Stories By Harry De Cosemo

• Sport

  Gareth Southgate’s successor needs to be a forward-thinker.

  Gareth Southgate’s decision to resign as England manager did not come as a surprise. Although defeat to Spain in the final of the European Championships is still very raw, it is important to remember the result will have had little to no impact on his final decision.

• Sport

  Southgate should go out on a high rather than stay on as Manager

  Gareth Southgate let out an almighty roar and gestured to the crowd. “One more!”, he screamed. England had beaten the Netherlands to reach their second successive European Championship final; the last push is against Spain in Berlin on Sunday.

• Sport

  Bellingham will continue to prove doubters wrong

  Nobody builds up footballers only to knock them down again like English fans and media. Jude Bellingham is the best and most important player in this current generation; you only need to look at how he dragged Gareth Southgate’s team into extra time of their Euro 2024 last-16 tie with Slovakia with a stunning bicycle kick on Sunday.

• Sport

  Should Portugal drop Ronaldo for the round of 16?

  When Portugal dropped Cristiano Ronaldo and beat Switzerland 6-1 in the last 16 at the 2022 World Cup, it felt like a seminal moment. Fernando Santos, the manager at the time, replaced him with Gonçalo Ramos, who scored a hat-trick to justify the decision.

• Sport

  Nico Williams is one of the players to watch this summer

  Before the start of Euro 2024, while everyone was doing their pre-tournament predictions, one of the key topics was who would be the breakout star. The name of Athletic Club’s Nico Williams was on a number of people’s lips; the 21-year-old has enjoyed a superb season at club level, and this summer the Euros in Germany offered him an excellent springboard to improve.

• Sport

  Bakayoko will be key to Belgium’s Euro campaign

  For the first time in a decade, Belgium are going into a major international tournament without the pressure of being among the favourites. Football is cyclical, and the Red Devils have reached the end of theirs.

• Sport

  Kroos has been one of the greatest players of his era

  Toni Kroos is the forgotten member of the greats in this generation of midfielders. The German, 34, played his final game for Real Madrid on Saturday, his final game of club football in fact. It just so happened to be the Champions League final, and Madrid’s win, their 15th in all, gave Kroos a sixth career crown.

• Sport

  Football is entering a new era of unproven managers

  We know that football moves in cycles and trends, be it culturally or tactically. Different players, formations and styles come into fashion, and that can begin to impact what is truly important to football clubs, even when they are run like businesses.

• Sport

  Selling Guimarães or Isak would be a step back for Newcastle

  Bruno Guimarães donned a Newcastle United bucket hat and roared towards the away end at the Gtech Community Stadium. He’d just scored the fourth goal in the Magpies’ win at Brentford, confirming the three points that all but secured European qualification, unless Manchester United beat neighbours Manchester City in the FA Cup final next weekend.

• Sport

  It finally feels like Mbappe’s career at the very top can begin

  Last week, football’s worst kept secret was revealed. Kylian Mbappe, France’s superstar and arguably the best player on the planet, announced he would be leaving Paris Saint-Germain in a video message to his fans.

• Sport

  Rosenior has a strong career ahead of him despite Hull sacking

  There aren’t many more impressive young coaches in England than Liam Rosenior. His work at Hull City, taking them to the brink of the Championship playoffs in his first full season in managment was remarkable, and received a deserved nomination for Manager of the Year.

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