Mon | Jan 6, 2025

Briefs

Published:Sunday | January 5, 2025 | 12:12 AM
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AP photos England manager Thomas Tuchel (centre) in the stands with his assistant Anthony Barry (right) during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on Saturday
AP
AP photos England manager Thomas Tuchel (centre) in the stands with his assistant Anthony Barry (right) during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, on Saturday. Newcastle won 2-1.
Napoli’s Romelu Lukaku celebrates after scoring a penalty during the Serie A football game against Fiorentina at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, yesterday. Napoli won 3-0.
AP
Napoli’s Romelu Lukaku celebrates after scoring a penalty during the Serie A football game against Fiorentina at the Artemio Franchi Stadium in Florence, Italy, yesterday. Napoli won 3-0.
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Thomas Tuchel begins scouting work for England

Wearing a thick coat and a baseball cap, Thomas Tuchel got down to scouting work in his new role as England soccer coach.

The German’s first task? Watching Tottenham play Newcastle in the English Premier League on Saturday.

He’ll probably be pleased with what he saw.

Inside the first six minutes, two players likely to be in Tuchel’s first squad got on the scoresheet — Tottenham striker Dominic Solanke in the fourth minute and Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon shortly after. The match finished 2-1 to Newcastle, which also had England squad players Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento in the team.

Tuchel’s contract officially started on Wednesday. He and his support team are due to visit St George’s Park — England’s training base and their main place of work — for the first time next week, when they will hold a series of introductory meetings with relevant members of staff.

Tuchel’s first matches in charge will be the World Cup qualifiers against Albania on March 21 and Latvia three days later. His contract with England runs through to the World Cup finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico in the summer of 2026.

-AP

Napoli move three points clear atop Serie A

FLORENCE, Italy:

Napoli moved three points clear atop Serie A after winning at Fiorentina 3-0 yesterday.

David Neres, Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay scored for Antonio Conte’s Napoli, which won their fourth straight following consecutive losses to Lazio a month ago in the Italian Cup and Serie A.

Atalanta, which ended 2024 in first place level on points with Napoli, aren’t playing in Serie A this weekend since they were in Saudi Arabia for the Italian Super Cup.

Defending champions Inter Milan, who were four points back, face city rivals AC Milan in the Super Cup final tomorrow, and also won’t play in the league until next weekend.

Fiorentina, who have lost three of their last four in the league, remained fifth.

Neres put Napoli ahead near the half-hour mark by dribbling between three defenders before unleashing an angled shot with his weaker right foot.

Fiorentina striker Moise Kean then had a potential goal denied for a handball. There was a lenghthy VAR review which proved inconclusive, meaning the call on the field stood.

After the break, Lukaku converted a penalty and McTominay drilled in a shot following a defensive error.

Earlier, mid-table Empoli and relegation-threatened Venezia drew 1-1 with Joel Pohjanpalo and Sebastiano Esposito trading first-half goals.

-AP