Latest news with #JessPark
Daily Mail
03-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Spain 2-1 England: Lionesses' Nations League hopes over as Sarina Wiegman's side are outclassed by world champions ahead of Euros
England suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Spain to end their hopes of Nations League glory. A late brace from Claudia Pina ensured the world champions got the better of Sarina Wiegman 's side in the Lionesses penultimate game ahead of their summer European Championship title defence. Despite having already secured a top-two finish in the group – and with it, qualification for the top tier of Europe's World Cup qualifiers – England were outclassed on the night by a dominant Spanish side in humid conditions at Espanyol's stadium. Although technically a Nations League match, much of the pre-game focus centred on what this fixture truly represented: a dress rehearsal between two of the favourites for this summer's Euros. With Sarina Wiegman set to name her final squad on Thursday, it also marked a last audition for several players. And there's plenty of history between these two heavyweights, not least England's haunting one-goal defeat to them in the 2023 World Cup final. More recently, the Lionesses claimed a measure of revenge with a 1-0 win at Wembley in February, thanks to Jess Park's first-half strike. But in front of a partisan crowd in Catalonia, Spain took control early and never truly let go. They fired 18 shots to England's four, dominating possession and territory. Hannah Hampton made a wonderful reflex save to deny the hosts an early opener. Against the run of play, the Lionesses stole the lead. Spain's players and coaches were still calling for the referee to blow her whistle for a foul after Salma Paralluelo had been taken to ground by Niamh Charles when Keira Walsh threaded a pass through to Alessia Russo. The striker, back leading the line after missing the Portugal game, charged towards the Spanish goal and fired past Cata Coll into the bottom right-hand corner – a fitting way to mark her 50th England appearance. Replays showed the contact on Paralluelo was minimal, and there was no VAR to suggest otherwise as whistles reverberated around the stadium. Charles found herself drawing further ire from the home support moments later when a ball into the box rebounded off her hand. Again, the referee wanted nothing to do with it, and play continued. Sarina Wiegman brought on Aston Villa's 24-year-old midfielder Missy Bo Kearns for her England debut at half-time, deeming 45 minutes enough for Georgia Stanway – who has steadily been regaining minutes over these past two games after six months away with injury. The second half continued much as the first had done, with Spain dominating the ball and having the lion's share of the chances. After fifteen minutes, both Wiegman and Spain's coach Montse Tome looked to their subs bench to make a change. On came Chloe Kelly and Jess Carter, while Pina replaced Salma Paralluelo for Spain. And it was the 23-year-old Pina who turned the screw, driving in an effort from close range after mere seconds on the pitch to draw the scores level. The Barcelona forward – who scored three against Hampton during the Catalan club's 8-2 rout of Chelsea across the two Champions League semi-final legs – came back to haunt the shot-stopper once again, firing a second past her from over 20 yards out, sending the Spanish support wild.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Smoke cannons and 'ginga' - the World Sevens kicks off
Smoke cannons blasting off behind the goal, live music bursting out from a DJ set during corners and free shirts being thrown to fans at half-time - this was not the usual experience Europe's top female footballers are accustomed to."Carnage. Just chaos," said Manchester United manager Marc Skinner, fresh from his side's 3-2 win over Roma in Women's World Sevens kicked off in Estoril on Wednesday with Manchester United and Manchester City among the eight clubs new seven-a-side competition has a prize money pool of $5m (£3.76m) - more than what the Women's Champions League winners will earn three days later in rolling substitutes, no offsides and 15-minute halves, it's a format that brings out flair and creativity, as well as attacking international Jess Park began lighting things up when she nutmegged a player to earn a corner, prompting the DJ as she prepared the set-piece in Manchester City's opening 4-0 win over duo Celin Bizet and Grace Clinton took the fun to another level shortly afterwards, chest bumping in celebration after England midfielder Clinton's clever chip drew gasps from the 200-odd fans watching on in the the time Bayern Munich came on, beating Ajax 4-2, players were full of fun and energy - Norwegian defender Tuva Hansen even whipping off her shirt to celebrate in Chloe Kelly style after scoring a rare goal."I really enjoyed it. I think the Roma players took it a bit more seriously than us! We had loads of fun," said United's Clinton."We've all come here as a team. We didn't really know what to expect. This is what we want to do in training every day. We really embraced it."It's a lot more high-intensity but also free. It's very unpredictable because you don't know where the ball will go. It's more enjoyable I would say." 'I like the ginga - we like these vibes' Games are being played at the Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota - a 5,000-capacity ground in Estoril - but it was transformed for the World 20:30 BST on Saturday, following Estoril men's 4-0 win over Estrela, stands were built, TV cameras put in place and large screens put match schedule was shuffled after United's men reached the Europa League final - which they lost 1-0 to Tottenham on Wednesday - so Skinner's side played earlier at the World Sevens to avoid a initially came in slowly, with little more than 100 watching City's win over Rosengard, but alcoholic drinks were flowing as more came throughout the night, filling a stand on the far side before Paris St-Germain's 2-1 win over Benfica."It is interesting. It is something different. The stadium looks nice," said City fan Leanne Woodall, who travelled out to Charlotte Wilkins added: "I play seven-a-side football so I was really excited to see how the professional players did it and the tactics they used."We couldn't find where we needed to go when we first got here, but now we're in, it's really good and there's good vibes so far. It's exciting."Organisers hope to fill the arena on Friday when the semi-finals and final will be played and more fans fly out to Portugal in anticipation of Saturday's Champions League final between Barcelona and Arsenal (17:00 BST).But first impressions from the players were certainly positive."It was so nice, I was really sad it was only one game today, I could play all day like this," said Roma's Hawa Cissoko."I think we took the game a bit more seriously at the beginning than Manchester United, they arrived on the pitch really [relaxed]. "Them doing this made me think 'we are here to have fun'. We were doing this when we were kids. It makes me feel a bit like [I did] 10 years ago. That's so nice."Manchester City interim manager Nick Cushing said the style of football was how they "believe the game should be played".Brazil forward Kerolin added: "I liked a lot the music. In Portugal the weather is really nice so everyone is like 'OK, we like these vibes'. "Of course we want to win and get some money! But it's a little bit Brazilian I think. I like the ginga [an informal Brazilian term for expression of creativity with agility and trickery]."I want to get back those things and be a little bit brave. Today I was a little bit unsure - but it will come." 'Good opportunity to show Swedish football' Clubs' participation in the tournament has been controversial, with some questioning the timing and the risk of injury with Euro 2025 starting on 2 face BK Hacken in the Swedish league on Saturday (14:00 BST) but travelled to Estoril to take part."We had some reactions in Sweden, that we came here, because we have a game," said Rosengard midfielder Emelia Larsson."For us, it's like taking a break from all of it. You miss a training week, but if you put that aside, I think it's just really fun to be here. "It's a good opportunity to show ourselves and show Swedish football."Manager Joel Kjetselberg said it was good practise to prepare for Champions League football, for which they would travel midweek, in between weekend held around five training sessions to prepare for the World Sevens, while United had one. "We would only be doing this in training all week anyway," said United's Clinton."If we were going into the next England camp, we would all have just been doing small-sided games anyway. "This is probably a better outcome and gives us more fitness." Head here to get involved
BBC News
02-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
How it stands as Women's Nations League returns
The Women's Nations League is back this week with England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland all having two more were mixed fortunes in February's opening two rounds of fixtures as England gained a win and a draw, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland both secured one victory and one loss, while Scotland and Wales are yet to pick up a next round of games takes place on Friday, 4 April, with the nations also in action four days later on 8 Sport takes a look at the competition so far, what is up for grabs in the tournament and how England and Wales' preparations are going for this summer's Euros in Switzerland. What is the Women's Nations League? The league was launched in 2023, with the first edition offering qualification spots for the 2025 Women's European have been placed into groups of three or four teams, across three different leagues, with promotion and relegation between the leagues depending on the match there's a lot at are not only competing for the Nations League title, but their finishing position will also determine where they start in the league system for the European qualifiers for the 2027 Women's World Cup. What has happened so far? Next fixtures? Scotland, England and Wales are all in the top league - League has been a tough start for Scotland in Group A1, as they have suffered two narrow defeats - 1-0 in Austria and then 2-1 at home to the Netherlands, who are on four points and level with leaders have two tough matches coming up against a German side ranked number three in the world, starting at home at Dundee United's Tannadice Park on 4 April, before an away game in Wolfsburg on 8 have made a strong start in Group A2, with two home wins, beating Norway 1-0 and Iceland matches in Group A1 and A2Group A1: 4 April - Scotland v Germany, Netherlands v Austria; 8 April - Germany v Scotland, Austria v A2: 4 April - Iceland v Norway, Switzerland v France; 8 April - Iceland v Switzerland, Norway v France. England began their Group A3 campaign with an underwhelming 1-1 draw in Portugal, but looked closer to their best in their next match as Jess Park scored the only goal in a superb 1-0 win at Wembley over reigning world champions Lionesses, who will attempt to defend their European title in Switzerland this summer, will play bottom-placed Belgium twice in April, at Bristol City's Ashton Gate on 4 April before the away game four days who are preparing to compete in their first major women's tournament this summer, lost 1-0 in Italy in their first Group A4 they responded with an an impressive 1-1 draw at home against Sweden, who are ranked sixth in the world, courtesy of Kayleigh Barton's penalty equaliser to earn their first Welsh entertain Denmark at the Cardiff City Stadium on 4 April, before playing Sweden in Gothenburg on 8 matches in Group A3 and A4Group A3: 4 April - Portugal v Spain, England v Belgium; 8 April - Spain v Portugal, Belgium v A4: 4 April - Sweden v Italy, Wales v Denmark; 8 April - Denmark v Italy, Sweden v Wales. In Group B1, Northern Ireland started off with a 2-0 loss in Poland and were heading for another defeat before two late goals from Simone Magill gave them a dramatic 3-2 win over Oxtoby's side now have two matches against Romania, who have lost both their opening two games. The away game takes place on 4 April, before Romania come to Windsor Park on 8 Ward's reign as the Republic of Ireland manager got off to a winning start in Group B2 with a 1-0 home win over Turkey, but they suffered a 4-0 thrashing in Slovenia in their following game. Greece away comes next with the reverse tie in Dublin four days matches in Group B1 and B2Group B1: 4 April - Poland v Bosnia-Herzegovina, Romania v Northern Ireland; 8 April - Northern Ireland v Romania, Bosnia-Herzegovina v B2: 4 April - Greece v Republic of Ireland, Slovenia v Turkey; 8 April - Turkey v Slovenia, Republic of Ireland v Greece. How does the league work? Teams were placed in each league based on their rankings at the end of the 2024 women's European qualifying league four League A group winners will meet in the semi-finals, followed by a third-place play-off and a final which crowns the Nations League winner. These will be played over two teams who finish fourth in each League A group will be relegated to League B, and the League B group winners will be group winner of League C will be promoted to League B, with the teams finishing at the bottom of League B, as well as two of the lowest ranked third-placed teams, dropping to League won the inaugural Women's Nations League title in 2024, claiming their second major trophy in six months. How can teams qualify for Women's World Cup? The group standings at the end of the Nations League determine which teams are placed in each league for the European qualifiers for the 2027 Women's World will be another draw in November 2025 to decide the groups within the three teams who finish in the top two in each League A group stay in the top league for the World Cup top four teams in League B will be third-placed teams from League A will have to play the second-placed teams from League B to decide which four teams claim the final League A the end of the World Cup qualifiers, the four League A winners will qualify directly for the Women's World Cup. Other teams will be entered into the play-offs to claim the remaining spots. When are the fixtures? The group-stage fixtures all take place before the 2025 Women's Euros, which starts on 2 phasesMatch days 1-2: 21-26 FebruaryMatch days 3-4: 4-8 AprilMatch days 5-6: 30 May-3 JuneFinalsSemi-finals (two legs): 22-28 OctoberFinal/third-place play off (two legs): 26 November-2 December
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
🚨 Man City Women book FA Cup semi-final berth
There are three Women's FA Cup quarter-final fixtures taking place on Sunday. Keep checking back for Shaw 53', Park 72' Two second half goals saw Manchester City past Aston Villa 2-0 to book their place in the final four of the Women's FA Cup. The best opportunity of a scoreless first half came for Villa but Ebony Salmon was denied by a fantastic Ayaka Yamashita save after she was sent scampering through on goal. That missed chance came back to haunt the visitors eight minutes after half-time when Bunny Shaw was played in on goal in similar circumstances and showed her ruthless streak by making no mistake. The weight of pass from Fowler 🤩The finish from Shaw 🤌A trademark @ManCityWomen goal 👏#AdobeWomensFACup — Adobe Women's FA Cup (@AdobeWFACup) March 9, 2025 Jess Park put the result beyond doubt inside the final 20 minutes by slotting home calmly after unselfishly being teed up by Vivianne Miedema. Vivianne Miedema and Jess Park make the defence pay for @ManCityWomen 👊#AdobeWomensFACup — Adobe Women's FA Cup (@AdobeWFACup) March 9, 2025 The win puts City in the hat for the semi-final draw which takes place later on Sunday evening. Manchester United 3-1 Sunderland 📸 Ben Roberts Photo - 2025 Getty Images
The Independent
27-02-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Lionesses beat world champions Spain at Wembley
The Lionesses defeated world champions Spain 1-0 in a friendly at Wembley Stadium. Jess Park scored the winning goal in the first half, capitalising on a move initiated by Lauren James and Alessia Russo. England's performance was characterised by strong defensive resilience, particularly in the second half, and an effective counter-attacking strategy. Key players like Millie Bright, Lucy Bronze, and Keira Walsh played crucial roles in neutralising Spain 's attack and controlling the midfield. This victory boosts England's confidence ahead of the European Championships, demonstrating their ability to compete with top-tier teams.
