The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - Lionesses win Finalissima before streak is ended – Women’s Football Weekly

Episode Date: April 12, 2023

Suzanne Wrack, Sophie Downey and Samantha Lewis join Faye Carruthers to round up a mixed international break for the Lionesses and much more

This is The Guardian. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. Hello, I'm Faye Carruthers and welcome to the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. So I'm starting with something that has never been said on this pod before. The Lionesses have lost. Serena Vigman's 30-match unbeaten run has come to an end at the hands of Australia. Sam Kerr doing her West London thing yet again.

But how much of a worry is that result just before the provisional World Cup squad is announced? I'm also saying something that has been said multiple times on this pod before. The Lionesses have won a trophy. The inaugural finalissima was won by England after a penalty shootout. So much to unpick in the final international break before the World Cup kicks off. We'll also take a quick look at the weekend's FA Cup semifinals. And that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly.

Well, what a panel we have today. Susie Rack, it's been a pleasure to be in your company the past week or so at the internationals. How are you doing? Tired. Very, very tired. We don't get enough sleep no we really really don't i also shoved in a little trip to burnley in between the internationals which i'm kind of regretting sophie of goals in the ball fame how are you doing i'm good thank you

i'm also very tired but what's new sam le Lewis, on the other hand, is loving life, enjoying sunshine, and Australia wins. I mean, what stupid person said, let's get an Aussie on the pod, shall we? Oh, that might have been me. You really did tempt fate with this, yes. No, hello. Yes, I am tired, even though I was awake at 3.45am in Sydney to live blog the game for Australian readers on the ABC. I am still absolutely buzzing. I don't know whether

that's the five cups of coffee that I've had to stay awake or if it's just the vibes generally. Hopefully it's both. But yes, no, thank you so much for having me on. It's a pleasure. Even more so now. I mean, I reckon that 3.45am was definitely worth it. That's exactly where we're going to start. England versus Australia with the Lionesses' long 30-game unbeaten run coming to an end at the hands of the Matildas. Their first loss under Sir Regman, Susie. So much to unpack here. Let's start with the big question.

What exactly went wrong? I'm not totally sure everything was just a little bit stale I want to say I think there was a problem in that we've not really resolved the the issue of the sort of shift around in personnel after the Euros in that you've got you know obviously a very clear identity to that Euros team with, you know, a fixed starting XI and then the super subs coming off the bench to get you out of a sticky situation

when teams bank against you and things like that that inject some pace, that open the game up, that allow you to solve that problem. And I don't think we've figured out a way to solve that problem with Alessia Russo and Ella Toon starting with you know no Ellen White and Jill Scott and players like that around the team that level of experience and quality at the very very top isn't maybe as deep as we'd like it to be going into a world cup if they can solve that issue then i think they'll be fine but it's figuring out exactly who is who in this team

what their role is and how how they make that work i mean you know you could say start rachel daly up top and still use rusa as a super sub for example because i don't she just struggled to impose herself on me but i think that's that's the main problem is it's struggling to work out what the team looks like what the bench looks like and how that can impact a game when a team is is sort of banking against them I'm going to focus on the positions in a bit but let's talk about the overall result Sophie is it quite important not to catastrophize this result you put on the whatsapp group yesterday that actually wasn't that bothered about it it's absolutely fine but maybe is it the bit of the kick up the

bum that England might have needed before the World Cup? I think it's a bit of both I think in football we tend to be quite reactionary, right? And we think about the last game that happened rather than the 30 games that happened before that. And one game doesn't decide the fate of a team going into a World Cup. It's all very preparatory at the moment. Yes, England do generally know they're starting 11. But you were probably expecting a hiccup along the way at some point that's just the way that football goes and I'm as an England fan pretty happy that it happened now rather than on that first game in July when all panic breaks loose because you know they've lost their first game

in 35 games or whatever it would be by that point and they don't know how to deal with it so they've got what two months now three months to try and right the wrongs that went wrong last night. They were presented a particular problem, I think, in Sam Kerr and the Australian team who really did cut out spaces and bank up when defending that didn't allow England's attackers any movement going through the middle. And as soon as they got the ball, they were

just jumped on by an Australian player whether one of the midfielders or defenders so there's things to work on for sure but you want that right you want that going into a World Cup or a major tournament and they will have preparation camp ready to deal with that and sort those problems out so definitely don't panic or be too reactionary. I'm quite chill. I think I did say to you yesterday, didn't I, that I can't decide whether it's because we won the Euros and I don't really get bothered by much anymore

because that happened and it was the best day of my life or whether it's just because, you know, we are in this state at the moment and things happen in football. Maybe a bit of both. Yeah, you sound like serena veegman in the press conference last night she went very pep guardiola on us all didn't she well you know sometimes you lose no mention of michael jordan within that though um i mean we talk about being clinical sam but australia absolutely were that last night two goals from their two shots on target.

How much confidence, bearing in mind the Scotland defeat that they had, which ended their run of seven games, give them ahead of the World Cup? It's huge. Yeah, it's huge. I think it's really important to keep this game and particularly this window in context for the Matildas. They came into the April camp really hampered by injuries. They were losing over 500 caps worth of appearances from a number of players who were taken out by injuries from Caitlin Ford to Steph Catley to Alana Kennedy. And then even in the middle of

the window, we saw some players had to leave, including Emily Van Egmond and Holly McNamara. So this is a team that really had to pivot and they had to improvise and they had to try and figure out on the fly what do you do if you're in a World Cup situation and this happens and you've got this domino effect of player injuries and unavailabilities. Who do you turn to for plan B? And I think that's where the biggest confidence boost comes from

because if they were able to do this in these circumstances, they were able to pivot to this plan B and put on what I would argue is probably the best performance that they have had under Tony Gustafson, considering those circumstances and considering the quality of the opponent. It's a really important, I think, milestone for this site because the last two years have been a real roller coaster for the Matildas. The results have been very up and down. Performances have been up and down. There was a time there where a lot of people really were starting to waver in terms of their faith in Gustafsson and what ideas he sort of had for this team. We couldn't really see the long-term vision. But the last sort of four to six months, we've really started

to see some things start to coalesce. We've started to see more convincing longer-term performances from the Matildas rather than just sort of a 15-minute chunk here or a half there. We've seen some much sort of more convincing, stronger, holistic performances against lots of different kinds of teams as well. And so coming into this sort of July tournament, which is a tournament that has so much expectation

on the Matildas to do well, finally, it feels like all of these pieces are falling into place. And to know that we can come up against a team like the Lionesses with all of the individual talents that they have at their disposal and the huge rut of confidence that they were on coming in on their 30-game unbeaten streak to have done this, it's pretty nice, I've got to say. I have to also say I've only just seen your Matilda scarf draped over your sofa and your Matilda shirt hanging on the wall. It's like you're taunting us.

That's bold. That's so Aussie that is just rub it in your face this morning just be glad that I left my Matilda's beanie in the other room thank you for that it's much appreciated I've got my England bucket oh excellent put it on Susie Rack put it on you mentioned depth earlier Susie and it felt as if there were small experiments across the pitch but I was quite surprised at Rachel Daly coming in at 10 off the bench rather than either on for Alessia Russo or maybe trying them both up top. I mean that's what the sort of immediate reaction was when she came

on was that they might switch to a 4-4-2 which I was quite surprised about because obviously we've not seen England play a 4-4-2 for a very very long time and definitely not under Serena so I thought that was an interesting move slash experiment and yeah to see her drop into the number 10 I felt a little bit sorry for her particularly after she's you know spent so long playing left back right back you name it um finally gets her her chance to be named as a forward in the squad announcement she finally has got on the pitch as a forward in that first game off the bench and then comes on as a number 10 in this feels like a little bit of a harsh decision um but I mean I suppose speaks to the trust that Serena has in her as a player but also the lack

of trust that she has in maybe the other options. I was a little bit disappointed. If you're going to do a straight swap like that, why isn't Jordan Nobbs coming on? I mean, why is she there if not to give her a test in this team before you're making your selection for the World Cup? You know, she's playing regularly at club level now. She's playing well. She's linking up well with Daly.

Why aren't you doing a straight swap, Russo, for Daly and sticking Jordan in behind her and really capitalising on that new partnership there? So I thought it was a strange decision. I'm still very much, you know, on the Serena Vigman bandwagon. So, like, who am I to doubt the decisions of a manager that's just gone on a 30-game unbeaten run and has won a European Championship for the second time.

But yeah, I thought that was odd, and I thought that there'd be a little bit more experimentation with some of the bench players to try and find the key to sort of unlocking this very, very resilient Aussie side after they had gone ahead. Because for me in the second half, the only real energy for quite a short period of time came from Lauren James. She was the only one who looked able to wriggle, trick and sort of twist her way into areas in a way that created space around her and found space for other players and drew players towards her.

And that was the only point at which I thought maybe they might be able to unlock the door and find a way through but even those moments were brief and there didn't really seem to be much beyond that that really tested Mackenzie Arnold or the defence. Yeah Rachel Daly said that in post-match to me. She said that they just weren't good enough in both boxes, really. And defensively, Sophie, without knowing when Millie Bright will be back, although Serena Vigman did say it looked positive for her, more so than Frank Kirby, actually, which we'll mention later. Should we be worried about England's defensive injuries?

Because Esme Morgan started in a centre-back pairing with Leah Williamson, but I'm not entirely sure whether it actually worked. So is it the back line where England maybe lack a bit of depth if big players are missing? It's a weird one because we have enough players in that position. But I think the problem with having this back-to-back major tournaments is it gives you very little time to bleed new life through it, I guess the new generation through, so the likes of Esme Morgan, Melitizier as well.

They've had very little time to really bed themselves into this squad and because every match matters so much in the preparation for this tournament, probably Serena Wiegmann's been going, I actually need to look at who's starting rather than giving people those opportunities or as many as they would normally get in a two-year cycle going forward. It is a worry.

Millie Bright is England, along with Lili Williamson, is England's best defender. We know how consistent she is for club as well, how integral she is to that Chelsea side's fortune. And it's the same for country. So it is a worry, but we have Alex Greenwood as well how integral she is to the that Chelsea side's fortune and it's the same for country so it is a worry but we have Alex Greenwood as well um she went off injured for half the camp but she looked fine she was training yesterday so yeah it's obviously a worry I was a bit surprised

that we didn't see Leah and Lotto Ubenwai play together yesterday because they played together quite often at club and that relationship is there, whereas Esme, Morgan and Leah Williamson haven't played together all that often. I don't think, certainly not as far back as I can remember. So I was a little bit surprised by that when there is a relationship between those two, no matter what kind of what the form of Lotto Wimbledon has been or how many games she's played.

But I would reckon that actually she's probably played as many as Esme and Morgan this season. So that was a surprise. That was a really interesting point about the short turnaround because between major tournaments because I think that definitely has been a problem but also maybe the like unbeaten runners almost been a little bit of a millstone in that respect in that there's been a bit of a pressure to keep winning and in a sense like maybe after the Euros, Serena Wiegmann should have gone wildly experimental and, you know, kind of torn up the rulebook a little bit and bloodied a load of these players much, much earlier on

so that when you get to this point, they're far more tested and just sort of almost sacrificed the results to a certain extent. Instead, we've sort of seen a very, very similar XI, a very, very settled team really players coming in that that are sort of needed necessitated uh changes rather than planned for ones you know injuries or players retiring all those kind of things there's a little bit of you know kind of testing out of bodies at the arnold clark cup but maybe not as much as we perhaps should have seen

straight after the Euros with the World Cup in mind and getting minutes and not minutes in the bodies of these players, but minutes in the partnerships of these players in England shirts. Just to quickly bounce off that, it's so interesting hearing you talk about that, because what the Matildas have been doing is exactly the opposite. Over the past two years, since Tony's come on board, they've brought in around, I think, 60 to 70 new players into Matilda's camp. They've handed out around 20 caps, new debuts to new players.

And, yeah, the results have plummeted because of that, because they had to. You have to start somewhere. You have to throw these players in at some point. And what has been a really interesting exercise for Gustafsson in particular is watching the way in which he has navigated the public and his messaging and his communication to the public in terms of his longer project. And he has admitted that along the line, he probably wasn't quite as clear with us about what he was trying to achieve when there were

these big runs of like constant losses and big scorelines that we were copying because we were throwing these players into the deep end but now we're starting to see that all of this stuff has been part of this big picture it's been timed to perfection hopefully fingers. But now we're seeing this really solid run of form from players who he gave his first caps to. Charlotte Grant, for example, who scored against England earlier this morning, she didn't have a single cap before Gustafsson came on board. Karakuni Cross was one of the very, very fringe,

young peripheral Matildas players when he first joined, and now she's arguably become one of the best midfielders in the entire squad. Courtney Vine come off the bench and made a huge impact. Claire Hunt at centre-back. This is only her third game for the Matildas. She's still experimenting. She's still bringing in these players when needed. So to sort of see the perspective from the England point of view and sort of compared

to what Australia has been doing over the same period of time is really interesting in that juxtaposition. Yeah, I think it's a European problem, to be honest, as well, because I haven't analysed every single European team with a fine tooth comb, but I'm pretty sure there's been not much change for the European teams since the Euros last summer. They've brought in a few new players, but they've all had this massive problem with this cycle,

whereas it never really normally happens like this. But because of the pandemic, these back-to-back tournaments for the European teams have made it so. I think what you were saying, Susie, I understand that. But for me, it's just they came out of the euros they still had to qualify for the world cup so they had to get that job done that was still weighing over their heads and then the level of opposition that the fa wanted to get in so getting in the likes of america they were never going to waste that game at wembley whatever you wanted them to do you know they needed to put in a performance they needed to set their stall out it's those kind of opposition that they really wanted to get and they were never going to use them as throwaway games I think

in this short space of time. I tell you what Sam we've got 15 minutes into the pod and I've not let you wax lyrical about Sam Kerr yet which is quite astounding obviously involved in both goals last night scored scored one, assisted the other, and England just couldn't handle her at all. Can it be overstated how important she is for Australia? No. She's critical. She's critical to the Matildas.

And we've known that for a while, but I think what has been interesting in this window is that for one of the first times we've actually seen how the Matildas play when she's not on the field, and that was against Scotland. And it's still a very big question mark, I think, for Australia heading into the Women's World Cup. What is plan B if Sam Kerr is not available? It was a question that Gustafsson was asked after the Scotland game because he has been trying to find and build depth in this team in every single position possible. So over the last two years, he's found all

of these different kinds of profiles of striker to see who could effectively replace Sam, if she's injured or if she's unavailable for some other reason. He's tried sort of the traditional big and tall number nine. He's tried the zippy getting behind wingers sort of striker. He's tried sort of the traditional big and tall number nine. He's tried the zippy getting behind wingers sort of striker. He's tried a Caitlin Ford there. He's tried a Kai Simon there. He's tried lots of different kinds of players who can be there,

but none of them do what Sam Kerr can do. She does everything, particularly, and he talks about this all the time and he praises her for it all the time what she does off the ball she leads australia's press she brings players into the game around her she lures defenders away from channels in order to create space she closes down she provides combinations she does so much for the team and the fact that she can also score extraordinary goals so regularly and is now the all-time leading goal scorer in Australian football history and still with arguably another World Cup cycle to go in her legs. She's miraculous. She's a generational player, which is both a very special thing for us, but it's also a very scary thing for us because if you become too

reliant on a player like that, and I feel like perhaps England are experiencing something a little bit similar at the moment, you need to try and figure out what plan B is if that player, for some reason, touching every single piece of wood in my house becomes unavailable for a critical game. That's something that we still haven't figured out. And this game against England showed that she is absolutely instrumental, not just to getting results, but to the way that the Matildas play generally. She dictates so much. She leads by example. She motivates the side in a way that I don't think many other players in a senior position really can so yeah it's going to be really interesting how all this sort of unfolds at the Women's World Cup it would be really great if we did have a plan B but you know ultimately

this is a tournament where Sam Kerr is going to be the face this is her tournament this is her home tournament in front of her home fans and her family. This is a tournament that she desperately, desperately, desperately wants to win. So she's going to drag herself through every blade of grass, even if it means that she collapses with exhaustion as far as she can get, because this is her moment. She's in the peak of the form of her life and everyone is going to be watching her to see what she does next. She is quite incredible, Susie, isn't she?

And I do feel as if England's not version of Sam Kerr because there is no version of Sam Kerr, but the player that is so crucial to the way England play and dictates everything is Keira Walsh. And I feel as if she's been stifled by both Brazil and Australia. And when she is taken out of the game, essentially, England aren't quite the same. So they need a plan B.

100%. I think the teams have really worked out how to play against England's midfield. And, you know, the difference between the starting 11 of late and the Euros is that we've got ellerton starting and no frank kirby who's obviously injured and i think that actually is quite a big blow and quite a big change um you know ellerton's a phenomenal player obviously scored against brazil but she doesn't look totally comfortable over 90 minutes in that position alongside Georgia Stanway and Kira Walsh and doesn't quite have the level of creativity of Fran Kirby.

So I think that's part of the problem. I also, when I was watching the game last night, and with the absence of Millie Bright, with the injuries to Alex Greenwood, obviously you can't really move Leah Williamson, but she is going to be likely playing in the middle for Arsenal for the remainder of the season with the injury to Kim Little and you sort of feel like maybe her slotting in alongside Keira Walsh who she's played with for a very very long time could be an answer to that the problem is is a centre-back partnership without Leah

Williamson looks a hell of a lot weaker so there's that to deal with too there's a lot of questions and a lot of potential answers and we haven't necessarily really seen what those answers are yet I mean I think I I turned to Soph at one point and like she was sat next to me at the game and I was like, I think Sam Kerr is the type of player who she could have a double ACL injury ahead of the World Cup and would like defy science and drag herself onto that pitch and still play every single game and still finish the tournament top scorer and win it like she feels slightly indestructible and is very very quickly becoming the bane of my existence because obviously I'm a massive Arsenal fan as we're all very aware and you know incredible record against Arsenal um powers Chelsea

to the league time and time again um I was at the Team GB Australia Olympics game where she punctured England's, England's, England's, Team GB's tournament. That was basically England though, wasn't it? England with a little bit of Scotland and Wales thrown in, but that's it. Yeah, with a player each and a pretty key players. I mean, I think if we could take, you know,

the likes of Caroline Weir here to the World Cup with us we definitely would be but yeah I like really kind of killed that dream there and in emphatic style despite Ellen White scoring a hat-trick and yeah just you look at that potential quarterfinal matchup between England and Australia. I think it's last 16. Oh, last 16. Oh God, it's even earlier. Oh no. Yeah, that worries me because a last 16 exit for England would not be a good thing. But Sam Kerr always scores. She's inevitable.

She does. And I wonder whether we're all kind of keeping our fingers crossed, which again is not appealing opposition at the last 16, that maybe Australiagmann picks her provisional squad. Who do you want to see picked? And I think it's the fringe players that we're focused on more here. She's only got 23 to select, which is three less than what she had in the Euros when it was still that extended 26. Who has to be on the plane, do you so for me i take frank kirby even if she is a doubt for the of the group stages i think she is the kind of player samantha's called samco uh generational just say frank kirby is a generational player she sees the pictures on the pitch different to every other player bar maybe lauren james at the the moment. But Lauren James is still young and growing and developing into that role.

So I would risk everything to take her as one of those players. And if you don't use her, you don't use her. But at least you have the option of her going. I would still take Jordan off, even though I don't think Serena seems to rate her that much. I just think she's playing well for Villa. She finds the spaces. She can play in different roles around that midfield area. So she can play in the number 10,

but she can also play in the number 6 and the number 8. So she can do a job anywhere in that midfield. And that gives you the kind of versatility you need if you need to change things up a little bit. So I would definitely take her. I just think she gives you more attacking options. Defly you know Lotto even more she doesn't get a lot of game time but she's done a major tournament before and that I think stands her in good stead compared to someone like maybe Esme Morgan who who hasn't done a major tournament before so she hasn't got that experience under her

belt she's also when she does play for club she plays pretty well so um I don't think she's completely looked at as a proper contender for a centre-back role and Jess Carter I think has done herself no no harm these last two games she's done really well at that left-foot role where um she's slotted in perfectly and she hasn't had a lot of game time for England um so I'd take her too. I know we haven't seen her at all game time for England. So I'd take her too. I know we haven't seen her at all this year under Serena, but I would take Bethany England. Like, you look at the forward line compared to the Euros and, you know, we've not had Paris in the camp of late.

There's no Beth Mead. We've no Ellen White. Beth was at the Euros as a fringe player, but she's now playing week in week out and is playing well put some decent players around her and you know she can do a decent job for England and I think Russo got a lot of chances and wasn't always able to find the space or the the angle or the the hole to squeeze the ball through but a player like Beth England with the level of experience she's got I would I would still take. Yeah, interesting.

Just finally, Sam, in terms of Australia's chances, obviously England could meet you in the last 16, but how do you rate your chances overall? Yeah, I mean, that's sort of the golden question in Australian football at the moment, just how far can this Matilda's side go? And it's a question that has had different answers over the past two years.

I think off the back of the last six months, people are more confident than ever that Australia can go to at least the quarterfinal to match their quarterfinal run. And then it's sort of a big question mark. It depends on the permutations of groups and who you sort of run into at certain points and whether there are any key injuries that happen to result in the downfall of the team. But, I mean, if we get to the semifinals, I think that would be

and we play the kind of football that we've been able to play for the last couple of months, I think that would be the ultimate. That would sort of be the peak considering where this team has started from and also considering the other nations who we would potentially have to come up against at that pointy end of the tournament. So I would love, love, love to get them to the semi-final and to see them there.

It would be historic for an Australian senior team to get to that point of a World Cup and to do it after everything that they have been through and after everything that Australian football in particular has been through, which I promise you is a whole other podcast episode, it would be amazing. It would be really amazing. So a quarterfinal I think would be sort of the average expectation. A semifinal would be peak.

Right. We will have you on that episode because me and Susie Rack have plans for outing the appalling stuff that goes on. You won't have seen this, anyone listening, but Susie Rack is literally in a very – oh, God, what's the guy from The Simpsons? Mr. Burns. Mr. Burns. Thank you very much.

Put her fingers together in a menacing way. Right, that's it for part one. In part two, we'll focus on some of the other results over the international break. If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit? No business or profession is risk-free. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. Welcome back to part two of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Right, time to move on to some other results.

Touching on Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. But first, let's take a look back at England's first game. It feels like forever ago now. The finalissima won the inaugural finalissima. It finished after 90 minutes. England won, Brazil won, but England won it 4-2 on penalties. A sold-out Wembley, yet another trophy to Serena Wiegmann's cabinet. She's barely been in charge 18 months and

won Euros two Arnold Clark Cups and now the finalissima it's quite incredible Ella Toon opened the scoring for England and Brazil's Andresa Alves jumped on a spill from Mary Earps to grab the very late equalizer and then force penalties the opening England goal Susie I don't feel having watched them against Australia last night we saw a very different England than what that opening goal was it was so fabulously worked a team goal before Alatu and then put it into the back of the net that's the vintage England I like to see oh yeah it's like 18 passes in the run up to that goal. It was superb. It was just such a game of two halves, wasn't it?

Because we saw the best of England in the first half and the worst in the second. Although perhaps that speaks more to the performance of Brazil and their turnaround at half time. But staggeringly good in the first half. You know, that was the team playing the football that we've sort of got a little bit used to under Serena. So at these games, as a reporter, when it's a late kickoff, you're having to write it as the game is going on, right? And you have to file a bunch of copy at half time. Like you basically at that point saying this is England's to lose,

you know, absolutely superb. So the first half copy goes off into the into the ether to the editors and then all of a sudden it switches and the narrative that you've you've played out in in a big chunk of of your words has uh has has not quite ended up that way and you have to hastily rewrite afterwards to sort of redress the balance but that's that sort of explains the game for me because it was so so comprehensive and dominant in the first half and then such a sort of stuttered performance in the second really unable to cope with the increased intensity from Brazil I think it was interesting that after the Australia game, Serena said that,

you know, there's been warnings that things aren't always going to go to plan against Brazil, against the Czech Republic, you know, obviously, you know, the Spain game, the Euros, the final even. And to a certain extent, they've scraped over those hurdles and that's sort of all the matters that you get over right it doesn't really matter the manner in which you you get over it's about finding a way to get over well eventually you're gonna knock your kneecap out or do some serious damage though aren't you exactly that and and that's what what I think happened against Australia a little bit is, you know, we sort of finally hit that speed bump a little too hard. But yeah, the warning signs were there against Brazil for the Australia game in that second half. But it's positive that the first half performance showed that the personnel around the team, the starting 11, can produce beautiful, flowing, attacking, nice football. They can also produce a moment in terms of Chloe Kelly, Sophie as well. Big trophy winning moment at Wembley. It's like her stage, isn't it?

She's such a big game player. And, you know, I know they'll have been disappointed conceding such a sloppy goal in injury time. But to have the experience of a high pressure penalty shootout in essentially a friendly ahead of a World Cup is a pretty decent experience. It's priceless. I think Wembley is Chloe Kelly's stage for sure. I can't remember the last time England had a penalty shootout. Maybe it was the 2011 World Cup. So I certainly not for a long time have they had to do that in in sort of competitive circumstances so the fact that they had to stand up and do it with wembley and get that under their belt ahead of another major tournament where they might very realistically have to go and do that um is absolutely key i have to say i still

haven't seen a single penalty i hate penalties i can I can't stand them. I was sat next to Susie at that game. I had my head on the desk and every time someone cheers, I'd write the tweet and then have my head on the desk again because I just cannot deal with the absolute trauma of penalties. But yeah, just glad England got through. And I think for me, one thing I would say, and it's not really an excuse at all, it's not meant as an excuse, but these players look really tired. And I would say that for a lot of European players.

And you will look around the results that happened last night and across this international break, and there are some weird ones that you would not expect to happen. And I think that is down to the fact that these European players are absolutely knackered. They're just running on steam at the moment. And they need to get to the fact that these European players are absolutely knackered. They're just running on steam at the moment and they'll have one eye on their clubs, so they'll need to get to the end of the season, win what they can with their clubs and then I think they can have a bit of a break before they have to go again.

And I think that might see some refreshed, re-energised legs ahead of the summer because it has been a long, old slog this season. I know we certainly feel it as journalists, so I can only imagine what the players are feeling right now after a whole summer of football, about two weeks off for some of them and then coming straight back into it. Yeah, Scotland aren't that tired though. 1-0 win over Australia, Nicola Doherty scoring just her second goal for her country and it was an absolute beaut as well, looping it in from long range.

Scotland had some other good chances as well. Australia hit the bar a couple of times, but it was a slightly weaker side, Sam. You know, no Sam Kerr on the bench. And then, of course, Caitlin Ford and Steph Catley both injured. What did you make of this result and performance? Yeah, look, I think it was kind of a weird game because the Matildas had created enough chances, particularly in the second half, I think, for the result to have swung wildly in their favour.

As you mentioned just then, they hit the crossbar twice and there were two or three really, really excellent saves from Scotland's goalkeeper. One-on-ones with Mary Fowler and with Larissa Crummer, who was the number nine for the first hour of that game. Had those gone in, had a goal been a little bit bigger than what it was, you know, it would have been a totally different conversation. But the goal that they scored ultimately was ridiculous.

It was unsavable for any goalkeeper. It just looped in at this absolutely bizarre mathematical angle. I don't even know how it works. It was incredible. Up until that point, and really past that point as well, Mackenzie Arnold had been really, really good in goal. And she, I think, has emerged from this window, particularly off the back of the Cup of Nations in February, where she won player of the tournament as the number one goalkeeper now for the Matildas, which is actually really lovely because she's always sort of been hovering around number two or three. There's always been a couple of people ahead of her in the pecking order,

including Lydia Williams, who's now sort of fallen down all the way down the ladder as a result of not really getting much game time in club land. But Arnold has really taken this opportunity with both hands or both gloves. And yeah, she's absolutely shining. So, you know, there are a couple of good lessons to learn from that Scotland game, similar perhaps to the way that England has learned some lessons from the Matildas game this morning. I think the gals came off the back of that loss to Scotland, realising that there were some things that they did need to tighten up. It's obviously very difficult to keep Caroline Weir quiet for long, but I think considering the players that we had available to us, we did a pretty decent job at trying to snuffle them out

and suffocate them as much as we could. The real problem was going forward. The real problem was creating chances. What do you do when you don't have someone like Sam Kerr, who is basically sometimes having to pull the whole team along on her own shoulders? Larissa Crummer is absolutely not the substitute for Sam Kerr in that sense. She looked half a beat slower than everything around her. She really struggled to connect with players. She sort of made the wrong decisions at crucial moments as well. The deadliest players that we had going forward were our two wingers of Courtney Vine

and Hayley Rasso. And Rasso as well comes into Matilda's camp really with a lot of points to prove. She's not playing very much at Manchester City and is really the only opportunity she gets to have really more than an hour of game time. So she's been fantastic for Australia as well in the last couple of camps. So, yeah, so I think overall, despite the result, you know, Gustafsson came off the back of it and spoke to media afterwards and was sort of philosophical about it. He was like, yeah, when you sort of look at the numbers, when you look at the balance of play, you know,

sometimes that's just football. Sometimes the ball just doesn't want to go in its home and you've got to deal with that, you know. But I think it's a really important test because we are preparing now our eyes are turned to the republic of ireland who is our opening game in the group stage of the women's world cup it's going to be an absolutely massive moment for the matildas it's had to move stadiums because of the demand for tickets it's moved to a stadium that's twice as big as what it used to be and it's almost entirely sold out as well after this new sales window

opened recently for the 100 Days to Go milestone event. So it's a really high-pressure scenario for the Matildas. And considering the last time they met the Republic of Ireland, they lost, there's a lot of expectation, I think, riding on this game. So because there are similarities between the way that Ireland and Scotland tend to play, I think it was a really good test for the Matildas to be able to figure out some of the problems that they've needed to figure out in the next couple of months before July. Well, they'll be heartened to see the results that Republic of Ireland had

against USA. Obviously, Ireland heading to their first Women's World Cup and they had a double header against the current world champions. The first game saw them lose 2-0. Emily Fox opening the scoring and Lindsay Horan converting a penalty in the 80th minute. And then the Americans won the second game by a goal to nil,

just a goal from Alana Cook. Ireland had about the same amount of chances as USA in that one. I mean, they lost both games, Susie, but definitely positives to take from their performances 100% if I was Australia I'd actually be not totally heartened um by the uh the results I was being nice uh well I mean like the like really really strong performances and I just find it hard to ever write off the Republic of Ireland.

They've got so many battling players within that team that work so hard together as a unit that they cause even the best teams real, real problems. You know, to equate them to a WSL team, they're almost like the Reading right of the Women's Super League where they're this team that struggles for consistency sometimes erratic results but has the ability to pull off something quite impressive against um the biggest and best so yeah like for an opening game of the World Cup Australiaralia republic of ireland that's a really really tasty game because they would delight in causing an upset um there's a you know obviously a huge

uh number of um irish people in australia as well that are going to be drawn to that game um and uh the run of the team and i could see an upset, I could. I do think people sleep on Ireland a little bit because of the style of play that they play they are tough, they are gritty they do the defensive work and all of those sort of ugly jobs so so well

and maybe aren't so potent in their attack at times but they showed plenty of glimpses of it last night, this morning. I was up watching that game, so I can't remember what time it was. But yeah, they've definitely shown enough in those last two games. And I swear I've not been paid to say this because I'm married to an Irish, but, you know, that Irish spirit is something else.

They have this sort of determination to prove everyone wrong. And actually, when they're the underdogs, that's when they're the most dangerous because when their backs are up against the wall, they come out fighting. And I know from talking to a lot of those players who are going to the World Cup, that game in Sydney is the one that they're looking at and going, we're going to be up for that challenge and giving every single ounce of energy. And Australia, you better beware of that. I know you have Sam Kerr, but they will do everything in their power

to try and nullify that threat. Yeah, absolutely. Just a quick one, Susie, on Mel Swanson. Serious knee injury for her during the game. Likely means she's going to miss the World Cup this summer. Devastating devastating of course but how much of a loss is that to the usa a big loss um you're just sort of praying now right every time a player goes down in the run-up to this tournament that it's not another big player or

any player going out like that's unfair to say a big player going out any player having their world cup dream ended so soon before the tournament particularly with knee injuries there's already so many big players missing from this competition and it's it's undermining the competition a little bit to a certain extent when you've got you know so many players ruled out through not a preventable injury but an injury that needs more research and could have the risks of it massively reduced, potentially, if the money and the resources put into stopping it. So hopefully it's not an ACL. Hopefully it's not an injury that keeps her out for a real significant chunk of time.

But yeah, the US are a team in, I would argue, still a team in transition, still trying to grapple with how the more ageing players players to not be very nice of you know Megan Rapinoe Alex Morgan who has been in electric form at club level and for country in the last year you know that sort of senior senior level of player Becky Sauerbron you know those kind of players how they fit in alongside this newer generation and how this newer generation sort of step into their shoes. And so, yeah, any loss to a player who has been performing, who is newish to the team and has been performing at that level is a big blow.

One more match to wrap up in terms of the home nations. Wales 4, Northern Ireland 1. Four different goal scorers for Wales. Jess Fishlock, Angharad James, Hannah Kane and Rachel Rowe. Northern Ireland still in a bit of flux at the minute, Susie. Caretaker manager Andy Waterworth in charge after Kenny Shields left in January. What can we take away from this game?

They only had the one, didn't they, Northern Ireland, in this international break? Yeah, I mean, not a huge amount huge amount obviously there's nothing at stake they're in a bit of flux um high turnover they've been outperforming to a certain extent in having you know got to the Euros and it's a little bit of a comedown from that um and they're sort of having to go back to the drawing board in quite a significant way. So, yeah, not the best result, but also, you know, kind of not the end of the world either to a certain extent. Can I just add how disappointing it is of the way that the Northern Ireland team have not had kind of the resources put behind them?

You kind of feel when they qualify for their first major tournament, right? That's the moment where the federation goes this is your time and yes they're not going to get through the group at their first major tournament that was inevitable but this is the moment that we push on and we um we give you the resource and they all like start to build around this momentous moment and build the game in the direction and it just feels like it's just completely gone backwards they got knocked out of the tournament they've not really played i think they played easily last year but they've not really played a game that much and it's just so disappointing and you heard i think it was

marissa callahan's um call after the the when they got knocked out of the euros last summer and she said we need the resources and what have the federation done they've literally just not given them the resources and it's just the most aggravating thing and that would be for me with the new teams going to the world cup one to keep an eye on is that every single one of those new teams builds on at least reaching the world cup that's what you want to see and using that moment to change the course of the game in their country rather than using it as sort of kind of the pinnacle which Northern Ireland seem to have done and then let it fall away because it's just

it's so sad for the players that were involved and the players coming through that they don't really have the the right things around them to enable them to do their jobs absolutely don't worry Susie Burns is on the case they get outed every single time right quick preview of the FA Cup semi-finals um Sam I'm going to ask you how much you actually get to to watch English football over there bearing in mind that the time zones we've got two big FA Cup semifinals to go through. Who wants to take Manchester United against Brighton Saturday's game? Definitely not me. Again, because of time zones, this is the thing that I'm partly

most looking forward to about the Women's World Cup is how many of you are going to have to know deep into your bones what it's like to be an Australian fan of European football your sleep cycles your bodies you have no idea what you're up to you you are going to suffer long after the tournament is over things are going to break your body's not going to know what's going on um no but look yeah the FA Cup final or semi-finals rather are going to be really exciting, as are the Champions League next stages as well. We've got a couple of Aussies who are still in and around

and kicking it. A little bit of concern, I think, about some of our players coming off the back of this window. You mentioned earlier Sam Kerr's got potentially a little bit of a knee thing, even though she's like, no, I'm fine. She always says that. And then, you know, hopefully it doesn't spiral into something else. Steph Catley is still dealing with her

injury as well. Caitlin Ford's hamstring is still potentially a little bit of a worry. Not quite sure what's going to happen with them, but yeah, like I'm, I'm a Liverpool person, but I, you know, when it comes to the women's game, I have Aussies everywhere. So I'm like, well, I just want everyone to have fun and not get hurt so that's all. Wow amazing right Susie Manchester United Brighton bearing in mind this is top of the table versus bottom of the table I know it's a cup game but is it going to go to form? I mean I think the result is pretty much written already really isn't it I mean, I think the result is pretty much written already, really, isn't it? I mean, Man United have been pretty ruthless this season and I can't see Brighton putting up much of a test for them. You know, obviously Alessio Russo, Ella Toon,

some of the other international players are coming back into the fold for Man United after the tough defeat to Australia when you're looking at the England players, and Mayor Letizia as well. So, you know, in that sense, they're a bit frustrated, but they've also sort of got a little bit of a point to prove too, and we want to get over that pretty fast and put it behind them. So if you're a Brighton fan, you're pretty worried,

I would say, about this fixture. And Man Utd are, you are almost, without a ball, having been kicked one foot into a first-ever FA Cup final. Aston Villa have a point to prove as well after that 3-0 defeat to Chelsea. Sophie, and they face them again, but in the semis. And Carla Ward's going to really want to upturn the odds on this one. I think we'll see a bit of a different game as well.

I think they were pretty lacklustre in that league game a couple of weeks back. They had to deal with injuries at right-back, so I think Lucy Staniforth was in that right-back role, which is not where she is best utilised. So I know Evie Rabjohn has been playing for the under-19s this week, so that's good as a backup to Sarah Mailing if she's not fit. So hopefully that restores some sort of balance to the team and Jordan Nobster has not played a minute for England

so I guess she'll be fresh as well coming into that. Aston Villa for Aston Villa this game is huge because they pretty much cemented fifth place in the league and that's their kind of limit at the moment I think or their goal for the season. But to reach their first ever FA Cup final would be absolutely insane for the club and for Carla Ward and everything that she's been doing this season, all of the hard work and the praise that she's got.

To reach that final for that club and the fans would just show the rewards for the progress that they have made over the last 18 to 24 months sam will be pleased to know that sam kerr said there's no way she's not playing that game essentially and post twice so i think when she says she's fine she probably is because she i mean unless like i say she defies science which she probably does on a daily basis if she gets injured in the wsl i am coming over there and I am burning England to the ground.

I'm telling you that now, okay? Oh, my God. Literally, Sam, I was about to say to you that I hate losing to the Aussies, right? I'm one of those people. It really gets under my skin. However, you've been so lovely and then you ended it like that. So I retract it and I'm back hating the Aussies

it's been a pleasure to have you thank you so much thank you no doubt we will talk to you over the World Cup Susie Rack always a pleasure always a pleasure oh I'm so tired maybe not so much this morning go back to Soph, loving the new hat. Thank you. Great to be on again. See you later. We'll be back next week to analyse those FA Cup semi-finals. So we see you then.

Just a reminder as well, you can now email us on womensfootballweekly at theguardian.com. The Guardian Women's Football Weekly this week is produced by Lucy Oliver and Becky Taylor-Gill. Music composition was by Laura Iredale. Our executive producer is Sal Ahmad.

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