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England national team coach Gareth Southgate admits that the squad will have to maximise their capabilities if they are to compete with the likes of Spain at next year's World Cup finals in Russia.

The Three Lions qualified for the global tournament with relative ease, but the celebrations were notably subdued due to their boring and familiar type of football in the latter phase of the qualifier group.

Despite having loads of attacking talent, the Three Lions only secured hard-fought 1-0 wins over Slovenia and Lithuania in the final set of World Cup qualifiers with Harry Kane being the saviour in each occasion. Speaking to reporters, Southgate admits that England cannot transform into Spain in the space of eight months, but his side need to show desire to 'evolve as a team' in order to break their World Cup duck.

Harry Kane has hit back at England’s critics while calling for more patience from the country's faithful.

A section of the travelling fans did not like the outlook of the Three Lions' side after they were held up by Malta by a 0-0 scoreline at half-time.

However, Gareth Southgate's side turned things around in the second period to complete a 4-0 rout of Malta with three of those goals coming late in the game. The performance was not well received by the English fans on the ground as well as the television set, and Kane urged them to keep patience as the nation are still in a transition phase.

There are rising concerns over hacking so England players and the staff of the Football Association (FA) are not expected to use a public or hotel Wi-Fi at the 2018 World Cup, according to reports. The FA is gearing up to manage fears over possible hacking threats at the summer mundial in Russia next year.

Sensitive information like injury lists, squad selection plans, player data and tactical sights might be in danger if any hacking is done. There are fears over the reported activities of Fancy Bears hacking group.

Veteran in the England female national side Alex Scot has revealed that she could retire from the game after the Lionesses triumph at the Women’s European Championship.

The 32-year old could retire from international football after making her debut back in 2004.

Wayne Rooney has missed out on England’s latest 2 World Cup qualification matches that they have played against Lithuania and Scotland which were played on March 26 and June 10 respectively.

It has become pretty clear that the influence that Wayne Rooney has had in the England national side has diminished significantly in comparison to how it used to be some time ago.

That’s the thing with the Promised Land: once you’ve had a glimpse, it becomes very hard to leave it behind.

The number men suggest the difference between playing in the Premier League and the Championship is approximately £100 million when you factor in TV revenue, sponsorship cash and prize money, so while the romance of playing in the English top flight is alluring enough, it is the financial bottom-line that is most seductive.

West Ham United are lining up an attempt sign Arsenal’s Theo Walcott, who is desperate to return to the England national setup ahead of next year’s World Cup.

The Gunners forward bagged 19 goals during the previous campaign, but despite this, he did not look in the best of form. Walcott started the season as one of the first names on the team sheet, but he soon found himself falling down the pecking order with the likes of Oxlade-Chamberlain and Alexis Sanchez taking up the wider positions.

England defeated Venezuela 1-0 to win the Under-20 World Cup against all odds.

It is the biggest achievement for the country in the international stage since the 1966 World Cup win. The youngsters all chipped efforts to make the tournament a big victory. Toffees youngster Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored a first half goal and the keeper Freddie Woodman saved a penalty in the second half to deliver the title over the South American side.

Premier League giants Manchester United have refused to share player fitness data with the England national side over fears that it could be leaked to the public, according to reports.

The national team coach Gareth Southgate has four United stars in the squad set to play a crucial World Cup qualifier against Scotland before a follow-up friendly match against France. Southgate wanted the sports science data of the players but the Red Devils refused.

Manchester United skipper Wayne Rooney has been left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad list for the World Cup qualifier against Scotland and friendly game against France. Southgate did not include Rooney in his last squad and he warned that the Three Lions skipper would not get a spot in his team unless he was playing regularly.

It did not come as a shock as Southgate eventually left out the star as Rooney was still not playing regularly. United coach Jose Mourinho used him a bit more towards the end of the Premier League season after star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic picked up an injury but Rooney failed to contribute anything meaningful in the Europa League final as Southgate had warned.