England boss Sarina Wiegman names her squad for this summer’s World Cup on Wednesday with injuries having been the major talking point in the build-up to the announcement.
Lionesses captain Leah Williamson has been ruled out of the tournament in Australia and New Zealand that gets under way on July 20 after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament last month.
Fellow Euro 2022 winner Fran Kirby will also be absent due to a knee problem and Beth Mead, who won the Golden Boot and was named player of the tournament for that competition, is a serious doubt as she recovers from an ACL injury sustained in November.
Millie Bright and Lucy Bronze (both knee) have been sidelined of late as well to add to Wiegman’s worries, while one-cap goalkeeper Sandy MacIver has made herself unavailable for selection as she focuses on recovering from a groin issue.
The injury to Williamson has prompted speculation over whether her fellow defender and predecessor as skipper Steph Houghton, who is yet to play under Wiegman, might be recalled.
The 35-year-old was included in the provisional Euros squad last summer as she worked her way back from an Achilles operation but did not make the final cut and, while featuring regularly for Manchester City of late, she has not had further involvement with England.
Speaking shortly before Williamson’s injury, Wiegman said the chances of Houghton making the World Cup squad were “not that high” while stressing she would “never close the door”.
In attack, there could be a return for Bethany England, a member of the Euros-winning squad who was last called up by Wiegman for matches in September.
The forward has scored 12 Women’s Super League goals since moving from Chelsea to Tottenham in January.
England kick off their World Cup campaign by facing Haiti in Brisbane on July 22 and will also play Denmark and China in Group D.
Their 30-game unbeaten run under Wiegman that included last summer’s Euros triumph on home soil, the first major trophy in the team’s history, ended in their most recent outing, when they were beaten 2-0 by Australia in Brentford last month.
Wiegman, a runner-up at the 2019 World Cup in France with her native Netherlands, will be at a grassroots club in Birmingham for the announcement of her 23-player squad on Wednesday afternoon.
Sutton Coldfield’s Boldmere St Michaels FC, formed in 1883, is home to 70 teams covering 18 different age groups across women’s, men’s, girls’ and boys’ football. Around 60 girls and boys are set to be taking part in half-term sessions there on Wednesday.
The Football Association said in a statement that the location decision “follows the Lionesses’ equal access success and has been made to highlight the strong connection between the grassroots game and England teams”.
It added: “This will reinforce the squad’s determination to positively impact participation levels, inspire future generations and also the crucial role grassroots clubs have played in the players’ development.”
Earlier this year the Government announced a package to boost school sport and equal access to it, which followed the England squad calling for change in an open letter published just after they won the Euros last summer.
The FA said that while that had been achieved, it remained its “strategic objective for girls to have equal access to football in the community through growing the number of girls teams within grassroots clubs and ensuring Weetabix Wildcats and Squad sessions are easily accessible”.
Steven Naismith wants his Hearts players to thrive under pressure
Hearts head coach Steven Naismith has told his players they have to use the pressure and expectation that comes with playing for the club to spur them on to Hampden.
Naismith faced the wrath of some Hearts fans on Saturday when a 1-0 reverse against St Mirren left them with five defeats in their last six games.
The former Scotland international views Tuesday’s Viaplay Cup quarter-final at Kilmarnock as the perfect opportunity to atone.
“Being at a club like Hearts, when you don’t win on a Saturday, there’s that frustration and that’s something that builds,” the 37-year-old said.
“I’m comfortable and confident that by the end of the week we can look back on it being a good week and that starts on Tuesday night.
“The game at the weekend was small margins, we don’t take our chances and give up a cheap goal.
“This game coming so quickly is good because it gives us a chance to react but the bigger picture is it’s a chance to get to Hampden and one step closer to getting silverware which is something as a squad we are desperate to get. But also that expectation from the club is there, that we should be getting into these positions.
“It’s something you become aware of when you come to the club, it’s not so much any single person letting you know that.
“The crowd that travel to every away game, the crowd that are in the stadium for home games, they are there because they have a right passion for the club and want to see success.
“You could argue that over the last 10-15 years there has probably not been enough silverware.
“In terms of being in the later rounds of competitions, that has been pretty successful over the last five or six years but taking that next step to win something is the most important one and one that us as a squad need to show we are capable of.”
Naismith won six major trophies with Rangers and also played in cup finals with Kilmarnock and Hearts, the latter resulting in defeat by Celtic in one of three Scottish Cup finals Hearts have reached in the past five years.
“We were two or three penalty-kicks away from winning the Scottish Cup and never managed to do it,” he said.
“That element of pressure for me is something I have managed throughout my career to some ways enjoy and push you forward. As players that is what you have to do.
“The week to week, day to day of signing a new contract and of playing x amount of games is one achievement but if you want real success then that’s defined by winning trophies.
“As a player fortunately I managed to do it and I know what it takes, so hopefully us as a squad can do it.”
Hearts have failed to score in four of their past five matches but Naismith believes there are encouraging signs.
“The frustration from my side is that we have picked up injuries to more attacking players,” he said.
“One positive is, in the chances we have created, it’s different players that are getting on the end of them.
“It’s not as if we are relying on one player to get on the end of crosses and through-balls. We are getting plenty of men forward. It’s just converting them really.”
Nathaniel Atkinson drops out through injury for Hearts but Andy Halliday is back.
Chelsea owners ‘need to support plan’ despite rocky run – Mauricio Pochettino
Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea’s owners must look past their disappointment and back him to implement the plan he was hired to draw up in order to lift the club out of their slump.
Defeat to Aston Villa at Stamford Bridge on Sunday means the team have taken an average of 0.85 points per game over the last 35 matches, three short of a full league season.
Over a single campaign they would have won 32 points, a tally that would have seen them relegated in every Premier League season since the league became 38 games in 1995, and would have left them bottom of the table in five of them.
That run goes back to October 19 last year when the team, then managed by Graham Potter, drew 0-0 away at Brentford.
Pochettino is the fourth manager to have led the side in that period, with Potter having been removed on April 2 and Frank Lampard taking over until the end of the campaign, with a single game in charge for caretaker boss Bruno Saltor.
Despite the turnover of coaches, the Blues have won only six times in the league in the 11 months since, drawing 12, giving them a return of 30 points from 35 games.
The squad assembled by co-owner Todd Boehly’s Clearlake Capital consortium at a cost of more than £1billion over the last 16 months are currently 14th in the table after six games and have not scored in 285 minutes of play.
Pochettino encouraged supporters to keep faith and focus on the quality of recent performances rather than the club’s relegation form over the last year.
“It’s about learning, it’s about the process,” he said after Ollie Watkins’ second-half goal for Villa condemned his side to their third loss of the season.
“We are a young team (in) a process that they need to learn all together. It’s difficult to talk about positives because when you lose it’s difficult, but we need to talk about positive things.
“No doubt that with time the team is going to perform, but of course now we cannot hide the situation. It’s a situation that disappoints all the fans, the club, us and the players.
“They (the owners) are disappointed, they arrive to the club and (were) so excited to build some project. Of course they feel disappointed, but at the same time they need to support the plan.”
If there was a bright spot for Chelsea it was the return of striker Armando Broja after nine months out with an ACL injury.
The Albania international came off the bench in the second half and headed wide in the closing minutes as the team sought an equaliser.
“It was good to see Broja after nine, 10 months,” said Pochettino. “Again I think to have the possibility to have different options is good for the team. But he needs to build his confidence also.”
Watkins’ goal was his first in the league this season and the striker admitted it was a weight off his shoulders.
“The first one is always hard to get,” Watkins told VillaTV.
“I’m delighted to get off the mark now.
“It’s a bit of a relief, really, because the more the games go by, there’s a lot of talk and pressure.
“But I just try and block that out and I back myself in front of goal no matter what anyone says.
“I’m looking forward to the games coming up now and plenty more goals for the season.”
Thomas Tuchel wary of history as Bayern Munich face huge underdogs in DFB Cup
Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has vowed his side will not be taking lowly Preussen Munster lightly on Tuesday in the DFB Cup.
Tuchel’s side sit top of the Bundesliga and head to third division Munster on the back of last week’s Champions League win over Manchester United and Saturday’s 7-0 thrashing of Bochum.
The Bayern boss recalled the club’s embarrassing 1-0 defeat to German minnows Vestenbergsgreuth at the same stage of the DFB Cup in 1994 when the fourth-tier side caused one of the competition’s biggest upsets.
Tuchel told a press conference: “I remember the name Vestenbergsgreuth. I couldn’t believe it at the time. We won’t underestimate the opponent.
“We’re preparing seriously. We’ll play like Bayern want to play. It doesn’t matter who’s on the other side.
“We’re the favourites. There’s not much for us to win. We want to win. We want to get to Berlin and be in the final. We have to keep winning games for that.”
Bayern have won all 28 of their DFB Cup first-round ties since that defeat to Vestenbergsgreuth – a current record – which included a 4-1 win against Munster in the two sides’ only previous meeting in the 2014-15 season.
“Munster can play without pressure,” Tuchel added. “We want to be dominant, want possession, want to use our individual quality.
“We’re expecting an opponent who fights as a unit for an upset. They’ll probably focus on set pieces. They’ll probably also look to use their fans.”
England captain Harry Kane maintained his fine start to life in Munich in Saturday’s defeat of Bochum, scoring a hat-trick and providing two assists.
Kane has eight goals in nine appearances for Bayern and Tuchel praised his partnership with former Manchester City winger Leroy Sane.
“Leroy speaks fluent English, communicates a lot with Harry,” Tuchel said. “Harry makes his teammates better, with his character, his style.
“Leroy is in very good form, with good body language and a very good mindset. Both are combing very well at the moment.”
Tuchel said he expected Portugal midfielder Raphael Guerreiro to return to the squad after being sidelined since mid-July due to a calf injury.
“I haven’t made a decision yet about who’ll play,” Tuchel added. “Matthijs de Ligt is unfortunately out and we need to see with Dayot Upamecano and Min-jae Kim.”
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