England confirmed qualification for next summer's World Cup with victory over Latvia in Riga on Tuesday, enabling head coach Thomas Tuchel to start finalising his plans as the countdown to the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States continues. Competition for places will be intense, with disappointment inevitable for some of those who have played a part in England's smooth qualifying campaign.
We might be in the midst of the men's international break, but the WSL remains in full swing. All 12 teams are in action today, with four games kicking off at 12pm BST. Chelsea v Tottenham (12pm BST) London City Lionesses v West Ham (12pm BST) Aston Villa v Leicester City (12pm BST) Everton v Manchester United (12pm BST) Arsenal v Brighton (2:30pm BST) Liverpool v Manchester City (4:45pm BST)
Jarell Quansah will miss England's World Cup qualifier against Latvia due to injury and the defender who did not play a part in England's 3-0 friendly win over Wales at Wembley will return to his club Bayer Leverkusen. England did not reveal the nature of his injury but the 22-year-old has returned to the Bundesliga club as a precaution. The former Liverpool defender has been a mainstay in Leverkusen's defence this season
"Last season was tough for me, to the point where I thought about stopping. I didn't want to do it. I had had enough of being so professional and trying to do everything right in my power, to then keep breaking down and not having the answers. It was a very difficult place to be in."
I love what Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke have been doing, Collymore said. I think I wrote in this column that I was a bit unsure about Madueke and whether he had the ability to step up, and Eze was obviously very late in the day, was touted to go to Spurs. But my word, I love wide men that go on the outside of a full-back five or six times a half, drive the opposition's back four back towards their own goal, whip it in, and then anything can happen.
It has been a South African summer at Lord's. After the World Test Championship triumph in June came a second to savour at the home of cricket: a tight five-run win under lights that sealed their first one-day international series victory on English soil for 27 years. For England it was another reminder of how far they have fallen since lifting the World Cup on this ground six years ago, this their fifth ODI series defeat from their last six.
The England-India epic that ended up like two weary prizefighters trading blows will live long in the memory, a 2-2 classic deserving immense credit for players on both sides.
