England boss Sarina Wiegman says Beth Mead was “not close” to a recall for this month’s Nations League double-header against Belgium despite her return to action with Arsenal last weekend.
Winger Mead made her first appearance since sustaining ACL damage last November when she came off the bench late on for the Gunners against Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, going on to set up the winning goal in a 2-1 victory.
The Euro 2022 Golden Boot winner and player of the tournament was missing from the 25-player England squad announced on Tuesday for matches against Belgium in Leicester a week on Friday and Leuven four days later.
Wiegman told a press conference: “To be honest, she was not close.
“She’s in a good place now. She’s been out for nine months, she had her first minutes, which was very nice to see.
“She was really happy, the crowd was very happy so it gave a lot of energy too.
“But I think she first has to build and show performances at club, and get that consistency back.
“Then of course I hope she performs at that level we hope she gets back on and then we have an opportunity to select her, and she has the opportunity to compete with the players who are in the squad right now.”
Wiegman’s selection does see Fran Kirby – another who missed the summer’s run to the final of the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand because of injury – return to the fold.
Kirby has featured in each of Chelsea’s three matches this term, starting Saturday’s win against West Ham, as she steps up her comeback from a knee problem suffered in February.
Wiegman said: “Of course it’s very nice that she’s back on the pitch and is fit and healthy.
“She did well with Chelsea when she came on the pitch. I think she has been building up to those moments, also during the summer, and she’s shown enough quality in her performance that I think it’s good that she comes back in the team.”
Barcelona midfielder Keira Walsh is also back after being sidelined by a calf issue for September’s win over Scotland and loss to the Netherlands, as is Mead’s club-mate Lotte Wubben-Moy, who withdrew from the last squad with an injury.
There are maiden call-ups for Grace Clinton, the 20-year-old midfielder on loan at Tottenham from Manchester United, and 19-year-old Manchester City goalkeeper Khiara Keating, while Katie Robinson, Jordan Nobbs, Laura Coombs and Lucy Staniforth drop out.
Wiegman said: “I think, yes it goes fast for both, Khiara at Man City and Grace at Tottenham, but I think they have showed good performances, and what I want to see from them is come in camp, see how they relate to the other players in the squad, and show what they can do.”
Keating is among four goalkeepers in the squad, a group also featuring fellow City player Ellie Roebuck and Chelsea’s Hannah Hampton, neither of whom have made an appearance for their clubs so far this season.
Asked if Roebuck and Hampton’s inclusion was an indication that the goalkeeping pool was not as big as she would like at the moment, Wiegman said: “That’s a little bit complicated indeed.
“Yes we want players to play, because when they play we can see them and their performances make us pick them.
“Both of them have built a little bit of credit with us, because they have been with our team for a long period of time and done well in training sessions, and shown up all the time.
“I think they still are with the best goalkeepers in the country and I just hope in the future they do get minutes.”
England, who can secure Paris 2024 Olympics qualification for Great Britain via the Nations League, face a Belgium outfit who have four points from their two group games so far.
Seattle Sounders v LA Galaxy: Sluggish starts frustrating Vanney
LA Galaxy coach Greg Vanney has urged his team to start sharply when they take on the Seattle Sounders on Sunday.
The Galaxy went down 2-0 to Austin FC last time out, and will look to get back to winning ways when they head up the West Coast to face the Sounders, who they beat 1-0 in March.
Vanney’s side found themselves 2-0 down after just 19 minutes against Austin, though, and the Galaxy coach is growing increasingly frustrated with his team’s sloppy starts.
In quotes reported by The Galactic Tribune, Vanney said: “We've got to do a better job of not starting slow and getting ourselves behind the game one and two goals because then it certainly incentivises the opposition to sit a little bit lower and really kind of protect the face of the goal.”
Vanney also pointed out that sluggishness in the final third is proving equally as costly.
He added: “The speed of our final actions when we are in possession and we do find those moments that we need to break, with the timing of things, needs to be sharper. I feel like we weren't so sharp on that side of things so that we can get to the necessary spots.”
For experienced defender Maya Yoshida, there were few excuses after the Austin loss.
“We were not enough. I don't deserve anything for my performance,” he said. “We deserved to lose. We are very disappointed. We have to learn from this defeat.”
The Galaxy went into the weekend second in the Western Conference, 10 places and nine points above the Sounders.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Seattle Sounders – Raul Ruidiaz
Ruidiaz and team-mate Jordan Morris have each scored nine goals against the Galaxy in their MLS careers. Since 2016, the only players with more goals against a single opponent are Carlos Vela (10 vs. Galaxy), Jeremy Ebobisse (10 vs. Galaxy) and Kei Kamara (10 vs. Montreal).
LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig
Puig had a fine campaign last year and the former Barcelona midfielder has picked up where he left off, scoring three goals and creating two more so far this season.
MATCH PREDICTION: SEATTLE SOUNDERS WIN
The Galaxy’s loss to Austin ended a run of 18 straight matches with at least one goal in all competitions, scoring 41 total times during that run (2.3 goals per match). It was the Galaxy’s longest run of games with a goal in all competitions since a 21-match run in 2014.
The Sounders won their second match of the season on Tuesday, a 3-2 victory in Philadelphia. Seattle have scored eight goals in their two wins this year (5-0 vs. CF Montreal in April) and six goals in their other eight matches (D3 L5).
The Galaxy beat Seattle at home on March 30, ending an 11-match MLS winless run against the Sounders (D4 L7). The Galaxy last won consecutive MLS matches against Seattle in April-August 2015.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Seattle Sounders – 53.9%
LA Galaxy – 20.1%
Draw – 26%
Haaland pinpoints collective Man City quality after four-goal blitz of Wolves
Erling Haaland blasted four goals past Wolves in a one-man Premier League show but the Manchester City forward says it would not be possible without manager Pep Guardiola or his team-mates.
The City talisman took his top-flight tally to 25 for this season, moving five clear of his nearest challenger in the Premier League Golden Boot race, after Saturday's 5-1 thrashing of Wolves.
Haaland was twice on target from the penalty spot as part of his first-half hat-trick, adding another after the interval with an arrowed strike into the top-left corner.
It was the first time the Norway star has managed four goals in one Premier League game, with his quartet of strikes coming in 54 minutes. Only Gabriel Jesus has scored as many earlier in one match, doing so in 53 minutes against Watford in April 2022.
Haaland also became the third player to score multiple first-half hat-tricks in Premier League history (also against Nottingham Forest last season), along with Andrew Cole and Michael Owen (two each).
Yet the superstar attacker says his exploits would not be possible without his City colleagues or boss Guardiola.
"I've got a not-too-bad manager who pushes me and look at the players around me," Haaland told Sky Sports when asked about his motivations.
"Without them, it would not be possible. Look ahead, look to next one – four finals left for the season. We're going to go for it and focus on Fulham."
It was Haaland's sixth Premier League hat-trick for City, with only seven players netting more in the competition’s history. All six of those trebles have been at the Etihad, only three have more at a single venue.
Haaland's second strike came from a towering header following Rodri's right-wing centre, which he suggested would delight his father Alfie.
"That's a beautiful goal," the Norwegian said of his headed finish. "My father is going to be happy with that one.
"A nice celebration, I enjoyed that one. I'm scoring more headers, I try to develop and keep going."
City are within a point of Premier League leaders Arsenal and Guardiola's side still have a game in hand against Tottenham on May 14.
Despite the thrashing of Wolves, Haaland insists Guardiola remains intent on winning the remaining games, rather than calculating the probabilities needed on goal difference.
"First of all it's about winning the games but, of course, you want to have the best possible goal difference," he added. "Let's not think about that. Think about Fulham."
Mallorca 0-1 Atletico Madrid: Early Riquelme strike earns narrow win
Atletico Madrid closed in on a Champions League spot after winger Rodrigo Riquelme's early strike earned his side a 1-0 win at Mallorca in LaLiga on Saturday.
With four games remaining, Diego Simeone's side are fourth in the standings on 67 points, six ahead of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who beat Getafe on Friday.
There was an end-of-the-season feel at a half-empty Son Moix stadium with both teams lacking urgency in a lacklustre match, with the only standout moment being Riquelme's fine individual effort in the fifth minute, which ultimately secured the win for the visitors.
Riquelme pounced on a loose ball in the edge of the box and cleared two defenders before unleashing an unstoppable strike just inside the right post.
Data Debrief: Mallorca's blunt attack easily stopped
Mallorca mustered an expected goals of just 0.24 in this game, and they have now failed to score in 15 of their 34 league games this season. Only Cadiz (17) have failed to score more often in the competition this term.
That is despite the hosts having attempted 526 passes in this game, their highest total in a single league match this season.
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