Speaking ahead of England’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Italy, defender Kyle Walker has said he and his teammates are aiming to get “payback” after the heartbreak of the last Euros final and argued that manager Gareth Southgate hasn’t received the credit he deserves.
The Manchester City defender sat down with Southgate to address the media ahead of Tuesday night’s qualifying match and made it very clear that the Three Lions are hoping just to secure their spot in the European Championship finals but get revenge on the Azzurri for Euro 2020.
England made it to their first final since 1966 back in July 2021 and bowed out in painful fashion after letting a 1-0 lead slip and ultimately losing on penalties. It was an agonising end to a great tournament for the nation but for Kyle Walker and co., it was one that clearly stung them more than most.
Revealing that his coach twice talked him out of retiring from international football, the 33-year-old said he wants to “get a little bit of payback” on the visitors after coming so close to a first trophy in 55 years.
🗣️ “Hopefully we can put on a good performance and maybe get a little bit of payback.”
Kyle Walker on Italy’s return to Wembley for the first time since the EURO 2020 final. 🏟️ pic.twitter.com/WRavCTi5av
Walker wants payback for the Euro 2020 final loss to Italy.
As the presser continued, Walker went on to insist that despite missing out on silverware at the last three tournaments under Southgate, he believes their progress and the England boss, in particular, hasn’t been given the recognition he deserves.
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“We are more concentrating on the boos [such as those directed at Harry Maguire] and what we haven’t done rather than what we have achieved,” said Walker, adding that “it’s not easy to qualify for a competition” and suggesting that fans may have simply “become used to us just qualifying?”
The Lions only need a draw at Wembley on Tuesday night to qualify for the competition after putting themselves three points clear at the top of Group C but will have another chance to nail down qualification in a home game against Malta on 17 November or a trip to North Macedonia three days later.
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Contemplating what fan reaction would be like if they failed to make it through — citing the unsavoury scenes relived in the recent Beckham documentary — Walker said: “Now if we didn’t qualify, God knows. I wouldn’t leave my house, I’d just have to stay indoors.” Nevertheless, he now insists he wants to keep going for as long as he can.
The ex-Liverpool star recently joined Saudi Arabian side Al-Ettifaq despite criticism regarding the country’s human rights record and anti-LGBTQ+ stance. He also went on to give a rather negatively perceived interview defending the move after having been a long-serving Rainbow Laces ambassador.
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Tonight’s game will be the first time the Italian national have visited the stadium since the Euro 2020 final and, despite looking somewhat off the pace since winning the trophy, home fans will be hoping for a repeat of their last meeting which saw England win 2-1 back in March.
You can watch Gareth Southgate and Kyle Walker’s pre-match press conference in full down below:
Academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving Manchester City on a permanent transfer
Danny Jones
Manchester City youth academy graduate Oscar Bobb is leaving the club after sealing a move to Fulham FC.
Despite plenty of loan interest throughout the January transfer window, the Man City attacker has secured a switch to the in-form West London team on a permanent basis.
Bobb looked increasingly likely to leave in some capacity following the arrival of another winger in the form of instant hit, Antoine Semenyo, but it now looks as though his departure is all but confirmed, bar an imminent official announcement.
As reported by Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the agreement has now been reached between the two clubs pending a full medical today (Thursday, 29 January).
According to Romano, Fulham will pay Man City approximately £27 million for Bobb’s services, who becomes the latest addition in what has already been a fairly busy period of recruitment.
He goes on to add that “City also mantain [a] 20% sell-on clause, matching rights and future control on the player based on his decision.”
There is no suggestion of a buy-back clause at this time, but given his age and having already made a fair few appearances for Pep Guardiola‘s first team, it wouldn’t be beyond the realms of possibility to see him return to the club one day.
Bobb also arrives at Craven Cottage following the exit of multiple wingers and offensive options, including Adama Traore, ex-Man United product Andreas Pereira and Arsenal youngster, Reiss Nelson, whose loan deal has expired and has signed another temporary deal at local rivals, Brentford.
Had it not been for that injury I know he would’ve been class for City for a long time, and let’s not forget that goal v Newcastle pic.twitter.com/inGxi5UjPM
The young Norwegian winger joined the Etihad Campus back in 2023 and went on to contribute a handful of goals and assists, despite limited appearances and some very unfortunate injury issues.
Only seven months ago, his soon-to-be former parent club released a short video charting his return from the sidelines after fracturing his leg – a setback which kept him out for roughly five months.
Plenty of fans have quickly placed him in the so-called ‘what if?’ category of players, and given that he’s still just 22 years old and has already impressed on a number of ocassions for such a big club, we wouldn’t be surprised if he goes on to have a very exciting career.
Can you see the Blues bringing in or letting anyone else go before deadline day?
Tyson Fury has officially revealed his comeback fight after coming out of ‘retirement’ once again
Danny Jones
Tyson Fury has officially announced the opponent for his comeback fight after yet again returning to professional boxing.
Fury supposedly ‘retired’ for seemingly the umpteenth time last January following his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk the month prior, and some even believed it might have actually been his final outing.
Nevertheless, ‘The Gypsy King’ said he was coming out of retirement once more earlier this year, and now his next match-up has been confirmed.
Revealing the other contender as Aslanbek Makhmudo, the fight will be aired live on Netflix only.
Tyson Fury is coming home.
TYSON FURY vs. ARSLANBEK MAKHMUDOV. Saturday April 11 from the United Kingdom — and LIVE only on Netflix. pic.twitter.com/ib7KjT3xIt
Partnered exclusively with boxing magazine, Ring, the bout between Fury and Makhmudo is the latest big fight night to be picked up by the streaming giants.
The most recent example was, obviously, Anthony Joshua’s brutal knockout of influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul this past December.
Makhmudo, just a year younger than his opposite number, is a fellow experienced heavyweight based mainly out of Canada with a decent pedigree of his own.
The Russian, simply known as ‘The Lion’, has a record of 21 wins – more than half of those coming by KO.
With that in mind, he presents a potentially exciting prospect for the famous Manchester fighter, who hasn’t won a proper competitive fight since the defence of his WBC belt against Derek Chisora in December 2022.
Similarly, this should at least see two very well-seasoned pros going head to head.
Many fight fans would argue that there haven’t been enough proper big heavyweight dates since Fury vs Usyk, and even then, we are still yet to get a date for the all-but fully confirmed final fight of the trilogy.
Fury himself did state that the conclusion of their clash is scheduled for this April, but nothing official has been set in stone by any promotion or venue and the new date means it’s even less likely to be any time soon; meanwhile, plenty are still hoping for AJ vs Fury.
The 37-year-old will take on Makhmudo on Saturday, 11 April, and you can bet the world will be watching.
Danny Jones -
17th October 2023 
