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Neville: France still favourites despite England display

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Neville: France still favourites despite England display

Gary Neville believes England produced the best football of the World Cup so far in their second-half display against Croatia, but remains unconvinced that Thomas Tuchel's side should be considered favourites for the tournament.England recovered from a chaotic first half to beat Croatia 4-2 in their Group L opener, with Neville particularly impressed by the fluency and intensity of Tuchel's side after the break."The way in which England played in that first 10, 15 minutes of the second half was probably the best 10, 15 minutes we've seen from any team in the tournament so far," Neville told Sky Sports News."That's not to get carried away because I know there's a long way to go and a game of football isn't over 10 or 15 minutes."It was really brave, it was a good night for him, the team in the second half were fantastic, it was a good performance."Neville was also impressed by Tuchel's decision-making from the touchline, particularly after England moved 3-2 ahead."I thought when England were 3-2 up you don't see many managers making those type of substitutions.World Cup 2026 fixture schedule - your day-by-day guide"The volume of substitutions, three of them all at once, but also putting Jude Bellingham back into central midfield alongside Elliot Anderson was a really attacking move.Despite England's encouraging start, Neville says he is sticking with his pre-tournament prediction."I said France before the tournament that I thought they would win it. I'm not going to change that now."I don't think we've seen enough yet. It's too early in the tournament and it's certainly too early to say that England are going to go and win it."I know that's probably what people want to hear. It was a really good start for us. There's a long way to go."Neville also hailed Harry Kane after the captain scored in the victory over Croatia, describing the Bayern Munich striker as England's only genuine world-class player."There are some great strikers who have played for England over the last 100 years but he is so special."He's genuinely, I do believe right now, the only world-class player we have. Harry Kane is there. He's absolutely on top of that mountain right now. Collectively England are strong, they're very strong."Neville was also full of praise for Jude Bellingham, who starred in England's opening victory and impressed him with both his performance and demeanour before kick-off."He is a superstar. Watching him in the tunnel before the game, he looked so relaxed, like he belongs, like this is something that he does every single day very easily."Whether he was playing in that No 10 role, whether he was playing a little bit deeper towards the end, he was outstanding and arguably England's best player."England's focus now shifts to Ghana in their second Group L fixture, with Tuchel's side aiming to build on an impressive opening victory and move a step closer to the knockout stages.

Sky SportsThu, 18 Jun 2026
Source: Sky Sports
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'A long time coming' - McInnes is the right man for Rangers, says Boyd

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'A long time coming' - McInnes is the right man for Rangers, says Boyd

"Strong beliefs and confident in his own ability."Just two of the reasons Kris Boyd believes Rangers have finally got it right with the appointment of Derek McInnes as manager.The 54-year-old replaces Danny Röhl after guiding Hearts to second in the Scottish Premiership last season, eight points ahead of the Ibrox club.He was on the verge of taking charge in Govan in 2017, but opted to remain at Aberdeen for another four years before leaving by mutual consent.McInnes led Kilmarnock back to the top flight at the first time of asking, then led them to fourth and back into Europe, before moving to Hearts to take them within minutes of an historic title-winning season."It's been a long time coming," Boyd told Sky Sports News."I'm absolutely delighted he's managed to get the job and he'll be looking forward to the upcoming season."He was very unlucky last year, he's shown that he is a good operator in Scottish football and Rangers are hoping he can continue to improve."McInnes is the club's sixth permanent head coach since Steven Gerrard, the last man to lead them to Premiership glory, left in 2021.He is the first appointment from another Scottish top-flight club since Alex McLeish moved from Hibernian in 2001."I think we have a tendency in Scottish football to overlook our coaches," Boyd added."When you look at what Derek has done, even his Aberdeen team caused problems to Celtic for a number of years."He built something at Aberdeen, you only need to look at what was there before him and then what's happened after, and that stability he had at Aberdeen."He went to Hearts, and nobody thought Hearts were going to throw down the challenge they did and finish second."There's been a lot made of Jamestown Analytics and rightly so, but he stuck to his principles a lot of the time when you look at his team, the way he set up and the way he went about the business."It tells me he's confident in his own ability, he's not depending on anybody else."When you become the Rangers manager you need rhino skin, because you're going to be criticised right, left and centre - but you also have to have strong beliefs in what you're trying to implement."Over a period of time, Derek McInnes has been able to do that sort of thing."Rangers' summer rebuild is already under way, with new CEO Jim Gillespie, executive director Fraser Thornton, technical director Dan Purdy and consultant Stig Inge Bjørnebye working with the coaching team to add to the squad.Scotland international Lawrence Shankland was the first confirmed signing, joining from Hearts on a two-year deal with the option of a further 12 months.Captain James Tavernier, the highest-scoring right-back of all time, left at the end of the season after 11 years at the club."I think he's got a big summer ahead of him because Rangers do need a squad overhaul. They do need to get a good five or six players into it," said Boyd."Derek has always made the best of the funds he's had available, he's been able to get and build a squad wherever he's been that has been able to challenge deep into the season."He has shown that he can recruit players that give him and his team the best opportunity to win games and he'll be hoping to continue that theme at Rangers."Rangers have only won the Scottish Premiership once since 2011, and managing just one Scottish Cup and one League Cup in the same period.There is no doubt the new boss will be under pressure to deliver silverware in his first season."Rangers are still a huge football club, they underperformed last season and we're hoping that Derek McInnes is a man to take them back to winning trophies on a regular basis," said Boyd, who won six domestic honours with the club."Rangers do need to get back to winning trophies. It's been a long time."You would imagine there will be a large chunk of transfer money available for Derek to go and sign players. They will be hoping he can deliver that title."You could argue for Derek to finish second the amount of times he did with Aberdeen and then Hearts, it's like winning the league because of the financial power that Rangers and Celtic have had over the clubs that he's been at."

Sky SportsWed, 17 Jun 2026
Source: Sky Sports
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