Jamaica's assistant coach Xavier Gilbert
Jamaica’s assistant coach Xavier Gilbert is not denying that France will pose a challenge for his Reggae Girlz outfit to start their Fifa Women’s World Cup campaign. But he is hopeful that they will be able to overcome the daunting task and secure their first ever point at the global showpiece.
Gilbert’s cautious optimism came, as he was heartened by the Girlz lively training session, which he believes is a good indicator of the team’s mental and physical readiness ahead of Sunday’s opening Group F fixture against the fifth-ranked French team.
Well aware that France will be no pushovers, Gilbert, an assistant to Head coach Lorne Donaldson, is backing the 43rd-ranked Girlz to give their more illustrious opponents a run for their money when they take the field at the Sydney Football Stadium.
“We have been analyzing the French team from before they got here and their (0-1) loss to Australia kind of confirmed some of the things that we already knew. They really don’t change their style of play; they kept pressing and the Australian faced them front on. But that was a part of their preparation, so we still have to be mindful of how they attack and how they defend, and we just have to execute our game plan,” Gilbert said.
“Nothing is wrong with dreaming, but I honestly think we really have a good chance of getting something from the game, especially if we play smart and contain them, it will get easier for us. We do have quality players who can match up against them, there is no doubt about that.
“Psychologically our top striker [Khadija “Bunny” Shaw] is raring to go and they know that she can be a handful, so their efforts to contain her, might leave an opening for others in the attacking front to capitalise and those are some of things we want to exploit,” he added.
With two good sessions now under their belts, including a competitive squad match at the Victoria State Training Centre on Thursday, Gilbert explained that the focus now is to iron out a few finer tactical details to ensure an efficient execution against, France, in particular.
“The Girlz were buzzing from the other day, and it showed in this session which is a good indication that they are ready and raring to go. The session was pretty much how we can exploit some weak areas in the French tactics and also how to curtail some of their strengths based on how we defend, especially in the wide areas.
“We know they are going to counter press a lot and then try and force us through the middle and they also play a lot in transition. So, this session was pretty much to look at countering some of the things that they have been doing over the last few games and how we anticipate they are going to attack us,” the tactician shared.
He pointed out that the Reggae Girlz 1-0 win over Morocco in their first and only warm-up encounter, also provided good insight where gauging the team was concerned.
“We did our analysis and showed them some clips of the things that we did well because part of that game was to fix some of the things that we want to do against the French team. We did some of that, and even the goal, was as a result of what we did before in terms of our attacking thrust. So, there were a lot of positives that came from that game in terms of how we want to operate going forward,” Gilbert noted.
Finally, Gilbert revealed that all concerns regarding Jody Brown’s knock which she picked up in the Morocco friendly, have been allayed, as the diminutive winger was fully integrated into the team’s session and brought up to speed on tactics.
“She is good, it is just about managing and ensuring that we have a full team, and everybody is available for selection ahead of our first game. But she will be fine, the nature of the injury is nothing to be alarmed about,” Gilbert declared.
After their contest with France, the Girlz will do battle against Panama on July 29 at Perth Rectangular Stadium and then close the group stages against Brazil at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, on August 2.
Sherdon Cowan is a five-time award-winning journalist with 10 years' experience covering sports.
Shaw, Layzell on target as Man City stun holders Barcelona in Women's Champions League
Naomi Layzell enjoyed a dream Women's Champions League debut as her goal and assist helped Manchester City stun holders Barcelona 2-0 on Wednesday.
Layzell was playing her football in the Women's Super League last season with relegated Bristol City, but was the star of the show at the Joie Stadium.
City were making their first appearance in the competition since falling to a 4-2 quarter-final loss to the Catalan side in March 2021, and exacted their revenge with a plucky display.
The hosts, however, almost found themselves a goal behind with just three minutes on the clock when Caroline Hansen took aim and saw her effort cannon off the post, shortly before Lauren Hemp struck the woodwork with a strike of her own.
City grew into the contest and almost got the goal their performance merited in the 35th minute when Vivianne Miedema teed up Khadija Shaw, only to see her effort saved by Cata Coll.
But from the resulting corner, Gareth Taylor's side got their noses in front as Miedema brilliantly headed the ball from the back post and back into the danger area, with Layzell sliding in to mark her Champions League debut with a goal.
Barcelona had only failed to score once in their past 79 games heading into the encounter, and improved after the interval in their search for an equaliser.
Aitana Bonmati forced Ayaka Yamashita into making a smart save down to her right, with substitute Claudia Pina going close from distance as City were forced to withstand a relentless wave of pressure from the defending champions.
But the hosts landed a sucker punch in the 77th minute on the counter, with Layzell turning provider for Shaw, with the striker riding the challenge of Patri Guijarro before rounding Coll to seal a memorable triumph for City.
The Citizens ended the contest with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.68 compared to Barca's 1.5, despite having four fewer shots than their opponents.
Gareth Taylor's side sit level on points with Hammarby in Group D, after the Swedish side beat Austria's St. Polten 2-0 earlier on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in Group C, Juventus edged out Norwegian side Valerenga to kickstart their campaign with a victory at the Intility Arena.
Sofia Cantore's 29th minute strike proved to be the difference, with the Italian curling a fine right-footed effort beyond the grasp of Tove Enblom against the run of play.
Juventus continued to struggle throughout the contest, with Valerenga registering 25 shots, with six of those on target, ending with an xG total of 2.2.
Man United's Diallo withdraws from Ivory Coast squad
Manchester United's Amad Diallo has withdrawn from the Ivory Coast's Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against Sierra Leone due to illness.
Diallo, who has made six appearances for his country, has since returned to Manchester ahead of the Red Devils' upcoming Premier League fixture against Brentford.
The 22-year-old earned his first cap for the Elephants in 2021, and was recalled to Emerse Fae's group after a 15-month absence in June for wins over Zambia and Chad.
Ivory Coast know that two wins against the Leone Stars will seal their progression to the tournament, which takes place in Morocco at the end of next year.
A statement by the Elephants read, “The Ivorian Football Federation informs the Press and the public that the player, Amad DIALLO, arrived in group on Monday October 7, 2024, as part of the 3rd and 4th Days of the CAN qualifiers Morocco 2025, is declared forfeit for health reasons.”
Diallo is the latest player within Erik ten Hag's ranks to withdraw from international duty with their respective nations.
Argentina's Alejandro Garnacho, England's Kobbie Mainoo and Morocco's Noussair Mazraoui are the other players left out as a precaution.
Diallo has made 10 appearances for United this season in all competitions, scoring once in his side's 2-1 defeat to Brighton at the start of the 2024-25 campaign.
However, he has yet to fully nail down a starting berth, with Ten Hag so far rotating his wide options with Garnacho and Marcus Rashford.
Daniel Maldini the missing piece to Italy puzzle, believes Spalletti
Italy head coach Luciano Spalletti believes Daniel Maldini has been the creative spark the national side has been lacking ahead of their Nations League clash with Belgium.
Maldini could follow in the footsteps of his father, Paolo, and grandfather Cesare, both former Italy captains, should he represent the Azzurri at the Stadio Olimpico on Thursday.
The 22-year-old came through the ranks at Milan, managing 24 appearances in all competitions and scoring once, but spent three seasons out on loan from 2022 to 2024.
Maldini spent the second half of last season on loan with Monza before making his move permanent in July, netting five goals in 19 outings to help Raffaele Palladino's side to a 12th place finish in Serie A.
Now under the guidance of Alessandro Nesta, Maldini has begun to flourish, completing more dribbles (12) than any of his team-mates in the league so far.
The young Italian was one of four players given their senior call-up by Spalletti for their Nations League fixtures against Belgium and Israel, with the Monza forward replacing Lazio's Matteo Zaccagni.
And Spalletti is confident Maldini can make an impact, saying: "He is the (kind of) player we were missing."
Italy come into the contest off the back of an impressive opening to their Nations League A2 group, beating Israel and France last month.
After a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign that saw them lose to Switzerland in the round of 16, Spalletti insisted that their encounter against Belgium is crucial to their development.
"We will immediately become a great team in every match where we will be able to give the best of ourselves," Spalletti said.
"It is a crucial match for our future."
Spalletti, however, has his eyes set on the 2026 World Cup, a tournament the Azzurri have won on four occasions throughout their history.
But Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 and 2022 editions of the competition, but have since won the European Championships against England in 2021 under Roberto Mancini.
While Spalletti signified the importance of the World Cup's influence on the Azzurri's illustrious history, he said his players must focus on each game as it comes.
"It is a tournament that has determined our history, it has made many people happy," Spalletti concluded.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
