Football news live: Euro qualifier roundup, England fallout, Premier League latest updates and more

The England men’s team are playing without names on the back of their shirts during the second half of their friendly against Belgium as part of their partnership with Alzheimer’s Society.

This change from the first half to the second half of the game is designed to draw attention to memory loss, the most commonly associated symptom of dementia, which is caused by Alzheimer’s.

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Newcastle United midfielder Lewis Miley is expected to miss around six weeks with a back injury.

Miley has been away with the England Elite League Squad (under-20s level) during this international break, playing 90 minutes as they beat Poland 5-1 on Friday.

The 17-year-old was not involved, though, when the team beat Czech Republic 3-1 on Tuesday.

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England are 2-1 down at home to Belgium in their international friendly, with Aston Villa's Youri Tielemans scoring twice either side of an Ivan Toney penalty.

Follow live action from the second half right here on The Athletic.

Georgia have qualified for the European Championship for the first time thanks to a penalty shootout victory over 2004 champions Greece at the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi.

The game finished goalless after 120 minutes, with Georgia winning 4-2 on penalties after Greece missed their first and fourth attempts.

Georgia are managed by former Bayern Munich defender Willy Sagnol, who took charge in February 2021. Sagnol's side won only two of their eight qualification matches but were eligible for a place in the play-offs by virtue of their UEFA Nations League 2022-24 performance, where they won League C Group 4 with five wins from six.

They then beat Luxembourg 2-0 in last Thursday's play-off semi-final to set up Tuesday's showdown with Greece.

Georgia's victory means they will be placed in Group F at this summer's tournament in Germany, where they will face Portugal, Turkey and Czech Republic.

Inter Milan defender Francesco Acerbi will face no action after the investigation into an alleged racist remark he made towards Napoli’s Juan Jesus concluded there was insufficient evidence to take the matter further.

Jesus, 32, alleged that Acerbi, 36, used a racial slur towards him and that he reported the incident to the referee, Federico La Penna. Acerbi denied using racist language towards Jesus.

However, a statement from Serie A on Tuesday confirmed that despite reading the referee’s report, interviewing players, and re-watching the video showing the alleged offence, there was not enough external, direct, or indirect supporting evidence to reach the minimum level of certainty to prove the allegation.

Liverpool know their title ambitions may be decided by three games against teams in the top six... and that will be a concern.

Jurgen Klopp's side have struggled against teams around them this season — but why? And what can they do to fix it?

Andy Jones explores

England face Belgium in an international friendly at Wembley later today.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice will captain England for the first time.

Follow The Athletic's live coverage of the game here

Reading owner Dai Yongge has committed to a letter of intent to sell the League One club, it has been announced.

Dai — a Chinese businessman — has served as Reading’s majority owner since 2017, a tenure that has been marked by continuous protests from supporters.

The club have been hit with a raft of points deductions during Dai’s time in charge and were relegated to the third tier in May.

Dai had held talks over selling the club’s Bearwood Park training ground to local rivals Wycombe Wanderers but has now parked that plan in favour of selling the club outright.

France manager Didier Deschamps says that Arsenal defender William Saliba’s appearances for France have “not gone well.”

Saliba, 23, was an unused substitute during his side’s 2-0 defeat to Germany on Saturday.

The centre back has made 12 appearances for his country since making his senior debut in 2022, and his manager Deschamps believes the Frenchman has the capability to improve his performances.

He said: “He is having a good season (with Arsenal), but he also does things that I don't like so much. For France, he has limited game time, but when he plays, that hasn't necessarily gone well.

“The hierarchy doesn't favour him at the moment, but he is here. Dayot Upamecano has had game time and perhaps William has had less.

“With certain players, I make sure to persevere, because it can be confidence or little blockages that can shift.

“Some don't have any concerns, some need game time. William has had less game time, so that doesn't allow him to be very calm.

“He is not in a psychological situation that is the same as at his club. He has everything he needs to take the next step.”

France are next in action against Chile at the Stade Velodrome today.

Vinicius Junior will captain Brazil when they play Spain later this evening.

The 23-year-old broke down in tears at an emotional press conference on Monday after saying the racist abuse directed at him is getting worse.

Vinicius Jr has endured persistent racist abuse during his time in Spain, having been subjected to the behaviour in over 10 Spanish stadiums over the past two years.

“Things have gotten worse since the first time I denounced what happened to me,” he said. “Because people are not punished, they feel like they can keep saying things about the colour of my skin to try to affect how I play. But they could try to do that in other ways, and I wouldn’t have a problem with that. I just want to play, and I want to be able to go to stadiums without anyone bothering me because of the colour of my skin.”

Tuesday's friendly between Brazil and Spain at the Santiago Bernabeu was organised “to reinforce the commitment against violence and racism in football”.

The Real Madrid forward featured in Brazil's 1-0 victory against England at Wembley on Saturday.

Leah Williamson has been included in the England squad for April’s Euro 2025 qualifiers but Manchester United defender Maya Le Tissier misses out.

Williamson has not featured for England since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury that ruled her out of the 2023 World Cup last April.

The 26-year-old returned to the England squad in February but later withdrew due to a hamstring injury. Sarina Wiegman has named a near-identical 23-player squad for April’s qualifiers against Sweden and the Republic of Ireland, with Le Tissier the only player to drop out.

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Tottenham Hotspur moved one step closer to starting work on their new hotel on Monday after their plans for a 30-storey hotel next to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium were approved by the Greater London Authority.

The project, which was approved by Haringey Council in December 2023, is scheduled to be ready in time for the European Championship in 2028, when the stadium will host games.

The hotel will consist of 180 rooms, with 49 residential apartments and 64 car park spaces. It will sit on a small plot of land — known as ‘Plot 3’ — by the junction of the High Road and Park Lane, by the south-west corner of the stadium. Given the small plot of land, the hotel is being built in a distinctive, tall thin style, with an accessible podium area which will be used for community events, as well as showcasing work by local artists.

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Vinicius Junior says the racist abuse directed at him is getting worse because perpetrators are going unpunished, as he broke down in tears at an emotional press conference on Monday.

The Real Madrid forward was speaking ahead of Tuesday’s match between Spain and Brazil at the Santiago Bernabeu, a friendly organised “to reinforce the commitment against violence and racism in football”.

Vinicius Jr has suffered persist racist abuse in Spain and has been subjected to it in over 10 Spanish stadiums over the past two years. However, he said he had not considered leaving Spain as that would give those who have abused him “exactly what they want”.

"Things have gotten worse since the first time I denounced what happened to me," he said. "Because people are not punished, they feel like they can keep saying things about the colour of my skin to try to affect how I play. But they could try to do that in other ways, and I wouldn't have a problem with that. I just want to play, and I want to be able to go to stadiums without anyone bothering me because of the colour of my skin."

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Nottingham Forest have decided to appeal against the four-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR).

The club’s legal team, led by Nick De Marco QC, believe the punishment is excessive and will put forward a new case outlining their grievances with the initial judgement.

Forest had admitted a breach of PSR, having overspent by £34.5million over a three-year period, and would have been hit with a six-point deduction but for what the independent commission described as their “excellent co-operation”.

A Forest statement read: “Nottingham Forest can confirm that it has today lodged an appeal against the four-point sanction imposed by the commission in relation to the club’s breach of the Premier League’s Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR). The club will not be making any further statement at this time.”

The four-point sanction imposed last week meant Nuno Espirito Santo’s side dropped below Luton Town into the Premier League’s relegation places, with nine games to save themselves from falling into the Championship.

Forest said they were “extremely disappointed” with the punishment and, a week on, the club have concluded there a number of issues that warrant the case being taken to an appeal.

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