Gareth Southgate is hopeful Harry Kane will be fit to start for England when they meet Denmark in the Nations League on Wednesday.
Spurs head coach Jose Mourinho called on Southgate not to use Kane in all three of England's fixtures during the international break, with Tottenham having had a congested start to the 2020-21 campaign.
Kane scored twice as Spurs dismantled Manchester United 6-1 in the Premier League on October 4, before reporting for England duty later that day.
However, the 27-year-old had a scan on a thigh issue and was not involved in a friendly match against Wales on Thursday, and started on the bench against Belgium on Sunday before replacing Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the 66th minute.
Despite Mourinho's concerns, though, England boss Southgate is confident his captain will be able to start against the Danes on Wednesday.
"Well, medically, there's been conversations, because that would always be the case," Southgate told reporters when asked if England had been in contact with Spurs.
"He reported on the Sunday, we gave players that reported on Sunday, who weren't involved in the Wales game for us, we gave them two days' recovery.
"He started to train on the Wednesday, was a little unhappy with how he felt, so then worked with our medical team the next couple of days, we scanned just to be certain but it's a muscular fatigue issue rather than an injury, so it just needed a bit more confidence.
"He knew by then he could push on a little bit, but he just needed a bit more confidence in it, and so his training week really wasn't suitable to start the game.
"I think he'll have gained more confidence from the spell he had against Belgium, and so all being well, we hope he'll be good to start on Wednesday."
It is not difficult to understand Mourinho's concerns, given Spurs' reliance on their star forward.
Kane made 29 league appearances last season, missing nine matches in the top flight.
Of the games he missed, Tottenham won just three, scoring 12 goals in total, compared to 49 goals and 13 victories with Kane in the side, while he already has three top-flight goals and six assists to his name this term.
Spurs' next Premier League outing comes on Sunday, with Mourinho's men hosting London rivals West Ham.
These virtual sessions will feature informational topics like the history of the club, legacy, club rivalries, along with focusing on developmental aspects such as the youth academy system, scouting processes, player evaluation and much more. Additionally, the students will also get an opportunity to participate in technical topics such as match analysis, strength and conditioning sessions, and masterclasses with the academy coaches. LaLiga Club series will be available for all the LaLiga Football Schools students in the country across the age group of 5 to 18 years.
Real Betis will host the first session on 09th followed by Celta de Vigo on 16th October and Sevilla FC on 23rd October.
LaLiga’s historic grassroots football development programme in India always expects to bring enthusiasm for the sport amongst the students with new and exciting projects. As the current situation was, the on-ground events are at a halt LaLiga football Schools and LaLiga clubs are taking the initiative to engage and introduce new activities to build a greater connection with the football fans in India.
Jose Antonio Cachaza, Managing Director, LaLiga India said, “India has been our top priority market, and the response we have received for our initiatives is overwhelming. We have a holistic approach aimed at achieving overall sporting excellence through various training and development programmes. With LaLiga Club Series, we look to familiarise young fans across India with the personalities of different football clubs, and enhance their knowledge of the ecosystem of the sport.”
Saúl Vazquez, Technical Head, LaLiga Football Schools India said, “LaLiga Club Series will be conducted online and via the partner Clubs, the students will learn about the techniques and methodologies specific to these clubs. All this will help them better understand the Clubs’ style of play and operations and also provide them with greater exposure to different kinds of football.”
Earlier this year the LaLiga Football Schools launched LaLiga Football Schools at home along with India On Track (IOT), which helped inculcate a culture of sports amongst the youth. Now LLFS has added this weekly online programme, conducted by the representatives from each associated club to its offerings. These representatives will communicate digitally on various technical and institutional topics with students once a week for 60 min every Friday.
Former England international and Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler has been appointed the head coach of East Bengal for a two-year tenure, team’s principal owner Hari Mohan Bangur said on Friday. “We have signed the contract last night (Thursday) and Robbie Fowler is expected to join the side directly in Goa within a week,” Bangur, who has acquired a majority stake in East Bengal, confirmed the development.
“As of now, we have offered him a two-year contract which could be extended in due course,” Bangur said.
Fowler’s name was doing the rounds for more than a week, but the announcement was caught in the logjam of transfer of power from East Bengal to Shree Cement Limited and was made less than 24 hours after the impasse ended on Thursday.
“We have already lost some valuable time but I’m not bitter about it. It’s a process and it takes time. We are handicapped as we are short on preparation, but hopeful about making up for it. We will put up a competitive squad which will be announced in a couple of days,” Bangur said.
Former India captain Rennedy Singh will be Fowler’s deputy. Rennedy is a former East Bengal captain also.
The owner and managing director of Shree Cement Limited, who has acquired a majority stake of 76 per cent, further revealed that the team will be known as SC East Bengal as they along with Mohun Bagan make it a 11-team ISL.
“It could be Sporting Club East Bengal or Shree Cement East Bengal as per your interpretation. We as a corporate group and as per the guidelines we cannot prefix ‘Shree Cement’ to East Bengal so we have decided to name the team as ‘SCEB,” he said.
Premier League’s all-time seventh highest goal scorer with 163 strikes to his name, the former English striker was a product of Liverpool youth academy and made his senior team debut in 1993.
He has been the third-higest goalscorer for the Reds where he played till 2001 before switching allegiance to arch-rivals Leeds United and then Manchester City.
In his managerial career, Fowler was with A-League side Brisbane Roar FC last season when they finished fourth.
The 45-year-old Fowler also coached Thailand’s top division club Muangthong United in the middle of his playing season there and guided the team to third place.
East Bengal last month entered the ISL in their centenary year, joining arch rivals Mohun Bagan -- in the top tier.
The club’s journey to the ISL was facilitated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who played a pivotal role in getting Shree Cement on board.
The seventh edition of India’s top-flight football league is slated to be held closed-doors at three venues of Goa from November third week because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Coaching staff Head coach: Robbie Fowler, Assistant coach: Anthony Grant, Set piece coach Terence McPhillips, Goalkeeping coach: Robert Mimms, Sports Scientist: Jack Inman, Physiotherapist: Michael Harding, Analyst: Joseph Walmsley, Indian Assistant Coach: Renedy Singh.
The Argentine wanted to leave the Barca this summer but ultimately decided he was unwilling to get involved in a legal battle with the club
Luis Suarez believes that Lionel Messi will stay at Barcelona if the club brings in a new board, which would include replacing current president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Messi nearly left Barcelona in the summer, telling the club he wanted to activate a release clause in his contract, before reversing his decision when he told Goal that he had decided to stay to avoid a potential legal fight against the club.
The 33-year-old, whose contract expires at the end of the current season, is still far from happy with the club's board, saying Bartomeu and Co. have failed to build a winning team around him for some time.
“The truth is that there has been no project or anything for a long time, they juggle and cover holes as things go by," Messi said.
Messi's anger was part of the reason that a vote of no confidence will proceed against Bartomeu, who could be forced out of his position.
Suarez, who himself departed Barcelona last month when he joined Atletico Madrid, said he spoke to his good friend often about his desire to leave Barcelona.
“Out of respect for the relationship I have with Leo, I'm not going to say what we talked about at the time, but he lived through a difficult and complicated situation," Suarez said.
"He wanted to leave and the club did not want him to. I tried to support him, take care of him and distract him a little."
Suarez believes that part of the reason Barca wanted to see him leave was because he had grown too close to Messi.
“I think they wanted to get me away from Messi’s side, perhaps it bothered them that I have a good relationship with Leo," he said. "Maybe they wanted him not to be with me so much."
The Uruguayan added that he does not believe Messi's desire to leave Barcelona had anything to do with the club's treatment of him, though Messi has since hit out at Barca's behaviour toward the striker.
“That Messi wanted to leave Barcelona was not a gesture towards me. They should have respected his decision to leave," Suarez added.
Suarez said that he will respect whatever Messi decides to do after the current campaign but he believes that if there is a change at the top, the Argentine will be more inclined to stay at Camp Nou.
"There may be the possibility that Messi plays for another club, but if he feels comfortable, happy again and another board arrives, he will want to continue at the club," Suarez said.
"As a friend, I'll be happy if he does well there and if he has to go to another club, I'll be happy too."
