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Home , Harry Maguire, Mason Mount

38 Friday Sports Friday, October 16, 2020 Maguire off on bad night for England in Nations League Mbappe gets France winner, Ronaldo-less Portugal wins

PARIS: England’s prospects of returning to the Nikola Vlasic equalizing in the second half for finals of the Nations League suffered a big hit Croatia before around 7,000 fans. Les Bleus as ’s side lost 1-0 at home to have still never lost to Croatia and are level with Denmark on Wednesday, while Kylian Mbappe Portugal on 10 points at the top of League A, gave World Cup holders France a 2-1 victory in Group 3. Croatia and Portugal won without Cristiano Ronaldo. was sent off for Eng- Doubles for Jota, Lewandowski land in the first half at Wembley for two clumsy Portugal, winners of the inaugural Nations yellow cards, and Christian Eriksen then con- League, shrugged off the absence of Ronaldo verted a 35th-minute penalty on the occasion of because of a positive COVID-19 test as they his 100th cap to put the Danes ahead. beat Sweden 3-0 in Lisbon. Liverpool’s Diogo They held on to inflict a first home defeat on Jota set up Bernardo Silva for the opener then England in two years, with the hosts also having scored two of his own, one either side of half- young Chelsea full-back Reece James sent off time. “This team will always be better with Cris- for dissent after the final whistle. tiano, but they showed they can still compete,” “He is a top player, he is a massive part of said Portugal coach Fernando Santos. what we do,” Southgate said in defense of Meanwhile, the prolific Robert Lewandowski Maguire, who has struggled for Manchester scored a brace as Poland beat Bosnia and United since his involvement in a brawl on the Herzegovina 3-0 in Warsaw. Karol Linetty got Greek island of Mykonos in August. “He is hav- the other goal and Poland are top of Group A, a ing a period where is having a lot of stick point above Italy and two ahead of the Nether- thrown his way and he is big enough to deal lands. The Dutch came from behind to draw 1-1 with that.” with Italy in Bergamo, with LONDON: Denmark’s goalkeeper (R) dives to save a header from England’s England got to the four-team finals of the in- netting for Frank de Boer’s side after Lorenzo (L) during the UEFA Nations League group A2 football match between England and Denmark at augural Nations League last year but their Pellegrini put Italy ahead. in north London on Wednesday. —AFP chances of getting there again this time are very much in the balance with Belgium two points Scotland continue revival ahead of Southgate’s team and the Danes atop Below the top tier, Scotland continued their came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 in Slovakia with Before 8,000 fans in Helsinki, Fredrik Jensen League A, Group 2. Belgium won 2-1 in Iceland tentative revival by beating the Czech Republic a hat-trick from PSV Eindhoven’s Eran Zahavi. scored the only goal, as he did when the sides on Wednesday with Romelu Lukaku scoring 1-0 at an empty Hampden thanks to an early In Group 4, Wales won 1-0 in Bulgaria with met last month in Dublin. Also in League B, twice. They host England in Brussels on Novem- goal by Newcastle United’s Ryan Fraser. After a late Jonny Williams goal. They are unbeaten in Northern Ireland kept Erling Braut Haaland ber 15. edging Israel on penalties to reach the Euro eight competitive games, and Ryan Giggs’ side quiet enough but a second-half Stuart Dallas In Zagreb, Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappe qualifying play-off final, Scotland beat Slovakia are top with 10 points, a point ahead of Finland. own goal gave Norway a 1-0 win in Oslo in missed an open goal early on but got the winner 1-0 at the weekend. Stephen Kenny is still waiting for his first win as Group 1. Turkey came from 2-0 down to draw in the 79th minute as France beat Croatia 2-1 in They are now unbeaten in eight matches and Republic of Ireland manager after a 1-0 defeat 2-2 with Serbia in Group 3, which is topped by their latest re-run of the 2018 World Cup final. are four points clear of the Czechs at the top of in Finland left his side out of contention for top Russia who were held 0-0 by Hungary in Antoine Griezmann had put France ahead with League B, Group 2, and five ahead of Israel who spot in that group. Moscow. —AFP

“Further, Shareholders agreed to work together as Richard Masters said the meeting had been “candid, constructive, posi- Premier League a 20-club collective on a strategic plan for the future structures and fi- tive in the end.” nancing of English football, consulting with all stakeholders to ensure a Although FA chairman Greg Clarke said on Tuesday that the Proj- vibrant, competitive and sustainable football pyramid.” The process will ect instigators had talked about a possible breakaway from the Pre- clubs reject include the FA, the UK government and the EFL, added the statement. mier League, Masters said he had heard no such threats. “I don’t think anybody has been talking about breaking away. So I want to make Rescue package that clear,” he said. ‘Project Big Picture’ The Premier League also said it had agreed to offer a rescue package Feelings have been running high among owners and officials from the MANCHESTER: Premier League clubs on Wednesday rejected plans to League One and League Two (third and fourth tier) clubs. “This offer Premier League’s smaller clubs, some of whom believe the top teams put forward by Liverpool and Manchester United for radical changes to will consist of grants and interest-free loans totaling a further 50 million tried to railroad them. “Whilst there has been a lot of things said and the league’s structures and finances and said they would conduct their pounds on top of the £27.2 million solidarity payments already advanced done, a lot of speculation over the last four days, I don’t think it’s irrepara- own review of the game. The ‘Project Big Picture’ proposals would have to League One and League Two this year, making a total of 77.2 million bly damaged the Premier League,” Masters said. seen an increase in funds for the 72 clubs in the Football League (EFL) pounds,” the statement said. “Discussions will also continue with the EFL The EFL, whose clubs had been largely in support of Project Big Pic- but also include special voting rights for the biggest clubs in the Premier regarding Championship clubs’ financial needs. This addresses Govern- ture given the promise of increased funds including a 250 million-pound League and a reduction of teams in the top flight from 20 to 18. The plan ment concerns about lower league clubs’ financial fragility.” rescue fund said it would meet with all its 72 clubs on Thursday to discuss has been fronted by EFL chairman Rick Parry and would have included The UK government’s Culture Minister Oliver Dowden, who is the new bail-out offer. a 250 million-pound ($325.85 million) bail-out for his clubs, who face responsible for sport, has been urging the wealthier clubs to help out “As we have maintained across the past 72 hours, there is a significant acute financial issues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. the lower league teams and said the offer was a “good start.” “I urge issue facing the English footballing Pyramid and therefore it is encour- But at a meeting on Wednesday of all 20 Premier League clubs, them to work together and stay focused on helping clubs through aging that there is an acknowledgment that a review of the current status the plans were rejected with a separate, broader-based review by the crisis,” he said. quo is required,” the EFL said in a statement. the entire league initiated and a more limited bail-out for lower di- Despite the huge attention focused on the proposals, which were “The EFL welcomes the opportunity to contribute to any wider de- vision clubs. “All 20 Premier League clubs today unanimously agreed leaked on Sunday, neither of the two American owners, Liverpool’s John bate with colleagues across the game as we seek to finally address im- that Project Big Picture will not be endorsed or pursued by the Pre- W Henry or Manchester United’s Joel Glazer, took part in the online possible economic pressures and deliver on the objective of having a mier League, or The FA,” the league said in a statement. meeting, leaving their executives to represent them. Premier League CEO sustainable EFL in the long-term.” —Reuters