Yaya Toure: Manchester City's Ivorian midfielder
Yaya Toure: Manchester City's Ivorian midfielder

Football news and talking points: Yaya Toure's Ivory Coast absence, Nick Pope - milk round to World Cup contention and fighting in Sky Bet League One


We take a look at the day's top stories...

Toure yet to turn up for international duty

Yaya Toure is yet to report for international duty, according to the Ivorian Football Federation.

The Manchester City midfielder was recalled by Ivory Coast for their upcoming friendlies against Togo and Moldova in France, on March 24 and 27 respectively, after a three-year absence.

Toure, 34, retired from international football after captaining his country to African Nations Cup glory in 2015 but declared his availability again last December.

Toure, who has 102 caps, was not present as the squad assembled for training on Tuesday.

A report on the Federation Ivoirienne de Football's website read: "The Ivory Coast coaching staff is without news of the Elephants' winning captain of the 2015 African Nations Cup."

World Cup dream a long way from Pope's milk round days

Fighting for a place in England's World Cup squad might be tough work for Burnley's Nick Pope but it beats riding a milk float in the early hours of the morning.

Pope was handed a maiden call-up for the forthcoming friendlies against Holland and Italy, joining Joe Hart, Jordan Pickford and Jack Butland in battling for three seats on the plane to Russia.

Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope

He is the least experienced of the trio, both at Premier League and international level, but is enjoying by far the best season with long-term number one Hart failing to nail down a place at West Ham and his closest rivals suffering from the disappointing form of Everton and Stoke respectively.

Pope faces a further challenge at Turf Moor where club captain Tom Heaton - who was part of Roy Hodgson's Euro 2016 squad - is returning to fitness after the long-term shoulder injury which first opened the door to his 25-year-old understudy.

But a glance at Pope's CV shows he has never had it easy.

Let go by boyhood club Ipswich as a teenager he went on to study business marketing and sports science at college, making ends meet with part-time jobs and resurfacing in football in the non-league hinterlands with Bury Town.

"Obviously when you get released at 16 you think making it here is a far possibility," he said.

"But it allowed me to get into the men's game and play men's football at that young age which helped me springboard and helped me grow as a player.

"I had a couple of jobs alongside... I worked in Next and on a milk round. I was on an electric float, a 4am-er in Soham. It didn't pay much."

After taking in his new surroundings at the lavishly appointed St George's Park, Pope was invited the reminisce about his experiences lower down the ladder.

As with the likes of Jamie Vardy and Rickie Lambert before him, Pope saw plenty of football's less glamorous side before earning his international spurs.

"I've played in some cold, dark leagues. I was in Bury Town Reserves in the Essex and Suffolk Border League, I think that was tier seven," he said.

"Brightlingsea was a rough one. I hope the people of Brightlingsea don't mind. Little Oakley...some places you need a map. (It was) 10 people and a dog.

"It's been a hard ride. But you have to prove yourself at every level to get to the next one."

Sky Bet EFL scrap

Shrewsbury’s 1-1 draw with Northampton in Sky Bet League One made the headlines after a fight broke out between two players.

Northampton’s John-Joe O’Toole and the Shrews’ Abu Ogogo saw red midway through the second half after tempers boiled over.

Shrewsbury boss Paul Hurst, reported by the Daily Mail, said after reviewing footage: “Both sets of players were trying to get involved, some to make the situation worse, some to help the situation.

“I had a look back from a wide angle and it's hard to see exactly what happens. Abs is in the box. O'Toole comes back from some distance, makes contact, then there's some more contact and it seems he won't let go of him.

“Eventually there's a reaction. I'm not going to say exactly what happened. It's difficult to say too much and have a go at my own player. If someone's doing something to you and won't let you go eventually you'll try and get them off you.”

Shrewsbury had been trailing to Shay Facey's 45th-minute strike at this point but reacted well to the controversy to level through Jon Nolan moments after the dismissals. But they could not force a winner and remained second in the table, with the Cobblers still in the relegation zone.

Read Sporting Life's Sky Bet EFL round-up for Tuesday evening, here...

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Last updated at 0920 GMT 21/03/2018.

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