File: England team group for a photograph prior to their opening game aginst Russia in Euro 2016, at Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France on Saturday, June 11, 2016. Photo: Reuters

MANCHESTER: England is attempting to break a cycle of heartache and humiliation at major tournaments that plunged the birthplace of football to its lowest ebb.

A loss to Iceland in the last 16 of the 2016 European Championship was perhaps the ultimate embarrassment. Or maybe that came when the English endured their shortest World Cup campaign two years earlier whey they were only in contention for eight days.

Before that, there were penalty shootout losses in 1990, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2012. And before that, who could forget Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal that denied England in the World Cup semifinals in 1986?

It’s no surprise that the nation’s expectations are low heading to Russia.

England coach Gareth Southgate has long been tempering his team’s prospects. Defender Kyle Walker even acknowledged it would be a “miracle” if England won football’s biggest prize this year.

England won the 1966 World Cup, but has only reached the semifinals of a tournament twice since then. What next for one of the underachievers of international football? Encouraging draws in recent friendlies against Brazil, Germany and Italy show the English are heading in the right direction but they have been here before in the run-up to tournaments.

Here’s a closer look at the England team:

COACH

Southgate was promoted from England’s under-21 team to become coach of the senior side in September 2016, with the appointment widely viewed with skepticism because of his lack of managerial experience in top-level soccer.

However, opinions are changing on the former England defender who missed the decisive penalty in a shootout against Germany in the European Championship semifinals in 1996. He has made brave selection decisions — dropping Wayne Rooney, for starters — and has implemented a bold approach that has seen the team adopt a three-man defense and play the ball out from the back as much as possible.

GOALKEEPERS

Long-time starter Joe Hart has lost his place in the squad after a tough two years on loan at Torino and West Ham from Manchester City. Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland and Nick Pope now occupy the three goalkeeping spots.

Pickford, whose distribution is superior to Butland’s, is expected to begin the World Cup as first choice after being handed the No. 1 jersey. Pope edged out Hart for the final spot, having impressed as Burnley finished seventh in the English Premier League.

DEFENDERS

Kieran Trippier and Ashley Young — attacking fullbacks with good delivery and energy — look to be England’s starting wingbacks, so it is the center-back combination that will be occupying Southgate’s thoughts.

Youthful duo John Stones and Harry Maguire are contenders to start even though the former is fourth choice at Manchester City and has barely played in 2018, while the latter has just three appearances.

Kyle Walker, a fast right back, has impressed in recent friendlies as a right-sided center back and looks set to start the tournament in that position. Experience comes from Gary Cahill and Phil Jones, who both finished the season strongly to secure their places.

Trent Alexander-Arnold, a 19-year-old defender, was a shock inclusion to the squad after impressing as Liverpool reached the Champions League final. He’ll look to put Trippier under pressure for his starting place.

MIDFIELDERS

England will play with either two or three central midfielders, depending if the team is deployed in a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 formation, and they are likely to be functional, hard-working players.

It’s a far cry from the days when the country could call upon stars of the Premier League like Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Paul Scholes. Instead, Southgate will rely on selfless players such as Jordan Henderson, Eric Dier, and Fabian Delph, who will keep their shape and allow the wingbacks and forward players to offer a goal threat.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is injured and Adam Lallana failed to prove his fitness, so creative responsibilities fall upon Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard and wildcard inclusion Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

The trio will perhaps be deployed in deeper positions than they may have been if Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lallana were present.

FORWARDS

The most straightforward department for Southgate: Harry Kane will start as the central striker, with Jamie Vardy and Marcus Rashford as backups.

Despite a blip in April after returning from an ankle injury, Kane finished the Premier League season with 30 goals for Tottenham.

Having found his form with five goals in his last five appearances for club and country, the 24-year-old is England’s most lethal striker and arguably most important player.

Raheem Sterling is expected to line up just behind Kane after his breakthrough season with Manchester City, while Danny Welbeck provides versatility and experience on the bench.

GROUP GAMES

England, which is based just outside St. Petersburg, opens Group G against Tunisia in Volgograd on June 18. The team then plays Panama in Nizhny Novgorod on June 24 and finishes against Belgium in Kaliningrad on June 28.

SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Nick Pope (Burnley)

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Harry Maguire (Leicester), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), John Stones (Manchester City), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ashley Young (Manchester United)

Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Jamie Vardy (Leicester), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal)

Switzerland’s Roger Federer hits a shot during a training session ahead of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, January 13, 2017. Photo: Reuters

LONDON: Roger Federer can return to the top of the ATP rankings this week in Stuttgart but knows all too well the dangers lurking on grass as he comes back from his mid-season break.

The 36-year-old Swiss skipped the claycourt season, including the French Open, to concentrate on retaining his Wimbledon crown and kicks off his preparation on the German city’s slick lawns.

He will play German serve-and-volleyer Mischa Zverev in his first match in Stuttgart on Wednesday – a tricky test especially as he has not played a competitive match since a surprise loss to Australian youngster Thanasi Kokkinakis in March.

Last year 20-times Grand Slam champion Federer lost his opener in Stuttgart to close friend Tommy Haas.

“Having lost here last year in the first round, for me, it resets the goals as well, and just take it one at a time and don’t think too far ahead,” Federer told the ATP website.

“Not that I did that last year, but on grass, margins are very slim. It’s not so simple, especially when you haven’t played in three months.”

Federer will overhaul Rafael Nadal at the top of the rankings if he reaches the final on Sunday.

That defeat by Haas last year together with his semi-final loss the year before against Dominic Thiem means Federer is in the unusual position of trying to avoid a three-match losing streak at a single tournament.

Losing to Haas did not dent his confidence too much last year, however, as he went on to win the Halle title and an eighth Wimbledon without dropping a set.

“I came back very strong and my reaction was very good after losing here against Tommy,” Federer said.

“I didn’t drop a set for the rest of the grasscourt season, which I was very happy about. So I just hope I can find my rhythm and range a bit earlier.

“I’m motivated. It’s been a while, I haven’t played matches. Obviously I don’t want to be on a three-match losing streak… I want to break that as well.”

Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews plays a shot. Photo: Reuters

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka all-rounder Angelo Mathews will miss the rest of their West Indies tour after he left for home due to personal reasons, while fast bowler Lahiru Gamage was ruled out with an injury.

The duo’s return is a major setback for Sri Lanka, who suffered a crushing 226-run defeat in the first of the three-test series at Port of Spain on Sunday.

Former captain Mathews, who scored 11 and 31 in the opening test, was determined to make a mark after missing five months of action with hamstring and calf injuries.

Sri Lanka Cricket confirmed Gamage fractured his finger while batting in the first test.

Batsman Dasun Shanaka, who last played a test against Bangladesh in February, and all-rounder Danushka Gunathilaka will be flown out as replacements later on Wednesday evening.

It is unlikely that the duo will be available for the start of the second test at St Lucia on Thursday, given the lengthy flights.

The visitors, though, have Dhananjaya de Silva and Mahela Udawatte as cover for Mathews, and extra quicks Kasun Rajitha and Asitha Fernando to replace Gamage.

• United bid comfortably wins vote at FIFA Congress
• Gets 134 votes to 65 for Morocco

The 2018 FIFA World Cup Winner’s Trophy is on display before the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow, Russia June 13, 2018. Photo: Reuters

MOSCOW: The 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada after FIFA’s congress voted on Wednesday to back the tri-nation joint bid for the tournament.

The North American bid beat the rival Morocco proposal, winning 134 votes to 65 for Morocco.

The 2026 tournament will be the first expanded tournament featuring 48 teams, up from the current 32-team tournament, which begins in Russia on Thursday.

Both bids were given a last chance to make their case with 15 minute presentations in front of congress, at the Moscow Expocentre, where the north Americans pledged their tournament would generate an 11 billion dollar profit, while Morocco said theirs would make 5 billion.

Although it will be the first tournament to be hosted by three nations, the vast majority of games will be held in the Unites States.

Of the 80 games, 10 matches will be held in Canada, 10 in Mexico and 60 in the US with the final played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, home to the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets.

“Thank you for entrusting us with the privilege of hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2026,” Carlos Cordiero, president of the US Soccer Federation told Congress.

“Football today is the only winner.”

The US hosted the World Cup previously in 1994 while Mexico hosted it in 1970 and 1986. Canada has never hosted a men’s World Cup but held the women’s tournament in 2015.

Morroco have now failed in five bids to host a World Cup.

The last time FIFA voted on World Cup hosting rights was in 2010 with the decision resting with the old executive committee and they chose Russia to host the 2018 tournament and Qatar for 2022.

Several members of that committee were later banned from the sport after they were caught up in the corruption scandal that engulfed world football’s governing body in 2015.

Under FIFA’s new system for choosing the host, all eligible football federations who attend congress were given a vote.

The result has been a jet-setting campaign from both bids who have travelled the globe in an attempt to win over the worldwide electorate.

Cordeiro has said his bid would generate $14bn in revenue and make an $11bn profit for FIFA. The bid also expects record ticket and hospitality revenue.

The result is a boost for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who while he maintained neutrality during the campaign, was known to be keen to see the first expanded tournament be held in North America.

The 2022 tournament will be hosted by Qatar while the 2018 edition kicks off in Moscow on Thursday when Russia play Saudi Arabia.

File: Spain coach Julen Lopetegui Photo: REUTERS

MADRID: Spain coach Julen Lopetegui was sacked on Wednesday, two days before their opening World Cup match against Portugal, the head of the Spanish football federation (RFEF) Luis Rubiales told a news conference.

His dismissal came after Real Madrid unexpectedly announced on Tuesday that Lopetegui, who had only recently extended his contract with Spain, would take over as their coach next season.

Lopetegui’s replacement would be announced “soon”, Rubiales said.

“We want to thank Julen for all he’s done and he’s a big reason behind us being in Russia, but we feel obliged to dispense with his services,” added Rubiales.

“There has to be a message to all RFEF employees and there are ways of behaving that you need to abide by.”

Spain, one of the pre-tournament favourites, also face Morocco and Iran in their group in Russia.