Essential Football

Former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher reacts to Jurgen Klopp’s decision to leave Anfield at the end of the season. For more on this story, keep across Sky Sports News and the Sky Sports website and app.

As he prepares to return from an eight month ban for breaching gambing rules, Brentford striker Ivan Toney sits down with Darren Lewis to discuss his time away from the game.Toney describes how he avoided watching football for a period of time, what he has done to keep himself in shape and how he wants to repay his club by helping them stave off relegation from the Premier League.

Scotland head coach Steve Clarke exclusively sits down with Sky Sports to reflect on a successful 2023, looks ahead to Euro 2024, Scott McTominay’s impact, his squad selection dilemas and more.

The England manager Gareth Southgate sits down with Sky Sports News' Senior Reporter Rob Dorsett to look back at 2023 and look ahead to next summer's Euros.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher joins Peter Smith to look ahead to the huge Saturday lunchtime showdown between Manchester City and Liverpool at the Etihad, which you can watch live on Sky Sports. Carragher assesses the key battles across the park, Alexis Mac Allister's crucial role in the Liverpool midfield and whether Erling Haaland or Mo Salah will steal the show for their side. He also reveals what the key selection decision is for Pep Guardiola ahead of the contest - and what a rare positive result at the home of the defending champions would mean for the title hopes of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.

England host Australia on Friday – 20 years after the Socceroos stunned the Golden Generation. In February 2003, sandwiched between a dominant Australia Ashes win and England’s famous rugby World Cup triumph Down Under, the Aussies beat England at football for the very first time. It was the night when Sven-Goran Eriksson changed the entire England team at half-time, Wayne Rooney made his international debut and Australia landed a painful blow on their big sporting rivals.Peter Smith reflects on that game with players who were on the pitch...

In this special episode of Essential Football Ben Ransom and Jamie Carragher discuss the concern around football tragedy abuse.They are joined by Joe Blott from the FSA, Charlotte Hennessey, who lost her father at Hillsborough, and Gareth Senior, who was in Istanbul when two Leeds supporters were murdered in 2000.

Cesc Fabregas discusses his move into coaching, his ambition to manage a team in the Premier League, and reflects on his retirement. He also shares his coaching philosophy, talks about Arsenal and Chelsea's competitiveness, and discusses a promising young English player and love for the Premier League.

Anton Toloui and Charlotte Marsh return for a final Essential Football podcast to reflect on England's defeat to Spain in the Women's World Cup final. They discuss where the game was won and lost, whether Wiegman got her tactics right and the wider impact of Spain's win. Plus, the pair pick their moment of the tournament and why it's important to keep supporting women's football heading into the new WSL season.

We're are almost there - Anton Toloui and Charlotte Marsh return to preview the Women's World Cup final as England face Spain on Sunday. The pair discuss whether Lauren James should come straight back into the XI, the brilliance of Sarina Wiegman, plus the issues Spain might pose.