Mark Robins is delighted to see Tatsuhiro Sakamoto now delivering on the promise he has shown since joining Coventry after continuing his rich recent scoring form with a brace in City’s 3-1 comeback win at Middlesbrough.
Sakamoto joined Coventry from Oostende last summer, but the Japanese winger failed to score in his first 13 matches for the club.
His performance levels were good though, and Robins always felt it was only a matter of time before things started clicking for the 27-year-old in front of goal.
Sure enough, Sakamoto has now netted five times in his last four matches, with his double at the Riverside helping to secure a win that lifted Coventry to within three points of the play-off places in the Sky Bet Championship.
Robins said: “He’s been really good, and the confidence is coming. We’ve been waiting for it. He’s got the ability, and now he’s got the confidence and belief too.
“That’s really good for us, and really good for him. He also creates. He’s technically outstanding, and to get through the games that he has done is a real credit to him.”
Sakamoto won two international caps in 2021, but was not named in the Japan squad for the upcoming Asian Cup, meaning he can continue to play for Coventry this month.
That is a relief to Robins, although if the winger continues to perform as he has in the last few weeks, an international recall could well be in the offing.
Robins said: “They’ve got some really good players. The Japanese are outstanding, you could see that in the World Cup last year.
“They’ve got some excellent players, and there’s more and more of them playing in Europe and the UK. Tatsu is a brilliant outlet for us, and you can see the connections that are being made and that he’s starting to form. That’s pleasing for us for the second half of the season.”
Middlesbrough were without 13 senior players because of injury or call-ups to either the Asian Cup or Africa Cup of Nations, and having established a first-half lead through Josh Coburn, Michael Carrick admitted his side ran out of steam as Coventry dominated in the second half.
Carrick said: “I think it’s understandable. It felt like the tank just emptied at the wrong time for us today, in terms of their energy.
“I can’t fault them. It’s such a small pool of players we’ve had to pick from a patch-up game to game over recent weeks. It probably just caught up with us at the wrong time today because first half I thought we were fantastic.
“I thought we played some fabulous football and should have, could have, been up at half-time. In the end, they are a good team, they’re dangerous and they’re on a good run as well.”
Arsenal 1-0 Rosenborg: Maanum strike ensures Champions League progression
Frida Maanum's first-half strike ensured Arsenal progressed to the second round of Women's Champions League qualifying after a 1-0 win over Rosenborg.
Maanum netted the only goal of the game in the 19th minute after Caitlin Foord saw her cross spilled by Rugile Rulyte, with Maanum on hand to finish from close range.
The Gunners could have made the encounter more comfortable as Alessia Russo's header came back off the crossbar to conclude a dominant first half.
Arsenal struck the woodwork a further two times after the interval, through Russo and Kyra Cooney-Cross, with Leah Williamson also seeing her header cleared off the line.
But Jonas Eidevall's side were able to restrict their opponents to very little, with the hosts ending the contest with 30 shots, though only five of those were on target.
Arsenal go through to the next stage of the next stage of the competition, which is a knockout tie played across two legs.
Hayes: Men's game still not ready for female coach
Emma Hayes believes men's football is still not ready for the prospect of female coaches, saying there is much work to be done to bring about true equality in the game.
Hayes won seven Women's Super League titles during a glittering 12-year spell in charge of Chelsea before leaving to take charge of the United States in May.
Like England coach Sarina Wiegman, Hayes has sometimes been suggested as somebody who could make the transition from the women's game to men's football, but no female coach has ever taken charge of a team in England's top four tiers on a permanent basis.
Forest Green Rovers made Hannah Dingley caretaker manager last year while in the fourth tier, only to overlook her and go through three permanent bosses – including former Watford striker Troy Deeney – as they dropped out of the Football League.
Speaking during an appearance on the Today programme on BBC, Hayes said barriers remain in place to prevent women succeeding in the men's game.
"I think you need to get more owners in to ask them that question, because they're the people you have to ask that question to. I'm not the one in charge of that," Hayes said.
Asked whether club owners are ready to appoint a female coach, Hayes said: "Of course they're not, otherwise it would have happened by now.
"I've said this a million times over – you can find a female pilot, a female doctor, a female lawyer, a female banker, but you can't find a female coach working in the men's game, leading men.
"It just shows you how much work there is to be done."
Hayes has been nominated for the Women's Coach of the Year prize at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony, which will take place on October 28.
Wiegman, Filipa Patao, Arthur Elias, Jonatan Giraldez and Hayes' Chelsea successor Sonia Bompastor are also in the running.
USWNT icon Morgan announces retirement and pregnancy
United States legend Alex Morgan has announced her retirement from professional football, also confirming she is pregnant with her second child.
Morgan is one of the most recognisable and decorated players in the history of the USWNT, helping them win back-to-back World Cups in 2015 and 2019 as well as capturing an Olympic gold medal at London 2012.
Her tally of 224 caps puts her ninth in the team's all-time appearance charts, while only Abby Wambach (184), Mia Hamm (158), Carli Lloyd (134) and Kristine Lilly (130) have bettered her total of 123 goals for the team.
Since she made her international debut in March 2010, no player has been involved in more goals for the USWNT than Morgan (175, 123 goals, 52 assists).
Her 88 goal involvements (60 goals, 28 assists) in regular-season NWSL play, meanwhile, put her third in the all-time charts, behind Sam Kerr and Lynn Williams (both 102).
Despite featuring regularly for the USWNT earlier this year, she was left out of Emma Hayes' squad for the Paris Olympics, where they beat Brazil to win a record-extending fifth gold medal.
Morgan, who returned to the NWSL with the San Diego Wave in 2022 following a brief spell in the Women's Super League with Tottenham, confirmed on Thursday that her second pregnancy had influenced a decision that was already on her mind.
"I want to get to the point quickly – I'm retiring. I have so much clarity about this decision, and I am so happy to be able to tell you," Morgan said in a video posted to X.
"It has been a long time coming, and this decision wasn't easy, but at the beginning of 2024 I felt in my heart and soul that this was the last season that I would play soccer."
Morgan will play one final match for San Diego before hanging up her boots, versus the Carolina Courage in the NWSL on Sunday.
In a statement released by U.S. Soccer, the 35-year-old said: "I grew up on this team, it was so much more than soccer.
"It was the friendships and the unwavering respect and support among each other, the relentless push for global investment in women's sports, and the pivotal moments of success both on and off the field.
"I am so incredibly honoured to have borrowed the crest for more than 15 years. I learned so much about myself in that time and so much of that is a credit to my team-mates and our fans.
"I feel immense pride in where this team is headed, and I will forever be a fan of the USWNT."
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