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Arsenal v Tottenham: Women’s Super League – live | Women’s Super League
Key events
90+1 min Six minutes of added time. Van Domselaar is booked for timewasting.
90 min The indefatigable Gaupset gallops 60 yards to the edge of the area before rifling just wide. She’s been outstanding.
88 min Van Domselaar is quickly off her line to dive bravely at the feet of Signe Gaupset. Still only 20, Gaupset is going to be an outstanding player.
87 min: Arsenal substitution Kim Little receives a standing ovation as she is replaced by Laia Codina.
86 min: Double substitution for Tottenham Olga Ahtinen and Lenna Gunning-Williams replace Drew Spence and Hanna Wijk.
83 min Tonight’s attendance is 46,123.
82 min A ball into the box is headed down by England to Gaupset, whose touch-and-hit is blocked. I think it was off target anyway. But this is Spurs’ best spell of the match by a distance.
81 min A couple of corners in quick succession for Spurs, who have a spring in their step for the first time all night.
England has only been on the field for six minutes but she’s had three efforts on target and now she’s scored. Vinberg controlled the ball neatly and touched it off to England, who smashed a shot from a tight angle that went the hands of a startled Van Domselaar. The keeper probably should have done better but it was hit with feeling by England.
GOAL! Arsenal 4-2 Tottenham (England 78)
Fair to say Bethany England has a point to prove.
75 min McCabe clips the free-kick over the wall and the leaping Kop touches it onto the crossbar and over. Good save.
74 min Pelova is fouled just outside the area by Nilden, who is on a yellow card and needs to be careful.
73 min The resulting corner leads to another from England, and a more comfortable save by Van Domselaar.
72 min: Superb save by Van Domselaar!
England almost scores with her first touch, a quite brilliant improvised header from Nilsen’s flat, angled cross. It was swerving inside the near post until Van Domselaar dived towards her own goal and pawed it round. Wow, that’s a brilliant save.
72 min: Double substitution for Spurs Bethany England, making her 200th WSL appearance, and Eveliina Summanen replace Maiko Hamano and Cathinka Tandberg.
71 min Arsenal are letting Spurs have the ball in the middle third, then countering furiously when they win it. It’s been a textbook gameplan.
68 min: Arsenal substitution Victoria Pelova replaces Mariona Caldentey, who is given a rest with Stamford Bridge in mind.
66 min This game is done. Spurs want to get out of town asap.
Caitlin Foord has scored her first WSL goal since September. Mead found Holmberg on the right with a terrific volleyed flick. She whipped a cross beyond the far post, where Foord – who I think saw the ball late – miscontrolled it slightly away from goal. But she reacted superbly to retrieve the ball and batter a shot on the turn past Kop. Cracking finish.
GOAL! Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham (Foord 61)
Arsenal are even more comfortable now.
61 min: Spurs substitution Julie Blakstad replaces Olivia Holdt.
60 min The second half has been a bit of a non-event so far. Arsenal are comfortable and playing in second gear.
57 min: Double substitution for Arsenal Stina Blackstenius and Beth Mead replace Chloe Kelly, who had a quiet game, and Alessia Russo, who did not. She was magnificent.
54 min Little is too unselfish for her own good when she has a chance to shoot, albeit from an awkward angle, and instead tries to find the overlapping Foord. Little overhits the pass and Foord can’t keep it in.
52 min Tandberg runs onto a pass from Wijk and tries a shot on the turn that deflects behind for a corner. Nothing comes of it but Spurs have been a bit more threatening at the start of the second half.
47 min Wijk’s low cross is poked well wide of the near post by Tandberg. She was under pressure from Wubben-Moy and it was no sort of chance.
46 min Arsenal begin the second half.
Half-time substitution Arsenal are bringing on Caitlin Foord for Olivia Smith.
Half-time reading
This is a nice piece on an emerging force in French football.
Half time: Alessia Russo 3-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Arsenal are in control of the north London derby after a dominant first-half performance at the Emirates. Alessia Russo, starting as the No9 today, was borderline unplayable and scored a hat-trick inside the first 27 minutes. Spurs had plenty of the ball but none of Arsenal’s penetration: their goal was headed into her own net by Frida Maanum and they had no attempts at goal.
45+2 min Russo’s 46th shot of the night deflects off Bartrip and through to Kop.
45 min Four minutes of added time.
41 min Arsenal have had 10 attempts at goal, four on target. Spurs, despite some pleasant and purposeful passing, have had none.
40 min An imaginative through pass from Gaupset towards Hamano is crucially cut out on the edge of the area. Gaupset looks a fine player.
38 min Boos from the referees in the crowd when Olivia Smith is booked for a foul on Holdt. Seconds later, Nilden is also booked for a foul on Smith.
34 min Russo runs onto a deft header from Maanum and thumps a shot that is deflected over by the stretching Toga. Good defending.
32 min Spurs are suffering the first-half blues for the second Saturday in a row. They were 5-1 down at half-time against Manchester City before eventually losing 5-2.
29 min “Sometimes watching football can be pure pleasure,” writes Charles Antaki. “Alessio Russo is responsible for many of those sometimes.”
Ridiculous player, and at 27 she has scope to get even better.
Bartrip played the ball back to Kop, who tried to slide a first-time pass to Koga on the edge of the D. Instead she screwed it straight to Russo, who accepted the gift with the minimum of fuss.
GOAL! Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham (Russo 27; Russo hat-trick)
Alessia Russo scores a derby hat-trick inside the first half-hour after a howler from Lize Kop.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham (Maanum og 20)
Spurs are back in it now. Hakano’s corner from the left is flicked on dangerously by Nilden and headed into her own net by Maanum. She was off balance and under pressure from Tandberg, and before she knew it the ball had flown into her own net.
19 min Spurs almost strike back when Gaupset, on the left, curls a beautiful ball that flashes right across the face of goal.
16 min Russo gets behind the defence again, but this time her touch is slightly off and Koga is able to make an important tackle.
No matter: she has a chance for the hat-trick seconds later when Maanum picks her out, eight yards from goal, and Russo drives a low shot that is saved to her right by the sprawling Kop.
13 min Bartrip fouls Russo 30 yards from goal and is a bit fortunate to escape a yellow card. Russo has been unplayable so far.
11 min Spurs have actually passed the ball quite nicely at the start of this game. The problem is when they lose it; Arsenal are full of menace in transtion.
Alessia Russo is rampant! Smith slipped a nice pass down the side to put her on goal in the inside-right channel; she still had a bit to do but she walked calmly past Kop and reversed a finish that wrongfooted the covering Spurs defenders and rolled into the far corner. That’s such a smooth, classy finish.
GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Spurs (Russo 7)
Do not adjust your set.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Spurs (Russo 5)
Alessia Russo gives Arsenal the lead! Such a simple goal: McCabe curled an inswinging corner to the far post, where Russo lost her marker far too easily and stooped to head past Kop. A good finish but the defending was, a-hem, sub-optimal.
4 min Another shot from Russo hits Bartrip; this time it spins behind for the first corner. From which…
2 min Russo wins the ball high up the field and hits a stinging shot from 22 yards that is blocked by Bartrip.
1 min Peep peep! Spurs kick off from right to left as we watch.
The players walk onto the field on a crisp evening in north London. Looks like a really good crowd. The Arsenal captain Kim Little, who signed a new one-year deal with the club yesterday, looks particularly emotional as she lines up before the match.
Team news
Renee Slegers has made five changes to the Arsenal side that beat Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, presumably with Wednesday’s return leg in mind. Daphne van Domselaar, Smilla Holmberg, Steph Catley, Frida Maanum and Olivia Smith come in for Anneke Borbe, Emily Fox, Laia Codina, Stina Blackstenius and Beth Mead.
Two changes for Spurs, whose last game was a 5-2 WSL defeat at Manchester City a week ago. Toko Koga and Maika Hamano, back from a triumphant Asian Cup campaign with Japan, replace Julie Blakstad and the club captain Bethany England.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1) Van Domselaar; Holmberg, Wubben-Moy, Catley, McCabe; Little, Mariona; Smith, Maanum, Kelly; Russo.
Subs: Borbe, Votikova, Fox, Codina, Hinds, Pelova, Mead, Foord, Blackstenius.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-1-1) Kop; Koga, Wijk, Bartrip, A Nilden; Spence, Holdt, Gaupset, Vinberg; Hamano Tandberg.
Subs: Heeps, England, Rybrink, M Nilden, Gunning-Williams, Ahtinen, Summanen, Dennis, Blakstad.
Arsenal come into this game in spectacular form: they’ve won their last eight games in all competitions, including two victories over Chelsea and another against Manchester City.
Spurs’ form has been more topsy-turvy. They won 7-3 at Villa in mid-February, beat London City Lionesses in an epic FA Cup penalty shootout but then lost to Everton and City.
Tom Garry
Derby weekend has arrived in the Women’s Super League and WSL2. Not one, not two, but six local rivalries will be reignited as the divisions try to capitalise on the men’s international break.
Is it clever to schedule so many of these clashes on the same weekend though, and especially staging three top-flight ones on the same afternoon? Everton host Liverpool, Manchester United welcome Manchester City and Arsenal entertain Tottenham on Saturday, all within the space of six hours. The answer will probably lie in the attendances.
Manchester City need five points to clinch the title after hammering Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford.
Preamble
Arsenal and Spurs are separated by only one place in the WSL, but they remain worlds apart. Arsenal are European champions; Spurs, as their impressive young manager Martin Ho said yesterday, are a “bit of a sleeping giant in women’s football”.
At least they are starting to stir: they have made great strides under Ho and, after finishing 11th last season, have become the best team below the glass ceiling. At the moment they are in a league of their own – six points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, having played two games more, nine ahead of sixth-placed Everton.
Arsenal start the game in fourth, outside the Champions League places, but they are well placed to qualify for next year’s competition, either by finishing in the top three of the WSL or retaining the Champions League. They will take a 3-1 lead to Stamford Bridge for the quarter-final second leg on Wednesday.
The WSL leaders Manchester City are over the horizon, but if Arsenal win today they will move into second, above Manchester United and Chelsea, and they have games in hand on both.
Kick off 5.30pm.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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