England boss Sarina Wiegman has stressed the need to celebrate Spain’s players as the saga regarding Luis Rubiales’ actions after their World Cup triumph rumbles on.
Rubiales, who resigned as Spanish football federation president at the weekend, has been at the centre of a furore after he kissed player Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the trophy presentation following La Roja’s 1-0 victory over England in the World Cup final on August 20.
While Rubiales insists the kiss was consensual, Hermoso has said it was not. She submitted a complaint to the national prosecutor’s office last week, and it has been reported that an investigation into Rubiales has been opened by a high court judge.
The 46-year-old resigned having already been suspended by FIFA pending an investigation into his behaviour.
Wiegman dedicated her UEFA Women’s Coach of the Year award to Spain’s players on August 31, and said the team deserved to be celebrated.
And she echoed that when asked about the Rubiales saga at a press conference on Wednesday, saying: “I think what I want to talk about now is that we have to celebrate football and that we should celebrate the players, the Spanish players who won the World Cup – and we haven’t been talking about that at all.
“Of course we all have seen and followed the news, that things are still going on, and I would like to leave that now with the people who are working on that, and celebrate those players. Players need to be listened to, and we need to move on.
“The women’s game has improved so much but there’s still a long way to go, and not only in Spain, but I think everywhere, there’s many, many players, top athletes, who still have a lot of challenges which I think we should work on all together and stay connected and try to make the world better for those players.
“I think lots of people have spoken up, male and female, and I hope we keep doing that.
“For us, it always starts with performing. We are here as professionals and what we are working on is performing at the highest level, so we have the visibility, and then you have the platform, and especially in the women’s game we feel the urgency, that we can use that platform to hopefully make the world a little bit better.”
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Al-Ittihad pegged back as winless run rolls on
Mohamed Sherif scored late on as Al-Ittihad's winless run in the Saudi Pro League stretched to four games after a 1-1 draw with Al-Khaleej.
Al-Ittihad have endured a miserable title defence, and with just two games remaining, the highest the big-spending, PIF-backed club can finish is fourth.
Muhannad Al Shanqiti put them ahead on the stroke of half-time, yet despite having a further eight shots and accumulating 1.07 xG in the second half, Al-Ittihad could not add another.
Their profligacy proved costly in the 81st minute, with Egypt international Sherif snatching an equaliser for 11th-placed Al-Khaleej.
Al-Tai moved out of the relegation zone with a surprise 3-1 win over seventh-placed Al-Fateh, with Bernard Mensah scoring twice.
Al-Raed, meanwhile, claimed a 1-0 win at Al-Wehda.
Data Debrief: Kante the creator?
On the day he received a surprising France recall, N'Golo Kante created three chances for Al-Ittihad, leading the team.
On the flip side, Kante only attempted one tackle, with the midfielder showing a different side to his game, not that it proved fruitful for his team.
Ronaldo motivated to keep playing at top level
Cristiano Ronaldo has no intention of stopping as he says he is still motivated to compete with the "young lions" coming through in the game.
Ronaldo is reportedly considering signing a contract extension to keep him at Al-Nassr until June 2026, taking him past his 41st birthday.
The Portugal international has scored 42 goals in 41 appearances for the Saudi Pro League club this season, and he insists he is still motivated to keep going.
Speaking on the Whoop podcast, he said: "I feel proud to have this age and still compete at the highest level. It's great, and it gives me motivation to carry on.
"If you look at my career for the last 20 years, my level is high. If you are top for 20 years, it's unbelievable.
"I do that, and I continue to do that. For me, it's a big achievement."
Ronaldo has scored an incredible 891 goals in his career and is the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 128 goals.
"My biggest motivation is to carry on," he added. "It's not easy to be at this level.
"To still push, to still motivate, to carry on, to score goals, to be in good shape, to compete with the young lions that are coming and that when they play against me, they want to show me that they are stronger and faster than me.
"You have to prepare very well, not just physically but mentally, too. This is the challenge.
"Talent without work is nothing and work without talent is nothing. They have to work together at the same time. I have both. I can't say that I have more of one than the other.
"Small details will make the difference. Consistency is the most difficult thing.
"Are you willing to do that? That's the main point, because everyone wants to be Cristiano, but doing it is difficult. Discipline is the most difficult thing."
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