England manager Gareth Southgate on Friday hailed Raheem Sterling’s coming-of-age on the international stage after hitting his first hat-trick for the Three Lions in a 5-0 demolition of the Czech Republic.
Burgeoning talent was on show as 18-year-olds Jadon Sancho and Callum Hudson-Odoi also played their part in a perfect start to England’s Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.
Sterling, 24, was often criticized as he scored just two goals in his first 45 caps, but the Manchester City winger now has five in his past three England games after also scoring twice in a 3-2 Nations League win in Spain in November last year.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“I thought he was devastating tonight,” Southgate said. “I’m delighted for him to get the reaction that he did from the crowd here. We can’t hide from the fact that he’s had difficult moments with England and he’s turned that full circle.”
“I also think the goals in Spain were an important moment for him; you could see the release that had brought,” he added.
Harry Kane was also on target from the penalty spot and Tomas Kalas’ calamitous own-goal rounded off the scoring as England carried on their momentum from a run to the World Cup semi-finals and qualification for the last four of the Nations League.
The Euro 2020 final is to be played at Wembley and England have high hopes of being more than just hosts, especially with Sancho and Hudson-Odoi to add to an already talented front line boasting Sterling, Kane and Marcus Rashford.
Southgate believes that Sterling’s experience of the highs and lows of being an England protege makes him the perfect role model for Sancho, Hudson-Odoi and Declan Rice.
“I’ve put him into the leadership group that we have. I think he’s showing those signs, I think he’s a role model for the younger players coming in,” Southgate said.
FRANCE 4, MOLDOVA 1
Winger Antoine Griezmann scored one and set up another as World Cup winners France easily beat Moldova 4-1 in Chisinau in their opening Euro 2020 qualifier.
The Atletico Madrid attacker opened the scoring in the 24th minute of the Group H encounter before crossing for Raphael Varane to double the scores three minutes later.
Olivier Giroud equaled David Trezeguet as Les Bleus’ third-highest scorer of all time with his 34th international goal nine minutes before the break.
Kylian Mbappe completed the rout with three minutes left, before Vladimir Ambros claimed a late consolation for Moldova.
Leftback Layvin Kurzawa was the only member of the starting lineup without a World Cup medal as Bayern Munich winger Kingsley Coman pulled out during the warmup with a muscle issue and was replaced by Blaise Matuidi.
“We played a very consummate first half in terms of control and attacking organization. The second half was less fulfilling due to substitutions,” coach Didier Deschamps said.
Next up for France is Iceland, while Moldova, who are yet to qualify for an international tournament, head to Turkey.
Also on Friday, it was:
‧ Bulgaria 1, Montenegro 1
‧ Turkey 2, Albania 0
‧ Iceland 2, Andorra 0
‧ Portugal 0, Ukraine 0
‧ Luxembourg 2, Lithuania 1
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and