1) Sancho adds to Southgate’s striking options in final third

When Gareth Southgate needed to turn the tide against Croatia at the World Cup, his options were limited by a lack of forward players on England’s bench. It was difficult for Southgate to alter the flow of the game and it was unsurprising to see his side run out of steam. Yet England have continued to progress since then and offered an indication of their greater strength in depth when they reached the Nations League finals at Croatia’s expense. What a difference it made for Southgate to introduce Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard and Jadon Sancho after Andrej Kramaric had given the visitors the lead. Lingard, a player with the knack of popping up in the right place at the right time, grabbed the equaliser and England were rewarded for throwing caution to the wind when Harry Kane prodded in the winner. Extra competition for places in the forward areas is already having a positive effect. Jacob Steinberg

2) Fletcher comes in from cold to prove McLeish wrong

Alex McLeish rails against the notion that he stumbled across a winning Scotland team. A raft of players either making themselves unavailable for selection or withdrawing through injury for the double header against Albania and Israel left McLeish with precious few options. What can be said with certainty – albeit with hindsight – is Steven Fletcher proved his manager categorically wrong with his forceful, intelligent displays. Leigh Griffiths, Johnny Russell, Steven Naismith and Oliver McBurnie had earlier been preferred to Fletcher, to the point where the Sheffield Wednesday man could not claim a place in the Scotland squad. Fletcher’s willingness to bring others into the game, a strength endorsed when Scotland had James Forrest and Ryan Fraser deployed on either side of him, brought a fresh dynamic to McLeish’s attack. It now seems unfathomable that Fletcher would return to the position of being an afterthought. In the recurring, external wish for fresh international blood, this is one player whose experience is clearly valuable. Ewan Murray

Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) Watch the highlights from last night's 3-2 win over Israel as we guaranteed ourselves a play-off for UEFA EURO 2020 and secured promotion to League B in the UEFA Nations League.#SCOISR #NothingMattersMore pic.twitter.com/z8Twm1pq4L

3) Time was right for Republic of Ireland change

Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane leave Republic of Ireland roles Read more

Outplayed at home by Northern Ireland in a friendly and relegated from their Nations League group, the Republic will be among the third seeds for next month’s Euro 2020 draw in Dublin. They were not likely to finish higher, especially given the number of new and makeshift players required to deploy. But it is hard to describe the last year as a period of transition under Martin O’Neill when there has been little sign of an attempt to progress towards anything in particular. The team often seemed disjointed and aimless, and when an approach was discernible, damage limitation seemed to be their mission. This, then, has been a wasted year and he and Roy Keane have now left their positions. So now is time for real change. Long-term, the solution must involve Football Association of Ireland reform. Short-term, Ireland’s attempt to qualify for Euro 2020 would be more interesting to watch under, say, Dundalk’s Stephen Kenny, who tends to nurture creativity and has long maintained there is more talent in Ireland than supposed. Let us see what he can do. It could not be worse than the last year. Paul Doyle

4) Van Dijk is leading Dutch resurgence

Given that the Netherlands were fortunate only to concede twice against Germany on Monday, it would be pushing it to say that Virgil van Dijk had a good game. The Liverpool centre-back’s partnership with the inexperienced Matthijs de Ligt was an area of vulnerability, much to the delight of the dangerous Timo Werner, and the truth is that Germany ought to have been out of sight long before blowing their 2-0 lead late on. Yet profligate finishing from Joachim Löw’s inconsistent side kept the contest alive and when the Netherlands needed someone to rise to the occasion, it was Van Dijk who accepted the responsibility that comes with wearing the captain’s armband. Just when it seemed the Dutch revival was grinding to a halt, the 27-year-old gave his young team-mates a lesson in leadership by coming up with the volley that sent them into the Nations League finals. JS

5) Nations League is great but Spain aren’t. Or are they?

“The Nations League has been a total success,” Luis Enrique said. Well, he did after the first two games anyway. After the third and fourth, he noted that qualification for Euro 2020 was the primary objective. Which said something about the way results had shifted perspective. The format left Croatia and Spain going into the final 15 minutes in Zagreb knowing only a win would do. That lent itself to a frantic, wild finale, one of the most exciting games anyone could remember — and in doing so proved the Spain manager right. This competition has been a huge success. But, for many in Spain, it also suggested he – and the selección – might be wrong. After victory at Wembley and a 6-0 thrashing of Croatia, there was optimism unbound; after two 3-2 defeats, pessimism took hold. Are Spain just not that good any more? And what should their identity be? Luis Enrique had proposed a variation on tiki-taka and most welcomed that; now they’re not so sure. Defensively vulnerable, they have no striker that entirely convinces and some even wonder if Sergio Busquets is coming to an end, ushering in a central role for Rodri. That would leave just Sergio Ramos, protected from the worst criticism which has focused, not always fairly and certainly not coincidentally, on two Premier League players: David de Gea and Álvaro Morata. It also drew attention to another Premier League player they already admired, one they blamed for not making the final four and one they wish they had: Kane. Sid Lowe

Facebook Twitter Pinterest David de Gea has been heavily criticised for his performances with Spain. Photograph: Pixathlon/REX/Shutterstock

6) Neymar injury bodes ill for PSG and for the sport

Milton Keynes and Neymar are not automatically synonymous with each other and the Brazil forward may count the cost of his short time there. Neymar was forced off eight minutes into the narrow friendly win over Cameroon and, while his groin injury is not thought to be serious, it is the last thing Paris Saint-Germain will have wanted before next Wednesday’s Champions League meeting with Liverpool. PSG will also sweat on Kylian Mbappé, replaced during France’s win over Uruguay, and it does not seem a coincidence that they fit into a wider trend of players who competed in the World Cup knockout rounds pulling up lame. Research conducted by the Times suggests 52 of their 84 Premier League peers who got that far have suffered injuries since. The appetite for a reconfiguration of the football landscape – as long as it is to their liking, of course – among the biggest clubs is more voracious than ever and if the big-name injuries keep piling up then they will consider their case strengthened. Nick Ames

7) Sparkling Kosovo on verge of something special

In March five years will have passed since, amid near-unplayable conditions on a filthy pitch in Mitrovica, Kosovo contested their first official match against Haiti. The friendly itself was turgid but nobody present could forget the sheer joy and affirmation of national identity that radiated from those packed inside. Nobody could have foreseen how quickly things would move on, either, but something extraordinary has happened. Kosovo have become one of the most vibrant national teams in Europe and it is not fanciful to think they are on the verge of something special. Some of their football in an outwardly tricky Group D3 was scintillating and by the end it was clear that Bernard Challandes’ team comfortably belongs a tier higher. In Milot Rashica and Arber Zeneli, who scored a hat-trick in Tuesday’s decisive 4-0 win over Azerbaijan, they have two of the most exciting young wingers in Europe and they have benefitted from the eagerness of so many second-generation Kosovan-Albanians to represent a state torn apart in the 1990s. They have 16 months to wait until facing neighbours Macedonia, themselves firmly on the up, in what would be a mouthwatering Euro 2020 play-off semi-final, but will fancy their chances of causing serious concern to whoever they face in the qualifiers before that. NA

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kosovo’s Arber Zeneli scored a hat-trick against Azerbaijan. Photograph: Florion Goga/Reuters

8) Crunch time for Congos despite travails of Britt abroad

It is nearly 6,000 miles from Middlesbrough to Brazzaville, a heck of a long way for Britt Assombalonga to travel only to be told by a Confederation of African Football official that his late call-up for the Congolese derby had not been registered in time. “Just about to walk out and start the game and get told I can’t play. Cheers,” tweeted the Democratic Republic of Congo striker. His replacement, Kabonga Kasongo, opened the scoring but Thievy Bifouma equalised for the hosts. The draw left both Congos outside the qualifying places for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations. Both need to win their last matches: DR Congo are at home to second-place Liberia while Congo travel to group leaders Zimbabwe. Those ties are in March, plenty of time for administrators to sort themselves out. PD

Britt Assombalonga (@BrittOfficials) CAF puts 22 names instead of 23 & leaves my name out.. just about to walk out and start the game & get told I can’t play 👍🏽 cheers..

9) Mancini’s new broom breathes life into Italy

So far, so good for Italy under Roberto Mancini, even if it took them 94 minutes to overcome USA. Mancini is trying to inject new life into a grand old power that had been stale for too long; they played some slick football in a dramatic win over Poland last month and deserved to beat Portugal in Saturday’s Nations League draw. They still lack a clinical edge but are playing with energy and blooding exciting young talents, too. Moise Kean, the much-vaunted 18-year-old Juventus forward, played the final half-hour on Tuesday while Cagliari midfielder Nicolò Barella, 21, has featured heavily recently. Mancini also brought Sandro Tonali, another 18-year-old from Serie B side Brescia, along for experience this month and there is a growing sense he is giving Italy the reconfiguration they have needed for years. Perhaps the dark days of 12 months ago had to come before the dawn. NA

10) Could Australia’s new hero be a Scotsman called Boyle?

The striking conundrum that has played on Australian minds since Tim Cahill’s goalscoring gradually waned on his way into international retirement may have been solved by the unlikeliest candidate – a 24-year-old Scot from Aberdeen who only set foot in Australia a few weeks ago. Hibs striker Martin Boyle, making his first start after debuting against South Korea on Saturday, scored two and set up one in the Socceroos’ 3-0 win over Lebanon and in doing so, stole a march on other hopefuls in the race to become the man Graham Arnold can count on for goals. A promising display off the bench against the Koreans prompted Arnold to tell Boyle he should take Cahill’s famed No 4 shirt. It might have been a joke, but Boyle’s effervescent performance did much to suggest there could be some weight to the argument he is the one Australia have been looking for. Mike Hytner