England are doing their best to make it business as usual as they prepare to face Spain in the Women’s World Cup final in Sydney on Sunday.
Defender Jess Carter insists there will be no additional nerves ahead of a game she never envisaged being a part of, while head coach Sarina Wiegman is preoccupied by a selection dilemma.
Here, the PA news agency looks at all the latest news heading into Sunday’s big one:
More the merrier for Carter
England defender Jess Carter admits every extra minute is a bonus as she prepares to feature in Sunday’s World Cup final.
The 25-year-old has been one of the lynchpins of her side’s run to within 90 minutes of a first women’s World Cup win but says she did not expect to get this far.
“When I didn’t play against Denmark, I wasn’t not bothered, but it was just like, ‘I’ve just played in a World Cup, I had more minutes than I thought I was ever going to get coming into this tournament’.
“I didn’t come into the tournament expecting to play at all.”
And the laidback Lioness is adamant there will be no stage-fright on the biggest occasion of all, just “positive energy” at the prospect of making history.
“I’m not really a nervous person,” she added. “I understand and know from the outside, it’s the World Cup final, your biggest moment.
“I play my best when I’m super calm. Maybe some people have nerves but I think that will be challenged into positive energy come the night.”
Wiegman’s selection dilemma
Sarina Wiegman faces a selection dilemma ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final as she decides whether to start striker Lauren James.
James scored three times and picked up the same number of assists before she was sent off in the last 16 win over Nigeria, sitting out the quarter-final and semi-final as a result.
Replacement Ella Toone scored in the 3-1 win over Australia in the last four but Wiegman has indicated she holds nothing against James, who apologised for her rash stamp on Nigeria’s Michele Alozie.
“Of course she really regretted that moment straight away,” said Wiegman. “She apologised, she was punished for that and we all know this should not happen in football.
“She started training again and we supported her, because sometimes when you’re not that experienced at this level some fatigue comes in the game and you have just a split second where you lose your emotions.
“That’s a mistake, that’s a hard learning lesson, but now she’s ready to play in the game.”
Vilda’s revenge bid
Spain coach Jorge Vilda is determined his side learn the lessons of their extra-time loss to England in last summer’s European Championship quarter-finals.
Vilda has guided his nation to their first final despite a backdrop of controversy after over a dozen top stars quit the squad last year in a row over their treatment.
Referencing their narrow defeat in Brighton, Vilda said: “It was a game that we know we were on top, but the result is what counts.
“Games against England really require our best. She (Wiegman) is a trainer that with her results has shown the fruits of her work, it’s not easy what she has achieved.”
Shutting down questions over the ongoing issues in his squad, Vilda added: “What we want to do tomorrow is be the best in the world and we’ll do this by winning the final.”
Opened up!
Cornwall Council were the first to heed a plea from cabinet minister Michael Gove to allow licensed premises to open one hour early for the World Cup final on Sunday.
Current regulations mean the sale of alcohol is widely prohibited before 10am on Sunday, but venues such as pubs also have specific hours they can stay open and serve alcohol depending on individual licences.
Gove urged councils to do everything they can to help premises extend their licenses, saying: “the whole nation is ready to get behind the Lionesses this Sunday in what is England’s biggest game since 1966.”
Cornwall Council, in association with Devon and Cornwall Police, were quick to heed Gove’s call, announcing that they will be no “enforcement action” if the alcohol starts to flow slightly earlier.
Swede dreams
Australia’s home World Cup came to a disappointing end as they were beaten 2-0 by Sweden in the third place play-off.
Kosovare Asllani sealed victory with a brilliant second half strike after Fridolina Rolfo had opened the scoring with a penalty on the half-hour mark.
The result rounded off a remarkable campaign from the Matildas, who captured the public’s imagination having only reached the quarter-finals once previously.
Australia coach Tony Gustavsson, whose side suffered a 3-1 semi-final defeat against England, said the journey was far from over, insisting: “We have a massive amount of work to do to capitalise on this.”
Daily SocialWhat’s next?
Final: Spain v England (Sydney, Sunday 1100BST)
Europa Conference League: Aston Villa stunned by Olympiacos
Aston Villa were stunned by Olympiacos as they suffered a 4-2 home defeat in the Europa Conference League.
On what the Villa faithful hoped would be a famous night at Villa Park, they instead saw their team dispatched by their Greek opponents in the first leg of their semi-final encounter.
Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick for the visitors, who were 2-0 up inside 30 minutes on Thursday.
Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby struck either side of the interval to restore parity, but El Kaabi sealed his hat-trick from the penalty spot before Santiago Hezze added further gloss with a sensational finish. To add to Villa's misery, Douglas Luiz then missed a penalty late on.
In the other semi-final tie, Fiorentina took a 3-2 aggregate lead against Club Brugge.
M'Bala Nzola was Fiorentina's hero in stoppage time, scoring in the 91st minute to nudge the Serie A team ahead.
Hans Vanaken had scored from a penalty following a VAR check for handball in the 17th minute, cancelling out Riccardo Sottil's early opener, though Fiorentina restored their lead through Andrea Belotti before half-time in a frantic first half.
Thiago equalised for Brugge, but it was ultimately not enough.
Europa League: Wirtz and Andrich goals put Leverkusen on the brink, Marseille hold Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen put one foot in the Europa League final as Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich scored in Thursday's 2-0 semi-final first-leg win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma were masters of their own downfall as Wirtz opened the scoring after 28 minutes, Rick Karsdorp's horrible error allowing Alex Grimaldo to race into the area and tee up Wirtz to finish into an unguarded net.
Though Daniele De Rossi's hosts improved after the break, Andrich added a spectacular second with 73 minutes on the clock, the midfielder giving Mile Svilar no chance as he side-footed into the top-left corner from 25 yards out.
Roma should have pulled one back four minutes into stoppage time, but Tammy Abraham could only nod over from inside the six-yard box after a goalmouth scramble, and they now have it all to do in next week's second leg.
Leverkusen's unbeaten run for 2023-24 stands at 47 games across all competitions (39 wins, eight draws), and they are now overwhelming favourites to stamp their ticket to the final in Dublin.
The other semi-final tie remains in the balance at the halfway stage, with Atalanta being pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.
Having scored twice in La Dea's memorable win at Anfield in the last round, Gianluca Scamacca took in Teun Koopmeiners' pass before finishing low across goal 11 minutes in, but Gian Piero Gasperini's team couldn't hold on.
Chancel Mbemba was the unlikely goalscorer for Marseille, stepping out of defence to clip a 25-yard effort against the far post and in after 20 minutes.
Neither side could find a winner from there, meaning it's all to play for ahead of next week's return fixture at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.
Orlando City v FC Cincinnati: Acosta hails visitors for absorbing punches
Luciano Acosta has hailed FC Cincinnati for coming through a testing period as they look to make it three straight wins in MLS play at Orlando City on Saturday.
After going unbeaten through their first six games of the season, Cincinnati suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal.
However, they have since bounced back with two wins over difficult opponents, seeing off Atlanta United and the Colorado Rapids by the same scoreline.
Acosta scored his 44th goal for Cincinnati – the most of any player in franchise history – in that latter game, and he believes their resilience has been key.
"I think it's just about our mentality," Acosta said. "We lost those two games and it was a bit of a punch that woke us up. But now it's about the mentality and getting back to it."
Head coach Pat Noonan said of Acosta: "I think what makes it more impressive is teams are going to try to prevent him from having an impact.
"When you're a key player and you're able to do what he's doing with the focus on stopping you in a lot of ways, that's what is unique."
Orlando, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 by Toronto FC last week, halting their four-game unbeaten streak and dropping them to 13th in the Eastern Conference.
Forward Duncan McGuire felt the Lions should have taken maximum points from that game and is desperate to atone at Inter&Co Stadium.
"I definitely think we should've won," he said.
"I think how difficult this felt and how this feels for us right now is going to push us and motivate us to train hard all week, to get a win for the fans at home and get the job done."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Orlando City – Duncan McGuire
Maguire scored his fourth goal of the MLS season against Toronto last week – no other Orlando player has netted more than once in 2024.
Those goals have come from an expected goals (xG) figure of 2.7, with the United States international also attempting a team-high 27 shots this campaign.
FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta
Acosta has contributed to at least one goal in four straight MLS matches (one goal, three assists).
It is Acosta's fifth streak of four or more straight regular-season games with a goal contribution for Cincinnati, with Brandon Vazquez the only other player to achieve that feat for the team.
MATCH PREDICTION – ORLANDO CITY WIN
Orlando earned a win and a draw against Supporters' Shield winners Cincinnati last season, making them one of two teams (also the New England Revolution) to play Cincinnati twice in the 2023 regular season and not lose either match.
The Lions may just fancy their chances of another positive result against Noonan's men, who have only won one of their last three away games (one draw, one defeat).
Orlando have only lost two of their last 17 regular-season home matches dating back to last April, winning nine and drawing six, so viewers should expect a response to their loss last time out.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Orlando City – 49.3%
FC Cincinnati – 23.6%
Draw – 27.1%
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