Key event
No Premier League, an international week but it’s been a huge day of news, with Thomas Tuchel’s appointment as Bayern Munich coach as the biggest of all, one of the biggest of the European season. Thanks for reading today.
Six months after stating how devastated he was to lose the Chelsea job, Tuchel has the biggest job in German football. It’s rarely a long-term appointment though the likes of Jupp Heynckes and Ottmar Hitzfeld had multiple spells. Tuchel has the star quality that it seemed Julian Nagelsmann eventually lacked. For Nagelsmann, perhaps the Premier League beckon, with Tottenham and Chelsea both potential vacancies, There’s always PSG, too.
Jacob Steinberg analyses Jude Bellingham, whose first-half showing in Naples was rather forgotten in the Harry Kane record drive.
But it was harder for Italy’s midfield trio in Naples. Southgate found a different gear in Qatar, embracing the 4-3-3, making the most of Bellingham’s emergence. The 19-year-old has transformed the mood. Southgate can still lean on the double pivot of Rice and Phillips but he can do so in the knowledge that he has Bellingham, who was key to that superb first half against Italy, his touch and dynamism repeatedly allowing England to turn defence into attack.
“Skiing just not the best idea this season at Bayern” is the translation here, in that Julian Nagelsmann was in Austria when the club’s honchos made their decision. Let us recall that Manuel Neuer’s post-World Cup skiing accident may be where the rot fully set in.
Skifahren gehen einfach nicht beste Idee diese Saison bei Bayern… 🙈
— Heiko Niedderer (@itstheicebird) March 23, 2023
More on that Elland Road stadium closure, per Reuters.
Leeds United were asked to close their Elland Road stadium “until further notice” after being contacted by the police regarding a security threat to the premises.
West Yorkshire Police said a threat was made via social media on Thursday, leading to the police carrying out checks.
“Leeds United’s offices, ticket office, Foundation offices and club shop at Elland Road will be closed until further notice on the advice of the police,” the club said in a statement.
“We apologise for any inconvenience and we will inform the public when normal service resumes.”
West Yorkshire Police said a 42-year-old man had been arrested “in connection with the incident and enquiries remain ongoing”.
Some quotes from Bayern’s sporting directors.
Oliver Kahn: “When we signed Julian Nagelsmann for FC Bayern in the summer of 2021, we were convinced we would work with him on a long-term basis - and that was the goal of all of us right up to the end. Julian shares our aspiration to play successful and attractive football. But now we have come to the conclusion that the quality in our squad - despite the Bundesliga title last year - has come to the fore less and less often.
“After the World Cup we have played less successfully and less attractively. The big fluctuations in performance have cast doubt on our goals for this season, but also our goals for the future. That is why we have acted now. Personally and on behalf of FC Bayern, I would like to thank Julian and his coaching team, and wish everyone the best of luck for the future.”
Hasan Salihamidzic: “This has been the most difficult decision in my time as a board member for sport at Bayern Munich. I have had an open, trusting, friendly relationship with Julian from day one. I regret the parting of the ways with Julian.
“But after a thorough analysis of the sporting development of our team, especially since January and with the experience of the second half of the previous season, we have now decided to release him. I am very grateful to Julian for what he has done for FC Bayern and I wish him all the best.”
Confirmed: Nagelsmann out at Bayern, Tuchel in
As expected since Thursday, Bayern have sacked Julian Nagelsmann and replaced him with Thomas Tuchel. That will mean Tuchel will face Manchester City in the Champions League, a reunion of the 2021 final.
FC Bayern and head coach Julian Nagelsmann have parted company. This decision was taken by CEO Oliver Kahn and board member for sport Hasan Salihamidžić in consultation with club president Herbert Hainer. Nagelsmann will be succeeded by Thomas Tuchel.
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) March 24, 2023
🔗 https://t.co/j8PjdrXscw
Along with Nagelsmann, assistant coaches Dino Toppmöller, Benjamin Glück and Xaver Zembrod have also been released.
Everton referred over FFP breaches
A Premier League statement on Friday confirmed that Everton had been referred to an independent commission that will rule on the case.
“In accordance with Premier League Rule W.82.1, the Premier League confirms that it has today referred an alleged breach of the League’s Profitability and Sustainability Rules by Everton Football Club to a Commission under Premier League Rule W.3.4,” it said. “The assessment period for which it is alleged that the Club is in breach is the period ending Season 2021/22.”
“The proceedings before the Commission will, in accordance with Premier League Rule W.82, be confidential and heard in private. Under Premier League Rule W.82.2, the Commission’s final award will be published on the Premier League’s website. The League will be making no further comment until that time.”
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Football Daily is here!
Rob Smyth does the honours today, though look out for a pic of late-90s Moss Rose in all its glory.
As things stand, Kane’s rugby audition against France and England’s Euro Not 2020 final defeat to Italy will be the things that define them. There’s every chance that Kane will break all the main goalscoring records and still be remembered for the things he didn’t do: score that chance against Croatia in 2018, score that penalty against France in 2022, introduce his brother Charlie to the concept of the release clause.
Steve Clarke signing on until 2026 for Scotland meets the Ewan Murray seal of approval.
Clarke’s class of 2023 is unrecognisable from what he inherited in 2019. Just seven members of the present squad were around for the coach’s first game in charge, poetically also against Cyprus. Oliver Burke notched a late winner, while Eamonn Brophy led the attack in front of little over 30,000 spectators.
If those were far more fraught times, Clarke may need his strongest powers yet to buck a Scotland trend and start the 2024 campaign strongly. The stability and collective experience of this squad are undoubted strengths but the manager has cause to be privately perturbed by the lack of football being played by key personnel. Scotland must hope the international environment boosts energy and attitude levels of players who have endured frustrating club spells. With Spain lying in wait on Tuesday, Clarke has a tricky balancing act.
Wigan accused after fourth failure to pay players
More developments on that Wigan story, per Sachin Nakrani.
The Wigan defender Steven Caulker has hit out at the club’s hierarchy, accusing them of lying and “absolutely scandalous” behaviour after he and his teammates failed to receive their wages for a fifth time this season.
Wigan’s players were absent from training on Friday after being informed that they would again not be paid. The club, who sit bottom of the Championship, were hit with a three-point deduction last month on the back of the four times this has previously happened during the campaign and the latest disruption has led to one of their senior players speaking out in the strongest of terms.
“This lies us as players have been told by Wigan Athletic is absolutely scandalous,” said Caulker, the former Tottenham, Queens Park Rangers, Liverpool and England centre-back in a LinkedIn post. “There may be reason for late payment once or twice, but for the boys to have experienced this five times this season is completely unacceptable.
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Manchester United latest, via Sky Sports News is that Qatar’s Sheikh Al-Jassim will submit his bid for the club either later today or over the weekend.
Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani will submit his new bid for Manchester United either later today or over the weekend 🤑pic.twitter.com/mWUsIbHvZ4
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 24, 2023
This week’s quiz from the excellent Paul Campbell. I got 8/12 so beat that.
Time for one of the more fun opinions of the day: Teddy Sheringham suggesting a return for Tim Sherwood is the means by which to right the Tottenham ship. Speaking to Talksport, Ready Steady Teddy said:
I’d let [Conte] go now and get [Tim Sherwood] in. I would. I think you can do a lot worse than getting Tim Sherwood in. He’s a man who knows what he wants as a football manager. He’s had a couple of goes, he’s been sacked and he understands the game. If you listen to him talk, you know he knows how football works.
Football minds, he can see who is cheating, who wants the ball and who doesn’t. Get him in charge and get them in shape.
Think we all need this to happen. It’s been a long winter.
And with that, John’s back to see you through the rest of the afternoon. Enjoy your weekend, and whatever football you get to see.
To the WSL, and Tottenham’s interim manager,Vicky Jepson, has been speaking before tomorrow’s derby with Arsenal, having had a proper week to prepare after being parachuted in shortly before their match against Leicester, which they won, following Rehanne Skinner’s dismissal. “I’m so pleased with how we handled the pressure given we only had 45 minutes training together,” Jepson said of that win, “the three points was massive. It’s been a bit more back to normal in this buildup, we’re now focusing on Arsenal because that’s the next objective.”
Her Arsenal counterpart, Jonas Eidevall, expects a feisty encounter. “Spurs are a physical side, they foul a lot, and we need to handle that together with the referee,” he said, “we know the pitch [at Brisbane Road] is not perfect but if we establish control we can win.” (I can certainly vouch for the pitch comment, having sat through a stodgy draw between Orient and Colchester last week.)
Eidevall said Spurs have “probably been a bit unlucky” in games this season – they work hard and they’ve got quality in the team. We have a lot of respect for them. They will make life very hard for us and we need to be no top of our game.”
Asked whether VAR should be introduced in the WSL, the Arsenal manager replied that resources in the women’s game would be better spent on academies. “We need to look at [what should be a priority] with a holistic perspective and see where it’s needed. One of the most underfunded parts of the system is the academy system. I don’t want investment in the senior game to come at the expense of that.”
Jürgen Klinsmann’s tenure as South Korea manager got off to an uneven start as they were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Colombia. Son Heung-min scored twice to give the Koreans a comfortable lead at half-time but two goals in four minutes after the restart from James Rodríguez and Jorge Carrascal earned Colombia a draw.
More on the expectations surrounding Klinsmann from Jon Duerden here:
A bit more from PA Media on the situation at Wigan, whose players skipped training this morning in protest at non-payment of wages. It’s all a bit of a mess at a club whose current owner, the Bahraini group Phoenix 2021 Limited, only arrived two years ago to “rescue” the club from a similarly turbulent ownership.
Wigan players were absent from training on Friday after not receiving their wages on time for the fourth time this season.
The PA news agency understands training has been “pushed back to Monday” with a collective decision made by players and coach Shaun Maloney. The players are apparently not in the right mental state following the late payment of wages.
The Sky Bet Championship’s bottom club have not paid players or staff on time on four occasions this season, which has already resulted in a three-point deduction by the EFL for breaching an agreement the club had with the governing body in January, where they accepted a suspended penalty.
The Latics are currently eight points from safety in the Championship with only eight games left to play.
Wigan have continued to play and train despite the disruptive off-pitch news throughout the season but both players and coach collectively took the decision not to train on Friday morning.
A Wigan spokesperson said: “We are still waiting on the players’ wages and that’s no secret.
“Naturally from a coach’s point of view it’s the correct decision and today’s training session has been pushed back to Monday.
“The players are not going to be in the right mental state, given they are still waiting on wages.”
Nagelsmann linked with Tottenham job
Thanks John, and as I return comes “breaking news” from Sky that Julian Nagelsmann is among the names being ruminated over by Tottenham as a replacement for sacked-man-walking Antonio Conte. Not wholly a surprise, of course, though nor does it offer any fresh evidence that Spurs’ owners are working to any kind of long-term strategic plan
Ok, the reins are back with Tom for a while. I’ll be back later.
A peak at that 800th career goal for Lionel Messi, scored for Argentina against Panama.
Lionel Messi quite simply is the 🐐
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 24, 2023
99 international goals.
800 career goals.
This is greatness. pic.twitter.com/J2YBkR88uH
An uncomfortable press conference for Joshua Kimmich, who had to answer questions during Germany’s preparation for their friendly with Peru on Saturday. Julian Nagelsmann and he were close at Bayern. He attempts a no comment but does say the following:
Julian Nagelsmann is an outstanding coach. I’ve had a lot of top trainers. But he’s in my personal top 3!
Joshua Kimmich will sich zum bevorstehenden Trainerwechsel beim FC Bayern nicht äußern, betont aber: „Julian Nagelsmann ist ein überragender Trainer. Ich hatte schon viele Top-Trainer. Aber er ist in meiner persönlichen Top 3!“ @SPORT1 pic.twitter.com/ZztVFbLB16
— Kerry Hau (@kerry_hau) March 24, 2023
Bob Wilson and Sir Trevor Brooking are pictured together at John Motson’s funeral.
Wales have lost the services of Brennan Johnson, the Nottingham Forest flier for their opening Euro 2024 qualifier against Croatia.
Per PA Media: Johnson did not link up with the Wales squad before their departure for Split on Friday.
The in-form Nottingham Forest forward was due to have been examined by the Wales medical team after suffering a groin strain on club duty.
Johnson suffered the injury during Forest’s 3-1 defeat at Tottenham on March 11 but recovered in time to play the full 90 minutes against Newcastle the following Friday.
It remains to be seen whether 21-year-old Johnson will be fit enough for Wales’ second Euro 2024 qualifier, at home to Latvia in Cardiff on Tuesday.
Steve Clarke signs new Scotland deal
Clarke signs on until after the 2026 World Cup.
Ian Maxwell, Scottish FA Chief Executive: “This has been one of the easiest decisions and conversations during my time as Chief Executive. Steve has united the nation behind a successful men’s national team and as we look forward to a new UEFA EURO 2024 campaign, it was important we demonstrated our commitment to Steve and his backroom team, and acknowledged the continuity that has been key to our improvement in the past four years.
“I know how determined the squad are to return to a major final after experiencing Euro 2020 and while everyone was disappointed not to have reached the World Cup in Qatar last December, securing promotion to Nations League Group A was another sign of the undeniable progress made.”
Typically understated from Clarke himself: “I am proud that my coaching team and I will continue to lead the team through the next two qualifying campaigns, as well as Nations League Group A, but being able to do so is a testament to the squad of players who have been central to our improvement. The immediate focus is ensuring a positive start to our EUROS campaign against Cyprus, who were the opposition for my first match in charge in 2019.”
New campaign, new contract ✍
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) March 24, 2023
Steve Clarke has signed a new contract to remain as Scotland Men's National Team Head Coach until 2026.
Good afternoon, readers. Yes, let’s get ready to receive the news from Munich and Tottenham. Wouldn’t it be neat to have it all tied up today, though memories abound of Antonio Conte being shooed off the Chelsea premises just as Maurizio Sarri came in. The same could now happen with Julian Nagelsmann.
Anyway, as we await white smoke over the Allianz Arena, and many other things, I’m off for some sustenance and John Brewin will slide into the chair. Catch you’se later.
Wigan players boycott training over non-payment of wages
Wigan Athletic’s squad stayed away from training on Friday as they continue to wait for their wages to be paid, four days after the Championship club were deducted three points for not paying the players’ March wages. It’s the fourth time this season the players have not been paid on time. We’re gonna need that regulator …
Finnish entrepreneur Zilliacus declares interest in Man Utd bid:
A new runner in the race? the Finnish entrepreneur Thomas Zilliacus says he has submitted a bid to buy Manchester United, talking of preserving the club’s “values”. Zilliacus says he wants to buy half of the club with the other half bought by fans, who will be part of club decision-making.
There is scepticism about the bid’s plausibility though, and Sky’s Kaveh Solhekol says it doesn’t seem serious. Zilliacus, who has previously been involved with HJK Helsinki and ice hockey club Jokerit in his homeland, is the founder and chairman of a social media group novaM Group.
He says he wants to buy United through XXI Century Capital, which is an investment firm owned by his holding company.
Zilliacus said: “Any sport club ultimately should belong to its fans. My bid is built on equality with fans. The current development, where billionaire sheiks and oligarchs take over clubs and control them as their personal playgrounds is not a healthy trend.
“The current market value of the club is just under $3.9bn (£3.17bn). That means that if every one of the fans of the club would join in buying the club, the total sum per fan would amount to less than $6.
“My group will finance half of the sum needed to take over the club, and will ask the fans, through a new company that is being set up for this specific purpose, to participate for the other half. If every fan joins it means less than $3 per fan.”
Hmm.
Tributes have been paid to John Motson at the broadcaster’s funeral this morning: Sir Trevor Brooking, who commentated alongside Motson for the BBC, was joined by a number of former footballers at Crownhill Crematorium in Milton Keynes, reports PA Media.
Mark Lawrenson, Garth Crooks, Martin Keown, Ray Stubbs and Bob Wilson – all of whom have worked as pundits for the BBC – were present. Martin Tyler of Sky Sports was also pictured arriving.
And our readers have been paying their own tributes here:
Is football getting closer to equal pay for men and women? Fifa confirmed last week that it is tripling the prize money available for teams competing at the Women’s World Cup in July and August to $110m (£90m) and is committed to making the men’s World Cup and women’s World Cup prize pots equal by the 2026 and 2027 tournaments. Suzanne Wrack has been speaking to the general secretary of Fifpro, Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, and its director of global policy and strategic relations in women’s football, Sarah Gregorius, about what the changes mean.
David Hytner has written some more about Harry Kane’s England record achievement and what it means to him:
The 29-year-old faces a struggle to process the magnitude of what he has achieved – Harry Kane, England’s all-time leading scorer, shudder – but the first thing to say is that it truly is the fulfilment of a dream. With all the love and respect for Spurs, Kane has always considered England as his No 1 priority and he has never hidden that.
He loves to look back on the photos of himself and his elder brother, Charlie, in their England shirts as kids or remember how they would go with their parents, Pat and Kim, to The Sirloin pub in Chingford, east London, to watch the major tournament ties.
Kane saw almost all of England’s games at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup in the Sirloin’s huge beer garden and he would imagine when he was older that he could become one of the players on the big screen, maybe the captain like his idol, David Beckham.
I used to go to the Sirloin pub (now called the Dovecote, fact fans) with my folks when I were a kid too – nice big beer garden. But it didn’t lead to rich footballing fortunes for me.
Southgate tells England to follow up win with another against Ukraine
Some more lines from the England manager looking ahead to the match against Ukraine, from PA Media:
Gareth Southgate has told England’s players that the victory in Italy will only be a fantastic result if they follow it up by beating Ukraine in Sunday’s European Championship qualifier.
… Southgate said it was a “massive result” at the start of the Group C campaign but warned it will count for little unless they follow it up by beating Ukraine at a sold-out Wembley this weekend.
“We have to go and get a result at Wembley now because this will be a fantastic result if we win and that’s exactly what we’ve said to the players straight after the game,” the England manager said.
“Then (on) Monday they can head off wherever they want but it is going to be hard because Ukraine have had no competitive game (on Thursday).
“We’ve got to fly, we’ve got to recover, we’ve got quite a few knocks, so we’re going to need Wembley at its most vocal and supportive on Sunday because it will give us a huge lift.
“If we can play as we did in the first half, then I am sure the fans will enjoy that but we are going to be playing against a very good team and we’ve got to get that right.”
The issues Southgate alluded to regarding player fitness led to him saying “we will have to have a think about the squad” before the Ukraine match. Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount and Nick Pope have already withdrawn from the initial selection, with Fraser Forster so far the only player to be brought in.
Southgate said the players are in a period of the season “where energy is in limited supply” but downplayed concerns over Jordan Henderson having surprisingly not called on the experienced midfielder from the bench as England saw out Thursday’s victory.
“He’s missed a lot of training, basically,” the 52-year-old explained. “And the less that we could take out of him (against Italy) the better for the next game, so, yeah, he’s fine.”
First-choice left-back Shaw is definitely out of the match against Ukraine – ranked 26th in the FIFA world rankings – after picking up a pair of quickfire bookings against Italy.
Ben Chilwell will surely come in for his first England appearance in 16 months after Shaw was dismissed amid a flurry of yellow cards from referee Srdjan Jovanovic in Naples.
“I think he tried to kick the ball against the fence for it to bounce back to him and it went over the fence,” Southgate said, reflecting on Shaw’s first booking for time-wasting.
“I just thought there were a lot of counter-attacks that were stopped going the other way that weren’t yellow cards.
“But, yeah, other than that referees have a difficult job and there’s always a lot of pressure from the opposition as well, so we just have to accept it and get on.”
“Security threat” at Elland Road – more on the Leeds ticket office closure: Sky Sports News reports that police were called to Elland Road following reports of a “security threat to the premises” late last night. Police investigations are ongoing into the credibility of the alert.
“What moral minefield exactly is there concerning MU?” asks Jeff Sax. “All looks par for the course.” Well in a sense it is, since bids from governments with poor human rights records, fracking enthusiasts and ownership by rapacious wealth extractors are indeed part and parcel of modern elite football.
Thomas Tuchel’s seemingly imminent appointment by Bayern Munich has prompted positive comment from João Cancelo, currently on loan with the Bundesliga champions. “I’ve only found out now,” said Cancelo. “I know I won’t find Nagelsmann when I return to Munich. He wanted me at Bayern, I’d like to thank him. As for Tuchel, he made me lose a Champions League final, so I hope he will win it for me this year!”
And a bit of Spurs fan reaction, from reader Yash Gupta: “I was mixed on Tuchel’s apparent move to Spurs. You see he’s not Poundland Mourinho aka Antonio Conte, so that was a plus. But he isn’t Mauricio Pochettino either.”
Australia have beaten Ecuador 3-1 in a friendly in the socceroos’ first outing since their impressive World Cup campaign. Find out more here:
Leeds close ticket office and club shop on police advice
This is a curious one, from Elland Road. More as we hear it.
Leeds United’s offices, ticket office, Foundation offices and club shop at Elland Road will be closed until further notice on the advice of the police.
— Leeds United (@LUFC) March 24, 2023
We apologise for any inconvenience and we will inform the public when normal service resumes
Another talking point from Naples last night: the rendition of the visitors’ national anthem, which was plagued by technical issues and a false start. The singer, Ellynoar, as apologised for the glitches. “I’m just so angry with what happened because I wanted it to be perfect but what happened wasn’t my fault,” she told The Mail.
“I want to say sorry to all the England fans who were at the stadium and watching on TV,” she said. “I’m mortified for what happened and I want people to know that I wasn’t being disrespectful. I’m more of a pop artist but at the ground there was a sound issue.
“I had rehearsed the anthem twice the day before the match and then on the night three times but when it came to the actual performance, I had a problem with my earpiece.
“I had the music in my ear and then it stopped and started again, and I was hearing it twice, so it meant I was out of synch, and it was hard for me to catch up.”
There’ll be quite the debrief among the sound crew I’m sure.
Brennan Johnson out of Wales' trip to Croatia
Wales begin the post-Gareth Bale era with a fiendishly tough opening qualifier, away to Croatia, who came third at the Human Rights World Cup. Joe Allen, Jonny Williams and Chris Gunter have also hung up their international boots. And they’ve suffered another blow with the absence of Brennan Johnson, perhaps their most important attacker now, and the defender Ben Davies.
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A bit of international goss now, with Vinicius Junior talking up the possibility of his Real Madrid boss, Carlo Ancelotti, taking over as his international one, with Brazil. The seleçao have had a vacancy for the full-time post since the departure of Tite following Brazil’s World Cup exit.
Another big rolling domestic football story is, of course, the moral minefield that is the Manchester United takeover saga, and we’ll be keeping them peeled for developments at Old Trafford. Here’s the latest from Sean Ingle:
Concerns are growing among some parties involved in the Manchester United sale that the Glazers might have “played them for months” - and instead of selling the club they would prefer to either push up the price to create leverage for a loan, or offload a minority stake to a hedge fund.
Wayne Rooney, England’s previous record goalscorer, has congratulated Harry Kane on overhauling his international tally and predicted he will go beyond 70 goals for the team. The former Manchester United striker wrote in The Times: “Knowing Harry, it’s not something that will go to his head. He will kick on and, in fact, I believe that when he stops playing he will leave the England record in a place where it will be very difficult for someone else to break it.
“He wants to be like Poland’s Robert Lewandowski, a goal machine who is still at the very top in his mid-30s, and he has it in him to make that happen. I think Harry will finish with an England goals total well into the 70s.
“You could see it was natural to him. He didn’t have to look where the goal was — he already knew — and he would get his shot away at any opportunity. He was shooting from anywhere, all these mad angles, and that turned out to be a feature of his game.
“The only other person I’ve seen like that is Cristiano Ronaldo and both he and Harry have what you would call a good kind of selfishness, an obsession with goals that is in-built. It is important to their success.
“Records are great when you have them but are always there to be broken. It was a huge honour to be England’s top scorer, but there’s an evolution in football, isn’t there?”
Everton go into their WSL derby against Liverpool at Goodison as favourites and in reasonably buoyant mood, and Louise Taylor’s had a chinwag with their Holmsgaard twins, Sara and Karen:
More on Argentina’s friendly win over Panama, and the post-World Cup party vibes therein, from Reuters:
Argentina beat Panama 2-0 in a friendly on Thursday with goals from Thiago Almada and Lionel Messi amid a festive atmosphere in their first game in front of their home fans after winning the World Cup in December.
Lionel Scaloni picked the same starting lineup from the World Cup final win over France as they looked dominant from the start, but could not break through the Panamanian defensive wall until late in the second half.
Atlanta United’s Almada opened the scoring in the 79th minute with his first international goal after capitalising on a rebound following a free kick by Messi that hit the left post.
Captain Messi finally got his 800th career goal and doubled the lead in the 89th minute with a brilliant free-kick that went into the top right corner to excite the more than 80,000 fans chanting his name at the Monumental Stadium.
“I always dreamed of this moment, to celebrate with you in my country Argentina, lifting the greatest thing that is the World Cup,” Messi said at a post-match ceremony organised by the Argentinian FA to celebrate the country’s third World Cup title and first in 36 years.
“Let’s keep doing what we are doing and enjoy this, because we have been waiting a long time to win it again. Let’s enjoy the third star.” A tearful Scaloni added: “Eternal gratitude to these players. Football belongs to them, and without them we wouldn’t have won the World Cup.
“Everyone who wears this shirt gives their all and sometimes the results don’t come. But this time we got it and it’s incredible,” said the coach before a victory lap of players and families reminiscent of the one his team did 95 days ago at the Lusail Stadium.
Argentina will continue their World Cup winners’ homecoming with a friendly against Curacao on Tuesday, while Panama face Costa Rica in the CONCACAF Nations League.
Preamble
Morning everyone. And it’s a good one if you’re an England fan, following one of the more impressive results and performances of the Gareth Southgate era, in Naples last night. It’s certainly up there with Spain 2018 and Germany 2021. And hats off to Harry Kane, for burying memories of that penalty miss and blootering home his latest spot-kick last night to become England’s record goalscorer.
Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo was breaking records too – becoming the all-time record international appearance maker and marking his 197th cap with two goals in Portugal’s easy win over Liechtenstein. His old mucker Lionel Messi scored too, a sumptuous free-kick for Argentina against Panama. Elsewhere in the Euros Northern Ireland began their campaign with victory over San Marino.
The big club football news is Bayern Munich’s binning-off of Julian Nagelsmann in response to the disgrace of the champions not being out of sight at the top of the Bundesliga for a change. Thomas Tuchel is in line to replace him, which will scupper one of Tottenham’s post-Antonio Conte options – perhaps they’ll go for Nagelsmann?
We’ll bring you news from Bayern as it happens plus all the buildup to the weekend’s internationals, with a tasty meeting of France and the Netherlands tonight and Wales and Scotland in action tomorrow. It’s also a big weekend in the Women’s Super League, with a Merseyside derby tonight, a north London derby tomorrow and Manchester City taking on Chelsea on Sunday. And we won’t forget that there’s some important EFL games this weekend too. Peterborough v Derby in League One and Stevenage v Salford in League Two look the pick of tomorrow’s matches.
In the meantime, here’s some content from last night in Naples:
