England manager Thomas Tuchel is making his presence felt during his first get-together as England manager, with midfielder Morgan Rogers inspired by the German’s “aura” in the run-up to Friday’s era-opening clash with Albania.
In the Women’s Champions League, Manchester City substitute Vivianne Miedema scored a brace against Chelsea to inflict the Blues’ first defeat of the season.
Meanwhile, Scotland are ready for action in Athens, where manager Steve Clarke admits the return of Kieran Tierney has posed a dilemma for the Nations League play-off against Greece.
Tuchel makes his big impression
Morgan Rogers (left) has been enthused by his first training camp under Thomas Tuchel
Morgan Rogers (left) has been enthused by his first training camp under Thomas Tuchel(Mike Egerton/PA)
Rogers has seen his career thrive under the guidance of Unai Emery at Aston Villa, but admitted Tuchel’s presence was an eye-opening experience. The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss has been working with the national side for the first time this week and held a team meeting to outline his plans for World Cup glory next summer.
And if his intention was to leave a mark, he succeeded with Rogers.
“Certainly his aura is one I’ve not experienced before,” he said.
“You can see the way he is, the way he acts. He has been so chilled and calm but when it is time to work, it is time to work. (Winning the World Cup) is the only goal, he was very clear and transparent
with what he wants to do, how he wants to do it, how he wants to go about it.
“When I met him his aura and demeanour, it’s hard to describe but he has that level of confidence, that level of respect already,”
City on top after Miedema double
Vivianne Miedema (right) celebrates her second goal against Chelsea
Vivianne Miedema (right) celebrates her second goal against Chelsea(Nick Potts/PA)
Chelsea have been impervious this season but finally met their match as Chelsea snatched a 2-0 first-leg win to take control of their Women’s Champions League quarter-final. The Blues last tasted defeat 31 games ago, back in May 2024, and it was entirely new territory for manager Sonia Bompastor.
Miedema was the match-winner after stepping off the bench, rifling in on the rebound after Hannah Hampton hit the crossbar after an hour-long stalemate then doubling the lead two minutes from time.
Just four days ago it was Chelsea celebrating after defeating City 2-1 to win the women’s League Cup final, but they will now need to fashion a comeback in the return fixture to keep their hopes of continental silverware alive.
Scotland have options as Tierney returns
KT 💪 pic.twitter.com/SBFxs5HZcP
— Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) March 19, 2025
Scotland must come through a two-legged play-off against Greece with their League A status on the line, starting at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium tonight.
Their squad is bolstered by the presence of fit-again Arsenal defender Tierney means there are decisions to make. Tierney previously featured in a back three for his country, but that was modified to a flat four during his absence.
“It’s given me a lot to think about,” said Scotland’s head coach.
“As a coach you want as many difficult choices as possible and I have a few of them. I’m always thinking of changing things. We have discussed it and spoken about it and hopefully we can come up with the right solution for the game.”
Chelsea swoop for Sporting duo
Sporting winger Geovany Quenda will arrive at Chelsea after the 2025/26 season
Sporting winger Geovany Quenda will arrive at Chelsea after the 2025/26 season(Zed Jameson/PA)
Chelsea continue to plan for the long-term future, moving to finalise the double signing of Geovany Quenda and Dario Essugo from Sporting Lisbon for a combined £62.5million.
The Portuguese club announced the terms late on Wednesday night, with reported Manchester United target Quenda fetching a fee of up to £44m. The 17-year-old will remain at the club until the end of next season before completing his switch to London.
Midfield anchor Essugo, who is currently on loan with LaLiga side Las Palmas, will arrive in the summer having having attracted a bid of £18.5m.
What’s on today?
Tuchel will hold his first pre-match press conference in charge of England, taking questions from the media for the final time before leading the national side out at Wembley.
On the field, Scotland’s League A play-off against Greece and the Republic of Ireland’s League B play-off in Bulgaria will vie for attention.
Higher up the ladder, the Nations League moves to its quarter-final phase with reigning champions Spain taking on the Netherlands in one of the standout fixtures. Germany travel to the San Siro to take on Italy, Croatia host France and Denmark face Portugal.