The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - Lionesses frustrated, plus the Rubiales trial fallout – Women’s Football Weekly podcast

Episode Date: February 25, 2025

Faye Carruthers is joined by Sophie Downey, Suzy Wrack and Jamie Spangher to talk through the Women’s Nations League openers

This is The Guardian. to the Lionesses Nations League campaign after they were held to a one-all draw by Portugal. Spain were tested by Belgium but came from behind in dramatic fashion. Their stoppage time win means they topped the group. There were defeats for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland but the Republic have started off their campaign with a win. We'll round up the results, discuss the fallout from the Luis Fribeales trial, plus we'll take your questions and that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. What a panel we have today. Suzy Rack, hello, happy Tuesday. Always my favourite day of the week when I see you. I mean it's nice you say it but we know it's not true. It's so true. Oh my god as if I'd say it and not mean it genuinely. Jamie Spanger, we have you two weeks in a row. Look at this back

to back pods. I love it. How are you? I'm very good Faye, glad to be back. It's been a rough Jamie Spanger, we have you two weeks in a row look at this back-to-back pods I love it how are you? I'm very good Faye, glad to be back it's been a rough weekend watching the Matildas though so hopefully speaking about some other teams might brighten my day a little bit more. I know I'm so sorry I feel like we jinxed you again, we've just got this horrible habit of doing it on this pod. Sophie Downey on the move again wearing a hat in a car. I mean it's always like where's Sophie? You need to replace the where's Wally books I think but with different hats than the stripey ones. Yeah guess where I am today? Yeah just

back from Portugal with Suzie so feeling a bit refreshed, a little bit but ready to go for another busy week. I wasn't suggesting you were a Wall-E by the way, but with that at all I just thought you could just start to have your own books. I am a bit of a Wall-E anyway so it's fine. You are not. I would never ever describe you as a Wall-E. Right, the Lionesses kicked off their Nations League campaign with a trip to the Algarve where they face Portugal in Portimao on Friday night. In a tough group it wasn't quite the start that Serena Vigman had been hoping for. It finished Portugal one, England one.

Alessia Russo opened the scoring in a strong first half showing for the Lionesses, but Portugal regrouped after the break and found their equalizer through substitute Kika Nazareth. I mean, it felt like a really frustrating game of two halves, Susie, for England. What did you make of their performance? Yeah, I mean, I think that sums it up like very much a game of two halves, extremely

frustrating second half. I think it's the quality of the first half performance that makes it so frustrating in that, you know, England were completely dominant. Lucy Brons was excellent. The play in the middle going through Grace Clinton, absolutely phenomenal. She was just everywhere, defensively brilliant, made a fantastic block early on that was really important. And then it's sort of kind of feeding all play through her, which is super exciting. When we're sort of light in that area

and we've obviously got, you know, Georgia Stanway injured and things. But then, yeah, the second half, complete and utter sort of different story. You know, obviously Lucy goes off at half time, Serena said afterwards it was a precaution, but it was it was just very very lackluster in the second half comparatively and I think that's partly because Portugal were just so good. Like they changed formation, they really adapted, they were like tactically on it switched to a 442 and the manager

afterwards said he thought that that was where it was super effective and you know you can't argue with it it made a difference and England struggled to cope with it. Yeah Jess Carter came on when Lucy Bronze came off at half-time but as Suzie alluded to so England really struggled didn't they to adapt to the changes that Portugal made it created them them loads of problems and again we see Serena Vigman then waiting until the 84th minute to switch things up going forward with Chloe Kelly and Aguibiva Jones coming on. I mean she has been criticized before for not reacting sooner, were you surprised that she

waited that long? I was because you could see the way that the second half was going and to be fair to England, they weren't actually, while Portugal had a lot of the ball, they weren't like pummeling the goal. I think they actually had one shot on target and that was the goal throughout the game. So they defensively were quite good England, especially given that's been the complaints in recent times. But I do think you could see the way that the game was heading and it just called for maybe a bit of adaptability.

I sometimes think, when you think about the goal for England and the way that they scored it, that's England at their best, you know, direct, switching the play really quickly. And when you look at the goals that they scored against, I think, Germany last year, when they're at their best it's in that free-flowing attacking mode and I just don't think they do it enough. I think Portugal, they were trying to play through Portugal way too much rather than thinking about when they have the ball playing centre-backs of Millie Bright and Leo Williamson because switch of passes,

like I was watching it and Portugal move as a pack across the field. So there was so much space on either flank when they were on the opposite flank and it just required looking up and thinking beyond the game plan or just trying to play through the lines. So I think it's adaptability in terms of Serena Wigman and kind of, you know, her changes and when they make, I do think she is hampered by the kind of squad that she has at the moment in the injuries, but I also think it's also the players needing to learn in those moments that you can play slightly differently or you just need to take the initiative a little bit more. I do think, you know, I'm not overly worried.

I've been talking to Suzy a lot about how Zen I am about the whole situation, so I don't think it's like a signal that we're going to crash out of the euros or whatever. There are improvements to be made, this is the time of year to make those improvements and the next test is going to be even bigger. Yeah certainly is, four months away the euros aren't they? Look there are big absentees Jamie Foote for the Lionesses as we know, Lauren Hemp, Fran Kirby, Alex Greenwood, Georgia Stanway and Beth Mead now as well. It did mean that Jess Park and Jamie Foote for the Lionesses as we know, Lauren Hemp, Fran Kirby, Alex Greenwood, Georgia Stanway and Beth Mead now as well. It did mean that Jess Park and Grace Clinton were

given starting roles. Susie was impressed by Clinton but how did you think that they both did? Yeah, honestly, I think that this is, Serena used those friendlies before Christmas to really experiment with the youth and bring in players like, you know, Ruby Mace and Laura Blink-Brown and start to integrate them in the team. So Grace Clinton, she's had her opportunities, but I think she really needed an opportunity to be the starter over Georgia Stanway because Manchester United manager Mark Skinner has spoken about the fact that she can play in the eight and it's a place that he might prefer her to be. So I think for her to be able to come in and play in Georgia Stanway's position.

And like Susie said, the lioness has played the football through Grace Clinton. She was phenomenal and she's always been a player, especially at Spurs last season that plays far more mature than she liked her age. She's a very, very good ball user and she just like wants the ball. She demands possession. So I think that for her to be able to come into Georgia Stanway's position and play that well, it was very, very impressive. I think I felt bad for Jess Park.

I didn't think she had a bad performance, but she's played out of position. You know, again, bringing it back to Grace Clinton, we've seen her play on the wing a lot for Tottenham and come in and invert into the midfield. We haven't really seen Jess Park play that role. So I don't see that being a long term plan for Serena because Lauren Hemp is probably the most important player in this line as a squad and when she comes back she's a starter. So the midfield was an interesting setup. I also thought teams have begun to realise that if you mark out Kiera Walsh, England really struggle and I think Portugal tacked onto that in the second half. So

Grace Clinton is a very mature player because she's able to demand possession, she doesn't hide from it and it really fills gaps for England. We've been saying that for the last few years now haven't we with Kiera Walsh. It is just two wins in the last five for England, Suzie. Those games against Germany, South Africa, the USA, Switzerland and now Portugal. Soph says she's zen. Are you a Zen, Sophie? Because, you know, it is just four months. We kick things off at the beginning of July. Are you panicking at all or is Sophie rubbing off on you and you're also in your yoga pose? I'm like three quarters of the way to Sophie Zen in that, like, there's been a big change, right, like in the type of games that the team are playing from say well when you look back at the last Euros and the run into that to this Euros and the run into this.

Obviously the introduction of the Nations League has changed things quite dramatically. We've not got you know this kind of time last year. We had the Arnold Clark Cup, it was friendlies, you know, draws with Canada, draw with Spain, that was off the back of a 20-0 against Latvia, a 10-0 against Latvia, a 1-0 against Austria, you know, we're talking about very different competition. In the April camp it was North Macedonia 10-0, Northern Ireland 5-0, like it's a completely different ball game now and so I'm less worried about draws and defeats the top nations in around this period and that's what we're looking at like the loss to Germany a tight 4-3 loss, slightly insane game, a bit of an anomaly, 0-0 draw with the US, nothing to be sniffed at, they were fresh off the back of an Olympic gold riding high and then you're talking about a 1-0 draw with Portugal who

have never ever been an easy team for England. Like, I was looking back at the last two games before this fixture, the last one was either a 0-0 or a 1-0 draw, I can't remember which, and then the one prior to that was the 1-0 win in Portugal under Phil Neville towards the end of his tenure that was a really bad performance and that was the key. It wasn't even really that England had got a win in that game, the performance was so so poor that the questions were being asked. at least we saw a really really good first half performance in this game that shows signs of what England can do. so i'm not like worried worried. the one concern i do have is as much as i don't really care about

the nations league, it is a competitive tournament and no other big nation seems to be necessarily having the same sort of problem that England has time and time again. I mean some are having a little bit of a dip in this Nations League but I mean like England every single gap in between a major tournament seems to have a little bit of a like wobble, there's a little bit of a hangover and things like that and I just I don't see many teams having that same problem and that's the only thing that slightly concerns me but again like who the hell am I to doubt Serena who's won two European championships taken two teams to World Cup finals like

the verdict will be done by the time of the Euros and them being over and we'll be able to say well you know they got it right or they got it wrong but even then even if England get it wrong at the Euros like I don't know in Serena we trust like I don't you know I don't see anyone better that we would have in this position like I just think it's football everyone's getting better like we're not going to win everything that's just the way it's going to be and that's why we like it right like it's not going to win everything. That's just the way it's going to be. And that's why we like it, right? Like it's boring when Chelsea win everything, isn't it? Like it's not as fun. We want there to be a bit of drama and yeah, we're not going to win everything.

It was a fast, successful trajectory as well. So obviously it's going to plateau at some point and have a couple of dips along the way. I think it's when you see other teams like Portugal, for example, so if you know, they're 22nd in the world. I think it's when you see other teams like Portugal for example, so you know they're 22nd in the world. I think the Portugal that we're seeing now is vastly different to the one that we've seen in the Arnold-Clarke Cup previously. They've built really well under Francisco Neto. They were actually unbeaten in 2024 which is quite incredible and they were always going to be a tougher opponent than maybe we thought on paper.

Absolutely, I was actually telling everyone I could speak to last week this is not going to be easy. Like I think some people thought we'd go into that test and just walk over them. It was never going to be easy on their home patch with the kind of forwards that they have as well. I know Kika came on but even in terms of the Silvers, Jessica and Diana, they really, really stretch the play. They have so much pace in them and the way they have become defensively solid as well. Portugal love having possession of the football, but they've actually in the last few years really developed that defensive structure around the ball. They've been in three of the last four major tournaments, I think. They came

into the last year as they didn't get out of the group stage, but they performed so well, given they had something like four months to prepare because they were kind of parachuted in at the last minute. So I think we've really seen that development. I think the other thing I'd say, like, maybe to Susie's point about England as well, is that I think everyone thinks about that unbeaten run that England went on, you know, and I think that's actually a rod for England's own back in a way. It was brilliant at the time, don't get me wrong, everyone loved it, it was an England fan, but I think everyone is

thinking back to that time and then thinking they should just like run over everyone and it's not going to happen in this day and age with the Nations League. I have my own views on the Nations League in terms of what I think of it as a competition, but there is no doubt that they were playing like top quality opposition every time we step out onto a football field. And if you want that side of the game to continue, if that you want that competition to continue, then the 33 game winning run is not never going to happen ever again.

We're going to have to do a singular pod on Sophie's rant about the Nations League. I actually quite like the Nations League. I prefer competitive games. I get why you don't like it. It's probably going to take way too long for us to cover on this pod. Sophie might lose her zen-like state if we start so let's leave it for now. I want to know about Kika Nazareth though Jamie because there was a little bit of surprise that she was left on the bench and perhaps now explained that she's had to leave the camp but she really changed the game didn't she when she came on. What does she add to this Portuguese side?

Yeah absolutely I think there was surprise and then obviously now we've seen her withdraw from the camp. So that's explaining she's picked up something. But a player like her, obviously we know that she plays for Barcelona. She's a really, really strong, exciting forward. But for her, it felt like when the game, you know,

Suzy spoke a little bit about Portugal changing formation in that second half and really kind of adapting to the game state. But it felt like when you've got someone like her that can act as a target, but also like open up the play and split open the play, it felt like Portugal had a lot more control over the ball because they were able to carry possession and kind of drag England where they wanted to

because they knew they had a target like her. And then we've seen it, like she wheels onto her like right foot and she puts that top bins and that's to no one's fault. I think there's a little bit of a minute there where Millie Bright backs off where she probably should put some more pressure on her but I think when you've got a player like that that can pull that out and you know put that top shelf it's a player that Portugal need because I think their standard is actually so consistent

across the pitch but when you've got a star like her that can come on it really really lifts levels because they're not a pushover team like everyone has said they are not a pushover team but I everyone has said, they are not a pushover team. But I think every nation, when you're coming up against, you know, teams like England, you're coming up against teams like Spain, you do need an outlier that's gonna kind of like get you over the line in those results. So yeah, she's an exceptional player. I can wax a lyrical about her all day long,

but yeah, it's about finding those stars. And I think England maybe underestimated that because she wasn't on the pitch at the start of the game and they weren't ready for that transition and I think Portugal outmanaged that second half and she obviously had a big part to play in that. Well learning curve then in that case, do not underestimate when you've got a player of that quality on the bench and actually it's going to get even tougher for England because they host Spain at Wembley on Wednesday night and Spain themselves were involved in a dramatic five goal encounter.

They hosted Belgium on Friday. Belgium actually went two nil up before Montsetome's side. They launched a comeback. They needed two injury time goals though to salvage all three points. Didn't go quite their way, but you know, the best tend to find a way don't they? I don't want to fully analyze Spain's game let's look at them in

terms of an opposition Susie ahead of Wednesday's match. Are you expecting any changes from from England's point of view? I don't expect a huge number of changes because I think once Sabrina Fieghman sort of hits the run into a tournament football she likes to start finding the starting eleven that is going to be her starting eleven for a tournament. You know we've seen her with most of her teams sticking with the same starting eleven throughout an entire major tournament so I feel like she'll be edging towards that starting eleven but I think there will be tweaks. I mean obviously the injured players

mean that there sort of has to be but whether there's many from the Portugal game I think there will be tweaks. I mean obviously the injured players mean that there sort of has to be but whether there's many from the Portugal game I think it will probably be minimal. I hope Lucy bronze is back because I feel like we really need the attacking threat out wide. Her and Lee Child are so much more forward-thinking than say a Jess Carter like filling in at right back. I think we could maybe see a Nikita Paris or Chloe Kelly instead of Jess Park for a little bit of a more natural wide player. But I think other than that, the only other change we might see is maybe in goal purely swapping ups for Hannah Hampton for Hannah Hampton's distribution. But that said, I always feel whilst Hannah has the better distribution, I always feel more confident if Mary is in goal for big games. I don't think Hannah Hampton quite has the confidence in those

big moments, you know, she has a bit of a wobble then I think she kind of, it gets in her head a little bit. So I think there's a little bit of a decision to be made there about what you sort of sacrifice in that scenario, but I think having Hampton who has played against Spain before in the Arnold Cup match ready and sort of confident would be a good thing going into the Euros. So I think like minimal, minimal changes and we're going to start in the next couple of months, the next few months to see the closest thing we're going to see to the starting 11 for the Euros, a bar maybe, you know, if Lauren Hem can be back, her slotting probably straight back in.

We all know the last time these two sides met, so it feels like forever ago, doesn't it? And yeah, sad times. 2023 World Cup final in case anybody listening can't remember. Look, different teams, a lot has gone on since then. What will England have learned maybe from that day and perhaps what they need to try and be successful in the game on Wednesday?

I think what they will have learned from the World Cup final is that they need to be much more savvy against a Spanish team, I would think. And it was about the I mean, the goal in the World Cup final came from a big error in midfield from Lucy Bronze, I think. And I think it's just about really being aware that, you know, you cannot make those kinds of errors against this kind of opposition and get away with it. I think for England, and I think it's the same across all of the board, whether it's men's, women's, youth level on either side, when they play Spain, they

need to get comfortable without the ball. And I think you have to just accept that you can't play Spain at their own game. They're going to play possession football. They want to do that tiki taki, you know, pass it around multiple times, try and pass their way into the box, all of that kind of stuff. And I think England fall too often sometimes into the trap of trying to match that And I think England fall too often sometimes into the trap of trying to match that rather than trying to nullify it. And, you know, some of the best defensive people don't like non-possession football, but actually some of the best defensive performances are those where you really understand that you're not going to have the ball for a while. If you look at Belgium against Spain on Friday, they had 18% possession and they got 2-0 up until the 75th minute. So that shows what can be done against this team. This team can be got at. They are fallible at the back if you get at them right and if you're prepared

to play directly. But you can't try and match them at their own game and I think that's the trap that England have to avoid trying to fall into on Wednesday night. Yeah, you're exactly right. They're world champions obviously Jamie, current Nations League holders as well but I think probably and maybe because of so much going on behind the scenes off the field that they've maybe had some more ups and downs than you'd expect from a team with silverware. Why do you think that is? And just as Sophie alluded to, where can they be got at? Yeah, absolutely. I think that, you know, as someone that's not English, I'm looking at the English media and the fans and the coverage, and it feels like as soon as England falter,

there is a lot to be analysed and there's a lot of pressure on Serena Begman and the Lionesses and what they can do. But if you look at Spain over the last 12 months, they have not been exceptional. And this is a team that we hold to the highest honor. And we think, oh, they beat everyone. It's really like they're an invincible force and no one can beat them. But if you look at their last results, like the 3-2 win over Belgium and then a 4-2 win over France, like Sophie said, they are very gettable defensively. They're leaky at the back because when they lose possession, they're kind of not used to that game state and then they smash South Korea. But then they've got two back to back draws in October to Italy and Canada.

So this is a team that I think if England were getting those results, a lot of people would be calling home about it a bit more. So I think for a team like Spain, we know what they've got going forward. Their firepower going forward off the bench and in the starting 11 is ridiculous because I think that you can start anyone in that squad upfront. Like you don't have to have your regular starters in the mid 11 is ridiculous, because I think that you can start anyone in that squad up front. Like you don't have to have your regular starters in the midfield or up front.

Defensively, they're a little bit more shaky. I think right now they started with Laila Wahabi and Laya Alexandri on Friday night against Belgium, and we've seen them be shaky at Man City, and now that's kind of transpiring into the Spain team. So I think if a team is able to sit back and just be a little bit more humble and not need to, you know, grab a possession, like Sophie said, there are holes because they're not very savvy

on the counter attack when a team kind of grabbed the ball off them. So I don't think this is an invincible team going into the Euros. And like, again, echoing what what Susie and Sophie both said about England, I don't think England fans need to be too worried because if you're saying Spain are going into this tournament as major, you know, the major obvious winners, I don't think England fans need to be too worried because if you're saying Spain are going into this tournament as major, you know, the major obvious winners, I don't think that's true. I think every team's gettable and if Serena kind of sorts herself out, tomorrow is going to be a big test of whether both nations are in their levels. It's going to be fascinating, isn't it?

I can't wait a proper battle. That's it for part one. In part two, we'll look at the rest of the international action while there was big news in Spain with the conclusion of the Luis Rubiales court case. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. The rest of Europe were also involved in Nations League action on Friday night. In League A, Wales and Scotland looked to test themselves against top-tier opposition. Wales fell to a 1-0 defeat in their opener against Italy in Monza thanks to a fifth-minute header from Barbara Bonensea.

Hayley Ladd meanwhile became Wales' latest player to reach 100 caps. What were you and Wilkinson have made of her side's performance, Susie? Well she said afterwards that she was very proud and the fact that it was a 1-0 defeat and that she was annoyed with that was a testament to the team and the way they had played, which I think was fair. Generally speaking, I think teams of Wales level need to have a little bit more confidence in themselves when they go up against teams who are technically above them but you know there's not there's not that big a gap at that level between some of the teams and I think they've got such quality in the squad and have done so well in qualifying for the Euros that there's a big chance for them to cause some

upsets in their group and this was a sort of testament to that. So like I think she's right to feel frustrated at the one nil defeat, it's narrow. I think there's a good opportunity for Wales to cause some problems and get some really good experience in ahead of the Euros as well. You know it's a tough tough group so it's going to be really interesting to see see sort of what happens in the next game. Well that's tonight, if you're downloading the podcast on Tuesday afternoon you've just got a few hours for this preview so we're not going to specifically preview the game if you like but we will talk about both sides in terms of particularly Wales in terms of the Euros. The game was doing the rounds on social media wasn't it and not necessarily for the action on the pitch. Sof, the Swedes come into this off the back of a 2-1 victory

over Denmark and it was the Panila Harda versus Magdalena Eriksen Derby wasn't it? What would you give to be a fly on the wall in that household? Oh it's very very funny. I think it just shows a testament to kind of the competitors that they are but I did feel a bit sorry for Panela who came off a little bit worse in the sort of struggles between them. I think she had a bruised rib and a bruised nose to go with it but actually they both joke separately I think in post-match press conferences that it's one to tell the kids about when they're older. But yeah, no a great story. I think it's for them as well. It's a really interesting one.

It's a bit like the Man City Chelsea thing that we've got about to come over the horizon here. They play each other twice in the Nations League and twice and they face each other as well and of course in the Euro group as well. So they're going to be seeing a lot of each other. So this was just one of the preparations. Yeah, brilliant. So Wales host Sweden in Wrexham later. What threats are Peter Gehardsson's side going to pose to Wales, Jamie? Yeah, honestly, I think we know the attacking threat of Sweden, don't we? We know how good they are and how stacked they are up front. I think for Wales, it's obviously about being defensively sound. And we've seen how headstrong they have

been over the last couple months. You know, Ireland do pose a threat and they held them off quite well and now it's kind of fighting a different beast in Sweden because of their talent up front. But I think honestly with Wales right now going into the Euros, they're a young side, they're a very promising side. I think it's very promising that they've got Elise Hughes back in the setup. I know she didn't play on Friday night, but that's a young striker who we know when we, we can see at our best, she can really be making an impact for Wales. So I think you're going in against a team

with a top opposition, but a team like Sweden over the last couple of years, they have had a bit of a habit to underperform at major tournaments. So I think that it's gonna be a real test for Wales to see what their level is at, because against a team like Sweden, they do like to play, you know, play their best football outside of major

tournaments and then they finished third at the World Cup but there was some shaky, shaky showings along the way. So I think for Wales it's about entering this fixture defensively sound, focusing on that, you know, you're not going to probably win the possession battle. You really just need to hold up against, against who Sweden can bring off on the bench. And Wales have the Netherlands in their Euro 2025 group and the Netherlands face Scotland tonight.

Scotland were beaten one-nil by Austria thanks to a goal from Essen midfielder, Lili Puschela. It was quite a poor performance actually from Scotland, wasn't it? They were up against it for much of the first half. Should their fans start to be getting a bit worried at the moment, Suzie? No, in that they've only got an interim head coaching at the moment in Michael McArdle.

So it's not like a change isn't a foot. He made 10 changes to the starting line-up that suffered that really awful defeat that meant that they didn't get to the Euros against Finland, wasn't it? So there were changes changes but the performance was not great. I mean it was pretty flat, they had chances and missed them. I mean Kirstie Hansen said afterwards that she was really annoyed with herself for not taking the two chances that she had. So like there's worry in that you know obviously the performance wasn't great but at the same time it's sort of that they're in a little bit of an interim phase with an interim manager but like a little bit of a middling phase and once they get a permanent person in post then like hopefully

that things can start turning around a little bit faster and I hope that they spend the time, it's good they've got an interim in, like finding someone and carefully doing their due diligence to get someone who's really going to fit and work for their team because their squad is so stacked with talent. That said, all of that said, like we can't be too dismissive of Austria, they're an incredibly well organised team, they've had great sort of tournament runs at the Euros, England only got a 1-0 win over them in the opening game, it was a late win, it was a really tough, gritty win, so like a 1-0 loss to Austria isn't like an embarrassment, so I think frustration at the performance around that and you know given that they had a decent-ish amount of the ball, like 40-ish percent, and 10 shots, six on target, more shots on target than Austria had. So those can be the frustrations,

and the way they played can be the frustrations, but I wouldn't say a one-nil lost Austria is anything to be kicking yourself too hard about, and I also think that there's not a need to kind of sound alarm bells when there's change of foot, right? Like it's not the end of the world. Yeah, they just need a little bit of stability

at the moment and then build under a new manager. So Netherlands at Hampton Park next. They come into this off the back of a two-all draw with Germany. I'm sure Wales will dissect this game afterwards they're playing at the same time pretty much what are going to be the main threats so if do you think that the Netherlands pose I mean they've got so many especially in the attacking area I mean Viv Miedema is back she captained the team against Germany and she's just

looking like the player she's always been back to her best again. And then Lyneth Berenstien as well I think is going to be a major threat. She scored twice against Germany, she's in some form for a country at the moment. I think she's really stepped up in the last few months or even the last year to become that kind of forward that they've always expected her to be. So I think across the park they're going to have problems. I think the Netherlands are in a different league to Austria in terms of what they can do up front. So they're going to really have to up their performance in Scotland if they are going

to be able to hold them in distance, I think, because when you look at the Netherlands at the moment, I think they're quietly going about their business. People don't talk about them so much as maybe the Spains or the Englands of the world but I have them up there as a real, you know, one of the ones to watch at the Euros this summer so they're going to be tricky. Yeah they are. Poland were tricky for Northern Ireland because in League B teams obviously looking for promotion ahead of 2027 World Cup qualification and Tanya Oxtoby's Northern Ireland fell to a 2-0 defeat away in Poland. Poland of course preparing for their first ever major tournament. What positives Jamie

if any can they take from this result do you think? Yeah this game was definitely a hard one because Poland obviously dominated the possession. The quality of that Polish team to be in League B is quite odd I feel. Obviously they've qualified for the Euros and it is their first tournament, but they have some real talent. Obviously you were power and they've got some real fire houses up there. And for Northern Ireland, I think the biggest issue was they didn't register a shot on target. And this is a team that we know that have struggled a lot over the last six

months in terms of instigating those attacking threats. And I think although Poland are a good side, they're not to be underestimated. They're not a side that's going to show up and really, really shut you out at the back. Like Northern Ireland had their opportunities, they had five shots but none were on target. So I think Tanya Oxby is looking at this side right now and she's trying to find, you know, the players that are going to make the difference. I think having Simone McGill back and fit is big for them because going forward she can be a real threat because of her pace. But yeah, it was a hard fixture because I think Poland, 18 shots they had on goal.

They really, really exploited Northern Ireland at the back. And I think it's just about organization because if you're gonna perform against these teams in Europe, it's about organization at the back. And I think Northern Ireland, Tania Oksvij is a great manager and she just needs a little bit more time, I think, to kind of organize this team and figure out what their philosophy is because it does feel like they're having struggles in more than one area of the pitch right now.

Yeah, I agree. Bosnia and Herzegovina at home is who Northern Ireland have next. Finally, Carla Ward kicked off her tenure as manager of the Republic of Ireland with an edgy 1-0 victory over Turkey. Kira Carusa scored the only goal of the game deep into first half injury time. It was a real tricky night for Ireland, not the prettiest of performances, I would say, but conditions were not great and there was perhaps a little bit of a hangover from their disappointment, similar to Scotland's, of not qualifying for the Euros, Soph. Yeah, indeed. I think if anyone's been to Tala, they will know what that pitch can be like. It's a complete wind tunnel.

Even with the new stand, when the wind blows, it's just impossible. So when you put the ball into the air, it just goes very, very wayward. So a bit of a kind of a really tricky conditions for Ireland. I think they're trying to, under Carla Ward, they're starting to try and implement a new style of football. They want to possess the ball more. I think it's hard when she was only in camp for two days before the game as well. It's just going to need a little bit of patience, a little bit of time while these players adjust, had some injuries as well. I think Turkey as well, an underrated tricky opposition and they came and made a really good test of it. So for Karl Award the most important thing was

getting those three points. That first win as a manager can hang over you for a while if you don't get it. So she can now put it under the, put it to rest. She's got those three points and I think going to Slovenia, she'll see that as a real opportunity to really start to make her mark in terms of the kind of style of football that she wants Ireland to be playing. Patience in football. So if you're asking way too much, for goodness sake, patience in life in fact. Yeah, trip to Slovenia for Karl Award and the Republic of Ireland later on tonight and as I said not really much point us previewing tonight's games by the time

the pod comes out, it will be very out of date very very quickly. So let's look at the She Believes Cup, Jamie is cringing inside about this next part. They've been the kind of customary February international tournaments around the world and the USA have continued their good run of form at the She Believes Cup with a 2-0 win over Colombia and a 2-1 victory over Australia. Emma Hayes made 11 changes to her starting 11 for that second match and she stated that squad rotation is a key focus for her. She says the objective for this camp for us was to deepen the playing pool by giving opportunities to

less experienced players in high-pressured situations. I think we've achieved that by playing everybody in our squad in these first two games. I mean that is fair enough isn't it? Makes perfect sense because they don't actually have anything to play for until the 2027 World Cup, which they're obviously still going to need to qualify for regardless. But how much of a boost is this period for both her and her team going into the World Cup, Susie? I think it's interesting, isn't it, when you compare it to sort of the way things have

changed for England with the Nations League introduction in that like I think the US need more competitive fixtures and more high level competitive fixtures between major tournaments because they don't have the euros. It's good in a sense that they've got that time to sort of, and Emma Hayes has got that time to experiment with players and sort of blood young talent and kind of give them that like top level experience in meaningless games is like a really, really helpful thing. But I think there's a balance to be struck. You know, for example, Serena Vigman with England could do with more of that time, which is almost completely gone by, you know, one or two games. There's got to be somewhere in the middle for I think both and you know like

that's the constant issue you're grappling with is when you know they're such a dominant force in their confederation like the level that they're competing against locally is you know in the CONCACAF qualifying for the World Cup and that kind of stuff is not strong enough really to give them a decent test between major tournaments. So yeah, it's good, it definitely helps but I do think they could do with more competitive fixtures as much as England could do with slightly fewer. Yes, again just like patience really, fixture organisation in football. Another massive question mark. Question marks over Australia at the minute Jamie as well. Two straight defeats. How worried are you about their current form? I don't think you're a zen

as Soph, that's for sure. And it feels like it's taken forever as well to appoint a permanent replacement for Tony Gustafson. Yeah, that's exactly it, Faye. Like when you think about it, it feels like, oh, Tony Gustafson departed Australia a couple months ago. No, it was last summer. Like it's been eight months with Tom Simani in charge as the interim head coach right now. And I think what the game against Japan, the first game of the She Believes Cup, really displayed was this is an interim period with no future because it felt like Tom Simani was playing as an interim head coach that was just he's there to fill in because you're playing Mackenzie Arnold, who's out of season. The NWSL ended months ago, you're playing a centre-back partnership of Alana Kennedy and

Claire Hunt which historically hasn't thrived. So it did feel like it was, you know, put on the players because of their reputation, not what we're going to build on forward. And that was why I did take a lot of positives from the USA game, can I be honest, because I think we saw a manager that was looking at the future a little bit more. Tegan Micah, I think, deserves that number one shirt and she should have it for the future. She's a young goalkeeper with a higher ceiling than Mackenzie Arnold has right now. You know, she probably passed her prime. And then he's played a player like Winona Heatley, who I thought was probably the brightest

spark. And you've got that young spine now, players like Kyra Cooney Cross, Mary Fowler and Holly McNamara. So I felt like the USA game was, okay, let's now look at who's going to come up. Because what Australia have had over the last 10 years is they've had a core group of good players, like really standout players. You've got your Sam Kers, your Steph Catley, your Caitlin Ford, your, you know, Mackenzie Arnold, Katrina Gorez.

That core group is now on its way out. So the positive I took from that USA game was, okay, we're looking at the future now. And there is something to be seen here. There is something to be seen. It may not be that golden generation that's passing through now, but there might be a bit of a future plan. But again, you take it with a grain of salt because never in a million years is Emma Hayes putting out that starting 11 in a major tournament or a big game with stakes. And I think it does prove a bit of a testament of where the USA are at in terms of youth level, because if you can bring on a play like like Jadon Shaw, Emma Sears, the Thompsons, like the level of youth talent in that USA squad is so, so inspiring.

So, yeah, I took it with a pinch of salt, but I did see a large improvement in their USA game. And I'm just hoping maybe we might have a head coach soon. Yeah, I mean, there's there's gotta be some planning, hasn't there, going on behind the scenes and there's question marks over whether that is happening or not. So the final is on Thursday morning, it's USA against Japan and actually Japan,

as they always are, so have been really fun to watch. How do you see that one going? I just love watching Japan, they're so good. I think it's going to be really interesting. Obviously the last two time they met I think was in the quarterfinals of the Olympics, the USA 1-1-0. So it's going to be interesting to see how these two sides and the different cycles they're in right now are going to match up against each other. I mean Japan, this tournament have just been really, really good entertainment. You know, you've got kind of, I would suggest that

anyone would go and watch Momoko Tanikawa's goal from the weekend because she's 19, but absolutely phenomenal strike. And then you've got someone like Mina Tanaka, who's, you know, scored four goals in two games. So when Japan are on it, they're really on it. And when I keep thinking about this, and I think it's more for them, it's about consistency now, because they've obviously got the talent within their team, they've got a really good collective feeling within the team, but they just need that consistency. And when I think back to the World Cup in 2023, they beat Spain 4-0, you know, they came out and beat the world champions 4-0 in that tournament, but then they couldn't back it up the next game, or the game after, you know, they got knocked out of the tournament. So for them it's about building that consistency

of results to mean that when they have a really good performance like that game against Spain where they completely outdid them, they can then go and back it up with the next one and the next one and that's how they can truly get to challenging for trophies at the end of the day. Yeah, right, massive news this week out of Spain. Thursday afternoon it was announced that Luis Rubiales, who you'll remember is the former president of the Spanish Football Federation, had been found guilty of sexually assaulting Jenny Hemoso at the 2023 World Cup final.

He's been ordered to pay £10,800 in fines and isn't allowed to go within 200 meters of Hemoso or contact her for 12 months. He was acquitted though of coercion as were Jorge Vilda, Albert Look and Ruben Rivera who had been on trial for putting pressure on Hemoso to say that the kiss was consensual. This is what Jenny Hemoso had to say afterwards. After all, this will create an important precedent in a social environment in which much remains to be done. My heart is full of each of the people who have been, are and will continue with me in this fight and now it's over. Both Rubiales and Hemoso are planning to appeal. Separate to this case, Rubiales' appeal against FIFA's three-year ban from football was rejected

by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. What are your thoughts on all the verdicts here, Suzie? I mean, there's like great positives, right? Like it's great that he was convicted of sexual assault. It's great this ban hasn't been overturned. I wrote in a like comment piece afterwards that it's the whole thing leaves a bitter aftertaste because I don't understand how he couldn't have been done for coercion, which some Irina Paredes said in her press conference before at the start of this international window. And the fact that it's been a non-custodial sentence as well is very frustrating. I mean, we're talking about a fine that it was less than 1.5% of his annual

salary before obviously he was to step aside. So you know it's like pocket change for him. So the impact on him is fairly minimal. Like his three year ban is all like you know only I think it's up in 2026. So it's not that far off being done, he's got a pocket change fine and he's going to be able to rebuild his life of some kind and potentially come back into football in the not too distant future if anyone will take him but like based on sort of the way the way the football federation operates it would not surprise me if we see him back in football in some form or in another country you know you look at Jorge Vilda working in Morocco, like people seem to have fallen on their feet pretty nicely

when they clearly kind of been hugely problematic for female players in women's football. So it's good that he was found guilty because I did worry for that at some points. Like it sends a really, really strong statement, I think, to like across women's football, but across Spanish society generally about what is and isn't acceptable, what consent is, those kind of things, what is appropriate in a workplace and what isn't. But I think it doesn't go far enough and I think that's the frustrating thing is it's like a, it's a small victory amidst

not defeats but frustrations around like the rest of it. I mean I hope we see further change for players in Spain and stuff. I mean the fact that Montse Tome, his assistant, is still manager baffles me, like absolutely baffles me. You know she testified in the court, said she didn't know that Spain had a policy on sexual assault in the Federation and sexual misconduct and things like that. She said she didn't know and like just come on man, you can't have someone like that managing a football team who has been so a part of the preceding regime. So like there's still clearly a lot of change that needs to happen there and like

it's sad that Hamoza has basically had to sacrifice so so much in order for anyone in the Spanish national football team to be taken seriously on any of their complaints that they've had over many, many years against the federation. Yeah, she's been so strong, so hasn't she? Really, really brave, carrying a lot of that on her shoulders. But if you brush it under the carpet, then what's to come for the women coming up underneath you? I think it's really admirable the sense of responsibility that she's taken on her shoulders. What happened at the World Cup final was disgraceful and she was the victim of that, but she's

had to kind of not put that aside, but she's had to take on a much bigger mantle as it were in terms of it's not just about the kiss, but it's had to take on a much bigger mantle as it were in terms of it's not just about the kiss, but it's about the whole kind of the court case. It was about the Spanish Federation. So getting rid of Ruby Alice from that is about the whole like conversations around the setup of the Spanish team and the removal of who I build her as well. So it's been so much more to just the incident which in itself is bad like bad enough And then also just it just makes me so sad that you know It was meant to be the best moment of her career of her life. She won a World Cup final

She's meant to be they meant to be celebrating that and it's all all of this came out of that and it just tainted that memory For them I think and but I think she has to be so proud I think I would hope she's so proud of everything that she's stuck with since the fight that she's shown, the fact that she has managed to see a bit of change in the Spanish team in terms of the changes that come through. I know it's not there yet but it's down to her and down to a few others in that team that have managed to push that through and that has to be something you have to be so proud of. Emma Hayes, Lucy Bronze and Serena Vigman just a few of those who've voiced their support

for Jenny Hemoso and the Spanish team over the last week. Jamie there's been a lot of support for them. Yeah absolutely I think it's so important as well that the media are asking these questions of people and players and managers across football because I think it's so important that it's spoken about outside of Spain. Like these are players that are in the game. These are players that someone like Lucy Bronze, like a lot of those Spanish team members, they were her Barcelona teammates at the time.

And she said, I can't speak highly enough of these people because they are making change for the future. So I think it's such a hard situation because it's, you wanna say, oh, that's really, really good. I'm really, really excited that he's been convicted. But then it's kind of like, this is a man that has done that on a World Cup final where there's cameras, it's live streamed, it's on TV.

That's the best case scenario to be able to prosecute him. And he's kind of gotten away with a slap on the wrist. So it's a bit of a sad indictment, but it's really good that, you know, we can at least get the guilty verdict. And then the women's football universe is speaking about it Because it's an important issue. It's not just happening in football. It's happening on everywhere in the world So yeah, it's a it's a bittersweet moment for for the game and just for the world. Yeah, absolutely

Right, let's lighten the mood a little bit shall we we had an email from Jim who? Messaged us on women's football weekly at theguardian.com. Thank you Jim. Is anyone else sick and tired of seeing goalkeepers faking injuries at 20 and 70 minutes so that their managers can have a team talk? It breaks up the flow of the game, which is the point to some extent, but it's so dull for anyone watching. On top of that, we're often told that players standing around for minutes on end waiting for VAR decisions isn't good for their muscles so surely the same is true here. And as we saw with England conceding against Portugal immediately after Mary Earps went down injured, it isn't even guaranteed to stop the opposition's momentum as it gives them the chance to have a

time out as well. Thoughts everyone? I'd jump in on this one. I find it equally hilarious, but equally aggravating at the same time. I do think Mary Earp's particularly on Friday night, I think she forgot which leg was injured. One was in the air and the other was in the air. And I was like, I do, I find it very amusing the amount of dramatics that go on.

And the problem is you can never say anything. So like, you can hint at the fact that they've gone down for a tactical reason but you're gonna feel very bad or have it like kind of egg on your face if they are actually injured so you can't really call it out. I do think it's a lot more prevalent in the women's game than it is in the men's game it does happen in the men's game don't get me wrong but I think for some reason it's more prevalent in the women's game and it has been it's been a tactic of Emma Hazers over the years for sure. So yeah, I don't know how you get rid of it. I don't know how you police it either because

they could genuinely be injured. So it's a really tricky conundrum I think. But yeah, it's a weird part of the women's game. It's a clever manipulation of the rules, right? Because like Sophie says, you can't police it really. Like it's impossible to. They could be genuinely injured yeah it's a loophole right like they found their little loophole. To be fair as a football fan I've been annoyed before opposition players who I've thought are doing the same thing and then they're stretchered off and you feel so guilty afterwards but anyway it's been a great pod as always. Jamie, lovely to see you. I'm so sorry about Australia at the moment. Hopefully over the next few months you'll get a full-time coach

and things will start to improve, but lovely to see you. Lovely to see you guys. Hopefully next time we chat we do have a manager. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed. Enjoy your drive, Soph. Take care. I'll see you soon. See you at Wembley. See you at Wembley. Thank you. Susie, see you later, alligator. See you later. Oh, you're supposed to say in a wildcrop. I know, I know. But you know, it's a bit naff. I teed you up perfectly. No, it's not naff. Oh, I say that with my little boy all the time. That's the only time it's acceptable to say it. I say it to James when he was five, you know. I thought we had that kind of friendship, Suze, you've disappointed me. I'll see you later. See you later. Keep having your say by sending

in your questions via social media or emailing us at Women's Football Weekly at theguardian.com and as ever a reminder to sign up for our weekly women's football newsletter. All you need to do is search Moving the Goal posts. Sign up. our weekly Women's Football newsletter. All you need to do is search Moving the Goalposts. Sign up. The Guardian Women's Football Weekly is produced by Sophie Downey and Hattie Moyer. Music composition was by Laura Iredale. Our executive producer is Salamat.