The final of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup between Spain and England is looming and the month-long tournament has not been short of standout players from different countries.
Here, the PA news agency’s Reuben Rosso-Powell looks at five star players who have shone the brightest during the tournament.
Linda Caicedo, Colombia
The 18-year-old had a breakout tournament and her two goals and an assist played an important role in Colombia advancing into the quarter-finals. Her stunning strike against Germany will no doubt be a contender for goal of the tournament.
Amanda Ilestedt
Centre-back Ilestedt has been an unlikely top scorer for her nation this summer having netted an impressive four goals from Sweden’s dominant set-pieces which helped her side reach the semi-finals.
Lauren Hemp, England
Hemp has scored important goals at crucial times for Sarina Wiegman’s England, including an equaliser in the Lionesses’ quarter-final victory over Colombia and putting them ahead against Australia in the semi-final. The Manchester City forward will look to build on her three goals in Sunday’s final.
Hinata Miyazawa, Japan
Miyazawa leads the Golden Boot race with five goals and was at the forefront of Japan’s free-flowing attacking football which dominated the early stages before they fell to Sweden in the quarter-finals.
Lauren James, England
James shone in the early stages of the tournament and gained plaudits for her memorable display against China. The Chelsea winger picked up three goals and three assists altogether before seeing red in England’s last-16 victory over Nigeria – but will be back in contention for the final against Spain after serving a two-match ban.
England take on Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the key tournament statistics with one game remaining.
Goals
The 63 matches prior to the final have seen 163 goals scored, an average of 2.59 per game.
That is significantly lower than last summer’s European Championship, won by the Lionesses on home soil, when there was an average of just over three goals per game – 95 in 31.
While that was higher than the last men’s Euros – averaging 2.78 goals per game (142 in 51) – this summer has seen fewer goals than at the most recent men’s World Cups. The 2022 event in Qatar saw 172 goals in 64 games (2.69 per game), three more than in 2018 (169, 2.64 per game).
Spain lead the way with 17, with Japan managing an impressive 15 before being knocked out in the quarter-finals. Sweden scored 14 and England have 13 with the Netherlands, France and Australia the other teams in double figures.
Japan’s Hinata Miyazawa leads the Golden Boot standings on five, one ahead of Sweden defender Amanda Ilestedt. The remaining threats in the final are England’s Lauren James, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo and Spain trio Alba Redondo, Jenni Hermoso and Aitana Bonmati, all on three each.
Attendances
There have been record attendances for a women’s game in both host nations.
Australia have played in front of capacity crowds of 75,784 at Stadium Australia in Sydney for their opener against the Republic of Ireland, against Denmark in the last 16 and for their semi-final against England. The Lionesses’ quarter-final against Colombia also matched that record and the final will surely follow suit.
In New Zealand, Auckland’s Eden Park hosted 43,217 fans for Spain and Sweden’s semi-final and their respective previous knockout matches against Switzerland and Japan. The 42,137 at the same venue for the opening game of the tournament, New Zealand’s win over Norway, was the country’s record for a home international involving either the men’s or women’s teams.
Over 1.9 million fans have come through the turnstiles for an average attendance of 30,198 across the 63 matches so far.
Landmarks
The group stage witnessed the 1,000th goal at a Women’s World Cup as tournament debutants Zambia left their mark via Barbra Banda’s penalty against Costa Rica.
England completed a record run of scoring in 16 consecutive World Cup games with their 6-1 win over China, adding to all seven of their games at the 2019 tournament and six in 2015.
It was immediately ended by Nigeria in the last 16, but Sarina Wiegman’s side prevailed on penalties before going on to the final.
Casey Phair became the youngest player at a Women’s World Cup, as a substitute for South Korea against Colombia aged just 16 years and 26 days.
Penalties
There were penalties awarded in each of the first seven games, before Denmark and China became the first teams to get through a game without one in Group D.
The pace slowed significantly after that frenetic start, with 19 spot-kicks in the next 56 games for a total of 26 to the end of the third-place play-off.
Twenty of those have been scored, a 77 per cent success rate. Australia’s Steph Catley, China’s Wang Shuang and France’s Kadidiatou Diani each scored two penalties while Fridolina Rolfo, against Australia, became the third different Sweden player to net from the spot.
The ninth edition of the Women’s World Cup is almost over with only the final left to play.
A new winner will be crowned when England and Spain do battle in Sydney on Sunday.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at what we learned from this tournament.
USA dominance over
USA have been the leading force in women’s football for the past few decades, winning the previous two World Cups and claiming three gold medals at the Olympics, but they suffered a shock defeat to Sweden in the last 16 in Melbourne.
A number of other nations made early exits, including Olympic champions Canada going out in the group stage along with Euros runners-up Germany, but it was USA’s penalty shoot-out loss which caused the most astonishment.
With Megan Rapinoe retiring and other stalwarts Alex Morgan, Kelley O’Hara and Alyssa Naeher unlikely to play at another World Cup, it finally feels safe to say USA’s glittering era is over despite the excitement around Sophia Smith.
Year of the underdog!
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Along with USA leaving the tournament early on, a number of emerging nations made their mark in Australia and New Zealand with South Africa, Nigeria, Morocco and Jamacia all making the knock-out stages.
Morocco qualified through Group H at the expense of Germany, who had thumped the African outfit 6-0 at the start of the World Cup. The Moroccan players were crowded around a phone watching the final seconds of Germany’s draw with South Korea before erupting in celebration.
Their journey only lasted until the last-16 stage and it was the same for South Africa and Nigeria but never before had three African countries all made the knock-out phase. Meanwhile, Jamaica were able to send Brazil packing in the group stage. It helped to highlight the growing depth in the women’s international game.
England’s golden generation
England were close to exiting this World Cup against Nigeria after Lauren James’ red card, but Mary Earps and heroic defending was followed by shoot-out success to send them through to the quarter-finals.
The European Championship winners would have always hoped to go deep in this tournament, but a tricky draw on paper and injuries to Beth Mead, Fran Kirby and Leah Williamson alongside the retirement of several key players last summer could easily have resulted in a poor showing.
In serial winner Sarina Wiegman and a group of players with incredible resolve and belief, England have managed to break new ground to reach a first World Cup final and given so many of this squad are in their twenties, it feels whatever happens on Sunday the Lionesses are ready to be the country to beat over the coming years.
Glass ceiling smashed!
Records have tumbled during this tournament co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The bigger than usual format of 32 teams has resulted in more games and while plenty of drama has followed, the quality of football on show has helped to ensure ticket sales and TV viewing figures continue to go through the roof.
A whopping attendance of 75,784 has been recorded three times at Sydney’s Stadium Australia and according to FIFA, the average crowd across the 10 venues has been 28,900. A big increase from the previous edition in France or any other World Cup, but the world has also tuned in.
Despite matches usually being played outside of prime-time slots, Fox still had 2.52 million viewers watch USA’s last-16 defeat on penalties to Sweden, which kicked off at 5am in the Eastern time zone of the United States. BBC One had 7.3 million viewers watch England’s semi-final win over Australia and millions also turned on the TVs in Brazil, Colombia and China for matches containing their respective countries.
Room for improvement
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There is still plenty of work to achieve in the women’s game though, with the build-up to this World Cup dogged by controversy and several countries playing amid the backdrop of internal tension, which should not be the case when players get the chance to perform on the biggest of stages.
FIFA faced criticism for its ‘Unite’ armbands, which were similar to the OneLove armband banned, but did not promote LGBTQ+ communities. The governing body also found itself in a storm for almost allowing Saudi Arabia to sponsor the tournament and president Gianni Infantino’s peripheral role at this World Cup compared to the men’s edition in Qatar.
Meanwhile, Spain’s presence in the final will conjure mixed emotions after several of their own players threatened to quit international football if head coach Jorge Vilda did not leave his position, citing the impact his regime had on their “emotional state” but he remained. Hati and Zambia’s participation in this World Cup occurred amidst sexual misconduct allegations against staff to highlight the hurdles still facing elite women footballers.
Jamaica missed out on the cut for the final of the Mixed 4x400 metres relay, as they could only manage fifth in heat two of the event on Saturday's opening day of the ongoing World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
The Jamaican quartet of Demish Gaye, Natoya Goule-Toppin, Malik James-King and Stacey-Ann Williams, running in that order, struggled from the off and was at the back of the pack for the first two legs.
In fact, it was on the third leg that James King tried to force the initiative and gradually made progress, but faded in the latter stages, leaving Williams with much to do on anchor.
Despite facing an uphill task, Williams showed grit and determination to bring Jamaicans from eighth into fifth and ninth across the two heats in a season’s best 3:14.05.
They finished behind the Femke Bol led Dutch team, who won in 3:12.12, followed by France (3:12.25) and Czech Republic (3:12.52), with fourth-placed Germany taking one of the non-automatic qualifying spots.
United States with a World lead 3:10.41, Great Britain, with a national record 3:11.19, Belgium (3:11.81) and Ireland (3:13.90), are the other finalists.
You can catch live action of the 2023 World Athletic Championships by downloading the Sportsmax App.
Big Evs has been supplemented for the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes at York on Friday – where Andrea Atzeni will ride.
Mick Appleby’s speedy two-year-old won the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot by three lengths and then followed up at Goodwood in the Molecomb.
He was ridden in both those victories by Jason Hart but he understandably maintains his partnership with John Quinn’s Highfield Princess.
As a result Atzeni, who will take up a licence in Hong Kong soon, has stepped in to fill the breach.
“He’s in good order. He did a good piece of work this morning and he’ll probably have one more piece of work on Wednesday. I’m delighted with him,” said Appleby.
“It’s a long time since a two-year-old has won the Nunthorpe Kingsgate Native, 2007). So, yes, it’s a big ask for him, but hopefully he’s going there with a very good chance at the weights. Jason doesn’t ride as he is on Highfield Princess. Andrea Atzeni rides.”
Sweden struck in either half to retain their World Cup best of the rest status with victory over co-hosts Australia in the third-place play-off.
A Fridolina Rolfo penalty and fine Kosovare Asllani strike secured a 2-0 win for Sweden, who never looked in danger of losing to the home favourites in Brisbane.
Peter Gerhardsson’s side responded magnificently to their last-minute semi-final exit at the hands of Spain, outclassing Australia to win the third-place play-off for the fourth time in their history.
Sweden started quickly and set out their stall early on as Arsenal forward Stina Blackstenius got in on goal within the opening two minutes, her low shot turned away by Mackenzie Arnold.
Just as the hosts looked to be getting a foothold in the game, Sweden would take the lead as a penalty was awarded following a lengthy VAR review of Clare Hunt’s trip of Blackstenius’ trailing leg.
Rolfo, who scored the winner when the two nations met in the 2020 Olympics semi-finals, made no mistake from the spot with Arnold beaten despite diving the right way.
Sweden came close to doubling their lead in first-half stoppage time but a fine low save from Arnold kept out a Filippa Angeldahl strike that flashed through a crowded penalty area.
Having beaten England to finish third four years ago in France, Sweden all-but secured another bronze medal as they widened the margin just after the hour.
A pacey counter-attack saw Blackstenius shake off the attentions of the Australia defence before squaring for Asllani to hit one of the goals of the tournament, beating Arnold with a strike from the edge of the box.
Any hopes that Australia could launch an unlikely comeback suffered a blow when captain Sam Kerr hobbled off for treatment on her foot.
The Chelsea striker suffered a calf injury on the eve of the finals, dampening her impact as she was not fit enough to start a game until the semi-final loss to England.
She returned to the pitch but, by that stage, Sweden were in control of the tie and left the home fans cheering a valiant effort from Australia, who had to settle for fourth place.
England captain Millie Bright vowed the Lionesses are prepared to play the ‘game of their lives’ when they face Spain in their first World Cup final.
England could be crowned world champions for the first time since the men’s team triumphed in 1966, but on the eve of the monumental encounter the skipper’s focus was fully in the present.
And, while no one needs to explain the magnitude of the moment to the 29-year-old defender, she urged her team-mates to approach the most important match in their history no differently from any other.
Bright said: “I think for us we live in the moment, and yes it’s a World Cup final, but for us our mentality is it’s another game.
“I think our preparations don’t change no matter the stage in the tournament and to me that’s the key part of preparation.
“I want our players to prepare in any way they need to, like they normally do, and we’ve got a game plan that we have to go out and execute, but I think everyone knows how big this is.
“I think it’s been players’ dreams for years.
“We know how passionate our nation is back home and how much they want us to win. But for us, there is a process. We have a game plan to execute. We need to play the game of our lives.”
England boss Sarina Wiegman appointed Bright captain after Euro 2022-winning skipper Leah Williamson was ruled out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury ahead of the tournament.
Williamson will be in the stands on Sunday when the Lionesses walk out at the 75,000-plus seat Stadium Australia, led by Chelsea’s Bright, who insisted she would be thinking more about the squad than the symbol on her sleeve.
She said: “It’s massive, but it’s massive for the team. I think it’s always ‘we before me’ for me.
“I’ve always said, no matter whether I’ve got the armband or not, it’s a huge privilege and honour and I think it will be the biggest moment in our careers.”
England boss Sarina Wiegman has already become the first manager to lead two sides to the World Cup final after accomplishing the same feat with the Netherlands four years ago.
The enormously popular Dutchwoman also has two European championship trophies with those countries, but so far football’s most coveted title eludes her.
She said: “Playing a final is really special. I know that. I never take anything for granted.
“Playing in another is really special, but we’re just preparing for the game. Yes, it is a final, but we don’t do anything different than we do normally.
“When you go so far in the tournament people get more and more excited and that’s what you see.”
Tomorrow Wiegman faces the dilemma of whether to start forward Lauren James, who scored three times and picked up the same number of assists before she was sent off in England’s last-16 clash with Nigeria for stepping on the back of defender Michele Alozie and hit with a two-game suspension.
Replacement Ella Toone scored in England’s 3-1 semi-final victory against Australia, but serial winner Wiegman, who feels the available-again James has been sufficiently punished, could still be tempted to make a swap for the prodigious Chelsea talent.
She said: “Of course she really regretted that moment straight away. She apologised, she was punished for that and we all know this should not happen in football.
“She started training again and we supported her, because sometimes when you’re not that experienced at this level some fatigue comes in the game and you have just a split second where you lose your emotions.
“That’s a mistake, that’s a hard learning lesson, but now she’s ready to play in the game.”
Spain head coach Jorge Vilda batted away questions about his country’s absent stars on the eve of their World Cup final clash with England.
Vilda has guided Spain to their first final amid a backdrop of controversy and rows over the treatment of the team.
The showpiece game in Sydney takes place on Sunday morning, less than a year after 15 players staged a mutiny.
The arguments, which broke out in September last year, threatened to derail Spain’s hopes before an uneasy peace was brokered ahead of the World Cup.
Dubbed ‘Las 15’, the players who walked away were Patri Guijarro, Aitana Bonmati, Mapi Leon, Mariona Caldentey, Sandra Panos, Claudia Pina, Lola Gallardo, Ainhoa Moraza, Nerea Eizagirre, Amaiur Sarriegi, Lucia Garcia, Ona Batlle, Leila Ouahabi, Laia Aleixandri and Andrea Pereira.
If an accommodation has been reached, it appears to be a delicate one. Only three members of the 15 – Bonmati, Caldentey and Batlle – were included in Vilda’s squad for the finals.
Despite the unrest and uncertainty, Spain have made it through to the final following a late win over Sweden in the last four.
Asked early on at his pre-match press conference about the relations between himself and some of his players, Vilda replied: “Next question please.”
Pushed on whether not having some key players in Australia made him “sad”, Vilda seemingly ignored the line of questioning.
“What we want to do tomorrow is to be the best in the world and we’ll do this by winning the final,” he said.
Spain lost 2-1 to England after extra-time at the quarter-final of the Euros last summer as the Lionesses went on to lift the trophy on home soil, with Sarina Wiegman and her players looking to add further silverware on Sunday.
“It was a game that we know we were on top, but the result is what counts,” Vilda said of the loss at the Amex Stadium,
“Games against England really require our best. She (Wiegman) is a trainer that with her results has shown the fruits of her work, it’s not easy what she has achieved.
“You don’t achieve this without excellent preparation and star players. It will be a tactical match and it’s a final that we’re going to fight with everything.”
Sarina Wiegman says England feel buoyed by the levels of support for the team ahead of the World Cup final.
The Lionesses take on Spain on Sunday as they bid to win the trophy for the first time.
Boss Wiegman said: “It’s incredible what happened. We felt the support, we felt the support here, but also from the other side of the world in the UK. That’s something that we dream of.
“I feel privileged. I’m very happy in the place where I am now. There’s a lot of support, we have everything we need to perform at the highest level. It is a pleasure to work with these incredible people.”
Wiegman was concise when asked how the team had reintegrated Lauren James, who could start on Sunday after serving a two-match suspension following her red card against Nigeria in the last 16.
She said: “Of course she kept training and it’s really nice to have 23 players available for tomorrow.”
Spencer Strider pitched one-hit ball over seven innings and the major league-leading Atlanta Braves blanked the San Francisco Giants 3-0 for their third straight shutout on Friday.
Strider became the first 14-game winner in the majors, giving up his only hit to Wilmer Flores in the fourth inning.
He struck out 10 for the 16th double-digit strikeout performance of his career and 10th this season. Strider leads the majors with 227 strikeouts, 40 more than second-place Kevin Gausman of Toronto.
Joe Jimenez, A.J. Minter and Raisel Iglesias finished up to give Atlanta three consecutive shutouts for the first time since the final three games of 2015 against St. Louis.
The Braves have five shutouts in their last eight games.
Atlanta got all the offense it needed with two runs in the first off Alex Cobb. Ronald Acuna Jr. and Michael Harris II singled and Matt Olson had a run-scoring fielder’s choice before Marcell Ozuna singled home another run.
Harris went 4 for 5 with a double and a triple, while Eddie Rosario had two hits and one RBI.
San Francisco has lost seven of nine and was held to one run or fewer for the 28th time this season, third-most in the majors.
Marlins roll to end Dodgers’ streak
Jorge Soler hit two of the Marlins’ five home runs and Miami cruised to an 11-3 rout to end the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 11-game winning streak.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jake Burger and Jacob Stallings all went deep for the Marlins, who hit five home runs for the first time since July 3, 2012, at Milwaukee.
Sandy Alcantara allowed three runs – all on solo homers - and seven hits over six innings with one walk and six strikeouts to earn the win.
The Dodgers got home runs from Mookie Betts, Max Muncy and James Outman but dropped to 15-2 this month.
Mariners’ Rodriguez stays red hot in win
Julio Rodriguez had four more hits, including a home run, and Bryce Miller pitched 6 1/3 innings as the Seattle Mariners moved into a wild-card spot with a 2-0 victory over the Houston Astros.
Rodriguez tied a team record by hitting safely in nine straight at-bats before that run was snapped on a fielding error by Jeremy Pena in the seventh inning.
Rodriguez had five hits and five RBIs in Thursday’s win over Kansas City and is 13 for 16 with two home runs and eight RBIs in his last three games.
Miller gave up two hits and struck out two before Justin Topa and Andres Munoz locked up Seattle’s fourth straight win.
The Mariners took a one-half lead over Toronto in the race for the third and final AL wild-card spot.
Trinidad and Tobago’s impressive run at the Central American and Caribbean Confederation (CCCAN) Swimming Championships, continued on the penultimate day of action, with the in-form Liam Carrington leading the way in El Salvador on Thursday.
Carrington’s exploits in the boys’ 13-14 age group, saw Trinidad and Tobago in third position as the highest ranked Caribbean Island with seven gold, three silver and 11 bronze medals, followed by Haiti with three gold, two silver and one bronze, while Jamaica, who also had some decent performances in patches, comes next with three gold and six bronze. Dominican Republic (one gold, three silver and seven bronze), are next.
Mexico with 69 gold, 62 silver and 31 bronze, head the medal standings ahead of El Salvador (eight gold, six silver and nine bronze).
Carrington continued his impressive vein of form, as he topped the boys’ 13-14 400m individual medley (IM) in a new personal best 4:42.35, which saw him become the third fastest Caribbean athlete in the event.
It was Carrington’s third gold medal of the five-day championship at that point, as he won ahead of the Mexican pair of Hector Zamora Monzon (4:46.34) and Fernando Rodriguez Cuevas (4:48.95).
The Jamaican pair of Kia Alert and Noland Barrett also showed fine form, as both extended the Caribbean celebrations with back-to-back gold medal performances in the girls’ and boys’ 11-12 50m freestyle.
Alert, who entered the final with the fastest time of 28.05s, justified favouritism, as she outclassed rivals to win in 27.79s, not too far off the record of 27.46s held by Jillian Crooks of Cayman Islands since 2018. Mexico’s Carolina Romero Ojeda (28.01s) was second, with Trinidad and Tobago’s Breanna Belmar (29.09s) third.
In the boys’ event, Barrett, who earlier clocked a personal best of 2:07.21 for bronze in the 200m freestyle – Jamaica’s first medal in the age-group event in 20 years –proved more formidable in the shorter format. He stopped the clock in 26.29s, ahead of Mexico’s Bernardo Gomez Gonzalez (26.44s) and Felipe Alvarez (26.58s).
Jamaica had another bronze in the girls’ 13-14 event courtesy of Rianna Scott, who touched in 27.71s, behind the Mexican pair of Valeria Tarin (27.22s) and Sylvanna Luna Casillas (27.31s).
Darren Belfon (24.33s) and Carrington (24.52s) then secured a one-three finish for the twin island republic in the boys’ 13-14 50m freestyle, with Mexico’s Carlos Moreno Sarmiento (24.48s), separating them.
Trinidad and Tobago had more success in the girls’ 15-17 50m freestyle where Amari Ash, left rivals in her wake to win in 26.71s, bettering Mexico’s Valeri Villarreal Rodriguez (26.95s) and Habbi Abrin Vargas (27.04s).
The boys’ 15-17 50m freestyle was won by Panama’s Julio Rodriguez Rosales (23.43s), ahead of Haiti’s Raphael Grand Pierre (23.68s) and Javier Nunez Barreras (23.75s) of Dominican Republic.
Carrington was again the Caribbean’s top performer in the 100m backstroke sequence, as he won the 13-14 event in 59.21s, again denying a Mexican duo in Oliver Lund Centelles (59.36s) and Matt William Flores Mora (59.47s).
The Caribbean’s next best performances came in the boys’ 11-12 event where Zion John Baptiste of Virgin Islands Swimming placed third in 1:05.66, behind Matias Rojas (1:04.91) of Costa Rica and Felipe Alvarez (1:05.66).
Trinidad and Tobago’s Johann-Matthew Matamoro (58.83s) was also third in the boys’ 18 and over event, behind Costa Rica’s Guido Montero (58.33s) and Diego Angel Montoya Arias (58.70s) of Mexico.
Haiti’s Christian Jerome was the Caribbean’s lone medallist in the 200m butterfly sequence. He topped the boys’ 13-14 event in 2:10.51, turning back the challenge of another Mexican duo Franco Santiago Soria Marquez (2:12.13) and Erick Raul Villalpando Frausto (2:14.95).
Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago brought the curtains down on the penultimate day of action with a bronze medal finish in the boys’ 13-14 4X200m freestyle relays. The team of Carrington, Anpherne Bernard, Liam Roberts and Belfon, clocked 8:28.03, behind Mexico (8:08.99) and Costa Rica (8:24.33).
Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper saw growth in his side as they rallied to beat Sheffield United late on.
Forest looked like being held by the Blades after Taiwo Awoniyi’s third-minute opener was cancelled out by Gus Hamer’s delightful strike shortly after half-time.
But Chris Wood, whose loan move from Newcastle was made permanent in the summer, came up with the goods in the 89th minute when he headed home to seal a 2-1 victory and get his side’s Premier League campaign up and running.
Cooper does not think his side would have won that fixture last season and praised his side’s mentality.
“The last sort of 30 minutes of the game I thought we were by far the superior team, played high up the pitch, played good football, and created real dangerous moments in the game,” Cooper said.
“We took the game to try and win it. Of course we were by far the better team, of course we deserved to win, but I really liked the attitude of the team in getting over the line and getting the goal late on.
“I’m not sure we win that game last year at times, especially at the start of the season. It reminded me a little bit of (the 3-2 home defeats against) Fulham and Bournemouth, so hopefully that is a bit of growth in the mentality of the team.
“I really liked how we stuck to the task, there was only one team who deserved to win tonight.
“We took our foot off the pedal and gave Sheffield United a chance in the game. I am really glad we regrouped and did what we did in the last 30 minutes.”
The Blades have now lost their opening two games on their return to the top flight after two seasons away.
But they may feel hard done by as, after overcoming a chastening first 30 minutes, they competed well and had chances to take the lead when the score was 1-1.
Paul Heckingbottom’s side are a work in progress after their preparations for the season were hit by the sale of star players Sander Berge and Iliman Ndiaye, meaning recruitment is still going on.
The Blades boss is confident players will come in, but knows the current situation is hurting their chances.
“I just feel for the players a little bit because they deserved more this,” he said.
“If you sign players in June or July, you have two or three months with them by the end of August. If you sign them in August you are looking at September, October into November before you are really happy.
“It is something I have prepared for. I wish we weren’t doing it in the Premier League, but it can’t scare us, it can’t be an excuse.
“There is a commitment to get the players in, we will get them in, but it’s tough.
“It’s tough recruiting, we could go and get one tomorrow, but it wouldn’t be the one I want. I am playing my part in that, part of my brief is to develop players and make money for the club as well.
“I have to believe in a player and he has to be able to come and add. We will get them, I just wish we had them.
“But it’s no one fault, we can’t control when clubs come and take our players. Circumstances have meant we have been vulnerable.”
Leeds boss Daniel Farke knows he has a “hell of a task” on his hands at the club this season.
The Whites boss was talking after his side’s 1-1 draw with West Brom.
Brandon Thomas-Asante opened the scoring with a controversial goal which came off his hand before captain Luke Ayling rescued the hosts a point at Elland Road.
Willy Gnonto has this week handed in a transfer request after a string of high-profile departures since the club were relegated from the Premier League.
Farke, whose side are searching for a first league win since the start of April, said: “It’s a hell of a challenge. We were expecting to keep a few of our quality players.
“We also have a few injuries to our key players which is also unlucky.
“We had to wait so long for the financial restrictions to get some incomings so it’s not been easy.
“Hopefully we can get better and better as the season goes. There were many encouraging signs today.
“It’s a long road, a bumpy road, a hell of a task. If it was easy then everybody would do it and I’m looking forward to this challenge.”
On the Albion goal, Farke added: “I wasn’t aware their goal was handball. I was thinking it might be, but I was too far away to judge it.
“We can only concentrate on what we can influence and that’s our performance.
“I only have compliments for the lads. I like this attitude, the lads never know when they are beaten.
“You have these periods in the season where you find it hard to win games so you have to make sure you don’t lose.
“I’m pretty pleased with our performance. It would normally be enough for three points, but I’m pleased with our spirit and the comeback attitude.”
Baggies boss Carlos Corberan spent three years as U23s coach at the club.
But hopes of a happy return to the club were dashed by Ayling’s equaliser.
He reflected: “I think it was a fair result. But we didn’t use our attacking advantages as well as we could have.
“We put pressure on them, but we conceded chances with our mistakes which gave Leeds the mentality that they could hurt us.
“We scored the goal early in the second half and that made us more focused to defend the result.
“I liked how the team’s intensity didn’t decrease after we conceded the goal. We stayed concentrated and we reacted enough and didn’t allow them to keep that momentum and attack us.
“I liked the reaction from the team, I liked the way we showed our personality early in the second half.
“But it is true that we need to avoid the mistakes and to take advantage when we’re attacking to harm the opponent.
“I don’t want to review the actions which may have been complicated for the referees.
“Maybe after we scored the goal we were too focused on defending and maybe we should have been more aggressive. That’s the only thing that maybe I will review and tell my team in terms of managing the game better.”
Aberdeen manager Barry Robson claimed it was a case of job done after his side booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Viaplay Cup with a 2-1 win over Stirling.
The Dons boss alluded to last season’s embarrassing Scottish Cup defeat against non-league Darvel when insisting the main objective had been progressing in the tournament.
But the Pittodrie outfit were made to battle hard for the victory after Greig Spence’s late strike for Stirling set up a grandstand finish – just when Aberdeen looked comfortable following goals either side of the break from Bojan Miovski and Leighton Clarkson.
With attention now turning to Thursday’s Europa League play-off against Swedish outfit Hacken, Robson said: “I knew how difficult it would be and we let the players know that.
“This club’s had a few bad results over the last couple of years and we didn’t want that to happen again.
“But we managed to come here and win the game. I’m just glad we dealt with it.
“Credit to Stirling, they’ve been in great form and we knew they would bring everything to the game and they put on a really good show. They should be proud of how they played.
“But my main aim was to get through. It was about playing a strong team and winning.
“The players showed a good mentality as cup football is always tough. People wanted to see an upset and rightly so, that’s the magic of the cup.
“But we are through and now we focus on Thursday night.”
He added: “I have five reports on Hacken and I will watch three live games. I have had scouts over in Sweden watching them and getting every detail.
“We need to know what they are all about and we will. They are a good side, it will be difficult and let’s go and see what we can do there.
“Credit to all the Scottish clubs for performing well in Europe this week and hopefully we can do the same.
“We are trying to build something here and we will prepare well this week.”
Stirling Albion manager Darren Young insisted his side should have had a late penalty when Ross Davidson was taken out after shooting over the crossbar in the 90th minute.
But he was proud of the way his League One team pushed their Premiership visitors all the way in a narrow defeat.
He said: “It was a stonewaller. I think if it was outside the box, he (referee David Munro) would probably have given it.
“He (Davidson) has got the shot away and he’s taken him out – he’s absolutely nowhere near the ball.
“I’ve seen penalties given for it and obviously tonight we’ve seen it not given. These things happen.
“I think we were in the ascendancy in the last 10, 15 minutes. We were pressing, we were pushing and we were very unlucky not to get an equaliser.
“There’s loads to take from the game. We pushed a full-time team and they’re going to play in Europe on Thursday night, and we pushed them all the way.”
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