Beth Mead will miss the Women's World Cup unless "a miracle happens", according to England head coach Sarina Wiegman.

The Arsenal forward suffered an anterior cruciate ligament knee injury in November and has not played since.

Such injuries are long-term setbacks, and it was the cruellest of blows for Mead, coming so soon after she played a starring role in England's Euro 2022 triumph.

Mead won the Player of the Tournament award and the Golden Boot as hosts England swept to glory, edging out Germany 2-1 in the Wembley Stadium final on July 31.

The 27-year-old former Sunderland striker would have been central to England's plans for this year's global tournament, which is being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand in July and August.

Wiegman believes there is next to no chance of Mead being fit to feature for the Lionesses, however.

Speaking in a press conference on Tuesday, Wiegman said of Mead: "I had a conversation with her. She's doing well. She's in rehab and she's doing good.

"But the World Cup is actually too early, so what we said now is she's not in our plans now.

"[She should] just really take the time to get back well, but if a miracle happens and she goes so fast we will reconsider it, but at this moment I don't expect that."

England have home friendlies against Australia and Brazil in April as they build towards the focal point of the year.

There are also worries over Chelsea forward Fran Kirby, who is sidelined with a knee injury of her own, albeit not one as serious as the one Mead sustained.

"Of course I'm concerned because she's been out for a while now," Wiegman said. "But I want to keep this opportunity open, and she'll be treated as we treat anyone else.

"Hopefully she gets fit, gets on the pitch, gets playing, and then you need to show performance and fitness. It's a little concern, but also don't think too much forward, just see how she progresses."

Salma Paralluelo scored the only goal of the game as Barcelona edged Roma 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico in the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League.

The 19-year-old curled a left-footed effort from outside the box to beat Camelia Ceasar after 34 minutes, after the Roma goalkeeper had frustrated the visitors with a number of fine saves.

Last season's runners-up could not extend their advantage in the second half, while Roma failed to convert a number of chances in the latter stages to pull the tie level.

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It's advantage Barcelona after a narrow win in Rome #UWCL

— UEFA Women’s Champions League (@UWCL) March 21, 2023

Elsewhere, Arsenal were frustrated at Allianz Arena by Bayern Munich and suffered a 1-0 loss despite dominating proceedings.

The Gunners saw efforts from Stina Blackstenius and Leah Williamson cleared off the line as they peppered the hosts' goal with 25 shots – though only six were on target.

Lea Schuller's 39th-minute header proved decisive, with Jonas Eidevall's side needing a turnaround in the second leg if they are to reach the semi-finals for the first time in a decade.

Leah Williamson toasted an end to Arsenal's trophy drought as England's Euro 2022 captain helped the Gunners topple Chelsea in the Women's League Cup final.

The leader of the Lionesses is vice-captain of Arsenal, with the 25-year-old having been part of the side that won the 2018-19 Women's Super League.

Sunday's success at Selhurst Park was the first silverware the team have won since that league championship, with captain Kim Little scoring from the spot in a 3-1 win over Emma Hayes' Blues.

Australia star Sam Kerr headed Chelsea into a second-minute lead, with the side from west London looking to follow up their FA Cup victory over Arsenal from seven days earlier.

However, Arsenal turned it around, with Swedish forward Stina Blackstenius slotting a 16th-minute equaliser before Scottish midfielder Little netted a penalty eight minutes later after Katie McCabe was tripped.

An own goal from Niamh Charles in first-half stoppage time turned out to be the game's final goal, giving Arsenal a record-extending sixth triumph in the competition.

Williamson said of the result: "I feel good, you've got to break the chain at some point so today was that day."

Satisfied skipper Little told BBC Sport: "I'm so proud of the team. Off the back of last week's result we needed to turn it around, and we had a good week's training and talked about a lot of things we needed to be better at.

"I was thinking after they scored, 'what could we have done to stop that?', because it was such a good goal. But because it was so early we just needed to reset and we did that, and the rest of our first-half performance was pretty special and that's what won us the match today.

"We want to win trophies, and we're disappointed in ourselves that we've not done that before now, but here it is, and I'm just happy and proud of the girls."

Arsenal edged the game by 1.56 to 1.20 on expected goals, despite having just eight goal attempts to 14 by Chelsea.

Head coach Jonas Eidevall, who has delivered silverware just 18 months into his reign, gave his coat away after the game to a fan who had offered the team encouragement after the FA Cup loss to Chelsea.

The Swedish coach explained to arsenal.com: "I said, 'People like you are what make this football club great. Your optimism gives me energy, and I can give that back to the team and it can help our performance. So, you come here and do the same thing next Sunday and we win, you’ll get my coat.'

"I’m very happy for him, very happy for us and now I just need to sort out a new coat."

Emma Hayes felt Chelsea showed "the mentality of champions" to overcome fellow heavyweights Arsenal 2-0 in the Women's FA Cup on Sunday.

The crisis in the men's team has not proven contagious, with Hayes' women staying on course for a possible domestic treble by booking a quarter-final place.

Goals from Sophie Ingle in the 21st minute and Sam Kerr in the 56th minute, both measured finishes from inside the penalty area, meant the cup derby spoils went to the Blues at Kingsmeadow.

In the Women's Super League, Chelsea sit a point behind Manchester United but have a game in hand, while Hayes' side will face Arsenal again next week in the WSL Cup final.

Back on duty after the international break, Hayes was delighted her travel-weary players found enough to end the FA Cup hopes of the Gunners.

Hayes told BBC Two: "That's the mentality of champions. It's not pretty, it was sluggish, a lot of technical errors, but tactically they carried out everything I asked of them.

"There's two good teams. Both are going to create chances, and we were clinical."

Asked what pleased her the most about Chelsea's impressive display, Hayes said: "It's always mentality: when your legs are heavy, your brain's tired, the commitment to stay in the game and take your chances in the right moment.

"Look at the players out there . Across the team I thought it was a resilient performance and comfortable, even though we didn't have much of the ball in the second half. That was intentional."

Two of the favourites for the Women's Champions League will face each other in the quarter-finals as holders Lyon were drawn against Chelsea.

The 2021-22 runners-up Barcelona will take on Roma in the last eight, while Paris Saint-Germain play Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich come up against Arsenal.

The first legs are scheduled for March 21 and 22, with the return fixtures a week later.

The semi-final draw was also made on Friday, with the winners of PSG and Wolfsburg set to face the winners of Bayern and Arsenal, while the winners of Lyon and Chelsea will go up against the winners of Barca and Roma.

Eindhoven will host the final on June 3.

Sarina Wiegman is not making any early call on Beth Mead's involvement in this year's Women's World Cup.

Mead won the Player of the Tournament award and the Golden Boot as England celebrated an historic triumph at their home Women's Euro 2022.

The Arsenal striker also finished in second place in last year's Ballon d'Or Feminin voting and would have a key role to play for Wiegman's Lionesses in Australia and New Zealand in July.

But Mead's status ahead of the finals is uncertain as she continues her recovery from an ACL tear in November.

As Wiegman named her latest England squad on Tuesday, she was asked if consideration had been given to plans that did not include Mead.

But featuring at the World Cup remains a target for the 27-year-old.

"It's a little early to say. I don't want to push it. She's had so many things going on," Wiegman said of Mead, whose mother died last year from ovarian cancer.

"We'll see how her rehabilitation goes, then we'll look at the future. I don't want her to look too far forward right now because of her situation.

"She had of course other private issues. I left the knee situation until now as I just wanted her to be okay and get settled with the situation and sadness she had around her.

"She told me she's doing well. She really wants to make [the World Cup]. First, she needs to settle and we will see from there. For now, I won't push that."

Liverpool defender and Women's Super League (WSL) record appearance maker Gilly Flaherty has announced her retirement from playing at the age of 31 for family reasons.

Flaherty made 177 WSL appearances with Arsenal, Chelsea, West Ham and Liverpool, whom she joined last July.

She brings down the curtain on a career that saw her win four WSL titles, seven Women's FA Cups and the Women's Champions League in 2007.

London-born Flaherty, who also won nine caps for England, took the decision to hang up her boots following the recent death of her father.
 

"It isn't a decision I've taken lightly but one I've reached after speaking with those closest to me," she said in a statement published on Liverpool's official website on Thursday.

"Losing my dad just before Christmas has left me heartbroken – for 22 years we shared our love of football and playing-wise I don't want to carry on without him by my side.

"Playing-wise, I know the right decision is for me to call it a day. The time is right for me to be around my family and to be nearest to those closest to me."

Former West Ham captain Flaherty's final WSL appearance came against the Hammers in a 2-0 win for Liverpool last month.

Jordan Nobbs has been backed to "cement her place" in the England team after ending a 12-year Arsenal career by making a surprise move to Aston Villa.

The 69-cap midfielder is a former Lionesses vice-captain whose career has been hit by knee and ankle injuries in recent seasons.

The switch to Women's Super League rivals Villa, announced on Thursday, gives Nobbs a fresh start as she seeks regular club football.

Nobbs was recalled by Sarina Wiegman to the England squad after missing the Euro 2022 win through injury, and the 30-year-old has now signed an 18-month deal with Villa, hoping it will be the springboard to a key role with the Lionesses at the 2023 World Cup.

Daughter of former Hartlepool defender Keith Nobbs, Nobbs joined Arsenal from Sunderland in August 2010 and won WSL titles in 2011, 2012 and 2019 with the Gunners, also winning the Women's FA Cup four times.

She hit 81 goals in 270 games for Arsenal, the north London club said.

Villa manager Carla Ward said: "This is a big signing for us and Jordan is one of the country's most decorated footballers. She's a winner and will bring a wealth of experience that her new team-mates will thrive off."

Ward told Villa's website: "We're delighted to secure her signature and we hope this move can help the football club as well as cement her place back in the international set-up."

Arsenal sporting director Edu described Nobbs as "a wonderful servant" to the club who had "written her name into the Arsenal history books".

Frida Maanum scored a hat-trick as Arsenal stormed through to the Women's Champions League quarter-finals as Group C winners with a resounding 9-1 rout of Zurich.

Jonas Eidevall's side were already assured of a place in the knockout stages, but ran riot nevertheless at Wefox Arena to ensure they would be seeded in the last eight.

Along with Maanum's treble, Caitlin Foord and Stina Blackstenius both scored a brace, while further strikes from Kim Little and Mana Iwabuchi completed the scoring.

"We scored some really good goals, and I'm happy to have got my hat-trick," Maanum told UEFA.com. "It's easier when you're surrounded by really good players. This is a nice early Christmas present, for sure!"

Arsenal were joined in the quarter-finals by Lyon, who are through to the last eight for the 14th time in 16 seasons after snatching second place in Group C with a goalless draw against Juventus.

Elsewhere, Barcelona ensured they advanced to the knockout stages as Group D winners following a thumping 6-0 victory over Rosengard.

Though already guaranteed progression beyond the group phase, Barca were in no forgiving mood as Asisat Oshoala scored twice with Mapi Leon, Fridolina Rolfo, Marta Torrejon and Irene Paredes also on target.

That took their goal tally to 29 - the highest in any Women's Champions League group stage - and meant Bayern Munich had to settle for second place despite Klara Buhl's double in a 2-0 win over Benfica.

Vivianne Miedema feels "gutted" to have ruptured her ACL after lightning struck twice for Arsenal, with the Netherlands striker suffering the same cruel knee injury as her partner Beth Mead.

Arsenal and Miedema confirmed the striker's setback on Monday, with the club saying the WSL's all-time record goalscorer faces an "extended" lay-off, just like Mead who sustained the same blow in November.

Both could now miss the Women's World Cup, which will be hosted by Australia and New Zealand in July and August next year.

Miedema appears to have counted herself out of the reckoning for that tournament, four days after the injury occurred in a European clash with Lyon.

She said: "It was one of those moments, where I knew straight away. So many things going through your head: I won't be able to help my team anymore this season, no World Cup, surgery and rehab for a long time."

She expects "plenty of difficult days" and said there had already been tears.

The anterior cruciate ligament injury is one that requires surgery and a long recovery period, and Arsenal's hopes in this season's Women's Super League and Women's Champions League have taken a fresh hit with the loss of Miedema so soon after Mead's setback.

Mead posted a message of support to her 26-year-old girlfriend and team-mate, saying: "STRONGER TOGETHER! I was given sympathy for 3 weeks and now she has to go get some of her own but we got this, YOU got this."

England international Mead joked that there would be "two new signings incoming", but the jollity masks a bitter reality for Arsenal, both players, and their national teams.

Arsenal said in a statement: "We can confirm that Vivianne Miedema suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament during our UEFA Women's Champions League match against Lyon at Emirates Stadium on Thursday.

"Viv will undergo surgery in the coming days and will unfortunately be ruled out for an extended period of time. A more detailed timescale will be established once the operation is complete.

"Everyone at Arsenal wishes Viv well in her recovery and will be providing her with all the support she needs to return to action as soon as possible."

England's Euro 2022-winning forward Beth Mead has signed a new contract with Arsenal, the Gunners have confirmed.

Mead was named Player of the Tournament after top scoring with six goals as Sarina Wiegman's Lionesses won the Women's Euros on home soil earlier this year.

Mead is currently sidelined after rupturing her anterior cruciate ligament in a Women's Super League defeat to Manchester United last month and will spend an "extended period" out of action.

Having put pen to paper on her new deal – the length of which was not disclosed, Mead targeted a successful return in the coming months.

"I'm so happy to have signed a new deal with Arsenal," she told the club's website. "This club is home for me.

"I've grown so much here as a player and a person and I know we can achieve so much more together in the years to come. 

"I want to compete to win the biggest trophies in the game and I know that the ambitions at Arsenal match my own, so I can't wait to get back onto the pitch and help to deliver the success our supporters deserve."

Mead recorded 33 goal involvements (14 goals, 19 assists) in 40 appearances for Arsenal last season and was named England Women's Player of the Year for the campaign.

Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall said: "It's wonderful news that we have agreed a new deal with Beth. She is a world-class footballer and has proven that on the biggest stage of them all. 

"I have so much admiration for the way she has handled success and adversity on and off the pitch over the past few years, and I'm sure she will approach the next few months with the positive attitude we all know Beth for."

Arsenal secured a place in the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League despite a 1-0 defeat to Lyon on Thursday, in a game overshadowed by Vivianne Miedema suffering a potentially serious knee injury.

Gunners defender Frida Maanum put through her own net on the stroke of half-time to hand the reigning champions victory at the Emirates Stadium, leaving both sides on 10 points in Group C.

Jonas Eidevall's team knew they would qualify with anything less than a four-goal loss after establishing a head-to-head advantage by hammering Lyon 5-1 away from home in October.

However, the sight of a distressed Miedema leaving the field on a stretcher after appearing to catch her studs in the turf will provide cause for concern.

Miedema – the Champions League's top goalscorer in the 2016-17 and 2019-20 campaigns – has hit the net twice in the competition this season.

In Group C's other fixture, a four-goal haul from Cristiana Girelli helped Juventus profit from Irina Pando's red card in a 5-0 win over Zurich, teeing up a winner-take-all meeting with Lyon next week.

Meanwhile, Barcelona and Bayern Munich both ensured qualification from Group D, with the Spanish champions doing so in emphatic fashion with a 6-2 rout of Benfica.

Bayern joined them in racking up the goals with a 4-0 win at Rosengard, as Georgia Stanway joined Tainara, Sydney Lohmann and Julia Landenberger on the scoresheet.

Arsenal forward Vivianne Miedema did not feel "appreciated as a woman footballer" at this year's Ballon d'Or awards.

The prestigious awards, organised by France Football magazine, celebrate the best footballers in the world. 

Of the seven trophies handed out at the 2022 ceremony, just one was dedicated to women's football – the Ballon d'Or Feminin, which was awarded to Alexia Putellas.

Netherlands international Miedema did not feel comfortable at this year's ceremony and has called on organisers to introduce the same categories for male and female players.

"I didn't feel appreciated as a woman footballer there," she told the BBC's Behind the Goals podcast.

"If they want to have women involved, they have to do it in a different way.

"They had five or six different awards for the men's game while the women only have one. If they want to make it equal, they have to give the same awards to men's and women's football."

Arsenal forward Beth Mead was second to Putellas in the award for best female player in the world. 

Miedema is in a relationship with her Gunners team-mate and they attended the ceremony together, yet a caption on a picture of the pair stated that Miedema was with a nameless "guest".

While Miedema says they can now laugh at the faux pas, it also highlighted the difference between men's and women's football. 

"Waking up the next morning and that picture pops up, that states the issue we had the night before," she added.

"We've got the number two from that year, who should arguably have been number one, turning up to the event as 'my guest'.

"That would obviously never happen if [Lionel] Messi and Neymar had been walking next to each other.

"We obviously joke about it, but that shows there are so many improvements to be made, it needs to be organised so much better."

Arsenal moved closer to the Women's Champions League quarter-finals after edging Juventus in north London, while Bayern Munich trumped Barcelona in impressive fashion.

The Women's Super League outfit preserved their unbeaten record in Group C through Vivianne Miedema's lone finish, to take a 1-0 win over the Italian giants and cement their hold on the pool.

Defeat for Joe Montemurro's side means reigning champions Lyon have vaulted them into second place after another comfortably victory over Zurich.

Melvine Malard's double was sandwiched by goals for Lindsey Horan and Delphine Cascarino in a 4-0 win, to inject further life into a campaign that saw them go winless over their first two matches.

Last season's beaten finalists Barca were meanwhile handed a first loss of the tournament, as Bayern claimed revenge for their prior loss with a 3-1 triumph.

Both sides now sit atop Group D with nine points, three ahead of third-placed Benfica, who kept pace with a 3-1 win of their own over Rosengard.

Barcelona seized control of Group D in the Women's Champions League by thrashing Bayern Munich 3-0 in front of a crowd of 46,967 – a new group-stage record.

Second-half goals from Geyse, Aitana Bonmati and Claudia Pina helped Jonatan Giraldez's team maintain their perfect record in the competition on Thursday, as well as ending that of Bayern.

The Camp Nou crowd – which surpassed the competition's previous group-stage record of 18,341 by a considerable margin – had to remain patient for the opener, but the Blaugrana were good value for their win after Brazil international Geyse broke the deadlock.

The result moved Barca three points clear of their opponents as well as maintaining their six-point advantage over Benfica, who beat Rosengard 1-0 courtesy of Cloe Lacasse's goal.

Meanwhile, Arsenal maintained their narrow lead at the top of Group C with a 1-1 draw against Juventus, who remain two points behind the Gunners after surrendering a second-half lead.

Lineth Beerensteyn put the hosts ahead shortly after the break, but fellow Netherlands international Vivianne Miedema nodded home from a corner nine minutes later to keep the visitors top.

Reigning champions Lyon also remain in fierce contention for a quarter-final spot after cruising to a 3-0 win at Zurich, moving them to within a point of second-placed Juve.

Signe Bruun added two goals after Melvine Malard headed in an early opener, helping the eight-time champions to their first Champions League win of the season.