England make 3 changes for Slovakia tie

LONDON, England manager Sam Allardyce will make three changes for his first match in charge against Slovakia on Sunday in their opening Group F qualifier for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Defender John Stones plus midfielders Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana are recalled, replacing Chris Smalling, Dele Alli and Daniel Sturridge from the team that suffered a shock 2-1 defeat by Iceland in the last 16 at Euro 2016.
Goalkeeper Joe Hart, who has left Manchester City for Torino on a season-long loan after falling out of favour under Pep Guardiola, keeps his place for the game at Trnava’s City Arena.
Manchester City’s new £47.5 million ($63.14 million) signing Stones, who did not feature at the Euros in France, will partner Cahill in central defence, with Tottenham Hotspur’s Kyle Walker and Danny Rose retained in the fullback positions.
Eric Dier holds on to the defensive midfield role alongside Henderson, with captain Wayne Rooney, who will become England’s most capped outfield player surpassing David Beckham’s 115, in an attacking role just behind forward Harry Kane.
Raheem Sterling and Lallana will play on the flanks.
England were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw by Slovakia in the group stage at Euro 2016 after then manager Roy Hodgson surprisingly made several changes to his team but Allardyce reckons they will be a different proposition at home.
“I didn’t watch them in the Euros because I think different tactics will be used by Slovakia when they are playing at home,” he said.
“They only needed a point in the Euros, so they sat back and were very defensively minded and really chose not to attack at all because they only needed a point. I think the onus will now be on them to come and attack us and win their home game.
“It will be very important for them and that might hopefully leave our creative players a little bit more space to break them down.”
Thailand cry foul over referee calls in Saudi loss
Bangkok: The Football Association of Thailand has lodged a complaint with FIFA over the refereeing during their 1-0 loss to Saudi Arabia in a qualifier on Thursday.
The Thais were left incensed at Riyadh’s King Fahd stadium after striker Teerasil Dangda went down in the penalty area following contact with goalkeeper Yasser Al-Mosailem in the 20th minute but Chinese referee Fu Ming awarded a free kick outside the box.
The visitors were later heartbroken when Fu awarded a spot kick to Saudi Arabia in the last 10 minutes when substitute Fahad Al Muwallad tumbled over in an innocuous challenge by midfielder Sarach Yooyen.
Nawaf Al Abid slotted the winner but the Thais’ night was further soured when Sarach was given a second yellow card for dissent after the final whistle to ensure he will miss the next Group B fixture against Japan.