Leicester City continued their dominant run in the Championship with a convincing 2-0 win against Cardiff.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and James Justin scored in a display of total command, marking Leicester’s 20th win from 25 league games. The team is steadily closing in on Reading’s record Championship points total of 106 from the 2005-06 season.
Leicester’s possession game demonstrated its effectiveness, with Dewsbury-Hall breaking through Cardiff’s defense after 14 minutes to score the opening goal. James Justin extended the lead with a spectacular 25-yard strike after 54 minutes.
Cardiff struggled to make an impact, with Leicester’s high press causing problems. Despite Cardiff’s improved performance in the latter part of the first half, Leicester’s well-drilled approach and possession dominance secured another victory.
The win reaffirms Leicester’s position at the top of the Championship table, highlighting their strong form and ambitions for promotion.
Wales manager Rob Page has indicated that Wrexham striker Paul Mullin could be considered for national team selection if he maintains a consistent scoring record in League Two.
Despite being born in Liverpool, Mullin is eligible to play for Wales through his Welsh-born grandmother and has expressed his desire to represent the country at the international level.
During his two seasons at Wrexham, the 28-year-old has impressively netted 78 goals, playing a significant role in the club’s promotion to the English Football League. Additionally, Mullin clinched the 2022-23 FA Cup Golden Ball as the tournament’s top scorer.
Mullin’s eligibility has sparked discussions among Wales supporters, with many eager to see him receive a senior call-up. However, manager Rob Page has shown some hesitation due to Mullin’s current involvement in the fifth tier of English football.
“Forget what he’s done up until now,” Page said ahead of Friday’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Armenia in Cardiff.
“If he is playing in League Two and he’s scoring goals, then we will look at him and consider him. But there is a massive gap from where he’s been up to League Two.
“We will keep monitoring him and if he keeps scoring goals as he goes up the levels he’ll prove himself.”
Mullin has already shone in League Two and won the division’s Golden Boot with a 32-goal season in Cambridge’s 2020–21 promotion campaign.
He enhanced his reputation further in the FA Cup this term with nine goals, three of which came against Championship pair Coventry and Sheffield United.
Page said: “I watched him against Sheffield United and I was very impressed by him, just from a work rate point of view.
“I wouldn’t want to play against him, he’s a pain in the backside.
“Forget his goalscoring and his eye for goal, I like him because he’s a pain to play against. He’s like a rat, and I want that.”
Page admits Wales need to sharpen their attacking play for games against Armenia and Turkey after collecting four points from their opening two Euro 2024 qualifiers in March.
Brennan Johnson and David Brooks have returned to the squad after missing the 1-1 draw in Croatia and the 1-0 home win over Latvia.
“While I was happy with the Latvia performance and how we controlled the game, that final detail at the top of the pitch is where we need to improve,” Page said.
“Having Brennan back fit, and Daniel James, Harry Wilson and David available is only going to help us achieve that.
“With the personnel we’ve got we can have two or three different formations without any problem.
“The game plan might change within a game, but having players like Brennan will give us the opportunity to get higher up the pitch and score more goals.
“We’ve got some good players and the problem now is finding out how to get them all into the same team.”
Rob Page reported that Nathan Broadhead,a hero for Wales who scored a last-second equaliser against Croatia, was in tears.
Andrej Kramaric gave the World Cup semi-finalists a lead in Split in the 28th minute, sending Wales into the first round of Euro 2024 qualifying with a loss.
After Chris Mepham had flicked on Connor Roberts’ long throw, Ipswich striker Broadhead, who had just earned his first cap, equalised in the third minute of stoppage time to preserve a 1-1 draw for Wales.
Page said: “I’m really pleased for him. He’s not going to like me saying this, but it’s an emotional game and he was in tears at the end with the supporters.
“It means the world to him. I’ve worked with Nathan in the Under-21s in Toulon six or seven years ago.
“I’ve watched his development and he’s earned the right to be part of the squad now. I’ve known all about him before this camp and we’ve been itching to get him involved.”
Nathan Broadhead’s equaliser prompted jubilant scenes for the travelling Welsh support
Wales had not managed a single shot on target until Broadhead’s late intervention at the far post.
But, after being outplayed for the entire first half, they appeared to be building momentum before Page made a contentious triple substitution.
Skipper Aaron Ramsey,Daniel James — who had just volleyed wide from close range — and Harry Wilson were all withdrawn with Broadhead among the replacements.
Page admitted that Tuesday’s must-win home game against Latvia was in his thoughts at that point.
He said: “We’d planned it [the subs] last week. The four forwards we had on the pitch are not playing at club level.
“We had a target for the points we wanted to get, it’s all about the home game for us.
“That was the winnable game and we always knew that on the hour we were going to make those substitutions.
“It’s beneficial to keep them fresh now for Tuesday, but when you get the equaliser like we did late on in the game it feels like a win.
“I think the lads deserved it for the effort they put in, they put a right shift in.
“We knew we were going to have to suffer without the ball and it came true. They’re a very good team and we had to be disciplined in our shape.
“I knew that, as the game went on, we’d create chances. We thought DJ’s might be the one, but Nathan popped up at the end and took his chance well.”
In the next Euro 2024 qualifiers against Croatia and Latvia later this month, the 32-year-old midfielder, who has 78 caps to his credit, will play under his nation’s captaincy for the first time.
Rob Page, the team’s manager, picked a 24-man squad on Tuesday, with Ramsey as its captain.
Page said: “Aaron was the vice-captain behind Gareth and I see this as a natural progression.
“He’s got a big opportunity to work with the young players. He’s in the right time of his career to lead the boys out and he is relishing it.
“I’ve spoken to Aaron. He’s very appreciative of it and he’s looking forward to role.”
Bale ended his distinguished career in January after winning a record 111 caps for the Wales men’s national team.
Ramsey has done the job before, having been appointed Wales captain at the age of 20 by the late Gary Speed in March 2011.
Speed’s successor Chris Coleman gave the armband to Ashley Williams in October 2012 to allow Ramsey to focus on his football.
As well as the departure of record scorer Bale, Chris Gunter, Joe Allen and Jonny Williams have also retired from the international scene since Wales’ disappointing World Cup campaign before Christmas, where they scored only once and finished bottom of their group.
Page has named four uncapped players in his squad for the trip to World Cup semi-finalists Croatia on March 25 and the home game with Latvia three days later.
Midfielders Jordan James and Ollie Cooper, who were present in Qatar but not part of the official World Cup squad, both feature.
Fulham youngster Luke Harris and Ipswich striker Nathan Broadhead are also included.
Tom Bradshaw returns after his fine form for Millwall saw him named the Championship Player of the Month for February.
The last of Bradshaw’s three Wales appearances came at the China Cup in March 2018, but the 30-year-old has won a recall after scoring six goals in as many games.
David Brooks is not included after returning to the Bournemouth squad on Saturday for the first time in 529 days following his cancer diagnosis.
Brooks, an unused substitute in the Cherries’ 1-0 win over Liverpool, was diagnosed with Stage 2 Hodgkin lymphoma while on Wales duty in October 2021 but revealed he was cancer-free last May.
Wales are sweating on the fitness of Brennan Johnson after the in-form Nottingham Forest forward was injured at Tottenham on Saturday.
Johnson, who has scored seven goals since the World Cup, is set to have a scan on a groin strain this week.
Dundee United midfielder Dylan Levitt and Tyler Roberts, the Leeds striker on loan at QPR, are unavailable through injury.
Cardiff pair Rubin Colwill and Mark Harris and MK Dons midfielder Matthew Smith are also absent after being in the World Cup squad.
Gareth Bale, a former world-class player for Wales, announced the end of his playing career on Monday, and Real Madrid has paid respect to the former superstar.
Bale spent nine years in Spain after leaving Tottenham to join Real Madrid in 2013, though he returned to Spurs on loan in 2020–21.
During his tenure at the Santiago Bernabeu, the 33-year-old won three LaLiga championships, a Copa dey Rey, five Champions League championships, and three Club World Cups.
He was not always universally popular with the fans despite scoring 106 goals in 258 games for the club, particularly after being pictured with a flag while on international duty that read: “Wales, golf, Madrid. In that order.”
“Following Gareth Bale’s announcement that he will retire from professional football, Real Madrid C. F. would like to express its gratitude, admiration and affection for a true legend of our club and the world game,” it read.
“Gareth Bale was part of our team during one of the most successful periods in our history. He will long be remembered for his involvement in some of the most remarkable moments of the past decade, including his unforgettable run in the 2014 Copa del Rey final in Valencia [v Barcelona], his crucial goal in the 2014 Champions League final in Lisbon [v Atletico Madrid], and his brace in the 2018 Champions League final in Kyiv [v Liverpool], most notably the bicycle kick which will live forever in the minds of football lovers around the globe.
“His name will be forever bound to our club’s history and its legend.
“Good luck, Gareth, and all the best to you and your family.”
Gareth Bale, a legend for Wales, has declared his retirement from both club and international football.
The 33-year-old winger, a former player for Real Madrid and Tottenham, amassed 111 caps for the Dragons and competed for his nation in three important competitions, including the World Cup in Qatar.
Bale made the following announcement about his choice on social media: “After serious and thoughtful contemplation, I announce my immediate retirement from club and international football.
“I feel incredibly fortunate to have realised my dream of playing the sport I love.
“It has truly given me some of the best moments of my life.
“The highest of highs over 17 seasons that will be impossible to replicate no matter what the next chapter has in store for me.”
Bale, the captain of Wales, began his professional career at Southampton before making his debut in 2007 with Spurs, where he went on to establish himself as one of the best players in the Premier League over the course of 237 games for the North Londoners.
His performance won him a transfer to LaLiga powerhouse Real Madrid for a then-record £85 million fee.
The Cardiff-born star played in the Spanish capital for nine years, earning five Champions League championships.
His strike against rival Atletico Madrid in 2014 and a spectacular brace to defeat Liverpool four years later rank among the best moments in the championship game of European football.
A Welsh great, Bale played a talismanic role in helping his country reach the European Championship semi-finals in 2016 and also led them to their first World Cup since 1958.
Bale moved to Los Angeles FC last year, scoring three goals in 14 appearances — including in the MLS Cup final, which his side won on penalties.
He added: “From my very first touch at Southampton to my last with LAFC and everything in between, shaped a club career that I have an immense pride and gratitude for. Playing for and captaining my country 111 times has truly been a dream come true.
“To show my gratitude to all of those that have played their part along this journey feels like an impossibility.
“I feel indebted to many people for helping to change my life and shape my career in a way I couldn’t have ever dreamed of when I first started out at nine years old.
“To my previous clubs Southampton, Tottenham, Real Madrid and finally LAFC, all of my previous managers and coaches, backroom staff, team-mates, all the dedicated fans, my agents, my amazing friends and family, the impact you have had is immeasurable.”
Rail workers are continuing their strike action this week in a dispute over pay, jobs, and conditions, and passengers in Scotland and Wales have been warned to expect significant disruption.
The RMT union has declared that on January 3, 4, 6, and 7, employees at Network Rail will go on strike.
Transport for Wales and ScotRail, who are not parties to the dispute, have both issued warnings that the walkouts in England will have a negative impact on their services.
According to ScotRail, this is due to the fact that many of the Network Rail employees protesting in safety-sensitive positions.
David Simpson, ScotRail service delivery director, said: “It’s really disappointing to see more widespread disruption across the whole Great Britain rail network as a result of the dispute between Network Rail and the RMT at a time when we need to be encouraging more people back to the railway.
“For ScotRail, it’s going to mean that we won’t be able to operate the vast majority of our services between 3 and 7 January, which we know will be really frustrating for our customers.”
Meanwhile, Transport for Wales told the BBC that asNetwork Rail owns and operates the track, stations, and signaling in Britain, the strikes mean only a limited number of trains can run.
It said, “The industrial action resulting from the dispute between the unions and Network Rail means we’ll be unable to operate rail services on Network Rail infrastructure.”
A health minister has advised citizens to stay away from “risky activity” on Wednesday, when ambulance workers are scheduled to go on strike.
Those in need of immediate assistance should continue to dial 999, but Will Quince warned that there would inevitably be service disruptions.
To cover the walkouts in England and Wales, about 750 members of the armed forces are being called up.
Ambulances should still answer the most urgent calls, according to Mr. Quince.
Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he claimed that ministers wanted cardiac arrests and strokes, among other category 1 and 2 events, to be covered.
Health Secretary Stephen Barclay will meet unions later to discuss staffing levels during the strikes.
Mr Quince said the military staff drafted in for Wednesday would provide “support capacity” for individual NHS trusts.
He added that they would not be able to drive ambulances under blue lights, go through red lights or break the speed limit – but would help ambulance staff to get people to A&E more quickly.
Health chiefs have warned of “extensive disruption,” and urged hospitals to free up beds by safely discharging patients ahead of industrial action.
Measures should also be put in place to make sure ambulance patient handovers are kept to no more than 15 minutes, they advise.
Mr Quince said the government expected category 1 and 2 calls to be responded to. As well as cardiac arrests and strokes, these categories also include heart attacks, serious burns, and compound fractures, he said.
Taxi bookings
He added that for less serious categories, NHS trusts would be block-booking taxis to take people to hospital, and “encouraging people wherever possible” to find treatment by making journeys themselves.
Decisions on staffing are being taken on a local basis, meaning there will be potential variation in service by region.
Wednesday’s action will involve members of the Unison, GMB and Unite unions. GMB members are also due to on strike again on 28 December.
Unions representing NHS staff in England and Wales are pus
hing for higher pay after being offered a below-inflation average 4.7% rises this year.
Unison has said troops are “no substitute for trained ambulance staff” – and a rethink on NHS wages from the government could have averted action.
The strike will follow strikes from nurses on Tuesday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, who are taking their second day of action this month over pay.
The health secretary says that in order to protect patients during this week’s ambulance strike, unions must guarantee that there will be “sufficient” staffing.
On Wednesday, workers in England and Wales will strike over pay; however, life-threatening situations will be attended to.
Unions claim that discussions with ambulance trusts to create comprehensive plans for cover are still ongoing.
There is a lack of clarity regarding what is being offered, according to Steve Barclay.
He said it was for the unions to ensure they “meet their obligations” for emergency cover so that people in crisis get the care they need.
But Unite leader Sharon Graham, whose union is co-ordinating the ambulance strikes with Unison and GMB, said Mr Barclay will “have to carry the can if patients suffer”.
“It’s Steve Barclay who is holding the country to ransom,” she told the Daily Mirror.
Unions say the government has the power to stop the ambulance strike – and action by nurses on Tuesday – if it signalled a willingness to discuss pay.
The ambulance walkouts will involve paramedics as well as control room staff and support workers.
The action by the three main ambulance unions – Unison, GMB and Unite – will affect non-life threatening calls, meaning those who suffer trips, falls or other injuries may not receive treatment.
Members of GMB are set to follow up the action with another walkout on 28 December.
The government’s emergency Cobra committee will meet this morning to discuss how to lessen the impact of the ambulance strike. Ministers have already announced members of the military will be on standby to help out.
The unions representing NHS workers have asked for above-inflation pay rises for staff.
The governments in England and Wales have given staff an average rise of 4.75%, with a guaranteed minimum of £1,400.
Mr Barclay has said the government’s pay award met the requirements of the recommendations of the independent NHS Pay Review Body and what was being asked for was “unaffordable”.
While visiting an emergency call centre in Chelmsford on Sunday, Mr Barclay declined to be drawn on reports the government had ruled out a one-off payment for NHS workers to break the strikes deadlock, saying discussions between his department and the prime minister on the issue were private.
He added: “But I’m keen to continue a dialogue with the trade unions because there’s a range of issues that matter to staff,” he said, referring to issues such as technology and safety.
Both Unison and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) union have threatened further strikes in the new year if an agreement is not reached.
Unison’s health of health Sara Gorton urged Mr Barclay to “do the right” thing both for NHS workers and patients and “host genuine talks and put a better pay offer on the table”.
“Ministers should take their heads out of the sand, stop pretending they can’t boost wages and stop ignoring aworsening staffing crisis,” she said.
Wales’ World Cup elimination shouldn’t disappoint Rob Page and Gareth Bale, who also praised the Dragons’ efforts despite a convincing loss to England.
Wales held England at bay for the majority of the first half on Tuesday at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, but they were unable to recover as Marcus Rashford netted a pair of goals and Phil Foden added a late goal.
Wales’ exit from a major tournament without a victory was confirmed by a 3-0 loss, while England overcame their rivals in seven successive games, winning 14 and losing only one.
“The effort we put in I thought was outstanding, we addressed at half-time we could have been better with the ball,” the Wales manager told the BBC.
“I won’t have a bad word said about those players, they have given everything. The first goal is a wonderful strike, the second I am a little disappointed with but I don’t want to talk about negatives.
“We are disappointed to leave the tournament but that is the way to go out, the first-half performance was excellent.”
Bale was removed from the game at halftime after only managing four passes and seven touches, both the fewest of any starter in Al Rayyan, as the World Cup, which might have been his last, came to an unsatisfactory close.
Page confirmed after the game that a hamstring issue Bale sustained in the first half was the problem as the former insisted Wales will now “build for the future”.
“Bale felt his hamstring just five minutes before the interval so he had to come off,” Page added. “Joe Allen, that was his first 90 mins for ages, Ben Davies had to come off with an injury as well.
“Ethan [Ampadu] had to go to right-back, so I couldn’t be more proud of the effort honestly – just to get here was a massive achievement.
“My message is don’t be disappointed, we have to build for the future and to get to the World Cup is an unbelievable achievement for that group of players.”
We have had to wait 64 years for this moment to tell the world who we are.
Our language. Our culture.
Our history. Ein Wal Goch.
Bale, who scored his nation’s only goal in the Middle East with a penalty in the opening 1-1 draw with the USA, echoed Page’s sentiment as he reflected on a first World Cup appearance for Wales in 64 years.
“We have to look at what we have achieved to get here and how far we have come, of course, we’re frustrated to go out but football is not easy,” Bale told the BBC.
“We didn’t quite live up to our expectations this tournament but we will take massive experience from it. Going forward, we need to look at how far we have come.
“To be at a World Cup, two years ago if you had asked us that we would have pinched ourselves. It is disappointing to go out but we will walk out of the changing room with our heads held high.
“It just didn’t happen for us at this tournament, the past two tournaments we’ve had success but it doesn’t always happen – we can never have any regrets, though, we gave everything.”
On his future, Bale added: “I’ll keep going as long as I can and as long as I want to. It is a difficult moment but we go again, we have a qualification campaign starting in March.”
Only France, Brazil, and Portugal have already qualified for the World Cup knockout rounds, with many other teams facing a nerve-wracking penultimate matchday in their quest to advance to Qatar’s round of 16.
Favorites entering the tournament With victories over Serbia and Switzerland, Brazil easily advanced from Group G, while France became the first team to retain its global championship since the Selecao in 2006 to do so.
Portugal’s win over Uruguay on Monday in Group H ensured their place in the round of 16, but other teams like England, Spain, Germany, and Argentina still need results on matchday three to advance.
Another well-known team that hasn’t confirmed their participation in the FIFA World Cup’s latter rounds is the Netherlands, and Belgium must defeat Croatia in Group F to avoid an early elimination.
Here, we examine the potential outcomes depending on the final decision about group-stage action in the Middle East.
The Netherlands are essentially in charge of Group A and only need to avoid losing to Qatar, the group’s eliminated hosts.
If Ecuador defeats Senegal, who also needs to win, Louis van Gaal’s team will also go to the round of 16, but Aliou Cisse’s team will need Qatar to defeat the Netherlands to have any chance of competing.
Ecuador, who has performed admirably in their first two games, must defeat Senegal or draw to advance. However, if Qatar defeats the Netherlands, Gustavo Alfaro’s team may lose and not advance.
Group B
Against ferocious rivals Wales, England needs just to win or draw. However, as long as they avoid a four-goal loss against Wales, whose goal differential is six lower, the Three Lions would still advance.
Iran will automatically advance if they defeat the United States, who are aware that failure to defeat Carlos Queiroz’s team will result in their elimination from the competition.
Quieroz’s team might still finish first in Group B with a draw, but if Wales defeats Gareth Southgate’s England, goal differential would become important.
All four teams still have a chance to advance from the intriguing Group C, with Argentina—one of the pre-tournament favorites—necessitating a victory over Poland to ensure a spot in the round of 16.
The Albiceleste, though, might advance with a draw and would be eliminated in that scenario if Mexico and Saudi Arabia also shared the points.
However, Argentina will lose if Lionel Scaloni’s team is stopped and Herve Renard’s team defeats El Tri. Goal differential will decide the winner if Mexico wins and Argentina draws.
Poland would go through by avoiding defeat, but would be knocked out by a loss coupled with a Saudi Arabia victory over Mexico, who must win to have any chance of remaining in the tournament.
Goal difference will be used to divide the two teams if Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia tie and if Mexico triumphs and Czeslaw Michniewicz’s team loses.
Group D
As long as Australia doesn’t beat Denmark and France doesn’t lose to Tunisia, the French will win Group D; otherwise, the Socceroos would tie France on points with six. France is already in the round of 16 draw.
Even though a win would send Australia through, Graham Arnold’s team would still advance to the knockout round with a tie, barring Tunisia’s victory over France, which would allow Jalel Kadri’s team to advance on goal differential.
Unless Tunisia defeats France, Denmark would qualify with a victory over Australia. In that case, the difference between the Carthage Eagles and Kasper Hjulmand’s team would be determined by goal differential or goals scored.
Onto the next! France’s 2-1 win over Denmark moves them onto the round of 16.
Spain are the favourites to progress from Group E, requiring a win or draw against Japan. Defeat would see Luis Enrique’s side still go through on goal difference, unless Germany lose to Costa Rica.
Germany must pick up three points to stay in contention and would qualify as long as Spain defeat Japan, though a draw in the latter game or a win for Hajime Moriyasu’s men would see goal difference needed.
A win for Japan over Spain would take Moriyasu’s side through, while a draw – coupled with a stalemate for Germany – would also see the Samurai Blue make the knockout stage.
Costa Rica would earn a last-16 spot with victory and a point would also take them through if Spain overcome Japan. A draw in both games or a defeat for Fernando Suarez’s side sees them eliminated.
Group F
Croatia will pass through Group F if they avoid defeat against Belgium, who require victory against the 2018 runners-up to guarantee a place in the round of 16.
Such a win for Belgium would leave Croatia needing already eliminated Canada to overcome Morocco, with goal difference coming into play to separate Zlatko Dalic’s side from the Atlas Lions.
A draw is likely not enough for Belgium. They would need Morocco to lose to Canada and then rely on goal difference, though Walid Regragui’s men (+2) hold the advantage over Roberto Martinez’s side (-1) in the decisive metric.
Morocco would progress with victory over Canada, while a defeat would see Regragui’s side reliant on Belgium beating Croatia for goal difference to be decisive between Dalic’s men and the Atlas Lions for second.
Group G
Brazil have secured knockout football and will finish as Group G winners with anything other than defeat against Cameroon, who need victory against Tite’s side and results to go their way to make the last 16.
Rigobert Song’s men would be eliminated if they do not win, though victory is not guaranteed to secure progression as Switzerland could play out a high-scoring draw with Serbia to go through on goals scored, which is used if sides cannot be separated on goal difference – Cameroon are currently on -1 and Switzerland level in the latter metric.
The somewhat expected scenario of Cameroon losing to Brazil would see Serbia and Switzerland become a winner-takes-all clash.
Dragan Stojkovic’s side need victory to progress in that instance, while a draw would be enough for Switzerland. Goal difference would be required if Serbia (-2) and Cameroon (-1) both win their final encounters.
Portugal are already through and would top Group H by avoiding defeat against South Korea, who could still make a late charge for the round-of-16 stage should the result between Uruguay and Ghana go their way.
The permutations are straightforward for Uruguay and South Korea, who must win to avoid elimination, though qualification is not assured even with victory.
Both teams would be level on four points with victories, again leading to goal difference to separate. Yet, if Ghana beat Uruguay then South Korea’s result against Portugal will prove irrelevant for Paulo Bento’s side.
A draw for Ghana and a win for South Korea would also see goal difference required to split the two sides, with Bento’s men trailing the Black Stars by one in that metric, which could mean goals scored comes into it.
In the lead-up to Wales‘ matchup with England, a team that Rob Page has referred to as a “beatable” foe, Gareth Bale does not feel that he has any additional burdens on his shoulders.
Wales will leave the World Cup early for the first time since 1958 if they lose to England on Tuesday and hope that Iran and the United States draw in the other Group B game.
The Dragons, who lost to Iran 2-0 after drawing with the USA 1-1, will also move on to the knockout round thanks to an unlikely 4-0 victory over their fierce rivals.
Bale was crucial to Wales‘ achievement in their successful bids to qualify for both Euro 2016 and Euro 2020, which put an end to their protracted wait to compete on the international level.
But the Los Angeles FC forward is hoping to bounce back from the Iran loss with a win against England in what might be his final tournament appearance for Wales.
“We’re disappointed in the results and performance so far but that’s football,” he said at Monday’s pre-match news conference. “This is a World Cup and it’s not easy.
“We’ll always give 100 per cent and we want to try to make things better. The last few days we’ve been working hard and hopefully things turn around for us now.
“We were hurting after the Iran game and the next day. Everyone was really quiet but we have characters in the squad and the energy is high again.
“We’re in good spirits for this next match. This is tournament football and we have to go again.”
Bale scored his side’s only goal of Qatar 2022 so far, a late penalty against the USA, but he has had the fewest touches of the ball of any Wales player in both matches.
The 33-year-old has managed only two shots, one of those being his spot-kick effort, but he insists his nation’s hopes against England do not rest solely on him.
“I don’t feel an added responsibility. We’re a team and nation who work hard for each other and we must deliver as a team, not one person,” he said.
“We’ve been working hard these last couple days. We would have loved to have been winning but the reality is football is hard, but we’ve been keeping our spirits high.”
Wales had never before lost a single game in any of their big tournament appearances, but over the years they have struggled against English neighbors.
In fact, Wales has lost all six of their previous matches against England, scoring just once (a free-kick by Bale in a 2-1 loss in the Euro 2016 group stage) while giving up 11 goals.
However, boss Page is confident his team can break that dreadful streak in a game that Wales absolutely must win if they are to have any chance of extending their stay in Qatar.
“This tournament has shown anyone’s beatable – of course England are beatable,” Page said. “They’ve got a wonderful pool of players, but we must show what we’re capable of.”
Echoing the views of his manager, Bale said: “Absolutely. We’ve done our homework and had meetings, which I’m sure they’ve also done. It’s going to be a difficult game.
“We know England are one of the favourites and we’re under no illusions. There’s been a few shocks already and there’s no reason we can’t do the same.”
Wales enter Tuesday’s game winless in seven matches, which is their worst run without victory since between May 2003 and November 2003.
Although nurses will continue to provide emergency care, routine services will be impacted.
The RCN claimed it had no choice after ministers refused to reopen talks, but the government claimed the 19% pay increase demanded was unaffordable.
“Ministers have chosen strike action,” RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said.
“Nursing staff have had enough of being taken for granted, enough of low pay and unsafe staffing levels, enough of not being able to give our patients the care they deserve.”
Under trade union laws, the RCN has to ensure life-preserving care is provided during the strikes, which will last from 08:00 to 20:00 GMT.
This is likely to mean some urgent cancer services, urgent tests and scans and ongoing care for vulnerable patients will be protected alongside A&E and intensive care – although it will be up to local health bosses and union leaders to negotiate exact staffing levels on strike days.
But it seems almost certain the walkout will increase the backlog in non-urgent hospital treatment – a record seven million people are already on the waiting list in England.
Louise Ansari, from the Healthwatch England patient watchdog, said she was “concerned” about the impact on this group of patients.
He said the thought of striking makes him sad, but he is prepared to do it.
“I am sorry we are having to do this.
“But we are doing it for the right reasons, we are doing it for patient safety.
“You are running on reserves most days. We do not have enough staff and because of the lack of nurses, patients are at risk.
“Unless we pay nurses more we are not going to attract people or keep people.”
And he says unless the situation changes he may even quit nursing.
GP services, however, will be unaffected as nurses working in practices were not entitled to take part in the ballot.
And because a series of individual ballots were held at NHS trusts and boards rather than one national ballot, nurses at more than 40% of England’s hospitals, mental health and community services are not entitled to strike because the turnout was too low in those votes.
However, walkouts can happen at all of Northern Ireland’s health boards and in all-but-one in Wales, the Aneurin Bevan.
Staggered action
What is not clear yet is just how many of the services where strike actioncan take place will see walkouts.
It is possible the RCN could stagger the action so some services go on strike in December, with others to follow suit next year if the industrial action continues.
It is seen by the union as a way of limiting the disruption to patients, while keeping the pressure on the government.
Individual NHS trusts and boards will not find out until next week whether they will see walkouts on the two dates, because that is when the formal notices will go out.
The RCN has called for a rise of 5% above the RPI inflation rate, which currently stands at above 14%, but no UK nation has offered close to that.
In England and Wales, NHS staff, including nurses, have been given a rise of at least £1,400 – worth about 4% on average for nurses.
In Northern Ireland, nurses are yet to receive a pay award because there is no working government.
Strike action has been suspended in Scotland however after the government there made a fresh offer worth more than 8% for a newly-qualified nurse. More senior nurses are being offered less. The RCN said it was considering the offer.
‘Strike last thing patients need’
During the ballot, the results of which were announced two weeks ago, the RCN had argued this year’s below-inflation pay award came after years of squeezes on nurse’s salaries.
But England Health Secretary Steve Barclay said the RCN’s demands were not affordable, adding he “deeply regretted” union members would be taking action.
He pointed out the government had met the recommendations of the independent NHS Pay Review Body in giving its award.
And it followed a 3% pay rise last year, in recognition of work during the pandemic, despite a public-sector pay freeze.
“Our priority is keeping patients safe. The NHS has tried and tested plans in place to minimise disruption,” he added.
The Welsh government said it was unable to enter pay talks without extra funding from the UK government.
Labour shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said talks should restart – although he would not commit to paying the above-inflation pay rise the RCN was seeking.
“Why on earth is the health secretary refusing to negotiate with nurses? Patients will never forgive the Conservatives for this negligence.”
This will only be the second time RCN members have been on strike.
In 2019, nurses in Northern Ireland walked out over pay, while nurses who are members of Unison in England walked out in 2014 over pay.
A host of other major health unions, including Unison, the Royal College of Midwives,GMB and Unite, have all started balloting members.
After falling to a late 2-0 loss to Iran, Gareth Bale acknowledged that Wales is in danger of being eliminated from the World Cup.
The Iranian team’s late goals from Rouzbeh Cheshmi and Ramin Rezaeian caused the 10-man Dragons to lose heartbreakingly in Qatar.
Rob Page’s team just has one point after two games after that defeat, therefore in order to maintain their chances of moving on, the Welsh must defeat England on Tuesday night.
The 33-year-old captain Bale spoke after the final horn: “It is painful. There is no other way to describe how devastated we are.
Rouzbeh Cheshmi struck in the eighth minute of stoppage time for Iran
Iran put in a commanding performance, but the Dragons’ chances of winning were dashed in the 86th minute when Wayne Hennessey was sent off for charging out of his goal and colliding with Mehdi Taremi.
Bale thought it marked a turning point in the previously acrimonious situation.
The 48-year-old said: “Our performance before the red card was not acceptable.
“We hoped it would all come together, but we were nowhere near the levels we’ve set and the standards we’ve set in recent games.
“One or two you can carry, but when there are so many off days there is only one outcome.
“I always take responsibility, that’s my team. The sending off didn’t help of course but at that point we had five forwards on the pitch so couldn’t get a defensive shape.
“But yes I’ll always take responsibility for performances.
“It’s a difficult changing room at the minute but we will be ready [against England]. It’s a local derby and a great game to finish on and we’ll be prepared to go.”
Rob Page admitted his Wales side underperformed against Iran
After being second best for much of the contest at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, former Wales striker Iwan Roberts was critical of Page’s men.
He said: “I’m extremely disappointed in how Wales performed. If we’re being honest, we haven’t been good enough in the two games.
“The thing for Wales is our fitness levels. Not enough of our players are playing 90 minutes regularly. Not enough energy, nobody looked fresh. You can get a couple of players through like that, but not five or six.
“We were lucky against the USA. We lost to the better team, no doubt about it. They were fitter, more confident, more sharp. We can’t complain about that result at all.”
Ashley Williams, who led Wales to the 2016 Euro semifinals, has a better attitude.
The ex-Swansea defender, 38, said: “I think Wales gave it their all as they always do, they worked as hard as they could in this second half. Iran probably shaded Wales a bit.
“We didn’t get ourselves into good enough areas in the second half and didn’t have enough chances on the Iranian goal. So I’m gutted for all the boys.”
Wayne Hennessey saw red late on for Wales
After suffering a 6-2 defeat to England in their opening game, Iran are now well in the race for the knockout stages ahead of their final group clash with USA on Tuesday.
Manager Carlos Queiroz said: “This is just the beginning, but we need to finish the job. [It is] a wonderful day for us.
“All respect to my players, who showed they love to play football. Our players deserve to be supported. We want to play for the fans.”
Iran defeated Wales 2-0 on Friday, November 25, taking a significant step toward the 2022 FIFA World Cup‘s knockout round.
In the opening match of Group B at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Asian nation suffered a heartbreaking 6-2 defeat to England.
Iran started playing again today, eager to get a win to improve their chances of avoiding an early tournament exit.
For the Asian nation’s benefit, players performed admirably today and even seized the lead in the 16th minute. Even though the goal would be disallowed for offside, the performance was outstanding considering how poorly Wales played.
In the second half, both teams fought hard but it was Iran that had the last laugh after scoring two late goals.
Wales had to finish the game with 10 men after goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was shown the red card for fouling the last man in the 85th minute.
In stoppage time, Ramin Rezaeian and Roozbeh Cheshmi both scored to steer Iran to a delightful 2-0 victory to amass the maximum three points.
Iran must now prepare for a final Group B contest against the USA.
Raphinha hopes Brazil will have reason to dance in celebration at the World Cup as he joked Tite’s side have 10 routines rehearsed for goals.
Brazil are among the tournament favourites in Qatar ahead of their Group G opener on Thursday against Serbia as the Selecao aim for a first World Cup triumph since 2002.
Barcelonawinger Raphinha was one of many to celebrate in support of Vinicius Junior, who was told in September by a Spanish journalist to stop dancing “to respect your mates and stop playing the monkey”.
Gabriel Jesus, Neymar and Richarlison – all members of Tite’s 26-man squad in the Middle East – were other notable supporters of Brazil team-mate Vinicius.
Raphinha appears a likely contender to start for the five-time world champions and he intends to give Brazil further reason to celebrate in style at the World Cup.
“To tell you the truth, we already have dances prepared for up to the 10th goal,” an upbeat Raphinha said on Monday.
“We have some 10 dances prepared for each match, one for the first, one for the second, one for the third … If we score more than 10, then we’ll have to start innovating.”
Pedro, Antony and Gabriel Martinelli are the other attacking options at Tite’s disposal and Raphinha has no doubts Brazil will go out to play free-flowing football.
“With Vinicius we gain more speed on the attack, while with [Lucas] Paqueta we have more control near the midfield,” former Leeds United forward Raphinha added.
“But Brazil has a characteristic of always being offensive-minded, no matter who gets to play.”
Richarlison, like Raphinha, will be a World Cup debutant for Brazil after scoring 17 goals in his 38 appearances for the Selecao since his debut in 2018.
The Tottenham striker wants to produce performances befitting of the number-nine shirt handed to him as he aims to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Ronaldo Nazario.
“When you wear the number nine jersey with the Brazilian national team, all you want to do is score goals,” Richarlison said. “With these team-mates, I’m sure the goals will come.”
Neymar came into criticism for posting a photo with six stars on his shorts, referencing a hopeful Brazil triumph at the World Cup, but Richarlison has no problem admitting the Selecao’s hopes.
“We are dreamers, we are going after this sixth star no matter what people are going to say,” he added.
Wales manager Rob Page was relieved to gain an “important point” in their World Cup opener against the United States, and praised Gareth Bale’s intelligence in winning a second-half penalty.
The United States took a deserved first-half lead through Timothy Weah, though an improved Welsh side came back in the second and equalised via Bale’s 82nd-minute spot kick.
The 1-1 draw leaves both two points behind England after the first games in Group B in Qatar after the Three Lions beat Iran 6-2 earlier on Monday, but Page was happy enough with a point and suggested his team were the ones who could have won it late on.
“It was a really important point for us,” he told reporters at his post-match press conference. “I thought for the last 10 minutes if anybody was going to go on to get the winner it was going to be us as well.”
Bale’s penalty made him just the fourth player to score a World Cup goal for Wales after John Charles, Ivor Allchurch (two) and Terry Medwin, all in their 1958 campaign.
85 – Gareth Bale, Wales’ all-time top scorer, has scored 85% of his international goals in competitive matches (35/41). Precious. #USAWALpic.twitter.com/bhIGVSCEU8
The Los Angeles FC forward had an otherwise quiet game, but once again stepped up when his country needed him, winning the penalty when he got across USA defender Walker Zimmerman and drew the foul.
“We’ve sort of evolved Gareth’s position, put it that way,” Page explained about his star player. “He can still play out wide, of course he can, but I like to give him the freedom to come inside and play off a frontman.
Yesterday was the toughest news I’ve ever had to face and that was listening to my mum tell me my grandad past away last night😓 to go from crying all day to start in a World Cup game was extremely tough but I got through it from the support of my team mates and family❤️🕊 pic.twitter.com/3pcxl0C3Qc
“He’s very good at finding those spaces, he’s intelligent, he’s got a wise head, so he puts himself in those positions in the box to be able to get us penalties, and defenders commit to making tackles, and if they don’t get their timing right in the box, inevitably it’s a penalty.”
Welsh full-back Neco Williams played 79 minutes at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium and was visibly emotional at full-time, later revealing he had only found out last night that his grandad had passed away.
Williams posted on Twitter after the game: “Yesterday was the toughest news I’ve ever had to face and that was listening to my mum tell me my grandad past away last night.
“To go from crying all day to start in a World Cup game was extremely tough but I got through it from the support of my team-mates and family.”
Wales face Iran in their second Group B game on Friday.
England and six other nations have confirmed their players will not wear the OneLove armband at the World Cup.
The move comes after FIFA threatened to book captains if they broke regulations and made their own statements on social issues, rather than following guidelines from the game’s governing body.
OneLove, which promotes “inclusion and sends a message against discrimination of any kind”, has grown in significance in the build-up to the tournament in Qatar, a country in which homosexuality is illegal.
But, following extensive discussions between FIFA and an alliance of football associations – England, Wales,Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland and the Netherlands – the armband will now not be worn.
A joint statement read: “FIFA has been very clear that it will impose sporting sanctions if our captains wear the armbands on the field of play.
“As national federations, we can’t put our players in a position where they could face sporting sanctions including bookings, so we have asked the captains not to attempt to wear the armbands in FIFA World Cup games.
“We were prepared to pay fines that would normally apply to breaches of kit regulations and had a strong commitment to wearing the armband. However, we cannot put our players in the situation where they might be booked or even forced to leave the field of play.
“We are very frustrated by the FIFA decision which we believe is unprecedented – we wrote to FIFA in September informing them of our wish to wear the One Love armband to actively support inclusion in football, and had no response.
“Our players and coaches are disappointed – they are strong supporters of inclusion and will show support in other ways.”
England open their World Cup campaign against Iran later on Monday.
In a separate statement, the Dutch FA (KNVB) – the OneLove campaign originated in the Netherlands – expressed its anger and disappointment at FIFA’s stance.
It read: “The KNVB and the players of the Dutch national team would like to convey a positive message with OneLove and against all forms of discrimination.
“We wanted to do that at the World Cup together with England, Wales, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark.
“The UEFA working group, of which the KNVB is part, asked FIFA on September 19 to embrace the OneLove captain’s armband. Today, hours before the first match, FIFA has (officially) made it clear to
us that the captain will receive a yellow card if he wears the OneLove captain’s armband.
“We deeply regret that is has not been possible to reach a reasonable solution together.
“We stand with the OneLove message and continue to carry it out, but our first priority at the World Cup is to win matches. You don’t want the captain to start the match by getting a yellow card. That is why we had to decide with pain in our hearts – as a UEFA working group, the KNVB and as a team – to abandon our plan.
“As previously announced, the KNVB would have paid a possible fine for wearing the OneLove captain’s armband but that FIFA would punish us for this on the field was not expected.
“This goes against the spirit of our sport which connects millions of people. In the coming period, together with the other countries involved, we will take a critical look at our relationship with FIFA.”
United States head coach Gregg Berhalter is confident his side can defeat anyone on their day, as they prepare to commence their World Cup campaign against Wales.
Having failed to qualify for the tournament in Russia four years ago, the US side head to Qatar with the intent to make an impact ahead of co-hosting the tournament alongside Canada and Mexico in 2026.
Eight years ago in Brazil, Berhalter’s predecessor Jurgen Klinsmann made it clear the USMNT could not win the tournament which, although a realistic assessment, was seen to be a defeatist mentality in the eyes of many.
Berhalter is not looking to rock the boat fully by declaring his side can go all the way, though he does fancy their chances against any opposition.
“What I do believe is that on our best day we can beat anyone in the world. Anyone,” he told ESPN.
“Look, it is a great honour to play in the World Cup, but we don’t want to just be participants. We want to perform.
“We think the first step is getting out of the group. And the second step is, in the knockout games, playing our best possible game and seeing how far we can go.”
Midfielder Weston McKennie is keen to take it one match at a time, starting with Monday’s opener against Wales.
“As a team, as a group, we always want to just focus game by game. So of course with Wales being the first one, there’s no way that we’re going to look past them or anything because we know they’re a strong team.
“We know that it’s going to be a hard game. But we definitely want to win the first game, to come out with three points.
“[It’s been] just three, four years of just working up to this moment. I think all the guys are ready to go, and the staff are ready to go and put a game plan together. So hopeful we execute that.”
The United States also face England and Iran in Group B, as they look to continue their consistent record at the World Cup – only failing to advance from the group stages in four of their nine involvements.
Gareth Bale is “100 per cent fit and ready to go” for Wales at the World Cup in Qatar after battling injury issues.
The former Real Madrid winger’s fitness had been a concern before Robert Page named his 26-man squad for Wales’ first appearance at the World Cup in 64 years.
Bale has only started twice for Los Angeles FC since joining from Madrid in July, managing just 370 minutes on the pitch.
However, he scored an extra-time equaliser as a substitute against Philadelphia Union in the MLS Cup final, which LAFC won on penalties on November 5.
Bale initially gave Wales reason to be concerned after the final as he said he felt “not 100 per cent fit”, but has since backtracked on those comments before travelling to the Middle East.
“I’m 100 per cent fit and ready to go,” the Wales international told Sky Sports after revealing his struggles with a “slight issue”.
Bale suggested playing the United States, England and Iran in Group B in the space of nine days would be “no problem”, with the mental aspects of being sidelined more of a problem than the physical side.
“I’m fully fit and ready to go. If I need to play three 90s, I’ll play three 90s,” he added. “It’s been difficult, mentally more than anything.
“I guess for everybody, the last three or four weeks, it’s been difficult, even hearing stories of players going down and knowing they’re going to miss the World Cup.
“Speaking to a few of the boys, even for them having to play this weekend was tough mentally, and we’re just praying not to have an injury at all because it’s such a big occasion.”
The tournament has been somewhat overshadowed due to human rights issues in Qatar.
Bale will be among eight captains to wear a distinctive heart-adorned armband, raising awareness for the OneLove campaign against discrimination in a country where same-sex marriage is prohibited.
“For us as footballers, it’s been a difficult subject to talk about,” said Bale. “But we can shed a light on the problems there that are going on.
“We’ve spoken to the FAW [Football Association of Wales] and they’ve been speaking to Welsh government, who’ve been speaking to Qatar and FIFA, working on these issues.
“For us as players, we’re fully behind and support everything we can do. As footballers, the most we can do is raise awareness and it’s for people higher up to make those decisions, and hopefully make change for the better.”
Warning: This story contains details of child sexual assault.
A culture of misogyny and predatory behavior, fuelled by poor vetting standards, is “prevalent” in police forces across England and Wales, according to a police watchdog.
Wednesday’s report by the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary comes more than a year after the March 2021 death of Sarah Everard, who was killed by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens.
He was last year jailed for life for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of the 33-year-old in a case that exposed the failings of the police force.
Police were criticised for neglecting to take any action after Couzens allegedly exposed himself in 2015 and was involved in another incident in 2002.
Sarah Everard [File: Metropolitan Police/AFP]
The interior minister at the time, Priti Patel, ordered the police watchdog to investigate misogynistic and predatory behaviour within forces.
In some of the most concerning cases Wednesday’s report cited, police officers who had been hired without thorough checks had gone on to sexually abuse children.
A force in Cheshire, for instance, failed to properly vet a candidate who was accused of rape.
In October 2017, months after Ian Naude had been hired, the then 30-year-old answered a call to a domestic abuse emergency where he ended up meeting a 13-year-old girl.
Three days later, while “her mother was out, he drove the child to a secluded country lane and raped her, filming the offense on his mobile phone” the report said.
“Over the last decade, there have been many warning signs that these systemsaren’t working well enough. Some police officers have used their unique position to commit appalling crimes, especially against women,” the report said.
Female officers were surveyed and the report found that an “alarming number” of women reported “appalling behavior by male colleagues”.
This included allegations of sexual harassment and “serious sexual assault”.
“We concluded that far too many women had, at some stage in their career, experienced unwanted sexual behavior towards them,” the report added.
The watchdog looked at 11,277 police officers and staff and examined 725 vetting files.
Inspectors called for minimum standards for pre-employment checks and for changes to the law dealing with police complaints and disciplinary procedures.
‘Too easy’
Lead inspector Matt Parr found that “it is too easy for the wrong people to both join and stay in the police” and that there were “significant questions” over the recruitment of “thousands” of officers.
While most police officers and staff meet the required standards of behaviour, the report found “systemic failings, missed opportunities, and a generally inadequate approach to setting and maintaining standards in the police service.
“It is too easy for the wrong people to both join and stay in the police. If the police are to rebuild public trust and protect their own female officers and staff vetting must be much more rigorous and sexual misconduct taken more seriously,” said Parr.
The London force tweeted in response that it would be “ruthless in ridding the Met of those who corrupt our integrity”.
Inspectors also found cases where incidents such as indecent exposure were dismissed as a “one-off” and where applicants with links to “extensive criminality” in their families had been hired.
The report said that “over the last three or four years, the number of people recruited over whom we would raise significant questions is certainly in the hundreds, if not low thousands”.
Patel’s successor Suella Braverman said the report shines a “stark light” on problems within the police, adding it was “unacceptable” that women “continue to experience misogynistic and sexist behaviour”.
After accepting a salary offer from the government, criminal barristers in England and Wales voted to end their strike.
The end of the industrial action, which led to the suspension of numerous cases, was confirmed by the Criminal Bar Association (CBA).
In a statement on Twitter, it said: “The Criminal Bar has voted to accept the proposal made by the government.
“With 57% voting to accept the offer made by the government, action is suspended from 18.00hrs this evening.”
It comes after the justice secretary proposed more reforms to fees for legal aid work, which the government said amounted to another £54m.
The CBA said the criminal justice system remained “chronically underfunded” but that it would respect the decision of its members and end the strike.
Barristers will be able to accept new cases from Monday evening and will return to court on Tuesday.
They had originally been offered a 15% fee rise from the end of September – an extra £7,000 per year – but were told it would only apply to new cases.
However, an improved offer from the Ministry of Justiceapplied the increase to the “vast majority of cases currently in the crown court”.
Justice Secretary Brandon Lewis said he was “glad that barristers have now agreed to return to work”.
He added: “This breakthrough is a result of coming together and restarting what I hope to be a constructive relationship as we work to drive down the backlog and ensure victims see justice done sooner.”
The High Court had warned recently that strike delays might not be a good enough reason to keep defendants on remand in custody if the dispute dragged on past November.
Barristers started their activities in the summer – initially on alternate weeks and refusing certain work – before escalating it to a continuous walkout last month.
The CBA argued that real-terms pay had decreased on average by 28% since 2006.
Some barristers said they sometimes earned minimum wage for government-funded work when accounting for the number of hours they put in.
Wales will now play in Switzerland on Tuesday ahead of a potential inter-continental play-off in February to determine qualification for next summer’s finals in Australia and New Zealand.
Gemma Grainger’s side incredibly had the ball in the net four times prior to the winner but, on a night when VAR was in operation for the first time at a Wales Women’s game, an offside flag denied them on each occasion.
Wales had welcomed a home clash with Bosnia, with midfielder Rowe going as far as to say she “nearly screamed the roof down” on drawing opponents ranked 63rd in the world, and 30 places below the Dragons.
But Bosnia proved far more resilient than their FIFA ranking suggested, with goalkeeper Almina Hodzic, in particular, a formidable last line of defence.
Wales were without Natasha Harding for what Grainger described as “personal reasons”, after the 103-times-capped midfielder made her Aston Villa debut last weekend.
But Wales were able to welcome back their most-capped player, Fishlock, who had missed last month’s final qualifiers against Greece and Slovenia because of injury.
Fishlock was involved throughout a first half that Wales dominated but were unable to break the deadlock.
Much of that was down to Hodzic, who made a series of excellent saves to keep the contest scoreless.
Hodzic stopped point-blank efforts from Fishlock and Ceri Holland, while she was relieved to see an offside flag after Kayleigh Green had rounded her and rolled the ball into the net.
Bosnia went close when Marija Aleksic’s snapshot was diverted by the outstretched foot of Laura O’Sullivan, but the visitors’ defence somehow escaped being breached after 17 minutes.
Hodzic parried Rowe’s 25-yard effort and pushed Holland’s follow-up effort on to the crossbar. A third opportunity saw Angharad James’ drive blocked by a Bosnian defender.
Wales kept driving forward as the half came to a close, but Hodzic was again in the right place to deny Holland and Rowe, and James volleyed over from Fishlock’s cross.
Bosnia showed more attacking intent after the break and it was more of an even contest.
Wales were almost embarrassed when Hayley Ladd headed Melisa Hasanbegovic’s pass towards her own goal with O’Sullivan stranded.
The Manchester United defender cleared the danger, and Wales regained the initiative in the final quarter with celebrations cut short three times.
Green, Ffion Morgan and Fishlock all saw goals ruled out. Substitute Morgan volleyed home just moments after replacing Carrie Jones, but Rhiannon Roberts appeared offside in the build-up.
But, just as Wales appeared out of luck, Fishlock popped up with her 35th international goal, and one of the most important of her distinguished career.
Police officials in Wales and England have promised to send an officer to each and every house that has been burglarized.
The pledge commits forces to send an officer to investigate every report of home burglary, regardless of location and what has been stolen.
All 43 forces agreed to the commitment at last week’s meeting of the National Police Chiefs’ Council.
Its chairman Martin Hewitt said the move was aimed at giving people “peace of mind”.
The pledge follows a report from the police watchdog in August which found most victims of burglary, theft, and robbery in England and Wales were not being given the justice they deserve.
In the year to March, Home Office figures showed just 6.3% of robbery offences and 4.1% of thefts in England and Wales resulted in charges, while recent figures found police attendance at burglaries in London had fallen to 50%.
Mr Hewitt said some forces had struggled to attend all burglaries because of “limited resources”.
“We want to give people the peace of mind of knowing if you experience that invasion, the police will come, find all possible evidence and make every effort to catch those responsible,” Mr Hewitt wrote.
“That’s a critical part of the contract between the police and public.”
Mr Hewitt added that burglary was “invasive” and could be “deeply traumatic” for victims.
The plan is to prioritise incidents where a home has been burgled, as opposed to outbuildings and garden sheds.
Sara Thornton, previous head of the NPCC, told the BBC in 2015 that budget cuts and the changing nature of criminality meant the public should not expect to see an officer after crimes such as burglary.
The latest agreement, signed up to by all forces in England and Wales, follows similar commitments from several services across the country, including the Metropolitan Police Service.
The Met’s recently-appointed commissioner, Mark Rowley, last month said his officers would “get back” to attending all reports of a burglary in London.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Image caption, Sir Mark Rowley said the Met’s low attendance record for burglary was “unacceptable”
Sir Mark told the BBC a crime as severe as burglary needed a “proper policing response” and described the Met’s low attendance record as “unacceptable”.
“We’re never going to turn up to every single crime, and the public understands that, but something as severe as burglary needs a proper policing response,” he said.
“It’s too serious an intrusion not to have somebody turn up”.
Greater Manchester Police committed to attend to every report of a burglary in July last year and said it had since seen “a number of positive results”, including a 95.8% increase in arrests between August 2021 and July 2022.
Supt Chris Foster, the force’s lead for tackling burglary, said: “It is therefore only right that we use all of our policing powers to deal with those individuals who invade the homes of others and steal their property.
Kevin De Bruyne was on target as Belgium kept their faint hopes of progressing to the Nations League Finals alive with a 2-1 victory over Wales.
De Bruyne opened the scoring and set up the second goal for Michy Batshuayi at the King Baudouin Stadium, as the Red Devilsremained three points behind leaders Netherlands in Group A4.
Kieffer Moore pulled one back for Wales, but the Dragons must now beat Poland on Sunday to have any chance of avoiding relegation from League A.
The Red Devils, whose head coach Roberto Martinez was sent from the touchline for time-wasting, need an emphatic win over the Dutch when they meet on Sunday to reach the Finals.
Belgium took just 10 minutes to break through as De Bruyne applied a wonderful first-time finish to Batshuayi’s lay-off to the edge of the penalty area.
Youri Tielemans steered Yannick Carrasco’s cross off target and Batshuayi fired over from a tight angle as the Red Devils continued to dominate, while the woodwork denied De Bruyne a second goal as he rattled the post from 20 yards out.
Eden Hazard then curled narrowly wide before the hosts doubled their lead in the 37th minute. This time, De Bruyne was the provider; sweeping in a pinpoint cross for Batshuayi to touch home.
Ethan Ampadu called Thibaut Courtois into action with Wales’ first attempt on goal, while Wayne Hennessey denied De Bruyne at the other end.
The visitors halved the deficit within five minutes of the restart as Moore rose to head home Brennan Johnson’s inviting cross.
Rob Page introduced Gareth Bale in the 64th minute and the Los Angeles FC forward went close soon after; Toby Alderweireld deflecting his header over from Dan James’ centre.
VAR overturned a Belgian penalty later on, but the hosts held on for maximum points after Martinez was ordered from the touchline in stoppage time.
What does it mean? Belgium still in the hunt
Belgium can still progress to the Nations League finals after Thursday’s win in Brussels.
But following the Netherlands’ 2-0 success over Poland, the Red Devils must record at least a 4-1 victory over the Dutch in the Group A4 decider to dislodge them at the summit.
As for Wales, they must beat Poland by two goals to avoid relegation from League A.
De Bruyne instrumental once more
Once again, De Bruyne played a starring role for his side with another commanding display in the middle of the park.
The Manchester City midfielder found the back of the net and provided an assist, while he also recorded game-high tallies of key passes (seven), crosses (six), shots (five), and efforts on target (three).
Batshuayi continues impressive form
Though he recorded just 22 touches and 15 passes, Batshuayi maintained his rich vein of form on the international stage with another goal and assist.
The Fenerbahce striker has now been directly involved in seven goals (scored four, assisted three) in his last seven games for his country.
What’s next?
Both sides conclude their Nations League campaigns on Sunday. Belgium travel to the Netherlands for the Group A4 decider, with Wales hosting Poland in the battle to avoid relegation.
All English, Welsh and Northern Irish football and professional Scottish football has been postponed this weekend as a mark of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Ten Premier League and six Scottish Premiership fixtures were scheduled.
EFL games were due to take place on Friday and Saturday, with six Women’s Super League fixtures – the first of the season – on Saturday and Sunday.
England’s National League, FA Trophy and grassroots football is also off.
Friday’s play at golf’s PGA Championship was called off, along with all British horse racing and cricket’s Test between England and South Africa.
British horse racing will return on Sunday, with rugby union’s Premiership season beginning on Saturday after two fixtures on Friday were postponed.
British Boxing Board of Control tournaments have been postponed on Friday, with a decision yet to be made on the world boxing title fight between Savannah Marshall and Claressa Shields.
Sunday’s Great North Run will go ahead as planned, with organisers saying it is “an opportunity to come together and express our condolences while celebrating the life of our extraordinary Queen”, and that the event would be “more subdued out of respect”.
Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, died on Thursday aged 96, after reigning for 70 years.
The government’s national mourning guidance advised that cancelling fixtures was not obligatory, leaving the decision to individual sports.
Government guidance for the day of the funeral also advised that cancellation was not obligatory, but suggested events could be rescheduled so that they do not clash with the timings of the service.
Cricket yet to decide
It is unclear whether England’s cricket Test against South Africa will resume and whether Saturday’s play at golf’s PGA Championship will go ahead.
The rugby union Premiership match between Bristol and Bath has been moved from Friday evening to 17:30 BST on Saturday, while Sale v Northampton will not take place on Friday and is yet to be rearranged.
All other Premiership matches on Saturday and Sunday will go ahead as scheduled.
Formula 1 held a minute’s silence with all teams prior to practice on Friday for the Italian Grand Prix, with the race weekend to proceed as planned.
At the tennis US Open in New York, there was a moment of silence before the first women’s semi-final match on Thursday with the first men’s semi-final on Friday.
In rugby league, the Super League play-off between Catalans Dragons and Leeds is on Friday, with Huddersfield and Salford due to play on Sunday. The Championship fixture between Sheffield Eagles and Dewsbury Rams has been postponed.
The British Elite Ice Hockey League said the weekend’s season-opening games would go ahead as planned.
Football pays respect to Queen’s ‘indelible legacy’
The Football Association said fixtures between 9 and 11 September are postponed, adding that as a “long-standing patron” of the FA the Queen “has left a lasting and indelible legacy on our national game”.
The Premier League and EFL have confirmed that all fixtures will be rescheduled.
While policing was not a factor in postponing this weekend’s Premier League games, it is understood it could be a consideration in next weekend’s games depending on state funeral arrangements.
There is confidence fixture congestion can be solved in the second half of the season and a meeting will be held next week to discuss the calendar with relevant bodies.
The Premier League took the decision to honour the Queen’s “extraordinary life and contribution to the nation” and said updates on future fixtures during the period of mourning “will be provided in due course”.
The league’s chief executive Richard Masters said: “We and our clubs would like to pay tribute to Her Majesty’s long and unwavering service to our country.
“This is a tremendously sad time for not just the nation but also for the millions of people around the world who admired her, and we join together with all those in mourning her passing.”
In Scotland, the postponements include the Scottish Professional Football League, Scottish Women’s Premier League and Scottish Highland and Lowland Football Leagues, as well as Women’s Scottish Cup fixtures.
SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said it was appropriate to “mark the event with all possible solemnity” and added that there would be a further update “when we have clarity over official arrangements for Her Majesty’s funeral”.
WSL’s record-breaking start on hold
The Women’s Super League was preparing to kick off the 2022-23 season this weekend with clubs enjoying record ticket sales following England’s summer success at Euro 2022.
Tottenham were scheduled to host Manchester United in the larger main stadium used by their male counterparts, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while Chelsea were set to welcome West Ham to Stamford Bridge.
Tickets had sold out for Manchester City’s fixture against Arsenal at the 7,000-capacity Academy Stadium on Sunday.
Reading have five times the amount of season ticket holders compared to last year, while reigning champions Chelsea sold out their 1,500 season tickets for the second season in a row.
Queen’s ‘enduring and unique’ relationship with racing honoured
British racing has been cancelled on Saturday but will resume on Sunday, with the exception of Musselburgh in Scotland.
The world’s oldest Classic race, the St Leger, has been put back 24 hours and will feature in an extended nine-race card at Doncaster.
While Chepstow is also set to go ahead on Sunday, Musselburgh’s meeting has been called off due to the Queen lying in state in Edinburgh.
British Horseracing Authority chief executive BHA chief executive Julie Harrington said the Queen had “an enduring and unique” relationship with the sport.
“The return of racing on Sunday will see the running of the St Leger, one of Britain’s five Classic races and a race which the Queen won with her filly Dunfermline in 1977,” she said.
“This will also provide an opportunity for the sport and its supporters to pay its respects to Her Majesty, for the contribution which she has made to the sport to be marked.”
A total of £32m has been pledged for farmers and landowners to plant 86 million trees in Wales by 2030.
Climate Change Minister Julie James said the money would help combat climate change and create “green jobs”.
The cash is part of plans for Welsh farmers to cover 10% of their land with trees to qualify for future public funds.
A union said the policy should not affect farmers’ ability to produce food.
Ministers believe 43,000 hectares (106,255 acres) of new woods are needed by the end of the decade so Wales can reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Wales to avoid some of the worst effects of climate change.
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“Woodland creation can also provide a wealth of benefits to local communities from green jobs to places for nature.
“We want farmers in Wales to be central to our plans. They know their land better than anybody else so, to ensure the sustainability of their business, we will leave decisions around where trees should be planted entirely with them
The money will provide grants for tree planting, fencing, gates and 12 years of maintenance support.
NFU Cymru’s Hedd Pugh said: “We are still awaiting further detail of the schemes and how they will operate in practice, how the funding will be allocated between them and over what time period, as well as what the payment rates will be.
“Without that detail it’s very difficult to comment on whether this scheme will deliver the outcomes Welsh government wishes to see.”
Many farmers, he said, did not oppose planting trees on less productive land.
“NFU Cymru is clear that approaches to increase tree cover in Wales should not impact our ability to produce food and properly safeguard our communities, culture and language,” he added.
Research has revealed that the Home Secretary should utilize their power to restructure “failed” police forces and, if necessary, appoint a new chief constable.
According to Policy Exchange, a center-right research organization, policing has “lost its way” and some ordinary infractions are “in essence almost totally decriminalized.”
A serious intervention, according to the report’s author, former detective chief inspector David Spencer, is required.
Making Britain safer, according to Boris Johnson, has always been a top goal.
The report said that the public feels police officers are “more interested in being woke than solving crimes”.
It said police should avoid acts that may be intended to show solidarity against discrimination, such as taking the knee or wearing a badge on their uniform.
These acts could be interpreted as having “a partisan political view” and “has the potential to be hugely damaging to public confidence,” the report said.
Mr Spencer said the police’s ability to solve common crime is “woefully low” with only 3.5% of residential burglaries, 6.3% of robberies, and 4.1% of thefts solved during the last year.
He said tackling online crime should be a priority for law enforcement and the government.
“Less than 2% of all police officers in the UK are dedicated to the investigation of fraud or the sexual abuse of children online,” Mr Spencer said.
“The threats to individuals, the public and wider society from online child abusers, computer hackers and online fraudsters are huge and growing.”
He said the government’s aim to recruit 20,000 more police officers in England and Wales by 2023 “will fail to make any real contribution to tackling the online threat” because they are mostly “uniformed police officers deployed to do traditional policing”.
“As a result, these offenses are in essence almost entirely decriminalized.”
The report said regulations should urgently be amended to allow police chiefs to dismiss officers found guilty of criminality or serious misconduct.
IMAGE SOURCE, REUTERS
Image caption,
Boris Johnson will meet new front-line officers on one of his last visits as prime minister
Mr Johnson will meet new police officers on the frontline on Wednesday as part of one of his final visits as prime minister.
Speaking ahead of his visit, Mr Johnson said: “Making our streets safer has always been central to my mission to level up this country because everyone should have the security, confidence, and opportunity that comes from having a safe street and a safe home, wherever they live.”
He said the government is cracking down on “vile gangs” and putting dangerous offenders behind bars for longer.
He said the government’s plan to recruit 20,000 new officers will provide the “firepower for years to come in the fight against crime”.
The government says more than 13,790 extra police officers have been hired across England and Wales as part of Mr Johnson’s pledge to put 20,000 additional officers on the streets.
More than a dozen protesters have been arrested for driving too slowly during demonstrations on motorways in England, Wales and Scotland over fuel prices.
The go-slow action is mainly targeting three-lane motorways with convoys of vehicles crawling along two lanes – leaving the “fast” outside lane free.
Twelve people were arrested after a protest on the M4, which led to the Prince of Wales Bridge, between England and Wales, being closed.
Another man was arrested near the A38.
Protesters, organised under the social media banner Fuel Price Stand Against Tax, have driven in a series of convoys at 30mph (48.3km/h) to cause gridlock on major roads and motorways across Great Britain.
Chief Superintendent Tom Harding from Gwent Police said people had been arrested for driving under 30mph for a “prolonged amount of time”.
Among the roads affected by disruption have been:
the M4 and Prince of Wales Bridge
the M5 in Devon
the M32
the A38
the M180 in Lincolnshire
the A12 in Essex
the A92 in Scotland
the A64 near York
Gwent Police said organisers of the protest had been given a legal notice to prevent them from blocking the bridge over the River Severn and from driving under 30mph.
Ch Supt Harding said restrictions had been placed on the protest as otherwise “emergency and critical services” would have been restricted, posing a risk to the local community.
He added the force was aware of other driving offences not connected to the protests and these would be dealt with appropriately.
Two convoys of slow-moving vehicles had brought parts of the M4 to a standstill with vehicles travelling towards the crossing from both directions.
IMAGE SOURCE,TARIQ AKRAM Image caption, Tariq Akram said other cars joined the convoy as it went by
Tariq Akram said his was one of 50 vehicles making the 60-mile journey through Scunthorpe and Doncaster at 20mph.
The Scunthorpe truck driver told the BBC his company had added £4,000 to its fuel bill in the past four months because of rising prices.
“The turnout was absolutely fantastic.
“There were 35 vehicles from our yard alone who took part,” he said.
“At one point, I thought some cars wanted to overtake so I tried to let them by, then I realised they were joining in.”
BBC Radio Humberside’s Amanda White said when the convoy u-turned the queues were extraordinary with “hundreds if not thousands of vehicles nose to tail crawling along”.
She said while some motorists were angry others supported the protest and some even joined the convoy in their own vehicles.
Image caption, A convoy of vehicles on the M180 in Lincolnshire
Avon and Somerset Police said all protests in its area had finished and thanked the public for their patience in a tweet at about 15:20 BST.
On Monday, the force said there had been slow-moving roadblocks on the M4, M5 and M32 and predicted protesters to take a break before returning along the route.
Earlier, Devon and Cornwall Police said it was aware of a go-slow protest heading northbound from Exeter services of the M5.
The force also said a further protest began on the A38 heading north from Ivybridge, where a man in his 50s was arrested after ignoring a warning about unsafe driving.
“Unfortunately we have had unsafe driving on the A38 including vehicles travelling at a dangerously low speed,” a force spokesman said.
Police Scotland said it was aware of protests on motorways and trunk roads and urged motorists to drive at an appropriate speed for the road conditions.
But the force warned journey times could be longer than normal.
In Lincolnshire, police blocked junction one between the M180 and M18 forcing protesters to remain on the former.
West Yorkshire Police said officers had deployed a “single tyre deflation device” – also known as a “stinger” – at the Ferrybridge services in the early stages of the protest.
The force said the device had not been used, no damage had been done to vehicles and it had since been withdrawn.
IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Police said no vehicles had been damaged when a “single tyre deflation device” was deployed in West Yorkshire
West Mercia Police said some of the tactics used during a protest on the M54, which had ended by about 08:30 BST, had “compromised the safety of other road users” and said officers would take action against those who committed traffic offences.
A Facebook event called Stand Up to Fuel Prices, with more than 57,000 responses, called for people to take their cars, lorries and tractors to cause roadblocks all over the country “until there is change”.
The organisers wrote that fuel costs were driving up other costs of living and said they hoped the more people that joined the protest, the sooner livings costs would drop.
Fuel prices have risen to record highs in recent weeks with figures from data firm Experian showing the average price of a litre of petrol at UK forecourts had hit 191.5p and 199.0p for diesel on Sunday.
RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said there did not appear to be any sign of retailers reducing forecourt prices despite weekly wholesale costs having fallen for five weeks.
Gordon Balmer, executive director of the Petrol Retailers’ Association, which represents independent forecourts, said rising wholesale prices were related to international events and the weakness of the pound against the US dollar.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said he will carefully consider calls for a “more substantial” fuel duty cut after the 5p per litre reduction implemented in March failed to halt price rises.
Rising fuel prices have been pushed even higher by the war in Ukraine, with Russia, one of the world’s largest oil exporters, facing sanctions.
IMAGE SOURCE,PA MEDIA Image caption, Police escort vehicles across the Prince of Wales Bridge, which runs between England and Wales
The government has said while it understands people are struggling with rising prices and have a right to protest, “people’s day-to-day lives should not be disrupted” and warned traffic delays “will only add to fuel use”.
Howard Cox, founder of campaign group FairFuelUK, said other countries had cut fuel duty more than the UK and called for a reduction of at least 20p.
While he said his organisation was not involved in the protests he said there was an appetite for them and if the government did not deliver on the issue there could be “some serious escalation of protests”.
Cardiff City have held talks with Gareth Bale’s representatives as they step up their efforts to sign the out-of-contract Wales captain.
Bale, 32, is available on a free transfer having left Real Madrid.
His representatives have confirmed to BBC Sport Wales that they are in negotiations with Cardiff chairman Mehmet Dalman.
However, the deal is not yet done and Bale’s agents are also “still in talks with lots of other clubs”.
Five-time Champions League winner Bale has been linked with a move to a Major League Soccer team in the United States, as well as a return to Tottenham.
As improbable as dropping down to the Championship might seem for a man who joined Real Madrid for a then world-record fee of £85m in 2013, Cardiff are a realistic option.
Bale was born and raised in Cardiff and his primary focus is leading Wales in their first World Cup since 1958 later this year.
Cardiff share a training ground with the Football Association of Wales, which would allow Bale to continue working closely with Wales’ medical and fitness staff.
His family still live in the Welsh capital and then there is the theory Bale might be able to be more selective with which games he plays for Cardiff – as opposed to a Premier League team – in preparation for the finals in Qatar.
At Real, Bale earned £600,000 per week, more than the weekly wage bill of Cardiff’s entire first-team squad.
But according to those close to the forward, money is not the most important factor with Wales’ World Cup campaign, which begins in November, in mind.
Scotland has recorded seven new cases of coronavirus, the first fall in the daily infection numbers for five days.
It comes after positive tests for 23 people were reported on Sunday, the highest increase for almost a month. The nation also saw an outbreak at a contact tracing centre in North Lanarkshire, which serves the NHS in England.
With no new deaths reported, leaving the toll at 2,941, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said all the latest cases would still be closely examined and contact tracing carried out where necessary.
In Wales, the toll remains at 1,547 after Public Health Wales said no additional deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours. There were 15 more cases confirmed by testing.
Schools in Wales will not reopen next week and a change to that is not imminent, the Welsh education minister has said.
Kirsty Williams said when schools do reopen “it won’t be business as usual” and only some children may return.
The closure will only end when she receives advice it is safe to do so, the minister said.
Education institutions across the UK shut because of the coronavirus outbreak in March.
The Easter break was due to end next week, but some schools have remained open to provide care for children of key workers.
Ms Williams said that during the first week of the Easter holidays, there were around “430 settings open, with around 2,700 children attending daily”.
There were more than 250 open on Good Friday and Easter Monday, with up to 680 children attending.
“We should prepare ourselves for a significant period of disruption to our education system,” the education minister told the daily Welsh Government press conference.
“I will only re-open schools when I have the advice from the chief medical officer and the chief scientific officer that it is safe to do so.
“And at this moment I have not received that advice.”
She added: “The scientific advice is very clear in terms of the continuation of social distancing practices, so what are the practicalities of actually operating that within the school? We may be in a situation where we can have part of the school cohort going back.”
Support for parents
Ms Williams said Wales will become the only government to provide “national guidance and tools” for children learning at home.
It includes guidance for teachers on supporting pupils and for parents on how they can help their children.
“The package will be inclusive, to meet the needs as many learners as we can, and support learning in both Welsh and English,” she said.
“Let me be clear, we don’t want, nor do we expect, parents to be formal teachers, but we do need to provide support for parents to help them help their children.
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