Nick Pope has told Newcastle they have to believe they can win every game if they are to be thought of as a top team.
The Magpies head into Tuesday night’s crunch Champions League clash with Paris St Germain knowing their first campaign in two decades could be over if they lose.
Memories of October’s 4-1 demolition of the French champions at St James’ Park, which took Eddie Howe’s men to the top of Group F after two rounds of fixtures, have faded after back-to-back defeats by Borussia Dortmund left them at the foot of the table.
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However, asked what they need at the Parc des Princes, Pope said: “A win would be nice. That’s not going to do any harm in any group at any stage.
“It obviously keeps it in our hands as well, which is something that would be nice going into the Milan at home game. But the full focus has got to be on tomorrow night and taking it one game at a time.
“Every game we go into, we’ve got to look to win, whether that’s League Cup, Champions League, league.
“I believe we’re a top team and top team behaviours and top team attitudes, that’s what it is. Whoever the opponent may be, however good they are, we have to have the belief and the attitude that we want to win the game.”
Newcastle managed to keep PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe and his team-mates quiet on Tyneside, but the France international has been in lethal form since, scoring 14 goals in his last 11 games for club and country.
Another clean sheet in Paris would do Pope’s chances of winning back a place in the England set-up no harm and, although he insists he has no problem with manager Gareth Southgate’s decision to leave him out of recent squads, he knows what he needs to do to stand a chance of returning.
He said: “You can always do more. There’s more clean sheets to be had, more saves, better performances. I’ve got to look inwardly at that. Gareth’s decision to leave me out, I’ve got to make it that he can’t leave me out.”
Pope may not be the only Magpie whose form Southgate is monitoring, with Anthony Gordon staking his claim for an elevation from the under-21 ranks with a series of high-octane performances amid a crippling injury crisis.
Howe was without 13 senior players for Saturday’s 4-1 league win over Chelsea, in which the former Everton man scored the final goal, and will have to play a key role in the French capital if his side is to prosper.
The Magpies head coach, who may have to include 17-year-old midfielder Lewis Miley in his starting line-up once again after a hugely impressive display against the Blues, knows just how high the stakes are, but is not cowed by the pressure.
Howe, who put his players through their paces at the Parc des Princes on Monday evening having trained back in Newcastle for the previous two away games, said: “It’s difficult to predict football matches and what the results may be and the permutations of others’ games. We try not to lose energy doing that.
“From our side, we prepare to try to win this game, that’s all we can do and then worry about Milan afterwards.
“We’re certainly not in a strong position, we’re not in the position that we wanted to be, but we are where we are and we have to just focus on this game, and I think it’s imperative we don’t lose.”
Howe confirmed midfielder Joe Willock is to see a specialist on Tuesday over his Achilles injury.
Portland Timbers v Seattle Sounders: Neville calls on hosts to put foot down in derby
Phil Neville believes the Portland Timbers have not picked up the points their performances have warranted this season, but he knows the time has come for them to put their foot down ahead of Sunday's Cascadia Derby against the Seattle Sounders.
Portland sit 12th in the Western Conference standings, below the Sounders on goal difference, after going eight MLS matches without a victory.
Their 10 points through 11 games in 2024 represents their joint-worst return at this point of any MLS campaign (alongside 2014).
Neville, however, believes they have deserved more as they prepare for a run of three home games in their next four.
"I think the first thing to say is we are not making any excuses – the results have not been as good as we wanted," he said.
"We've not got our just rewards but now we look forward to a stretch where we've got to perform better and get better results, we've got to put our foot down on the gas."
The Sounders have also struggled this term, though they have taken four points from their last two MLS games against the Philadelphia Union (3-2) and LA Galaxy (0-0).
They then overcame Louisville City on penalties in the U.S. Open Cup in midweek, and coach Brian Schmetzer hopes they can carry on their momentum from that game on Sunday.
"This club has had a long history in the U.S. Open Cup, I like the tournament. It was certainly a challenge against a good, well-coached Louisville team," Schmetzer said.
"We came out on top and hopefully this propels us a little bit in our league play."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Portland Timbers – Maxime Crepeau
Portland have conceded at least once in a club-record 17 successive regular-season matches, allowing 37 goals in that time.
Goalkeeper Crepeau has faced 41 shots so far in MLS this term, preventing 1.13 goals according to Opta's expected goals on target (xGoT) model, conceding 14 times from 15.8 xGoT faced.
Seattle Sounders – Raul Ruidiaz
Ruidiaz has 12 goals in 16 previous MLS matches against Portland (including playoffs), the most goals scored by any player against the Timbers in MLS play.
It's also the most goals scored by any MLS player against a single opponent since Ruidiaz made his debut in the competition in July 2018.
MATCH PREDICTION – PORTLAND TIMBERS WIN
The Timbers are unbeaten in six straight matches against the Sounders (four wins, two draws), the longest streak in all competitions by either team in the MLS era of their rivalry.
Portland have also won their last two home matches against Seattle after the Sounders won four of the previous five meetings at Providence Park.
Seattle's 10 points through 11 matches this season are tied for the second-worst start in club history, having only collected eight points at this stage in 2018. Though the Timbers have been in dismal form themselves lately, this fixture could come at a good time for them.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Portland Timbers – 41.5%
Seattle Sounders – 30%
Draw – 28.5%
Busby Jr. reappointed as Reggae Girlz head coach; eighteen members of historic World Cup squad return for Brazil friendlies
Hubert Busby Junior has been reappointed as Head Coach of the Jamaica Senior National Women’s Team, the Jamaica Football Federation announced in a statement on Friday.
This is Busby's second stint with the team, having held the position from 2020 to 2021.
He was removed from the position when the JFF requested FIFA to investigate unsavory media reports originating in Europe. FIFA subsequently cleared Busby.
“The Jamaica Football Federation is pleased to announce that after careful consideration and due process, our technical committee has recommended the immediate reappointment of Hubert Busby as head coach of the Senior Women's National Team,” the JFF said in Friday’s release.
“Based on his vast experience and knowledge of the squad, we think he is the perfect individual to take the team through the next stage of its development,” it continued.
Xavier Gilbert, who was acting in the role of Head Coach since October 2023, will revert to his previous role as assistant coach.
Busby's first task will be to take charge of the 23-member squad which will play two international friendlies against Brazil on June 1 and June 4 in Brazil.
Eighteen members of the group for the two games were members of Jamaica’s history-making 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup squad, while former Liverpool midfielder Jade Bailey makes a return to the team which is missing prolific striker Khadija 'Bunny' Shaw and Kalyssa 'Kiki' Van Zanten due to injuries.
The squad is set to depart for South America on May 26.
Squad: Chantelle Swaby, Konya Plummer, Jade Bailey, Denesha Blackwood, Kayla McKenna, Allyson Swaby, Drew Spence, Atlanta Primus, Vyan Sampson, Peyton McNamara, Page Bailey-Gayle, Trudy Carter, Kameron Simmonds, Tiffany Cameron, Sydney Schneider, Rebecca Spencer, Niya Cardoza, Liya Brooks, Amelia Van Zaten, Jody Brown, Israela Groves, Davia Richards, Lauren Reid
Los Angeles FC v Vancouver Whitecaps: All eyes on Western Conference summit after cup exploits
After midweek cup triumphs for both teams, all eyes turn to MLS this Saturday as Western Conference hopefuls Los Angeles FC and the Vancouver Whitecaps meet at BMO Stadium.
Ahead of Saturday's contest, Vancouver sit fourth in the West with 18 points from 10 games, with LAFC three points further back despite playing an additional match.
Vanni Sartini's hosts were in Canadian Championship action on Wednesday, beating Calgary 2-1 in the first leg of a quarter-final tie with a starting lineup containing five Canadian players.
Sartini believes the experience of that match will serve his young players well, saying: "We want to do well in that competition and it fits with what we want to do, which is developing a lot of young players, guys who haven't played a lot for us.
"I'm really happy that we could play five of them, also because I think in this competition, if they have to give one per cent more to win, they will because it's their national competition."
LAFC, meanwhile, beat the Las Vegas Lights 3-1 to reach the last 16 of the U.S. Open Cup, a tournament they have never previously won.
Forward Kei Kamara scored his first LAFC goal in that match, and he hopes it will serve to kickstart his campaign.
"It was a battle but it's good for us to come here and get the win and move onto the next round," he said.
"Personally, it was nice to get a goal and wash that drought off, even though it was in the cup, to pick the team up and help us into the next round."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Los Angeles FC – Denis Bouanga
Bouanga has scored seven goals in six career matches against the Whitecaps in all competitions, including scoring in all four MLS encounters with them (including playoffs).
The only player to score in five straight MLS meetings with Vancouver is Raul Ruidiaz, who did so between 2020 and 2022.
Vancouver Whitecaps – Brian White
White has scored in each of the Whitecaps' last three away matches. Only three players in team history, including White himself in 2023, have scored in four straight on the road in regular-season play.
MATCH PREDICTION – LOS ANGELES FC WIN
LAFC have won four of their last six matches against Vancouver in all competitions (one draw, one defeat) with all four wins coming in the CONCACAF Champions Cup or MLS Cup Playoffs.
In regular-season play, LAFC have won only one of their last eight against the Whitecaps, drawing three and losing four. However, they are favourites to improve on that record here.
Saturday's hosts are unbeaten in nine straight home matches (seven wins, two draws) dating back to the end of last season. LAFC have previously recorded three runs of 10 or more home matches without defeat in their history, and they will fancy their chances of repeating the trick.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Los Angeles FC – 56.8%
Vancouver Whitecaps – 18.5%
Draw – 24.7%
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