The Lionesses see off Spain at Wembley and Ireland finally get a win!

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0:37welcome to up front i'm chloe morgan and i'm rachel o'sullivan the lionesses were in action last night in a replay of the euros final and it was the same outcome as the last time around on today's show we'll be getting stuck into the first leg of this blockbuster world cup qualifier can england do it again in the second leg in june let's wait and see plus ireland got a big big win. Katie McCabe just can't stop scoring for her country. Ignore, obviously, the penalty miss. But otherwise, very, very, very prolific in her scoring capabilities.

1:12Rage, you were at the game last night. I was. How are you feeling, mate? I know you're a bit worse for wear, aren't you? A little bit under the weather. Dental problems. A bit of man flu going on.

1:22Chloe: I went to the game yesterday with half my face numb, so that was fun. Lovely. Lovely. And a cold on top of that. But otherwise, I'm great. Yeah? Yeah. Good atmosphere. 67 ,000 people down there. Yeah, not bad at all. Not bad at all. Some good fireworks. Although because it was a seven o 'clock kickoff, it was still kind of daylight. Oh, nice. So you didn't really get to it. Couldn't see the fireworks. Yeah, not as much. But never mind. No one minded that in the end. Oh, well, at least, you know, if there's a blackout, you wouldn't notice it. Sure, that happened last time, didn't you? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

1:48Chloe: Last time England played Spain? 100%. Full blackout in Wembley. We had to stop the game at like 70 odd minutes. And the only thing working was the LED boards around. Do you remember? Weirdly enough, I was speaking to one of the youngsters that we were working with a project and she was saying that was one of her most memorable moments of last year. I bet. Not the football. England won the Euros as well. Literally, not the football. That was one of her key moments. So, right, let's get stuck into the game then. Obviously, the result that I definitely wanted, although we'll talk about your side.

2:14You obviously got some quite good results. Oh, Ireland. I thought you meant that I wanted a different result to the England result.

2:19Chloe: I was like, of course I wanted to win. I mean, it was a huge victory. A really huge victory over rivals Spain take control of the 2027 Women's World Cup qualifying group. So England now sit top of Group A3 after winning all three of their games against opposition in their group. So that's Spain, Iceland and Ukraine. Obviously, they still need to play all these teams again. Obviously, got Iceland on Saturday and then you've got Spain away in June and Ukraine at home in June as well. this and I mentioned it before in last week's pod or the pod before about how much Wembley has kind of become a bit of a fortress for the Lionesses had such a good run there so under Wigman I was saying England have won seven including one on penalties and draw two of their ten games at Wembley since 2021 that doesn't include the current game and they haven't managed to Spain haven't managed to beat England there in the Wigman era and that goes continued now yeah it's Germany the only the one that was the loss is it is that the is that the Germany one 3-2 gosh I barely remember the losses now you only take the wins yeah and on top of that another record breaker the fastest ever Lioness's goal scored at the new Wembley Stadium just 2 minutes and 34 bloody seconds for Lauren Hemp getting on score sheet first off I mean what a goal it was a very obviously I was the wrong end for it obviously but like of course I mean talk me through how you kind of because it was very if you haven't gone to see it definitely see it because it's kind of the ball goes into the box Alex Greenwood whips a corner in yep very Alex Greenwood-esque yeah you know everyone jumps for it it kind of bobbles around there's bodies everywhere Alessio Russo kind of falls backwards as the ball comes down and has the wherewithal I don't know how she did it to see the flight of the ball basically come to land on her and before it hits the ground she kind of lifts it into the path of Lauren Hemp yeah like there was all these Spanish players everyone was just like what is happening lifts it into the path of Lauren Hemp who kind of has her back to goal so has to do almost a I don't know you wouldn't call it a bicycle kick but like some sort of whip around a semi-bicycle kick half-turn volley Love that, beautiful and then you had the whole kerfuffle of it going over the line but you couldn't, you know if you didn't have goal line technology you couldn't be sure that it actually went over the line It looks quite clear to me though When you look at it in slow motion from the side yes, but if you're on the pitch looking directly at the goal all you see is kind of Puteas I think it's Puteas booting it out So thank God for goal line technology because it was over the line.

4:43Chloe: But it was just a very like, I was down the other end. All I could just see was bodies and then like people cheering. And then the ball coming back out again, it's like, is it a goal? Is it a goal? And then, yeah, it did. It ended up being a goal. It was very chaotic. Thank God for goal line technology. Obviously, VAR not in this game either. So it could have been a contested one. And it kind of was. I mean, Spain were kicking off about it. Our Queen Puteus at the forefront of these kind of protestations. But yeah, I mean, obviously. if it's a goal on technology then you can't really fight it you can't tech's tech you know I mean ask USA you know remember that game against Sweden where it was like a hair's breath over the line it is what it is you have to like zoom in zoom in zoom in zoom in to be like is that three pixels yes it is over the line like to lose out on that kind of what a throwback oh man I was at that game as well Christ but yeah what a start from the Lionesses it kind of felt very very punchy but obviously I think when you start that strong and you get the goal so early within the first three minutes obviously there's so much to do to either build off of that or at very least kind of protect the lead.

5:41But then it felt like, I mean, later you've got the six-minute Lauren James on the left-hand side, twisting and turning on a Bajay. As she does. Sending her the wrong way, literally selling her a dream and then fires off the shot and obviously goes off the bar. But it does kind of feel like it was punchy. Yeah. How did it feel to kind of be there and kind of, I mean, the crowd was getting behind it as well. Like they were like, Christ, this is so strong.

6:02Chloe: Before every game, I fear Spain are going to batter England. I just have that. It's like when France scare me as well. I don't know why. I mean, there's understandable why Spain scare you. They're bloody good. But when the game started, England know the game plan, if you like, in terms of they've done it before and it's worked before. So there's a real confidence in the way they play against Spain because it has worked for them. And, you know, as you say there, do they build on the goal or do they sit back? They wanted to build on it. You can see that going forward. and I thought they managed the kind of how much they go forward versus how much they managed Spain.

6:34Chloe: I thought they managed that quite well. And I guess... They chose their moments. Yeah, and I guess the thing that England, we've said this for a long time, that they need to work on is clinical, being clinical, because they were creating moments and there was a number of like really good opportunities. You touched on Lauren James there. We were discussing the Lauren Hemp almost shot that hit the post just before we started recording. It was the work-up play to that though. The beautiful passage of play. It deserved a goal. What was it? Keira Walsh, Stanway, Stanway out to bronze, backheel from bronze into Lauren Hemp and then she whipped it and hit the bar.

7:04Walsh, Stanway, Russo, Hemp, bronze, cheeky backheel, Hemp, post. It was such a lovely passage of play

7:10Chloe: that I just thought it deserved a goal at the end of it. Those kind of moments of lovely kind of play was just kind of, it makes you feel calmer when you're watching it because you can feel the team has a bit of confidence about them. But no, I just thought England looked comfortable in terms of what they had to do. We've seen them play against Spain before where it's a little bit more like edge of your seats stuff. It did get a little bit edge of the seat towards the end. But just in terms of watching them, they just seemed like, yeah, we know the game plan. We know what we're doing. We're happy what we're doing.

7:38Chloe: We all know our roles. And I just thought there was a calmness about the team, which was nice to see. Definitely. I think we mentioned kind of, we briefly touched on it before the pod started. Spain did have more of the possession. They had 63.3 % and that was always to be expected. They had 21 shots to England's nine and 40 touches in the box, in the England box compared to England's 21. How many on target? I'll tell you go on three fair to England's two I would have thought in my head I thought it would have been slightly higher to be honest but like you said it was the defensive work that England were doing that really kept Spain at bay I mean they did obviously have you know a few decent chances but I think there was an assuredness I think in the England back line that I kind of felt really comfortable watching and it was Morgan and Lottowob and Moy yeah you know and for a pairing who haven't played together that often and I saw, you know, some pundits pre-match saying, ooh, a little bit nervy with those two at the back.

8:33Chloe: Is there enough pace there? I thought they did a great job. 100%. I think what I also loved is that there were so many England players who came back to defend collectively. LJ, I thought, was superb. 100%. Her work rate is absolutely incredible. But when there were sort of, you know, better Spain chances, they were crowding the England but so much. So it just made Spain, it made it difficult, like so difficult, almost impossible for Spain to actually find any space to manoeuvre or get a shot away. It's a bit like marking 11 LJs, you know, where it's like they can they can shoot from, you know, get a lovely goal off in the box, but they can also score a lovely goal from outside the box.

9:04Chloe: And it's just like how you manage preventing that space without losing a player and all that kind of stuff. And I thought, yeah, England did that very well. But you're right. The players coming back to support defensively was excellent. And then I guess having that pace and fitness to be able to counter quickly and, you know, that last little touch of being clinical is the finished product. but yeah I just was really LJ stood out for me and maybe it was because I was sitting in Spain's attacking in the first half and I just kept thinking to myself bloody hell LJ's made another great tackle there like even like on the baseline you know not just making a tackle like winning the ball on the end line and ensuring that it doesn't go out for a corner just that like smart defensive play whereas let's be real if you're maybe an attacker who doesn't do as much defensive work you might just think just don't let them get the ball if it goes over the end line it goes over the end line nah she's too smart for that definitely well I think it's going to show the kind of versatility that that Serena's building in the squad now because you've got Lucy Bonds doing a cheeky little back heel finding a lot of space going up on on the right hand side and then you've got LJ coming back and doing this defensive work and it feels like actually there is a bit of simple there's a bit of sort of connectedness between the back and the front line in that respect like they they're overloading but they're also coming back to to support so yeah I think it's um the great it's working well the great thing about playing a team like Spain is that you get the opportunity to essentially put those tactics into practice, you know, because you might not require that as much if you're playing teams that are going to sit back a little bit more.

10:26Chloe: So to actually see that in action and done well was very nice to see. Serena was very, very complimentary afterwards. She said, I think as a team against Spain, you have to defend really, really well as their individual quality is so high. If you don't stay compact like we did and they find spaces to get behind and become more dangerous, but we tried not to let them drag us out of position, which is pretty much bang on what we saw. Yeah, but again, just another shout out to the Morgan, Wubben-Moy pairing I just think Eswe Morgan has been really impressive in her last few games for England and seeing Wubben-Moy in there as well you know obviously not having Leah Williamson is a big loss in there so against one of the best teams if not the best team in the world I think that was very well put to the test and they did very well Definitely and I think talking of that I mean we can't get away from the fact that obviously Spain did have some pretty decent chances came very close on occasions you've got Vicky Lopez hitting the post and then the deflected shot from Kamona hitting the crossbar.

11:20And then Hannah Hampton, queen of the point-blank reaction save. I mean, the 89th minute to deny the Amari header. It was just the unbelievable reactions. I mean, the speed of this header, the ball was coming in, it was whipped in at pace. Hannah Hampton managed to get a claw to it and the speed of it as well, to react to that quickly and to get so much strength behind your wrist to get that out of goal because it kind of almost like dipped inwards. I thought it was absolutely incredible. And obviously a very important save to make it at that point in the game that has meant that they get the three points from this fixture.

11:56Chloe: But also at the latter stages of a game as well. I just think, I think she made three saves during the night. So it's not like she was hugely tested. She was up against it. She would have been very switched on because Spain obviously had a lot of touches in England's box and possession. But yeah, I just thought that was an unbelievable save. That was a world-class, top-class save. like you look at this World Cup qualifying one team is guaranteed qualification out of this group and they're the moments and this is the thing against Spain it's always really small margins at the end of the day that kind of decides a lot of these fixtures and you look back at things like that and you say that save could be the thing that gets England qualified at the top of the group should they win the rest of their games you know there's all those little moments that you forget about once things happen you know whether they qualify or go through the have to go through the qualifiers you just forget about those little moments in games that could kind of turn things on their heads so it's a massive save that.

12:49Big shout out to Hannah Hampton and of course the woodwork. I mean we can't get away from the fact that Spain did it was almost like this England hit it once, Spain hit it twice, bloody hell. Yeah it was an unluckiness I felt from Spain it almost felt like they were doing everything they could I think it was that goal. Was there a hoodoo on that particular goal? Maybe not. Possibly, I mean I'm glad that it worked in our favour. You could see that the frustration was starting to creep in there was like Spanish heads in hands it was just like is this going to happen is this going to happen and obviously the coach on the sideline kind of same kind of thing just like the frustration starting to get worse and worse as the game got on

13:20Chloe: similar a bit to England in that they created chances it's just not taking the bloody chances and putting the ball in the back of the net like it's just those like I say those fine margins whether it's a couple of inches here or there you look at some of the chances Russo, Kendall you know you just think a couple of inches here and there same for Spain and it could be a different story so I guess they're the deciders between these kind of big teams coming up against each other. Well, talking of Aston Villa's Lucia Kendall, she obviously made her first competitive start for England. Like you said, Rach, she had this amazing chance to score.

13:51This gorgeous kind of Alessia Russo kind of cut back. And it was so much vision from Alessia Russo. She's like driving into the box, but there's a kind of, she didn't want to selfishly take it on herself. And then she kind of cuts back. Kendall's there. She kind of, even though she was running into the box, I didn't think she was fully prepared for that ball.

14:10Chloe: I was watching her and just thought, she's going to miss this. Like the body language, as she was teeing up for it, she just didn't look confident. She'd almost got there slightly too early because the ball kind of got caught a little bit under her feet and then she took a touch and then the Spanish players managed to kind of get back and then the shot was quite central. But actually, where there was a cutback and the goalkeeper was kind of like looking and focusing towards Alessio Russo, it would have been a perfect opportunity to cut back to her and her to like go and hit the end. But it's all these instinctive things that you need to be in that situation, you need to learn the roles, you need to learn what the other players are going to do in those moments and I think it's just like, she's still so bloody young, but we've got a really good question in from Ghazana Ray on Instagram, he said, thoughts on Lucia Kendall starting, surprise for me, but how do you think she fared?

14:53Chloe: I was surprised she was going to start in the 10 but equally, you know, these chances need to be given to players in big moments definitely, you know, England need that depth and someone's not shy of starting youngsters and giving them an opportunity to share. That's not true, she never lets anyone start, it's always the same 11, what are you talking about? and I just thought like a really bold choice and you know there's things she could have improved on but I don't think she looked out of place and I don't feel like she was you know necessarily a targeted player or anything like that you know again she's being thrown in at the deep end I think the same thing happened to maybe either Missy Bo Kearns or Laura Blinkielder-Brown I can't remember who it was but another youngster getting coming on in the latter stages of the last time England played Spain like they're big moments to come on in big games where you're going to be really challenged and that context is important when you're looking at performance you don't you know a lot some people will just look at a game as is and have zero context around who the players are how many times they've played whether or not it's a natural position any of that kind of stuff and I do think that context is important because she is a young player definitely and to be stepping into that big role for England to be doing it against Spain in one of the most important games of this group and I thought she did well like she like I said there's areas she can improve but I think she can be proud of that performance 100 % and I think that's what I'm liking about Serena is that she's willing to give these players, these very young players these opportunities, not just in these kind of like, you know, I'm going to give you a pity cap here She does not do pity caps.

16:13Yeah, I'm not going to give you an opportunity against a much lower ranked side or a friendly game. I'm actually going to throw you in the deep end at one of the most pressurised points that the Lioness will face this year to kind of see what you're worth, see what your reaction is to this, see how you get on, see what your learnings are from this game. This is key for these players.

16:31Chloe: But I also think that by not giving players pity caps the player is confident that the manager believes they can make a difference when they're brought on or when they start and I think that gives them a huge amount of confidence you know you're not going in there going oh I'll give you 10 minutes because there's 10 minutes left you're going in there like Michelle Adjumang against Belgium with the manager saying I think you're the answer you're the thing we need to improve this game or help this game or fit in this position in this particular setup and I think that's a big confidence boost for players and they are put in those positions and so she was um Michelle Adjumang actually puts up a very special award last night at the football blacklist awards interesting enough obviously not at the football blacklist awards last night because she was obviously supporting her teammates at the game but um yeah really lovely she got did you go and accept it for her and take all the credit uh i would have done but they didn't they didn't actually ask me about that that's a shock yeah that is that is a bit shocking um but yeah she picked up one of the really important awards that's sort of a player who's shown resilience who's obviously done massive things in the space it was the cyril regis award which is a is quite um uh an important one for them but congratulations Michelle there's a lovely video of her kind of um yeah but I mean she featured in the original video the the opening awards um bit was very much kind of like England players male and female kind of the goals they scored and saved etc and it was yeah it was a really really nice celebration but yeah congrats to Mish love that a nation's hero amazing can I just go back to it was Missy Bo Kearns who got her debut against Spain she came on a halftime uh last year in 2025 so like you know that's a huge debut and to get a whole half against the the best team in the world so sorry I just want to go back and confirm that no but I think it is that it's that resilience building I think these young players really need it and I think like you said like every single time a young player has been given an opportunity guess what they've actually delivered like none of the young players that have actually been given these spaces have fluffed their lines and I absolutely rate that and I think that's a credit to the work that goes on and I talk about it all the time that the mentality and the team psychology and kind of the mental support these young players are being given.

18:28And the under-23s.

18:29Chloe: Yeah. I think that's been a massive stepping stone for young players stepping up into the Lionesses because it doesn't feel like such a leap. It feels like a small step. You're much more connected to the senior squad. You get to know a little bit. Sometimes, you know, they've had camps together or they're in St. George's Park at the same time. And I think it's been such a valuable step in the kind of progression of these players. And I just think you see so many of these players who come in and do well is often because they've had the opportunity to play at that. senior level and now they've created that competition um the kind of european competition for the under 23s it's not like a necessarily official thing but um which i think england are in the semi-final or final of anyway i just think it's been yeah you need to kind of give that it's applauded because you've seen the impact that it's had definitely you look at how many under 23s i think seven i'm some of the under 19s like stepping up into the more senior squads now there really is a very clear, delineated pathway of what that will look like.

19:27The people in the under-23s are seriously thinking, I'm going to get an opportunity here. I'm going to get a senior call-up at some point. It feels like those opportunities are more

19:37Chloe: now than they were before. And what's amazing is, if it doesn't work out and you're not called up in the next window, you don't feel like the door is closed. Definitely. You're stepping back down into the under-23s. You're still getting really valuable game time in international windows. Yep. And it makes that potential to come back in again all the more possible. You know, so, you know, I look at a team like a country like Ireland, who I think could really benefit from an under-23s. And that gap from the under-19s to the seniors is so big. And you might feel if you don't make it and you're 20, 21, you've got nothing going on then in the international break necessarily.

20:09Chloe: Yeah.

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21:30Well let's discuss a little bit about the number 10 position because obviously there has been a bit of fluidity in this you know Elatoune obviously injured it's been a really good opportunity I think for Serena to kind of see what the different options could look like especially as we're building towards the Women's World Cup next year but Rach where do you kind of see this number 10 position evolving? It's such a big wide question that I've just thrown to you

21:49Chloe: It's also such an important position and to lose the likes of Fran Kirby who retired and then have Alatoombe injured you know, it almost forces the hand of like trying players in that position and seeing how they get on and you know, you've got some versatile players who can play in that position for example, Lauren James she can play there but she's much more effective on the wing so it's been great to see players tried in there because it's such a, like I say you know, you're really throwing someone in at the deep end when you put them in a position like that because you're kind of expected a little bit to pull the strings if you like you're the playmaker yeah the puppeteer yeah and I think that's again that's the context kind of needed around seeing a Kendall in there for example but it's just been interesting seeing how they've juggled that because there's a couple of positions that don't have loads of depth which I think is interesting the number nine is another one where there's not necessarily loads of depth particularly when there's been a couple of injuries so yeah it's been nice to see players get their chance in there and I don't think anyone's you know being particularly bad, if you like.

22:52Chloe: And it's important for England to have not only depth in that position, but to have players with minutes under their belt where they can feel confident in that position. So, delighted for Kendall. I'm sure we'll see a little bit more potential movement in there. Yeah, 100%. I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if she got another opportunity, obviously, at the weekend, potentially. And then, obviously, I think with Ella Toon kind of, at some point, coming back not too far into the future. I think, did I see her on the pitch at Man United, as in, like, back on the grass? I thought she was back to training, or at least running.

23:19potentially but yeah I think obviously that I mean she's obviously going to be the number one in that position all day and I don't see her kind of being sort of ousted from that position anytime soon especially in the starting squad especially as we gear up to you know a competition that she she's a major competition player like she has so much experience kind of you know before it was kind of being you know subbed on she was kind of the impact player now she's kind of made her mark I think more as the the starting yeah and a reminder to people as well that England are still

23:47Chloe: a relatively, I'm not going to say young squad, but they're not an old squad. I think because there's been major tournaments back to back to back to back, and you've seen players so frequently, there's this kind of idea that like, we need to see more coming through, players are aging out. The average age of that squad is about 26, 27. Good Lord. So a lot of these players are actually, Yarela Toons, for example, right? She's 26. She's in her prime at the moment. So this idea that like, some of these players are going to move on, soon it's not gonna happen like they're they're in their prime at the moment so sometimes i just think that gets a little bit lost because you saw them at euro 2022 you're seeing them at 2023 you've seen them at the euros again you're like jesus these players still going i think i'm probably guilty of it but it's because they've been around for so long i i in my mind they're kind of almost towards like late 20s early 30s some of these players i know you've got lucy bonds different story she's a cyborg or something yeah it's not human so later she's 40 as well kim little there's just people in that kind of, yeah, but yeah, I do, I do kind of see Ella Toon as like one of those, like Ella Toon, Lauren Hemp.

24:49Players who broke out arguably in Euro 2022. Yeah, essentially that. And when,

24:54Chloe: actually I think England's average age at the Euros final last summer was like 26 and a half, 26.8 or something. That's a, like a prime time of these players' careers. Nice. So I just think that's valuable to kind of, a little reminder. Thanks for that mate. No, no, I appreciate, I appreciate that. I think it's, I think it's, it's an important reminder. to be honest yeah me too so great having young players coming through but a lot of these players are still prime time well talking of a player definitely still in her prime time kira walsh captain the lionesses i made a hundredth appearance for her country um yeah i mean i i don't even know how you can sing more praises about kira walsh um despite obviously people knowing that she's such an incredibly playmaker creative player she's still so understated and so subtle like you know the moment we were talking about in the 18th minute when she kind of like linked up the play and she was the first person to kind of start that passage of play that then led to that cheeky little back heel and hem hitting the um at the post but she's just the moments like that she's in the right place at the right time she shows the vision she's always she always wants to progress the game and go forward and i just yeah what an amazing thing as well for her to have um capped in the game in a 100th appearance yeah big moment what was nice as well obviously for her to be at wembley which is convenient um but also before the game because england are hitting their 500th appearance on Saturday.

26:11Chloe: As I said last week, Chloe, can you imagine that conversation at the FA headquarters at Wembley when they realised it wasn't England-Spain, it was Iceland-England, which would be the 500th game. It would be so annoying. But what was nice was they had players lining the tunnel at the game from past players, which was lovely to see. So just like that's an added little special moment when Walsh got her shirt. So there were some nice moments at Wembley. It's always nice the way they recognise past and present and Mary Earps is there as well. So kind of just icing on the cake, I guess, for Kira to get her 100th there.

26:42100%. And like you said, I mean, Mary Epps was back at Wembley for her special commemoration. She was presented with a framed Earp shirt with the number 53 on the back for her 53 caps with the Lionesses. Obviously, she retired just from international duty. Just before the, I remember that podcast, I remember being in Lisbon doing the Women's Champions League when that news dropped. And it was like 30 minutes, I think, before we were supposed to record. And we were like, what the fuck what is going on what's happening and we were all so worried about the summer and it turned out it was fine it was absolutely fine nothing happened turns out we're actually quite good and Hannah Armstrong's alright yes but yeah there was obviously like a little bit of controversy over kind of the reason and the decision maybe the time of the decision yeah and they obviously came up with the book and that was sort of slightly controversial and then there's sort of been more recent dialogue I suppose with Mary Earps kind of revealing that she sort of has some regrets over some of the comments that she made and there's been everyone's kind of repaired their relationships None of that was an issue yesterday Yes

27:41Chloe: Despite various headlines none of that was an issue and it was never going to be an issue 100 % We do like a blown up headline Oh my gosh Yeah there was a lot of things about you know Serena Regman encouraging people not to boo She was asked the question I mean and then it makes it sound like she just randomly came up Anyway the point is that was never going to happen She got a lovely reception as deserved She got her shirt she got a lovely bunch of flowers she had friends and family there as well which was lovely to see and some of the players before the warm-up were able to stay out and just to see it because obviously it happens when the players go in so some of them who weren't starting were able to stay out and kind of give a little cheer and stuff which was nice to see so great that she got her flowers Literally and Wigman also said she said it's an inspiration for so many people particularly young goalkeepers she deserves a great farewell She's revolutionised the position I mean she's made it cool 100 % 100 % and she's just dropped to like a new female goalkeeping school with a foundation up north so yeah credit to her it's been quite the journey for her But yeah, such a lovely moment for her to celebrate an incredible career.

28:39The result now puts England in the driving seat for World Cup qualification. I don't want to, I was going to come into this podcast prematurely singing It's Coming Home. Oh, don't you dare. Which I think is probably the worst thing. I'd have kicked your ass. Yeah, I really felt that. And I took the decision, executive decision, not to do that. Well done, that's growth. Thank you. Yeah, I'm not as toxic as I was three seasons ago. I still have that gift. Go on. sorry to bring

29:04Chloe: to heart back to you and Flo bullying me to say it you were both like say it say it say it say it and then eventually we just going fuck it it's coming home oh that first year together Christ well now obviously they maintain their 100 % record in qualifying so England's next game will be in Reykjavik against Iceland on Saturday yeah it's going to be there's still all to play for essentially even though we are in a really good position goals are important 100 % that's true as well It doesn't mean it's a wrapped up done deal that we will be qualifying far from it. So you never know what's going to happen.

29:38Chloe: But if it comes down to that game in Spain, in Mallorca and Spain win, it'll come down to goal difference. So definitely score them goals. I will be in Iceland for that game for the 500th game. We've done more than a quarter of them. Me and self. That's crazy. We've done something like 173 games or something. I thought it was 500. Before we go, definitely we need to give a bit of a mention to Ireland, who held on to a win in a five-goal thriller in Gdansk, and their first points in the World Cup qualifying group, A2. Obviously, it wasn't a great start to the qualifiers for Ireland, not having picked up their points, but there were such narrow losses.

30:15Also, it's Ligue 1. 100%. I mean, it is officially, unofficially, the group of death. Netherlands and France, obviously, tough, tough opposition. and then it kind of felt like they were due a win. They were due some justice for the performances that they were putting in that they weren't getting the results from.

30:32Chloe: Yeah, but that's what made me nervous then because, you know, Poland, obviously, a very good team, had been at the Euros, have one of the world's best strikers captaining their side as well. So part of me was a little bit worried that, not that the pressure was going to be off, but like, you know, you go up against France and Netherlands, your underdogs, and, you know, came really close, played really well, came away from that last window, really frustrated that we didn't get points as opposed to being disappointed that we didn't play well, which is just a different mentality. So they seem to really harness that.

31:03They know how important these two fixtures are for getting points. And the thing is, look, there's a playoff position guaranteed

31:11Chloe: wherever they end up. But the higher up they end up in the group, I'm not going to say the easier the route, the more favourable the playoff that they get. And this group is wide open because Poland obviously got a draw against the Netherlands. France lost to the Netherlands last night. So no one's had a clean sweep. No, Netherlands are on seven. France are on six. Republic of Ireland are on three. And Poland are on one. So, you know, it just makes for a bit of a tastier group. And I think they absolutely have deserved the win for the football they've been playing. I thought they, I would have been really disappointed if they'd let Poland back into it because they were the better team on the night.

31:50Chloe: They created enough to do so. So, you know, the penalty missed by McCabe, which doesn't happen very often. But I just thought they played some really nice football. There's a real confidence about the way, the style of football they want to play. They came out in the front foot. You know, they weren't kind of banking up. They knew this was an important game that they needed to win. So to go 2-0 up so quickly within 20 minutes, go and look up that Katie McCabe banger. An absolute crappy goal. Let's talk about it. Let's just spend a brief moment on this because if you haven't seen it, the ball lands beautifully for Casey McCabe, who's kind of lined, almost primed, ready for this exact ball, kind of hits it so cleanly, so sweetly, that it kind of, on the volley, it kind of, the trajectory of it, it should be studied by science, because it kind of goes over like the initial tranche of defenders and attackers, and then falls so, it kind of dips so severely.

32:41It goes like an away from the goalkeeper. Severely into the goal, it's absolutely stunning.

32:45Chloe: It comes from a corner, Megan Connolly corner, and bowl is headed out in second ball. She's just waiting at the top of the box, doesn't even let it bounce, doesn't give Shemek any time to react. I think she was stuck still. So yeah, classic McCabe goal, which I think all she'll be thinking about now is the penalty that she put into Rosette, but she shouldn't because it was a wonderful goal. And ultimately, it doesn't matter. The penalty miss doesn't matter. Well, it does matter, I suppose, in terms of goal difference and things like that, but it doesn't matter in terms of the result and getting those points.

33:15Chloe: and I just think there's a number of players like Emily Murphy picked up her third player of the match in a row she's had a real turnaround in terms of productivity she came in I think it was last year full of life full of speed full of running and I just felt a bit like she lacked that end product and Ireland would sometimes find themselves in good positions but she couldn't quite finish them off she's changed that now like she's obviously getting more minutes at Newcastle playing very well at Newcastle and I think that's really built her confidence she's got great relationships with the players in and around her.

33:46Chloe: I was concerned that Kira Caruso was unavailable. She wasn't well. And I thought the two of them had played so well against France. Abbey Larkin came in and yeah, she was involved in every goal. She scored the first. She set up the penalty that McCabe got essentially. She's assisted Marissa Sheva who got the third goal. So she's been so heavily involved and she's, I mean, getting her just rewards in terms of player of the matches, but a big three points for Ireland. And now they're going home at the Aviva this weekend to play Poland, which would be a huge game for them. So yeah, I'm just pleased with the style of play they're playing.

34:21Chloe: People look so much more assured. Aoife Mannion was immense. Anna Patton was great. Like just... Denise O'Sullivan. Denise O'Sullivan, 130 pounds. Yeah, it's crazy. The thing about getting players to that level is that, you know, Katie McCabe is often accused of trying to do everything in that team when she doesn't need to, which sometimes that leaves her out of position when you need her most, right? So, and I just feel like there's more balance across the squad now and you know Marissa Sheva looks brilliant in this in this system just players just look more confident more quality the Carla Ward bowl era if you like I mean it's took a little while for them to kind of find that balance between how she wants to play and how Ireland can play and they're doing really well in this group and I know they didn't win the first two games but there were performances to be proud of so I'm really pleased I picked up those three points Are you going to the game on Saturday?

35:07Chloe: I'm going to Iceland I try and do an Ireland game every window and I think because the home game if the home game had fallen this side I would have done that but I'm going to do their game against the Netherlands in Cork which I'm looking forward to oh that would be lovely yeah so that would be another big one you know if fingers crossed Ireland could pick up three points against Poland this weekend again if because it's with Eva Pau in your team not to discount any of the other players Poland's first goal was a fantastic header but with her and the team you just never know the game's never done she could score she lobbed Courtney Brosnan with the most ridiculous like she was so close to the goal like she was kind of at the top of the box so to lob a keeper when you're inside the box is quite difficult the height she got in it to then still make sure it dropped down into the goal was unreal so such a timely goal as well could have completely turned it yeah so turned the goal on its head yeah it's all to play for in this group so far Ireland now third in the group but still so many games left to play so they just want to get as high as possible up the group to try and get a more favourable draw for the playoffs.

36:17Chloe: But either way, they have a playoff. That's the one thing we can keep saying to ourselves, whatever happens. There's a safety net. There's a safety net. Well, bring on Saturday. Obviously, more international games. We'll be back on Tuesday, as always. Thank you so much for listening to Upfront. You can find us on Instagram and X. I'm at morgy underscore 89. Rach is at girls on the ball. And we are at upfront underscore pod. You can also find us on YouTube at Upfront Pod. See you next week.

37:00Upfront is a Stack production and part of the Acast Creator Network.