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What the papers say The Daily Mirror reports Kevin de Bruyne is high on the list of targets Saudi Arabian clubs intend to pursue next year. The paper says Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal’s whopping £259million bid for Kylian Mbappe was a wake-up call for the Premier League, with some sides already resigned to losing some of their best players. De Bruyne’s former Manchester City team-mate Riyad Mahrez joined Al-Ahli this summer, joining a growing list of high-profile players making the switch. Speaking of Kylian Mbappe, the Mirror also reports the 24-year-old would be prepared to spend a season in the Premier League on loan before securing his dream move to Real Madrid. The Paris St Germain and France forward’s representatives are believed to have held discreet discussions with a selection of Premier League club intermediaries – with Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool rumoured to be interested in his signature. Kasper Schmeichel is in line for a shock return to the Premier League. According to the Leicester Mercury, citing Eurosport Denmark, the 36-year-old is in discussions with Nottingham Forest over a move from French club Nice. And The Telegraph reports Chelsea are gearing up to make an improved bid for Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo. Social media round-up Players to watch Mohamed Salah: Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad are set to offer £51.8m for the Liverpool forward, reports Arabic publication Al Riyadiah. Tosin Adarabioyo: The Sun says the Fulham defender has rejected a proposed Tottenham move in favour of a potential transfer to Monaco. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

England boss Sarina Wiegman is confident the Lionesses are capable of getting creative should Nigeria target breakout talent Lauren James in their last-16 clash in Brisbane. Chelsea forward James was awarded player-of-the-match against China in England’s final group stage contest after contributing two goals and three assists in the 6-1 victory. Having shown the world just how dangerous she could be, it would not be a surprise if Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum spent plenty of time planning a corresponding response to mitigate the potent threat posed by the 21-year-old. Asked if she was prepared for that to happen, England boss Sarina Wiegman grinned and said: “Well, first of all we didn’t make the starting line-up yet. “But I think some countries mark us and want to take out players. Not only one, but more players. So that’s good when you have so many good players on the pitch that they have to be aware of all those players. “And we know when players are marked that you find other ways to build or create and hopefully create chances to score goals. “So we are aware of that and we will be prepared for that.” Wiegman could be bolstered by the return of midfielder Keira Walsh, who was carried off on a stretcher late in the first half of England’s 1-0 victory over Denmark in their second group stage game. The knee injury sustained by the 2023 Champions League winner with Barcelona was not as serious as some suspected, and while Wiegman would not disclose Walsh’s specific diagnosis, the FA previously revealed it was not an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and on Sunday the England boss also confirmed it was not a ligament issue. Walsh also stepped up her recovery on Sunday, joining the other 22 members of the England squad on the Central Coast Stadium pitch before the Lionesses flew to Brisbane ahead of their first match of the knockout stage. On the eve of the Nigeria clash, Wiegman said: “She is doing well. She started her rehab straight after we knew what was going on. “She has been on the pitch, she has been training today. Now we will wait until (we see) how she recovers from that training session and if she does well then she is available tomorrow.” The 2023 World Cup saw the tournament expand to 32 teams for the first time, with some initially worried that the gap between the top and lower-ranked nations would be detrimental. Yet the reality has so far been the opposite, with four of FIFA’s top 10 sides already eliminated including double-defending champions USA, who crashed out after losing a dramatic penalty shootout to Sweden. Number two side and Euro 2022 finalists Germany, number seven Olympic champions Canada, and Copa America winners Brazil, ranked eighth, have all been eliminated. Those giant-slayings – Canada’s at the hands of 40th-ranked Nigeria – also marked the last likely World Cup appearances for icons and pioneers in Brazil’s Marta, Canada’s Christine Sinclair and the USA’s Megan Rapinoe, who missed a penalty against Sweden and announced pre-tournament that she would be retiring at the end of the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) season. Wiegman added: “It is very, very competitive. The development of the game all over the world has gone really quickly, at a very good level. “But I’m mainly focused on my team and on the next match with my team, so I’m not into every game. I don’t have the full context, but that’s the main thing I have noticed.”

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One of the most experienced and dependable names in Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses squad, Alex Greenwood might have been expected to start at left-back after Rachel Daly’s devastating season up front for Aston Villa meant her moving out of the defensive position she held throughout the last year’s triumphant Euros campaign. But with injuries ruling out Leah Williamson, Wiegman may prefer to deploy Greenwood through the centre and place Jess Carter at full-back, an uncertainty the Liverpudlian says does not concern her, insisting she is equally comfortable in either position. A dead-ball specialist as well as a no-nonsense defensive stalwart, Greenwood, 29, began her career at Northfield in Liverpool before being selected by Everton aged eight to enter the club’s Centre of Excellence. She eventually broke into the first team at 17 in 2010 and was named FA Young Player of the Year in 2012 before leaving with a heavy heart when the Toffees were relegated in 2014. Thereafter playing for Notts County, Liverpool and Manchester United – captaining the latter in their inaugural Championship-winning season in 2018/19 – she then moved to the all-conquering Lyon in France for a season, picking up the Champions League and three domestic honours, before (controversially) finding a permanent home at former rivals Manchester City in 2020. Greenwood has also picked up 75 senior England caps in that time, captaining the side in this year’s Arnold Clark Cup tie against Italy, and is otherwise known as an outspoken advocate for the women’s game, unafraid to speak frankly about the “draining” misogynistic abuse she and her teammates have been subjected to on social media. Get all the latest Women’s World Cup odds here Read More How to watch England vs Nigeria: TV channel and start time for Women’s World Cup fixture When do England play next? Women’s World Cup fixtures and route to the final Women’s football world rankings: Who could take No 1 at the World Cup?

Despite being a Manchester City fan so committed to the club that she had pet goldfish named Shaun Goater and Nicolas Anelka as a child, Keira Walsh was also a keen student of “tiki-taka”-era Barcelona growing up in Rochdale, admiring the total control demonstrated by Pep Guardiola’s sides through elegant possession football. These days, Pep is managing City and it is Walsh herself sitting at the heart of Barca’s midfield. She made that move last summer for a world record fee after starring for the Lionesses at Euro 2022, pulling the strings at the centre of the park like another of her idols, David Silva, always knowing precisely when to play the killer pass. There was no finer example of this than the perfectly-weighted long ball she dinked into Ella Toone for England’s opener against Germany in the final, for which she was deservingly named player of the match. Another famed instance of Walsh’s artistry in action came at the SheBelieves Cup in Japan in 2019, when she played in Beth Mead with a pass that took out no fewer than eight separate opposition players in one move, a clip of which swiftly went viral. Her performances during the Euros inspired French journalist Julien Laurens to hail her as “the best player in the world”, an accolade that will place renewed pressure on her to stamp her authority on the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand this summer. However, a nasty-looking injury sustained in England’s second group game against Denmark saw her carried from the field on a stretcher, potentially bringing her tournament to a premature end. Walsh, now 26, abandoned youthful passions for badminton and cricket to commit to football, emerging from Blackburn Rovers’ youth system before transferring to her beloved City in 2014, where she made 118 appearances and became known to the club’s Oasis-besotted fans as “WonderWalsh” in tribute to her dependable presence. Former teammate Jill Scott, incidentally, has said her nickname among the Lionesses is “Sat Nav Foot” for the extraordinary precision of her passing. For England, Walsh has effortlessly succeeded Fara Williams in central midfield, having been handed the captain’s armband in just her seventh outing for the Lionesses, aged 21, and is no doubt the first name on Sarina Wiegman’s team sheet these days. Read More How to watch England vs Nigeria: TV channel and start time for Women’s World Cup fixture Who do England women play next? World Cup fixtures and route to the final Women’s football world rankings: Who could take No 1 at the World Cup?

Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps, affectionately known as “Mearps”, may now be firmly ensconced as England’s number one after her heroic displays at the Euros – and impassioned leadership of the table-dancing celebrations that followed – but her chances of even being part of the squad once looked remote. Prior to the arrival of Sarina Wiegman as England manager in September 2021, Earps believed her form was so poor she might never return to the national team, having made her debut against Switzerland in 2017 but received only a handful of caps thereafter before falling out of favour. While Earps went on to win the Fifa ‘Best’ award following the Euros, it was not long after she had considered quitting the game altogether. “I can vividly remember the days of feeling really down and I’d sort of reached my limits and given it a good go but I just wasn’t quite good enough. I had responsibilities, I had a mortgage and it wasn’t adding up,” she told the BBC earlier this year. Get all the latest Women’s World Cup odds here “Eventually I decided ‘OK, I’ll give it a couple more years…’ And then Sarina came in and life changed, literally like that. I felt like she really understood where I came from and had empathy for me as a human being. Not something I’ve experienced a lot in football over the years. I like her directness, her honesty.” Originally from Nottingham, Earps, now 30, was spotted playing for West Bridgford Colts by Leicester City and was taken into its youth academy but never made a senior appearance, moving on to Nottingham Forest and then Doncaster Rovers Belles, where she briefly established herself before being sent out on loan to Coventry City without playing. Spells with Birmingham City, Bristol Academy and Reading followed – during which period she completed a business studies degree at Loughborough University – and then a move to Frauen-Bundesliga champions Wolfsburg before she finally found a permanent home at United in 2019. Now one of the most confident performers in the squad thanks to Wiegman’s encouragement, the shift in Earps’ self-esteem was evident in her reaction to narrowly failing to save Brazil’s first penalty in April’s Finalissima shootout, the keeper remembering in an interview this month: “In that moment, I’m thinking: ‘Is this going to be how my day is going to go? I’m going to be close, but not close enough?’ “I said to myself: ‘No chance. This is mine – and I’m having it.’” Read More How to watch England vs Nigeria: TV channel and start time for Women’s World Cup fixture When do England play next? Women’s World Cup fixtures and route to the final Women’s football world rankings: Who could take No 1 at the World Cup?

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Perhaps David Raya would have saved it. It was a tame penalty, after all. But Aaron Ramsdale did save it, diving to his right, blocking Julian Alvarez’s lacklustre effort, punching the air, just as he had when Kevin de Bruyne thumped the underside of the bar with his spot kick. Whichever, it amounted to a response from Ramsdale. A seeming success story of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, the goalkeeper signed from relegated Sheffield United, who signed him from relegated Bournemouth, who seemed the spirit animal of a young, hungry side who went on to top the table for 248 days. And who, then, suddenly, brutally, seemed undermined when it emerged Arsenal were bidding for Brentford’s Raya. But Ramsdale brings character. The sense is that he will not surrender his position without a fight, even if the Gunners do land Raya or another potential No 1. A Community Shield triumph and a third trophy of Arteta’s reign came courtesy of two of his saves. The first, stopping Phil Foden from doubling Manchester City’s lead, had a hint of fortune, the ball striking the inside of his leg and then rolling past the post. Fortune may have favoured Arsenal again with the goal that secured a shootout. The 101st-minute strike may become a more frequent phenomenon as the amount of added time mushrooms this season. Two months earlier, City won the Champions League in part because of a save deep into added time; when another trophy beckoned and still later, Stefan Ortega was wrongfooted when Leandro Trossard’s shot took a huge deflection off Manuel Akanji. And then Martin Odegaard, Trossard and Bukayo Saka – who had missed in a more famous shootout at Wembley two years earlier – found the net from 12 yards. De Bruyne’s miss and Ramsdale’s save afforded Fabio Vieira the chance to win it: his namesake, Patrick, had decided a shootout against a Manchester club in the 2005 FA Cup final and history repeated itself. At the end of it, Arteta had just a second win in 10 managerial meetings with Guardiola: on penalties, with the aid of added time and deflections, but after losing three previous games in 2023 and eight in all, any victory was welcome. He may feel he had found a method, too. Kai Havertz has been bought to play as a free eight for Arsenal but his debut came as a false nine, the role in which he frequently flattered to deceive at Chelsea. It was the product of an injury to Gabriel Jesus and a tactical ploy alike. If Arteta was camouflaging his main gameplan for the season, his signings shape the way they will probably play against lesser opponents. But not against City, who had eviscerated them 3-1 and 4-1 in games that could be billed as title deciders: that, though, was with De Bruyne and Erling Haaland in harness and when the Belgian came on, the Norwegian went off. But Arsenal had more restraint, more patience as much of the match had the feel of a phoney war. There was a cautiousness to them, with two defensive midfielders, men behind the ball and a willingness to stand off, rather than pressing. The Arteta blueprint may entail Declan Rice operating on his own at the base of the midfield, but he had Thomas Partey for company, and Havertz debuting alone in attack. Chances were a premium; three of different kinds fell to Champions League final scorers. Rodri tried an audacious attempt to lob Ramsdale from the halfway line: the backpedalling goalkeeper was spared embarrassment when the ball landed on the roof of the net. Havertz, whose Champions League final goal came for Chelsea and against City, had his opportunities when Arsenal allied patience and restraint with hints of a counterattacking menace. Ortega saved twice from Havertz after low passes from the right, with Ben White and Saka picking out the German. It continued a theme that felt all too familiar at Stamford Bridge. It was Havertz in a nutshell, the supposed generational talent with the elusiveness to earn chances and the inability to take them. The great xG underachiever scored too few goals for Chelsea, but found the net in Champions League and Club World Cup finals; perhaps the Community Shield was not a big enough occasion. It did, though, seem Cole Palmer’s day. The 20-year-old came on with De Bruyne and put City ahead in sumptuous style, curling a shot past Ramsdale. It earned him the player of the match award – a sign in itself of how little had happened before his arrival – but the verdict was made before Trossard, Akanji and Ramsdale’s interventions. And so City were denied a fourth trophy in as many months and a third in as many games. With honours scarcer for Arsenal, the Community Shield probably meant more to them. And with his place at threat, it may have had an added importance to Ramsdale. Read More Mikel Arteta benefits from new law changes as Arsenal clinch Community Shield Arsenal vs Man City LIVE: Latest Community Shield updates Can Mikel Arteta become Pep Guardiola’s greatest nemesis – or merely the latest? What time is the Community Shield and how to Arsenal vs Man City today Arsenal will need ‘unheard of’ points tally to win title – Mikel Arteta Pep Guardiola expects Arsenal summer signings to take them to the next level

The 2023 Leagues Cup Round of 16 is finally here, and it starts with Inter Miami and FC Dallas taking it to the pitch in Frisco, Texas.Lionel Messi and Inter Miami roll into Frisco, Texas, and Toyota Stadium to take on FC Dallas in another MLS matchup of the Leagues Cup. Will FC Dallas have enou...

Erik ten Hag praised Manchester United’s character after they fought back from conceding a “stupid” goal to end their pre-season campaign with a draw against Athletic Bilbao. Facundo Pellestri’s stoppage-time equaliser, which was set up by Harry Maguire, secured a 1-1 draw with 10-man Bilbao at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Sunday afternoon. However for the second time in 48 hours, they had to come from behind after Maguire’s error had gifted the LaLiga outfit a first-half lead. Ten Hag told the club’s official website: “In one weekend, two times we are losing, but you see this team have character and that’s what you need in a season as well. “Sometimes you are down and then you have to show resilience and especially in such moments, you need determination. We have shown that this weekend, it was a good weekend for us. “Yesterday I thought it was a very good level, today I have seen also very good spells. “I think the start of the game was also very good and we should have scored a goal to go up, because it was a great chance from Jadon Sancho. “We had some good moments after that as well and it was stupid how we went down, but as I said, we had a result and we came back so it was a good weekend for us.” Maguire, who was replaced as United captain by Bruno Fernandes during a summer of speculation over his future, was included as one of 11 changes to the side which beat Lens 3-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday, but there was no place for injured £72million signing Rasmus Hojlund, a day after he had been presented to the club’s fans. Ten Hag’s men might have got off to the perfect start when Pellistri played Sancho in behind the Athletic defence with just four minutes gone, but his attempt was blocked by goalkeeper Unai Simon. Goalkeeper Tom Heaton was called upon to claim Inaki Williams’ 15th-minute strike as the Spaniards responded and they though they had been awarded a 25th-minute penalty, seconds after United had seen their appeals waved away at the other end. Referee Neil Doyle initially pointed to the spot after Nico Williams had been brought down by Alvaro Fernandez, only for the official to change his mind and award a free-kick, with which Heaton dealt comfortably. However, the LaLiga side took the lead with 29 minutes gone when Oihan Sancet capitalised on Maguire’s slip-up to feed Nico Williams, who fired past the advancing goalkeeper. Eighteen-year-old Dan Gore tested Simon as the second half got under way with neither side taking a backward step. But Bilbao’s hopes of retaining their advantage were dealt a blow with 24 minutes remaining when last man Aitor Paredes was given a straight red card for hauling back Hannibal Mejbri after conceding possession to the Tunisia midfielder. We don’t give up. We fight until the end Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag Hannibal passed up a glorious opportunity to level when he volleyed the ball over from Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross, but redemption arrived deep into stoppage time when Maguire headed down another Wan-Bissaka delivery for Pellistri to steer home the equaliser. Ten Hag said: “We don’t give up. We fight until the end. Finally, we got the equaliser and I thought it was justified. “We wanted a good result, to finish the pre-season well.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Bryson DeChambeau fires record-breaking 58 on way to LIV Golf Greenbrier title Kylian Mbappe to be barred from training with PSG first team Arsenal ‘obviously paid way too much’ for Declan Rice, says Roy Keane