Veteran Jess Fishlock in no rush to make decision on Wales future
The 38-year-old stalwart became the first Welsh woman to score a goal at a major tournament in Wednesday night's loss to France, and made more history in St Gallen on Sunday night with the nation's first major-tournament assist, providing the excellent threaded pass for substitute Hannah Cain's late consolation.
Fishlock has come full circle, having made her senior debut for Wales in host country Switzerland as a teenager in 2006 and arriving back here as her side's all-time top goalscorer.
'I don't know right now,' said Fishlock, asked about her future with Wales. 'I think that's a tough one. I need to take a little seat and have a little think, but no decisions are to be made.
'As of right now, I'm still a Welsh player.'
Head coach Rhian Wilkinson largely shouldered the blame for the defeat, also pointing to fitness gaps and lack of regular club minutes for many in her squad, and said it was too soon to be thinking about anyone's longer-term tenure.
'What I've said to all my players is just to take a breath,' said Wilkinson. 'I think we're right in the thick of something, there's so much emotion.
'There were great moments, and there were really hard moments and painful moments and big lessons and things we are excited about, and it's not the time to look at future plans for Jess, for Kayleigh (Barton), for some of our more experienced players.
'I hope that they stick together tonight and that they enjoy one another's company, that they celebrate the moments that they can celebrate.
'Jess has a goal and an assist, Hannah Cain has a goal, and that's what I ask of this team, is that they stick together as a team and are around each other for a while, then bigger life decisions can be made in the future.'
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The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
England cannot afford to ignore their biggest concern at Women's Euro 2025
As Sarina Wiegman got back to England 's Dolder Grand base at around 2am on Friday morning, she found she still couldn't quite think rationally. The quarter-final against Sweden had been too chaotic, too emotional, with the manager even admitting she'd never been in a game like it. And you could easily say that was just the penalties. Some of her relieved players were already reflecting on a hugely difficult night, however. A common line was that 'we should have gone out five times in one game'. There was the early 2-0 deficit, the Hannah Hampton save early in the second half, the fact that they didn't have a midfield in extra-time and then the penalties themselves. Had Swedish goalkeeper Jennifer Falk not taken the final regulation kick, England would likely be on their way home from Euro 2025. It wasn't quite a case of finding a way to win. It was that Sweden somehow lost. All of which goes against the customary narrative in such games, that a resolve was shown. There were some defiant moments, and big challenges, but was this really 'resolve'? Or was it blind luck? England clearly benefited from a lot of the latter. You would even say it of the bounce of some late chances, from Sweden's corners to Michelle Agyemang's equaliser. If it is mostly luck, of course, this isn't necessarily damning in itself. Almost every eventual champion has at least one such game along the way. Spain arguably had it in 2023 with the Netherlands. England themselves had it in Euro 2022 against Spain. The greater question is if there's a pattern. Are England grinding their way through, as we saw in 2023. Or, are they just about surviving until the inevitable? It doesn't help that their performances have oscillated as wildly as the emotional momentum in the quarter-final shoot-out. They're bad when you expect them to be good, and good when you expect them to be bad. Of England's four games, they have only looked convincing against two sides that just weren't near the top level. That is no slight on Wales, since this was their debut tournament and they are developing. The Netherlands, however, were not worthy of the respect they were given before England's 4-0 win. It now looks like there was really little danger at all. And while it can be said that England subjected the Dutch to that, one of the most notable stats in the game was Wiegman's side winning 46 out of 48 duels. That doesn't just come from your own quality. The Dutch were dismal. Against France, it was 37 from 89. And this is where the real concern is. England have looked deeply unconvincing against two sides with high technical quality that knew how to set up against them. That doesn't suggest grinding through. In truth, since the 2023 World Cup match against Nigeria, they have looked increasingly susceptible to high pressing and pace. There isn't really that much speed in Wiegman's team, outside Lauren Hemp. Worse, England seem to have so few solutions when Keira Walsh is pressed. Maybe the biggest worry is that Wiegman has not yet properly responded to any of this, at least in terms of starting line-ups. The performance against Sweden involved all of the same issues as the France game, but also previous defeats to Germany and Australia under Wiegman. It is like England are repeatedly trying to do similar things in the hope they come off, only for the manager to then show her actual tactical aptitude by responding mid-game. This is where Wiegman has shown that nous. Her gamble in the Swedish game, right down to the timing of subs, ultimately paid off. Usually, they would ill-afford another slip as the final gets closer and stakes get higher, but Italy are forgiving opponents for this stage of the competition. They will have seen a blueprint on how to beat England, sure, but they may struggle to sustain the application to fully enact it. This isn't to write Italy off. There's just that sense of a team that has already massively overachieved by getting this far. England have mostly underperformed but are here, as confusing as they are compelling. This is now what Wiegman has to figure out. The video analysis of Sweden, however, may just take some time. It's just as well there are four days until that semi-final.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Renard replacements making mark for France in Euros
France v GermanyDate: Friday, 18 July Kick-off: 20:00 BST Venue: St Jacob-Park, BaselCoverage: Live on BBC Radio Sports Extra (from 19:50 BST). Text commentary and video highlights on the BBC Sport website and app When Wendie Renard was left out of the France squad for Euro 2025, it sent shockwaves through women's all, the 34-year-old centre-back was the country's captain and had a wealth of experience from 168 international caps and a highly decorated club career with Lyon."She is one of the best defenders in the world," said Syanie Dalmat, a reporter for French sports newspaper L'Equipe."Even if she had some injuries, she was always good on the pitch when she played - so the decision was not easy to understand."Instead of Renard, France manager Laurent Bonadei chose to bring four centre-backs who, before the Euros, had made 133 appearances for their country between his plan seems to be paying off in Switzerland as France topped Group D - widely considered the most difficult of the pools - to establish themselves as serious title contenders as they search for a maiden major 21-year-olds - Thiniba Samoura and Alice Sombath - have flourished in Renard's absence, making their mark in the group stage as the more experienced Griedge Mbock and Maelle Lakrar missed out because of injuries."It is their first big competition and I think they've done a very good job. Even if the French conceded a goal in each game, I think there is satisfaction in the defence," Dalmat with Mbock and Lakrar both fit again, who will Bonadei choose for France's quarter-final against Germany? 'Sombath looks the boss' & Samoura 'not afraid of risks' Sombath, who plays alongside Renard for Lyon, has started every game in Switzerland, impressing with her commanding style in France's 2-1 win against defending champions England in their opener."Sombath was incredible against England. She's very young but she's very calm, she's a leader and she's the future of the French team," French football reporter Morgane Huguen added: "She has a tough maturity. She's a young player, but when she plays in central defence she looks like she's the boss." Samoura, meanwhile, has shown her ability with her feet, having played as a centre-midfielder, right-back and centre-back for Paris St-Germain last season."I have athletic and technical qualities. I also try to break the lines. That's what I do best," Samoura explained in a news conference on added: "She can take the ball from the back and break some lines, and she's not afraid of taking some risks with the ball at her feet." But Bonadei, who has been unpredictable with his team selections since taking charge in October, has a decision to make against France boss confirmed in his news conference on Friday that captain Mbock would indeed start, but it remains uncertain who will line up alongside her."Against a team like that, France will need some experience," Dalmat said. "Even if I think Samoura and Sombath have done well, Mbock and Lakrar have much, much more experience, and in a game like this, experience is crucial."Asked whether she was fearful of returning after more than a month out with a calf injury, Mbock said she was "not scared". "I trust my team-mates, I know others can help me and fill any gaps if I lack pace. I am lucky, I am in collective sport, I can count on team-mates," she added. Germany have defensive headache While there is "satisfaction" in the France backline, Germany have a host of defensive problems to eight-time champions' title hopes suffered a huge blow in their opener against Poland as their captain Giulia Gwinn limped off the pitch in tears with a medial ligament injury in her left beating Poland and Denmark, things fell apart for Christian Wuck's side in their final group game against replacement Carlotta Wamser had impressed with a superb assist for Jule Brand for Germany's opener, but the right-back was shown a red card for a goalline block with her hand to deny Stina were 2-1 down at the time, but the resulting penalty and extra-player advantage sent Sweden on their way to a commanding 4-1 will now go into their quarter-final without an obvious replacement for both their first choice and back-up right-back, leaving boss Wuck with a major defensive Kett is likely to make her first start of the tournament, lining up as left-back with Sarai Linder moving to the about Kett, Wuck said: "She's very quick with her left foot, she has incredibly good will and she's able to defeat people in duels."
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
France coach Bonadei not focused on penalties despite England's wild shootout win
BASEL, Switzerland, July 18 (Reuters) - France coach Laurent Bonadei has not given much focus to penalty kicks ahead of his team's quarter-final clash with Germany at Euro 2025 on Saturday, despite the wild shootout between England and Sweden on Thursday. Reigning champions England reached the semi-finals after squeezing past Sweden in an error-filled shootout. "We worked a lot on (penalties) before the 2023 World Cup in a specific way, and this time, I preferred not to overload them with this too much, because we don't know how it happens," Bonadei told reporters. "Last night, we saw players who were really under pressure. And, yes, you can actually put them under pressure during the training, but it's not the same as during the game. When it's the game, when they are tired, when there's a pressure of the audience, maybe it can be completely different. "The players do it in an individual way with their own pace at the end of every session, sometimes they try two, three, four, or five penalties, but it's very difficult to recreate the context of the game." France poured in 11 goals from nine different scorers in their three group games to establish themselves as one of the best attacking teams at Euro 2025. France captain and defender Griedge Mbock is set to return against Germany after being sidelined for a month with a calf injury, and said she is not nervous about kicking off her European campaign in what is sure to be an intense quarter-final. "I'm not scared. I trust my co-players, and I know that even within the pace, I haven't played for one month, but I know that my teammates will be able to help me and to fill the gap, any gap, if I have a lack of pace," she said. "We are a collective and I'm lucky because I'm in this collective sport and I can count on my co-players. This is a real plus. No, I'm not really scared."
