Saturday’s briefing: Mason Greenwood not in Thomas Tuchel’s England thoughts

England boss Thomas Tuchel has made clear his position on Mason Greenwood, while Scotland dug in to secure a goalless draw in Denmark in their opening World Cup qualifier.

Chelsea launched the defence of their Women’s Super League title on a triumphant note.

Greenwood not in Tuchel’s England plans

England boss Thomas Tuchel has not spoken to Mason Greenwood and made clear the Marseille forward is not in his thoughts.

The 23-year-old was suspended by Manchester United in January 2022 over allegations relating to a young woman after images and videos were posted online.

Greenwood faced charges including attempted rape and assault, but the Crown Prosecution Service announced in February 2023 that the case had been discontinued.

The forward spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Getafe before making a permanent move to Marseille last year, when the one-cap England international began the process of changing his allegiance to Jamaica.

“I have not spoken to him until now. I have not spoken to him or his camp,” the head coach said.

“My understanding was that he tries to play for Jamaica, so we didn’t give it another thought. He was not in the mix at the moment and he is not in our thoughts for our team.”

Scotland claim point in Denmark

Steve Clarke praised a strong refereeing performance from Daniel Siebert after Scotland began their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with an encouraging goalless draw against Denmark in Copenhagen.

Right-back Max Johnston took over from the already-booked Aaron Hickey in the 70th minute and was almost immediately shown a yellow card by Siebert for using his arm when last man in the Scotland defence.

Asked by the VAR to look at the incident again on the pitchside monitor, the German official took no further action, with a red arguably available for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.

Clarke admitted he was “just a little bit worried” when the referee had a second look, but he said: “We’d had a look.

“Obviously it came off his arm really high up and then you could see quite clearly there was a little nudge in the back, which makes it, as the referee told me, not a big enough nudge to be a push, but certainly a big enough nudge for the ball to hit Max’s arm.

“So I thought the referee was very strong with that decision and it was strong refereeing.”

Luis Enrique involved in cycling accident

Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique has suffered a fractured collarbone in a cycling accident.

The club said the Spaniard, who led PSG to the Champions League title last season, would undergo surgery.

“Following a cycling accident on Friday, Paris St Germain head coach Luis Enrique was treated by the emergency services and will undergo surgery for a fractured collarbone,” the club said on X.

“The club expresses its full support and wishes him a swift recovery. Further updates will be shared in due course.”

Chelsea make winning start

Chelsea held off Manchester City to begin the defence of their Women’s Super League title with a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues looked set for a routine victory just past the hour mark when Maika Hamano swept home to add to Aggie Beever-Jones’ first-half strike, but the match ended with a wave of City pressure in search of what would have been a deserved point.

Niamh Charles’ own goal sparked hope of rescuing a draw for head coach Andree Jeglertz, but the Swede lost his first match in charge.

What’s on today?

England seek to maintain their 100 per cent record in 2026 World Cup qualifying when they host Andorra, while the Republic of Ireland launch their campaign against Hungary in Dublin.