‘Champions of Europe and the world’ — has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?
Come on, girls, we’re all right behind you!
The Lionesses have made it through to the quarter-finals of the 2023 Women’s World Cup after winning 4-2 on penalties against Nigeria despite going down to 10 players, reports The Manc.
England’s women’s team remain among the favourites left in the competition after reigning world champions USA were dumped out in the quarters following a 5-4 loss on penalties to Sweden. Luckily the Lionesses managed to survive their shootout even after missing their first attempt.
Sarina Wiegman‘s side couldn’t break the deadlock inside the 90 and were almost awarded a penalty in the 33rd minute, but the decision was ultimately overturned following a VAR review. It was the same story in extra time but they somehow managed to limp across the line to take the game to pens.
Thankfully, Manchester City’s Chloe Kelly, England’s hero in the 2022 Women’s Euros and the Finalissima back in April, did what she does best and scored the winning spot-kick to send them into the next round.
Prior to the shootout, the biggest moment of the game undoubtedly came when Chelsea’s Lauren James — who had been the star of their World Cup campaign thus far, with three goals and three assists in as many games — was sent off for stamping on Nigeria forward, Michelle Alozie.
In a rare moment of petulance and unacceptable gamesmanship, VAR was called in once again to re-examine the sly on-the-ground challenge, at which point the 21-year-old WSL and England star was promptly shown a straight red card.
Nevertheless, the Lionesses battled on and somehow made it through to the quarter-finals, although they will now have to do without one of the best players for the next match.
England will now play the winner of Colombia vs Jamaica for a place in the semi-finals of this year’s Women’s World Cup and still stand a very strong chance of winning the lot.
‘Champions of Europe and the world’ — has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? Come on, girls, we’re all right behind you!
Featured Image — BBC Sport/Lionesses (via Twitter)
Sport
Daniel Farke urges restraint after ‘the best kind of win’ as Leeds United boost promotion chances
Daniel Farke is urging fans to not get ahead of themselves following last night's massive win over Sunderland as Leeds gave their prospects of a Premier League return a massive leg up.
Returning to the top of the table after a last-gap 2-1 victory over the North East side, Leeds United now lead the league on 72 points as promotion back to the top flight is looking increasingly likely.
But we all know how football goes, especially in the Championship...
With that in mind, although Farke confessed it was "a great night for everyone connected to Leeds United", he was quick to remind his players, staff and supporters that there's still a lot of work to do.
"I never thought I would ever get a yellow card for celebrating"
Daniel Farke shares his thoughts on getting booked for celebrating Leeds' 95th minute equaliser ? pic.twitter.com/tfLxXjE6AK
Speaking after the full-time whistle and when everyone had just about caught their breath back, the 48-year-old said: "These types of wins are the best kind you can have in football for the supporters and the whole group."
Despite being booked for joining in the celebrations and seeming rather puzzled by the decision, the German head coach went on to describe the victory as "priceless points", and "a great night for everyone connected to Leeds United."
However, being fully aware of how fine the margins were and continue to be, he warned everyone to avoid getting carried away, adding: "We haven't won anything yet."
In case you weren't watching for whatever reason, it was a tense home outing against fellow playoff challengers, who took the lead through Wilson Isidor in the first half.
Nevertheless, a brilliant brace came from a somewhat unlikely yet increasingly less surprising source as Pascal Struijk notched his fourth and fifth goal of the season within just over a quarter of an hour - the fans just had to wait agonisingly until the very last quarter or so.
"This is the best Leeds side I've seen in the Championship, the substitutions changed the course of the game" ?
Andy Hinchcliffe praises Leeds and Daniel Farke after their late win over Sunderland ⚪ pic.twitter.com/9NgHcNcje0
Struijk's stoppage-time winner in the 95th minute understandably sent Elland Road into raptures which, as you can see, have been described as some of the best the league has seen in a while.
As Farke says, there's still a long way to go and Leeds won't want to rely on the bare minimum amount to qualify for the playoffs; with 42 points still up for grabs this campaign and teams on their tail, the next few months are going to be stressful.
You can hear Daniel Farke's post-match interview in full HERE and watch the rest of the highlights from a blockbuster finish and a fantastic start to the week for Whites down below:
Featured Images — Sky Sports/Leeds United (screenshots via YouTube)
Sport
Northern Superchargers fixtures confirmed for The Hundred 2025
Danny Jones
The fixtures for The Hundred 2025 have officially been revealed and we now have confirmation as to when we can expect to see Northern Superchargersgetting underway.
One of the fastest-growing competitions not only in cricket but sport, in general, this is just the fifth year of The Hundred but it’s promising to be the biggest and most ambitious yet.
Moving back to its traditional summer slot – set to take place throughout the month of August – well over half a million fans are expected to enjoy the action up and down the country.
You can find the full list of Northern Superchargers fixtures for this year’s Hundred schedule here:
Getting their campaign underway with the first double-header against Welsh Fire on Thursday, 7 August at home in Headingley, it's going to be a brilliant day of cricket - hopefully with plenty of sun to boot.
The Superchargers' first away game comes against Nottingham's Trent Rockets on Sunday (10 August) before heading down South the following Wednesday (13 Aug).
2024 alone saw a global women’s cricket attendance record shattered and with the double-header fixtures set to return, more history beckons for the tournament.
If you’ve never been along to The Hundred before, game days feature plenty of pre-match pageantry and fanfare before the women’s teams get the toss first.
Although there’s music, food and drink to be enjoyed throughout the day, one of the best parts about a day at The Hundred is the entertainment, with other games, activities, competitions and live performances before, during and after the break.
"You get fantastic crowds to play in front of at the biggest venues, with great support. I have absolutely loved being a part of the Superchargers", he continued.
"Captaining last year was a great experience, as was working alongside Freddie [Andrew Flintoff]. We have a great group of players that we will hopefully manage to retain for this year’s competition.
"We'll be looking to build on the momentum we have started to gather as a squad over the last few seasons."
You can get ready grab your tickets on pre-sale and found when general admission goes live HERE.
Danny Jones -
7th August 2023 
