Sports

WASHINGTON — German forward Franz Wagner’s 31-point performance sparked Orlando to an eighth consecutive victory on Thursday, ripping Washington 139-120 to move one game behind NBA overall leader Boston.

The Magic connected on 60.7 percent of their shots in improving to 13-5 and matching Milwaukee for second in the Eastern Conference behind the Celtics (14-4).

“We believe we can win every day and we want to play up to our standards,” Wagner said after achieving back-to-back 30-point games for the first time in his NBA career.

“It’s a lot of fun. We would like to keep that going.”

Orlando can match the club’s record win streak by beating the Wizards again on Friday.

“It would be awesome,” Wagner said. “But we’ve still got one to go so we’ve got to lock in on that.”

Magic coach Jamahl Mosley agreed, saying: “I’m a ‘one game at a time’ guy. We’ll enjoy this one but we’ve got to get to work tomorrow.”

Cole Anthony came off the bench to add 25 points and Jalen Suggs scored a season-high 22 points for Orlando.

But forward Paolo Banchero, last season’s NBA Rookie of the Year, suffered an ankle sprain and had only six points.

“We’ve got a young team,” Wagner said. “We’re just a tight-knit group. We’ve got a lot of characters and we just enjoy playing with each other.”

The Philadelphia 76ers also could have reached 13-5 but with NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid out with illness, the Sixers lost 124-114 at New Orleans.

Cameroonian seven-footer Embiid, the NBA’s top scorer with 32.0 points a game, was dearly missed as Pelicans star forward Zion Williamson struck for 33 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals. He shot 11-of-12 from the floor and the free throw line.

Pelicans guard C.J. McCollum scored 20 points in his return after missing more than three weeks with a collapsed lung and fractured rib.

Tyrese Maxey scored 33 points for the 76ers in a losing cause.

Jokic triple double 

At Denver, two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic struck for 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds while Michael Porter Jr. added 30 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to power the defending champion Nuggets over visiting Houston 134-124.

Ignited by their star Serbian center’s triple double, Denver improved the NBA’s best home record to 9-0 and reached 13-6 overall, moving into second place in the Western Conference only a game behind Minnesota (13-4).

“We play good at home,” Porter said. “There’s good energy in the building and we like to play at the crib. We’ve got to bring the same energy on the road.”

The Phoenix Suns saw a seven-game win streak snapped while NBA-worst Detroit lost its 15th game in a row.

Toronto got 23 points from Scottie Barnes and 22 from Pascal Siakam to beat visiting Phoenix 112-105.

The Raptors led 108-105 when Devin Booker missed a tying three-pointer with 50 seconds remaining.

German Dennis Schroder hit a jumper for Toronto and Kevin Durant — who scored a game-high 30 points — then missed a three-pointer for Phoenix. Barnes added two final free throws to seal the Raptors’ triumph.

At Detroit, D’Angelo Russell had game-highs of 35 points and nine assists to lead the Los Angeles Lakers over the Pistons 133-107. Detroit drop to 2-16.

Anthony Davis added 28 points and a game-high 16 rebounds for the Lakers while LeBron James, coming off the most lopsided loss of his 21-year career at Philadelphia on Monday, added 25 points and eight rebounds.

At Sacramento, Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points and James Harden scored 17 of his 26 points in the first quarter as the Los Angeles Clippers routed the host Kings 131-117.

De’Aaron Fox scored 40 points in a losing cause while Paul George netted 19 for the Clippers.

MIAMI — Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and Damian Lillard added 32 as the Milwaukee Bucks beat Miami 131-124 on Tuesday to reach the knockout rounds of the NBA In-Season Tournament.

On the final night of group-stage play in the NBA’s inaugural version of a World Cup, the Bucks won the East Group B crown at 4-0, taking the top Eastern Conference seed in the fight to reach next month’s semifinals in Las Vegas.

“We completed the task,” Milwaukee’s Khris Middleton said. “To get to Vegas now, we’ve got to do a little bit more.

“We want it. We’re hungry for it. It’s exciting times for us. We want to go to Vegas so we’re happy.”

The quarter-finals will find Boston at Indiana and New Orleans at Sacramento on Monday, with New York at Milwaukee and Phoenix at the Los Angeles Lakers next Tuesday.

Boston routed Chicago 124-97 to win East Group C and advance while New York, second behind Milwaukee in Group B, beat Charlotte 115-91 and advanced as a wildcard based on superior point differential over Cleveland 42-29.

Sacramento edged Golden State 124-123 to win West Group C, rallying from 24 points down in the second quarter to advance.

The Warriors knew they had to win by 12 points to win the group on a point differential tiebreaker and took a 72-55 half-time lead before the Kings, led by 29 points from De’Aaron Fox, rallied late to trim the margin then swipe the triumph.

“We still wanted to win the game, it counts for the regular season, but we knew what the number was,” Fox said.

Phoenix took a West wildcard spot when Minnesota beat Oklahoma City 106-103 while New Orleans won West Group B when the Dallas Mavericks downed visiting Houston 121-115.

At Miami, the Bucks opened a 15-2 lead, Miami answered with a 16-4 run, then Milwaukee closed the first quarter on a 12-4 spurt for a 31-22 lead.

“We started out great, but it’s hard,” Middleton said.

“You’re just not going to knock a team down in the first five minutes. They did a great job coming back. We did a great job keeping our composure and finding a way to close this thing out.”

Miami, lacking Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro due to ankle sprains, led 97-93 after three quarters.

Middleton, who had 17 points and eight rebounds, hit back-to-back jumpers for a four-point lead and dunks by Brook Lopez and Antetokounmpo settled matters.

“Thankfully I was able to hit a couple shots,” Middleton said.

“I’m just happy we won a tough game.”

Antetokounmpo made 11-of-16 from the floor and 10-of-13 from the free-throw line and grabbed 10 rebounds with five assists while Lillard, 9-of-18 from the floor and 10-of-10 from the line, added nine assists.

At New York, Julius Randle scored 25 points and grabbed 20 rebounds while Immanuel Quickley had 23 points off the bench to spark the Knicks.

Boston needed a lopsided win to advance and got it as Jaylen Brown scored 30 points, grabbed eight rebounds and passed off six assists to lead the hosts over Chicago.

Jayson Tatum added 21 points and Al Horford had 16 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the Celtics.

Injuries hit Warriors 

Golden State’s Chris Paul went out in the first quarter with lower left leg soreness and Gary Payton II went down with a right calf injury in the third quarter at Sacramento, which had lost two prior meetings with the Warriors this season.

Golden State’s Draymond Green, back from a five-game ban for putting Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert in a headlock, received a technical foul in the fourth quarter for arguing referee calls.

Dallas star Luka Doncic dominated Houston with 41 points, nine rebounds and nine assists while Kyrie Irving added 27 points for the Mavs, keeping the Rockets winless on the road this season.

Western Conference overall season leader Minnesota (13-4) hung on to top spot by edging visiting Oklahoma City (11-6).

Anthony Edwards, who left the game with a bruised right hip, led the Timberwolves with 21 points while Gobert added 17 points and 16 rebounds.

But Phoenix took the West wildcard on point differential 34-0 over Minnesota.

AMMAN   —  The national football teams seem to have an uphill journey ahead as they start the countdown to their respective international qualifiers and Asian competitions.

During the past month, Jordan had a lackluster start to the 23rd World Cup 2026 qualifiers, as Group G matches kicked off with Jordan held 1-1 with Tajikistan before losing 2-0 to Saudi Arabia. The qualifiers also advance teams to the 2027 Asian Cup. 

Jordan is now 3rd in the group after Saudi beat Pakistan 4-0 while Tajikistan beat Pakistan 6-1. The Kingdom’s third qualifier against Pakistan is still four months later on March 26. 

A total of 36 Asian teams are playing in 9 groups with the top two teams from each group advancing to Round 3. Jordan is now ranked 86th, Saudi 53rd Tajikistan 108th and Pakistan 193rd.

Before the qualifiers resume, Jordan will be playing the 2023 Asian Cup in Qatar kicking off on January 12, 2024. The national team will be playing in Group E alongside Bahrain, Malaysia and South Korea.

Hasan Amouta, Jordan’s Moroccan coach who took over the job in summer is yet to score a victory with his lineup in six matches played so far. The Jordan Football Association is going ahead with the national team coach’s agenda with hopes of an advanced spot in the upcoming Asian Cup, as well as advancing Jordan to the 2026 World Cup with Asia allotted 8 slots in the next edition in additional to a zonal qualifier after expanding the number to include 48 nations.

During the past matches, Jordan lost 6-0 to Norway, 2-1 to Azerbaijan, 3-1 to Iran and tied Iraq 2-2 before losing on penalties. The coach has recalled new players, but the fact that many leading players play abroad, including Tamer Ta’mari, who now plays for Frances’ Montpellier and is one of the French League’s  top scorers, is not helping much in terms of team cohesion. Goalie Yazeed Abu Laila underlined the lineup was getting more coherent and adapting to new coach’s strategy and style who has announced his eventual aim would be “to have a younger competitive group who can serve the national team for upcoming years”. 

Since first taking part in the Asian Cup qualifiers in 1972, Jordan has qualified to the Asian Cup five times. The highlight was in 2004, when it lost to Japan in the quarterfinals and jumped to the best ever FIFA rank of 37th. They also reached the Asian Cup in 2011 and 2015 and 2019 and for the next edition.

On the World Cup qualifying scene, the Kingdom was on the verge of qualifying to the 2014 World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then FIFA 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie before exiting the qualifiers. Jordan had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since first taking part in qualifiers. Round 3 had been the furthest they reached in the  past 7 times since the 1986 qualifiers. 

On the other hand, Jordan’s U-23 team was drawn in a tough group for 6th AFC U-23 Asian Cup set for April 2024.  The top three teams from the AFC U-23 Asian Cup will advance to the Olympics while the fourth will play a play-off to advance.

The Kingdom was drawn in Group A alongside hosts Qatar, Australia and Indonesia. 

Group B includes Japan, Korea, UAE and China.

Group C includes Saudi Arabia, Iran, Thailand and Tajikistan;

Group D includes Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Kuwait and Malaysia.

Jordan qualified to its 6th AFC U-23 Asian Cup after hosting Group A qualifiers, and  finishing unbeaten over Brunei 9-0, Oman 1-0 and Syria 2-0 to clinch the sole qualifying spot from the group. 43 teams contested the qualifiers in 11 groups with the top team from each group together with four best second placed teams advancing to the U-23 Asian Cup alongside hosts Qatar. 

During their past participation at the U-23 Asian Cup (previously the Asian Championship), Jordan finished 3rd in 2013, reached the quarterfinals in 2016 and 2020, and were knocked out of the first round in 2018 and 2022. 

Jordan is now readying for the Asian Cup through a series of friendlies but  it has been a challenge for coach Abdullah Abu Zam’eh, to maintain a cohesive lineup and training plan with  players on the senior national team on duty for World Cup qualifiers or Asian club championships.

The coach successfully guided his team through qualifiers the despite a lackluster preparation agenda. This week, the lineup took part in a friendly in Saudi Arabia where it lost to the hosts 2-1 and Qatar 1-0. Earlier Jordan also lost to Egypt in a friendly. This year, the team reached the semifinals of the U-23 West Asian Championship, which they won in 2021. They did not play in 2022. 

This week, U-20 national team beat Lebanon twice 2-1 this week after a training camp in Turkey saw them win two matches and draw in a third as they prepare for their Asian qualifying agenda.

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Newcastle must overcome the might of Paris Saint-Germain and a mounting injury list if the Magpies’ first foray into the Champions League for 20 years is not to come to a premature end on Tuesday.

Damaging back-to-back defeats to Borussia Dortmund have left Eddie Howe’s men sitting bottom of a devilishly difficult Group F, also featuring last season’s semi-finalists AC Milan.

Newcastle must avoid defeat in the French capital to have any chance of reaching the last 16.

Qualification looked well within the grasp of Howe’s side when they hunbled PSG 4-1 on Tyneside in October.

But things have since unravelled for Newcastle as an injury crisis has taken its toll despite the club being backed by the riches of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.

Contrary to expectations, Newcastle did not splash their newfound wealth extravagantly in the transfer window by the standards of top Premier League sides.

The club’s one marquee summer signing, Sandro Tonali, has been slapped with a 10-month ban for breaching betting rules during his time with Milan.

Harvey Barnes has spent most of the campaign out injured since his switch from Leicester, while young full-backs Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento have only been pressed into action in recent weeks due to injuries to others.

The decision to be more conservative in the transfer market is now coming back to bite, even if Newcastle showed remarkable resolve to thrash Chelsea 4-1 on Saturday without 13 first-team players.

Sven Botman, Dan Burn, Callum Wilson, Joe Willock and Sean Longstaff are among the other key players likely to miss out again at the Parc des Princes.

“You look at the players who were missing and that was a giant performance from the players we have fit,” said Howe after Chelsea were swept aside at St James’ Park.

However, the fear for Howe is that his depleted squad have already emptied the tank ahead of facing a PSG side led by Kylian Mbappe with revenge and a place in the last 16 in their sights.

Howe needed to name three goalkeepers and a number of teenagers just to fill his bench at the weekend.

The demolition of the French champions in their first home Champions League match for two decades appeared a statement of intent from a coming power of European football.

Growing pains 

Newcastle are aiming to follow in the footsteps of Manchester City as a state-backed project that can go onto dominate English football and conquer Europe.

But Howe is not yet working with a squad filled with superstars built to compete with the Champions League elite.

The likes of captain Jamaal Lascelles, Fabian Schar, Longstaff, Joelinton and Miguel Almiron were part of a side fighting relegation when Howe took over just two years ago.

City had to go through plenty of growing pains on the Champions League stage before finally lifting the trophy in June in their 12th consecutive season in the competition.

Newcastle’s rise into the Premier League’s top four last season came quicker than expected and they were then handed by a distance the toughest Champions League group in this season’s draw.

A return to facing Europe’s best may have come as a reality check for a depleted squad, but they are still in the fight for the last 16 if they can repeat the feat of keeping Mbappe quiet as they did in October and deliver another bloody nose to PSG.

AMMAN — Faisali play an away match against Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshion on Monday in the fifth stage of Group B Asian Football Confederation (AFC)Champions League matches.

Faisali need to win to stay in the competition after a lackluster start which saw them lose to UAE’s Sharjah and to Nasaf Qarshi 1-0 before a crushing 6-0 defeat to Qatar’s Sadd ended up in yet another change in coaching staff.

Ahead of the last match, coach Ahmad Hayel took on the task as they hosted Qatar’s Sadd beating them 2-0 to stay in contention, with the top team from each group advancing to Round 2 alongside the top 3 second placed teams.

Faisali are now fourth in the group and are trying hard to stabilise the team’s performance and lineup after inconsistent coaching staff, injuries and unwarranted mistakes in defence and offence lead to their worst results in the Asian competition.

On the other hand, Wihdat who also had to amend breaches in lineup and strategy before they resume AFC Cup matches on Tuesday when they play Aleppo’s Ittihad in the Saudi city of Ta’ef in the second tier Asian competition.

Wihdat last lost to Iraq’s Kahraba’a 3-1 in Basra dropped in Group B standings after leading in the initial three rounds when they beat Kahraba’a 3-1 after losing to Kuwait SC 2-1, and beating Aleppo’s Ittihad 2-0 in the first leg.

They will need to top the group to secure their spot and advance , as only the best runner-up among 3 West Asia groups will advance as well.

MADRID — Spanish champions Barcelona slipped up in a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday in La Liga, continuing a worrying run of underwhelming performances.

Surprise leaders Girona and rivals Real Madrid in second now have the chance to extend their lead on the third-place Catalans over the next two days.

Unai Lopez drove Rayo ahead from long range in the first half, but Barca levelled through Florian Lejeune’s own goal in the 82nd minute.

The draw adds to the doubts around Barcelona, who have not been at their best for several weeks and face Porto on Tuesday seeking Champions League knock-out round qualification.

Inaki Pena started in goal for Barca with Marc-Andre ter Stegen out with a back problem, while Xavi turned to the fit-again Frenkie de Jong to replace the injured Gavi in midfield.

The 19-year-old’s cruciate ligament tear will keep him out for the season, with Barcelona losing a player the coach has described as the “soul” of the team.

Barcelona players wore shirts before kick off with his name on the back, and a message saying “We are with you, Gavi.”

Pena spilled the ball the first time he was called into action but recovered quickly to clear up the danger.

The goalkeeper then denied Oscar Valentin after De Jong lost the ball on the edge of his own box.

Hosts Rayo started well, encouraged by having beaten Barca on three of their four previous clashes, including twice at their ramshackle Vallecas Stadium.

They took the lead after 39 minutes when Lopez hammered a superb effort into the bottom right corner from around 30 yards out after the ball was cleared into his path.

Rayo came close to adding a second in stoppage time but Alejandro Balde was alert to cut Jorge de Frutos’ low cross out with two Rayo attackers ready to pounce.

Xavi said Barca would miss Gavi’s “intensity, heart and courage” against Francisco Rodriguez’s side and he was proven right, although they improved a little after the break.

Ferran Torres might have levelled early in the second half with a header but sent it too close to Rayo goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.

Xavi immediately replaced the winger, along with Oriol Romeu after another disappointing shift at the base of Barca’s midfield, sending Ilkay Gundogan and Joao Felix on.

Pedri headed narrowly over from Robert Lewandowski’s cross and Inigo Martinez nodded a Gundogan free kick off target too as Barca sought the equaliser.

Raphinha’s raking effort struck the post and Rayo hacked Lewandowski’s attempted finish from the rebound off the line.

Eventually the Catalans levelled with eight minutes remaining when Lejeune diverted Balde’s cross into his own net, under pressure from Lewandowski.

Raphinha appealed for a penalty in stoppage time when he fell after Pacha Espino challenged him, but the officials did not oblige.

Barcelona now have failed to beat Rayo in five matches and could fall seven points behind Girona if they beat Athletic Bilbao on Monday at Montilivi.

Real Madrid, two points clear of Barca, visit Cadiz on Sunday, while fourth place Atletico Madrid host Mallorca later Saturday.

MÁLAGA, Spain — Australia produced a stunning comeback to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 on Wednesday and set up a Davis Cup semifinal clash with Finland.

Last year’s runners-up almost crashed out in the last eight but Alex de Minaur pulled Australia back from the brink by beating Jiri Lehecka 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-5 in the second singles rubber.

The World No. 12 levelled the tie after Tomas Machac defeated Jordan Thompson 6-4, 7-5 in the opening battle and forced a deciding rubber, won by Wimbledon 2022 doubles champions Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell.

They defeated the returning Lehecka and Adam Pavlasek 6-4, 7-5 on a rollercoaster night for the team with the second most Davis Cup wins in the competition’s history, 28, behind only the United States.

Despite their rich history Australia has not won the competition since 2003 and looked set for elimination with Lehecka serving for the tie against De Minaur, who dug deep to find a new level to keep his country’s dream alive.

“I just told myself to keep fighting, keep playing till the last point, you never know, sometimes you get your chances,” said De Minaur.

“I got a little sniff, I was able to roll with it.

“I think my reputation kind of is quite strong when it comes to these types of situations, it kind of precedes me — maybe I won that match because of that today.”

The only time the Czech Republic have beaten Australia in 10 clashes was in 1975, but the three-time champions came extremely close in Malaga.

“We were one game from going home, for him to fight back and win that match is one of the best comebacks I’ve ever seen,” said Ebden.

Australia captain Lleyton Hewitt has been one of the most critical of the controversial updated Davis Cup format which began in 2019, and Green and Gold fans were outnumbered by Czech supporters at the Martin Carpena arena.

Over two-thirds of seats were filled, although the atmosphere could not match surprise package Finland’s win over reigning champions Canada on Tuesday, willed to life by a few thousand noisy Nordic fans.

Machac, 23, slapped a forehand winner down-the-line to break Thompson in the first game and it was enough to secure him the first set.

The second was just as tight and when Machac broke for 5-4, Thompson immediately battled back to pull level, breaking the Czech for the first time in the match.

Machac broke again though with a passing shot and clinched the match with another forehand winner.

“I only got one break and it was an absolute battle to get it,” said a disappointed Thompson.

His defeat left the pressure on De Minaur’s shoulders to keep the Green and Gold in the hunt for their 200th tie victory.

Stunning comeback 

Lehecka broke for a 3-2 lead in the first set and held off De Minaur in the epic final game, surviving five break points and eventually converting his fourth set point.

The Czech, ranked 31st in the world, broke again for a 2-1 lead in the second set, which he held on to, surviving three more break points for a 5-3 lead.

However, Lehecka froze when serving for the tie, going long repeatedly and broken to love by a De Minaur who suddenly found another gear, winning 10 consecutive points and dominating the tie-break to force a decider.

De Minaur broke Lehecka to start the third set and consolidated it, but the Czech broke back for 2-2.

The Australian took a 6-5 lead when he broke again and wrapped up the set to love to complete his superb comeback.

“It’s great to have such amazing support, this is an Australian Davis Cup team, we fight until the end and we’re never dead,” said De Minaur.

The consistent Ebden and Purcell pairing only dropped two points on their serves in the first set and broke in the seventh game to take it.

They pressed the Czech duo on their serves in the second set and eventually found a way through to move 6-5 ahead, serving it out to send Australia through to face Finland on Friday.

On Thursday Novak Djokovic’s Serbia faces Great Britain and Jannik Sinner’s Italy play The Netherlands in the remaining last eight matches.

LEVERKUSEN, Germany — A relieved Italy midfielder Davide Frattesi said the European champions will try and “repeat something fantastic” in Germany next year after Monday’s 0-0 draw with Ukraine in Leverkusen secured qualification for Euro 2024.

The result means Italy, which failed to qualify for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups either side of Euro 2020 triumph, avoid another embarrassing tournament miss.

“We knew if we were unable to break the deadlock in the first hour, it would become really tough. Ukraine then made it a more physical match,” Frattesi told RAI Sport.

 “We were under pressure, but overall it was a good performance. What mattered was that we qualified...

“We suffered, but it was important to get through. Now we’ll try to repeat something fantastic.”

The final score belied the true nature of the match, with Italy’s high-octane attack and Ukraine’s counter-attacking threat creating several chances for both teams.

Ukraine had a late penalty appeal turned down, despite Italy midfielder Bryan Cristante looking to have made contact with Mykhailo Mudryk’s foot in injury time.

“From my point of view that was a penalty, but again I was not there and it’s only about my emotions,” Ukraine coach Serhiy Rebrov told a post-match press conference.

Italy travelled to Leverkusen knowing they would progress by avoiding defeat, while Ukraine knew only a win would suffice.

New Italy coach Luciano Spalletti has only been in charge for three months after Roberto Mancini surprisingly left for the Saudi Arabia national team job.

“We had to keep attacking — but Ukraine proved they are a very good team who gave us a lot of problems,” Spalletti, who led Napoli to their first Serie A title since 1990 last season, said.

Italy will go into either pot three or four for the tournament draw, which will take place on December 2 in Hamburg.

Spalletti added his team would “have a moment to pat ourselves on the back” before turning their focus to the finals in Germany, the site of their 2006 World Cup triumph.

“Now, the level will step up. Now, the fun begins.”

Midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo said his side’s nervy qualification campaign, which included two losses to England and a draw with North Macedonia, would not dampen their hopes of defending the title.

“We had the right motivation. Italy must go to the Euros not just to take part, but to compete as reigning champions.”

Ukraine head 

into play-offs 

Ukraine, forced to take the fixture to Germany due to the ongoing conflict with Russia, can still qualify, but will need to navigate the play-offs in March 2024.

Mudryk was lively down the left for Ukraine and crafted a number of half-chances early, with his side denied by poor finishing.

Italy’s dominance of possession started to tell after half an hour, Federico Chiesa sliding a smooth pass across the face of goal which eluded a desperate Davide Frattesi.

Italy continued to attack early in the second half but as the game wore on the increasingly nervous Italians sat back, allowing Ukraine more space up front.

Mudryk was always a threat and appeared to have been brought down in the box after contact from Cristante, but the referee waved his team’s desperate pleas for a spot-kick away.

SKOPJE, Republic of North Macedonia — Gareth Southgate insists England’s lacklustre finish to the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign will mean nothing when they start their bid to win the tournament in Germany.

Such are the expectations that Southgate is working under these days that qualifying with an unbeaten record from a potentially tricky group, including Italy and Ukraine, earned him few plaudits.

Being held to a 1-1 draw by North Macedonia on Monday meant England failed to beat a side as low as 66th in the FIFA rankings for the first time since 2016, when they drew with Slovenia.

But with a runners-up finish at the last European Championship in 2021, as well as World Cup semifinal and quarter-final appearances in the Southgate era, England’s status as one of the Euro favourites is well earned after six victories from their eight qualifiers.

And Southgate is confident England’s drab end to the qualifying campaign will prove nothing more than an irrelevant blip.

“The really big results were in March against Italy and Ukraine. It meant coming here was a completely different test,” he said.

“I thought that given we had already qualified and everything had been achieved the mentality of the players was excellent.

“The quality on the ball was good on a difficult pitch. Just that final pass or finish was difficult to find. But I thought there were lots of positive performances.”

One area of concern for Southgate could be his team’s struggle to pierce the massed ranks of North Macedonia and Malta’s defences over the last four days.

Southgate was without influential Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham due to injury for both qualifiers, while England’s record scorer Harry Kane was left on the bench for the first 58 minutes against North Macedonia.

Only when Kane came on did England snatch their equaliser, an own goal from Jani Atanasov as he tried to stop the Bayern Munich striker turning in Phil Foden’s corner.

Southgate will have noted his side took 65 minutes to manage their first shot in the 2-0 win against Malta at Wembley on Friday.

And although England had 75 per cent of the possession against North Macedonia, they mustered only two shots on target, making it just the third time in the last 26 Euro qualifiers that they failed to take maximum points.

In truth, England’s lethargic displays over the last two games owed much to the dead rubber status of the matches and their scheduling amid a hectic programme of Premier League and Champions League fixtures.

But Southgate will still want improved performances in the friendlies against Brazil and Belgium in March.

By then, he will know the teams England will face in the group stage, with the point in Skopje ensuring they will be in the pot containing the top seeds.

“The next exciting bit is the draw at the beginning of December and we will see what the path looks like,” Southgate said.

Plotting how many of England’s emerging young talents to take to Germany will keep Southgate busy over the winter.

He was impressed with the way Manchester City’s teenage left-back Rico Lewis handled his debut.

Lewis’s composed display was all the more commendable after he was harshly adjudged to have fouled Bojan Miovski, conceding the penalty that brought North Macedonia’s goal when Enis Bardhi converted the rebound from his saved spot-kick.

“Rico was excellent. His composure with the ball and the way he responded to that setback, he’s a super footballer,” he said.

Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi also caught Southgate’s eye.

“He has been excellent in every game and showed great composure, taking what I’ve seen from him at his club to international football. That’s not straightforward,” he said.

The jury remains out on Southgate’s experiment with playing Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield.

But, befitting his ambition of taking fourth-placed England to the top of FIFA’s world rankings, the manager is looking ahead with optimism.

“There are a lot of players to keep a track on. Trent again did an excellent job,” he said.

“Rico, Cole Palmer, there’s plenty for me to think about.”