Jamaica’s senior Reggae Girlz Head coach Hubert Busby and standout defender Allyson Swaby are confident that the team is ready for the challenge to come against France when the two cross swords in a friendly international at the Stade Auguste-Bonal on Friday.
The contest, which will be a repeat of their 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup clash, is scheduled for 2:10pm Jamaica time.
Whether the 42nd-ranked Girlz will be able to hold their number 10-ranked hosts to another goalless stalemate like they did at last year’s global showpiece is left to be seen.
Still, regardless of the outcome, Busby pointed out that the encounter represents not only a test against a top European side but also a significant opportunity for his team to continue its growth on the global stage, as well as for the newcomers—Taylor Hinds, Lulu Jarvis, Reanna Blades, and Natasha Thomas—in particular to fit in and show that they belong.
“This game is about testing ourselves against the best. Obviously, France is a powerhouse in women’s football, and for us, playing against a team of this calibre will help us assess where we are in terms of our playing model. I think it's important for us to also continue to build on our playing principles so that we can ensure that we're flexible in and out of possession,” he told SportsMax.Tv.
“But I am feeling good about how things are looking so far. The players have responded really well. We had some intense sessions with a lot of information in a short period of time, but they responded well. This is a good group that takes on information and looks to apply, so we look forward to a good game tomorrow (Friday),” Busby added.
Busby emphasized the importance of these international fixtures in building momentum for future competitions, especially as the Reggae Girlz set their sights on qualifying for a third consecutive World Cup in 2027.
Following this French encounter, the Girlz will lock horns with now number 50-ranked South Africa on November 29 and December 2 in Jamaica.
“Yes, results are always the main thing at senior international play, but the longer-term picture is for us to be successful come next year when we're in our first round of qualifying for the World Cup. I think that's really the main goal is for us to be peaking at that sort of time, heading into those qualifiers,” Busby declared.
“So, the experience we gain from playing these high-profile matches is invaluable. Our goal is to continue improving and competing at the highest level, and these games help us grow and understand what we need to do to close the gap on those ahead of us in particular,” he noted.
Allyson Swaby, one of the team’s most experienced players, echoed her coach’s sentiments.
The central defender, who plies her trade in Italy with AC Milan, believes the Reggae Girlz are more than up for the task.
“I think the team looks good; everyone is happy to be back together first and foremost, and its always exciting when we’re going to play strong opposition. So, I think everyone is just looking forward to a good test and just getting back into the swing of things together,” Swaby shared.
Swaby also noted that the team has grown in confidence over the past few years, especially after their successful World Cup campaign last year, where they contested the knockout round for the first time in the programme’s history.
“It is always good to play against teams like this. I think the group is excited to play France, especially when a lot of us are in mid-season. So, having that confidence of the routine of training day in and day out coming here, I feel like once you’re in your best form, it gives you that psychological edge to compete against teams like this,” she said.
Despite the absence of talismanic striker Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw due to issues with her passport, Swaby highlighted the depth of the squad, which is a blend of experienced players and new recruits who are eager to make their mark on the international scene.
“It is really important to see that the pool continues to grow; it brings competition to everyone that’s already here, and it expands the reach of the team globally to continue to take players from all across the world to represent Jamaica. So it helps tremendously to get new faces in and keep everybody sharp and competing at all times,” she ended.
Rough Fight League (RFL) Amateur Lightweight Champion Shiaeine ‘Da Great’ Blake says fans can expect him to make quick work of opponent Daron ‘Avatar’ Weir when the two lock horns in the main event of RFL Ocho at Funland in Hope Gardens in Kingston on Saturday.
‘Da Great,’ who has held the number one spot across three weight classes in the Caribbean, will be making his professional debut against Weir, an accomplished boxer, who is now stepping into the professional MMA scene after taking this fight on short notice.
“I envision him laying on the canvas within eight minutes looking up at me and wondering what went wrong,” Blake told Sportsmax.tv on Tuesday.
“Fans are coming out expecting a fight but they’ll bear witness to a slaughter,” added Blake.
Knowing that Weir is coming from a strictly boxing background and this being an MMA fight, one would think that the obvious play for Blake is to lean into a wrestling-heavy style on Saturday.
The 29-year-old has other ideas, however, noting that his ego has got the best of him ahead of their bout.
“Knowing that Daron’s style is boxing heavy, I’ve allowed my ego to get a hold of me and challenged myself to beat him primarily with boxing,” Blake said.
“I’ve prepared to beat him where he’s best at. Boxing is his hope, but there cannot be despair without hope so I’ll beat him where he’s best and watch him crumble,” he added.
Blake last fought at the IMMAF Pan American Championships in Monterrey in September, losing via kneebar submission to Mexico’s Diego Rangel in round two of their three-round fight.
That fight is in the past and Blake says he’s going into Saturday’s fight with a clear mind.
“The loss hasn’t really affected me mentally of physically. You win and you lose in sports. That’s given, analyze it, learn from it and move onward,” he said.
Fernando Alonso is gearing up for his landmark 400th Grand Prix this weekend, with the Spaniard believing the milestone highlights "my passion for F1".
The two-time world champion, who is ninth in this season's championship standings, will become the first driver to reach that figure at the Mexico City Grand Prix.
Even after all these years, Alonso says getting behind the wheel "pays off all the sacrifices" for the demands of travelling to 24 races a year.
"To reach 400 now is a big number," he told F1's Beyond The Grid podcast.
"Knowing that no one reached that number in the past - maybe someone does in the future, but not many, let's say a group of five or 10 maximum - it just demonstrates my love for racing, for F1, how much I enjoy this lifestyle, motor racing in general."
World champion in 2005 and 2006, Alonso acknowledged he could never have envisaged wracking up 400 races when he entered F1 as a teenager in 2001.
And the 43-year-old's achievement is even more remarkable, 15 years after he considered walking away from the sport for good.
"I think that guy in 2001, I was not really thinking too much about the future," he added. "The dream was coming alive, driving [in] F1, the first race.
"I didn't have a clear roadmap into my career. I didn't know exactly what the next race was, what my next team would be. I was improvising [and] every weekend was a new adventure.
"What I would say is that when I won the [second] championship in 2006, and then I joined McLaren, I had a three-year contract for 2007, 2008 and 2009, and I was 99% sure that 2009 would be my last F1 season. That was my very clear plan in my head.
"When I signed that contract, in my head at that time, it was like a long-term contract and three years may feel long, but this is the last. I had already fulfilled my dream. This was beyond my wildest imagination to be an F1 champion, so what else could I do here?
"I don't think that the 19-year-old, Minardi 2001 Fernando will think something strange about the 400 Grands Prix, because I was not thinking too much into the future. But in 2007, for sure, this would be a surprise."
Roberto Mancini has left his role as head coach of the Saudi Arabia national team, the country's football federation has confirmed.
Mancini reached a surprise agreement with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) in 2023, just a few weeks after resigning as Italy coach.
However, the former Inter and Manchester City boss struggled to make an impact in the role, only winning seven of his 18 matches at the helm.
He also oversaw an underwhelming Asian Cup campaign in January, as Saudi Arabia were beaten in a last-16 penalty shoot-out by South Korea in Qatar.
A statement issued by the SAFF read: "The Board of Directors of the Saudi Football Federation and the coach of the national team, Roberto Mancini, reached a joint agreement today, which includes the end of the contractual relationship."
Mancini's position had reportedly been under consideration following a goalless draw with Bahrain earlier this month, a result that leaves them outside the automatic spots in their 2026 World Cup qualification group.
South Africa's stand-in captain Aiden Markram predicted Thursday's victory over Bangladesh will serve as a confidence boost and help them enjoy more success in Asia in the future.
The Proteas won the first of two Tests by seven wickets, easing to a victory target of 106 in their second innings after skittling the hosts for 106 and 307.
It was their first red-ball victory in Asia since 2014, having failed to win in 14 trips to the continent since beating Sri Lanka in Galle a decade ago.
Markram, however, believes there is more to come from their youthful side, hailing the victory as a major breakthrough.
"It's special. We're a pretty young, slightly inexperienced group, so to come to the subcontinent and get a win is great for us and the environment," Markam said.
"This win does a lot for us and gives us a taste of what playing cricket in the subcontinent is like, and it excites us for the challenges that we possibly face here.
"The biggest thing we take from it is the belief and the confidence that we actually can do well here as a team.
"I believe that's where a lot of the game is played, from a confidence and belief and a mental side of things. It will help the team a lot as far as moving forward goes, seeing if we can put back-to-back performances together."
Bangladesh were always playing catch-up after a dismal first innings with the bat, with only a second-innings score of 97 from Mehidy Hasan Miraz forcing South Africa to bat for a second time.
"Everything was in our favour as we won the toss and decided to bat first," Mehidy said. "It is hard to bat on the fourth day on this wicket so we prepared ourselves in that way.
"We couldn't score runs, unfortunately. If we could have scored our second innings runs in the first... First innings runs are very important in Test cricket."
Two of this season's title challengers go head-to-head in this weekend's headline Premier League clash as league leaders Liverpool travel to Arsenal.
The Gunners are looking to put things right after suffering a shock 2-0 defeat to Bournemouth last time out in the competition, putting them on the back foot in the race for top spot already.
And they face a Liverpool side that are flying high under Arne Slot, who passed his first 'real' Premier League test on Merseyside by seeing off high-flying Chelsea last week.
The Dutchman has overseen a seamless transition after taking over from Jurgen Klopp and is the first manager to win as many as 11 of his first 12 games in charge across all competitions in English top-flight history.
They now face off in what both managers will deem a must-win after both posting scrappy 1-0 victories in the Champions League in midweek, over Shakhtar Donetsk and RB Leipzig respectively.
Here, using Opta data, we delve into the key insights ahead of Sunday's clash at the Emirates.
What's expected?
Arsenal have won their last two Premier League home games against Liverpool and are looking to win three on the bounce for the first time since a run of four between 2004 and 2006.
In fact, the Gunners are unbeaten in their last four Premier League games against Liverpool (two wins, two draws), taking more points from those four games (eight) than they had in their previous 14 against the Reds (seven – one win, four draws, nine losses).
Arsenal have also lost just twice in the Premier League in 2024 (21 wins, three draws), though they are hoping to avoid losing back-to-back games in the competition for the first time since December 2023.
Despite their recent result, Arsenal are still tipped as slight favourites in this tie, with the Opta supercomputer giving them a 41.3% chance of victory.
Liverpool, however, come out on top in 32.3% of the simulations, with a draw potentially on the cards at 26.5%.
While the Reds have not beaten Arsenal since March 2022 in the Premier League – a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino – they did win at the Emirates earlier this year by the same scoreline in the FA Cup third round.
And one thing you can almost guarantee for Liverpool in this tie is goals. They have not failed to score in any of their last 17 Premier League meetings with Arsenal since a 0-0 draw back in August 2015.
Arteta struggling for balance
Mikel Arteta will be hoping that Arsenal's defeat to Bournemouth was nothing more than a blip come the end of the season, but there were worrying signs for the Spaniard, especially before one of their biggest games.
The Gunners' downfall on the south coast was of their own making as they were undone by a set-piece before David Raya gave away a penalty that secured their fate, all after another first-half sending-off.
William Saliba was given his marching orders in the 30th minute, Arsenal's third of the Premier League campaign already. Another one against Liverpool would equal an unwanted record for the most dismissals after nine matches of a single season in the competition – done twice by the Reds and once by Leicester City and Sunderland.
Saliba had played every Premier League minute since the start of last season before his red card. Since his debut, Arsenal have a 74% win rate and concede an average of 0.8 goals per game with him in the team, but that drops to 45% and 1.6 conceded per game without him.
And it has given Arteta a dilemma, as he is expected to be light on defenders due to Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber's injuries. They may also be without Bukayo Saka again, but even if the England international does miss out, Arteta has plenty of firepower available.
They have scored 15 goals in the Premier League this season, the same as Sunday's opponents, while only Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea have netted more than them.
And Gabriel Martinelli loves playing against Liverpool – he has been involved in more goals against them in all competitions than he has against any other side (seven – five goals, two assists). Four of those five goals have put Arsenal in the lead in the match, including all three such Premier League strikes.
For Arteta, this game will be all about trying to find the right balance, though his main aim will be trying to keep all 11 of his men on the field until the final whistle.
Standing strong at the back
Much has already been made about Slot's start in the Liverpool dugout, but a result against one of last season's top two will still go a long way to silencing the last of his doubters.
The Dutchman's only blot on his record was their 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at Anfield, but their away record has so far been perfect. They are just the seventh top-flight English side to win each of their opening six away games across all competitions in a season.
In fact, they are the third team to do so in the Premier League era, after Newcastle in 1994-95 and Manchester City in 2017-18.
Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz are sitting towards the top of the goalscoring charts, benefitting from Slot's free-flowing style of play, but it is their defensive stability that has made them tough to beat.
Liverpool have conceded fewer goals than any other team in the Premier League this season (three), while they also have the lowest xG against total (6.2).
Their three goals conceded are also their joint-fewest after eight games of a league campaign in club history (also three in 1978-79 and 2018-19).
And while there were some questions about how well Liverpool would cope without Alisson in goal, those issues look to have been eased too. In their Champions League win over Leipzig on Wednesday, Caoimhin Kelleher made six saves.
Indeed, his 16 saves this season have a goals-prevented value of 3.0, just above the Brazilian's 2.6 in 2024-25, so Slot's solid foundation should prove a real test for the Gunners.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Arsenal – Kai Havertz
Kai Havertz has scored in each of his last five Premier League appearances at the Emirates Stadium.
The only Arsenal player to score in more successive home appearances in the competition is Thierry Henry, who has done so twice (six from March to August 2000 and seven from May to October 2004).
Liverpool – Mohamed Salah
Salah has five goals and five assists in the Premier League this season - with just eight games played, this is the earliest into a season a Liverpool player has both scored five or more goals and assisted five or more goals in the competition.
He has also scored and assisted in 34 different matches in the Premier League: the second-most of any player in the competition's history, only behind Wayne Rooney (36).
Denmark have appointed Brian Riemer as their new head coach after Kasper Hjulmand stepped down in the aftermath of their Euro 2024 exit in July.
Riemer served in a variety of coaching roles with Copenhagen before joining Brentford as an assistant to Thomas Frank in 2018, leaving to take the top job at Anderlecht four years later.
He oversaw a third-place finish in the Belgian Pro League last season before being relieved of his duties, but he will now take over from interim Denmark coach Lars Knudsen, who oversaw a return of seven points from their first four matches in Nations League Group A4.
"With Brian Riemer, we get a coach with the energy, passion and great commitment that we have been looking for," DBU football director Peter Moller said in a statement.
"He shares our view of football about trying to dominate matches and playing attacking and technical football."
Denmark, who reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020, suffered a disappointing group-stage exit at the 2022 World Cup before being eliminated by Germany in the last 16 at Euro 2024.
"Becoming the national coach for Denmark is a big dream that is coming true, and I am enormously proud and honoured. At the same time, I feel completely ready for the task and am extremely motivated," Riemer said.
"I will give everything for this fantastic team and country, and together with the players, the staff and all the Danish fans, we will fight to achieve something great together."
Feyenoord's players may not fully realise the enormity of their surprise Champions League victory at Benfica, says head coach Brian Priske.
Antoni Milambo scored twice, becoming the first Feyenoord player to net an away Champions League brace since 2000, while Ayase Ueda was also on target in a 3-1 victory for the Eredivisie side in Lisbon.
It was a second successive away win for Feyenoord in the competition's new-look league phase, and they are up to 16th in the 36-team table.
"This is certainly a great victory. I don't know if we realise how great it is until the heart rate drops a bit and we can enjoy it," said Priske, who was appointed after Arne Slot left for Liverpool.
He struggled initially but has now seen them to four successive wins in all competitions.
"This [Benfica] is a very big club in Europe, with top quality players and a great stadium. This is really a great achievement," said the Danish-born coach.
"The mentality of these boys is incredible. I am very proud of them, how we kept fighting after they pulled one goal back and were mentally strong enough to pull the match over the line with the 3-1 win."
Hailing his players' defensive work, Priske continued: "First of all, you have to work hard, suffer, take on some pain when they have the ball, sacrifice yourself for the team and defend really well.
"And then offensively we also needed to take moments to outnumber them in the midfield, see if we could outplay them and create some danger.
"Credit to the players. I think they showed all the elements that I talk about here. It's a massive result, but also a performance that shows everyone in our dressing room that we were capable of a lot of things."
Feyenoord’s next Champions League game is at home to Austria's Salzburg, who have lost their opening three games, on November 6.
England battled back to finish strongly against Pakistan after an early collapse with the bat on day one of the third Test.
The tourists stumbled to 267 in their first innings, but the bowlers managed to salvage some pride late in the day.
Zak Crawley (29) and Ben Duckett (52) initially made a strong start with an opening partnership of 56, but the wickets started to tumble soon after.
Ollie Pope (3), Joe Root, Harry Brook (both 5) and Ben Stokes (12) were all dismissed by Sajid Khan (6-128) as England slumped to 118-6, but Jamie Smith restored some pride.
He was caught by Mohammad Rizwan just short of a century after plundering 89, while Gus Atkinson added a needed 39 before their innings was brought to an end.
However, Pakistan were unable to build on their momentum, as they finished the day 73-3, with Shoaib Bashir, Jack Leach and Atkison stalling them.
The hosts trail by 194 runs after day one of the deciding Test in the three-match series, with Shan Masood (16 not out) and Saud Shakeel (16 not out), set to resume at the crease on Friday.
Data Debrief: Smith to the rescue
It looked like England might suffer yet another collapse against Pakistan after the quick dismissals of their early batters, but Smith stepped in to steady the tide.
He got his first Test half-century away from home and was unlucky not to come away with a ton after a great stand for England.
And that was all down to Pakistan's bowling. They employed spin exclusively across the 68.2 overs, the longest first innings in Test history without any seam bowling.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has confirmed both Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku are set for a spell on the sidelines.
Neither Grealish nor Doku were part of City's squad for their 5-0 victory over Sparta Prague in the Champions League on Wednesday, along with absentees Kevin De Bruyne and Kyle Walker.
After the match, Guardiola explained that both are struggling with injuries, and he was unsure exactly when they will be available again.
"Hopefully Jack will be maybe one week, 10 days, Jeremy a little longer," Guardiola told a press conference.
Alongside long-term injured players Rodri and Oscar Bobb, this gives City yet more unwelcome news.
On a more positive note, while Guardiola was delighted with striker Erling Haaland after his goals in midweek, he was also full of praise for winger Savinho, who got the assist for the Norwegian's first goal.
"He's playing really good, he's a winger who can play on both sides… being just three months with us, his level is really, really, really high," Guardiola said.
"I want to say something; it's thanks to the work of Míchel at Girona – he has done it."
Under pressure Southampton manager Russell Martin, meanwhile, has the unenviable task of taking his out-of-form team away to the champions.
The Saints were beaten 3-2 at home by Leicester City last weekend, having initially gone two goals up, and Martin appealed to the fans to keep supporting the team.
"The fans have been brilliant since I've been here," he told BBC Sport.
"I'm not sure the boos were directed at their team because the team were giving everything. My message is to be really supportive, they've been great."
Given Southampton's slow start to the season, there have been questions about whether Martin is the right man to keep the club in the Premier League, though the manager himself would not be drawn on such speculation.
"I've nothing to say apart from that I need to keep working, and we need to win a game of football," he said.
"I hope they [the fans] will always turn up and support their team. They've been amazing."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Manchester City - Erling Haaland
Among players to play over 500 minutes against promoted teams, Haaland has the second-best minutes-per-goal ratio (one every 60 minutes - 13 goals in 780 minutes) in Premier League history.
He is currently on a three-game goal drought in the league, which is just the second time this has happened, though he did score two against Sparta Prague in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Southampton - Tyler Dibling
Tyler Dibling has scored one league goal this season and created seven chances for his team-mates - the third-most in the Southampton squad.
But the 18-year-old's best skill is his ball carrying, having accrued the second-furthest distance (1,124m) of any Saints player. He has had eight dribbles that have ended in a shot, which is a club-leading stat.
MATCH PREDICTION: MANCHESTER CITY WIN
In-form City are currently second in the Premier League table after accumulating 20 points from their opening eight matches, while they are the only team in the division yet to lose.
Since losing three consecutive Premier League home games against Southampton between 2001 and 2004, City are unbeaten in their last 12 against them at the Etihad Stadium (W10 D2).
The Citizens are currently on their longest-ever unbeaten league run, with their 2-1 victory over Wolves last time out extending it to 31 matches (W25 D6), since defeat at Aston Villa last December.
The previous meeting between these teams finished 4-1 to City in April 2023, which means that Southampton have won just one of their last 13 (D3 L10) Premier League meetings with them.
The omens, then, are not great for second-bottom Southampton. They have lost seven of their eight Premier League games this season, drawing the other against Ipswich Town in September. It is just the second time the Saints have ever failed to win their opening eight matches of a league campaign, after 1998-99 (first nine).
Only Mick McCarthy (zero) has ever won fewer points than Martin in their opening eight Premier League matches as a manager.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Manchester City - 79.6%
Draw - 11.9%
Southampton - 8.6%
Washington Sundar made his mark on his return to the side, posting a seven-wicket haul to frustrate New Zealand on day one of the second Test.
India look to have quickly put last week's defeat behind them as they made a statement with a strong start.
Ravichandran Ashwin took the first three wickets (3-64), though Devon Conway's knock of 76 had already pushed the tourists to 138-3 before Sundar (7-59) stepped up to the plate.
Rachin Ravindra's 65 almost got them over the 200 mark, before he was bowled by Sundar, who then proceeded to take the next six wickets, with only Daryl Mitchell (18) and Mitchell Santner (33) hitting double figures as New Zealand were limited to 259 inside 80 overs.
However, India's day at the bat did not get off to a good start as Rohit Sharma was dismissed for a duck.
They reached stumps at 16-1, and Yashasvi Jaiswal (6 not out) and Shubman Gill (10 not out) will be hoping to kick on when they resume play on Friday.
Data Debrief: Washington in charge
Sundar was not even a part of India's Test squad three days ago, but the choice to bring him in has proven inspired.
It was his maiden Test five-for, and his best figures in first-class cricket, as he dismissed the last of New Zealand's batters within 20 overs.
Meanwhile, Jaiswal only needs to get 17 more runs on day two to become just the second batter to reach 1,000 runs in men's Tests in 2024 after Joe Root (1,300 runs).
Steph Curry praised the commitment of the Golden State Warriors after their squad depth was put to the test in their win against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Warriors made a winning start to the NBA season, with a 139-104 victory on Wednesday, where coach Steve Kerr used 12 different players on the floor.
Despite Portland leading by nine points in the opening quarter, the Warriors rallied, taking the lead at the break before holding out for the win.
Overall, seven of the Warriors' players scored double figures, with Curry getting 17 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds before sitting out the fourth quarter.
Curry, who is playing his 16th year in the NBA, is looking forward to using the squad's depth this season.
"It's the identity of this team right now," Curry said. "We're going to rely on our depth.
"You have to have a commitment - no agendas, no egos, or healthy egos, where you know you're supposed to be out there, but if it's not your night, don't bring the team down with your energy.
"Haven't seen any red flags of that."
Buddy Hield led the team with 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including five 3-pointers, off the bench. It is the most points scored by a Warriors player in 15 or fewer minutes since 1984.
Curry believes the 31-year-old could be key to filling the gap left behind by Klay Thompson's departure after he joined the Dallas Mavericks in the offseason, especially if the Warriors want to make the playoffs this time around.
"Without Klay, you need shooting, but we needed shooting anyway," Curry added.
"Me and [Hield] have been one and two [in 3-point shooting], and Klay's right there shooting threes for the last eight years, so we know what [Hield's] skill set is, we know what he's capable of doing.
"He's been a very seamless transition so far."
The Warriors face the Utah Jazz in their next game on Friday.
Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi was full of support for forward Marko Arnautovic after he saw a penalty saved in their 1-0 victory away to Young Boys in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The Italian champions controlled the game and generated 3.27 expected goals (xG) compared to their hosts' 0.92, but struggled to find a way through for much of the match.
Substitute Marcus Thuram eventually scored in the 93rd minute to win it for Inter after Young Boys goalkeeper David von Ballmoos had pulled off an extraordinary double save to keep Arnautovic's penalty and the follow-up out on 48 minutes.
Arnautovic failed to score the first-ever penalty that he took in the Champions League. It was Inter's first missed penalty in the competition since Lautaro Martínez vs Borussia Dortmund in October 2019.
"It was not an easy match, but we knew it. A complicated team on a pitch where it is difficult to play, but the boys were good," Inzaghi told a press conference.
"We created many situations before [the goal]. I think of [Yann] Bisseck, [Mehdi] Taremi, [Piotr] Zielinski, the penalty. We believed and we won.
"As for the penalty takers, we have [Hakan] Calhanoglu, and then Taremi and Arnautovic. They are both good at it, with Red Star, Taremi took it because Arnautovic had gone out.
"Unfortunately, [this time] he missed it and was very disappointed. But penalties are only missed by those who take them, and he is important for us."
Despite Inter fashioning the best opportunities overall, they did not have it their own way in the first half. Young Boys managed 10 attempts on goal before the visitors could attempt one.
In fact, Young Boys had 20 shots in this match, their most in a single Champions League game without scoring. The Swiss side also had 14 shots in the first half, their most in a single half in a game in the competition.
"Young Boys are a physical team that we knew would create some problems for us and they did. With the new coach they have found a new spirit," Inzaghi said.
"Tonight I was impressed by the goalkeeper. This morning when we were talking about the individuals, we had underlined how on Saturday in the championship against Lucerne he had been very good."
Young Boys came into the match under interim coach Joel Magnin, following the sacking of Patrick Rahmen earlier this month. They are currently 10th in the Swiss Super League, having won just two of their opening 10 matches in their title defence.
The Swiss side are second-bottom of the Champions League table, having failed to pick up a single point, while Inter are seventh with seven points.
Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany said his team's missed opportunities cost them in their 4-1 defeat away to Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Harry Kane had equalised for Bayern after Raphinha's first-minute opener, but Robert Lewandowski scored against his former club before the Brazilian completed his hat-trick on either side of half-time.
The defeat was Bayern's second consecutive loss in Europe after being beaten 1-0 at Aston Villa last time out.
But Kompany said that this time, they had not made the most of their chances after Harry Kane had equalised in the first half. The German side controlled the game for long periods and registered 60% possession, while they had just one shot (11) fewer than Barcelona overall.
But Bayern Munich were repeatedly caught out by Barcelona's quick transition, with captain Raphinha scoring a hat trick in the rout.
"I think maybe one very, very simple analysis I can make is when you have control of a game, and you have so much possession in a place like today against a team like we played today, you have to use the opportunity to take the momentum away from the opposition team," Kompany told a press conference.
"The way it went in the start of the first half is what we thought we could achieve in this game. It was where it felt like we could edge this game. We felt like this could turn for us.
"But in key moments we got outdone and for that reason the result is fairly, fairly heavy. We played against a good team, but we have the ambition to win these games, so today we know we have to learn from this game so we are stronger going forward."
Wednesday's result leaves Kompany's side 23rd in the 36-team league with three points, while Barcelona are 10th.
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