England boss Sarina Wiegman refused to reveal whether or not Keira Walsh’s knee injury was World Cup-ending as she fielded questions ahead of the final group game against China in Adelaide.
The Lionesses need just a point against the Women’s Asian Cup champions on Tuesday to clinch top spot in Group D, but will have to find a solution for key midfielder Walsh, who was ruled out of at least this clash with an undisclosed knee problem.
A scan on Saturday afternoon confirmed the 26-year-old had not hurt her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in England’s 1-0 victory over Denmark and will remain at their Terrigal base camp for further assessments, but that remains the extent of what Wiegman would disclose.
She said: “Keira is OK. We said that it’s not an ACL …
Bruno Fernandes insists Cristiano Ronaldo was not the reason Manchester United struggled last season, while he expects the strict Erik ten Hag to deliver success at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo has reportedly asked to leave United, less than a year after returning to the club, and is yet to report for training with Ten Hag s squad after missing three pre-season friendlies due to family reasons.
Fernandes claimed earlier in the week that he had no knowledge of Ronaldo s future intentions but called for respect for whatever his Portugal compatriot decides to do.
Ten Hag has already made it clear that Ronaldo remains an integral part of his plans after the 37-year-old top-scored with 24 goals in all competitions for United last term.
As United prepare to face Aston…
Safe to say Frank Lampard was the only Champions League coach required to give an earnest answer on the eve of this week s matches about the role a late-night US TV host might have had in his appointment.
But then Lampard was also the only Champions League coach expecting to watch along from home with James Corden and the rest as recently as a week ago.
If Thomas Tuchel s appointment at Bayern Munich between the last 16 and the quarter-finals came out of left field, he at least had history in this competition, replacing Lampard as Chelsea boss in 2020-21 and leading them to European glory.
Lampard won the Champions League as a player, of course, in another example of a successful mid-season Chelsea coaching change.
The parallels with that other season of …
Nottingham Forest are working with the police to identify fans who are believed to have directed homophobic abuse at Brighton players and supporters on Saturday.
The behaviour under investigation took place during a 3-2 victory for 10-man Brighton, who had Lewis Dunk sent off late in the second half at the City Ground.
Forest condemned the alleged conduct and assured there would be consequences for those involved.
Following Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Brighton and Hove Albion, we have been made aware of some Homophobic language aimed towards Brighton players and supporters from a minority of our fans.
Homophobia, like all other forms of discrimination, has no place in…
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC)
A statement on the cl…
After putting out plenty of fires, keeping hot-headed footballers in check was never going to ruffle Sam Allison.
On Boxing Day, Allison will become the first black man to officiate a Premier League game in 15 years when he takes charge of Sheffield United’s home game against Luton.
Allison, 42, had played at Swindon, Bristol City, Bournemouth and Exeter before moving down the football pyramid into the semi-professional game.
Former player. Firefighter. Referee. Trailblazer.
Sam Allison hopes to take the pathway to the top. | |
— EFL (@EFL)
After considering what to do when he eventually hung up his boots, Allison decided to keep them on for a while longer – but this time with a whistle in hand.
Allison took charge of his…
Austria s hopes of reaching Euro 2012 suffered a major blow after they went down 2-1 at home to Germany on Friday.
The hosts came in to the match in Vienna fourth in Group A, eight points behind leaders Germany and three back from second-placed Belgium.
With Joachim Loew s World Cup semi-finalists looking assured of top spot, the best Austria could hope for was second place and chance of qualifying through the playoffs.
Against the odds, they were level at 1-1 heading toward the final whistle and looked set to take a point from the match at the Ernst Happel Stadium.
But a late winner from Mario Gomez snatched yet another victory for Germany, who remain unbeaten in competitive matches against their neighbours stretching back to the 1978 World Cup.
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FIFA president Gianni Infantino has confirmed that video assistant referees (VAR) will be used at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
The VAR process has been trialled in domestic competition and at the 2016 Club World Cup, while it helped to correct two decisions in a high-profile international friendly between France and Spain in March.
And, reflecting on positive early results, Infantino has said the VAR system is a necessity in order to avoid errors at the highest level.
We will use video refereeing at the 2018 World Cup, because we ve had nothing but positive results so far, he said at a congress of the South American Football Confederation.
In 2017, when everyone in the stadium or at home can see within seconds if the referee made a mistake, we can t ha…
Wigan manager Shaun Maloney admitted he was determined to reach the third round of the FA Cup for chairman Mike Danson following a 1-0 win at York.
Maloney, who was a member of the Latics’ 2013 FA Cup final-winning team, is desperate to repay Danson with a money-spinning run in this season’s competition after he saved the club from financial ruin when he took over in the summer.
The Latics had to start their League One campaign with an eight-point deduction due to the off-pitch issues Danson inherited, meaning a good cup run would prove a perfect fillip given the handicap they were given in the league.
After Stephen Humphrys’ goal sealed victory at the National League outfit, Maloney said: “I am very happy to be in the third-round draw.
“The cha…
Tottenham claimed a dominant win at Old Trafford to pile the pressure on Erik ten Hag, as they beat 10-man Manchester United 3-0 on Sunday.
Micky van de Ven opened up United s defence with an excellent run to set up Brennan Johnson with just three minutes on the clock, and it never got better for United from then on.
Alejandro Garnacho struck the post before Bruno Fernandes received a straight red card in the 42nd minute for a late tackle on James Maddison, giving United a mountain to climb.
It was a challenge they were unable to overcome, with Spurs capitalising on their numerical advantage early in the second half through Dejan Kulusevski before Dominic Solanke tapped home a third, and it could have been more, if not for some big Andre Onana saves.
Ange…
Bordeaux will play in the third tier of French football next season after a proposed takeover by Liverpool s owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) fell through.
The six-time French champions, who last won Ligue 1 in 2008-09, have spent the last two seasons in Ligue 2 after finishing bottom of the top flight in 2021-22.
They finished 12th under former Liverpool and Spain winger Albert Riera last term, but their long-term financial struggles came to a head when the Direction Nationale du Controle de Gestion (DNCG) recommended they be demoted to the Championnat National.
Bordeaux successfully appealed the same sanction in 2022 but after FSG withdrew from talks regarding a takeover, they have accepted the punishment ahead of 2024-25.
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