Chloe Kelly added another memorable moment to her Lionesses career as her spot-kick secured 10-woman England a place in the World Cup quarter-finals after a dramatic shoot-out with Nigeria in Brisbane.
It was not all elation for England, however, after Lauren James was shown a straight red card for a stamp on Michelle Alozie following a VAR review late in the second half which could see her banned for the remainder of this tournament.
Midfielder Keira Walsh returned for the first time since she was carried off the pitch on a stretcher in England’s 1-0 group-stage victory against Denmark and played 120 minutes of a dramatic contest.
England were far from their best and were lucky not to exit the tournament in 90 minutes, but dug deep to ensure the match finished goalless after extra time, with Euro 2022 hero Kelly firing in the decisive penalty.
The European champions largely remained camped inside Nigeria’s half for the first 10 minutes, before the Super Falcons began to build momentum.
Georgia Stanway’s stumble led to their first real chance as Uchenna Kanu directed a header at the England goal but was blocked at the last by Millie Bright’s clearance.
Randy Waldrum’s side threatened again as former England youth international Ashleigh Plumptre came within inches of an opener when her attempt clipped the underside of the crossbar and it took a brilliant save by Earps to stop the ex-Leicester defender soon after.
The Lionesses were then initially awarded a penalty when Rasheedat Ajibade initially appeared to shove Daly inside the area, Stanway convinced enough she started stepping up to the spot, but the decision was reversed after Honduran referee Melissa Borjas was sent to check the pitchside monitor.
James, largely subdued after her two-goal, three-assist performance against China, then saw an effort sail over.
It was the Super Falcons who attacked first in the second half, Kanu’s nodded effort catching the woodwork, while England struggled to find the same fluidity they displayed in their 6-1 rout of China – a side ranked 26 places above Nigeria.
Waldman brought on his most fearsome weapon in Bronze and Walsh’s Barcelona team-mate Asisat Oshoala, the five-time African women’s footballer of the year with whom they lifted the Champions League trophy in June.
Stanway was next to try to get a misfiring England going with a delivery from the right to find Daly, who volleyed wide.
England were lucky when Kanu spun a header past the right post as they searched for a solution to Nigeria’s relentless physicality before a fine stop from Chiamaka Nnadozie firstly prevented Daly nodding in from six yards and then Russo from the left.
It was the Nigerian fans whose voices echoed loudest as they earned another free kick and continued to pile the pressure on England.
Things went from bad to worse for Wiegman’s side when another call to the monitor ruled James had deliberately stamped on the back of Nigeria defender Alozie and she was sent off with three minutes of normal time remaining.
“Eye of the Tiger” blasted over the speakers as the Lionesses willed themselves to fight through extra time a player light and again breathed a sigh of relief when Alozie should have given Nigeria the lead but missed a big chance at the near post.
England doggedly defended their way through as Wiegman made just her second substitution, swapping Lauren Hemp for Bethany England at the 106-minute mark after replacing Russo with Kelly after 88 minutes.
Earps kept the Lionesses in it when she calmly caught Oshoala’s effort from inside the penalty area as Walsh’s comeback finally came to a close and the Lionesses calmly closed out extra time to ensure their World Cup destiny would be decided by spot kicks.
Stanway, whose penalty was the only goal in England’s 1-0 opening victory against Haiti, stepped up first but this time fired wide of the left post, reprieved when Desire Oparanozie sent hers to the exact same spot.
Beth England, who did not play a single minute of England’s Euro 2022 triumph last summer, pumped her fist in the air when she fired past Nnadozie and Alozie skied her effort as the Lionesses turned to Rachel Daly.
The Women’s Super League Golden Boot winner gave the Nigerian keeper no chance with a perfectly-placed penalty to the top corner before Ajibade beat Earps.
Greenwood and Christy Ucheibe both converted and so it was up to Kelly, who, with another significant contribution on the global stage, fired England through.
Dejan Kulusevski has vowed to do “everything” in his power to help convince Harry Kane to stay at Tottenham.
Kane ignored the noise around his future to score four times in Spurs’ 5-1 friendly victory over Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday.
The England captain remains the subject of intense interest from Bayern Munich, who are reported to have lodged their latest offer for the forward on Friday, although no outcome of the bid has been announced.
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New Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou hailed Kane’s professionalism after his four-goal salvo and his team-mate echoed those sentiments.
“He scored four goals, so very good,” Kulusevski exclaimed.
“Nah, he’s unbelievable. Honestly, his mentality, I can learn from him like everybody. He just goes out and performs day in day out.
“He’s a true professional. I’m happy I helped him score today but of course we want him to stay and we’ll do everything to make him stay.”
Asked whether it would be beneficial to have Kane’s future sorted sooner rather than later, Kulusevski admitted: “I think it would. On the other hand, you can only control what you can control. We players cannot do anything about it.
“We work our hardest, try to stay ready and the players that manage it, it’s up to them.”
The uncertainty over Kane does not appear to be going away but Tottenham are close to the signings of Micky Van De Ven and Argentinian youngster Alejo Veliz, the PA news agency understands.
Both Wolfsburg centre-back Van De Ven and Rosario Central forward Veliz are booked in to have medicals on Monday and – if their transfers are finalised in time – they could be set to make the trip to Barcelona for Tuesday’s final pre-season match of the summer.
It will be the last chance for Postecoglou to get his squad attuned to his front-foot, progressive style of football before their Premier League opener away to Brentford on Sunday.
Kulusevski, after being accustomed to a pragmatic and counter-attacking approach under Antonio Conte previously, is relishing the attacking brand brought in by the Australian.
“It is fun actually. I love it,” he said.
“You have to be physically very good, I love that too. I’m enjoying having a lot of ball higher on the pitch, so I’m very grateful to have him (Postecoglou).
“I like him a lot. Also in half-time he was very angry because we stopped playing for five minutes and you cannot be like that.
“You have to play always. Just because you’re tired, you (can’t) let them have the ball. Things happen like that. So I like him a lot and I’m looking forward to improving under him.”
Kane broke the deadlock from the penalty spot after 38 minutes of Sunday’s friendly with Shakhtar, but the visitors levelled before the break through Kevin Kelsy.
Postecoglou’s half-time hairdryer worked a treat though, with Kane heading home James Maddison’s cross soon after before Kulusevski’s through ball saw the forward clinch his hat-trick in 55 minutes.
There was still time for Manor Solomon’s saved effort to be tapped home by Kane for his fourth and his replacement Dane Scarlett grabbed a fifth with the last kick of the match.
Kulusevski did concede there will be an adjustment period for Tottenham under Postecoglou.
He said: “Everything takes time in life, but the thing is we really, really have to believe in it. It’s not enough if he’s trying to make us believe. We all have to do it.
“But we’re in a good way, I think. This was the first game when we played 90 minutes. We’re happy, we ran a lot. It was quite good.
“Last season, maybe we scored one and then we tried to protect the result. So, of course we have to improve but second half was very, very good.
“He (Postecoglou) said we always have to play. Don’t shoot away the ball, don’t stop pressing, don’t waste time. Always play, play the same and don’t think about the score or the time. Just play and have fun.
“We all want to score much more. When we go 1-0, we want to score the second, not back off. So, we all we want to score much more.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales have congratulated the Lionesses after they secured a place in the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals.
William and Kate praised the team’s “hard-fought” victory after England beat Nigeria 4-2 on penalties on Monday.
A post on their official Twitter account said: “Well done @Lionesses!
“It was hard-fought but now we’re on to the quarter-finals. Good luck.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also took to social media to praise the victorious England team.
He tweeted: “That was tense!
“Congratulations to the @Lionesses on a hard-fought win.
“Bring on the quarter finals.”
Rangers will face PSV Eindhoven or Sturm Graz if they progress to the Champions League play-offs.
The Ibrox side were seeded in the draw but must first get past Swiss side Servette, who visit Ibrox on Wednesday in the first leg of the third qualifying round.
The Gers beat PSV 3-2 on aggregate at the same stage last year to reach the group stage, with Antonio Colak grabbing the winner when he netted the only goal of the second leg in the Netherlands.
Sturm Graz have included former Motherwell wing-back Max Johnston in their European squad, although he has only featured for the second team since his recent move.
Rangers would be at home in the first leg of the play-offs, which take place in the final two weeks of August.
Rangers will also be involved in the draw for the Europa League play-offs, which they will drop into if they lose to Servette.
Aberdeen are also in the draw and their 15 potential opponents including Swiss side Lugano and teams who are in third-round action over the next two weeks.
Aston Villa enter the Europa Conference League qualifying stage and they could potentially be drawn against Hibernian, the previous club of captain John McGinn.
Villa will be one of the four seeded options in the same section of the draw as Hibs, who first need to beat Swiss side Luzern. Villa could potentially face the likes of Lech Poznan or Arouca of Portugal, but they will not find out their definite opponents until after the third round.
Hibs could also be in line to face the likes of AZ Alkmaar, Slavia Prague and Olympiacos.
Hearts might have a reunion with last season’s runners-up, Fiorentina, if they get past Rosenborg.
The Italians, who beat Hearts home and away in the group stage last year, are the only seeded side in the grouping who join in the play-off round. Other names in the frame for Hearts include Club Brugge and Partizan Belgrade.
Derry City are also in the draw but must get past Tobol Kostanay of Kazakhstan first.
Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has hit out at the “damaging” new guidelines on added time and conduct for this season’s Premier League and asked why players’ opinions are not being heard.
Competitions around the world have been instructed to more accurately calculate time lost to stoppages this season, including goal celebrations and VAR checks.
Arsenal equalised in the 11th of 13 added minutes at the end of Sunday’s Community Shield against Manchester City and went on to win on penalties.
The game’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board, said in March that the approach to calculating added time was “positively received” when it was first tested at the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year and would be rolled out worldwide.
However, Varane says the changes have been brought in “despite our previous feedback” and are placing too much pressure on players.
He tweeted on Monday morning: “We had a meeting last week with the FA. They recommended from the referees new decisions and rules.
“From the managers and players, we have shared our concerns for many years now that there are too many games, the schedule is overcrowded, and it’s at a dangerous level for players’ physical and mental well-being.
“Despite our previous feedbacks, they have now recommended for next season: longer games, more intensity, and less emotions to be shown by players. We just want to be in good condition on the pitch to give 100 per cent to our club and fans. Why are our opinions not being heard?”
Varane retired from international football at the age of 29 earlier this year, likening the slog of the top-level game to being in a washing machine.
The new guidelines on added time have been introduced to tackle timewasting and increase effective playing time.
FIFA found 10 minutes and 11 seconds of added time were played on average in Qatar, an increase on the average for the previous World Cup finals in Russia, but also found effective playing time was up in Qatar by more than four minutes compared to Russia.
However, the impact of the extra added time on players over a sustained period has already been highlighted by their global union FIFPRO, which reported earlier this year that the changes would amount to the equivalent of up to three extra games per season for players with the highest existing workloads.
A spokesperson for the English players’ union, the Professional Footballers’ Association, said: “Maheta (Molango, PFA CEO) has personally met and been speaking with a significant number of senior players and managers in the past few weeks, including Raphael (Varane), and there are concerns about how the new additional time rules will play out over a long season of league and cup games, as opposed to short tournaments.
“Across what is now essentially a year-long football season, players are already thinking of these additional minutes in terms of extra games being played. It also comes at a time when players are pushing back against what is, increasingly, a completely unsustainable football calendar.”
Varane added: “As a player I feel very privileged to do the job I love every day but I feel these changes are damaging our game.
“We want to be at our maximum level, the best we can be and put on amazing performances for fans to celebrate every week.
“I believe it is important that we, players and managers, highlight these important issues as we want to protect the game we love and give the fans our best.”
Varane’s remark about “less emotions to be shown by players” appeared to be a reference to a new code of conduct designed to improve the behaviour of players, coaches and fans at all levels of the English game announced last week.
It has been launched with the support of all of the football authorities, with the PFA understood to have helped shape the new guidance.
Referees will be expected to take a more consistent and tough line when players surround them to challenge decisions. Officials should issue at least a yellow card where two or more players confront them.
Players and coaches who seriously or repeatedly abuse referees could face increased financial penalties from the Football Association, while a tougher line is set to be taken against fans involved in football tragedy abuse.
England have reached the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals by beating Nigeria 4-2 on penalties.
England had Lauren James sent off late on as their World Cup last-16 clash with Nigeria ended 0-0 after normal time.
The 21-year-old forward, star of the Lionesses’ group stage matches with three goals and three assists, was dismissed in the 87th minute in Brisbane after standing on Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie.
James was initially shown a yellow card before VAR intervened, referee Melissa Borjas watched the incident back pitchside and it was changed to a red, leaving England with 10 players for extra time.
James and her fellow attackers had been effectively stifled by the Nigerian defence, while limited England chances included Alessia Russo and Rachel Daly being denied by Chiamaka Nnadozie, and the European champions also had a first-half penalty award for a challenge on Daly overturned via VAR.
Meanwhile, Nigeria had gone closer to breaking the deadlock, twice hitting the bar, through Ashleigh Plumptre in the first half and Uchenna Kanu in the second.
Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has hit out at the “damaging” new guidelines on added time and conduct for this season’s Premier League and asked why players’ opinions are not being heard.
Competitions around the world have been instructed to more accurately calculate time lost to stoppages this season, including goal celebrations and VAR checks.
Arsenal equalised in the 11th of 13 added minutes at the end of Sunday’s Community Shield against Manchester City and went on to win on penalties.
The game’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board, said in March that the approach to calculating added time was “positively received” when it was first tested at the men’s World Cup in Qatar last year and would be rolled out worldwide.
However, Varane says the changes have been brought in “despite our previous feedback” and are placing too much pressure on players.
He tweeted on Monday morning: “We had a meeting last week with the FA. They recommended from the referees new decisions and rules.
“From the managers and players, we have shared our concerns for many years now that there are too many games, the schedule is overcrowded, and it’s at a dangerous level for players’ physical and mental well-being.
“Despite our previous feedbacks, they have now recommended for next season: longer games, more intensity, and less emotions to be shown by players. We just want to be in good condition on the pitch to give 100 per cent to our club and fans. Why are our opinions not being heard?”
Varane retired from international football at the age of 29 earlier this year, likening the slog of the top-level game to being in a washing machine.
The new guidelines on added time have been introduced to tackle timewasting and increase effective playing time.
FIFA found 10 minutes and 11 seconds of added time were played on average in Qatar, an increase on the average for the previous World Cup finals in Russia, but also found effective playing time was up in Qatar by more than four minutes compared to Russia.
However, the impact of the extra added time on players over a sustained period has already been highlighted by their global union FIFPRO, which reported earlier this year that the changes would amount to the equivalent of up to three extra games per season for players with the highest existing workloads.
“As a player I feel very privileged to do the job I love every day but I feel these changes are damaging our game,” Varane added.
“We want to be at our maximum level, the best we can be and put on amazing performances for fans to celebrate every week.
“I believe it is important that we, players and managers, highlight these important issues as we want to protect the game we love and give the fans our best.”
Varane’s remark about “less emotions to be shown by players” appeared to be a reference to a new code of conduct designed to improve the behaviour of players, coaches and fans at all levels of the English game announced last week.
It has been launched with the support of all of the football authorities, with the Professional Footballers’ Association understood to have helped shape the new guidance.
Referees will be expected to take a more consistent and tough line when players surround them to challenge decisions. Officials should issue at least a yellow card where two or more players confront them.
Players and coaches who seriously or repeatedly abuse referees could face increased financial penalties from the Football Association, while a tougher line is set to be taken against fans involved in football tragedy abuse.
Mohamed Salah’s agent has dismissed speculation linking the Liverpool forward with a move to Saudi Arabia as the 31-year-old “remains committed” to the club.
A report in the Middle East claimed talks were taking place between the Egypt international’s representatives and Al-Ittihad over a deal said to be worth over £155million over two years to the player.
Salah’s former team-mate Fabinho has already made the move to Al-Ittihad this summer in a £40m transfer.
In that context the £60m fee being touted for Salah – who has scored 139 goals in 231 Premier League appearances – appeared to under-value a player who is only 12 months into a three-year deal which is the most lucrative contract in Liverpool’s history.
And Salah’s representative insists the former Chelsea and Roma forward has no intention of leaving Anfield in any case.
“If we considered leaving LFC this year, we wouldn’t have renewed the contract last summer. Mohamed remains committed to LFC,” Salah’s agent Ramy Abbas posted on Twitter.
Mikel Arteta hailed “superb” Kai Havertz after his performance in Arsenal’s Community Shield penalty shoot-out win over Manchester City.
Having joined from London rivals Chelsea in the summer, Havertz was deployed as Arsenal’s central striker as a last-gasp Leandro Trossard equaliser took the game to penalties.
Cole Palmer had put City ahead before Trossard’s effort took a huge deflection off Manuel Akanji, the 1-1 draw meaning a shoot-out was required at Wembley – Arsenal going on to lift the Shield after a 4-1 success.
Havertz has primarily been recruited to play in an advanced midfield role for the Gunners but, with Gabriel Jesus injured, the Germany forward reverted to a central role.
He was a thorn in the side of the City defence for much of the afternoon and had two good chances to break the deadlock in the first-half, with Arteta enthused by Havertz’s display.
“He was superb,” the Arsenal boss said after the win.
“The way he pressed and how intelligent he is to try and understand certain spaces and the timing of it, he was great and got in great positions to score.
“He was unlucky not to score but he was very physical when he needed to be, so I was very pleased with him.”
Havertz was off the pitch by the time the shoot-out took place as all four Arsenal penalty takers were successful, while Kevin De Buyne hit the crossbar and Rodri’s poor effort was saved by Aaron Ramsdale.
“It feels great,” said Fabio Vieira, who scored the winning spot-kick.
“It’s my first trophy for this club, and I’m very happy to win this trophy. It’s time to rest and enjoy it.
“We are a team that will always believe it’s possible to score until the final (minute), and we believe altogether that we would score. Then in the penalties, we were better.
“It was a very good moment for me in front of our fans. We have a new season ahead, it will be very difficult and we need to be together with the fans and the players, and then we go for it.
“It’s amazing. It’s my first time playing at Wembley, it’s an amazing stadium and as I said I’m very happy, and the win is the most important thing. I’m here to help the team.
“We have a long season ahead, and I need to focus and help the team. That’s what I have to do.”
What the papers say
The Daily Mirror reports Kevin de Bruyne is high on the list of targets Saudi Arabian clubs intend to pursue next year. The paper says Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal’s whopping £259million bid for Kylian Mbappe was a wake-up call for the Premier League, with some sides already resigned to losing some of their best players. De Bruyne’s former Manchester City team-mate Riyad Mahrez joined Al-Ahli this summer, joining a growing list of high-profile players making the switch.
Speaking of Kylian Mbappe, the Mirror also reports the 24-year-old would be prepared to spend a season in the Premier League on loan before securing his dream move to Real Madrid. The Paris St Germain and France forward’s representatives are believed to have held discreet discussions with a selection of Premier League club intermediaries – with Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool rumoured to be interested in his signature.
Kasper Schmeichel is in line for a shock return to the Premier League. According to the Leicester Mercury, citing Eurosport Denmark, the 36-year-old is in discussions with Nottingham Forest over a move from French club Nice.
And The Telegraph reports Chelsea are gearing up to make an improved bid for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Mohamed Salah: Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad are set to offer £51.8m for the Liverpool forward, reports Arabic publication Al Riyadiah.
Tosin Adarabioyo: The Sun says the Fulham defender has rejected a proposed Tottenham move in favour of a potential transfer to Monaco.
England boss Sarina Wiegman is confident the Lionesses are capable of getting creative should Nigeria target breakout talent Lauren James in their last-16 clash in Brisbane.
Chelsea forward James was awarded player-of-the-match against China in England’s final group stage contest after contributing two goals and three assists in the 6-1 victory.
Having shown the world just how dangerous she could be, it would not be a surprise if Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum spent plenty of time planning a corresponding response to mitigate the potent threat posed by the 21-year-old.
Asked if she was prepared for that to happen, England boss Sarina Wiegman grinned and said: “Well, first of all we didn’t make the starting line-up yet.
“But I think some countries mark us and want to take out players. Not only one, but more players. So that’s good when you have so many good players on the pitch that they have to be aware of all those players.
“And we know when players are marked that you find other ways to build or create and hopefully create chances to score goals.
“So we are aware of that and we will be prepared for that.”
Wiegman could be bolstered by the return of midfielder Keira Walsh, who was carried off on a stretcher late in the first half of England’s 1-0 victory over Denmark in their second group stage game.
The knee injury sustained by the 2023 Champions League winner with Barcelona was not as serious as some suspected, and while Wiegman would not disclose Walsh’s specific diagnosis, the FA previously revealed it was not an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and on Sunday the England boss also confirmed it was not a ligament issue.
Walsh also stepped up her recovery on Sunday, joining the other 22 members of the England squad on the Central Coast Stadium pitch before the Lionesses flew to Brisbane ahead of their first match of the knockout stage.
On the eve of the Nigeria clash, Wiegman said: “She is doing well. She started her rehab straight after we knew what was going on.
“She has been on the pitch, she has been training today. Now we will wait until (we see) how she recovers from that training session and if she does well then she is available tomorrow.”
The 2023 World Cup saw the tournament expand to 32 teams for the first time, with some initially worried that the gap between the top and lower-ranked nations would be detrimental.
Yet the reality has so far been the opposite, with four of FIFA’s top 10 sides already eliminated including double-defending champions USA, who crashed out after losing a dramatic penalty shootout to Sweden.
Number two side and Euro 2022 finalists Germany, number seven Olympic champions Canada, and Copa America winners Brazil, ranked eighth, have all been eliminated.
Those giant-slayings – Canada’s at the hands of 40th-ranked Nigeria – also marked the last likely World Cup appearances for icons and pioneers in Brazil’s Marta, Canada’s Christine Sinclair and the USA’s Megan Rapinoe, who missed a penalty against Sweden and announced pre-tournament that she would be retiring at the end of the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) season.
Wiegman added: “It is very, very competitive. The development of the game all over the world has gone really quickly, at a very good level.
“But I’m mainly focused on my team and on the next match with my team, so I’m not into every game. I don’t have the full context, but that’s the main thing I have noticed.”
Erik ten Hag praised Manchester United’s character after they fought back from conceding a “stupid” goal to end their pre-season campaign with a draw against Athletic Bilbao.
Facundo Pellestri’s stoppage-time equaliser, which was set up by Harry Maguire, secured a 1-1 draw with 10-man Bilbao at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
However for the second time in 48 hours, they had to come from behind after Maguire’s error had gifted the LaLiga outfit a first-half lead.
Ten Hag told the club’s official website: “In one weekend, two times we are losing, but you see this team have character and that’s what you need in a season as well.
“Sometimes you are down and then you have to show resilience and especially in such moments, you need determination. We have shown that this weekend, it was a good weekend for us.
“Yesterday I thought it was a very good level, today I have seen also very good spells.
“I think the start of the game was also very good and we should have scored a goal to go up, because it was a great chance from Jadon Sancho.
“We had some good moments after that as well and it was stupid how we went down, but as I said, we had a result and we came back so it was a good weekend for us.”
Maguire, who was replaced as United captain by Bruno Fernandes during a summer of speculation over his future, was included as one of 11 changes to the side which beat Lens 3-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday, but there was no place for injured £72million signing Rasmus Hojlund, a day after he had been presented to the club’s fans.
Ten Hag’s men might have got off to the perfect start when Pellistri played Sancho in behind the Athletic defence with just four minutes gone, but his attempt was blocked by goalkeeper Unai Simon.
Goalkeeper Tom Heaton was called upon to claim Inaki Williams’ 15th-minute strike as the Spaniards responded and they though they had been awarded a 25th-minute penalty, seconds after United had seen their appeals waved away at the other end.
Referee Neil Doyle initially pointed to the spot after Nico Williams had been brought down by Alvaro Fernandez, only for the official to change his mind and award a free-kick, with which Heaton dealt comfortably.
However, the LaLiga side took the lead with 29 minutes gone when Oihan Sancet capitalised on Maguire’s slip-up to feed Nico Williams, who fired past the advancing goalkeeper.
Eighteen-year-old Dan Gore tested Simon as the second half got under way with neither side taking a backward step.
But Bilbao’s hopes of retaining their advantage were dealt a blow with 24 minutes remaining when last man Aitor Paredes was given a straight red card for hauling back Hannibal Mejbri after conceding possession to the Tunisia midfielder.
Hannibal passed up a glorious opportunity to level when he volleyed the ball over from Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross, but redemption arrived deep into stoppage time when Maguire headed down another Wan-Bissaka delivery for Pellistri to steer home the equaliser.
Ten Hag said: “We don’t give up. We fight until the end. Finally, we got the equaliser and I thought it was justified.
“We wanted a good result, to finish the pre-season well.”
Kylian Mbappe will be barred from training with Paris St Germain’s main first-team group as his contract dispute with the club continues, the PA news agency understands.
PSG return to their training base on Monday following their pre-season tour of Japan and South Korea, but Mbappe will be part of the so-called ‘loft’ training group rather than the first team as his stand-off with the club drags on.
PSG sources remain convinced the player, who is out of contract next summer, has already agreed a free transfer deal with Real Madrid.
Mbappe’s management are understood to have refused to engage with an offer from the club to sign a new contract containing a guaranteed sale clause, which would allow him to join another club for a fee next summer.
From PSG’s perspective, there is no reason why he would turn down the offer, because it gives him the opportunity to leave when he wants and join the club he wants.
PSG had given Al Hilal permission to speak to the player after they tabled a world record bid of £259million last month, but Mbappe reportedly refused to even meet with delegates from the Saudi club who had flown to Paris.
Chelsea and Barcelona are understood to be two of the clubs trying to work out a player-plus-cash deal for Mbappe, who was part of France’s World Cup-winning squad in 2018 and also one of the stars of the last tournament in Qatar.
PSG kick off their 2023/24 Ligue 1 campaign at home to Lorient on Saturday.
Kieran McKenna feels his Ipswich side have set the tone for their Sky Bet Championship season with their performance in their 2-1 win over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Having won promotion from League One last term, Ipswich returned to the second tier in style as goals from Nathan Broadhead and George Hirst secured victory on Wearside.
Despite being reduced to 10 men when Trai Hume was sent off for two yellow cards, Sunderland rallied in the closing stages and halved their deficit courtesy of an 86th-minute goal from Dan Neil.
Neil also hit a post in 13 minutes of stoppage time, but Ipswich dug deep to see things through, with their resilience and spirit pleasing their head coach.
McKenna said: “The application of the players was excellent. We spoke before the game and said it would be very important in terms of setting the tone for what we want to do and how we’re going to be. I thought we set a very good tone for how hard we’re going to work.
“It was a really high level and a big challenge, against a very strong opponent, at home, with a full house and good momentum.
“It took every ounce of effort from the whole squad that we had to be competitive and make sure we were able to get the result.”
Ipswich regularly put opposition sides to the sword last season, but McKenna accepts they will have to be a little more circumspect at a higher level.
However, while he acknowledges there will be times when his players have to dig in with their backs to the wall, he also wants them to continue to express themselves, as they did against the Black Cats.
He said: “We know we’re going to have to defend more in this division. We want to press more aggressively than we managed to do in the first half.
“I think the level of the game and the opponent was certainly a step up and I think the players felt that in the first 20 minutes. We weren’t able to break their press as well as we wanted, so we needed to be a bit more aggressive.
“We know we’re going to have to defend at times, but we also know we’re going to have to show bits of what we did today in terms of being brave in our build-up and being patient in possession to try to get through the pitch.
“As the game wore on, I thought we started finding our men and breaking the lines much better.”
Tony Mowbray was left to reflect on what might have been, with his side only really stirring once they had been reduced to 10 men.
With Ross Stewart still injured, Hemir, a 19-year-old summer signing from Benfica’s reserve ranks, led the line, with Sunderland’s recruitment team hoping to bring in at least one more forward before the transfer window closes at the end of the month.
Mowbray said: “You have to put the ball in the net when the chances come and I don’t want to keep banging the drum, but we need more options and the club are trying really hard to do that.
“We are putting bids in. To find strikers worldwide is really difficult as huge clubs in the Premier League are finding.
“Hopefully there will be some more attacking options in the squad in the next week or two, then they’ll have to settle in.
“I think we’ll get stronger. In six or seven weeks, hopefully we have Ross Stewart down the middle, Bradley Dack might be playing off him. There’s enough there to say we’ll be fine.”
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