Latest news with #UefaNationsLeague
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Ireland come from behind in Turkey to clinch battling win
Women's Uefa Nations League B TURKEY…1 (Kader Hancar 49 IRELAND… 2 (Busem Seker OG 79, Emily Murphy 89) Substitute Emily Murphy plundered a late winner against Turkey to afford Ireland the slender chance of leapfrogging Slovenia at Pairc Uí Chaoímh on Tuesday for top spot. With the Slovenians maintaining their perfect record by beating Greece 2-0 in Ljubljana, three points were a must in Istanbul. They were fortunate to take any after Kader Hancar gave the Turks a deserved lead early in the second half, forcing Carla Ward to rely on reinforcements such as throw-in specialist Megan Campbell from the substitutes' bench. Campbell's deep catapult from the sideline into a crowded penalty area with 11 minutes left met the head of the back-peddling Busem Seker, who glanced the ball over the head of her goalkeeper Selda Akgoz. Ireland chased the essential winner against the side situated 35 places behind them in Fifa's rankings and they were gifted with a minute remaining. Circumstance decreed that managing Katie McCabe gametime in the aftermath of her exertions with Arsenal's Champions League victory was ditched and her long punt proved fruitful. Inexplicably, Sejde Abrahamson slipped when attempting to clear, steering her header into the path of Murphy to smash her first international goal high into the net. The results mean Ireland must beat the table-toppers by at least four goals to usurp them for promotion to League A and guarantee entry into the playoff series for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. More to follow… TURKEY: S Akgoz; B Seker, G Hiz, S Abrahamson, I Civelek; E Topcu, M Cal, E Turkoglu; Miray Cin, K Hancar (M Ozturk 75). M Pekel. IRELAND: C Brosnan; A Mannion (C Hayes 46), A Patten, J Stapleton, K McCabe: M Connolly; A Larkin (S Noonan 60), D O'Sullivan, M Sheeva (K Carusa 60), Lucy Quinn (M Campbell 75); A Barrett (E Murphy 60). Referee: Kristina Georgieva (Bulgaria)
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lionesses to be handed record £1.7m bonus package if they win Euro 2025
The FA has agreed a record bonus package with England's Lionesses worth up to £1.7million if they defend their European Championship title this summer. The Guardian revealed in March that negotiations over the players' bonuses had reached an impasse, risking a repeat of the stand-off that disrupted their preparations for the 2023 World Cup, but the discussions have now concluded with Sarina Weigman's squad believed to be happy with the outcome. Advertisement Related: WSL in advanced talks over historic deal for all players in top two tiers to join PFA The FA is understood to have increased their offer, with the £1.7m bonus pot more than double the amount the players received for reaching the World Cup final in Australia two years ago. While the precise amount paid to each player will depend on appearances and minutes played, the average bonus on offer if England win the tournament is around £73,000, more than £18,000 more than they received following their historic triumph at Wembley three years ago. A source involved in the process told The Guardian that while the negotiations had been difficult all parties were satisfied with the end result, particularly the fact that it was resolved before the squad met up at St George's Park to begin their European Championship preparations this week. The squad meet-up has been somewhat overshadowed by the shock announcement of Mary Earps' international retirement, with the FA relieved that another potential distraction in bonus talks has been removed. A dispute about bonuses interrupted the Lionesses' preparations for the World Cup two years ago with the FA initially reluctant to offer performance-related payments after Fifa introduced individual player fees for the first time. Advertisement The FA eventually agreed to pay bonuses, although the matter was only resolved the month after they returned from the tournament, where Weigman's side were beaten 1-0 in the final by Spain. The governing body will also cash in if England have a successful tournament this summer as Uefa has more than doubled the prize money made available to the 16 competing nations to £34m, with the winners to receive £4.3m. The FA equalised match fees for the men's and women's national teams five years ago with all senior England players receiving about £2,000 a game which in most cases are donated to charities, but bonus payments remain far apart due to the differing levels of prize money on offer in men's and women's tournaments. Gareth Southgate's squad would have shared a bonus pot of about £14m for example, had they won last summer's European Championship final against Spain. England begin their Euro 2025 build-up with a Uefa Nations League game against Portugal at Wembley on Friday before facing Spain in Barcelona next week. After a friendly against Jamaica in Leicester at the end of next month Weigman's side start the defence of the European title with a difficult game against France on 5 July before further group games against the Netherlands and Wales. The FA declined to comment.
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Marissa Sheva helping fellow American Erin Healy settle into Ireland setup
Success attracts talent and it was inevitable the American diaspora would awaken from Ireland's World Cup watershed. Courtney Brosnan and Kyra Carusa had declared before qualification was secured in 2022, Sinéad Farrelly and Marissa Sheva pledged their allegiance in time for the trip to Australia, while Erin Healy became the latest convert. US-born players pursuing international exposure through ancestry is more prevalent in the women's game due to the status of the national team as Fifa's top ranked nation. Farrelly has since retired and Sheva was omitted from the squad for a period when Eileen Gleeson succeeded Vera Pauw as boss but she's back in favour under Carla Ward. The attacking midfielder has moved closer by joining Sunderland towards the end of the season and is pushing for a start in Friday's penultimate Uefa Nations League fixture against Turkey at the Esenler Stadium in Istanbul (6pm, Irish time). Healy could make her debut in attack and Sheva has been mindful about ensuring the newcomer feels at home in her new habitat. Ward last week flagged a move to England for the striker but her club Adelaide United yesterday announced a contract extension. 'I definitely remember my first camp in Spain,' said 28-year-old Sheva, resonating with Healy's experience this week. 'That always changes things and it's not a home camp in Dublin where everybody feels a little bit more at ease and comfortable. 'I'm trying to just make sure she feels comfortable and is able to perform the way she can and not feel any unnecessary stress outside of being on the pitch.' Turkey may be bottom seeds in the four-team pool that also includes Slovenia and Greece but they almost embarrassed Ireland in Ward's first game at the helm. Sheva is adamant progress has been made since that unconvincing 1-0 win at Tallaght in February. 'Hopefully we can beat Turkey by more than one goal,' said the Pennsylvania native. 'I think this will be a better camp than the first camp against the same opponents. 'There was almost an overhaul of tactics of what we were previously playing. It's really tough to implement that in one, two, or even three camps. 'We're being encouraged to build out from the back more, to be a little bit more aggressive from the getgo, trying to utilise our midfield more. You can't change that overnight.' Once Turkey is done, the squad travel back to Cork for the visit of Slovenia to Páirc Uí Chaoimh. Unless the group leaders drop points against Greece, then Ireland's mission will be to equal or surpass the 4-0 victory the Slovenians achieved in Ward's second match. 'We've good memories from beating France in Cork last year,' she said about returning to the home of Cork GAA.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chelsea captain Bright withdraws from England squad
Chelsea captain Millie Bright has withdrawn from the England squad for June's Uefa Nations League matches to take an extended break and allow a period of recovery. Arsenal defender Lotte Wubben-Moy, who has 13 caps, has been called into Sarina Wiegman's squad for the League A Group 3 games against Portugal and Spain. Bright, 31, has played 43 times for club and country this season and guided Sonia Bompastor's side to a domestic Treble. Arsenal's Wubben-Moy, Leah Williamson, Alessia Russo, Chloe Kelly and Beth Mead will join up with the England squad on Tuesday after celebrating their Women's Champions League success. The Lionesses, who know two victories will secure a place in the competition's knockout stage, take on Portugal at Wembley Stadium on Friday, 30 May before facing group leaders and world champions Spain in Barcelona on Tuesday, 3 June. England will begin the defence of their European Championship in Switzerland on Saturday, 5 July when take on France in Group D.
Belfast Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Uefa hand Euro 2028 co-hosts a safety net but Northern Ireland must qualify as normal
The Northern Ireland was originally named as a host nation for the tournament alongside England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland with games planned for Casement Park. However, the UK Government confirmed last September that the west Belfast stadium would not be rebuilt in time for the tournament, refusing to cover the funding gap required to deliver redevelopment of the derelict GAA ground. It said the risk to the public purse of missing the tournament deadline was too high. As such, Northern Ireland will not be considered hosts for tournament, meaning they will face an uphill battle to qualify for the prestigious competition. All four co-hosts nations will enter the qualification process as usual. However, Uefa have confirmed that the two best-ranked co-hosts who do not qualify through normal means, will be handed an automatic qualification spot. In other words, if England and Scotland qualify through the normal means while Wales and the Republic of Ireland do not, the Welsh and Irish will be gifted a place in the tournament. If only one team qualifies automatically, places would then be judged on Fifa rankings. Uefa will also ensure that England, Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland cannot meet in the qualifiers. Previously, when the tournament had co-hosts, as was the case in 2008 (Austria and Switzerland) and 2012 (Poland and Ukraine), the host nations had automatic qualification in place. But with four co-hosts for 2028, Uefa have opted for a system where all four nations will play in the qualifiers but with a safety net that all but guarantees a place in the finals. 'As in the current 2024-26 European Qualifiers, twelve qualifying groups will be formed of four or five teams. Hosts England, Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales will also participate in qualifying, drawn into separate groups,' Uefa said after their Executive Committee made their decision in Bilbao today. 'The 12 group winners and 8 best runners-up (20 teams) will advance directly to the Euro 2028 final tournament. 'Two spots in the final tournament will be reserved for the two best ranked host nations who are not qualified as group winners or best runners-up after the completion of the qualifying group stage. 'The remaining spots will be assigned via play-offs between the remaining runners-up in the qualifying groups and the best ranked 2026-27 Uefa Nations League non-qualified group winners. 'Depending on the number of spots used by the host nations, the number of final tournament spots decided by play-offs may vary between two and four.'
