Sarina Wiegman is an outstanding coach and could succeed Gareth Southgate as manager of the England men's national team, says former Spain captain Veronica Boquete.
With reports suggesting Southgate may depart after he leads the Three Lions to his fourth major tournament at Euro 2024, various coaches have been touted as potential successors.
Manchester City's Pep Guardiola is a reported target for the Football Association, but Wiegman's name has also been mentioned after she led the Lionesses to Euro 2022 glory last year.
Wiegman was denied another trophy as England were beaten by Spain in last month's Women's World Cup final, but Boquete remains convinced by her work with the Lionesses.
The 36-year-old midfielder – who captained her country at the 2015 World Cup – feels Wiegman's name should be in the conversation.
"I think this is going to arrive, there is going to be a moment where a woman will be coaching a high-level [men's] team or national team," Boquete told Stats Perform. "She has already showed that she is a fantastic coach, that she has the knowledge, that she is a leader. So why not?
"What are they going to say? 'Oh, no, she cannot be the coach of the men's national team' – Why not? She has already proved that she is great.
"For me, it's about capacities and knowledge and if the players want to be coached by the best. If she is the best, they should give her the chance.
"Everyone would be supporting her because it would be something fantastic for football but also for society."
Spain's first Women's World Cup win was overshadowed by the behaviour of Spanish Football Federation [RFEF] president Luis Rubiales, who has been provisionally suspended by FIFA after grabbing Jennifer Hermoso and kissing the forward on the lips.
A group of 81 players have refused to represent La Roja if Rubiales remains in post, while head coach Jorge Vilda – who was the subject of a player revolt previously – was sacked a little over two weeks after lifting the World Cup.
Wiegman was praised for speaking out in support of Spain's players upon receiving the UEFA Women's Coach of the Year award in Monaco last week, and her comments further convinced Boquete of her leadership skills.
"I think her speech was fantastic and it gave hope to so many people to really believe in change," she added.
"It's crazy that the coach of the team that loses the final offered her moment to those players that are in this crazy situation, to defend something in such a strong way. I already had so much respect for her on the sporting side, but obviously now also on the personal side.
"I consider her a leader, globally, and her words were just fantastic. I think we need to say thanks so many times because it was her moment and we kind of stole it, so we really appreciate it."
Asked about the controversy engulfing women's football in Spain, Boquete claimed her nation had enough talent to win previous World Cups, only to be held back by the RFEF's poor leadership.
"It is not easy to explain to other countries all the things that are going on behind the scenes," she said. "Everyone will say 'yeah, but you're winning, how is that possible?'
"I say, yeah, we win because we have a lot of talent. Normally with their clubs, they have better conditioning so they develop and that's great, but can you imagine if everyone was working in the right way a long time ago? We could have been world champions 10 years ago.
"We were missing a lot of chances. We just want change so that it doesn't happen again and Spain can always be at the top.
"We already had the talent before, we had amazing players that didn't win anything because the people in charge didn't help them develop. So we just want the [right] people on top, so everyone can just be focused on being the best."
Alphansus Davis, Cedric Titus complete field for DaCosta Cup Round of 32
Alphansus Davis High and Cedric Titus High both confirmed their spots in the Round of 32 of the ISSA/Wata DaCosta Cup as the first round of competition ended on Monday.
Alphansus Davis High made it past the first round for the first time since 2018 when they were still named Spalding High after they held on for a 2-2 draw against Bellefield High, completing their Zone G playoff game that had started last week. They finished with 16 points in the first round.
At the same time, Cedric Titus High took the lone ‘wild card’ spot available to the best third-place team.
They joined the 30 schools that had already booked their places up to Saturday for the Round of 32, which is set to get underway on Tuesday with one game, Port Antonio High against Dinthill Technical at Carder Park.
Christiana High won Zone G with 28 points, and Holmwood Technical won second with 22 points.
For their efforts, Alphansus Davis will play in Group 4 of the Round of 32 alongside Munro College, Maldon High, and Brown’s Town High,
Cedric Titus High was third in Zone D, behind Spot Valley High and William Knibb, and edged out Green Pond High for the best third-place team on goal difference after both had accumulated 19 points from 10 games.
Cedric Titus had a goal difference of 27 to Green Pond High’s five.
Also on Monday, Central High topped the Zone H table after playing out a 0-0 draw with defending champions Clarendon College.
Central finished with 20 points and will play in Group 6 in the second round while Clarendon College took second place with 19 points, edging Denbigh High, who beat Lennon High 4-1, on goal difference.
Clarendon College will play in Group 7, where they will meet Glenmuir High in a repeat of last season’s final, Paul Bogle High, and Titchfield High.
Denbigh High will contest Group 5 along with Belair High, Happy Grove High and Holmwood Technical.
Frome Technical topped Zone B with 26 points after a 4-0 win over Green Island thanks to a second consecutive hat trick from Stevaughn Spence.
The other goal came from Dwyane Watt for Frome Technical who will now take on Ocho Rios High, Black River High, and Cedric Titus in Group 2.
Rusea’s High took the runner-up spot after beating Knockalva Technical 5-1 in Lucea, with Michael Foga scoring a hat trick, and will play out of Group 1 against Cornwall College, Spot Valley High, and Kemps Hill High.
Earps facing 'huge competition' from Hampton, says Wiegman
Sarina Wiegman believes that Paris Saint-German's Mary Earps will face competition from Chelsea's Hannah Hampton for the England number one shirt.
Earps has endured a difficult start to life in France since her move from Manchester United ahead of the new season.
She conceded five goals across their Women's Champions League qualifying defeat to Juventus and was subsequently dropped for the Parisiens' next two league matches.
Hampton, meanwhile, has been in fine form for Chelsea in the Women's Super League, keeping two clean sheets as the Blues remain perfect under Sonia Bompastor.
Only Manchester United's Phallon Tullis-Joyce (100%) has a higher save percentage than Hampton (90%) in the league this season.
Earps earned her 50th Lioness cap in a 2-1 European Championship qualifier defeat to France in June, though Hampton has seen her tipped for a starting spot at the tournament where England will look to defend their crown.
"You bring this message as if she's not a starting player for PSG and I think she is," Wiegman said.
"She's the number one goalkeeper. There's competition there, too. She started this weekend. I think moving to France, of course, she's adapting to a new situation.
"Unfortunately, they didn't qualify for the group stage in the Champions League which is a disappointment for them, for Mary and for us too, because we want to see her in the Champions League.
"So that's not the start I think she had hoped for but still, we know what she brings for us and we also know there's a huge competition going on between her and Hannah, and Anna also coming in."
Wiegman announced her 25-player squad for their upcoming friendlies against Germany and South Africa in preparation for Euro 2025, which takes place in Switzerland.
Aston Villa's uncapped defender Lucy Parker was introduced into the ranks, while Lotte Wubben-Moy and Lauren James return after missing July's qualifiers.
Goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse retains her place in the squad, and Aggie Beever-Jones and Jessica Naz also remain, having moved across from the Under-23 squad.
Manchester City's Chloe Kelly, who scored the winning goal in the 2022 final, was also included despite falling out of favour under Gareth Taylor.
Full squad
Mary Earps (Paris Saint-Germain), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Anna Moorhouse (Orlando Pride); Mille Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Chelsea), Jess Carter (Gotham), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Maya le Tissier (Manchester United), Esme Morgan (Washington Spirit), Lucy Parker (Aston Villa), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal); Grace Clinton (Manchester United), Fran Kirby (Brighton), Jess Park (Manchester City), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona); Aggie Beever-Jones (Chelsea), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Jess Naz (Tottenham Hotspur), Alessia Russo (Arsenal).
Man City could face 'serious' punishment, says expert Maguire
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes if Manchester City are found guilty of breaching the Premier League's financial rules, that it should be reflected in their punishment.
The independent hearing, which started last month, is anticipated to last approximately two months, although the verdict is not expected to be made public until early next year.
If found guilty, the sternest punishment is relegation, while points deductions and fines are also potential penalties.
City have been charged with breaking financial fair play (FFP) rules, with the breaches allegedly going back over a decade.
The Citizens were charged with 54 counts of failing to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 until 2017-18, while also failing to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18 on 14 separate occasions.
City have been handed five charges related to their inability to comply with UEFA's rules, including FFP from 2013-14 to 2017-18, with another seven charges for breaching the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules from 2015-16 until 2017-18.
The final 35 charges are for failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 until February 2023.
City did, however, claim a victory in their recent legal challenge against the Premier League over Associated Party Transaction rules, though that is totally separate to the 115 charges.
Both Everton and Nottingham Forest were deducted points last season for breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.
However, Maguire believes that should City be found guilty on all 115 of their charges, then a possible points deduction should be fair in comparison to what was handed to both Everton and Forest.
"I think the reason why I say that, and again, I've got no inside knowledge of any of this, is that if we take a look at the commission hearings in relation to Nottingham Forest and Everton, one of the revealing things was that one of the commissions had said, I think this was in the case of Forest, ultimately, this is a minor breach of the rules, and this has resulted in what was a four-point deduction," Maguire told Stats Perform.
"As far as Nottingham Forest are concerned, given that that was a minor breach of the rules which covered a narrow period of time and a very specific, narrow set of circumstances, what Manchester City are being accused of is effectively corporate fraud over a nine-year period – they've been lying to the Premier League in relation to their finances.
"Well, that's far more serious than a technical breach of an overspend. So, if it's a four-point deduction for a minor breach, and all 115 charges are upheld, then surely that's a major breach, and that has to be reflected in the deduction."
Since the Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover in 2008, City have spent approximately €2,5987 billion (£2,1649bn), spending the most money in the 2017-18 season (£245.7m) with the most notable signings including Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, and Ederson.
City's most expensive player during that time was Jack Grealish, who arrived from Aston Villa in a £100m deal - which at the time constituted the most expensive transfer of an English player ever.
Maguire went on to say that should City only be found guilty of failing to cooperate with the Premier League, then a financial sanction seems more likely, as opposed to a points deduction or relegation.
"My one reservation on all of this is that if the only thing that Manchester City are found guilty of is not cooperating with the Premier League, then probably the appropriate punishment is a financial one because they've not had a sporting advantage," Maguire concluded.
"You can argue that bringing in more, artificially inflating the money coming in, and messing around with the wages, has allowed Manchester City to recruit these other players, and on the back of that, they've been successful on the pitch.
"So, we need an on-field punishment if it's just for non-cooperation with the Premier League, and given that the Premier League hasn't cooperated with Manchester City in terms of getting these deals through against this separate hearing, I don't think that a points deduction is appropriate."
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