Millie Bright has called for work to be done with regard to scheduling in the women’s game, stressing players are “not robots”.
Bright – captain of the England squad flying out for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand on Wednesday after regular skipper Leah Williamson was ruled out by an ACL injury, and recovering from a knee issue herself – says burnout is “always in the back of your mind” as a player.
The 66-cap Chelsea centre-back, who helped England win the Euros last summer and played for Great Britain at the Olympics the summer before that, said: “It’s tough.
“I’ve been doing it for several years now. Playing back-to-back tournaments, it’s hard, when you’re playing every single minute for your clubs.
“That’s the demands of the game now, especially with how competitive it is getting. The quality has gone through the roof and the games are getting harder to win, especially when you’re competing for every trophy.
“I still think there’s work to be done in terms of scheduling, making sure we can compete in every competition and do back-to-back tournaments, but also we are not robots, we need time to recover.
“We want to perform, to be at the highest level. For me, I think the scheduling of everything needs to be looked at so we can keep the quality at the highest it can possibly be.
“As a player, it is always in the back of your mind.”
Injuries have been a major talking point of late in women’s football, with a particular focus on the amount of players suffering ACL damage – something that has left England heading into this summer’s tournament without not only Williamson but also Beth Mead, her Arsenal team-mate who was the Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner.
Asked if more research was needed, Bright said: “I think there always needs to be more done.
“We obviously know the (female) body is very different to the male, so the research needs to be done in that sense.
“For me, it’s more than just one factor, it’s everything that comes with it, whether it’s facilities, pitches, the amount of games we are playing, the amount of rest we’re having. It’s everything together, and I think all elements need to align.
“We want to be performing at the highest level but we can only do that if we are fully recovered. If you play under a lot of fatigue then you are bound to be picking up injuries. It’s just impossible to keep going.
“We don’t want to see this amount of injuries. I guess it will be a topic where the conversation will never die really until we see change and something done.”
Bright has not played in a match since sustaining a knee injury while in action for Chelsea in March, after which she underwent surgery.
While she was not involved in the 0-0 World Cup warm-up draw against Portugal in Milton Keynes on Saturday, she has expressed her confidence that she will be ready for the Lionesses’ Group D opener against Haiti on July 22.
The 29-year-old, who was “absolutely gutted” for Williamson after she got injured in April and has had “check-ins” with her, said of the prospect of captaining her country at this summer’s showpiece: “It’s a proud moment to even be going to a World Cup.
“I feel really grateful to be selected to go, let alone to be put in a position to captain the girls. It is a massive honour.
“But for me, nothing changes – I stay the same. I’d like to think everyone says they see the same Millie every day, no matter. I always think with or without the armband I lead for the team, I think that’s just natural to me.”
On the chances of Sarina Wiegman’s team adding to their Euro glory Down Under, Bright said: “For us it’s making sure we keep two feet on the ground, which I think we’ve always done, and know the challenge ahead will be even harder than any other tournament.
We will be prepared and ready to fight for the badge.”
City's Shaw, Keating nominated for Barclays Women's Super League Player of the Season
Despite having her impressive run of form cut short due to injury, Jamaica International and Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw did enough prior to the season-ending surgery, and so it comes as no surprise that she is up for the coveted Barclays Women's Super League Player of the Season award.
Shaw, who recently copped the Football Writers' Association (FWA) Women's Footballer of the Year award, is no stranger to accolades, as she was named 2022-23 Player of the Season for Manchester City, and also pocketed a couple Player of the Month prizes since joining the club in 2021.
In fact, it is Shaw's impressive goalscoring exploit that not only propelled her to being the club's all-time leading striker, but also places City at the summit of the WSL standing, heading into their final assignment away to Aston Villa on Saturday May 18. However, their hope of clinching the title remains on edge, as they have played a game more than second-placed Chelsea.
Both Shaw and goalkeeper Khiara Keating, who has also been nominated for Barclays Women’s Super League Player of the Season award, have impressively helped Gareth Taylor’s side relentlessly pursue a second-ever league title with a string of outstanding displays.
Shaw, 27, has scored 22 goals across 25 appearances in all competitions this term – with 21 of those coming in the WSL. She recently became the Club’s all-time leading scorer with 68 goals – which she has since extended to 72 before a foot injury prematurely ended her season.
Meanwhile, Keating has performed beyond her years in the 19-year-old’s breakthrough campaign for Taylor’s team – playing every league minute in 2023/24.
The England youth international has been an integral part of the best defensive record in the division with City conceding only 14 league goals so far this term. What’s more, outstanding is that Keating has maintained nine WSL clean sheets which is the most so far across the competition.
Shaw's unmatched scoring ability, and Keating's shot stopping exploit resulted in both being placed on the short list for prestigious annual honour, alongside Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Grace Clinton (Spurs), Lauren James (Chelsea), Jutta Rantala (Leicester), Elisabeth Terland (Brighton) and Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal).
Sporting Kansas City v Houston Dynamo: Olsen backs visitors to respond to 'punch in the face'
The Houston Dynamo took a "punch in the face" as they exited the U.S. Open Cup at the hands of Detroit City on Tuesday, but Ben Olsen expects his team to respond when they go to Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.
Defending U.S. Open Cup champions Houston squandered a 2-0 lead against their USL Championship opponents in midweek before losing a dramatic penalty shoot-out 10-9.
They now turn their attentions back to MLS, sitting eighth in the Western Conference with 14 points from their first 10 games of the year, and Olsen expects them to bounce back.
"It's a good punch in the face. But I think they'll respond," Olsen said.
"We have a good group in there and I think we have the right character to turn this into a positive."
Sporting KC trail Houston by just three points in the standings, but they made it through their own U.S. Open Cup tie against Union Omaha in midweek, winning 2-1 in extra time.
Boss Peter Vermes is not overly concerned by the physical toll taken by having to play 120 minutes, pointing out Houston did likewise only one day earlier.
"Houston had to do the same yesterday. The only thing is they have a day extra rest," he said.
"We have just got to do the best we can to recover and get ready for that game. It was good. We used all of our subs.
"Everybody's getting minutes and now we just have got to get ourselves recovered and get ready for Houston on Saturday."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sporting KC – Johnny Russell
Russell has scored eight goals against the Dynamo in all competitions, more than against any other opponent in his Kansas City career. He has scored against Houston at least once in each of the last six years.
Houston Dynamo – Ibrahim Aliyu
The Dynamo had a combined 22 shots on goal during their 0-0 draw with St. Louis City last Saturday, with top scorer Aliyu having five of those – the most by a Houston player in an MLS game this season.
The Nigerian has three goals this campaign and will be looking to get back on the scoresheet at the weekend.
MATCH PREDICTION: SPORTING KANSAS CITY WIN
Kansas City have won five straight home matches against Houston in all competitions and have only lost twice in their last 19 at home against the Dynamo in all competitions (11 wins, six draws) dating back to 2012.
However, Kansas City are winless in four straight home matches (two draws, two defeats) for the first time since a five-match drought between July and August in 2021. Sporting have conceded three times in each of their last four home matches, equalling the second-longest such streak in MLS history.
The Dynamo’s goalless draw with St. Louis City last week was their third straight regular-season match without a goal. Houston had been shut out in only two of their previous 18 regular-season matches dating back to last August. Their attacking issues mean Sporting go in as favourites.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Sporting Kansas City – 47.7%
Draw – 27.7%
Houston Dynamo – 24.6%
Bayer Leverkusen deserve treble, says Xabi Alonso after Roma late show
Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said his team deserve to win all three trophies available to them this season after they qualified for the Europa League final by seeing off Roma on Thursday.
Leverkusen, who have already wrapped up the Bundesliga title and will contest the DFB-Pokal final on May 25, stretched their unbeaten run through all competitions this season to 49 matches, surpassing Benfica's long-standing European top-tier record set between 1963 and 1965.
Once again, they did it the hard way after two Leandro Paredes penalties wiped out their first-leg advantage, with a Gianluca Mancini own goal and a stoppage-time strike from Josip Stanisic completing a dramatic comeback.
Following their 4-2 aggregate victory, Roma will face Atalanta in the May 22 final in Dublin, after La Dea overcame Marseille 4-1 on aggregate in the other semi-final.
"We'll play two finals in a week as a result," Alonso said. "We showed great character today after their second goal.
"I looked my players in the eye afterwards and saw that they wanted more.
"We still have the chance to win three titles, and my boys deserve all three titles."
Despite going 3-2 up on aggregate when Mancini put through his own net, Leverkusen refused to sit back as they looked to preserve their unbeaten record, which they did through Stanisic's 97th-minute strike.
Asked whether that goal was one of the biggest moments of his career, the Bayern Munich loanee said: "Definitely one of them.
"We knew what was at stake, we really wanted to get to the final and I think you could see that over 90 minutes today.
"I don't think we would have cared in the end if we lost and still progressed because we really wanted to get to the final, but it's even nicer this way."
For Roma, the chance to reach a second straight Europa League final after last season's defeat by Sevilla on penalties slipped away in the dying minutes of the match.
"When you manage to get it back from 2-0 down and go close to the miracle, knowing nobody has ever beaten them this season, it hurts to see us concede a goal like that. It hurts," Roma boss Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
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