Bayern Munich assistant coach Aaron Danks said on Friday that he is looking forward to next week's international break, after taking over the team temporarily during the past two weeks in the absence of coach Vincent Kompany due to illness.
Kompany suffered a severe illness during a training session on October 23, and was immediately transferred to a hospital, and has continued to recover at home since then.
During his time supervising the team, Danks led Bayern to three victories and a draw in four matches, including a 2-0 victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, in addition to a 6-1 sweep of Magdeburg in the German Cup.
Danks said in a press conference: “I am by nature a person who always seeks to learn, so this experience represented an important challenge for me, but the circumstances in which it came were certainly not what I had hoped or hoped for.”
He added: “I cannot say that I am happy to have this opportunity in this way, but I dealt with it positively and tried to benefit from it, and I learned a lot during it.”
Although no date has been set for Kompany's return to work, the international break that will follow this week's matches will give both the Belgian coach and Danks an opportunity to catch a breath and get some rest.
Bayern Munich leads the German League table, ahead of Borussia Dortmund on goal difference, and will visit Mainz on Saturday.
Danks said: “I am looking forward to the rest and the downtime, especially as it will give me an opportunity to return home and see my family.” “I hope it will be after winning, so I can spend some quality time with the family.”
He stressed that the team continues to reap the fruits of the work accomplished over the past two and a half years under Kompany’s leadership, noting that the technical staff has maintained the same approach during the recent period.
He added: “Our focus was on sticking to the way we work every day. “It was not easy, but we tried to manage the stage from Vince’s perspective and through his leadership style, and this helped us maintain stability.”
Job Bellingham and Josh King joined the final roster of the England national football team this year, while German coach Thomas Tuchel decided to exclude Cole Palmer and Kobe Maino from the November international camp.
The English team, which won the bronze medal in the last World Cup, is on the verge of qualifying for the quarter-finals of the European Nations League, before its match against its guest Croatia, next Thursday, and facing Spain away from home three days later.
The English national team occupies second place in the third group in the first level of the continental competition, with 9 points, 3 points behind the Spanish national team, whose qualification for the knockout rounds was decided since the last round, while the Croatia national team occupies third place with three points, and the Czech national team languishes at the bottom of the standings with no points.
At the forefront of the scene is the summoning of Job Bellingham, the German midfielder for Borussia Dortmund, to be accompanied by his older brother, Jude Bellingham, in addition to the joining of teenager Josh King, the English Fulham player, who has never represented the first team, but caught attention during the World Cup preparatory camp last June, according to the British news agency (BA Media).
On the other hand, Chelsea playmaker Cole Palmer and Manchester United midfielder Kobe Maino were the most notable absences, while the 25-player list included Jed Spence and Ben White, while defender Nico O'Reilly left the list.
On the other hand, Declan Rice returned to the national team after recovering from injury, while Bukayo Saka is absent due to suffering from a thigh injury, while Tuchel decided not to call up Noni Madueke as a replacement for his English teammate at Arsenal.
The list was also devoid of names that were present in the 2026 World Cup squad, such as Dean Henderson, Dan Byrne and Jordan Henderson, after they were also absent from the previous camp.
Alex Scott, Marcus Rashford and John Stones will be absent from the next camp due to injury, the same fate that befell Tino Livramento, Reece James and Trevo Chalobah.
The England national team list for the upcoming international break is as follows: Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Leeds United), and Jason Steele (Brighton).
In the defense line: Ezri Konsa (Arsenal), Mark Guehi (Manchester City), Garrad Branthwaite (Everton), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Real Madrid), Lewis Hall (Newcastle United), Garel Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Jed Spence (Inter Milan), and Ben White (Arsenal).
In the midfield, the players will be present: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Job Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Josh King (Fulham), James Garner (Everton), Elliot Anderson (Manchester City), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), and Declan Rice (Arsenal).
Finally, in the attacking line: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Dominic Calvert-Welwin (Leeds United), Anthony Gordon (Barcelona), Ryo Ngomoha (Liverpool), and Morgan Rogers (Chelsea).
On Friday, Spanish national team coach Luis de la Fuente summoned three new faces to join the ranks of “La Roja” for the next two matches against England and the Czech Republic in the fifth and sixth rounds of the European Nations League football competition.
The list included, for the first time, Jacobo Ramone, Como's Italian defender, Alvaro Weiss, Real Betis' goalkeeper, and his teammate, midfielder Mark Roca.
The list was revealed through a poignant video clip, in which De La Fuente was keen to pay tribute to the victims of a tragic train accident that occurred in Spain last week, as well as to Tenerife striker Jesús de Miguel, who died as a result of a violent collision with Equatorial Guinea goalkeeper Jesús Awono, after the latter rushed to the middle of the field to deflect an air ball during a Spanish second division match.
The Spanish coach said in the video: “Our sport bears a social responsibility, and must take its rightful place in history. For this reason, our thoughts today turn to the victims of the train accident that resulted in the death of 69 people.
He added: “We also recall the memory of our colleague Jesus de Miguel, who tragically passed away this week. We would like to express our solidarity with all those affected,” he said, before announcing the names of the summoned players.
On the other hand, Rodri, Eric Garcia and Dani Olmo were absent from the list, due to suffering from injuries that currently keep them out of the field.
The Spanish team, which leads its group in the European Nations League, will face the Czech Republic next Thursday, followed by a decisive match against England 3 days later, a match that will determine the identity of the group leader.
The lineup was as follows: Goalkeepers: Unai Simon (Athletic Bilbao), David Raya (Arsenal, England), Joan Garcia (Barcelona) and Alvaro Weiss (Real Betis).
In addition to the defenders: Pedro Porro (Tottenham, England), Marc Cucurría, Dean Hausen (Real Madrid), Alejandro Grimaldo, Mark Bubil (Atletico Madrid), Pau Cuparci (Barcelona), Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Bilbao) and Jacobo Ramon (Como).
The midfield included: Martin Zobimendi, Mikel Merino (Arsenal), Fermin Lopez, Pedri (Barcelona), Alex Baena, Pablo Barrios (Atletico Madrid), Fabian Ruiz (Paris Saint-Germain of France) and Marc Roca (Betis).
Finally, in the attacking line: Jeremi Benno (Crystal Palace), Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Lamine Yamal (Barcelona), Ferran Torres (Paris Saint-Germain), Roberto Fernandez (Espanyol), Nico Williams (Athletic Bilbao) and Ander Barenechea (Real Sociedad).
