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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
England miss out on semis - how Nations League unfolded
England beat Spain 1-0 in the Nations League in February but lost 2-1 on Tuesday [Getty Images] The Women's Nations League group stage is now complete after an eventful final matchday. France and Germany had already booked their place in the semi-finals with games to spare, but there were still two spots up for grabs. Advertisement World champions Spain defeated European champions England 2-1 in Barcelona to secure their place on matchday six, while Sweden thrashed Denmark 6-1 to top Group 4 ahead of their opponents and Italy. Scotland and Wales played for pride after their relegations to League B were confirmed on Friday night, while in League B, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were looking to secure second-placed finishes in their groups to claim spots in the promotion play-offs. BBC Sport reviews the campaign and looks at how England and Wales are preparing for this summer's Euros in Switzerland. What is the Women's Nations League? The league was launched in 2023, with the inaugural tournament offering qualification spots for the 2025 Women's European Championship. Advertisement Countries are placed into groups of three or four teams, across three different leagues, with promotion and relegation between the leagues depending on the match results. And there's a lot at stake. Teams 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 happened in the group stages? Scotland had nothing but pride to play for when they travelled to the Netherlands to contest their sixth match in Group A1, but emerged with a respectable 1-1 draw. Advertisement New boss Melissa Andreatta's side fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Austria on matchday five, which confirmed their relegation to the second tier of the competition. Kathleen McGovern cancelled out Jill Roord's opener on Tuesday to give Scotland their first and only point of the campaign. Germany thrashed the Netherlands 4-0 in Bremen last week to confirm their passage as group winners with a game to spare, before demolishing Austria 6-0 on Tuesday. France continued their flawless record in Group A2 by claiming a fifth victory from five games with a 4-0 demolition of Switzerland, before scoring two late goals to beat Iceland on Tuesday with Chelsea's Sandy Baltimore on target. [BBC Sport] England began their Group A3 campaign with an underwhelming 1-1 draw in Portugal, but claimed an impressive 1-0 win at Wembley over reigning world champions Spain. Advertisement The Lionesses, who will defend their European title this summer, beat Belgium 5-0 at Bristol City's Ashton Gate in April but then fell to a 3-2 defeat by the same side four days later. After the shock retirement of goalkeeper Mary Earps just five weeks out from the tournament in Switzerland, Sarina Wiegman's side thumped Portugal 6-0 at Wembley. That victory set up a shootout with Spain for a last-four spot, but the Lionesses lost 2-1 and finished second in the group. It was all to play for in Group A4, with three of the four sides still in contention. Sweden and Denmark were joint top on nine points before the games kicked off, but the Swedes won their matchday six meeting 6-1 to reach the next stage. Advertisement Italy won 4-1 in Wales to finish second in the table behind Sweden. Rhian Wilkinson's side finished the campaign winless, and were already relegated to League B with a 1-0 defeat in Denmark on Friday night. [BBC Sport] In Group B1, Poland were promoted to League A with a 4-0 win over second-placed Northern Ireland on Friday. But Tanya Oxtoby's NI side claimed a promotion play-off place with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina in their last group game on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the promotion race in Group B2 went down to the final round of matches. Emily Murphy's 89th-minute winner against Turkey on Friday completed a remarkable comeback to keep the Republic of Ireland within three points of group leaders Slovenia. Advertisement Carla Ward's side welcomed Slovenia to Cork on Tuesday knowing a big win would clinch promotion to League A. But a 1-0 victory - thanks to Saoirse Noonan's strike - meant their opponents pipped them to top spot with a superior head-to-head goal difference. The Republic of Ireland will go into a promotion play-off instead. [BBC Sport] 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 stage. The four League A group winners will meet in two-legged semi-finals. The winners go into the final to decide who takes the Nations League title, while the losers go into a third-place play-off. Both the final and the third-place tie will also be played over two legs. Advertisement The teams who finish fourth in each League A group will be relegated to League B, and the League B group winners will be promoted. Each 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 C. Spain won the inaugural Women's Nations League title in 2024. 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 Cup. There will be another draw in November 2025 to decide the groups within the three leagues. Advertisement Teams who finish in the top two in each League A group stay in the top league for the World Cup qualifiers. The top four teams in League B will be promoted. 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 spots. At 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 finals fixtures? Finals Semi-finals (two legs): 22-28 October Final/third-place play-off (two legs): 26 November-2 December Promotion / relegation play-offs Two legs in October 2025, exact dates TBC The draws for the ties will be made on 6 June.
The 42
19 hours ago
- Sport
- The 42
Ireland chase four-goal win in group decider at Páirc Uí Chaoimh
IRELAND RETURN TO Páirc Uí Chaoimh with much more on the line than their first visit to the Cork GAA venue last summer. Already relegated and consigned to the Euro 2025 play-offs, Eileen Gleeson's side stunned France to secure a famous 3-1 win in their final group game. They did copper-fasten a seeded place, however. Now back in League B and under the watch of Carla Ward, Ireland face Slovenia in their Nations League Group B2 decider. A revenge mission awaits — along with a big ask as they chase top spot and promotion to League A. Confusion has reigned in recent days, with the FAI even sharing differing permutations. Bottom line: Ireland need to win by FOUR clear goals to finish top of the group and clinch automatic promotion. If they do not triumph by that margin, draw, or lose, the Girls In Green will contest promotion/relegation play-offs in October as a League B runner-up. The draw for those two-legged ties against a third-place League A side (currently Austria, Iceland, Portugal and Italy) takes place on Friday. The four-goal win is a tall order, but Ward has long shared her intention to 'go for it' in Cork. Ireland have been in Slovenia's rear-view mirror since a 4-0 humbling in February: as the picture became clearer, Ward said she would 'be glad to go out front foot, gung-ho' in the rematch against Saša Kolman's coming side, who have conceded just one goal. 'We know what we have to do,' the English coach insisted yesterday. 'We're going to have to be aggressive but also secure at the same time.' Advertisement Slovenia's Nina Kajzba and Ireland's Katie McCabe in Koper in February. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO Ireland's goalscoring struggles have been well documented, and herein lies another major issue. Defensive woes have been rife through this campaign, with cheap goals and chances coughed up, many of them on the counter. Slovenia were electric on the break in Koper, as they inflicted upon Ireland their heaviest defeat since 2018 and worst competitive loss in over 12 years. In Friday's unconvincing 2-1 comeback win, Türkiye scored on the transition and exposed them on several occasions. Of Ireland's goals in Istanbul, the Turks scored one and assisted the other. Megan Campbell's long-throw caused havoc to get the visitors back on level terms, before Emily Murphy pounced on a butchered, mid-slip clearance to bag the 89th-minute winner. Ward has made no secret of her possession-based, expansive plans, but Ireland reaped the rewards of a more direct approach as they chased the game on Friday. Substitutions were key too, as Murphy, Kyra Carusa and Saoirse Noonan arrived on the hour-mark, and Campbell's introduction released Katie McCabe on the left. 'You saw us finish with a lot of attacking players on the pitch, you might see that's the way we start,' said Ward post-match. Amber Barrett had a mixed night leading the line; first-choice Carusa could do so from the off here. Lucy Quinn, a constant in the front three under Ward, is doubtful with a bug so openings could arise: Murphy will hope her decisive, first international goal earns her a rare start; Abbie Larkin and Cork's own Noonan also showed glimpses on Friday; while new call-up Erin Healy could be a wildcard. (Noonan may etch her name into history as the first person to play an inter-county Gaelic football match and a soccer international at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.) Hometown hero Denise O'Sullivan is the one definite in midfield. She was far from her best against Türkiye, but is the beating heart of this Irish team. Marissa Sheva struggled beside her on that occasion, and could drop out, while another Rebel Megan Connolly impressed in the holding role. Ruesha Littlejohn will be eyeing that spot, and her 90th cap; Tyler Toland is another midfield option. Courtney Brosnan needs little introduction as the undisputed number one, but there are question marks in defence. Aoife Mannion is another doubt due to playing overload and a quad knock, but the hope is she will pass a late fitness test. Ireland are lacking in natural right-backs, but the Manchester United defender has been performing well there. Anna Patten struggled while deputising in the second half against Türkiye. Patten has been the one invariable in the centre-back pairing under Ward. Jessie Stapleton has joined her recently, while Caitlin Hayes got the nod from the bench on Friday after falling down the pecking order. The retiring Louise Quinn will want to see meaningful action, and would be another welcome aerial threat. Louise Quinn during her final training session at The Páirc yesterday. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO Katie McCabe as a de facto 10 was among the many experiments which backfired against Slovenia in February, the captain generally stationed at left-back since. The Champions League winner is most likely to continue there, initially anyway, but Ward could want Campbell — injury-plagued and managed — on from the off. Wherever she operates, McCabe will need to make her impact felt: the Arsenal star has a wicked delivery, while she is one goal away from her 30th in green. One of her quotes yesterday spoke volumes: 'If we don't score the first one you can forget about the fourth.' Slow starts have been another hallmark of this campaign, and Ireland need to race out of the traps if they are to give themselves any chance of hammering this rising Slovenian outfit. Manager Kolman — who cites Jim McGuinness as an inspiration — hailed a resounding tactical victory in Koper, and he will come to Cork with another plan. Lara Praanikar of Eintracht Frankfurt, two-goal hero last time, will be central to that, while Kaja Korosec (Paris FC), Zara Kramzar (Roma) and Kaja Erzen (Fiorentina) are other key players with Champions League experience. 12 world rankings inferior in 38th, the Balkan nation will be targetting another scalp, happy for the pressure to be on Ireland. But the hosts will look to embrace it, and every bit of noise and colour in Cork. A smaller crowd of 10,000 is expected at the Páirc, but Ireland will be hoping for another memorable occasion. A four-goal win may be too big of an ask, but any victory and a positive performance would be a good night's work, as the first chapter of this new era draws to a close.
The 42
20 hours ago
- Sport
- The 42
'It's the whole calendar. I don't know who's in charge but it definitely needs to be looked at'
ON WHAT IS an important day for the Republic of Ireland WNT, fixture scheduling and Nations League format confusion have become equally important discussion points. Both Ireland manager Carla Ward, and team captain Katie McCabe, agree that the system needs to be reviewed. In the last week, McCabe has played in a Champions League final for Arsenal and a Nations League fixture for Ireland in Istanbul. The Ireland squad are heading to the USA in June to play two international friendlies, but she will not be available. Everything is packed in too tightly. The Nations League is Ireland's main concern at the moment, and the format has long been a source of confusion. In truth, the Ireland women's team is no stranger to convoluted qualification routes. Their path to the 2023 World Cup — and a first-ever major tournament — was far from linear. At one point, Denise O'Sullivan admitted that she found the whole system 'really confusing' and that her teammates 'tried to explain it 100 times' before she simply decided to detach from the diagrams and focus on the games in front of her. The Nations League is running a similarly protracted line. Ireland's yo-yo form between League A and League B has probably added to the confusion, but for now, they are in the second tier in what has been labelled the group of death. Tonight, they face Group B2 leaders Slovenia in Cork's Páirc Uí Chaoimh and thankfully, the aim is simple: win the game by four goals or more to achieve automatic promotion to League A. If they fall short in that mission, they still have a play-off route awaiting them in October. There's clarity with this fixture but broadly speaking, Ireland captain Katie McCabe feels the whole Nations League structure is chaotic. Advertisement 'It's nuts — the set-up, the goals, points, relegation and promotion,' she begins ahead of tonight's 6pm kick-off at Cork GAA headquarters. Similar to the attitude that her teammate O'Sullivan adopted for the World Cup play-off, McCabe is intent on narrowing her focus to keep her mind clear. Republic of Ireland players attending training at Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO 'All we can concentrate on is winning games and progressing performances game by game. I'll let you all do the maths and we [will] focus on winning matches. 'It's the timing of the fixtures as well, like what we had to do last year all through the summer where you're finishing a season and you've to kind of rest but kind of keep fit for the next block of games and it's hard mentally and physically from a periodisation point of view to do that. So, the timing of the fixtures needs to be looked at as well in my opinion.' McCabe helped Arsenal end an 18-year wait for Champions League success last week but left the celebrations early for Ireland's crucial Nations League trip to Türkiye. She wanted to be available for international duty but feels the schedule is too congested. It's an issue which has become synonymous with McCabe's club in recent years. Arsenal players including Leah Williamson and Beth Mead have suffered ACL injuries which are believed to be linked with the increased playing demands on female players. 'It's the whole calendar,' says McCabe. 'I don't know who's in charge of it but it definitely needs to be looked at. 'What it will create over time and we've already seen it in recent years is burnout in players and major injuries. You've got world-class players that will be sitting out of tournaments through injuries and we don't want to see that. We want the best players in the world playing at tournaments on the biggest stage. I just hope it doesn't cause too much more harm to us as players going forward.' Both McCabe and Ireland head coach Carla Ward agree that returning to League A is their objective but there is an argument for staying in League B at the moment. The next promotion to the top tier would give them a better pathway to the 2027 World Cup. McCabe stresses that League B is a difficult competition but wants to keep company with the best nations in world football. Ultimately, everyone in the Ireland camp is united in their ambition to get to the top tier. Ireland manager Carla Ward looks on at her team's last training before Tuesday's kick-off. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO 'We've discussed it as staff,' says Ward, 'but it's bonkers because if you stay in [League] B now, you are in a better position to win League A and get one less qualifying round to the World Cup. But how does that give motivation?' 'We don't want to think like that. We are naturally competitive and we want to win the group. 'It needs looking at. As soon as the Nations League came along, it's good because there's no more friendlies. Every country is getting more competitive, but the structure to say that if we get promoted to League A, but then we get relegated, for example, we would be in a far weaker position than somebody in League B.' Now, that the confusing and tiring talk of scheduling and format structures is done, let's reset to focus on this evening's action. Ireland face a huge challenge in defeating Slovenia by more than four goals, but it's the route they're determined to take. A huge game awaits in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
ITV News
3 days ago
- Sport
- ITV News
'We should be having goal-line technology' Jess Fishlock on Denmark game
Wales suffered Women's Nations League relegation after losing 1-0 away to Denmark in controversial fashion in Group A4. Rhian Wilkinson's team realistically required victory in Odense to avoid being sent down to League B but Pernille Harder's 48th-minute strike consigned them to a third defeat of the campaign and bottom spot. It could have been a different story had Jess Fishlock's first-half effort been awarded, with her follow-up shot seemingly crossing the line but not given by the officials and with no VAR in operation, Wales went down narrowly. Speaking to BBC Sport after the game, she said "We should be having goal-line technology because it's so obviously a goal "It needs to be better. At this level, we need the technology and we need everything to ensure that it's fair." A 2-1 home loss to Denmark in April put Wales on the verge of relegation from the top tier and they got off to a poor start on Friday with defender Mayzee Davies forced off after only six minutes. The 18-year-old sustained a knee issue which could put in doubt her participation in this summer's European Championship. The early change rocked Wales as Harder headed against the crossbar soon after before Olivia Clark was required to make two saves in quick succession. Wales did regroup and a moment of controversy occurred midway through the half when Ceri Holland was denied by Maja Bay Ostergaard and Fishlock sent an effort towards goal, but Stine Ballisager got back to clear. Replays later appeared to show the ball had crossed the line, but it remained goalless at the break after Amalie Vangsgaard squandered a fine opportunity for Denmark and Harder was twice thwarted in quick succession. It would not take Harder long after half-time to break the deadlock, though, as the Danish forward slotted home in the 48th minute. Wilkinson's side responded well with a Fishlock header sent over before Holland had a shot saved by Ostergaard. Hannah Cain and Rachel Rowe were introduced, but Wales failed to find a leveller and relegation to League B was confirmed.
STV News
4 days ago
- Sport
- STV News
Andreatta says debut Scotland defeat gives her ‘baseline' to work from
Melissa Andreatta's debut defeat as Scotland Women's head coach gave her a 'baseline' from which to work going forward. A 1-0 loss to Austria in the Nations League Group A1 clash at Hampden Park confirmed relegation from the top flight of the competition for the Scots. The visitors scored the winner in the 62nd minute when attacker Julia Hickelsberger glanced in a header at the near post from a corner. Although the home side finished the game stronger, Andreatta's new charges ended the match still at the bottom of the table without a point in five games and will be playing in League B in the next Nations League campaign. The former Matildas assistant has another chance to put her stamp on the squad when they face the Netherlands away on Tuesday night in their final fixture before they start preparing for the World Cup qualifiers later in the year. Andreatta said: 'What I've taken is a baseline. 'There's one thing to be training and doing what we're doing and players executing what we're asking of them in a training session and it's another to do it in a match and in a match with that context behind it. 'So I think I have a good baseline now to understand where we're at, in order for us to progress to where we want to be. 'I think you could tell by the fans (second half), there was a frustration, but I think the key part that I take from that is that we had players that took on the information at half-time and made some adjustments to what we were doing and trying to do – and they did that well. 'And then, together with the subs, who were a combination of experienced players and emerging players, they brought on the energy and had a real impact. 'So while it was frustrating not to get some reward from that impact and those changes, I know where we are now, and it's given me some ideas, moving forward.' Rachel Corsie, 35, who is retiring from football at the end of the game against Netherlands on Tuesday, started on the bench and came on at the beginning of the second half to win her 155th cap and play at Hampden Park for the last time. Andreatta added: 'I'm sure for her, there would have been a lot of emotion and having friends and family there for sure. 'But what I know about Rachel is she's a real team person and she'll be more hurt for the team that we didn't get the result that we all want. 'But she'll quickly refocus as a leader and professional that she is and help the team to bounce back because that's what we need to do now.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
