England boss Sarina Wiegman is “surprised” at Arsenal’s plan to play an exhibition match in Melbourne on May 24 – a trip she feels is “not good” for players.
The Gunners last week announced their women’s team will head out to Australia to face an ‘A League Allstars’ side in the end-of-season fixture.
England are set to play Euro 2025 qualifiers against France at St James’ Park on May 31 and then away on June 3.
Wiegman told a press conference on Tuesday: “I was surprised about that trip. I think for all the players, with an already complicated calendar, it’s not good for them to go to the other side of the world.
“It’s very short term, not having the time to adapt and play a game and come back and go for us. I would say for every European player that goes into the qualifiers, that’s a thing that will be hard for them to take, and to perform at the highest level.”
Wiegman – whose European champions open their qualifying campaign by playing Sweden at Wembley a week on Friday, then the Republic of Ireland in Dublin four days later – said there have been “very good conversations about the summer” with Arsenal, adding: “We’re on the same page.
“I’m in contact with Jonas (Eidevall, the Arsenal manager) all the time. They haven’t announced yet who is going and who is not.
“I think this is a matter for Arsenal and the last thing I would do is dictate a club or a coach, that’s not my job or what I want to do. I think this is a wider thing, and Arsenal hasn’t announced the team yet.”
Eidevall last week said of the trip: “It is now about making the most out of that opportunity. That means that for some players it will be the right thing to go, and for others it will not be the right thing if we talk about it from a loading and welfare perspective. We need to make good and deliberate decisions on that.”
After the France double-header, England are scheduled to then conclude their Group A3 matches with games against the Republic and Sweden on July 12 and 15 respectively.
It has been reported that the Football Association intends for players to be recalled on June 19 ahead of those games and that several clubs were angry about that plan.
Wiegman said of discussions with clubs: “We are in a very good place with that. Every club we are in contact with is really aware of what we want to do, and how and why.
“You can’t… have a little more than five weeks and don’t do anything and then play Ireland and Sweden. That’s impossible to perform, and everyone acknowledges that.
“We’re in the final (phase of talks) with the clubs, so I can’t be really specific, but it’s not a full three weeks – it’s similar to what we did before the Euros (in 2022) and (2023) World Cup, and giving them some proper time off too. And that’s all in contact with the clubs.
“They’re not angry. In the conversations we have, there’s no anger at all. They’re just very good conversations. The clubs are not angry with us and we are not angry with the clubs.”
Wiegman was speaking having named a 23-player squad for next month’s matches, which includes Leah Williamson.
The Arsenal defender, who captained England to Euro 2022 glory, returned to the international fold in February for the first time in nine months having recovered from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, but subsequently had to withdraw before friendlies against Austria and Italy due to a hamstring issue.
Chelsea’s Fran Kirby is also back, having missed the February games after pulling up in the pre-Austria warm-up with a knee problem, while club mate Millie Bright – England’s skipper at last summer’s World Cup – remains out injured.
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."
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.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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