Category: World Cup 2023

Spain coach Vilda on player revolt: ‘Next question’

Jorge Vilda would not be drawn on a question about last fall’s revolt by 15 Spain players

On the eve of the World Cup final, Spain head coach Jorge Vilda refused to answer a question about last fall’s player revolt that, according to Spain’s federation, saw 15 players demand his ouster.

Spain is on the verge of history, having reached Sunday’s final against England at Stadium Australia amid a highly tumultuous period.

As his team aims for its first World Cup title, Vilda was again asked about the player unrest in his pre-match press conference.

“Next question please,” was the coach’s response.

Of the 15 players who demanded changes last fall, only three made the World Cup roster: Ona Batlle, Aitana Bonmatí and Mariona Caldentey.

Five of the remaining 12 made themselves available for the World Cup but were not picked. That leaves seven, including stars Patri Guijarro and Mapi León, who refused to return.

Despite the turmoil and missing players, Spain has put together an outstanding World Cup. La Roja defeated pre-tournament favorites Netherlands and Sweden in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, to leave them on the brink of a first world title on the women’s side.

Vilda would not be drawn on the ongoing controversy, instead choosing to focus on the unity of the 23 players that he did select for the World Cup.

“From the very beginning, the players have been united and working a lot,” Vilda said. “Today will be the 65th training session and all have come out very well — the training, games, everything inside the squad has been extraordinary. They have had fun, we’ve been together.”

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How to watch England vs. Spain: Women’s World Cup final TV and streaming info

Here’s how to watch the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final between England and Spain

After a long month full of action-packed games, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is nearly over. There’s just one game left between two teams and soccer immortality — and it will be a historic win for either nation. Spain and England will enter the last game of the tournament looking to bring home their first-ever World Cup title.

Spain began the knockout stage with an easy 5-1 win over Switzerland, then had much more difficult tasks in a pair of 2-1 wins: first against Netherlands in a quarterfinal that went to extra time, then in a semifinal against Sweden that was settled by a late winner from Olga Carmona.

For England, the knockout stage began with a narrow penalty shootout win over Nigeria in the last 16, then a 2-1 win over Colombia in the quarterfinal and a 3-1 victory over host nation Australia in the semifinal.

Here is all the information you need to know about the World Cup final:

England vs. Spain (World Cup)

  • When: Sunday, August 20
  • Where: Stadium Australia (Sydney, AU)
  • Time: 6:00 a.m. ET
  • Channel/streaming: FOX, Telemundo, Universo

World Cup starting lineups

England possible lineup:

Earps, Carter, Bright, Greenwood, Bronze, Stanway, Walsh, Daly, Toone, Russo, Hemp

Spain possible lineup:

Coll, Batlle, Paredes, Codina, Carmona, Bonmati, Abelleira, Putellas, Redondo, Hermoso, Caldentey

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When will World Cup players return for NWSL teams?

Notes on returning World Cup players from all 12 NWSL teams

The World Cup may still have a final and third-place game to finish, but the NWSL is done waiting.

The league’s break from regular season play concludes Friday, with the Kansas City Current and OL Reign kicking off a full slate of matches.

It’s awkward timing, with a few players still participating at the World Cup, others still recovering from a physically and mentally grueling process, and yet more having come back quickly after the group stage. With 61 different NWSL players going to the World Cup, there are probably 61 unique situations to deal with here.

Pro Soccer Wire knows fans want to know when their team’s internationals will be back in uniform, so we’ve done the relevant social media research and Zoom press conference recording. Consider this a status update for all 61 World Cup participants as the NWSL playoff chase truly gets underway.

Chloe Kelly’s full bladder inspired England penalty heroics

Pro athletes, they’re just like the rest of us!

Chloe Kelly said she had a little extra motivation to make her spot kick in England’s penalty shootout win over Nigeria last week.

In addition to her desire to clinch a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals, Kelly simply needed to get into the locker room as soon as possible.

“I just really needed to wee,” Kelly told England’s social media channels.

After a 0-0 draw over 120 minutes, England took a 3-2 lead in a penalty shootout. Up stepped Kelly as England’s fifth taker. If she scored, a place in the quarterfinal (and the bathroom) beckoned. If she missed, Nigeria could send the shootout into sudden death with a converted spot kick.

The result? A shot faster than any male or female scored in England’s top flight all of last season. The Lionesses can only hope that if Kelly has a penalty in Sunday’s World Cup final against Spain, her bladder will be similarly full.

“To be honest, me and Beth [England] were in the lineup for the penalty shootout and I just really needed to wee, so that was all I was thinking about,” the Man City striker said.

“I really needed to wee and I was like, ‘I’ll just step up and it’ll be done.’ That was it and we had doping after and I was just like, ‘Yes, I need a wee!'”

Pro athletes, they’re just like the rest of us! (except way better at sports.)

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England’s head honchos are sitting out the World Cup final

The British royal family and prime minister will not attend the match between England and Spain

England’s women’s national team has reached its first World Cup final, which is also the first World Cup final any England side has been in since 1966.

But none of the country’s top leaders will be making the journey to Sydney to watch the Lionesses face Spain on Sunday.

Rishi Sunak, the country’s prime minister, will not be in attendance at Stadium Australia, nor will King Charles, Queen Camilla or Prince William, who also serves as president of the Football Association (FA).

Sunak would “love to be there” but is missing out due to the ongoing war in Ukraine as well as “some of the other things that are happening with the wider economy,” health minister Neil O’Brien said in quotes on the BBC.

There was no word on the king and queen’s absence but the BBC said that Prince William “made the decision to avoid making long-distance flights for a very short stay in Australia. He is believed to be concerned about the climate impact of making the journey.”

Prince William’s decision has drawn some criticism back home.

“I think the Prince of Wales should be there,” Gerry Sutcliffe, the UK’s former minister for sport, told the Daily Telegraph. “I know it’s a long way, and I’m sure he has family commitments, but this is a unique moment. It’s the World Cup final, and he’s the president of the FA.”

Daily Mail writer AN Wilson joined in with a column titled: “I have no doubt if England’s men had reached the World Cup final, Prince William would be there.”

In the royal family and prime minister’s places will be UK foreign secretary James Cleverly and Lucy Frazer, the UK secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport.

For Spain, Queen Letizia and her 16-year-old daughter Infanta Sofía will be in attendance at the match, but King Felipe will not be making the journey.

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We regret to inform you that Gianni Infantino is at it again

It was yet another speech from the FIFA president that was equal parts bizarre and offensive

Gianni Infantino never seems to go too long before putting his foot in his mouth and on Friday, the “days since Gianni said something regrettable” sign was set back to zero again.

This time, Infantino tried to inspire the global female population with some of his typically soaring rhetoric. It was, as it tends to be so often with the FIFA president, deeply weird.

“I say to all the women – and you know I have four daughters, so I have a few at home – I say to all the women that you have the power to change. Pick the right battles, pick the right fights. You have the power to change,” Infantino said at a press conference ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final between England and Spain.

“You have the power to convince us, men, what we have to do and what we don’t have to do. You do it, just do it. With me, with FIFA, you will find open doors. Just push the doors, they are open.

“And, do it also at national level in every country, at continental level, in every confederation. Just keep pushing, keep the momentum [going], keep dreaming, and let’s really go for full equality.”

OK!

Infantino seems to relish these World Cup moments, taking advantage of having the globe’s attention to deliver speeches that are equal parts bizarre and offensive. Who could forget the true masterwork of this genre, the “today I feel gay, today I feel disabled, today I feel a migrant worker” speech from the 2022 World Cup?

As many noted, Infantino’s push to inspire women was slightly disingenuous because in many cases, the person they’d need to “pick the right battles” with would be, well, him.

It is certainly not a bad thing to have more women taking action globally, but Infantino is either not aware or doesn’t care that he is literally the worst person on earth to deliver this message.

Infantino is not the only person holding women’s soccer back, but he is also very much the most important person when it comes to enacting change. To ask others to convince him when he should already be convinced is just about the height of dark irony.

Norway and Lyon star Ada Hegerberg responded to Infantino’s call for action in appropriately sarcastic fashion.

Best of luck Ada!

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The top five Women’s World Cup Golden Ball candidates

Here are the top five candidates to take home the biggest individual prize at the World Cup

The 2023 Women’s World Cup is finally coming to a close. After a stacked field battled it out over the course of the past month, just two teams — England and Spain — remain ahead of Sunday’s final. But while the World Cup trophy is what everyone is chasing, there’s another race to keep an eye on.

That, of course, is the race for the Golden Ball. Soccer is a team sport, but it’s important to recognize individual excellence, too, and that’s exactly what this award does. Who will take home the honor as the best player in this year’s tournament?

Let’s take a look at the top five candidates for this year’s Golden Ball.

A look at all eight previous Women’s World Cup finals

A look back at every single Women’s World Cup final

The Women’s World Cup final is set as England and Spain face off in a battle of first-time finalists.

Spain continues to overcome recent team turmoil and defeated Sweden 2-1 in Tuesday’s first semifinal, while England knocked off host nation Australia in Wednesday’s second semifinal.

While Sam Kerr and Australia didn’t get their fairytale ending, the Matildas still have one game left, Saturday’s third-place match against Sweden.

A matchup of first-time finalists means Sunday’s final is set to crown a first-time champion. While we wait for this weekend’s action, let’s take a look back at all the previous Women’s World Cup finals and see who the 2023 champs will be joining in eternal soccer glory.

U.S. makes World Cup final after all as referee Penso gets England vs. Spain

Four of the World Cup final refereeing crew hail from the U.S.

After all that, the United States is still going to the World Cup final.

Referee Tori Penso and assistant referees Brooke Mayo and Kathryn Nesbitt will make up most of the refereeing crew for Sunday’s final between England and Spain.

The appointment is the first of its nature at a women’s or men’s World Cup final for a referee from the United States.

The trio of U.S. natives will be joined on the field by Yoshimi Yamashita of Japan, who will operate as the fourth official on the day. Another American, Armando Villarreal, has been assigned the role of Support Video Assistant Referee, placing him in the VAR booth at Stadium Australia.

Penso has been a busy woman since the knockout rounds began. She was the referee for England’s 3-1 semifinal win over Australia, as well as France’s round of 16 victory over Morocco. Overall, the final will be the fifth game Penso has officiated at this World Cup.

Penso is no stranger to making history. She was the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup qualifier, taking charge of a June 2021 first round match between Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.

Nine months earlier, she was the center referee for an MLS match between Nashville SC and D.C. United, making her the first woman to get that role in the league in 20 years. Per the Professional Referees Organization, Penso has officiated 18 MLS matches, and was also the head referee for the 2021 NWSL Championship game.

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Andonovski steps down as USWNT head coach after World Cup failure

Andonovski’s four-year reign is over after the team’s worst World Cup showing ever

Vlatko Andonovski has stepped down as head coach of the U.S. women’s national team.

Assistant coach Twila Kilgore has been named interim head coach while U.S. Soccer conducts a search for a full-time replacement.

Andonovski’s resignation comes in the aftermath of the USWNT’s worst World Cup showing ever, with the team wining just one of four games and exiting in the round of 16 after a penalty shootout loss to Sweden.

After the defeat to Sweden, Andonovski was widely expected to depart with his contract set to expire at the end of 2023.

“It’s been the honor of my life to coach the talented, hard-working players of the USWNT for the past four years,” Andonovski said in a U.S. Soccer statement. “I’m very optimistic for the future of this program, especially considering all the young players that got opportunities over the past few years who will no doubt be leaders and impact players moving forward.

“While we are all disappointed by the outcome at this year’s World Cup, I am immensely proud of the progress this team has made, the support they’ve shown for each other, and the inspiration they’ve provided for players around the world. I will be forever thankful to the U.S. Soccer Federation for giving me the chance to coach this remarkable team.”

Andonovski was named USWNT head coach in October 2019, taking over from Jill Ellis after the team won back-to-back World Cup titles.

Things started well enough for Andonovski, who put together 16 straight wins to start his tenure, and won 22 of his first 23 games overall. But that all changed with his first major tournament in charge, the Olympics in 2021.

The USWNT was hammered by Sweden to start the Olympics, and never seemed to fully recover en route to a disappointing bronze medal showing. That put Andonovski under major pressure to deliver at the 2023 World Cup.

However, the USWNT turned in a similarly disappointing showing in Australia and New Zealand, struggling to consistently show the form that saw them enter the tournament as favorites.

Andonovski has reported interest from national teams as well as clubs in the NWSL, where he’s experienced major success coaching in Kansas City and with the franchise now known as OL Reign.

“All of us at U.S. Soccer thank Vlatko for his dedication to our women’s national team over the past four years,” said U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker. “Vlatko worked tirelessly for this team and has been a strong and positive leader for our women’s program. We’re grateful for everything he has contributed to U.S. Soccer and know he has a bright future in the sport.”

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