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BOOING OF THE KNEE SHOWS RACISM IS STILL A BIG PROBLEM – JORDAN HENDERSON

Jordan Henderson has said fans booing England’s players for taking the knee achieves nothing and proves the fight against racism is far from over.

The row over the anti-racism action has threatened, in England, to overshadow the start of Euro 2020 and has led to Gareth Southgate’s players finding themselves on the end of an angry reaction from a section of supporters before games.

There were jeers before England faced Austria and Romania in recent friendlies at the Riverside Stadium and there are fears the dispute will rumble on when Southgate’s side meet Croatia in their Group D opener at Wembley on Sunday.

Yet the backlash will not stop England taking the knee. Southgate made his case eloquently last weekend, and in an article published on Tuesday made clear his determination to keep using his position to raise awareness of society’s ills. Henderson has echoed his manager’s sentiments by saying his teammates are more determined than ever to take the lead in the fight against discrimination.

“I think it shows that if there’s still people booing because we’re standing together against racism, then there really still is a problem and we’ve still got to fight it and stand together,” England’s vice-captain said. “It shows even more that we have to keep going, keep fighting it. From our side, it’s about being together and doing what we think is right.”

Henderson, who insisted he would be fit to face Croatia after a groin injury, was asked whether booing players achieved anything. “It doesn’t,” he said. “We’ve made it very clear that we all stand together against racism. That’s the reason that we continue to take the knee.

“The lads are starting to feel like they don’t really want to talk about it any more. Of course, everyone knows we stand together and you’ll see that in taking the knee, but we want to get on with the football and concentrate on that. That’s our focus.”

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BEN WHITE REPLACES ALEXANDER-ARNOLD IN ENGLAND SQUAD FOR EURO 2020

Brighton defender Ben White has been added to England’s Euro 2020 squad in place of the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The 23-year-old was selected by Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate to replace the Liverpool right-back, who was forced to withdraw from the 26-man party due to injury.

White made his debut in last week’s 1-0 friendly win over Austria and impressed as he started alongside Tyrone Mings in Sunday’s victory against Romania.

Alexander-Arnold was ruled out after suffering a thigh injury late on against Austria and Southgate took his time to decide which of his standby players would come in.

Everton defender Ben Godfrey and Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse were other options who both started the Romania game, while Jesse Lingard and Ollie Watkins were also on the standby list, but will now return home.

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TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD LIMPS OUT OF ENGLAND EUROS WARM-UP WIN

Trent Alexander-Arnold looks in doubt for the Euros after limping off towards the end of the warm-up friendly win against Austria.

Alexander-Arnold suffered a thigh injury that Gareth Southgate admitted did not look good.

Playing in front of supporters for the first time in 18 months, the Three Lions got their Euro 2020 preparations off to a winning start against Austria at the Riverside Stadium in Middlesbrough.

England rode their luck at times but a first international goal to Bukayo Saka, 19, was enough to secure a 1-0 victory against the fellow Euro finalists.

With his selection in Southgate’s 26-man group one of the main talking points before the match, Alexander-Arnold, 22 – one of four right-backs in the squad – will remain in the spotlight after picking up a late injury.

“It looks like a thigh but we don’t know the extent at the moment,” the England manager said.

“Clearly, it’s not a good sign that he had to walk off and looked in some discomfort with it but we’ll know more in the next 24 to 48 hours.”

Southgate played down concerns over Jack Grealish, who only recently returned from a shin problem and was taken off in the second half.

Jordan Henderson had been due to play his first minutes for club or country since undergoing groin surgery in February, but the Liverpool captain remained on the bench against Austria.

“With Jack, we just felt that that was enough time,” Southgate said.

“I think you can see still a little bit of sharpness still coming and we didn’t want to overplay him through that period.

“With Jordan, we had hoped to involve him today. That was the original plan. This morning he wasn’t so happy with how he felt.

“We’ve scanned him just to be certain. There’s no problem on the scan so he’ll be able to resume training but we’ve taken a decision to leave him out of this game.”

Wednesday’s line-up is likely to be very different to the one against Croatia on June 13, given Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea players were all unavailable after their European final clash.

But the likes of Saka and Jude Bellingham, who made his first Three Lions start at just 17, impressed on the evening.

“I thought they were both excellent,” England manager Southgate said.

“They were as they’ve been since they’ve walked through the door, really, with us.

“Both in training and in the matches, they’ve played with confidence, they’ve played with freedom, they’ve played with maturity.

“I thought Bukayo right from the start linked the game really well. He received well on the line, he received well inside.

“He’s got a lovely ability to receive in that traffic in the middle of the field. It’s like a slippery eel getting away from those challenges.

“I thought his all-round game [was good] and he works defensively well for the team. Really pleased with him and for him to get the goal.

“And Jude, you can’t help but marvel at the performance of a boy that age, really.

“It’s a bit disrespectful [to call him a boy]. He’s a boy because he’s 17, but he’s not a boy, is he? He plays like a man.

“I would just say that he’s still, of course, learning the understanding. He’s probably running more than he needs to if anything. He got cramp towards the end.

“That efficiency that he can still learn but his ability to receive under pressure, his calmness on the ball, he competes, he wants to compete.

“Even in training sessions with us right from the start, he didn’t hold back and look at the senior players. He’s in there and he should be really proud of his first start.”

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SAKA ON TARGET, BELLINGHAM STARS, AS ENGLAND BEAT AUSTRIA IN EUROS WARM-UP GAME

Bukayo Saka got absentee-hit England’s Euro 2020 preparations off to a winning start against Austria but all eyes will be on Trent Alexander-Arnold after his late injury.

Having whittled his 33-man provisional squad down to 26 players on the eve of Wednesday’s friendly, Gareth Southgate’s side triumphed as they played in front of fans for the first time in 18 months.

Saka’s debut goal was the difference in England’s 1-0 victory against fellow Euros outfit Austria, but the main talking point after the match will be Alexander-Arnold limping off late on in Middlesbrough.

Southgate’s men will return to the Riverside Stadium for their final warm-up friendly against Romania on Sunday, when the England will be hoping there will be no repeat of the jeers that met players taking the knee.

There were around 7,000 in attendance as England fans got to see some new stars for the first time, with Jack Grealish, Saka and 17-year-old full debutant Jude Bellingham looking bright.

Harry Kane had the best chance of the first half and 19-year-old Saka kept his cool to put the Three Lions into a deserved lead early in the second period.

Jordan Pickford spared debutant Ben Godfrey’s blushes and got the slightest touch as Marcel Sabitzer struck the crossbar on a night that Southgate was unable to call on Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea players.

There were some hairy moments defensively and the night ended with widely-discussed right-back Alexander-Arnold hobbling off.

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ENGLAND EURO 2020 SQUAD: GREENWOOD PULLS OUT DUE TO INJURY

Mason Greenwood has pulled out of the provisional England Euro 2020 squad due to a pre-existing injury.

The Manchester United forward was part of the initial 33-man squad selected by Gareth Southgate for this summer’s tournament. But ahead of the announcement of the final squad on Tuesday, his club have said he will not take part in the European Championship.

A statement from Manchester United read: “Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood has withdrawn from the provisional England Euro 2020 squad, in order to recover fully from an underlying injury that also kept him out of the Under-21 European Championship in March.

“Mason’s club appearances were managed carefully to maintain his availability through the intensive 2020-21 Premier League and Europa League schedules.

“But a further spell of tournament football would not be beneficial and Mason will remain at Manchester United to recuperate and prepare for pre-season training.”

Southgate will name a cut-down 26-man squad later on Tuesday.

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BEN WHITE, GODFREY, RAMSDALE MAKE ENGLAND PROVISIONAL EURO 2020 SQUAD

Ben White, Ben Godfrey and Aaron Ramsdale received their first England call-ups as Gareth Southgate selected Trent Alexander-Arnold among four right-backs in his provisional European Championship squad.

With England dealing with issues such as injuries and European final absentees, the Football Association confirmed a larger provisional squad would be announced on Tuesday rather than the definitive group.

Southgate has named a 33-man party that will be trimmed down to 26 players on June 1st, allowing him to include injury doubts such as Harry Maguire, Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips.

There are first senior call-ups for Brighton centre-back White and Everton defender Godfrey, while Sheffield United goalkeeper Ramsdale joins uncapped Sam Johnstone in the squad as Nick Pope misses out through injury.

Manchester United teenager Mason Greenwood has been recalled for the first time since being sent home after his debut in Iceland.

Eric Dier misses out, but Alexander-Arnold returns to the group alongside fellow right-backs Reece James, Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker. Bukayo Saka, Ollie Watkins and 17-year-old Jude Bellingham are among the others to get the nod.

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Europe top teams win WCup qualifiers as Swiss move goalposts

World Cup qualifying in Europe took a quirky turn when the goalposts were removed before a match between Switzerland and Lithuania because they were deemed the incorrect size.

It was one of the few things that didn’t go to script on Sunday.

All of the continent’s heavyweight countries secured victories, though Spain left it late — the second minute of stoppage time, to be precise — to see off Georgia 2-1 after falling behind.

Like Spain, France started its qualification campaign with an unexpected draw at home but also got back on track in its second game, easing to a 2-0 win at Kazakhstan.

Italy stretched its unbeaten streak to 24 games with a 2-0 win in Bulgaria, and England also moved onto a maximum six points in group play with a 2-0 victory at Albania. Germany made it two straight wins to open qualifying, too, by beating Romania 1-0 away.

Meanwhile, Denmark became the latest European team to use the World Cup qualifiers to direct attention to workers’ rights in 2022 host Qatar. Its players wore red T-shirts with the slogan “Football supports change” for the team photo before kickoff against Moldova, which Denmark went on to beat 8-0.

The Danish soccer federation said the shirts will be signed and auctioned to raise money for projects with Amnesty International that help migrant workers in Qatar.

OLMO RESCUES SPAIN

Dani Olmo came off the bench to snatch a come-from-behind win for Spain, his long-range shot getting palmed into the top corner of the net by flailing Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Loria.

Ferran Torres’ fifth goal in six starts gave Spain, the 2010 world champion, the equalizer in the 55th after Georgia went ahead a minute before halftime.

Sweden looks like being Spain’s biggest challenger in Group B for the one automatic qualifying place after sealing a second straight win by beating Kosovo 3-0.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, freshly out of international retirement, had a hand in two of the goals having also claimed an assist on his first game back, the 1-0 win over Georgia on Thursday.

Spain started out by drawing 1-1 with Greece.

PENALTY MISS

A missed penalty by Kylian Mbappe had little effect for France in its comfortable win in Kazakhstan.

The world champions were already two goals ahead by then, through Ousmane Dembele — one of a raft of changes by Didier Deschamps — and an own-goal by Sergey Malyy in the first half.

Mbappe came on after Anthony Martial appeared to hurt his knee getting his studs caught in the synthetic turf at Astana Stadium, and the Paris Saint-Germain star won the penalty himself — only to see his shot tipped around the post.

Ukraine and Finland drew 1-1 and have two points each to sit behind France in Group D.

KANE VS. LEWANDOWSKI

England plays Poland in a key Group I qualifier at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday and both of their world-class strikers look in good shape for it.

Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski scored for a 10th straight game for club and country, netting a double in Poland’s 3-0 win over Andorra. The Poles opened by drawing with Hungary.

Harry Kane scored one goal and set up another for Mason Mount in England’s 2-0 win in Albania, which built on the 5-0 thrashing of San Marino on Thursday.

England leads the group with six points. Hungary is level with Poland on four points after beating San Marino 3-0.

ITALY FLYING

Italy’s back-to-back wins to open World Cup qualifying come after a perfect 10 wins in qualifying for Euro 2020.

Goals from Andrea Belotti, from the penalty spot, and Manuel Locatelli, the first for his country, followed up a victory over Northern Ireland on Thursday.

Switzerland is only behind Italy on goal difference after its 1-0 win over Lithuania, secured by an early goal from Liverpool winger Xherdan Shaqiri. The start of the game was delayed by 10 minutes because one of the goals was not regulation size and had to be changed.

GERMANY TOP

Germany tops Group J on goal difference after Serge Gnabry finished off a team move in the 16th minute that involved Chelsea players Antonio Rüdiger and Kai Havertz.

The Germans are rebuilding after a 6-0 Nations League loss to Spain in November.

Armenia is also on six points after beating Iceland 2-0, while North Macedonia cruised to a 5-0 win over Liechtenstein for its first points of qualifying.

RECORD WIN

Denmark earned its biggest win in a World Cup or European Championship qualifier.

Kasper Dolberg and Mikkel Damsgaard both scored twice in Herning for the Danes, who were 5-0 up after 39 minutes.

Denmark is the only team in Group F with six points. Austria is two back after coming from behind to beat the Faroe Islands 3-1, while Israel and Scotland drew 1-1.

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JUDE BELLINGHAM BARRED FROM JOINING ENGLAND SENIOR SQUAD

Jude Bellingham has been ‘barred’ from travelling to the UK for England duty by Borussia Dortmund because of strict coronavirus guidelines.

Bellingham, 17, was set to be named in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania and Poland.

The Three Lions boss picks his squad on Thursday and will be without a host of key players including Jordan Pickford and Jack Grealish, among others.

And he could also be without Bellingham who will now have to quarantine for 14 days upon returning to Germany from England

Southgate and the FA thought the budding midfielder was exempt from quarantining.

The laws have since been altered, but Southgate is still hopeful the situation could change yet again so the teenager becomes available for selection.

Bellingham is still waiting to discover whether he can join up with the England team ahead of fixtures at the end of the month.

Reports claim Dortmund are not prepared to be without the ex-Birmingham City star for the two weeks that follow the internationals as both of their Champions League quarter-final fixtures fall within that period.

The Bundesliga club have already refused to allow Gio Reyna to travel to Northern Ireland for USA’s friendly match on March 28.

They would also have stopped Jadon Sancho from travelling but he’s injured.

Bellingham made his senior debut for England against the Republic of Ireland last year.

He was left out of England’s Euro U21 squad in view to receiving a senior call-up, but those plans remain on ice.

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England plans return of fans in time for Premier League finale in May

The Football Association hope two showpiece games at Wembley Stadium — the League Cup final on April 25 and the FA Cup final on May 15 — could be test events for the return of spectators.

Plans to ease England’s lockdown restrictions will see up to 10,000 supporters being allowed back into Premier League stadiums for the final day of the season in May ahead of Wembley hosting European Championship games.

Some sports in England could see fans return even earlier in April, the government said on Monday, as part of pilots involving coronavirus testing to assess how events can take place without any social distancing from later in the year.

English football authorities hope two showpiece games at Wembley — the League Cup final on April 25 and the FA Cup final on May 15 — could be test events for the return of spectators.

The government’s roadmap out of England’s third lockdown has earmarked May 17 as the earliest day for the implementation of stage three that would see the widescale reopening of sports venues to spectators. The Premier League ends on May 23.

Stadiums with more than 40,000 seats, including the home of Premier League leader Manchester City, will be allowed up to 10,000 fans spaced out. Smaller major venues will be permitted a quarter capacity.

The release of plans for the reopening of sports to fans is a boost to England’s role in staging seven games at the rescheduled Euro 2020 across June and July, including the semifinals and final.

“The turnstiles of our sports stadia will once again rotate, subject in all cases to capacity limits depending on the size of the venue,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. “And we will pilot larger events using enhanced testing, with the ambition of further easing of restrictions in the next step.”

The final stage of the government plan, in which all legal limits on social conduct are removed after 15 months of closure, is set for June 21. That is a week before the scheduled start of Wimbledon, which was canceled last year due to the pandemic.

Other leading European countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, are yet to announce plans for the return of spectators to sports stadiums.

Britain has had Europe’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak, with more than 120,000 deaths, and the government said the dates for the easing of lockdown could be postponed if infections rise.

But Britain has had Europe’s fastest inoculation campaign with more than 17.5 million people, a third of the country’s adult population, already given the first of two doses of vaccine. The government aim is to give every adult a shot of vaccine by July 31.

All venues were closed to spectators as sports shut down at the start of the pandemic in March 2020. While it took three months for events to resume, it took longer for stands to be even partly filled.

Up to 2,000 fans were allowed back into some Premier League stadiums in England in December but all venues were shut again as coronavirus restrictions were tightened later in the month due to the spread of new variants of COVID-19.

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RASHFORD RECEIVES SPECIAL BBC SPORTS AWARD.

Marcus Rashford’s scintillating Sunday as a Manchester United player became even better in the evening as he collected an individual honour at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony, scooping the 2020 Expert Panel Award.

Fresh from helping the Reds to beat Leeds United 6-2 in the Premier League, our no.10 travelled the short distance from Old Trafford to MediaCity in Salford, where he was welcomed on stage at the annual BBC event by former England striker Gary Lineker and his fellow presenter Gabby Logan.

“What a player, on and off the pitch,” said Lineker, before inviting Marcus to explain his motivation, for the vital work he has done to combat food poverty this year.

“It all started when I was growing up as a kid,” said the Reds forward.

“I feel like [in my career], if it was a 100 metres race, I started 50 metres behind everybody else. It was more difficult for me to do the basic things like get to training and eat the right food. It was a nightmare of a situation but, in the end, I got to where I needed to get to.

Once I got there, I’ve always had this thing that eats at me, saying ‘make sure you make a difference for the next generation.’ I think, as a country, we should always protect them as much as we can and give them the best chance in life at becoming whatever they want to become.

“For me, everything that I get for doing what I have done will sit in my mum’s house and be where she can see it every day because she’s the person who, in difficult circumstances, brought me up to become a person that has morals. My friends will tell you that I’ve not changed at all since they remember me as a kid.”

When asked by Logan whether he expected his passionate social media message about food poverty, posted in March this year, to have such an impact and affect government policy, Marcus modestly replied: “I didn’t expect it. To be honest, it was something that I tried a few years ago in Manchester. It was helping a lot of people, a lot of children, in Manchester but I wasn’t satisfied with the reach it was having.

”A few years later, I was speaking to my brothers and my mum – I was injured at the time – and I just said to them, ‘I’m going to have another go at it.’ Then we did but what has happened since then we didn’t expect.“

Congratulations, Marcus, on your latest award, from everyone at Manchester United. What a year @MarcusRashford has had.

He’s been recognised with a special award at tonight’s Sports Personality of the Year awards.