton) as central defenders, the latter being replaced by Cresswell (Toulouse) after 62’. Branthwaite eventually came on after 73’ for City’s Lewis at full back.

No wonder they lost 5-3. Further proof that Carsley is useless.

Funnily enough, Tom (33), that's exactly what the Warrington Wolves coach said after their game tonight:

"Nothing much to get excited about beating a rather weak opponent".