The 2019 British champion raised £5000 through crowdfunding for an elbow operation

British javelin thrower Harry Hughes has been speaking of his delight after successfully raising £5000 through crowdfunding to pay for surgery on his elbow.

Last year the 23-year-old from Suffolk became the first Briton to break the 80-metre barrier since 2012, but his career-to-date has been hampered by injuries.

Hughes, who has two metal screws in his elbow, feared that paying for an urgent operation last month would leave him without enough money to continue throwing.

But hope of competing at next summer’s Tokyo Olympic Games remains thanks to his coach’s suggestion that he set up a GoFundMe campaign.

Coronavirus threw a rather large spanner in the works of the 2020 season, but things initially looked good for Hughes.

“Spring this year, despite Covid, training was absolutely flying. I was in incredible shape,” he says, speaking on the England Athletics Podcast.

But the West Suffolk AC athlete – who trained at an empty local school during the pandemic – soon noticed a familiar change. His elbow “fell apart” and his throws lost 10 metres in distance overnight. It was the same issue that led to him missing the 2018 season entirely.

After resting for six weeks, action was needed once it became clear that the joint hadn’t healed naturally.

“I had a Zoom call with the surgeon and my coach and it was just decided there and then that I needed surgery,” he adds.

Despite knowing that he was doing the right thing for his health, Hughes – who isn’t part of British Athletics’ funding programme – remained anxious about the cost. “I just said yes because I knew it needed to be done. That then meant that there were no financial funds for 2021,” he says.

“Athletics can be an expensive sport. All the travelling, coaching fees, physio fees, they all add up.”

Describing himself as “stuck between a rock and a hard place”, Hughes went ahead with coach Mark Roberson’s idea that he turn to crowdfunding.

“Even if I only get a couple of hundred quid, it all goes towards it,” he recalls thinking. The public reaction that followed left the former world junior finalist stunned. “I didn’t push it that hard really. Within 48 hours I think half of it was covered and I was blown away.

“I couldn’t actually believe just how many people were willing to support me. People that I didn’t know, that I’d never met, were just giving me money to help towards my surgery!”

Hughes was due this kind of motivational boost after a tough few years. Despite huge progress in 2019, he missed the European Under-23 Championships and any chance of making last autumn’s World Athletics Championships because of yet another injury.

Part of the reason for these perennial problems is the unusual set of movements that come with the discipline.

“Javelin and triple jump are typically the most explosive events in athletics on your body,” he says.

“In javelin, you’re putting so much force in incredibly weird and difficult positions which you wouldn’t normally get yourself into, at speed. It goes from a sequence all the way through from your left foot to your right hand. All of the joints along that pathway often get injured.”

With this in mind, it says something of Hughes’ character that while he now focuses on making a strong recovery, he remains as determined as ever to realise his full potential and break through on the international stage.

“Ultimately, throwing around 80 metres just doesn’t cut it. You have to be throwing 85 metres, or around that consistently, to get anywhere. I know where I need to be.

“Hopefully, if the competitions do go ahead, then we get a season where I can consistently and regularly compete and I think that’s where my big distances will come from.”

Exeter forward Jacques Vermeulen is set for an extended period on the sidelines after undergoing shoulder surgery.

"It was a relatively big operation," Exeter boss Rob Baxter said.

"He was holding on until we got to the end of the season, so he's going to be out for an extended period."

With Jonny Hill, Jonny Gray and Sam Skinner all away on international duty, Vermeulen's absence will put pressure on Exeter's second-row, with the former Sharks player able to play at flanker or lock.

"We may look at Don Armand in a slightly different role, he's played a lot of second-row before and we may look at him in a role around there," Baxter said.

"We've got a couple of young back fives also in the academy who are starting to show some promise so it creates an opportunity for them."

Meanwhile, Exeter have also received a boost with England hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie returning to training ahead of Friday's Premiership opener against Harlequins.

The forward had undergone minor knee surgery after the Premiership final win over Wasps last month.

Scrum-half Natasha Hunt has returned to the England squad for Saturday's rematch against France at Twickenham.

Loughborough's Abbie Brown, who can play at wing or full-back, is called up for the first time since her return to the 15-a-side game from sevens.

Hunt's Gloucester-Hartpury team-mate Ellena Perry is a new front-row option.

A strong second-half performance helped England to a 33-10 win over France in Grenoble last weekend.

"Last Saturday's game against France was a tough and physical affair and we expect more of the same," said head coach Simon Middleton.

"We've spoken a lot about resilience, which we've shown in our training and our two matches at the start of the season to date.

"While we were delighted with the result and much of the performance in France, we know we need to be better this weekend."

Hunt's return increases Middleton's options at nine after Claudia MacDonald and Leanne Riley played scrum-half in the wins over Italy and France respectively.

England training squad

Forwards:

Sarah Beckett, Shaunagh Brown, Poppy Cleall, Amy Cokayne, Vickii Cornborough, Lark Davies, Detysha Harper, Sarah Hunter, Laura Keates, Heather Kerr, Alex Matthews, Harriet Millar-Mills, Marlie Packer, Ellena Perry, Morwenna Talling, Abbie Ward.

Backs:

Holly Aitchison, Jess Breach, Abbie Brown, Katy Daley-Mclean, Abby Dow, Zoe Harrison, Natasha Hunt, Megan Jones, Ellie Kildunne, Claudia MacDonald, Leanne Riley, Helena Rowland, Emily Scarratt, Kelly Smith, Lagi Tuima.

La Liga clubs have seen their salary caps reduced by €610 million because of the coronavirus pandemic, the league announced on Tuesday.

Barcelona's wage cap has been reduced by almost €300m, while Real Madrid's spending limit has also been slashed by €172.5m and Atletico Madrid's cap has been cut by €131.8m.

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In total, La Liga's 20 clubs will be allowed to spend a total of €2.33 billion across the 2020-21 campaign on wages, a reduction of €610m on last season.

Barca had the biggest salary cap in Spain last season at €671m but must now adhere to La Liga's new limit of €382.7m as teams across Europe are forced to deal with the financial consequences of COVID-19.

The Catalan club started to reduce their wage bill in the summer by letting big earners Luis Suarez, Arturo Vidal and Ivan Rakitic leave.

Meanwhile, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Frenkie de Jong, Clement Lenglet and Gerard Pique all agreed new deals which will see them take a hit on their salaries this season with the deductions to be repaid in the latter years of their deals.

However, Barca's interim president Carles Tusquets has said the club must still knock up to €190m off their wage bill. Negotiations over wage deferrals with the players are ongoing with further talks planned for Nov. 23.

Madrid have overtaken Barca as the club with La Liga's highest spending limit, although their €468.5m ceiling is still much less than the €641m they could spend last season.

As a result, the players will be asked to take another pay cut, having already taken one earlier this year, sources have told ESPN.

The club are putting the finishing touches to this season's budget, which will be finalised in the next few days, and will then present a proposal to the first team squad.

La Liga brought in measures in 2013 to force clubs to manage their finances appropriately and set caps on overall salary expenditure. The limits for each club include spending on first-team players, coaches, reserves, youth systems and affiliated clubs and academies.

La Liga president Javier Tebas praised the clubs' attempts to reduce spending and said that the league would allow a certain amount of leeway given it's "impossible" to change all contracts with players and staff overnight.

But he also warned clubs that they must continue "selling players and reducing their wage bills because there is no other choice."

Samit Patel is set to complete 20 years as a Nottinghamshire player after signing a two-year contract extension at the club, primarily for white-ball cricket.

Patel, who made his first-class debut for Notts as a 17-year-old in 2002, was a key part of the club's T20 Blast triumph this season, hitting a vital 28 not out from No. 8 in the quarter-final against Leicestershire before returning 2 for 42 in six overs across the semi-final and final.

While he remains available for selection in red-ball cricket, Patel said that focusing on his limited-overs skills would benefit both the club and his longevity.

"I'm not retiring from playing with the red ball, and I'll always be there for Notts in first-class cricket if they need me," Patel said. "However, Matt Carter and Liam Patterson-White are spin bowlers with their careers ahead of them, and we have a talented batting line-up with loads of potential too, so I firmly believe the club needs to go down that route in the red-ball game.

"In limited-overs cricket, I believe we have a team that can be there or thereabouts for years to come. I know I have a big part to play in that and winning more trophies is the ultimate aim."

ALSO READ: County ins and outs, 2020-21

Patel, who played six Tests and 54 limited-overs games in his England career, has become a regular feature on the worldwide T20 circuit in recent years, and is currently playing for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League playoffs before heading to the Lanka Premier League. He was surprisingly overlooked in the selection process for the Hundred last year, and will hope to press his case ahead of January's draft.

"Samit believes very strongly that we'll benefit as a limited-overs team from him becoming a white-ball specialist - both in terms of the longevity of his career and with the specific focus it will bring to his preparation," Peter Moores, Notts' head coach, said.

"The terms of this contract are reflective of Samit's wishes in that regard. He's earned the right over many years, and in particular with the way he went about his cricket last season, to make that decision and for us to respect it."

The club also confirmed that Harry Gurney has signed another white-ball deal for 2021 after missing the T20 Blast this summer through a shoulder injury, which also ruled him out of the IPL. Having joined from Leicestershire in 2012, Gurney will complete a decade as a Notts player next summer.

"2020 has ended up being a bit of an enforced sabbatical for me," Gurney said, "but I feel rested, refreshed and ready to power through the next phase of my rehab to get ready for 2021."

Toby Pettman, a beanpole Oxford University seamer, has also been offered professional terms for 2021 after impressing bowling coach Kevin Shine at an MCCU open day.

A mass airlift of Australia, Australia A and Big Bash League players into New South Wales has been successfully completed to avoid Cricket Australia having its summer plans severely disrupted by border restrictions imposed on South Australia due to a developing Covid-19 outbreak in the state.

While the number of new cases in SA dipped promisingly to five on Tuesday after 14 on Monday that were traced to an outbreak in Adelaide's northern suburbs, CA and the BBL clubs moved rapidly to ensure all players left the affected state and also Queensland, Western Australia and Tasmania after all three state governments imposed quarantine restrictions on SA.

These moves, including a charter flight specifically to transport all players and staff from the Adelaide Strikers to a training camp in Coffs Harbour, will allow for Australia players to prepare freely for the looming white-ball series against India, plus Australia A players preparing for warm-up games against Virat Kohli's touring side and also the Strikers and other SA-based BBL players ahead the tournament's scheduled early-December start in Hobart.

This meant rushed farewells to family and friends for the likes of Test captain Tim Paine, Matthew Wade, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head and Cameron Green, but ensured smooth progression of the summer even if the SA outbreak continues to grow. SA's border remains open to NSW and Victoria, and CA maintains that Adelaide Oval will host the first Test of the summer against India from December 17 onwards.

"CA has taken a proactive approach and mobilised a number of people across the country over the past 24 hours to shore up our men's domestic and international schedules," CA's interim chief executive Nick Hockley said. "I would like to thank the players and staff for their understanding regarding the changes to their travel schedules and for their commitment to ensuring the summer of cricket is a huge success.

"I would also like to thank the various leadership groups across Australian cricket for coming together over the past 48 hours and taking quick, decisive action - made possible by thorough, cross-department contingency planning. CA will continue to monitor the situation in South Australia and the resulting border restrictions around the country.

"As ever, we will remain agile in addressing the challenges presented by the pandemic and remain more confident than ever of hosting a safe and successful summer across all formats."

Leicester Tigers' training ground will reopen on Tuesday after a 12-day shutdown.

Another round of testing, as part of the English top flight's weekly programme of coronavirus tests, are taking place early this week.

Tigers face Gloucester in their season opener on Saturday.

There is no suggestion at this stage that Leicester will not fulfil the fixture.

Updated regulations on what happens to matches cancelled because of coronavirus outbreaks are expected to be revealed before the season starts on Friday.

As well as closing the training ground, Leicester also sent a number of players and staff home, who were deemed to have been in "close contact" with those who had tested positive.

A Tigers' statement added that all players were continue their pre-season programme alone in their household bubbles while the Oval Park facility remains closed.

Last week, director of rugby Geordan Murphy left the club by mutual consent after the Irishman was told his contract would not be renewed.

UEFA is offering a rare, access-all-areas glimpse into the world of the loneliest person on any given Champions League matchday: the referee.

"Man in the Middle" is a new four-part series produced and streamed by UEFA that allows us a behind-the-scenes look at match officiating at the very highest level.

The first episode centres on the 2018-19 Champions League campaign, the season that VAR was used in the competition for the very first time and how top referees like Damir Skomina, Bjorn Kuipers and Clement Turpin coped with it.

We've watched the first episode and marvelled at just how close to the man in the black (or luminous yellow) we've been allowed to get by the UEFA cameras. Here are the main takeaways:

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History was made in Amsterdam

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⚽ Meet some of the #UCL referees and take a look at some of the biggest talking points brought by the introduction of VAR... pic.twitter.com/P1XYpROwxF

— UEFA (@UEFA) November 16, 2020

The main beneficiary of the first ever VAR intervention staged in the Champions League was Thibaut Courtois. It came after the Real Madrid goalkeeper made a colossal handling error that led to Ajax stealing a goal in the round-of-16 first leg encounter in Amsterdam.

A timely check for offside in the build-up let Courtois off the hook, much to the Belgian shot-stopper's obvious relief. That relief was to be short-lived, however, as Ajax overcame the defending champions and progressed to the semifinals.

Referees can't get a moment's peace

With the round-of-16 tie between Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United level on aggregate and with the second leg in Paris approaching extra time, a possible handball from Presnel Kimpembe offered the visitors a chance of a stoppage-time penalty that would send them through.

Experienced referee Skomina was urged to review the dramatic incident on the pitchside monitor, only to find himself harangued by agitated players and staff, all shouting at the officials and craning their necks to watch the replays.

Marcos Rojo could be seen yelling from the dugout as United coaches Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Mike Phelan nervously pace around the technical areas, crowding the referee as he attempted to rule on an extremely pivotal decision while being watched live by millions around the world.

After being besieged for what felt like an age, Skomina quickly reached the end of his tether. "Please, I need to be alone," came the plaintive plea from the Slovenian official. He duly ruled in favour of United, and Marcus Rashford's spot kick sent them into the quarterfinals.

A ref's decision is not always final

Referee Kuipers was initially adamant in his decision not to award a penalty when the ball inadvertently struck Danny Rose's hand just 11 minutes into Spurs' 2018-19 quarterfinal first leg against Manchester City.

The Dutchman admitted that he instantly ruled out the possibility of a penalty and was reluctant to even check the incident again, so sure was he that a corner was the correct decision.

However, his VAR team would not let the matter lie and eventually talked Kuipers into reviewing the replays, only for the penalty to be given (and subsequently missed by Sergio Aguero).

Son Heung-Min went on to score the only goal of the game, and Kuipers can be seen after the final whistle thanking his team for convincing him to make another check.

GOATs don't get any special treatment

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⏳ Coming Monday, UEFA's new series offers a view behind the scenes in the lives of some of Europe's top #UCL referees... pic.twitter.com/QgTVxpuvnG

— UEFA (@UEFA) November 13, 2020

The first episode spends a lot of time covering Kuipers, and no wonder. The Dutch official is not a man to be trifled with, even giving Lionel Messi a dressing down during the first leg of Barcelona's semifinal against Liverpool.

With Barca winning 3-0 up at Camp Nou, Messi still tries to engage in some time-wasting: not on Kuipers' watch.

"Messi! Why? Come on! Show them some respect!" Kuipers shouts, pointing to the 'Respect' logo on his sleeve. "Go! Every time you do it. Come on! Why do you do it? Go now!"

Of course, Liverpool would go on to upset the odds by winning the second leg at Anfield 4-0 and reach the final.

Even more impressively, Kuipers later reveals he limped through 86 minutes of that match, as he was carrying a muscular injury.

Refs thrive under pressure on the biggest occasion

There's an old maxim in the refereeing world that you need to be ready to make a decision from the very first whistle, and Moussa Sissoko certainly put that to the test mere seconds into the 2018-19 Champions League final.

The Tottenham midfielder handled a ball inside his own penalty area less than a minute after kick-off, forcing referee Skomina and his team to run a VAR check before they'd even got comfortable.

After a "very high hand" was flagged, Skomina pointed to the spot and awarded Liverpool the penalty with just 22 seconds on the clock. Mohamed Salah stuck it away as the Reds went on to win 2-0 in the Spanish capital.

Currency really is different in Europe

When it comes to the traditional prematch coin toss to decide which team kicks off, the two captains are not asked to pick "head or tails," but rather "yellow or blue".

Suddenly we're questioning everything we previously held to be true about the Champions League.

When Spain welcome Germany at an empty Estadio de la Cartuja in Seville on Tuesday in their final Nations League match, it offers the chance to see where they are in their evolution. When Spain won back-to-back European Championships and a World Cup in their dominant spell from 2008 to 2012, they had some once-in-a-generation players; Germany's rebuild of the 2000s peaked with them winning the 2014 World Cup. But now Spain are sixth in the FIFA rankings and Germany are 14th.

Tuesday's match has everything on the line with both teams hopeful of reaching the Nations League semifinals. Spain drew 1-1 with Switzerland on Saturday evening, with Gerard Moreno's late equaliser making up for Sergio Ramos' two missed penalties; Germany now sit one point above Spain in Group D with Joachim Low's team beating a disrupted Ukraine side 3-1 at the weekend, with Timo Werner grabbing two and Leroy Sane also scoring.

But there are still plenty of unanswered questions around both sides. Are they too stuck in the past? Or are they juggling the need for immediate success with long-term planning? While new Spain boss Luis Enrique is trying out some options, there are still some fundamental issues up front and replacing defensive stalwarts. For Germany, there is a growing frustration in their country around how the national team are performing, which led to team manager Oliver Bierhoff hosting a remarkable news conference last week where he turned fire on the media and accused them of being too negative.

With the European Championships seven months out, we assess the state of these two European powerhouses.

By Tom Hamilton, Alex Kirkland and Stephen Uersfeld

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The weight of history

Spain's golden age was anchored around the spine of the glorious 2009 treble-winning Barcelona team. They had Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique at the heart of their defence; the midfield was Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets, with David Villa up front. By Euro 2012, Villa was absent with a broken leg, so Spain filled that void by playing without a striker and used a 'false No. 9' instead. With the likes of Xabi Alonso, David Silva, Cesc Fabregas and Iker Casillas also in the squad, Spain's greatest-ever team played spell-binding, tiki taka football to win an incredible three major international trophies in a row.

But they hit rock bottom at the 2014 World Cup, crashing out at the group stage after a famous 5-1 defeat to Netherlands, and the aftermath of that lingered on as coach Vincente del Bosque stuck around until Euro 2016's failure in the round of 16. Those key players of 2008-12 drifted away slowly rather than all at once and the past eight years have been underwhelming. The 2018 World Cup saw Julen Lopetegui fired before their first match, after he agreed to take over Real Madrid following the tournament, and Fernando Hierro stepped in to replace him at the last moment but Spain were knocked out on penalties in the round of 16 to hosts Russia.

Germany are also grappling with the rebuilding process. Low has been in the job since 2006 and led the side to the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup, where they lost 1-0 to Spain, and at Euro 2012 they crashed out at the same stage to Italy. But everything peaked in 2014 as their 4-3-3 formation worked, Phillip Lahm stepped into the leadership void left by Michael Ballack and Miroslav Klose starred as Germany's leading striker. They smashed hosts Brazil 7-1 in the semifinals and won 1-0 against Argentina in the final thanks to Mario Gotze's 113th minute winner.

Low stuck with the bulk of those players for Euro 2016 and they made the semifinals, where they lost to France. But they went to the 2018 World Cup with a squad that was neither a continuation of the past, nor a nod to the future, and suffered the ignominy of failing to get out of their group in Russia. The nexus of the 2014 team has since drifted away and Low is still trying to make the seismic shift from one generation to the next as he refuses to pick veteran trio Jerome Boateng, Mats Hummels and Thomas Muller, who were all dropped after the 2018 debacle.

The hopes for the future

Both teams have a rich batch of players coming through: Germany won the 2017 Under-21 European Championship final against Spain, while Spain won the 2019 edition against Germany. More to the point, Spain's record of progressing youth players through to the senior side is actually pretty good.

The Spain team from the U21 final in 2017 includes Kepa, Hector Bellerin, Saul, Marcos Llorente, Dani Ceballos, Marco Asensio and Jose Gaya. The same goes for the 2019 team that lost to Germany, with Fabian, Dani Olmo, Mikel Oyarzabal, Mikel Merino and Dani Ceballos all part of the set up. And there's more talent coming through, too.

"Players like Ferran Torres, Eric Garcia and Ansu Fati have made their [international] debuts ... some of them are making a difference in the first division at 17. Their maturity stands out," Spain youth coach and former forward Julen Guerrero told Onda Cero. "Pedri is now starting at Barcelona. At youth level we're trying to give them a mentality that Spain are a team that always have to compete, to be ambitious. We're on the right track, we're champions at U21 and U19 level, at U17 level we lost in the semifinals. You're seeing a lot of young players taking the step up."

From those Germany U21 sides from 2017 and 2019, Serge Gnabry has become a key player. There are others knocking on the door as well: Thilo Kehrer, Mahmoud Dahoud, Niklas Stark, Jonathan Tah, Nadiem Amiri, Luca Waldschmidt, Robin Koch, Suat Serdar, Florian Neuhaus and Lukas Klostermann are all near the senior squad or are already getting a lot of playing time in 2020.

"You will always have a golden generation," Arne Friedrich, Hertha sporting director and former Germany defender, told ESPN. "It's no different at club level. Sometimes three or four players come through and sometimes it's just one player or no player at all. We have a lot of talented young players, but it's not easy to make that step into the senior side. Take a look at Florian Neuhaus -- he's such a good player, but he's got a mountain to climb with all the competition in midfield: Leon Goretzka, Toni Kroos, Joshua Kimmich, Ilkay Gundogan to name a few."

Germany also have plenty of potential their U21s right now, with Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz, Bayern Munich's Torben Rhein, Hertha Berlin's Luca Netz, Cologne's Ismail Jakobs and Noah Katterbach and Hamburg's Josha Vagnoman all impressing.

The managerial challenges

Luis Enrique remains very impressive as Spain boss. He experienced incredible personal tragedy in the past year (his daughter Xana died of bone cancer in August 2019 aged nine), which required him to step away from the national team to be replaced by Robert Moreno, before being dramatically reinstated last November. And, as such, it's hard to judge him so far, especially when that was followed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

It feels like he has a clear idea of what he wants, though it is a team in transition and he has tried out a huge number of players. But there are still fundamental issues he needs to solve in goal, centre-back and up front.

David de Gea was Casillas' successor but has faced sustained criticism in Spain ever since he was blamed for the disastrous 2018 World Cup showing. Luis Enrique has stuck with him -- though Moreno did opt for Kepa throughout qualifying in 2019 -- but the finger was pointed at De Gea again for the goal conceded Spain's 1-0 loss in Ukraine in October. Athletic Bilbao's Unai Simon got the nod against Switzerland on Saturday and could continue as No. 1 given Kepa's drop in form and confidence for Chelsea.

At centre-back, Spain are still searching for a long-term replacement and partner for the ageless Sergio Ramos. Luis Enrique seems to have settled on Villarreal's Pau Torres, but before that Raul Albiol, Diego Llorente and Inigo Martinez had all been tried by Moreno: essentially a different partner every game. Love him or hate him, Ramos remains a hugely important figure for the team.

In midfield, Luis Enrique has a bewildering number of options: Thiago, Merino, Olmo, Fabian, Ceballos, Sergio Canales and Rodri were all tried out in the past two months, while Busquets is still there. On the wings he has Torres, Ansu, Oyarzabal and Adama Traore, but there's still no clear go-to striker up front with Alvaro Morata, Rodrigo and Gerard Moreno all tested and falling short.

"Any coach would like to have Luis Suarez, or Harry Kane, or Marco Van Basten. I'd love to," Luis Enrique told reporters in October. "No coach would say 'I don't want that.' But what we try to do, as we don't have that, is to get to the goal through the association and quality of other players. We try to create a lot of chances, and make sure the goals don't revolve around one person."

For Germany, the pressure is on Low to deliver. There are dark clouds over the national team, with general manager Bierhoff turning fire on the media last week, asking them to support the national team instead of being overly critical. He admits there is a growing gulf in relations between country and national team, but while Bierhoff believes this is mostly down to the 2018 World Cup disaster, there's also a feeling the national side values financial spreadsheets and projections above everything else.

Despite the friction, Low still retains the unwavering backing of the German FA (DFB) and Friedrich says his old boss has been "courageous" for sticking to his guns and not recalling Muller, Boateng and Hummels. "Low knows the squad much better than any journalist; than any so-called expert," he told ESPN. "He has a plan and decided to make that cut. It's now important to find stability."

Germany's previous main issue has been finding a long-term replacement for Klose, the man who won the Golden Boot at the 2006 World Cup. "Miroslav Klose was outstanding and a world-class striker," Friedrich says. "A few years later we developed other types of players. We now have Gnabry, [Timo] Werner, [Leroy] Sane and even Waldschmidt. They have different qualities, and I would say we are back to a world-class level."

There are still holes that need to be filled at wing-back, with Matthias Ginter starting on the right against Ukraine, and there's also a feeling that Low is still trying to find his best trio of centre-backs in his 3-4-3 system. "He tested man-marking all over the pitch against Spain and Switzerland," Friedrich added. "Did he just accept they'd concede as many goals? I don't think so. And while we scored 14 this year, we also conceded 10. That's too many. That's why the 1-0 against the Czech Republic was so important regardless of the experimental formation. And the win against the Ukraine as well."

So... will they contend for Euro 2020 and/or the 2022 World Cup?

Both Spain and Germany will head to both tournaments with plenty of optimism and expectation, but the next two years are key in their respective development. They have the talent coming through, but it's one thing to perform at club level and another to translate it to international football.

Spain will look to the likes of Torres and Ansu for belief in their long-term future and, while the Euros may come too soon, by 2022 they could be a really interesting proposition.

"It looks to me like Luis Enrique is in a period of trying things out," Argentina legend and ex-Real Madrid boss Jorge Valdano told Onda Cero. "He's looking, he's getting to know the players, it's a time of transformation ... A team could emerge, but not straight away. The team that stunned the world [2008-2012] was made up of players at the peak of their careers. These boys are playing international games, they have to mature more, and we'll see. There are players who are 20, 21. We have to be patient ... This national team are quite clearly going for youth."

Germany are in a similar transitional period. The foundations are there for them to have a bright future, though the pressure remains on Low to deliver in major tournaments like he did six years ago.

"The World Cup exit after the group stages in 2018 was bitter," Freidrich said. "But if you take a look at the stats after that tournament: they are OK. Germany have lost three of their 21 games, twice against Netherlands and once against France. They just drew a lot of games: eight in total. The transition takes some time and I am sure we have a bright future ahead of us.

"We are still up there with the very best teams in midfield, in attack. But of course, the defence is an important factor in the game and we are looking for stability here. Loads of players have been tested. We have world-class keepers. The team now needs to get together and find a rhythm."