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The Guardian
28 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Why one extra day could be secret to England getting revenge on Spain
What do the past three Women's World Cups, the past three men's World Cups and the past four men's European Championships have in common with this summer's men's Club World Cup? The answer may give England fans an extra glimmer of hope for Sunday's Women's Euro 2025 final because all of those competitions were won by the team who contested the first semi-final, 24 hours earlier than their opponents in the final. Most women's football tournaments used to schedule the semi-finals for the same day but, since that began to change about 20 years ago, it has been a trend in international tournaments for the winners to have come from the first semi-final. As the Lionesses prepare to meet Spain, who came through their semi-final against Germany a day later than England's comeback win over Italy, it begs the question: how much of an advantage could it offer to Sarina Wiegman's team? Darren Robinson, a performance specialist and accredited sports psychologist who holds the Uefa pro licence coaching qualification, told the Guardian: 'Having that extra time, from a physiology point of view, helps with muscle recovery; you'll have a reduction in soreness with an extra 24 hours. Particularly in a multi-sprint sport like football, you do generally have a lot of muscle soreness; it's multi-sprint, multi-turn, jumping, landing and all of these things create extension forces that cause muscle soreness, so that extra 24 hours helps a team be a bit fresher. 'I would suggest one of the benefits England have is resources, with the expertise that comes out of St George's Park and supports the national teams: specialists in recovery, hydration and nutrition, meaning the players should benefit from some of those marginal gains, so the governing body has played its part when they've won games in the dying stages.' England overcame Sweden on penalties in the quarter-finals and Chloe Kelly's 119th-minute goal enabled them to edge past Italy in the semi-finals, setting up a repeat of the 2023 World Cup final in Australia. But in Sydney they were beaten by a Spain side who had played the first semi-final. Excluding the 2017 Women's Euros, when the semi-finals were on the same day, all the past 12 men's or women's Euros or World Cup finals were won by the first semi-finalists. Starting from Women's Euro 2005, 18 of the 20 tournaments have had semi-finals on different days and of those 80% of men's Euros or World Cups and 87.5% of the women's Euros or World Cups were won by the first semi-finalist. Nile Robbins, women's high performance coach at the University of Stirling, told the Guardian: 'How you schedule your sessions and your recovery looks completely different, based on whether you've got three or four days before you play your next game. But sometimes the main impact is not just physical, it's mental. Take Spain v Germany, for example; Germany's quarter-final game will have been far more emotionally and mentally draining than Spain's.' It appears it takes a great team to defy the disadvantage of playing in the second semi-final. Germany's formidable women's team managed it when cruising past England in Euro 2009's final, and the all-conquering Spain men's side managed to win Euro 2008 and 2010's World Cup after playing second, exemplifying their rare excellence, but no other side have managed it in the past 20 years. Many will feel this talented Spain side, full of Barcelona stars, could be another such team capable of defying their shorter turnaround. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion Robinson, who has also held various head of performance roles, mostly in the men's Championship, including at Hull and Birmingham, said: 'The other aspect which will be really important is they're going to play the Spanish, who have controlled and dominated matches. Against a Spanish team capable of dominating possession, you need to be at full capacity.' How teams recover from late-night matches varies, naturally, depending on the coaches and the regime but Robinson says: 'Having protein shakes, hydration and carbohydrate replenishment, within the dressing room, that would start instantly after a game and the first 20 minutes are crucial, replenishing that lost energy. 'The challenge of course is after sport your appetite is suppressed, and particularly after a big game you're celebrating and having something to eat or drink is the last thing that you want. And you can't treat the whole group the same. While you're piling food into the starting XI, you don't want the players who didn't play overeating. That's why the culture and the discipline is so important. On the day after a game, we would definitely promote active recovery, so it could be things like going in the pool or jogging, exercise bikes or go for a walk together as a team.' As some England players walked near their hotel on a hillside in Zurich on Thursday, perhaps their confidence grew, knowing that Spain also played 120 minutes in their semi-final. But Robbins, who has also worked at the University of Glasgow, says: 'All of these things don't automatically mean England will win but it does mean that they have those little advantages, and when the differences at the top level are so small, as little as 1% can make a huge difference.'
BBC News
9 hours ago
- BBC News
Mount says Man Utd should aim for European return
Qualifying for Europe is "the focus" for Manchester United this season says midfielder Mason 2025-26 campaign will be only the second season without European football for United since English clubs were banned by Uefa in the 1980s following the Heysel stadium 15th-place league finish last season and Europa League final defeat by Tottenham meant there will be no European matches at Old Trafford for the first time since 14-15."Europe is a massive, massive thing for us," Mount said."The Champions League would be amazing for us and as a group we want to be playing in that competition."But I'd say Europe. I think that's the focus." Ruben Amorim's side need to improve on their 24-25 performance, when they finished 23 points behind seventh-placed Nottingham Forest, who took up the last of the European qualifying places based on a league have already spent more than £125m to bring in forwards Matheus Cunha from Wolves and Bryan Mbeumo from also continue to be linked with strikers, with Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins' the most recent subject of speculation following suggestions of a move for Chelsea's Nicolas rumours involved out-of-favour winger Alejandro Garnacho going the other sources are adamant no deal is imminent, with Villa privately saying Watkins is going club have travelled to the Unired States for their three-match Premier League Summer Series campaign featuring games against West Ham, Bournemouth and the meantime, Garnacho and fellow outcasts Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia are training with club staff at United's Carrington training Betis are still keen to bring Antony back to the club after last season's successful loan spell, while Juventus are keen on Sancho but need to create room in their squad before they can pursue any deal.
The National
10 hours ago
- The National
Reason for Shin Yamada Celtic absence after being named as sub
The Japanese striker had been listed in the Celtic squad but his name was then removed from the team news graphic on social media. Shin travelled with Celtic to Como and was involved in training ahead of the fixture, but was prevented from playing due to a registration issue. Rodgers revealed that Celtic were only made aware of the problem an hour ahead of kick-off with the match against Ajax, an official UEFA fixture. Read more: "Late on, we were told he wasn't registered," explained Rodgers. "He couldn't play in the game. It was a UEFA game. "I think we thought it would be through, he came with us and travelled, but then late on, an hour before the game, we were told he wasn't [able to play]." Quizzed on whether Shin could feature against Al Ahli on Saturday in the third-place match, Rodgers added: "We hope so. "Hopefully, for the player. Let's see how that goes tomorrow."
