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There’s a slate of intriguing international matches to come today, not least Graham Potter’s debut as Sweden head coach. It’s been a bruising few years for Potter after his ill-fitting spells at Chelsea and West Ham but, as Nick Ames points out, he will have a sense of belonging after returning to the country where he built his reputation with Östersund:
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Looking for more early morning reading? Here’s a selection, from Barney Ronay on Neymar to David Hytner’s chat with Han Willhoft-King and Suzanne Wrack in conversation with Millie Bright.
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What else has been going on, then? Thomas Tuchel has been talking about the rationale behind his team selection for England’s 2-0 win against Serbia at Wembley, urging those on the bench to channel their anger into fighting spirit which can benefit the team. He has also addressed the Bellingham Discourse, albeit reluctantly:
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Meanwhile, despite shocking everyone by racking up four wins in qualifying, the Faroe Islands’ 3-1 loss to Croatia has ended their hopes of a World Cup fairytale. Shame, that, as it would have been a lot of fun.
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There was bad news and good news for Northern Ireland last night. The bad news: they lost 1-0 to Slovakia in injury time thanks to a goal Michael O’Neill, the manager, felt “should clearly have been disallowed”, ending their hopes of progressing from World Cup qualifying Group A. The good news: they still nabbed a qualifying playoff place via the Nations League after Croatia beat the Faroe Islands. In other words, they may not be going to the World Cup, but they aren’t not going to the World Cup, at least as things stand. Make sense?
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Preamble
All right, all right, all right! Welcome to matchday live, where we’ll be building up to the day’s football, running through all the big stories and generally having a Nice Time. Readers, what are your plans for the day? What’s caught your eye during the international break? Anyone planning an epic League One, League Two or non-league away day? Let me know in the comments. Otherwise, let’s get the ball rolling with a look back at last night’s World Cup qualifying action:
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Updated at 03.13 EST
