Injured England captain Leah Williamson says she would give her other ACL for her team-mates to win the World Cup in her absence this summer.
The Lionesses travel to Australia and New Zealand next month aiming to build on their Euro 2022 success, but do so without Williamson after she suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament playing for Arsenal in April.
Williamson, who, in partnership with immersive football entertainment venue TOCA Social, is fronting the ‘Momentum’ campaign aimed at driving participation in the women’s game, is willing to go to extreme lengths to see Sarina Wiegman’s team claim glory Down Under.
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“I’d give my other ACL for England to win the World Cup,” she said. “That’s what I’ll believe in until it isn’t (possible).”
If the Lionesses can win the World Cup for the first time, they will build on the incredible legacy created by winning the European Championship last summer.
That victory on home soil has seen participation numbers of young girls playing the game rise, but there is still a way to go.
TOCA Social’s ‘Momentum’ campaign will see the venue – based at London’s O2 – allocate a set number of playing boxes for women to play as well as a dedicated ‘women’s hour’ in the hope of bringing a minimum of 50,000 women through the doors to participate in the game through both playing and watching football.
Williamson, 26, says she would have loved such access when she was growing up.
“If I’d have had something like this, it would have been better for me,” she added in her position as lead consultant for female participation at TOCA Social. “I didn’t want to go down to the park and get muddy if I was going to get muddy at the weekend, I just wasn’t that kid, I didn’t want to be out until all hours on the street.
“If I’d have had something like this, I’d have lapped it up.”
On the ‘women’s hour’ innovation, she said: “If I told my mates to come down they wouldn’t because they’d just get laughed at by men, or that’s what they would feel would happen.
“The conversations I have are more about the social perception of it rather than the actual access anymore. All the right things are in place, it’s that social conversation around the game and the normalisation.”
Williamson says that throughout the Lionesses’ journey over recent years, the number one priority has been to secure a legacy for the women’s game in this country.
She said: “Before every tournament you sit down as a team and you outline the goals and what you want to achieve. And different things have come up – be the number one team in the world, winning is obviously up there, but the thing that always comes up is to leave a legacy.
“We realised in the Euros we knew that the biggest impact we could have would be if we won, then it gets to us being in a position to win it and it was like, ‘What are we going to do now for the legacy?’ and that was more important to all of us.
“We’d opened all of these doors for young girls, they need to be able to walk through them and know that they can and those two things together are what we’ll look back on in 15 years’ time.
“I’ll remember those moments and remember the party we had after we won, but that is what will stick with me, that’s what we did and that’s what we left behind.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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