England men’s boss Gareth Southgate wished the Lionesses well ahead of tonight’s World Cup final but admitted he had “no advice” to offer a team that has accomplished what his has not.
Should they beat Spain tonight in Sydney, England’s women, managed by Sarina Wiegman, could be crowned world champions for the first time since the men’s team triumphed in 1966, just under 13 months since they secured the European championship title – something the men have never done.
Wiegman is the first coach to lead two nations to a women’s World Cup final, having also done so with the Netherlands four years ago, and would join just Sir Alf Ramsey on a list of managers who have won a global title with England.
Southgate, speaking in a video posted on the Lionesses’ social media, said: “Hi to you all out there in Australia. You’re doing a brilliant job, so that’s the first thing, and of course there is no advice because you’ve done more than us already, and you know what is needed to win.
“So all that remains is to wish you the very best for the final, and we hope you can bring that trophy back. Good luck everybody.”
This is the first time the Lionesses have advanced this far in a World Cup, having finished a previous best third eight years ago in Canada.
Southgate’s sentiments were echoed by England men’s captain Harry Kane, who during the tournament completed a £100million move to Bayern Munich.
He said: “Hi Lionesses, I just wanted to say best of luck for the World Cup final on Sunday. I’ll be watching.
“Amazing journey so far, you should be really proud of yourselves. We’re all behind you, all supporting you, we know you can do it, so go and get that World Cup win and bring that trophy home. All the best.”
Numerous other big names feature in the congratulatory compilation, including ex-England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand, who says: “This is a moment, man. This is history in the making. You girls are close. I’ve had every faith in you man, so please make me cry. Make me cry. Let’s go.”
Former Lionesses also sent their best, with 117-capped forward Kelly Smith telling the team: “Yet another final. You’ve done it again, one last push. Just believe in yourselves, go out there, it’s just another game. Another game. Bring it home. We’re all so proud of you. I’ll be there watching in the final.
“Please play to the best of your ability and everything else will take care of itself. I believe, the country believes, let’s go.”
Fara Williams, Smith’s team-mate at the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, added: “You girls will be spoken about for years to come. I’m super proud of you, I want to wish you the best of luck. Come on, bring it home.”
Other famous faces from the world of sport include Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison, who sent a shout-out to club-mate Bethany England, Chelsea women’s boss Emma Hayes, as well as Arsenal and England team-mates Aaron Ramsdale and Bukayo Saka.
Newcastle and England’s Callum Wilson and Kieran Tripper, both of whom took part in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, sent their well-wishes alongside Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes, members of Manchester United women, ex-Arsenal attacker Ian Wright and multi-sport broadcaster Clare Balding.
On the eve of the tournament, captain Millie Bright said of the occasion: “I think for us we live in the moment, and yes it’s a World Cup final, but for us our mentality is it’s another game.
“I think it’s been players’ dreams for years.
“We know how passionate our nation is back home and how much they want us to win. But for us, there is a process. We have a game plan to execute. We need to play the game of our lives.”
The sentiment was echoed by Wiegman, who said: “We have felt the support, we have felt the support here, but also from the other side of the world in the UK.
“That’s something that you dream of. We just hope that we play our best game tomorrow and everyone who is watching in the stadium, in the UK, who supports us, enjoys it.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Man United could be without Toone until Christmas, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
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