The Guardian's Women's Football Weekly - Shootout joy for Spurs against Manchester City – Women’s Football Weekly

Episode Date: March 12, 2024

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzanne Wrack, Emma Sanders, and Anita Asante to discuss the FA Cup quarter-finals, Continental Cup, and Euro 2025 draw

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starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. This is The Guardian. Hello, I'm Faye Carruthers and welcome to The Guardian Women's Football Weekly. Magic of the Cup, Group of Death, all the football clichés are coming to the fore in today's pod. We've got cup sets, penalty drama and history made. Just the average weekend in the Women's FA Cup. We'll review all the action on the pitch and off it.

Plus, take a look at the Continental Cup final as Chelsea and Arsenal go head-to-head again. We'll discuss Euro 2025 qualification with the Lionesses getting a humdinger of a draw and USA winning the inaugural Gold Cup. All that plus we'll take your questions. And that's today's Guardian Women's Football Weekly. We'll be right back. is working with the FA, Arsenal FC and Liverpool FC to close the visibility gap between men's and women's football with the formation of Pixel FC, a collective of next generation creators and presenters dedicated to covering the women's game. They'll have exclusive access to players, additional resources and content creation opportunities to give women's football the visibility it deserves. Search Google Store

to find out more. What a panel we have today. What was it you sang as we kind of came in, Susie? Regrets I have a few. Morning. Yeah, this is an early record, isn't it? And we're all very tired. I'm sorry. Emma Sanders, how are you doing? I was worried we were not going to have you this morning. Yeah, I was a little bit ill last night, but it's fine. We've made it through. And actually, I think I'm going to be the one making the energy because, yeah, this is fine.

This is fine. I would have done my run by now usually, so we're all good. Oh, my. Right, okay, you come and host this in that case because this time of the morning is not fun for me I think Anita Asante is quite used to it with uh with lovely little Gigi waking up this early I'm definitely getting used to it Faye not by choice it's been rather forced upon me but we you know we adapt we find the way yes we certainly do

we certainly do that's exactly what Tottenham did actually this weekend because that's where we're starting. The upset of the Adobe Women's FA Cup quarter-finals that took place at a very damp Brisbane road. Everywhere's damp at the minute here in the UK, isn't it? It's horrible. Tottenham made club history on Sunday afternoon, reaching the Final Four

for the first time ever. It finished. Tottenham won. Manchester City 1 after extra time. Spurs then went on to win 4-3 on penalties to dump City out of their second cup competition in a week. We'll talk about the first one a little bit later. Becky Spencer, the hero of the shootout

for Robert Villaham's side, despite conceding early and being second best for the first half, Spurs kept going, got their rewards as well after a defensive mix-up between Laia Alexandri and Kiara Keating, saw Bethany England nip in to equalise in the 96th minute and take it to extra time. Susie, it was the fourth time these sides have met this season and I think it's fair to say Tottenham have shown quite a lot of progression

since that 7-0 defeat back in November what did you make of their performance and that special moment for Becky as well who's not always found herself in the starting 11 recently? Yeah I mean it's hugely impressive when you consider that across the three games before this it was 10-0 on aggregate so to walk away with a weird

like even if they'd walked away with like a close defeat it would have been an improvement on where they've at um against City it shows how much they've learned and how much they've come across come along I thought um Robert Villahem was really interesting afterwards because he talked about uh the journey that they're on and how important like games like this can be along that road sort of maintaining momentum maintaining buy-in into the project that they're they're sort of building but yeah like hugely impressive performance I mean a city sort of really dominated the first sort of 20-30 minutes but after that it really leveled out a little bit and they just didn't look their normal selves. They just looked a little off the pace.

And you wondered whether there was some fatigue from the midweek game against Chelsea, although Gareth Taylor was like really dismissive of that as being a problem. And just, you know, almost seemed a little bit confused himself about why they hadn't sort of shown up in the way that they usually do.

But I mean, all credit to Spurs. The way they dug in was like hugely impressive. The crowd was really good as well. It's a small crowd, but it was really, really lively and the momentum was really with it. And when that last minute goal went in, you just felt like Spurs were on the front foot and the momentum was there and the crowd behind them. And you just felt it. And I lived down the road and my son's mate was in the crowd with his mum and dad. They're Spurs women's season ticket holders.

And they said they were just watching afterwards, interviewing Robert. And they said, what was he doing? He was just jumping up and down at one point. What was he saying? And it was like, I'd asked him about that 96 minute winner and like how it felt and the momentum and stuff. He's just, I felt it in my body. I felt the feeling in overtime as well. I felt like we could do this. He was literally, literally jumping up and down like a little like excited

kid and it's just like really refreshing. And yeah, Becky Spencer was like brilliant and a dream as well to chat to after, which is just so, so lovely. And yeah, like it was just a really well-deserved win and incredible performance. All of my Spurs friends were delighted with it. There's nothing better than that, is it? A late goal. Thank you, Luton, for making my weekend wonderful. Grace Clinton caught the eye again in midfield, though, didn't she, Anita?

She's been one of the breakout stars of the WSL season. And this is what her manager had to say about her. You have your superstar now. Since I saw that quote, I literally cannot get loving you're a superstar out of my head. It's quite irritating. It's a bit of an earworm. How impressed are you with the progress that she's made? I mean, you worked with her at Bristol City, didn't you? Do Spurs have a chance of signing her permanently in the summer?

Yeah, I think so. I'm not surprised at all, you know, how well she's doing because she had such impact for us at Bristol when she was on loan. And to just see this progression and development, you know, this journey she's been on as a coach is, is really fun and exciting to see, but it's not just that. We know about her abilities on the ball, you know, her dribbling capabilities, her hold up play, her vision and ability to bring other attacking players into the game,

as well as her own scoring ability. But it's the fact that she's such a young player and she literally grabs a game by the scruff of the neck. She wants to be the person that takes responsibility and tries to create goal scoring opportunities or threats on goal. She wants that and she has that desire and hunger and will. And you see that on the pitch. And I think that's the exciting part

is that you've got a real leader on the pitch who's such a young player who's getting all this exposure as well and is handling it fantastically and you can just see that Robert Villaham you know the sort of he's singing her praises she's probably one of the first players on the team sheet every week and she's playing with a level of consistency that you don't always see with young players as well. And a maturity actually I feel. I feel as if she just walks walks over the white line and just is like yeah I've got this which is really good to see. Look a lot can change in a week Emma something Manchester City has certainly discovered over the last few days. Hopes of a treble now diminished to just one. I mean it's a big piece of silverware the one the wsl and they're right in that title race but it's a bit of a a crash back down to earth probably after that

impressive run of form and then they've got more worries because bunny shaw's injury in the second half we still don't know how serious that is how much of a of a blow could this week be for this city team yeah well as you say i think it's already a blow because the week be for this City team? Yeah, well, as you say, I think it's already a blow because the fact that they're out of two cup competitions is absolutely huge for them. You know, this is a side that, bearing in mind Gareth Taylor just signed a new long-term deal, what was it, a week and a half ago?

And obviously all the talk around that was about, you know, his ability to try and lead the team to their first WSL title in eight years. But kind of within that, it's picking up more trophies and trying to stop Chelsea almost having a monopoly on it all, which City haven't been able to do despite, you know, an array of resources and talent that they've had. And you just worry that the longer it goes on in that sense,

obviously Gareth will just continue to kind of be under pressure from certain parts of the fan base because he's done such a good job this season up until this point and then in the space of a week two you know disappointing defeats and that massively changes how their season looks already and like you say they are still well in the title race so winning the WSL would obviously massively help that. But yeah, I think Buddy Shaw's injury is a big blow. It's quite concerning, actually, if you're a City fan, because she's been the focal point for them.

And a lot of the way that they play, it comes through to her. You know, they like to get out wide. They like to put balls into the box. And her hold-up play is fantastic. You know, she's got a real sense of movement. Some of her runs are just incredible. And then obviously she's got the physicality as well to just kind of hold players off and keep the ball and bring others into play. So yeah, a really, really disappointing week for City. And I just worry now that they've done a lot of talk about them kind of not having to worry about the pressure and the fact that they feel confident that they can beat teams and win trophies.

And then, you know, it's suddenly in the space of a week gone from three to one. And there might be maybe far too much pressure on this one big trophy. There was a presenter years ago. I feel as if everybody on this pod is far too young to remember this. Dusty Bin, 3-2-1. I can't remember who the presenter was. But anyway, somebody will be shouting at me as to who it is. And you mentioned that deal actually, Emma,

but Jim actually sent us a message on womensfootballweekly at theguardian.com. How glad do you think Gareth Taylor is that he signed before Manchester City got dumped out of both

the Conte and the FA Cups? Was it a little bit premature? Susie, you were full of praise of him last week, which is a rare thing. Was I, though? I think I did say that, you know, they may regret it

come the end of the season if they end up with nothing um and it was a little bit uh it'd be a interesting decision if they end empty-handed and you know a long-term contract maybe one that they regret particularly even beyond that if they fail to get out of presuming they get Champions League if they fail to get to the group stage again I mean like I say, obviously they were in qualifying pre-group stage and stuff as well. So, but just failing to get through the qualifying stage basically. Yeah, it's a really interesting one, isn't it? Because what looked like a great deal a week ago when you're in three competitions and fighting for a league title suddenly looks a little bit different when you're out of both those cup

competitions. And, you know, the league is very, very far from guaranteed when you look at the form that Chelsea are in in particular, like I say the form that Chelsea are in, they're not in great form, but like perennial winners. I, you know, have never been a huge admirer of Gareth Taylor and sort of the project at Man City that he's building. I've always thought it's never quite been good enough to compete on multiple fronts and to challenge at the top end of European football. But yeah, I mean, I would love to be proved wrong.

Like, it'd be great to see a different name on the trophy this season, the Women's Super League trophy. If it's City, if it's Arsenal, I think Ivo would be a really, really good thing for the optics of the game, as much as I also think a great send-off for Emma Hayes would be good as well, just in terms of the competitiveness of the league.

So I think there's a lot riding on that trophy now for Gareth Taylor and for Man City. I mean, late goals are always dreamy, but a message from friend of the pod, Chris Poweros, who sent a video of the penalty shootouts with the headline, is there any better moment in a football match than this one? And again, let me bring Luton Town back into it. Penalty shootout drama in the Championship playoff final.

It is the best way slash worst way slash most stressful way of winning a football game well let's talk about Chelsea in contrast they have kept their quadruple dreams very much alive securing their second win in the northwest in the space of four days Sunday's game finished Everton nil Chelsea won and you know yeah again it wasn't the best performance from Emma Hayes's side but as we've talked about so often on the pod, they got over the line against a quite impressive Everton side, I thought. Is this what makes Chelsea so good, Anita?

They can struggle at times in games and yet still come out on top. Yeah, definitely. I think they're the team that are probably the most adaptable. You know, they don't have to play one specific style of football. They can go around you, play over you, play through you and utilise different personnel to sort of execute that kind of plan.

And I guess Emma Hayes is not afraid to change things when she can see the team aren't quite performing at the levels that we expect them to. And she did that during this match, you know, Macario coming on within a few minutes,

having scored a goal, just proves that, you know, and that's testament to Emma and her ability to make those decisions. But also in terms of Chelsea as a club and their recruitment, you know, long-term, they're constantly reinventing and evolving the team and recognising that there will be a transition to come. And you've got to say, you know, Ritin Kanerid, I've been impressed with her all season, I think has added a different dimension to Chelsea. I'm not necessarily a fan of the Fran Kirby No. 9 project, I've got to say that.

I don't think that's her best position. I don't think it suits necessarily her attributes. And that was, for me, largely exposed in this fixture. You couldn't find her, she me, largely exposed in this fixture. You couldn't find her. She wasn't as involved in the game. And it felt quite disjointed and quite a clunky performance from them and perhaps quite a nervy one when you expect probably a Chelsea to cruise through in a game like that.

But I thought Everton were brave. You know, they were brave. They committed numbers forward. They were threatening around the box. Kool, I thought, was really good at linking up, playing between the lines and trying to make things happen. Benison as well, before she came off. So they were tested. But that shows you just the experience in that team and that squad that they know how to win and they find a way to do that. Yeah, it feels as if Everton actually are, you know, consistently struggling with injury and squad depth, but actually managing to pull off really impressive performances each week and competing really well against the top teams.

And they had plenty of chances themselves on Sunday, but just again, lacked that clinical edge really, didn't they? Chelsea having a bit of an injury crisis themselves, Emma, at the moment. Sam Kerr and Mia Fishel, as we know, out with ACL injuries. Record signing Mayra Ramirez was forced off during the first half against Manchester City on Thursday. We don't know what her injury is or how she is. Natalie Bjorn came off in the first half against Everton picking up a knock. And as Anita said, Emma Hayes has kind of had to juggle and shift the pieces of her

team around like a jigsaw being put in the wrong order. Shuka Nushkin playing in central defence, for example. As you said, Kirby in the number nine. How worried, Emma, should Chelsea fans be ahead of what is a crucial few weeks coming up? I would say perhaps controversially not worried because this is the squad that Chelsea have built to deal with these situations. Yes, it is extreme. But I think if there's any squad that can deal with the injuries, it is Chelsea. Emma Hayes is often, you know, as Anita says, she's often rotated. She's often changed things up. She's tried is often, you know, as Anita says there, she's often rotated,

she's often changed things up. She's tried different things within games as well as sort of throughout seasons so that they are capable of getting through these periods. Yet this is quite an extreme one. You don't want Frank Kirby playing number nine. You don't want midfielders or, you know, forwards playing in centre-back. But I do think Chelsea, they just have so many different ways to win a game. And that's where I always had my reservations about Manchester City at the start of the season. And, you know, I've come on this podcast and said, I think Manchester City have played the best football in the WSL, but they haven't been as consistent in terms of results because Chelsea can do that. They can win when they're not playing well.

They've got, you know, certain situations within games where they just know how to maybe kill the tempo for 10 minutes. They know how to ride their luck a little bit. They can score goals from set pieces. They've got players like Lauren James who can turn on a little bit of class at any point in any game. So I wouldn't be too concerned if I was a Chelsea fan. Yes, it's not ideal, but I think this is why they built a squad. This is why they invested in the squad. And this is why, you know, Emma Hayes has constantly trusted her players so that they can adapt to these situations. And it makes life a lot harder for them, for sure, especially with the squad depth that Arsenal have got. But I think Chelsea have still got plenty in their squad to challenge and you know at least cling on until they get some of their players back from injury. For me the interesting period and how well they

handle all of these injuries is this next 19 days where they've got five games, including two Champions League games against Ajax, Arsenal twice on Friday in the league, and then on Easter Sunday in the Conte Cup final. And then they also play West Ham and Spurs in that time as well. So for me, that five games in 19 days, that is going to, I mean, obviously there's going to be periods later in the season if they progress through to the Champions League semifinals and things like that, and latter stages of various other like the FA cup and all of that they're all gonna influence how heavy their calendar is later on but these these five days

in particular I think that that's the big test of how well they cope with volume of games now their squad is a little bit stretched I mean obviously getting Kat Macario back is like brilliant but that number nine position that's the that's the only place where I'm actually like really worried about the impact of of the multiple games because she's so new back so she's not going to be able to play those games back to back they're going to have to sort of you know bring her on as they've been doing that's been effective will it be effective over a number of games in a row who knows yeah they've got to manage her's been effective. Will it be effective over a number of games in a row? Who knows? Yeah, they've got to manage her minutes, haven't they? But I mean, what a comeback. Scoring within six minutes of making her Chelsea debut last week and then

scoring within three minutes of entering the pitch this week. I mean, she's been absolutely fantastic, but need to keep her fit first and foremost. Let's stay in Merseyside for our next FA Cup fixture. There was another moment of history as Leicester reached the semi-finals for the first time. It's important though, first of all, to touch on off the pitch matters before we discuss their 2-0 victory over Liverpool. Susie, you broke the news on Friday that manager Willie Kirk's been suspended by Leicester City while an internal investigation looks at an alleged relationship between him and a current player. Can you tell us exactly what's been happening?

Yeah, I mean, not much more than that, really, in that he's been suspended for the time being while the club investigate an alleged relationship with a player. Coming off the back of the Jonathan Morgan incident of him also being exposed for having had a relationship with a player whilst at Leicester, albeit a number of years ago. You know, it's not a very nice thing to have going on at your club. And I think that we're going to see it increasingly be the case

that these kind of things are brought up with a little bit more frequency. This isn't the last and it's not the first. So, yeah, not the nicest situation, but yeah, it is what it is. Anita, it does feel as if this is the tip of the iceberg a little bit at the moment. What exactly does need to be in place to protect players going forward? I think where these situations become a bit, I guess, blurry is the fact that we've had a game

within the women's game that has been amateur or semi-pro for such an extreme amount of time where it's kind of been largely, widely accepted to some degree. And now we've entered into this professional era, probably from the start of the WSL's inception in, what, 2010. And really, maybe that is the marker of when we should be going. This is when the league turned professional. This is where we should be including professionalism

throughout the business of football and making sure that these instances cannot happen in the near future as well. I think that's the challenge because I think it sort of existed within the culture, especially if you're talking about clubs that have been part time or amateur or had a more a different kind of culture within its set up, where those sorts of relationships have happened or developed and how you control and mandate that, that's the big question and that's the big task for those that run the league and execute power. It's really difficult, isn't it? Because I think, you know, that's still 14 years.

That's 14 years to try yourself to make the culture more professional, in my opinion, anyway. Listen, despite what was going on off the pitch, they did pull off an impressive performance on it. Jutta Rantala again at the heart of Leicester's success, coming up with a brace. She's been absolutely in brilliant form this season, hasn't she, Emma? Yeah, she has. And she was really ruthless in that game because, you know, Liverpool controlled a lot of the game. I wouldn't say they dominated possession, but they certainly had a lot of it. And they seemed quite comfortable, but it was sort of two very easily avoided mistakes, which Leicester capitalised on. And obviously she was there

and in the right position and put those chances away and that's what you need in these cup matches you know Chelsea showed it Bethany England showed it for Tottenham like you just you need to be able to read the game and be clinical in the moments when when they come and it's it's knockout football and Leicester absolutely did that I thought they defended brilliantly for the second half in particular very very impressive especially given obviously everything that we've just discussed off the pitch beforehand. I'd imagine their build-up would have been quite disruptive on that Friday, Saturday. So yeah, terrific performance from them. But I think it was a huge missed opportunity for Liverpool

because to get a draw against the non-Chelsea or Manchester City's of the draw would have been, yeah, they would have been looking at that and thinking this is a really big opportunity to get through in the cup and obviously they didn't take it. So Leicester did. Fantastic moment for them and well-deserved. Yeah, frustrating for Matt Beard, I reckon, Anita, because it was a disappointing performance all round. They've been one of the surprises of the league this season, but they just were a bit wasteful in front of goal at times, really. And it feels as if quite a few things went wrong for them on Saturday. But their home form in particular is a real worry. They haven't actually won at Prenton Park since mid-November, which I hadn't clocked until producer Sophie had written that. And that's a long time. Yeah, I agree with you, Faye. I think they probably are

taking some of that hangover in the league into this cup run, which you can't afford to do when these are knockout games. You've got to be at your best. You've got to be clinical. And actually, it could have been sort of the catalyst to sort of turn that on its head if they had got the performance and the win again there are squad as well with quite a few you know they've got good players on that team they've got players that can have impact that can change the game obviously they start with me and to be at top in this game so there was a bit of rotation in the team to give other players opportunities, but they just weren't,

that's what they're missing. And that's what you're seeing in the league as well, is that clinical edge to really challenge the top clubs. And they got caught out on really two counterattacking scenarios or transition moments where you can't afford to do that at this level. But credit to Leicester, I think, for a mid-table type of team with a bit of adversity going on in the background to show that togetherness and that performance

shows a lot of character within this very young team. Yeah, it really does. A lot of character from Manchester United this weekend as well. The fourth FA Cup quarterfinal, a lot less competitive than the others. It was a cruising, really, for United. Their second successive semi-final a lot less competitive than the others. It was a cruising really for United. Their second successive semi-final they've reached. They beat Brighton by four goals to nil.

Manager Mark Skinner described it as a total performance, saying it's one of their best displays of the season. Susie, were you surprised by how easy it was for them, given the recent kind of competitive encounters between these two sides. Just as a reminder, Brighton held United to a draw earlier on this season, then lost 2-0 in the reverse. They also met each other in the FA Cup semi-finals last year, United winning 3-2 in that one. But this one was just a steamroller. I'm more surprised that Brighton did so well against them in those fixtures than necessarily

surprised that Man United could turn it on at this critical juncture for them, I suppose, because that is really, I mean, it shows how much the sheen has been taken off United this season that we're sort of questioning whether, you know, we're surprised by them being bright and so comprehensively. They badly needed this. I think Mark Skinner is in a bit of trouble given how far they've fallen in the league. I say how far they've fallen near and forth, but how far they've fallen off point-wise. It's what, about nine points between them and Arsenal in third. No hope of getting Champions League really now. So it is a pretty

significant competition for them to be in the running for. And I think they've got to go all out to win this trophy to keep him in his job, essentially. I think that is the crux of it at this stage of where things are out with Manchester United, of how the fans are feeling, of what the league is looking like for them. So I think they badly needed this. Obviously Brighton have been impressive, but they've had a degree of turmoil themselves obviously. Mikey Harris is in as an interim manager till the end of the season. They've not necessarily kind of been he's not necessarily been tested against uh you know a big club like this and yeah I'm like yeah like I say

not surprised by the result more surprised that we're surprised that we're surprised at the result for a nice little tongue twister the ease in which they won will be most pleasing because when when things have just felt really difficult in the last couple of weeks to then win a game so easy and and to kind of yeah have that that comfortable victory behind you I just think from a mentality point of view and a momentum point of view that that's really key um you know these United players as well as Mark Skinner have come under a lot of pressure you know they, they brought in some new players in the summer, players that they hoped would take the team to the next level

and it hasn't happened. So to win in the manner in which they did, I think is equally as important as the result. I have a question. Do you guys think, though, that Brighton made it a bit easy for United? Because they, I mean, they're steadfast on, like, building out from the back in the most risky

of scenarios and I'm not being funny they're not Barcelona they didn't change at all I thought that Spurs could have been punished for the same thing

against City because there were some really hairy moments playing it out from the back where City were pressing really high and you just thought one slip here

and they're gone and that game is gone from them. I think they got a little bit lucky with, you know, kind of, I mean, I say luck, it's luck's unfair, isn't it? Like they actually did really well coping with the pressure, but like I was a little bit like, ooh, playing out from the back like this is a risky strategy. By the way, did anybody read Kelly Simmons' article in The Guardian this week about the visibility of the FA Cup and that it's a crucial moment at the minute in terms of where it goes going forward? It was really interesting.

If you've not read it yet, take a look on The Guardian. Following that, a couple of questions actually on social media. Will the FA actually bother to publicize this round is what jim hearson asks and nag wants to know about neutral venues and whether the semi should be played uh there rather than at home grounds what does the panel think who wants to take this i'm going to go to anita first i just had the article up actually yeah I well they need to publicize the games obviously and the cup because I think as a former player the cup is one of the most special sort of competitions you can play in and it's something all the players

are sort of buzzing to be a part of and the dream of playing the final at Wembley is like everything you do when you're a kid playing street football, pretty much. In terms of neutral grounds, I can see why there's a pull towards that, you know, in terms of competition, fairness and all of that. But I guess it's the challenges of getting fans to grounds, especially, you know, when you look at the women's football in general and the clubs that have really built those bigger, solid fan bases

that will probably get to the ground and create the atmosphere that will make it look even better for television and all of those things. Those are all the kind of questions that the FA have to look at, I think, when they're thinking about staging the semis and the finals, is they want to make it an interesting, entertaining platform for players,

but also for fans watching. Yeah, I mean, on the venues, like in theory, I think that you want neutral venues for semifinals, but in practice, based on what we see in sort of different areas of the women's game, like the number of venues available isn't that high. You know, we've got, as much as I love the stadium, Molineux for the Conte Cup final and England are playing in Norwich and in Newcastle

in the sort of next run of international fixtures in the Euro qualifiers. And I get the impression that there's not a huge number of stadiums available for women's teams to play at. So while I think it's kind of a good idea in principle practically in terms of like rewarding fan bases for their support and helping you know teams grow locally there is a case for keeping semi-finals in in cup stadiums at the minute for me I also think it's it's part of the nature of the cup is the luck of the draw so maybe perhaps controversially but I just think you know what why what's the difference between kind of the semi-final stage and the quarter final stage in terms of having that luck of getting a home draw first or whatever it might be?

I think there's always an advantage or a disadvantage with the draw. So I just think, why change it before the final? That would be my counter-argument. Yeah, and just to add, I think, obviously, media rights, if they get media rights in the future for the Cup, will really help spur this on where you can get better venues better more marketing and even more visibility for it i agree with i agree with you on that 100 um okay so the draw is in so the semi-final draw has been made on Tuesday morning.

Full disclosure, we recorded the rest of the pod beforehand, so myself and Emma stayed on for the semi-finals to be decided. And the magic of editing and the wonder of producer Silas means that you find that in the pod while we're talking about the FA Cup. So Chelsea will face Manchester United and Tottenham will face Leicester. Dreamy draw, says Emma Sanders. Yeah, a really exciting draw.

It's such a massive opportunity for Tottenham and Leicester City. We are guaranteed the new finalist in the Women's FA Cup, which in itself I just think is really great for everyone, all the neutrals, but especially for those, you know, the fan bases of those two clubs. It's just reward really from, you know, we discussed earlier in the podcast Tottenham's great result over Manchester City and now they've been rewarded with a good tie here. And the same with Leicester City, obviously coming through the adversity that they had on the weekend to beat Liverpool and now here they are with a fantastic opportunity to get to Wembley and to battle for a trophy.

So, yeah, that's really exciting. And then I think Manchester United fans would be bitterly disappointed that they've drawn Chelsea because they are the heavy favourites to go on and win the tournament now. And you would expect Chelsea to really, really fancy themselves in any tie in the semifinal draw. But yeah, just can't wait for the games now because it's, yeah, as I say, the fact that we're going to be guaranteed a new finalist, I think is fantastic.

I know, I'm very excited. I wish, however, that the Adobe Women's FA Cup Twitter feed was as excited as we were, because actually they only put the fixtures up about 10 minutes after the draw had been made and they didn't tell anybody where to listen to the draw. So no signposting again, which goes exactly back to what we were just talking about in terms of visibility. You have the opportunity. It is there. Grasp it with both hands. Anyway, that's it for part one of the Guardian Women's Football Weekly. In part two, we Guardian Women's Football Weekly.

So the FA Cup wasn't the only Cup action of the week. We also had the Conti Cup final line-up decided after two midweek semi-finals. The first game ended Arsenal 4, Aston Villa 0. It was a very confident performance, Susie, from Jona's side of our side against a very depleted Aston Villa side who added Daphne van Dompselaar to their list of absentees before the match. Interestingly, linked with Arsenal in the last couple of days as well as a summer signing. Happy with the comfortable win in the form of Stina Blackstenius?

Yeah, and I think what was really interesting was starting with both Blackstenius and Russo in the side, whereas it's sort of been thought that it's, you know, those two competing for the number nine, but they worked supremely well together. russo's so great at holding up the ball black stenius is so much more of a sort of out and out more direct number nine that um that actually ended up being a really good formula for them going into this sort of back end of the season yeah that for me was the most impressive thing about the result was the sort of discovery that that is a partnership that could really work, especially with, you know, Viviana Miedema having to have a bit of further surgery on her knee that, you know, it just gives

them a little extra option in the number 10 or out wide, you know, if they stick Rousseau behind Blackstenius or wide of her, that there can be just, yeah, another option there. You know, I think Arsenal looking very, very good in terms of sort of the squad depth that they've got available going into this back end of the season that could serve them really, really well.

So the holders, Arsenal, are through to another final. Once again, going to face Chelsea in the showpiece at Molineux on the 31st of March. No trains that day, by the way, as I discovered the other day. How exciting. They beat Manchester City thanks to an eighth-minute goal from Lauren James.

Emma, this game felt like a reverse of that WSL clash we had a couple of weeks ago when City took the lead and then held on for the win. This time, Chelsea, though, early goal, very much then defended for the rest of the game. What did you make of it? Yeah, I think you've summed it up, really. I think Chelsea will have to do that. You know, we've obviously discussed the injuries earlier

in the podcast, and I think, you know, it's just a case of them trying to put the game to bed early and then using their experience, using the leadership and their know-how,how really to grind out results. And I think that's what Emma Hayes actually said afterwards, was that they dug in and they had to grind out a win. And I think we'll see them do that a lot. They have done it a lot in the years that they've won trophies under her.

It's just doing what they need to do to win cup competitions. And, you know, we've seen them have very, very close games with Manchester City. Over the years, Gareth Taylor and Emma Hayes have always spoken about the fine margins between them whenever they meet. And it just felt like that again. And obviously, Lauren James produced the goods and then Chelsea did enough. And that's what these cup games are. It's about doing enough and getting through. And they have done. Yeah, it means we've got a replay of last year's final

where Arsenal beat Chelsea by three goals to one. That was at Selhurst Park, wasn't it? Is my memory right? Your memory is right. Yes, it was Selhurst Park. Excellent.

Wow, that's very rare. Quick prediction. Who's going to lift the first piece of silverware this season, Anita? Oh, you're asking me to talk about two of my former clubs and make the decision.

I got sweat beads going down my forehead. This changes your legacy at both clubs, whichever one you go for. I know it really does. I'm going to say, I think it's going to be a tight game. I think it's going to go to penalties and that Chelsea might edge it on penalties. Wow. That's going to be a long Sunday afternoon if that is the case. It is. I'm sorry, guys. Easter Sunday's dead.

Easter Sunday, yeah. I just killed Easter Sunday. Oh God, resurrect it somebody. Listen, I'll tell you what needs resurrecting is all of us dropping to the floor when we saw the Euro 2025 draw last week. Oh my word. Qualification starts in early April.

Everyone's looking to book their trip to Switzerland next summer. This is how it works, basically. The top two finishers in each of the four League A groups, plus the hosts, qualify directly. Then there's a playoff process which decides the remaining seven spots. So there's, you know, plenty of opportunity to be able to qualify for the tournament. But the draw, I mean, I mentioned it at the top was a tongue in cheek, but this is like the ultimate group of death England have been drawn in. There's going to be a historic encounter with the Republic of Ireland, first of all, which is very exciting. If anybody knows producer Sophie, one half of Girls on the Ball

and her partner Rachel is obviously from the Republic of Ireland. This is the most exciting draw that could possibly happen because it's the first time the two have faced each other, not Rachel and Sophie, by the way, the teams, since 1987. The Lionesses will also play Sweden and France, which are the third and fifth ranked sides in the world. I'm just going to use a phrase that my best friend uses very often, ooft. Ooft indeed. No easy task, Susie, but the point of the Nations League was to make these games tougher. What did you make of the draw? I it was brutal right like it was the two toughest

teams in pot three and four that they could have got I mean the Euro 2022 bronze medalist Sweden and the Republic of Ireland were the only pot four team who had qualified for the World Cup in 2023 so like literally it I mean it could have the only thing that could have been harder is if they had got Spain in pot one. I suppose the fact that if you don't finish in the top two, you've still got to route through to getting to the Euros puts a little bit less pressure on how you do. But obviously England are going to want to cruise through and not have to go through qualifying

and have fewer games on these players plates because the schedule is is so grueling so um yeah i mean it is what it is it's gonna be uh entertaining particularly the republic of ireland game like a little bit disappointed that that's being played in norwich because like i feel like that could sell out wembley for sure um I know that there's problems with you know Wembley and the Champions League men's final and all those kind of things and like you know there have to be stadiums that want teams uh want the England team to come and play in them as well but you would like to think that every team would be biting their hands off to have the Lionesses play there so yeah a little bit disappointed that that's not a bigger ground and a more accessible ground and and stuff given the the nature of the tie and the history there but I mean yeah it's gonna be fun

it's definitely gonna be fun but you know we mentioned the the venues before as well uh briefly Anita this is if you've not seen them all by the way England are going to host Sweden at Wembley France will come to St James's Park up at Newcastle and as Susie just said the Republic of Ireland at Carrow Road in Norwich I mean even the logistics of that I'm not being funny where where are most Ireland fans coming from if they don't live in England they're coming from the west and we're going as far as we possibly can do to the east which seems a little bit bonkers um what did you make of this there's quite a lot of disappointment on I mean listen social media is not always the gauge there's an awful lot of disappointment and angry people all residing on X and other platforms are available, by the way.

But bearing in mind how massive the Ireland game is, is it understandable that they're frustrated, Anita? It's important to note that Ireland are going to be playing the reverse fixture at the Aviva Stadium. Yeah, I understand the support, especially the Irish supporters' frustrations because it's not a fixture that comes around very often. You know, this is going to be another, it's an historic match between, you know, England and Republic of Ireland. And I think it's an opportunity that as many people as possible will want to try and get to. And you add in logistics and travel. You're also adding cost to supporters, which is a challenge.

And so from that perspective, I think it's a shame that they haven't really been maybe considered as much in this decision. But on the flip side of that, I understand that there's a part of wanting to bring and showcase the Lionesses across the country and that it's not always just necessarily located in the South. And so it gives an opportunity for sort of the rest of the UK to have the opportunity to watch them. There is an argument for that as well. You know, I know when I was an England player, that was some of the controversial discussions that happened but yeah I think from that perspective it's an opportunity missed but in terms of the group as a whole I think the the lionesses it's just the case of they're gonna have to be ready at the races

that you know they don't want to really go off into playoff games to try and qualify I think they all want to and fancy themselves obviously as Euro winners previously World Cup finalists to break out this group on the top and in a way that's kind of a good thing because you know the mentality the preparation going into it is going to be like 1000% you know and if you can make a good account of yourself early on in the qualifications, it's also a psychological message you're sending out to But I just wonder from Serena Wiegman, the FA England's perspective, you know, we've all met Serena on this podcast. We all know, you know, her personality. And, you know, is there an element of purely

from a competitive point of view, they see this as an advantage to them. And actually, you know, it's easier for the England team. You know, they maybe can get more more home fans there they would they would hope they can pack out the stadium and maybe block out some of the Republic of Ireland support but also I know they they just look at forensic details around you know logistics and and what suits their preparation and it wouldn't surprise me if Serena Vigran and her technical team have just looked at this and gone, this works for us.

And they've not really thought about anything bigger. And, you know, why do they need to really? That's not really their job. Maybe I'm being unfair, but I just I think, you know, there might be an element of that to it as well. No, I don't think you're being unfair. I think you're being very accurate. And I hadn't looked at it in that way. And I love a little bit of optimism over

pessimism, for sure, because you look at that draw first and foremost, you go, oh my goodness. And then you forget, as Anita says, these are the European champions and World Cup finalists we're talking about. They're going to breeze through it. And that competitive advantage that you could get, I like that one as well. I'm going for all the ding, ding, dings on that. Looking at the home nations, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are all in League B. Scotland have drawn Serbia, Slovakia and Israel. Wales will face Croatia, Ukraine and Kosovo,

while Northern Ireland will come up against Portugal, Malta and Bosnia-Herzegovina. What do you think the home nation's chances are, Emma? Yeah, I think Scotland, they're the highest ranked side in their group. So I think they will fancy themselves to do well. I think they've got a couple of potentially tough ties in there with Serbia and Slovakia maybe. But again, Wales have got quite a difficult one with Ukraine.

But there's no reason why they can't finish in the top two of their group. And Northern Ireland, I think, have actually got a really good chance in their group. It's just the playoffs because I think it's 28 teams, isn't it, that go into the playoffs and that whittles down to seven. So it's difficult to get out of the playoffs. But I think certainly the three home nations in their groups at least have a have a good chance of finishing top if not in the top two brilliant fingers crossed yeah god that tournament

is going to be looming large isn't it very soon right sticking with international football the USA became the inaugural champions of the W Gold Cup in the early hours of Monday morning a goal from Lindsay Horan in first-half injury time saw them edge past Brazil by a goal to nil. It was the conclusion of a tournament that was never far from the headlines, was it, as Megan Swanick, one of our guests on the pod, wrote on X. In the inaugural CONCACAF W Gold Cup, the US lost to Mexico for the first time on home soil.

AM7, that's Alex Morgan to anybody who doesn't know, tried to fight the Columbia team. Good luck with that. A baby drank a Truly, which is apparently an alcoholic sparkling water. Emma Hayes posted heart emojis at 3am UK time. We played Canada inside the Pacific Ocean. And Alyssa Naya saved us somehow. There was also the small matter of Costa Rica progressing through to the quarterfinals through the drawing of lots. I mean, it was a competition that had everything, wasn't it? Drama, Rama. A competition that has had everything this season is the championship. Three championship games scheduled this week. Reading earned a huge 1-0 victory over title contenders Charlton, thanks to a goal from Charlie Wellings.

That result saw them move into eighth, opening up a six-point cushion over Watford at the bottom, which feels massive at this time of the season. Crystal Palace earned their first ever win at Selhurst Park to take them within a point of the top of the table. And they have a game in hand, don't forget, as well. Molly May Sharp scoring the only goal of the game to beat Sheffield United. And last night on Monday, Blackburn Rovers beat Lewis 2-1 at Ewood Park.

Quick focus back onto the WSL this weekend. Kicking off with a huge London derby under the lights at Stamford Bridge on Friday night. Both Chelsea and Arsenal heavily involved in the title race, facing off in a couple of weeks' time in the Conte Cup final as well. A few questions from our listeners for you. Anita San Beccario asks, if Arsenal beat Chelsea on Friday,

does that make out-of-form Manchester City title favourites? Oh, good question. I think if you're basing it on form, then yes. But ultimately, Chelsea are still the team to beat for me. I think Chelsea have been there, done it, shown they can do it despite the challenges of injuries or having to adapt their team or Emma Hayes moving on. I still feel that Chelsea are the team to beat.

So no, in my opinion, I guess I'm saying Chelsea are the favourites still. Okay. Okay. Finally, an email. That's twice, by the way, I've had to ask you almost to make a prediction on Arsenal-Chelsea, which is just cruel. Evil. Evil, evil, evil, Faye. Finally, an email from Raphael Eiberg

from the Lausanne area of Switzerland, who started watching women's football in 2022 and says he never looked back. He's going off to the Olympics this summer and looking forward to Euro 2025. This is the question. What's the deal with goalkeepers in the WSL? Is Ellie Roebuck still alive? How come Anne Katrin Berger went from a no-brainer the question, what's the deal with goalkeepers in the WSL?

Is Ellie Roebuck still alive? How come Anne Katrin Berger went from a no-brainer as number one to sometimes not even in the match squad? Same question for Hannah Hampton in reverse. She was a clear number three in Emma Hayes' mind and became the de facto starter in the blink of an eye

halfway through the season. What about Zachira Musovic? Finally, is anyone ever allowed to question Mary Earp's status as her club and country's forever starter? I think Chiara Keating would have deserved a chance lately, especially in one of the two recent friendlies with absolutely nothing

at stake. I just need to let you all know the panel are howling. You probably can't actually hear them because producer Silas will have taken that out of the background. But Emma, do you want to have a go at answering at least some of Raphael's questions? Yeah, I mean, firstly, I want to meet Raphael because I want him to be my best friend because he sounds absolutely hilarious. Yeah, there's a lot to go out there. Any robot is alive.

I can confirm that. That is one thing I do know. Sources tell me she is alive. No photoshops. Yeah, I mean, we all know she's been heavily linked with the move to Barcelona. It's looking likely that that will happen

in the summer at the end of her contract at Manchester City. Obviously still nothing done yet. But yeah, I likely that that will happen in the summer at the end of her contract at Manchester City obviously still nothing done yet but yeah I think that that direction seems to be quite clear the Hannah Hampton one I think is is an interesting one because I think talent wise she's always been way up there we know how good of a goalkeeper she is and actually I would dispute the claim that that Emma Hayes has ever had a number one. She has always rotated. And I wasn't really surprised to see Hannah Hampton given that time to come into the squad. And then she was brought in, took her chance, impressed in the first two, three games.

And rightly so, has sort of kept her shirt. But I would imagine Emma will still rotate her keepers, you know, throughout the rest of the season. So that one doesn't really surprise me. Obviously, Mucevic is a very high level goalkeeper as well, but she's used to that rotation. And I remember speaking to her in the summer and she was quite keen to earn back her place. Kiara Keating and the England squad, Mary Earps. I think that's an interesting discussion, actually, because obviously Earps has been at the top of the game for a while. But I do think this season, performances haven't probably been as good as the last two previous seasons. And obviously Keating has impressed. But I do think Keating is still, she's still finding her feet consistently at the top level. You know, she's had some terrific performances. There was that really, really good one against Arsenal this year. But, you know, you remember that she had a bit of a day to forget against Arsenal earlier in the season. She obviously made a mistake in the cup this week.

And that will happen because she's young and she's obviously an extremely talented goalkeeper as well. But I think throwing her in at the deep end in an England squad when you've got a player like Mary Earps, who is such a leader and so well experienced and she's played well for England as well let's not forget um I think you know Keating's time will come um but I think that's definitely you know worth a discussion and I'm sure Serena Vigman will be watching her development and Hannah Hampton's in particular very closely and I would put Hannah Hampton actually as the number two for England at the moment. I think that is a very comprehensive answer of a very comprehensive question.

And I think Serena Vigman might be taking on Raphael as a consultant going forward. Brilliant question. Thank you so much for sending that in. Don't forget, you can email us at womensfootballweeklyattheguardian.com or send us your questions via social media as well. I thoroughly enjoyed today's pod.

I mean, I enjoy every single pod, but particularly this morning when we had to get up at the ghastly hour of 6am to do a 7am record. It's been joyous. Anita, a pleasure as always. Take care. Thanks for having me, Faye. Good to see you all. Always good to see you. Emma Sanders, take care. Lovely to see you all always good to see you Emma Sanders take care

lovely to see you in Manc yeah good to see you all everyone all the best Susie I'll see you at Wembley very shortly yeah see you in a minute

I've got a sprint you go go go go go Susie go right keep having your say sending in your questions via X as I said

or emailing us at womensfootballweekly at theguardian.com as ever a reminder as welling us at womensfootballweeklyattheguardian.com. As ever, a reminder as well to sign up for our bi-weekly women's football newsletter. All you need to do is search Moving the Goalposts sign up. In Tuesday's edition, producer Sophie's interviewed Mercury 13 founder Victoire Kodjovina-Reynal to find out about women's football's new multi-club ownership and their first acquisition, FC Como Women. On Thursday, Megan Swanwick returns with an NWSL preview

ahead of the start of the season. And don't forget, we did do a pod a couple of weeks ago with Megan and Mark Parsons on the new season as well if you want to listen back to it. The Guardian Women's Football Weekly is produced by Sophie Downey and Silas Gray. Music composition was by Laura Iredale. Our executive producer is Salah Ahmad. We'll be right back. Engineered by Google, the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro are fast and secure with the most advanced Pixel cameras yet

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