Republic of Ireland boss Vera Pauw said she did not feel it was her last match in the job after the Girls In Green bowed out of the World Cup by securing an historic point.
Having been beaten 1-0 by co-hosts Australia and then 2-1 by Canada in the opening two matches of their debut major tournament campaign, which ended their last-16 hopes, Ireland’s final Group B game finished in a goalless draw against Nigeria in Brisbane.
Pauw’s contract is coming to an end and she said in her postmatch press conference: “I don’t feel this is my last game.”
The Dutchwoman had previously stated she wanted to continue in the role beyond the tournament and – when asked if she was hopeful of getting a new contract – she said: “I’ve been very clear, haven’t I, so I don’t need to answer that I think.”
Pauw, who did not make a substitution in the Nigeria game until the 83rd minute, was also asked about skipper Katie McCabe having requested change being made earlier during the contest.
And she said: “Why would we change? If Katie McCabe says that she wants to change, it doesn’t mean…she’s not the coach. Everybody was doing so well, so I said ‘what do you want, Katie, taking the best player off? No’.
“Players are allowed to be emotional and allowed to say that. That’s fine. But during the game I step back and analyse and we make changes the moment that it is necessary.
“A player can ask always, but as a coach it’s not a refusal. As a coach you make decisions on what is necessary. A player can say everything to a coach, at least to me.
“(McCabe said) she wanted fresh legs on her side. (No change was made) because everybody was doing so well. Sinead Farrelly was arguably the best player on the pitch at that moment. So I was not prepared to take the best player off.”
McCabe, scorer of the team’s first-ever goal at this level in the Canada match, sent an effort wide of Nigeria’s goal early on.
Ireland goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan subsequently made a fantastic save, diving to push Uchenna Kanu’s 52nd-minute header against the crossbar, en route to Pauw’s side clinching the landmark result.
Pauw said: “I think we can be extremely proud of ourselves.
“We have lost a game through a very unlucky penalty kick (against Australia), an own goal (against Canada) and now 0-0 against (world number 40) Nigeria, who I rate as a top-10 nation.
“We’ve been very unlucky, we’ve done fantastically and the players have grown from very good, very talented players to international, top players.
“From the games, what I take out is that we can face everybody and that if you look at the stats and that we are getting closer and closer and closer in everything, then we are far ahead of schedule.”
Randy Waldrum’s Nigeria, who had pulled off a shock 3-2 victory over Australia in their second game, advance as Group B runners-up to a last-16 showdown next Monday at the same stadium against the winner of Group D – currently led by England.
Asked if she would give Nigeria a chance of beating the European champions, Pauw said: “(England manager) Sarina (Wiegman) will make her own game-plan.
“They will be able to put pressure on Nigeria. That doesn’t mean Nigeria would not have a chance against them.
“But if you have all players, both on the bench and on the pitch, playing 90 minutes every week at the highest level, at the best clubs, then they are the favourite for the World Cup – so that means, if you ask me about chances, England will have a bigger chance.
“But that doesn’t mean Nigeria hasn’t played incredible matches.”
Postecoglou praises Pochettino's success at Spurs
Ange Postecoglou says Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Tottenham was a success despite him not winning any trophies.
Spurs will face their former manager’s Chelsea side at Stamford Bridge on Thursday, with both teams needing points in the race for a top-seven finish.
Pochettino led Spurs to a Champions League final and three consecutive top-three finishes in the Premier League during his five-year spell between 2014 and 2019.
The Argentinian failed to lift a trophy in his time at the club, but Postecoglou thinks it is unfair to use that as a baseline for Pochettino’s success.
"I mean it's a funny one you know because if all we measure sort of success on is just trophies, then okay. You know, but I don't think that's what life's about,” he said.
"I think anyone who doesn't think that Mauricio's five and a half years here were successful, doesn't really appreciate, I think, football for what it is because, you know, to get to the Champions League final, to, you know, come runners-up in the toughest league in the world.
"There's no silverware but in my mind, particularly the way he developed that group, I think he was a success.
"This is the business we're in and we get measured by – most of us get measured by other things so we've got to accept that."
Spurs have not won a trophy this season, but they are still in the race for a Champions League spot and sit seven points behind Aston Villa with two games in hand.
Asked about his own success in his first season at the club, he added: "They're not questions I need to ask, or I need to sort of investigate.
"As I said, I go by what I see now, today, what's important to me today. What's important to me is how the lads train and get ready for a big game."
Rangnick turns down Bayern to stay in Austria job
Ralf Rangnick has confirmed he will remain in charge of Austria's national team beyond Euro 2024, having turned down Bayern Munich's interest.
Rangnick confirmed last week that Bayern had been in touch regarding the possibility of him taking over ahead of next season.
Bayern are aiming to fill an impending void, with current coach Thomas Tuchel set to leave the club at the end of the campaign.
But Rangnick has now confirmed he will be staying put, though he insisted he did not "reject" Bayern.
"I am national team coach of Austria with all my heart," he said in a statement released by the Austrian Football Association (OFB).
"This task brings me a lot of joy and I am determined to continue down the road we have started.
"I want to clearly stress that this is not a rejection of Bayern Munich but rather a decision for my team and our common goals."
"We are fully focused on the Euro. We will do everything we can to go far."
There have been calls from some Bayern fans for Tuchel to stay in charge, with some going as far as to sign a petition.
Bayern wanted to appoint Xabi Alonso as Tuchel's successor, but the former midfielder has elected to stay with Bayer Leverkusen.
While Leverkusen stormed to the Bundesliga title to end Bayern's 11-year dominance of the competition, Tuchel's team can still salvage silverware in the form of the Champions League.
Bayern head into the second leg of their semi-final tie with Real Madrid on the back of a 2-2 draw in Munich in Tuesday's first leg.
Dortmund boss Terzic not surprised by Sancho's quality
Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said he was not surprised by Jadon Sancho's quality after the on-loan forward helped the German side to a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first-leg tie of their Champions League semi-final.
Sancho joined Manchester United from Dortmund for 85 million euros ($91.11 million) in August 2021 but failed to hold down a regular spot and returned to Germany after becoming embroiled in a row with manager Erik ten Hag.
After impressing on the right wing against PSG, Terzic said he always sees Sancho's quality in training.
"It's maybe not so easy to bring it onto the field, especially when you haven't had rhythm for a while," he told reporters.
"We know his quality, and we saw it again today. We knew we needed a performance like that from Jadon."
Dortmund bagged the winner in the 36th minute through Niclas Fullkrug to take a slim advantage going into Tuesday's return leg in Paris.
Despite winning the first leg, Terzic knows that the tie is still all to play for in the second leg.
"We showed a very good game, a narrow win but a deserved one. It was a great teamwork performance that got us there. We wanted that small advantage. We know next week will most likely be tougher than today," he said in a press conference.
"This is just half-time and next week will be a different story. It won't be easy to deal with their power play in front of a home crowd. We felt it today from the 45th to the 60th minute.
"We felt their quality. We showed our best game against PSG, but next week they will have a euphoric backing of their fans, and they will want to turn the tie around.
It is a victory that, coupled with Bayern Munich’s draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday, secures Germany a fifth automatic Champions League spot next season.
"We wanted to qualify for the Champions League through the Bundesliga and not this way. But the fact that it will be enough to qualify as fifth is also partly down to our success, our contribution," Terzic added.
"Our minimum goal was to qualify for the Champions League. Now it [added spot] does not improve our Bundesliga season, but it does offer a softer landing."
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