The Full Time Report — Episode 136: Five Out, Two In, and a Three-Week Pause
Cole Palmer got his England recall on Friday afternoon. By Monday lunchtime he had given it back.
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The Full Time Report — Episode 136: Five Out, Two In, and a Three-Week Pause
Monday's football happened off the pitch. There were no league games in Britain or Europe, and the day's news was the England squad losing five players before it had even met. It also brought a Switzerland captain standing down, the fallout from the Madrid derby, and the opening of a three-week break with the transfer window still seven weeks away from reopening.
Five out, two in
Thomas Tuchel named his squad on Friday for four Nations League games. By Monday, five of them had withdrawn: Tino Livramento, Kobbie Mainoo, Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford and Declan Rice. The England medical department and the clubs' medical staff agreed on all five, and no detail of the injuries was released. 1
- Cole Palmer, 24, was recalled on Friday after being left out of the World Cup squad, with Tuchel saying he had to "show these kinds of numbers and performances to get his shirt". He has started six of Chelsea's seven games this season and played the full 90 minutes in five, scoring four and assisting two. He withdrew with a minor muscle problem. 12
- Declan Rice, 27, has carried a nerve issue in his hamstring since the back end of last season, which also affected his lower back and troubled him at the World Cup. He has started all five of Arsenal's league games plus the Champions League opener at Napoli. 3
- Kobbie Mainoo, 21, was in the World Cup squad but did not play a minute of it. Tuchel said the decision was his own and that he would give Mainoo minutes in this window. 2
- Marcus Rashford, 28, came off in the 77th minute at Fulham holding his hip and groin, and has been managing a hip problem since the summer. 3
- Tino Livramento, 23, was in the World Cup squad and injured a calf in training on the eve of the tournament. He had surgery, returned as a substitute at Bournemouth this month, and had a setback before Newcastle's game against Hull on Saturday. He has not started a game this season. 3
Morgan Gibbs-White, 26, of Nottingham Forest and James Garner of Everton were called up and report on Tuesday. Both missed the World Cup. Tuchel said on Friday that Gibbs-White had been close to the original squad, and that he had been Forest's key player in staying up. 12
England are back in the top division of the Nations League, in a group with Spain, Croatia and Czechia. They host Spain at Wembley on Saturday 26 September, go to Czechia on 29 September and to Croatia on 3 October, and host Czechia again on 6 October. 1
Xhaka withdraws from Switzerland
Granit Xhaka, Sunderland's captain and Switzerland's, has been withdrawn from his national squad after admitting he obtained a fake Covid vaccination certificate in 2022, when he was an Arsenal player. 4
In a statement on Instagram he said he had serious concerns about the vaccine at the time, felt distrust and fear, and got hold of a certificate instead of asking the people who could have answered his questions. He called it a mistake, apologised, and said he is co-operating with the authorities. 4
The prosecutor's office in Lucerne has been examining a doctor in the city since 2023 over a series of allegedly false certificates; the doctor denies the allegations. Xhaka is due to be questioned next week. Charged, he could face a heavy fine, with a theoretical maximum of five years in prison that is regarded as extremely unlikely. He misses all four of Switzerland's Nations League games, against North Macedonia and Scotland away and Slovenia and North Macedonia at home. He turns 34 on Sunday. 4
Three weeks to think about it
Manchester City go into the break top on 15 points, five wins from five and three clear of Arsenal. Enzo Maresca dismissed the title talk after the 5-3 win over Sunderland: "I prefer to win 1-0 than 5-3." 5
Tottenham are bottom on two points, having spent £302m on the squad in the summer, with Dominic Solanke their only senior striker. Jonathan Wilson's assessment in the Guardian was that after two grim seasons, this is as bad as it has ever been at the club. 67
Manchester United have five points from five games, their joint-fewest at this stage of a Premier League season, and they host Tottenham on 10 October when the league returns. 7
Madrid: the printouts and the reply
José Mourinho arrived at his post-derby news conference on Sunday carrying printouts of two challenges he believed should have been red cards for Atlético Madrid, after Real Madrid lost 2-1. On Monday, Atlético answered on social media with a video of a sheet of paper emerging from a printer and a photograph of Mourinho with the same message on both: #StopAcosoArbitralYA, or "stop referee harassment now". The posts passed two million views within two hours. 8
Real Madrid's own match report described the defeat as the product of "dreadful refereeing". Diego Simeone said coaches have to be careful what they say, and that when someone crosses the line of respect "it's not right". It was Real Madrid's second league defeat of the season. 8
What the break contains
The Nations League starts on Thursday. This is the extended September window: FIFA has scrapped the October break and stretched this one so nations play four matches instead of two. The stated reasons include the World Cup final being the latest ever, on 19 July, player welfare, and reducing long-haul travel. The Premier League resumes on 10-11 October. 9
Alongside England, Wales are in the top division with Portugal, Denmark and Norway; Scotland are in the second division with Switzerland, Slovenia and North Macedonia; Northern Ireland have Hungary, Ukraine and Georgia; and the Republic of Ireland have Israel, Austria and Kosovo. The top two in each top-division group reach quarter-finals in March, with the finals week in June. 10
Club football returns in this order: Tottenham at Manchester United on 10 October, the Champions League league phase on 13-14 October (Arsenal v Lille, Atlético Madrid v Manchester United, Manchester City v Paris St-Germain, LASK v Liverpool), and the Europa League on 15 October (Benfica v Celtic, Lyon v Crystal Palace, Bournemouth v Sturm Graz). 1112
The only football on Tuesday is in the women's Champions League, where Arsenal host HB Køge and Manchester City are at Bayern Munich. 13
The transfer desk
The window is shut until January, so none of this is a completed deal.
- Liverpool are monitoring Givairo Read, 20, the Feyenoord right-back and Netherlands Under-21 international, with Manchester City and Arsenal also interested (Teamtalk). 14
- Arsenal and Chelsea are tracking Feyenoord midfielder Gjivai Zechiel, 22 (Caught Offside). 14
- Newcastle want a young centre-half and a right-sided forward in January and beyond (i Sport). 14
- Manchester United are looking at Gabriel Rajkovic, the Norwegian winger at Vålerenga, as a possible replacement for JJ Gabriel, 15, whose future at Old Trafford is unresolved (the Sun). 14
- Raphinha, 29, wants to stay at Barcelona and initial talks have begun on a new contract running to 2028 (AS). Barcelona are also preparing a €500m buyout clause in the new deal offered to Marc Bernal, 19 (Mundo Deportivo). 14
- Tottenham will not pursue Mauro Icardi, 33, who is a free agent (Football Insider). Brighton and Aston Villa are interested in Mauro Coronel, the 18-year-old Paraguay Under-20 defender at Nacional (Teamtalk). 14
References
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