Thursday's briefing: Lionesses roar back and PSG continue to look the real deal

Glasgow Times

4 days ago

Paris St Germain will take on Chelsea in the Club World Cup final at the weekend while there was some exciting news for Manchester United and a setback for Crystal Palace.
Lionesses bite back
The pass. The finish. 😍
A beautiful strike from Lauren James to give us the lead 🤌 pic.twitter.com/5J7esOthn1
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) July 9, 2025
Lauren James' double helped England secure a resounding 4-0 victory over the Netherlands in Zurich to keep their European Championship title defence alive.
Defeat to France in the tournament opener had all-but ensured the Lionesses would need three points to avoid crashing out at the group stage and, with Prince William in attendance at the Stadion Letzigrund, James got them off to a great start with a stunning 22nd-minute opener.
Alessia Russo earned the assist and added another when Georgia Stanway doubled England's lead in first-half stoppage time before James made it three on the hour.
Ella Toone, the lone fresh face in Sarina Wiegman's starting XI, got on the scoresheet seven minutes later with a fourth, ensuring England – who will finish the group stage against tournament newcomers Wales – are now in prime position to punch their ticket to the quarter-finals.
France are set to go through as group winners after a 4-1 win over Wales, who are on the verge of going home.
PSG masterclass downs Madrid
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 @ChelseaFC 🆚 @PSG_inside 🇫🇷🗓️ Sunday 13th July 2025🏟️ MetLife Stadium
— FIFA Club World Cup (@FIFACWC) July 9, 2025
European champions Paris St Germain produced a blistering performance to power into the Club World Cup final with a 4-0 rout of Real Madrid.
A one-sided semi-final in New York on Wednesday was effectively settled inside the opening 24 minutes as Fabian Ruiz struck twice either side of an Ousmane Dembele effort.
Spanish giants Real had no answer to the rampant Champions League winners, who added a fourth goal at the MetLife Stadium late on through Goncalo Ramos.
PSG – who will play Chelsea in Sunday's final – were every bit as hot as the temperature, which reached 32C during the game.
Lord Coe to lead Old Trafford regeneration
Lord Sebastian Coe will lead the development of Manchester United's new stadium (Mike Egerton/PA)
Lord Sebastian Coe has been given a leading role in delivering Manchester United's new stadium.
Lord Coe, who chaired London's 2012 Olympic and Paralympic bid, has been appointed as chair-designate of the Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) for the Old Trafford Regeneration project.
The former International Olympic Committee president previously chaired a task force set up by United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to look at stadium options for United amid a wider regeneration of the surrounding area.
He will now play a key part in the development of the 100,000-seater stadium, which Ratcliffe wants to be the 'Wembley of the north'.
Ancelotti handed prison sentence
Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti is unlikely to serve a custodial sentence (Bradley Collyer/PA)
Brazil head coach Carlo Ancelotti has been sentenced to a year in prison for tax evasion, Spanish news agency EFE has reported.
The 66-year-old Italian has also been fined 386,361.93 Euros – around £333,000 – for failing to pay tax on revenue raised from his image rights during his first spell as Real Madrid manager between 2013 and 2015.
However, it appears unlikely that Ancelotti will serve jail time as non-violent crimes committed by defendants who have no previous convictions are often met with suspended sentences.
Palace's hopes hang in the balance
Nous restons en Ligue 1 🔴🔵
L'Olympique Lyonnais se félicite de la décision, rendue ce jour par la DNCG, de maintenir le Club en Ligue 1.
— Olympique Lyonnais (@OL) July 9, 2025
Lyon have won their appeal against relegation to the French second division, a decision which puts Crystal Palace's participation in next season's Europa League in major doubt.
Palace thought they had secured a place in Europe's second-tier club competition thanks to their FA Cup final win over Manchester City in May but uncertainty quickly arose as to whether they would be allowed to enter due to UEFA's multi-club ownership rules.
Outgoing Palace shareholder John Textor has an interest in French club Lyon, who qualified for the same competition.
Lyon had reached a settlement with UEFA agreeing to be excluded from European competitions next season if their relegation was confirmed on appeal, a move which would almost certainly have meant Palace could play in the Europa League.
However, Lyon's success and higher league position means Palace are set to be moved down to the Conference League. Sources close to UEFA had previously indicated that Nottingham Forest would take the English spot in the Europa League vacated by Palace.
What's on today
Group A comes to a conclusion on Thursday (Nick Potts/PA)
The group stages of Euro 2025 continues as Group A concludes with hosts Switzerland taking on Finland and Norway playing Iceland.
Elsewhere, the early qualifiers for the Europa League and Europa Conference League kick off, with St Patrick's Athletic and Northern Irish side Larne in action.